SUBSCRIPTION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 SHAABAN 9, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net 800 sacks of India heat Houston Djokovic, foul Iranian wave kills submerged as Nadal, Serena onions 800, capital’s wild weather ease through, confiscated3 roads11 melt kills15 20 Bouchard20 out Court restores citizenship Min 29º Max 44º of ex-lawmaker Barghash High Tide 07:25 & 18:25 Low Tide State revenues projected to fall 66% to KD 12bn 0015 & 13:15 40 PAGES NO: 16533 150 FILS

By B Izzak

Bahrain to cut KUWAIT: In a landmark decision, the administrative court yesterday annulled a government decision to subsidies for revoke the citizenship of former Islamist lawmaker Abdullah Al-Barghash and many of his family members. expatriates The verdict was issued following months of delibera- tions in the court, which demanded that the govern- DUBAI: Bahrain will begin cutting subsidies for ment should explain the reasons for withdrawing goods and services to reduce state spending on its Barghash’s citizenship, but the government ignored the foreign population as low oil prices pressure its order under the pretext that budget, a top official said. Bahraini citizens will nationality is a sovereign issue receive cash payments from the state to offset price that rests with the government. rises when subsidies are removed, said Minister of As soon as the judge pro- State for Information Affairs Isa bin Abdulrahman Al- nounced the ruling, Barghash Hammadi. Foreign citizens would not receive such broke down in tears and knelt payments. “The majority of beneficiaries from sub- down in prayers to thank God for sidy of consumer goods and services are foreign the verdict. He was hugged and kissed by a number of relatives nationals resident in the kingdom and companies Al-Barghash but not individual Bahraini citizens,” the official and supporters present in the Bahrain News Agency quoted him as saying late on court. Later, Barghash was inundated with warm con- Monday. The government will therefore redirect sub- gratulations by opposition figures and activists, who sidy policies to benefit local citizens only, Hammadi hailed the verdict. said. The government revoked the citizenship of Like other oil exporting countries in the six-mem- Barghash, two of his brothers and his sister and mem- ber Gulf Cooperation Council, Bahrain employs many bers of their families in July last year on the grounds of foreign workers; about half of its population of an article in the nationality law on granting citizenship roughly 1.3 million is estimated to be expatriate. on the basis of false or fake information. The Cabinet They benefit from state subsidies which keep down KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled Al-Sabah inspects also revoked the citizenship of the owner of pro-opposi- prices of fuel, meat, electricity, water and other items. weapons that have been handed over during the ongoing weapons collection campaign during a meet- tion Alam Al-Youm newspaper and Al-Youm television Paying for the subsidies has become increasingly ing with the media and public yesterday at the Criminal Investigation Department. — Photo by Fouad channel Ahmad Jabr Al-Shemmari and his family on the Continued on Page 15 Al-Shaikh (See Page 3) grounds he threatened national security. Continued on Page 15 LOCAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Communications Minister Essa Al-Kandari and Board Chairman His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Acting Nicaraguan Parliament Speaker and Managing Director of Kuwait Airways Rasha Al-Roumi. — Amiri Diwan photos Iris Montenegro. Amir briefed on KAC future plans, strategy Amir receives Nicaraguan delegation

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Speaker Iris Montenegro at Bayan Palace yesterday. Deputy Hayat. HH Sheikh Jaber also received chairman and members During the meeting, Mutairi and the KISR delegation Jaber Al-Sabah received Communications Minister and Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, of Kuwait Society for Information Technology. offered a briefing on the institute’s future activities, strategic Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Essa Al-Kandari, accom- president of the Kuwaiti-Nicaraguan parliamentary friendship Separately, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad plans and research projects to serve development in all state panied by Board Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait group MP Jamal Al-Omar and Secretary General of the Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received Minister of Education and Minister sectors. HH the Crown Prince lauded the KISR staff’s efforts, Airways Rasha Abdulaziz Al-Roumi. HH the Amir was briefed National Assembly Allam Al-Kandari attended the meeting. of Higher Education Dr Bader Hamad Al-Essa, who was accom- urging further promotion of scientific, technical and profes- about the corporation’s future plans and strategy to upgrade Meanwhile, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- panied by Director General of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific sional capabilities. In particular, he stressed the importance of services. Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received the Acting Speaker of Research (KISR) Dr Naji Al-Mutairi and members of the institu- consolidating food security. Director of Protocols at HH the HH the Amir also received National Assembly Speaker Nicaragua’s Parliament, accompanied by Omar, Kandari and tion. KISR had held an honoring ceremony yesterday for distin- Crown Prince Diwan Sheikh Mubarak Sabah Al-Salem Al- Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Acting Nicaraguan Parliament non-resident Kuwaiti Ambassador to Nicaragua Samih Johar guished staff under HH Sheikh Nawaf’s patronage. Humoud Al-Sabah attended the meeting. — KUNA KISR’s goals match News nation’s: Minister in brief Ramadan to KUWAIT: The long-term strategies of the nation and cooperation between the begin June 18 Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) nation’s scientific and technical institutes KUWAIT: The Muslim fasting dovetail harmoniously with the nation’s and those involved in applying results of sci- month of Ramadan will begin goals for achieving sustainable growth and entific research to their manufacturing capa- June 18, said local astronomer development, a Kuwaiti minister said yester- bilities. Adel Al-Saadoun yesterday. Al- day. In that vein, the minister applauded KISR’s Saadoun noted that the forecast Attending KISR’s annual meeting for giv- continuing scientific endeavors which have is based on astronomical calcula- ing out awards to people who have exhibit- resulted in the establishment of four major tions. The mainly-Muslim Kuwaiti ed scientific prowess and excellence, research centers: The Center for Petroleum people observe fasting in Minister of Education and Higher Education Research, The Center for Water Research Ramadan from dawn to dusk, in Dr Bader Al-Essa said in a speech at the which was recently endorsed by UNESCO as a line with the Islamic doctrine. meeting that Kuwait was deeply interested regional and international center, The Center Eating, drinking or smoking at in the scientific research carried out by KISR for Energy and Construction, and The Center public places is prohibited by law. KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Sabah and those associated with it. for Environment and Bio-Technology. He said meets his Yemeni counterpart Dr Riyadh Yaseen Abdullah. — KUNA He urged the need to foster those with he was very proud of the work being done by the gift of carrying out scientific research all these centers which serve the needs of FM meets OIC Secretary with the aim of benefiting Kuwaiti society. growth and development and future Cheques clearing He said the government supported coordi- advancement of the country. — KUNA system announced KUWAIT: The Central Bank of Kuwait’s (CBK) General, ministers Board of Directors has approved the new KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign “Automated Cheques Clearing System” to Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Affairs Khalid Al-Jarallah, chairman of the replace the current manual one as of June 14th, Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met with Secretary office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and CBK Governor Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel General of the Organization of Islamic Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador announced. The approval of the new system Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Madani yesterday. The Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al- comes within the framework of the CBK’s relent- two sides discussed Kuwait’s preparation in Sabah and other top ministry officials attend- less efforts to develop the banking sector and the 42nd session of the OIC Council of ed the meetings. automate banks’ activities and services, Hashel Foreign Ministers to be held in the country Meanwhile, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled today. received Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad told yesterday. He noted Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled also met with his Javad Zarif and Foreign Minister of the that the CBK, in cooperation Yemeni counterpart Dr Riyadh Yaseen Republic of The Gambia Neneh MacDouall- with local banks, have start- Abdullah, whose country is taking part in the Gaye, who are heading their countries’ ed preparation for the session. Bilateral relations were discussed, as respective delegations to the meetings. application of the new sys- Minister Abdullah expressed appreciation to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- tem for two years. Hashel Kuwait’s contributions to restoring security Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is set to sponsor pointed out that the new and stability in Yemen, valuing at the same the OIC’s 42nd session, to be held this time its humanitarian role towards the morning at Bayan Palace’s Liberation system applies the world’s Yemeni people. Lounge. — KUNA KUWAIT: Education Minister Dr Bader Al-Essa (third from right) is pictured with KISR offi- best practices with regard cials and some of the honored guests. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh to automation of cheques clearance and safety and security measures in accor- Minister extols Guard’s youth development role dance with Kuwaiti laws. The automated clearing of cheques will signifi- KUWAIT: Kuwait National Guard takes great care to help cation for its progress and advancement. He thanked the The event is a chance to benefit from international expert- cantly reduce time of cheques payment from Kuwaiti youth develop their talents and capabilities for the National Guard leadership, particularly its chief Sheikh Salem ise in the field, said Sheikh Salman, hoping that the confer- four working days, in the current system, to only good of the society, Minister of Information and Minister of Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah and its deputy chief Sheikh Mishaal ence would come out with recommendations to resolve the State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for giving all the care to the issues facing this category of society and develop services one working day, he said. He underlined that the Humoud Al-Sabah said yesterday. The minister indicated that youth from the standpoint that the youth are partners in the provided for an estimated 1.8 billion youth worldwide. new system would signal a leap in the Kuwait the State Ministry for Youth Affairs had conducted a series of nation’s growth and development. The 4th edition of the conference aims to consider the economy’s payment systems and the banks’ meetings with the National Guard toward discovering the tal- ambitions and ideas of youth towards creating a safer world management of liquidity which in turn would ents and capabilities of the youth in the country with the aim Youth Employment and achieving development, noted the Minister who will per- boost the financial stability in the state. — KUNA of helping them achieve their societal aspirations. He Earlier, Sheikh Salman stressed the importance of Kuwait’s form the speech of the Arab group in front of the UN’s applauded the role the National Guard played in fostering the participation in the UN’s Youth Employment Programme con- General Assembly in the event. development of Kuwaiti youth to realize their goals in life and ference. The conference, to be held in New York from May 28 The Kuwaiti delegation also includes Chairman of the in serving their country. to June 1, will focus on the importance of youth as being a Board and Director General of the Public Authority for Youth Furthermore, he extolled the National Guard for giving key element in development, Sheikh Salman said in a press and Sports Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- ample opportunities for the youth to work for it, equipping statement prior to leaving the country to take part in the Sabah and other top officials in the Ministry of State for Youth them in the process to nurture love of the country and dedi- event. Affairs. — KUNA

‘Ferocious Falcon 4’ DOHA: Kuwait’s participation in the military exercise codenamed ‘Ferocious Falcon 4’ aims at boosting mil- itary cooperation and gain more expertise, Kuwait Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammad Al-Khoder said yesterday. “Crises Management, deal- ing with threats and deterring aggressive and terror- ist attacks were all included in the exercises,” Khoder said on the sidelines of a seminar for senior com- manders. A Kuwaiti army force has headed earlier this month to Qatar to take part in the exercises with the participation of 27 countries. Ferocious Falcon 4 “comes in difficult circumstances witnessed by the region, with threats taking dangerous dimensions, which requires us to stand in one line to face such threats,” Khoder noted. — KUNA KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah met separately with ambassadors of South Africa, Australia, UAE and Sudan to Kuwait, and discussed several issues of mutual interest. — KUNA WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 LOCAL

Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al- KUWAIT: Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled tours an exhibition showing weapons Some of the weapons collected during the campaign put on display. Sabah speaks during the meeting. seized during the campaign. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat and Fouad Al-Shaikh Weapons’ collection limits terrorism threat: Minister 1,832 illegal weapons collected so far

By Nawara Fattahova the danger of weapons that caused the death vious weapons collection campaign in 2005 check for weapons. “We totally respect the pri- Next week, we will discuss the security cam- of many people. The common factor of terror- that was much longer, this number is very vacy of people set in the law, but in special cir- era issue in the parliament, so the security KUWAIT: Only 27 days are remaining from the ism and drug crimes is weapons. So we want good,” he said. cumstances we may enter a house or a private system will be complete,” Sheikh Mohammed four-month grace period given by the Ministry to eliminate this problem by collecting unli- People can hand over their weapons until place if we have permission or a search war- stated. of Interior to the public to hand over unli- censed weapons. Until now, we have collected June 22, 2015 without any legal responsibility rant to check a house in relation with a crime. censed weapons. As the clock ticks down, the 1,832 weapons, and 900 weapons have been or even revealing their identity. “The ministry Also, we respect families and women present Juveniles’ age ministry held a community meeting with the licensed,” Sheikh Mohammed said. has set 38 locations where people can hand in houses, so we have trained female officers The minister also proposed lowering the media and public yesterday at the Criminal over the weapons without revealing their to enter houses for inspection,” he noted. defined legal age of juveniles from 18 to 16 Investigation Department, where Deputy Great achievement identity. They also have an easy option of call- After the grace period expires, the ministry years. “In my opinion, 18-year-olds are not Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh “Some people may criticize this number as ing the hotline 1888833 and the staff of the will begin inspections in phases. “The first kids or juveniles. They have driving licenses, Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah reviewed the small compared to the announced figure of ministry will come to them and take the phase will start with streets and public places, they can get married, be employed and start a latest results of the campaign, listened to sug- 500,000 illegal weapons, but I think it’s a great weapons without demanding them to identify then farms in the second phase. If those who family. So they should be legally responsible gestions and answered questions. achievement and the number will increase by themselves,” Sheikh Mohammed explained. didn’t give up their weapons before June 22, for their actions,” concluded Sheikh The minister began by condoling the vic- the end of the grace period. Also, the assumed they will face legal sanctions set in the law. Mohammed. A documentary about weapons tims of the attack on a Shiite mosque in Saudi number of illegal weapons may not be accu- People’s privacy We have very developed tools to help us con- collection was screened at the beginning of Arabia a few days ago by the Islamic State rate as it was announced immediately after He denied that the ministry of interior is duct inspections. We have machines that can the event. A large number of different kinds of group. “This tragic incident is an example of the liberation of Kuwait. Compared to the pre- planning to enter houses and private places to tell us what’s underground or behind walls. collected weapons were also on display.

Kuwait, GCC mull plan Crime to face storms: Official Report

GENEVA: Kuwait will coordinate with other the post-2015 new global agenda on sus- Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries tainable development and the Sendai over a plan to deal with dust storms and Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. thunderstorms, an official from the The congress will also shape WMO’s con- Directorate General of Civil Aviation tribution to the UN climate change negoti- (DGCA) said. ations taking place in Paris in December The plan will be based on sharing mete- which aims to reach a new agreement to orological and radar data to take precau- cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent tions in case of severe weather and storms, climate change from reaching dangerous Assistant Undersecretary for aviation serv- levels. In addition, it will consider progress ices affairs at the DGCA, Khaled Al-Mubarak in implementing the WMO-spearheaded Al-Shuaibi said. Shuaibi made his state- Global Framework for Climate Services to ments yesterday on the sidelines of the improve the supply and use of climate 17th World Meteorological Congress in services to help adaptation efforts. Geneva. Other agenda items include: the WMO Taking part in the event organized by global observing and information system; the World Meteorological Organization risk-based warnings and high impact fore- (WMO), Kuwait is seeking to contribute to casting systems; capacity development and forming the WMO’s future strategy. The education and training; research on high Kuwaiti delegation is keen on gaining more impact weather, seasonal to sub-seasonal expertise on the national meteorological prediction, and polar prediction; and serv- The elevator shaft where the victim fell to his death. and hydrological services, and their role in ices to the aviation industry. —KUNA KUWAIT: Minister Ahmad Al-Jassar tours the South Zour plant where new gas tur- Man dead in bine units were launched yesterday. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh elevator shaft fall Turbine units installed By Hanan Al-Saadoun

at South Zour plant KUWAIT: An Arab man was instantly killed when he fell from a high place into the elevator shaft of a house under By Meshaal Al-Enezi by describing them as ‘truffles’, which is a construction in Jahra. Police are investigating the incident. violation of the national solidarity law. KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water and Minister of Public Works Ahmad Al- Bad food Jassar yesterday launched gas turbine Doha Port customs inspectors foiled an units installed at South Zour plant for elec- attempt to import 800 sacks of inedible tricity and water desalination to increase onions from Iran, said security sources, its power output by 523 megawatts. Jassar noting that the onions had traces of sea- said the project’s total cost was KD 125 water and diesel. Notably, the same million and that a seven-year contract had inspectors had seized a foul potato ship- been signed with the executing company ment also arriving from Iran a few days to operate and maintain the units until earlier. May 16, 2022. Fatal crash Official sued A 19-year-old citizen was instantly For the first time in Kuwait, a senior killed when he lost control over his vehicle Education Ministry official will be prose- and it flipped over along Salmi highway, cuted for expressing contempt of bedoons said security sources.

May KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Services Directorate conducted an exercise at Kuwait Finance The ad which led to the suspect’s arrest House’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer branch. The Qurain fire center participated in the drill. Illegal service The scenario was about a fire in the ATM area, and some persons were trapped. Two General Department of Residency Affairs’ detectives teams were formed, one for rescue and one to fight the fire. The trapped people were arrested an Arab man who paid for an ad to promote his evacuated quickly without injuries and the fire was brought under control. services to connect power to violating building in —By Hanan Al-Saadoun exchange of money. The man claimed that electricity used through the service he provided would not be Remember gracce Inspection procedures for included in the Ministry of Electricity and Water’s bills. persons as well as public and The suspect was sent to concerned authorities for ques- private places and means of Kuwaiti student on tioning. transportation start on 22/6/2015 death row pardoned Suspected car thieves caught Capital police arrested two suspects, including a SHARJAH: A Kuwaiti student facing the death of Mubarak Meshaal Mubarak, 19, a Kuwaiti, for stealing cars. They were sent to Daiya police days left for handing over death penalty in the UAE for allegedly tor- university student in Sharjah who died in station. Meanwhile, Capital police arrested 10 people with- unlicensed weapons, turing a fellow Kuwaiti student to death hospital on Feb 24, 2013 following days of out IDs, nine visa violators, 12 laborers working illegally for ammunition and explosives. was pardoned by the victim’s family yester- physical abuse, said police. The verdict is people other than their original sponsors and two roaming 1888830 day. The ruling was announced by the expected to be final as the victim’s family vendors. Police also issued 33 traffic tickets, impounded Hotline: Sharjah appeals court. But another Kuwaiti signed a document pardoning the suspect, four vehicles and arrested five absconders. student also sentenced to death in the a prosecutor told a local daily. The parents same case did not receive a pardon from of the victim as well as the family members Traffic campaign the family of the victim. A third student of the pardoned Kuwaiti attended the ses- A traffic campaign that took place from May 17 to 23 accused of beating the victim was fined sion. The victim’s family had earlier said resulted in locating 24 stolen and wanted cars, while 1,000 dirhams earlier in absentia. The two they would never pardon the killers, asking 42,065 tickets were issued and 2,236 cars and five Kuwaiti students have already spent more the judge to give the duo the death sen- motorcycles were impounded. than two years in jail for their role in the tence. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 LOCAL

Diplomats and top guests pictured at the event. The Jordanian traditional dress was presented at the event. University City nearly half complete: Minister

KUWAIT: Forty five percent of the Sabah Al-Salem University City in Al-Shedadiya has been completed, and the campus should be ready by 2019, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Bader Al-Essa said. Earlier on Monday, Essa briefed the cabinet about the progress of construction of Sabah Al-Salem University City. This was followed by detailed account on the project by Director of Kuwait University Construction Program (KUCP) Dr Qutaiba Abdulrazzaq Razouqi who said the University City has been built on a total area of six million square meters. It is divided into two parts; the first is the general campus that will embrace all Kuwait University scientific and humanities col- leges. The other will include all the medical ones. Essa was speaking to reporters on sidelines of a reception held by the Jordanian Embassy to mark the Kingdom’s 69th Independence Day. He said around 6,000 Kuwaitis would be finishing their studies in Jordan, while the Ministry of Higher Education was providing scholarships for Jordanian citizens in Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). Essa wished Jordan progress and prosperity on the occasion of the country’s Independence Jordanian Ambassador Mohammad Al-Kayed welcomes Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Al- KUWAIT: Education Minister Dr Bader Al-Essa (right) and Jordanian Ambassador Day. —KUNA Fayez. Mohammad Al-Kayed cut the ceremonial cake. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Volunteers to help rehabilitate Kuwaiti historical buildings

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Voluntary Work Center (KVWC) ment that the two sides agreed to expedite the refur- noted that once reconstructing the buildings, the is keen on joining efforts of the National Council for bishment of two sites considered of immense histori- school could be turned into a child cultural center. Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL) in rehabilitating and cal value to Kuwaitis, namely the site of the Kuwait NCCAL Secretary General Ali Al-Youha said the preserving historical buildings, said KVWC’s Chest Hospital and Aisha School. cooperation between his organization and that of Chairperson Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- NCCAL is currently charged with rehabilitating Sheikh Amthal’s highlighted the importance that gov- Sabah. both buildings, Sheikha Amthal said, indicating that ernment and civic society organizations should work Following a meeting with the secretary general of her organization for volunteerism would be of great in tandem to achieve similar projects as the preserva- KUWAIT: Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets an NCCAL team yester- NCCAL yesterday, Sheikha Amthal said in a press state- help to repairing the two edifices in a record time. She tion of the these two historical sites. — KUNA day. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa Mzolisa Bona hosted a reception on the occasion of Freedom Day at Radisson Blu Hotel. High ranking officials, diplomats, members of the South African community and media personalities attended the reception. — Photos by Joseph Shagra LOCAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Crime Report Co-ops charged Fearing arrest, man over missing goods dies of heart attack KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce accused asking an explanation for the and Industry referred 14 cooperative shortage, 10 coops gave unconvinc- KUWAIT: Fearing arrest after assaulting an Iraqi societies to the public prosecution, ing answers, while four did not woman’s son, an Egyptian man suffered a cardiac arrest after an audit in these coops revealed respond. inside a hospital. An Iraqi woman told Jahra Hospital’s an unexplainable shortage in the The sources said the commerce investigator that an Egyptian man beat her child. The inventory of goods handed out ministry made an inventory for vari- same man had also brought his own son to the same through Amiri grants in 2011 and ous subsidized goods at 180 coop hospital, as his kid suffered injuries from an assault by 2012. branches, comparing the existing the Iraqi woman’s son. While the children were being Informed sources said the prosecu- goods with what was supplied and examined, the Egyptian man collapsed, so he was tak- tion summoned commerce ministry dispensed and discovered a shortage en to the ICU, but later pronounced dead. officials to question them about their in 14 cooperatives. audit results and the charges directed The sources did not disclose the Child molester to be deported at the 14 coops. The charges include total value of the shortage, but said Director General of Farwaniya Governorate Ooredoo Volunteer manipulation of Amiri grant funds that the numbers vary; underlining Major General Fahad Al-Shuwaye ordered an and embezzlement of goods for the legal responsibility is not linked to Egyptian man to be deported as he was caught financial gains. In reply to the com- the value of the shortage, but due to molesting a 10-year-old girl. An Egyptian man had Program still open merce ministry’s letters to the the presence of fraud. —Al-Rai told police that he saw his compatriot inappropri- ately touching his daughter near the elevator, KUWAIT: Ooredoo Kuwait, a member of the Center. The main purpose of the program is according to security sources. The deportation international Ooredoo Group, announced to inspire individuals, and a most effective order was given as the child’s father opted against that its volunteer program is still open for way to do that is by giving them live exam- pressing charges. applicant wishing to volunteer until 1st June. ples from their own environment. Ooredoo’s The program is operated in cooperation with corporate social responsibility policy focuses Spread the Passion, a local non-profit organi- greatly on youth. The induction phase of the Wanted for drugs zation aiming to connect volunteers with vol- program will include workshops, a training Jahra detectives arrested a Syrian man who is sen- unteering opportunities. camp, and will conclude with certification of tenced to go to jail on drug charges, said sources, The company announced at a press con- volunteers. Training will be done in accor- adding that detectives also arrested a Jordanian ex- ference earlier that registration to the volun- dance with international volunteer group convict. Meanwhile, Capital detectives arrested a citi- teer program is open in light of its belief in standards in addition to enriching the lives of zen for possession of heroin. The suspect was a former instilling constructive and noble values such volunteers on a personal level, which is an policeman who was discharged for bad behavior and as volunteerism in this big segment of important factor for Ooredoo. It is worth for his involvement in drugs and thefts, according to Kuwaiti society, which represents the future mentioning that Ooredoo is the first in Kuwait investigations. of Kuwait. Volunteers are able to register by to help volunteers obtain international-stan- visiting www.ooredoo.com.kw/en/Media- dard certification. 40 tons of steel disappears Forty tons of steel disappeared from a construc- 32% workers low-qualified tion site at an open area in Subbiya. The manager of a construction project approached Jahra police KUWAIT: Thirty-two percent of the total station officers as soon as he discovered the theft, Kuwaiti workforce holds low-level educa- Communications a security source said. Detectives are investigating. tion qualifications, said government sources. The number of those holding low authority Man loses bag level qualifications in the national work KUWAIT: Chairman of the Board and CEO of A company manager lost his bag inside a govern- force has risen to 31.8 percent, especially in Communications and Information ment department in Jahra, along with 20 passports, KD the private and military sectors, the sources Technology Public Authority (CITPA) Eng 1,200 cash and KD 450 worth of stamps. The man told added. “While education is compulsory in Salem Al-Othaina said the executive rules of Jahra police that the bag was right next to him, but dis- the country, some government and military the communications authority was sent to covered when he reached for it that it was missing. sectors is still accepting low education level the Cabinet and is only awaiting approval. Police are investigating. holders since the constitution guarantees a Othaina added that the Communications job for every citizen,” the sources explained. and Information Technology Public Authority sent the regulations to the According to official statistics, the total Cabinet within the legal period, which is six High school student beats guard number of the Kuwaiti workforce is A secondary school student vented his anger at months after the issuance of the authority’s 396,410; 125,916 of which or 32 percent his school’s guard in Fahaheel, said sources. The establishment law. In regards to transferring suffered bruises and grazes as a result of the hold low-level certificates. They work in the the authorities of some departments to CIT- attack. Investigations are underway. government, private and also military sec- PA, Othaina said the law gives the authority tors. The number of low education qualifi- six additional months after approving the cations in the government is relatively low, rules to transfer authorities, most important Home robbery yet the 31.8 percentage increase came of which are new licenses for communica- An Egyptian man discovered that his flat was broken from employees in the private and military tions, frequencies and radio frequencies into and KD 1,160 were stolen, said sources. Nugra sectors, the sources said. —Qabas spectrum. —Al-Anbaa police are investigating the case. — Al-Anbaa and Al-Rai WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 LOCAL

Al-Qabas Al-Qabas Let women celebrate Iran’s unnecessary, their right fiery statements

By Dr Mohammad Al-Abdeljader By Khalid Al-Tarrah

en years have elapsed since granting the rom the heart of destruction capital, woman her political rights, which was the Damascus, Chairman of National Security Tcrowning of demands by enlightened Kuwaitis. Fand Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Shura Those demands were growing step by step, starting Council Alaeddin Boroujerdi launched a scathing with education, then work, then some practices attack against the custodian of the Two Holy banned in neighboring countries such as driving cars Mosques King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud, saying or even travelling with her children. Demands of in a statement published recently that: “We are political rights, and the basis for getting these rights facing a new and very complicated situation that was a step to enter the decision making place in the does not indicate anything good in the arrange- ministry, as well as the National Assembly for legisla- ment of Gulf relations with Iran, particularly the tion and dealing with the woman as a citizen. Saudi-Iranian relations that is supposed to be Ten years ago, this dream became a reality for women and to those who called for supporting her based on neighborly respect of each countries’ political rights, despite the fierce resistance from sovereignty and its international laws.” some religious factions and conservatives. Those The Iranian statement went beyond diplomatic groups led campaigns to stop the government from traditions and boundaries of criticism, so it is pre- ferred not to go into details of what was said. The press statement insulted Islam and Muslims, and The road is still long to directly insulted the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, during a amend legislations time when Iran is supposed to express good intentions while talks between US President that are unjust to Barack Obama and Gulf leaders were taking place. women, especially There is no doubt also about what the Iranian news agency reported about what Imam those married ones to Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad said recently during Friday prayers, as he used unacceptable descrip- non-Kuwaitis tions of Saudi Arabia that only sparks complica- tions in terms of security and peace for the entire region. backing such a move and scared it of things that For sure, the efforts and interests of the custo- time proved do not exist, most important of which is dian of the Two Holy Mosques in maintaining Gulf societal fear and unjustified panic, and giving the impression that this will ‘westernize’ the society and security and achieving a political and military bal- may spread immorality. ance in general, in addition to achieving peace in Creative director Amer Al-Zuhair documented Yemen through Operation Decisive Storm to this argument in a realistic movie in which he objec- restore hope, plus deciding what to do with the tively reflected the political campaigns and support- bloody developments in Syria and other coun- ing and opposing opinions to those rights. Today as tries, will not be affected by such Iranian state- we review the tape of history, we confirm the cor- ments and will not change the Saudi policy rectness of giving the woman her rights, because the towards Muslim and Arab causes. woman, during the last ten years, made serious steps The Iranian stand and threats being made by in becoming ministers and members of popular Tehran every now and then are not personally establishments such as the Assembly and municipal directed against the custodian of the Two Holy council. Some legislations were amended that were Mosques; rather it is a hostile stand against the never to be amended if it was not for the electoral GCC countries and their leaders. This stand should and political weight of the women. be faced decisively and with a unified stand by The road is still long to amend legislations that GCC countries, started by an immediate diplomat- are unjust to women, especially those married ones ic move by the GCC secretary general. to non-Kuwaitis and their children, and allowing the It is possible that the Gulf stand, and the Saudi woman to get into some establishments such as the one in particular, given during the Camp David judiciary and prosecution. Believing in these rights summit made some officials in Tehran lose their needs serious work by the woman herself, who temper - thus the random accusations. But this is should organize her campaigns and back her real supporters, because as much as some men put her not something new! down, some of them put us down when they took Is it Iran’s right to condemn those who criticize over the decision making post. This is the way life is - its policies and stands against religious scholars, it moves like a fast river - the beneficial water while it initiates mayhem against Gulf countries; remains, but the foam goes away. the latest of which against Saudi Arabia and — Translated by Kuwait Times Bahrain? — Translated by Kuwait Times India heatwave leaves 800 dead

Page 11

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

SLOVAKIA: A Roma family stands outside their hut in a settlement near Kralovsky Chlmec, Slovakia. Each year, dozens of women from the poorer corners of eastern Europe are lured to travel to western Europe for sham marriages with men who pay large sums because they want to live, work or claim benefits more easily in their chosen country and move freely within Europe. — AP (See Page 9) Saudi executes 88th person this year Kingdom surpasses the total for all of 2014 executions RIYADH: Saudi Arabia yesterday carried out Yemenis, 10 Pakistanis, Syrians, Jordanians, out in public, mostly by chopping off the Adubisi, the group’s director said that eco- its 88th execution so far this year, surpass- and individuals from Myanmar, the condemned person’s head with a sword. nomic factors could be leading to a rise in ing the total for all of 2014 despite activists’ Philippines, India, Chad, Eritrea and Sudan. A surge in executions began towards the drug crimes. Many are turning to the illegal concerns that trials are not conducted fairly. Saudi Arabia ranked among the world’s top end of the reign of King Abdullah, who died business “because they are poor,” he said. The interior ministry identified the latest to five executioners in 2014, according to on January 23, but accelerated this year Drug and murder convictions account for be put to death as Saudi nationals Awad Al- Amnesty. Under the kingdom’s strict version under his successor King Salman, in what the bulk of executions in Saudi Arabia. But Rowaili and Lafi Al-Shammary, who were of Islamic sharia law, drug trafficking, rape, Amnesty International has called an according to London-based Amnesty, only convicted of smuggling amphetamines. murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all unprecedented “macabre spike”. Activists crimes of “intentional killings” meet the They were executed in the northern region punishable by death. Executions are carried are unable to explain specific reasons for threshold for use of the death penalty of Jawf, the ministry said in statements car- the surge and officials have not comment- under international human rights stan- ried by the official Saudi Press Agency. ed. One activist said the death penalty is dards. It said court proceedings in the king- Another Saudi, Mohammed Al-Shihri, was only carried out with the king’s final dom “fall far short” of global norms of fair- separately put to death in the southwestern approval. “So if the king is strict he will sign ness. region of Asir for murder. The conservative this paper,” said the activist, asking for “Trials in death penalty cases are often Islamic kingdom executed 87 people in anonymity. Salman has adopted a more held in secret. Defendants are rarely 2014, according to an AFP tally. Those assertive foreign policy and in April promot- allowed formal representation by lawyers” beheaded this year include Siti Zainab, an ed his powerful Interior Minister and may be convicted solely on the basis of Indonesian domestic worker convicted of Mohammed bin Nayef to be crown prince ‘confessions’, Amnesty said in a report. With murder despite concerns about her mental and heir to the throne. the number of beheadings soaring, the civil health, according to the Indonesian news- service this month advertised for eight new paper Kompas. This image taken from a militant website ‘Secret’ trials “executors of retribution”. In a country Jakarta summoned Riyadh’s ambassador associated with Islamic State extremists, The Berlin-based European Saudi where government officials are not known over her case, a rare diplomatic incident purports to show a suicide bomber iden- Organization for Human Rights said in a for their openness, all executions are publi- linked to Saudi Arabia’s executions, around tified as a Saudi citizen with the name report that the death penalty in the king- cized by the official press agency, and the half of which involve foreigners. Also Abu Amer Al-Najdi who carried out an dom is “often applied to powerless individu- interior ministry has cited deterrence as a among this year’s dead are at least eight attack on a Shiite mosque. — AP als with no government connection”. Ali reason for the punishment.— AFP INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Erdogan’s ambition heralds turbulence after Turks vote Ruling party’s parliament majority may weaken

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s general election looks likely to presidential system,” said Sinan Ulgen, head of the himself. He has thought there were serious problems push Tayyip Erdogan’s dream of an all-powerful presi- Istanbul-based EDAM think-tank and a visiting schol- with the parliamentary system since he started in pol- dency further from his reach, and usher in a period of ar with Carnegie Europe. “What empowers him is the itics, and he wants to find a solution,” the source said. turbulence as its most divisive modern leader jockeys existence of that prospect. Once that is no longer “He doesn’t view it as a step against Davutoglu.” to maintain his dominance. Barred by the constitu- realistic, the balance of power will start to turn against Erdogan’s rhetoric and common touch nonetheless tion from party politics as head of state, Erdogan has him.” give him the upper hand with the party grass roots, nonetheless campaigned across Turkey before the where he commands the sort of devotion that June 7 parliamentary vote in a sign of how much he Internal divisions Davutoglu, a more reserved academic, has yet to BAGHDAD: Iraqi Sunni fighters battling Islamic State (IS) group jihadists alongside has riding on the outcome. Erdogan is a political fighter hardened by a child- achieve. Some supporters at Erdogan rallies have government forces fire their weapons on the outskirts of Iraq’s Baiji oil refinery, “You will not take me away from these stages, you hood in Istanbul’s rough Kasimpasa district and a worn death shrouds to symbolise their willingness to about 200 kilometers north of Baghdad, on May 25, 2015. — AFP will not silence me,” he told a rally in the central city of champion of Turkey’s religious working classes. As die for him. In a video that went viral on social media, Kirikkale this month, explaining why the presidency such, he is unlikely to sit back and watch influence one said he liked Erdogan so much he wanted to bite should get greater powers. Constitutionally, most slip from his hands. In the past two years alone, he and lick him. “He’s a lion. My baby,” the man said. Litany of problems keep authority has lain with the Turkish prime minister, an has seen off mass protests and a corruption scandal, office Erdogan held from 2003 to 2014. But since either of which might have brought a lesser politician Over-confidence, paranoia the Iraqi military weak becoming head of state last year, he has pushed hard down. He bounced back to win the presidency last Erdogan bristles at accusations of authoritarian- for an executive presidency akin to the United States August with 52 percent of the vote. The AKP is put- ism and was once seen in the West as a model Muslim BAGHDAD: Iraq’s leadership was indignant only nominally under the prime minister’s con- or France. ting on a united face for the election next month, but democrat. As prime minister he established civilian after US accusations that its forces lack the will trol. “We are fighting to protect our land from However, the AK Party which he founded looks his intrusion in what should be the prime minister’s dominance over a military that had forced out to fight but assessments of the army’s ability Daesh (IS), while most soldiers and officers unlikely to win two thirds of the seats in parliament, responsibilities - Erdogan has chaired several cabinet Turkey’s first Islamist-led government in 1997 and suggest the rank-and-file have reasons to shy work for the salaries,” said Fadhily. Yet corrup- the majority needed to change the constitution with- meetings and gets involved in detailed government had staged three outright coups in the second half of from battle. Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said tion is still rampant in the security forces out putting the plan to a referendum. A referendum is affairs - is already creating tensions. the 20th century. He also oversaw Turkey’s opening Sunday, a week after the loss of Ramadi to the despite recent government measures, and low also beset by problems. The Kurdish opposition, once “Erdogan is the leader of this movement. Those in up to new trade markets and reforms aimed at closer Islamic State group, that there was “an issue oil prices and the high cost of war are empty- seen as a possible ally on a new constitution if it also the AK Party know this very well ... But bit by bit, some integration with the European Union, as well as a with the will of the Iraqis to fight”. The fall of ing Iraq’s coffers fast. That means some fighters boosted Kurdish rights, has come out against a have started to feel uncomfortable about his persist- peace process with Kurdish militants. But Turkey’s the capital of Iraq’s largest province to the in the security forces have not been paid for stronger presidency. Erdogan’s polarizing style of ence on the executive presidency,” said one senior democratic credentials have suffered as he tightened jihadists saw a chaotic retreat of security forces months while some corrupt top officers get leadership, which alienates those Turks who are suspi- source close to the party. “There are people who are his grip. Court cases have been opened against those and dealt Baghdad its worst blow in almost a rich, policemen and soldiers say. cious of his conservative Islamic ideals, means he is open to the president’s directions, but not his close- accused of insulting Erdogan, including a 16-year old year. Iraq is still paying the price of the de- unlikely to persuade the secularist opposition CHP or ness to the everyday flow.” A number of senior AKP high school student, and Twitter and Facebook have Carter’s words were criticized in Iraq as Baathification campaign that followed the US- the nationalist MHP to back his plans in a popular figures, barred from standing for re-election in parlia- periodically been blocked. insulting and divisive and US Vice President Joe led toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, with vote. ment under the party’s three-term limit, are expected Thousands of police officers and prosecutors Biden later had to call Prime Minister Haider Al- many of the former Sunni regime’s best-trained The election has therefore taken on almost exis- to assume roles as presidential advisers in Erdogan’s were reassigned after the 2013 corruption scandal Abadi to acknowledge “the enormous sacrifice military commanders defecting to the jihadists. tential importance for Erdogan, who has tightened vast new palace complex. Some officials are already involving his inner circle. Erdogan blamed the “par- and bravery oRf Iraqi forces over the past 18 The US-led coalition fighting IS sent thousands his grip on the judiciary, police and media in recent privately calling it a “shadow cabinet” and fear a strug- allel state”, a term he uses for the network of U.S.- months”. The problem is not whether Iraqi of military advisers and trainers to Iraq last year. years. Should the AKP’s majority weaken, the after- gle for influence with Prime Minister Ahmet based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally who security forces are valiant enough but just But transforming what was still recently derid- math will be marked by his struggle to keep control. Davutoglu’s team. Erdogan says unlawfully exerts control over follow- about everything else, analysts said. “The Iraqi ed as a million-strong “checkpoint army” into a “Erdogan is aware that every passing day his power is A source in Erdogan’s office played down that risk. ers within institutions including the police and forces that left Ramadi this weekend did so lean, efficient and professional military cannot being eroded, that’s why he is pushing so hard for the “This is not personal and not something he wants for judiciary. — Reuters under great pressure and only as a last resort,” be achieved overnight, or even in months, ana- said the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy lysts say. The much-vaunted US-trained Golden in a recent brief. “It is not bravery the forces Division has stood out since IS seized swathes Burglars share tips of trade in a crime prevention video lacked but weapons and leadership and rapid of the country. It successfully spearheaded the logistics,” it said. fightback on several fronts but it has been COLUMBUS: Police looking to educate the public valuables in a wall safe, not a small portable safe: think it adds some validity to it.” overused and, according to several reports, it about ways to prevent break-ins turned to the “Little safes? You can easily just grab that and take Criminals-turned-anti-crime consultants aren’t Faith vs money retreated just the like the rest in Ramadi. experts - a trio of convicted burglars. The it on out,” he said. Or Adam Taylor, of Hamilton new. In 1985, reformed burglar Ray Johnson pub- Ahmed Al-Fadhily wanted to fight IS when Columbus Police Department recruited the County, on why the elderly are often targeted: It’s lished “Ray Johnson’s Total Security: How You can it captured swathes of Iraq last year and Weak regime, weak army inmates with the help of the state prisons agency easier “to burglarize them and get away with it.” Protect Yourself Against Crime.” In 2002, the imposed a reign of terror. But to do so, he quit IS’s hyper-aggressive tactics-including the and produced a YouTube video in which the Columbus police and the Department of Leonardo DiCaprio movie “Catch Me If You Can” the army and joined a Shiite militia. “When I use of terrifying, armored suicide truck offenders share their how-to tips. Most of the sug- Rehabilitation and Correction filmed the inmates told the real-life story of check forger Frank was in the military, we never got ammunition bombs-have played no small part in the Iraqi gestions are common-sense warnings about lock- last year, put the pieces together over the past few Abagnale Jr., who impersonated an airline pilot, a when we asked for it. Sometimes we would be army’s modest showing. Ahmed Ali, an ana- ing up, keeping blinds drawn and not storing valu- months and recently posted the two-part, 24- doctor and a lawyer before going to prison and marooned on a base with no supplies,” he said. lyst with the Education for Peace in Iraq ables in cars. minute video, called “From the Big House to Your then becoming an FBI consultant. In the case of the “We knew nobody would make any sacrifice to Centre, argued that Carter’s remarks were A few recommendations stand out for originali- House.” Police Cmdr Bob Meader likens the impact three Ohio burglars, they agreed to cooperate in rescue us. It’s different in the Hashed Al- inopportune but admitted that the list of ty: “Sometimes set it off so people know it’s there. to a child tuning out advice from a parent but exchange for a letter to the parole board from Shaabi... The fighters have faith,” said Fadhily, woes afflicting the army was long. “These Don’t just buy it and never set it off.” That’s William heeding the same tips from a teacher or coach. “For Columbus police about their participation. who now fights for Ketaeb Hezbollah. issues include logistics challenges, poor com- Coffman, of Franklin County, serving time for bur- the police to say, ‘Lock your doors, keep your The exercise seemed to help the men process The Hashed Al-Shaabi (‘popular mobiliza- mand and control, lack of unit coordination, glary and aggravated robbery, on advertising that garage door shut, leave the lights on your porch,’ is the impact they had on their communities, said tion’ in Arabic) is an umbrella for many Iran- intelligence deficit, and difficulty securing your home alarm system works. Or Hardin County one thing,” Meader said. “When you’re hearing it Officer Norm Russell, who came up with the backed Shiite militias and volunteers which is supply lines,” he said. — AFP burglar Joel Hamlin on the importance of putting from somebody that actually did it for a living? I idea. — AP INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Brides for sale! - Europeans lured for sham marriages Latest crime seen as an ‘emerging phenomenon’

LONDON: Klara Balogova was 18, penniless and heavily legal reasons, was regarded as a more “significant com- What happens to the women after the marriages is not pregnant when she rode thousands of miles from Slovakia modity” because she came pregnant, according to clear. Some find their way to shelters. Others are cut loose to England to marry a man she had never met. She knew Rochdale detective inspector James Faulkner. But once the when the men get the residency rights they wanted. Many he did not want her, or her child. He wanted her European husband had his legal documents, a woman posing as the of the women are also more vulnerable because they may identity card. The marriage was arranged so the 23-year- victim’s sister took her to the hospital for an abortion. have troubled lives or little mental capacity. Only a handful old Pakistani groom could gain the right to live and work in The victim, who had a learning disability and spoke no of such cases have led to convictions, because they cross Europe. Balogova was promised a clean place to stay in English, did not realize what was going on until an inter- country borders and the women are often scared or unable Britain and maybe even some money. But she says within preter spoke to her. “She thought she was going for help as to testify. Also, to the frustration of social workers, some are days of arrival, she was moved from Manchester to she had abdominal pains,” Faulkner said. “She was so poor that they would rather be exploited abroad than Glasgow in Scotland, where she was kept in an apartment absolutely appalled.” Sometimes the women are lured with stay at home. Balogova, now 22, was to get married after with her future husband. promises not of money or jobs, but of love. In one case, a she gave birth in Britain. But hospital authorities grew sus- When he wasn’t around, his younger brother would Lithuanian woman met a Pakistani man in Britain after he picious about the identity of the child’s father. stand over her, and her identity documents were taken wooed her for months on Facebook, according to social They also discovered that she had no idea how to away. “He didn’t let me out at any time. He told me it was worker Kristina Misniene. The man claimed persecution in find her way to her supposed home, just a few blocks not possible to go out there,” said Balogova, a shy, petite his home country, and even told the woman he loved her. away. In the end, the groom was deported before the Gypsy woman who spoke reluctantly, never making any wedding. Balogova, who was never paid, stayed at a eye contact when she was interviewed. “Once a week we ‘Uncle’ of the groom Klara Balogova is silhouetted against a window at a shelter and returned to Slovakia two years ago with the went out together. I was never allowed to go alone.” Each Then he snatched away her passport, so she felt she had Roma settlement near Kralovsky Chlmec, Slovakia. help of social workers. Her baby, a girl called Aisa, was year, dozens of women like Balogova from the poorer cor- no option but to marry him. She didn’t have the money for Balogova was 18, penniless and pregnant when she put in social care in Britain, where she remains, ners of eastern Europe are lured to the West for sham mar- a return ticket, and she was raped twice by an “uncle” of the rode thousands of miles from Slovakia to England to because officials believed she would be unable to take riages. groom, Misniene said. Another woman from Latvia went to marry a man she had never met. — AP care of her child. Yet Balogova admitted that she would Britain because her boyfriend wanted to sell her off as a be willing to take her chances in Britain again. “I didn’t Organized criminal gangs bogus bride to offset his gambling debts, according to Gita room, and her captors cut her arms with scissors. “It lasted want to come back,” she said flatly. “It was a hundred The men, who authorities say are often Asian or African, Miruskina, a lawyer with the Latvian non-profit Shelter Safe for 10 days and that’s when she agreed she would marry,” times better for me in England.” Janicek reported from pay large sums because they want to live, work or claim House. When she changed her mind, she was locked in a Miruskina said. “She was under 20 years old.” Slovakia. — AP benefits more easily in their chosen country and move freely within Europe. The brokers, often organized criminal gangs, take most or all of the profits. And the women sometimes end up trapped in a foreign country with noth- ing. This relatively new form of trafficking comes at a time when Britain continues to tighten its borders, and politi- cians across western Europe are clamoring for tougher curbs to immigration. Illicit marriages to get around these laws are becoming more common, including direct arrangements between grooms and women as well as the sale of brides. In Britain, one of several countries where the brides show up, the number of women suspected of being traf- ficked for sham marriages in 2013 doubled from the year before to 45, according to the National Crime Agency. And Europol last year identified this type of crime as an “emerg- ing phenomenon.” Most brides get paid-for trips to Britain, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, and some don’t ful- ly realize what they’ve gotten themselves into until they arrive. Women have been held captive until their marriage papers are signed, abused by their “husband” and his friends, used for sex and drug trafficking or even made to marry more than once, according to European authorities and charities. “Depending on the case, a woman can be sold for thousands of euros,” said Angelika Molnar, an anti- trafficking specialist at Europol. “I can tell you it is lucrative.” In Latvia, trafficking for sham marriages is considered so serious that the government is leading a European Commission-funded international program to combat it. Of the 34 trafficking victims lured abroad from the Baltic state recorded last year, 22 were for sham marriages, according to Laisma Stabina, anti-trafficking coordinator at the coun- try’s Interior Ministry. The numbers are still tiny compared to the thousands of cases of fake marriages reported each year to Britain’s Home Office, where brides agree to wed for money and are considered accomplices. But officials acknowledge that the trafficking of brides is hard to track. “I think the problem is much bigger than we realize, because we only see a small percentage of the offenses being committed,” said Phil Brewer, head of Scotland Yard’s trafficking and kidnap unit. “There is still not a big under- standing of the signs.”

Destitute Roma, or Gypsy To understand why the women do it, you need only go to Balogova’s village. Balogova, like most women trafficked from Slovakia, comes from a destitute Roma, or Gypsy, set- tlement. It lies on Slovakia’s border with Ukraine and Hungary, and is home to about 250 Gypsies, Europe’s poor- est minority group. Most of the tin huts have no plumbing, the lanes are muddy, the houses are grimy, and the water from a rusty well is contaminated. Nicholas Ogu, a social worker, says he knows of several others from Balogova’s vil- lage who were married in Britain. The trade, as he called it, is controlled by a Gypsy gang that recruits the jobless and poorly educated with offers of good earnings abroad. The women become bogus brides or go into prostitution, while the men typically end up in forced labor. “They lure them, sometimes offer them a flight ticket, sometimes they go by bus or car,” said Ogu. “They arrange the wedding ... when the men got what they need, they get rid of them.” The perpetrators are groups of Slovak or Czech nationals who live in Britain, while their crime partners do the recruiting back home, according to Miroslav Wlachovsky, Slovakia’s ambassador to London.

Pregnancy - a bonus Scotland is a particularly popular destination, he said, likely because its laws allow marriage without parental consent at 16, compared to 18 in the rest of the UK “The scheme is almost always the same,” he said. “They tell them they can work here, in restaurants and so on . It’s always promises of a better life, or promises of big and fast mon- ey.” Pregnancy is considered a bonus that boosts a groom’s chances to stay. In November, police said they uncovered a trafficking ring where a 38-year-old Pakistani groom had paid up to 15,000 pounds (US$22,000) to a gang for a 20- year-old pregnant Slovakian woman. The woman believed she was going to visit her sister, but was met by a man at Luton airport and taken to an apartment instead. She married her “groom” in July, in a ceremony presided over by a self-proclaimed imam in a house in Rochdale, a town near Manchester, police said. The woman, who is also Gypsy but cannot be named for INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Austria convicts 14-year-old on ‘terror’ charges News In brief SANKT-POELTEN: A 14-year-old Austrian schoolboy was convicted yesterday of plan- 9 dead, one decapitated ning to bomb a Vienna train station in the in Brazil prison mutiny name of the Islamic State group and sen- RIO DE JANEIRO: Nine people died, one of them decapi- tenced to eight months behind bars. The tated, in a prison mutiny in Brazil which ended Monday teenager of Turkish origin was found guilty with the release of 70 hostages, police said. “After 18 hours of belonging to a “terrorist” organization of negotiations, the mutiny has ended,” a police spokesman and given an additional suspended jail sen- said from the facility at Feira de Santana, 100 kilometers tence of 16 months by a court in his home- from the northeastern city of Salvador de Bahia. Police said town of Sankt-Poelten. According to the prisoners killed eight fellow inmates after the mutiny charge sheet, the teenager, who emigrated began late Sunday afternoon during family visits to the from Turkey in 2007, wanted to carry out facility. A ninth died Monday of his injuries. Prisoners the attack before travelling to join “holy armed with knives took visitors, including women and chil- war” in Syria alongside the Islamic State (IS) dren, hostage and demanded to speak to local human group. rights commission officials about conditions. Jail director Police had said at the time of his arrest Cleriston Leite told Globo’s G1 web portal the mutiny in October 2014 that the boy made “con- resulted from “a dispute between rival factions” at the peni- crete enquiries about buying ingredients” tentiary. Local prison authorities say the jail in Bahia for a bomb and “planned to explode the region’s second largest town currently houses 1,467 prison- devices in public places, such as the Vienna ers, more than double its official capacity of 644 places. Westbahnhof,” a major train station. His One of its 13 wings is for women. lawyer Rudolf Mayer said his client-who he said grew up “without a father” and who turns 15 in the coming days-had only been Herdsmen kill at least “playing with the idea” of making a bomb. 96 in Nigeria’s Benue Placed in a special school for troubled chil- JOS: At least 96 people were killed in Benue state in dren where “prospects for professional Nigeria’s middle belt region when several villages were development are almost inexistent”, the attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen, a state police boy had “looked for recognition, to belong spokesman and an army source said yesterday. to something,” Mayer told the court. ST POELTEN: 15-year-old Austrian schoolboy (2nd left) with alleged ties to Islamist extremists accused of having intended to Hundreds are killed each year in clashes pitting the “Imagine the power of propaganda that launch a bomb attack in Vienna attends a trial yesterday in St Poelten, Austria. —AFP semi-nomadic, cattle-herding Fulani people against says to young people who feel they are liv- more settled communities that practice a mix of farm- ing an empty existence: ‘You can do some- name the boy because of his age. He has ly in Vienna yesterday, but was acquitted tried again to leave, saving up 300 euros ing and cattle rearing, driven by disputes centered thing good, and get money and women’,” been in custody since January after break- on charges of belonging to a “terrorist” for a bus ticket to Istanbul, but was arrest- around land use. A senior military officer said fighting he said. It was his own family who alerted ing the terms of his bail. Because of his organization. The girl, wearing an Islamic ed the day before her intended departure. around five villages lasted several days in the Logo authorities to his growing radicalization. young age he had faced up to five years dress, told the court that she converted to She told the court that she believes her local government area of Benue. Police spokesman Police found violent images and IS propa- behind bars. In common with other Islam in 2014 because it was “for me the husband has been killed fighting in Syria. Austine Ezeani said a mobile police unit was deployed ganda on the teen’s computer, mobile European countries, Austria has seen a most beautiful religion” and because in “When you love each other then you want to the area. The unrest is often seen as sectarian in phone and games console. The public steady flow of people leaving or attempt- Christianity “children get raped”, the Austria to be with your husband. I imagined I nature since Fulanis are Muslim and the communities prosecutor told the court that the defen- ing to leave the country in order to join IS. Press Agency reported. Last year she got to could live as a housewife,” she said, doing with which they are in conflict in central Nigeria - dant expressed “no feelings of guilt”. The According to the Austrian interior ministry, know on the Internet Jusip D, an 18-year- “cooking and cleaning”. “In Austria I get where the country’s mostly Christian south and Muslim baby-faced teenager appeared in court in more than 200 have done so, including old of Chechen origin who wanted to join insulted and spat at when I go out veiled,” north meet - tend to be Christian. Nigerian troops a grey hooded top. He listened in silence some women and minors. IS. The two got married under Islamic law she said. The killing of non-Muslims is “not fought militiamen in early May after dozens were killed to opening comments from the prosecu- and the next day he left for Syria. good at all. But it is an Islamic state and in villages on the border of middle belt states Plateau tion and his attorney before media were ‘Children get raped’ She wanted to follow him but her they are brothers in Islam”. She said she and Taraba. ejected. One of those who wanted to go was a mother prevented her from leaving and plans to move to an Islamic country “when The authorities asked the media not to 16-year-old girl who went on trial separate- took away her passport. In February she I am an adult”.—AFP Iran FM discusses Yemen conflict in neutral Oman TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign minister held talks in neutral Oman Frontline Nigeria yesterday about ending the conflict in Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is waging a bombing campaign against troops hope for better Tehran-backed rebels, Iranian media reported. Oman, deal under Buhari which maintains good relations with Iran, is the only one of the six Gulf Arab states that has not joined the coalition air LAGOS: After Nigeria’s military liberated most northeast war in its western neighbor. “We discussed ways to send towns from Boko Haram control, writer and historian Ed humanitarian aid, establish a ceasefire and start dialogues Keazor decided to visit troops on the frontline. The objec- between the Yemeni groups,” Foreign Minister Mohammad tive, he said, was to collect testimonials-unfiltered by mili- Javad Zarif told Iranian state television from Muscat. “We tary spokesmen-from soldiers who had battled the Islamist are concerned about the continuing air raids against the gunmen face-to-face for years. Travelling in April by bus, population in Yemen and irreversible damage to this coun- taxi and finally on foot, he reached Konduga in Borno state try,” he added. “Iran and Oman want peace, security and and spent hours with a battalion that had successfully stability in the region and have the same position on these defended the town against about a dozen takeover issues.” Iran has repeatedly denied providing support to the attempts by Boko Haram. Shiite rebels and their allies as they overran much of “These guys were desperate. They were really, really Yemen earlier this year. It has called for an end to the angry. They said, ‘We have been fighting for two years, with bombing campaign that the Saudi-led coalition launched no leave’,” said Keazor, who videoed parts of his trip on his in support of exiled president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on mobile phone. Troops told Keazor that before the presiden- March 26 and the opening of a political dialogue. tial election on March 28, they called relatives to say incumbent Goodluck Jonathan had proved a failure as commander-in-chief. “They said they were calling their Colombian army kills families and telling them, ‘Don’t vote for Jonathan, because 5 FARC rebels in strike if Jonathan doesn’t go, we will continue to suffer’,” the BOGOTA: The Colombian military killed at least five Nigerian historian said. They voiced hope that as a former FARC guerrillas in the northwest of the country army general, Jonathan’s main challenger Muhammadu Monday, part of a new offensive that has challenged Buhari would better understand the plight of rank-and-file ongoing peace talks with the rebel group. A bombing troops. in the remote Choco department killed the fighters, military sources told AFP, but they were unable to pro- ‘A military man’ vide more details about the attack. The government Buhari, who defeated Jonathan and will be sworn in on has intensified military operations against the Friday, has vowed to demolish Boko Haram, which has MOGADISHU: In this file photo, hundreds of newly trained Al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in killed more than 15,000 and kidnapped thousands more in Lafofe area some 18km south of Mogadishu in Somalia. —AP recent days even as bilateral peace talks continue in a brutal uprising since 2009. Enhanced cooperation with Havana. So far some 40 rebels have been killed in neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger delivered success renewed bombings after President Juan Manuel in an operation launched in February, and must be contin- ued, experts said. Closer ties with the West and improve- Somali militants attack Santos’ ended a government suspension of airstrikes in ments to desperate living conditions of potential Boko April following a rebel attack that killed 11 soldiers. The Haram recruits in the northeast are also seen as key to an FARC suspended its unilateral ceasefire policy Friday effective counter-insurgency strategy. But restoring the Kenyan police stations and briefly broke off the scheduled talks after a strike morale and prestige of the Nigerian military is just as vital, last week killed 26 rebels. FARC leader Pablo with Buhari expected to make significant changes among Catatumbo condemned the strikes as a “step backward” the top brass. Al Shabaab claims 25 officers dead, police deny as the Marxist group resumed talks in Cuba with the “Nigeria proved for a very long time that it had a very Colombian government Monday. effective and very strong army but a lot has been lost due NAIROBI: Islamist militants from pressure on the Nairobi government, tions spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu to corruption, especially over the last five to six years,” said Somalia attacked two police patrols in which has promised to carry on with Musab, said. Yan St-Pierre, who heads the Berlin-based Modern Security neighboring Kenya yesterday, trigger- its Somali mission, and devastated Somali and African troops have Consulting Group. “The corruption became organic and it ing a gun battle in a rural area hit by a Kenya’s tourism industry, one of its pushed al Shabaab out of Somalia’s spread.” Nigeria previously sent troops to other African string of cross-border raids, both sides main sources of foreign income. main cities in recent years. But yester- hotspots, notably civil war-wracked Liberia in 2003, where said. Somalia’s Al Shabaab fighters Police said one officer had died day’s attacks underlined militants’ con- the country played a widely-praised role as peacekeepers. said they had killed 25 Kenyan offi- from his wounds after the attacks in tinuing ability to strike Kenya’s frontier But as Boko Haram ran riot through the latter half of 2014, cers, an account contradicted by the the Fafi and Yumbis areas, one was regions. Last week, Al Shabaab Nigeria experts expressed surprise at the apparent collapse police force that said one of its men critically wounded and three others attacked Yumbis and hoisted its flag of a force that had been regarded as the strongest in West had died and four had been wound- suffered minor injuries. “A contingent on a mosque where fighters held Africa. ed. The Al-Qaeda-linked militants said of officers responded for reinforce- prayers before heading to another Jonathan and independent observers have said the they ambushed the police about 70 ment and on arrival at the scene, nearby village. Al Shabaab has killed influx of new weapons has been crucial to the gains made km north of Garissa, a town where the engaged the attackers in a heavy fire- more then 400 people on Kenyan soil over the last three to six months. But for St-Pierre, “it is not Islamists raided a university and killed fight,” Inspector General Joseph since Kenya’s President Uhuru necessarily about weapons”. “It has always been about the 148 people in April. Boinnet said in a statement. Kenyan Kenyatta came to power in April 2013. quality and effectiveness of the Nigerian army itself,” he Al Shabaab militants, fighting to media had earlier reported that as Kenyan anti-terrorism forces arrested a said. Buhari was a career soldier before taking power in a overthrow a Western-backed govern- many as 20 officers could have been “wanted terror suspect” in possession military coup in December 1983. He was overthrown in ment in Somalia, have launched sev- killed, and Al Shabaab said 25 died. of a Russian-made hand grenade, August 1985. Asked during the election campaign about eral attacks inside Kenya, trying to “We took all their weapons. There bomb detonator and plastic explo- his Boko Haram strategy, Buhari repeatedly said the first force it to pull troops from a African were some Kenyan forces that sives in the port city of Mombasa on step was ensuring funds allocated for defense were actual- peacekeeping force in their home- escaped in the course of the ambush Tuesday, county police commander ADANA: Female candidate from Turkey’s main opposi- ly spent on the military and not funneled to the pockets of land. The assaults have piled political fighting,” al Shabaab’s military opera- Robert Kitur said.—Reuters tion party Elif Dogan Turkmen (center) is carried by politicians and senior officers. “Hopefully Buhari, as a for- emergency services personnel after being wounded in mer great military man, can restore the military’s prestige,” a gun attack yesterday. —AFP St-Pierre said. Australian mother abandons Expected deficiencies? Turkish oppn candidate Frontline troops have typically been reluctant to pub- wounded in gun attack licly criticize either Jonathan or security chiefs, given the children to join Islamic State ISTANBUL: A female candidate from Turkey’s main opposi- possible consequences. Asked about systemic problems in tion party running in next month’s parliamentary election SYDNEY: A Sydney mother has aban- dren. My son was saying in the days New South Wales state police con- was wounded in a gun attack yesterday, as concerns grow the battle against Boko Haram, one soldier deployed in doned her two children and fled to Syria afterwards that he hoped ‘my mum is firmed its counter-terrorism unit was northeast Adamawa state said this month: “There is no over the levels of violence ahead of the poll. Elif Dogan for a new life under the Islamic State OK’,” said the husband, who was not investigating. “As the matter is a current Turkmen, standing for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) organization that doesn’t have its deficiencies.” But Keazor group, media reported yesterday, named. investigation by NSW Police attached to said after earning the trust of troops in Konduga he was in the southern province of Adana, was on her way to a becoming one of more than 100 “Before she (went) I talked to her the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, it is breakfast gathering with businessmen in Cukurova district struck by their outpouring of resentment. Australians who have joined the (about her extreme Facebook posts). I not appropriate to comment further,” a They were told the presidency had approved a salary of when she was shot three times, provincial governor jihadists. The Australian government said this is extreme, stupid. I was warn- spokeswoman said. Michael Keenan, Mustafa Buyuk said. “She was shot in the knees, but her 100,000 naira ($500, 458 euros) a month for junior soldiers said it was deeply disturbed by the ing her about who she hangs out with.” appointed this week as Australia’s new but they had only been receiving 45,000, with 15,000 injuries are not life threatening,” Buyuk told the official report and that it was monitoring the Milovanov is Facebook friends with for- counter-terrorism minister, said he was Anatolia news agency. Buyuk said the attack does not deducted for meals. Many had not seen their families in situation closely. The Sydney Daily mer Melbourne woman Zehra Duman, disturbed that a mother would abandon two years. Two-day passes had occasionally been granted, appear to be political, but said the authorities were investi- Telegraph said Jasmina Milovanov, a 26- who is known in Australia as the “jihadi her children. “That report is obviously gating “all possible motives”. He said the assailants had fled which only offered enough time to reach Maiduguri 35 year-old Muslim convert, left her chil- bride recruiter” and uses social media to very disturbing. It does make you won- with a rental car used in the attack but that the vehicle had kilometers away-if the road was safe. St-Pierre said such dren, aged five and seven, with a entice women to join the militant der what would motivate somebody to later been found abandoned and that the suspects were at claims were consistent with his own research. For Keazor, babysitter earlier this month and never group. Duman’s husband Mahmoud do that,” he told reporters. “Certainly any large. CCTV images published by Dogan news agency one of Buhari’s priorities after being sworn in should be returned. It cited her ex-husband as say- Abdullatif was reportedly killed fighting Australian who involves themselves in showed a man pointing a gun at Turkmen, 53, at the ensuring the challenges faced by troops on the ground are ing she sent a text message telling him with the Islamic State group earlier this this conflict in any way is of great con- entrance of what appears to be a restaurant. It was the lat- heard at defense headquarters in Abuja. “One soldier said she was in Syria. “The only thing I can year. Friends of Milovanov, cited by the cern to the Australian government. est in a string of attacks against party members in the run- to me, ‘We have fought this war but we don’t have a voice’,” think about is my children. I can’t Telegraph, said she had often talked Clearly we are monitoring that situa- up to an increasingly tense June 7 election, with many inci- he added. — AFP believe she left these two beautiful chil- about marrying a jihadi fighter. tion.”—AFP dents in Adana. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 INTERNATIONAL India heatwave kills 800 as capital’s roads melt Hospitals on alert as Meteorological Department issues heat warnings

HYDERABAD: At least 800 people have died in a major even though I’ve been constantly sipping water.” Delhi heatwave that has swept across India, melting roads in street food vendor Hari Om said business was slow, with New Delhi as temperatures neared 50 degrees Celsius (122 few people venturing out in the furnace-like conditions. Fahrenheit). Hospitals were on alert to treat victims of heat- “All the food is getting spoilt even though I prepared it stroke and authorities advised people to stay indoors, with fresh in the morning. It’s bad business but what to do,” he no end in sight to the searing conditions. India’s said. “People are not coming out and they also don’t feel Meteorological Department said it had issued heat warn- like eating. All they want is to sip cold water all day.” In ings to several states where temperatures were forecast to Telangana state, which borders Andhra Pradesh in the top 45 degrees Celsius over the next few days. south, 231 people have died in the last week as tempera- “As of now, we don’t predict any respite from the tures hit 48 degrees Celsius over the weekend. extreme heatwave for the next few days,” said spokesman B In the western state of Orissa 11 people were con- P Yadav. Hundreds of people-mainly from the poorest sec- firmed to have died from the heat. Another 13 people tions of society-die at the height of summer every year have died in the eastern state of West Bengal, where across the country, while tens of thousands suffer power unions urged drivers in the city of Kolkata to stay off the cuts from an overburdened electricity grid. Streets were roads during the day. India’s power industry has long deserted in Hyderabad, capital of the worst-hit state of struggled to meet rapidly rising demand in Asia’s third Andhra Pradesh in southern India where 551 people have largest economy, with poorly maintained transmission died in the last week. lines and overloaded grids. The Hindustan Times warned “The state government has taken up education pro- that some of the hot, dry conditions could plunge the grams through television and other media to tell people worst-affected states into drought before monsoon rains not to venture into the outside without a cap, to drink arrive. The monsoon is forecast to hit the southern state of PUNJAB: Indian travelers pass a passenger bus on fire at Beas, some 40kms north-west of Jalandhar, after the bus water and other measures,” said P Tulsi Rani, special com- Kerala towards the end of this month before sweeping caught fire with some 50 passengers and driver onboard in the northern state of Punjab. All the occupants were able missioner for disaster management in the state. “We have across the country, but it will be weeks before the rains to disembark safely from the vehicle. More than 800 people have died in two Indian states during a heatwave that has also requested NGOs and government organizations to reach the arid northern plains. — AFP seen temperatures nudge 50 degrees Celsius and force Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxis off the road, officials said. — AFP open up drinking water camps so that water will be readily available for all the people in the towns.” Hyderabad street vendor P Gangamma said the heat was making her head pound, but she had no choice but to stay outside. “For the past three days hot wind has been coming in,” said the 65- year-old, who sells cigarettes on a busy intersection. “I am a diabetes patient, but I have no husband and no sons, so I have to stay here and keep shop.”

‘Bad business’ Large parts of India, including the capital New Delhi, have endured days of sweltering heat, prompting fears of power cuts as energy-guzzling air conditioners work overtime. The Hindustan Times daily said the maximum temperature in the capital hit a two-year high of 45.5 degrees Celsius on Monday-five degrees higher than the seasonal average. The paper carried a front-page photo of a main road in the city melting in the heat, with the white pedestrian crossing stripes curling and spreading into the black asphalt. “It’s baking hot out here-our outing has turned into a nightmare,” said Meena Sheshadri, a 37-year-old tourist from the western city of Pune who was visiting Delhi’s India Gate monument with her children. “My throat is parched, Airport security staff smuggled migrants to US

VIENNA: Austrian police have arrested several secu- rity employees at Vienna airport over their alleged role in smuggling illegal immigrants to Britain and the US, officials confirmed yesterday. Six people were detained, although four of them have been released, public prosecutor Friedrich Koehl said. “In total, 13 people are being investigated in connec- tion with the case, which was launched at the end of February,” he said. The suspects, mainly Austrian and Sri Lankan nationals, worked for private securi- ty firms hired by Austrian Airlines (AUA) to carry out passport and ticket controls at the boarding gate. Thanks to their own security clearances, the men were able to smuggle refugees from Sri Lanka past checkpoints and provide them with boarding pass- es, said Koehl. In exchange, they allegedly received between 7,000 ($7,630) and 9,000 euros per migrant. Security firm G4S confirmed one of its employees had been involved in the smuggling ring. The suspect was “immediately fired”, the firm said, adding that it would tighten its airport control procedures and carry out more thorough back- ground checks during the hiring process of new staff. Meanwhile, AUA said it would address the issue internally with the security firms. — AFP Multiple Taleban raids kill 26 Afghan troops

KANDAHAR: At least 26 Afghan police or soldiers have been killed in multiple Taleban attacks in the volatile south, including a 16-hour siege of a college dormitory, officials said yesterday. The violence over a 24-hour peri- od comes as the insurgents step up attacks on govern- ment and foreign targets despite Kabul’s repeated over- tures to the Taleban to reopen peace talks. Taleban militants raided several police outposts in Naw Zad district in the restive opium-rich province of Helmand late Monday. “Around 16 security forces have been killed in Taleban attacks in Naw Zad district,” provincial council chief Karim Atal said. In neighboring Kandahar insurgents stormed the dormitory of a teacher training school late Monday, triggering a 16- hour gunbattle with Afghan forces. “The police were able to evacuate the residence and in the fighting one woman was killed and six police were wounded,” said provincial police spokesman Zai Durani. Another militant attack in Waza Khwa district in the southeastern province of Paktika left at least eight police dead and ten wounded late Monday. “A large group of Taleban attacked a police post. The police fought bravely but they were overpowered by the mili- tants,” said deputy provincial governor Attaullah Fazly. “Our initial reports show at least eight police were killed and ten wounded,” he said. Nehmatulla Babori, the deputy provincial council chief, said the militants torched the police post and stole weapons and police vehicles. Yesterday at least three suicide bombers attacked a court complex in the capital of Wardak province, killing two policemen and wounding another. “Three attackers tried to enter the appellate court in Maidan Shahr. One blew himself up at the first check- post, killing two police. The others tried to enter the building but were killed by security forces,” said provin- cial police chief Khalil Andarabi. The Taleban, waging a 13-year war against the US-backed Afghan government, claimed responsibility for all attacks. The insurgents launched their annual spring-summer offensive-titled ‘Azm’ (Determination) - in late April, vowing nationwide attacks in what is expected to be the bloodiest summer in a decade. A truck bomber attacked a government complex in the southern province of Zabul on Monday, wounding more than 70 people. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Fire at China nursing home kills 38 Bodies burned beyond recognition BEIJING: A fire at a nursing home in central China left at ty and business owners paying off corrupt officials to look least 38 people dead, officials said yesterday, with bodies the other way. burned beyond recognition and wheelchairs reduced to charred frames. The fire broke out on Monday evening in ‘Lonely and helpless’ an apartment building at a privately-owned old people’s The country’s vast population is ageing rapidly, with home in Pingdingshan, the state news agency Xinhua said. 15.5 percent aged 60 or above by the end of last year, “The bodies were so badly burned, we couldn’t tell who according to official statistics. Nursing homes are becom- was who,” Xinhua quoted one victim’s relative as saying. ing more common but are often the last choice in a culture Pictures posted online showed a thick column of black where the elderly have traditionally lived in multi-genera- smoke rising from behind a petrol station near the facility. tional households. Care workers in such facilities are often Another displayed the blackened frame of a building, outnumbered several times over by sick and elderly resi- with a burnt-out wheelchair in the foreground. “Only dents. Pingdingshan survivor Chen Runde, 80, told Xinhua myself and one other roommate managed to get out,” sur- the home had too many residents and staff “cannot attend vivor Zhao Yulan, 82, who shared her room with 11 other to all of us”. “We cannot find an attendant once night falls,” people, told Xinhua. The agency said the home had 51 res- he was quoted as saying. The home was set up by a local idents and the blaze was extinguished less than an hour farmer and the residents were mostly old villagers whose after it broke out. Two of the injured were in critical condi- children had sought jobs far from home as migrant work- tion in hospital, the work safety bureau of the central ers, it added. province of Henan said in a statement on its website. The The incident “highlights pain in ageing China”, cause of the fire remained unclear, but a provincial televi- Xinhua said in a commentary, with care and services for sion station quoted another resident as blaming an electri- the elderly still severely lagging in the country. cal fault. Xinhua, citing authorities, reported that 12 staff “Urbanization has attracted more young people to members had been taken into police custody as part of towns and cities, leaving their old parents and children the investigation into the disaster. Police were also search- in their rural homes,” it said. “Some have no other choice ing for three additional staffers, Xinhua said. The building but to live in poorly equipped nursing facilities... for the was built from steel with flammable foam fillings, the rest of their life. “Instead of feeling lonely and helpless, state-run China News Service said yesterday. Enforcement the elders deserve a safe and comfortable place to live PINGDINGSHAN: Charred building frames and bedsteads are seen after a fire broke out in a nursing of safety standards is often lax in China, with some proper- out their later years.” — AFP home in Luxian county in Pingdingshan, central China’s Henan province yesterday. — AFP Washington Post’s reporter stands trial in Iran for spying

TEHRAN: Washington Post correspondent Jason months in custody. Rezaian, 39, is accused of “espi- ‘No justice’ Rezaian went on trial behind closed doors in Iran yes- onage, collaboration with hostile governments, gath- The Post’s executive director, Martin Baron, said the terday on charges of spying, a case that has clouded a ering classified information and disseminating propa- newspaper had tried to obtain a visa for a senior edi- rapprochement with the United States. Rezaian’s wife, ganda against the Islamic republic,” according to his tor to travel to Iran but its request was never acknowl- Yeganeh Salehi, who is also a journalist, appeared in lawyer Leila Ahsan. edged by the Iranian authorities. “There is no justice in court alongside her husband and a female press pho- The United States and the Washington Post have this system, not an ounce of it, and yet the fate of a tographer, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported. branded the charges absurd and demanded his good, innocent man hangs in the balance,” he said. The trial is being held in Branch 15 of the Tehran revo- release. Tehran does not recognize dual nationality, “Iran is making a statement about its values in its dis- lutionary court, which usually presides over political and says the case is a purely Iranian matter. State graceful treatment of our colleague, and it can only cases or those related to national security. The first ses- media gave no details of Tuesday’s hearing and no horrify the world community,” he added. Rezaian has sion ended after about three hours, according to indication of how long the trial might last. But it will been held in the capital’s notorious Evin Prison and his MizanOnline, a news agency linked to the judiciary. overlap with the final stretch of negotiations between family have frequently spoken of their fears for his CIUDAD ACUNA: People survey a destroyed car in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. A tornado It gave no further details and said the date of the Iran and the major powers aimed at reaching a com- health, citing his need for medication to combat high ripped into a town in northern Mexico, killing at least 13 people and flattening hun- next session would be announced later. Rezaian, an prehensive agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program blood pressure. dreds of homes in a deadly six-second blast of carnage. — AFP Iranian-American, has been held since July last year in by a June 30 deadline. Rezaian’s case has been played His American mother, Mary, has been in Iran for a politically sensitive case that has unfolded while Iran out in the Iranian media, where he has been accused the past two weeks awaiting the trial. There was no Tornado, floods leave deadly and world powers conduct nuclear talks. His wife, who of spying and passing information about Iran to US immediate word on whether she had been permit- worked for The National, an English-language news- government officials. Among the offences he is ted to attend. California-born Rezaian is one of four trail along Mexico-US border paper based in Abu Dhabi, was arrested along with alleged to have committed is writing a letter to US US citizens that Obama has urged Iran to return him but released on bail after spending two and a half President Barack Obama. home, with the support of the US Senate. — AFP MEXICO CITY: A tornado ripped into a town in were hurt after getting hit or cut by objects northern Mexico on Monday, killing at least 13 thrown by the wind, Zamora told Milenio tele- people and flattening hundreds of homes in a vision. Of those, 88 were still getting treatment deadly six-second blast of carnage, officials in the afternoon. Ciudad Acuna Mayor Evaristo China vows to project its said. The savage twister roared through the Lenin Perez said a seven-year-old boy was Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuna at missing, while rescuers combed through the dawn, tossing cars and big rig trucks into the rubble to look for any more victims or sur- army further, stronger air before they smashed into houses and build- vivors. ings. Images from the aftermath showed sev- eral crumpled vehicles resting against walls ‘Practically destroyed’ BEIJING: China said yesterday it would project its mil- flying near the artificial islands, after US media wit- Xinhua news agency cited officials as saying. The lat- and roofs as shellshocked inhabitants of the Most of the fatalities were people who itary power further beyond its sea borders and more nessed a tense radio exchange. A CNN television crew ter saw a battle between the Chinese and Vietnamese town of 136,000 struggled to make sense of were out on the street. “We have hundreds assertively in the air, defending the construction of aboard a P-8 Poseidon plane heard the Chinese navy navies in 1988. the devastation. The tornado came as fero- of houses that are practically destroyed,” artificial islands which sparked concern in issuing eight warnings and American pilots replying cious weather battered swaths of Mexico and Perez said, appealing for water, canned food Washington. The People’s Liberation Army navy will in each case that they were flying through “interna- ‘Provocative actions’ the southern United States, where rescuers and clothing for the victims. Authorities put greater emphasis on “open seas protection” rather tional airspace”. Beijing has increased annual spending on its mili- hunted for 12 people missing in flash floods opened eight temporary shelters for those than “offshore waters defense” alone, the State China has protested to Washington over the flight, tary-the world’s largest by personnel-by double-digit across Texas and Oklahoma that left three peo- left homeless. The tornado whipped up as Council or cabinet said in a white paper. At the same calling it “highly irresponsible and dangerous” and annual percentages for several decades as it seeks to ple dead. heavy rains pounded the city, with hail time the air force will shift focus “from territorial air warning that such actions could cause “unwanted modernize its forces. It has focused on increasing In Mexico, national civil protection coordi- falling in some areas. Three of the fatalities, defense to both defense and offence”, it said. incidents”. Military spokesman Yang Yujun said yester- naval power, commissioning its first aircraft carrier in nator Luis Felipe Puente told Foro TV that including two children, were killed when a The army will increase its global mobility and day the island-building was “beneficial to the whole 2012 and rapidly adding to its submarine and surface “more than 1,000 homes” had been affected. ceiling collapsed on them, local press artillery forces will strengthen capabilities for “medi- of international society” because it aided China’s fleets. Several of its Asian neighbors, some also with The tornado swept in at “impressive speed” of reports said. President Enrique Pena Nieto um and long-range precision strikes”, it added. The search and rescue efforts and environmental protec- claims in the South China Sea, have been alarmed by 270-300 kilometers per hour and lasted only offered federal aid and said such tornadoes paper was released with China and the US at logger- tion work. Official media also said yesterday that the military build-up, though Beijing insists that its six seconds, Puente said. Coahuila state Interior are “unusual in our country.” Across the bor- heads over Beijing’s rapid island-building in contested China would build two 50-metre-tall lighthouses on investment is purely defensive. The white paper sin- Secretary Victor Zamora said the death toll der in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott declared parts of the South China Sea, which the country reefs in the Spratly islands, which are also claimed by gled out the US’s announced “rebalancing” towards rose from 11 to 13. The victims include 10 states of disaster in 24 counties as severe claims almost in its entirety. China on Friday declared Vietnam and the Philippines. The facilities will be built Asia, and Japan’s revision of some of its defense poli- adults and three children. Almost 230 people weather lashed the region. — AFP that its military “drove away” a US surveillance aircraft on the Cuarteron and Johnson South reefs, the cies as objects of “concern”.— AFP WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 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 The quandary of European centre-left

By Mike Peacock

crushing election defeat for Britain’s Labour party has laid bare the dilemma facing Europe’s centre-left. The Aleft could have expected to capitalise on the 2007- 2009 financial crisis when lax regulation allowed banks to catapult the world into chaos. It didn’t happen. Now, the mainstream is leaching support to populists with working class voters feeling most vulnerable to immigration and fac- ing endemic job uncertainty. In an age when austerity still holds sway, the centre-left faces a choice of embracing painful structural reforms or try- ing to protect traditional supporters from the economic winds blowing across the world. Those that look best-placed are trying to combine the two. One lesson from the British election is that parties must appeal to people’s aspirations rather than just promise to shield them from the new world Suu Kyi missing from meeting on Rohingyas order. “We were sent out ... to make an argument, if you can call By Robin McDowell refugee agency. The international gathering they move around freely, having to pay to perform strongly. it an argument, which basically said we’re for the poor, we Tuesday at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, hefty bribes to pass police barricades, even Suu Kyi has been playing a delicate bal- hate the rich, ignoring completely the vast swathe of the n international gathering about the Norway, will feature video statements from for emergencies. ancing act. She has been careful not to rile population who exist in between,” was former Labour cabi- plight of Myanmar’s persecuted Nobel winners Desmond Tutu, Jose Ramos- The government insists they are illegal the military, which still wields tremendous net minister and EU commissioner Peter Mandelson’s fero- ARohingya Muslims boasts a star-stud- Horta and Mairead Maguire. Others, like migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and political power, with a quarter of the seats cious election post-mortem. ded cast, with three Nobel Peace Prize lau- philanthropist George Soros, who escaped has denied them citizenship, adding to the in parliament and veto power over changes Tony Blair, Mandelson’s former boss, governed from the reates among those calling on the world to Nazi-occupied Hungary, and former prime desperation that sparked an exodus of an to constitutional amendments. She also centre and delivered three big election wins, keeping wake up to the unfolding tragedy. But fel- minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik, estimated 100,000 Rohingya in the last realizes she and her party risk public back- Labour’s core vote onside with high levels of public spend- low winner and pro-democracy icon Aung will also speak. They will focus on concrete three years. Authorities refuse to identify lash if she speaks in defense of Rohingya. ing. Now, to paraphrase the note left by treasury minister San Suu Kyi will not be among them. She ways to end the decades-long persecution them as “Rohingya” and use “Bengalis” Suu Kyi, a member of the Burman Liam Byrne for his successor when Labour lost the 2010 elec- wasn’t invited. During her 15 years under of Rohingya - and the need to speak out. instead. Suu Kyi also avoids the term and Buddhist elite, bristles when foreign media tion, the money has run out. The rise of new parties across house arrest, Suu Kyi won admiration across “If you are neutral in situations of injus- generally refers to them as “Muslims”. or rights activists ask her why she has so far Europe has also shattered the calculation that the moderate the globe for her fiery speeches and tice, you have chosen the side of the failed to denounce religious bigotry in left could take its traditional supporters for granted as they scathing criticism of the military regime oppressor,” Tutu, who won the 1984 Nobel Anti-Rohingya Myanmar, whether against Rohingya or had nowhere else to go. Now they do - to Syriza, the that ruled Myanmar, or Burma, at the time. Peace Prize for his opposition to South The website for the three-day Oslo con- Christians from the Chin and Kachin minori- National Front, UKIP and Podemos to name but a few. After her release in 2010, when ruling gen- Africa’s brutal apartheid regime, says in his ference says the popular daughter of ties, who have also long been subjected to Labour discovered that to its cost on May 7. “The ‘you erals handed over power to a nominally video statement. “If an elephant has its foot Myanmar’s late independence hero, Aung threats, intimidation, and discrimination. don’t count because you already vote for us’ school of lead- civilian government, she won a seat in par- on the tail of a mouse and you say that you San, shares the “anti-Rohingya” sentiment of She did not respond to questions from AP, ership won’t work in the new era of multi-party politics,” said liament. are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate much of the population, something she had but reiterated her position in an interview David Clark, founder of the political blog Shifting Grounds The 69-year-old says she is a politician your neutrality.” denied, but with little vigor. Aase Sand, of with Canada’s The Globe and Mail last who was special adviser to Labour foreign minister Robin and that she never sought to be a human Myanmar’s transition from dictatorship the Norwegian Burma Committee, one of month that the problems in Rakhine state - Cook. The centre-left has shown itself able to take tough rights champion. Critics note she is carefully to democracy has been a bumpy one. The the event’s organizers, said there was never where almost all the country’s Rohingya live decisions. Gerhard Schroeder’s Hartz labour reforms a choosing her battles, in part because she freedoms of expression that accompanied a plan to invite her or to ask for a video- - are based on fear and perceptions of decade ago were strongly opposed but helped Germany has presidential ambitions. In a predomi- early, now-stalled political reforms had a taped statement. being a minority. The Rohingya feel threat- shed its “weak man of Europe” tag and reclaim economic nantly Buddhist country of 50 million peo- dark side, lifting the lid off deep-seated Suu Kyi has in the last two years actively ened by the Buddhists in Rakhine, while the dominance. ple, where there is much animosity for the resentment toward the dark-skinned campaigned to change the constitution Buddhists fear the Muslim world’s wider Schroeder’s story demonstrates the problem the left 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims, Suu Kyi (pro- Rohingya minority. With hardline Buddhist that bars her from the presidency because backing of the Rohingya. “Those who criti- faces. He lost the following election to Angela Merkel. More nounced “Suu chee”) has opted to remain monks fanning the anger, machete-wield- she was married to a foreigner. With elec- cize me for not condemning one side or the recently, Spanish Socialist premier Jose Luiz Rodriguez silent, even as the world watched in horror ing mobs started taking to the streets in tions slated for the end of the year, the other - they’ve never said exactly what they Zapatero administered necessary but unpleasant austerity while more than 3,000 hungry, dehydrated 2012, killing up to 280 people and forcing Oxford-educated opposition leader realizes hope will come out of such condemnation,” medicine to his debt-laden country and paid the electoral Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants another 140,000 into crowded, dusty intern- she herself won’t be contesting the upcom- she told the paper. “You’re just taking the price, getting ousted in 2011. The economy is now growing washed ashore in Malaysia, Indonesia and ment camps. They have little access to ing vote. Still, her National League for moral high ground for the sake of sounding fast. Socialist President Francois Hollande’s reform program, Thailand this month, according to the UN school and adequate health care, nor can Democracy Party will be, and it’s expected good - it sounds a little irresponsible.” — AP although it is seen as timid by many outside France, has delivered him record low popularity ratings. “The political game has changed from a fundamental left/right contest over the role of the state in the economy to a question of Modi vows cleaner India, but no clear path how much and in what ways to protect the losers of global- ization through the welfare state and limits on migration,” said Heather Grabbe, Director of the Open Society European By Katy Daigle that come to nothing. Previous govern- months issued a report recommending a decades. Modi won’t even be around to see Policy Institute in Brussels. “This has left plenty of space for ments also vowed better sanitation, cleaner wholesale shift in environmental regula- the consequences of what he’s doing.” populists to blame all mainstream parties for being self-serv- our months after becoming prime rivers, renewable energy and various anti- tion. The recommendations include elimi- ing and deaf to the concerns of the people.” minister, Narendra Modi stunned pollution measures. Modi’s promises on the nating independent pollution regulators Anti-Environment FIndians by picking up a crude straw environment include expanding solar pow- and having industries police themselves. Modi and many of his ministers have Italian Exception broom and, holding it like a dance partner, er five-fold by 2022, ensuring everyone has All project clearances would be handled by made clear they see India’s environmental The harder left’s banner movement is Syriza in Greece. Its gently sweeping at a small pile of green access to a toilet by 2019, and cleaning the a single government-appointed panel and laws as roadblocks to economic develop- efforts to reject the austerity imposed by its creditors appear leaves on a New Delhi street. Modi, ever the Ganges river of sewage and pollutants. The eliminate the need for forest communities ment, holding up industry and halting to have failed and left the country on the brink. The similarly darling of photo ops and grinning selfies, sanitation pledge alone requires building to approve diversion of their lands for infrastructure such as dams, highways and positioned Podemos in Spain has faltered. Latest opinion seemed to be calling for a cultural revolu- 70,000 toilets per day. The country is still industrial use. The Subramanian railways. India’s growth languished polls give it about 16 percent support, more than 10 points tion, defying centuries-old hierarchies that 100 million toilets short of its goal while Committee report also suggests revising between 4 and 5 percent for several years below its peak. The ruling centre-right People’s Party is back make the idea of an official cleaning a funds for sanitation were halved in the last the mandate of India’s environmental as business confidence and investment in front with elections due in November. The starker example street anathema in Indian society. By lead- budget. courts so that they consider only existing wilted under the weight of chaotic bureau- in Greece is centre-left PASOK, which governed for a large ing a new campaign called “Swachh Bharat Environmentalists worry most about law and not scientific arguments and other cracy, policy U-turns and epic corruption chunk of the last 30 years but, having presided over the Abhiyaan” or “Clean India Mission,” Modi scandals. But economists forecast India to country’s collapse into bailout, is now reduced to a handful challenged those divisions while dignifying overtake China as the world’s fastest grow- of parliamentary seats. labor and elevating cleanliness as a nation- ing economy this year with a 7.4 percent Matteo Renzi appears to be the exception, driving wide goal. expansion. through reforms that no other Italian leader has dared try, That was the first and last time the pub- Environmental degradation, meanwhile, while remaining popular. He faces an opposition in disarray lic saw Modi with a broom. As he passes is already costing India at least 5.7 percent and has mixed reforms with tax cuts for the lower paid and one year in office, India is as filthy as it ever of its GDP each year, according to the pensioners. More profoundly, the youthful Renzi has tapped was with some of the world’s most polluted World Bank. Those losses are expected to into a national sense that this is the last chance to pull Italy air, rivers stinking with sewage and more increase as the compound effects of pollu- out of a deep malaise. The agonising now going on within than half the 1.2 billion population still tion sicken more people while more of the Labour party about where it went wrong will be defecating in the open. Despite lofty prom- India’s forests vanish, soils continue to watched by centre-left parties across Europe. For Labour it is ises of a new pristine world filled with degrade and aquifers run dry. Past govern- particularly tricky since it was outflanked on the left by smart cities, sparkling waterways, solar ments have opened debate to communi- nationalists in Scotland but looked too left-wing for middle panels and toilets for all, it is a mystery how ties and activists, but the Modi government class voters in England.—Reuters Modi plans to get there. has cracked down on groups such as the At the same time, environment experts Ford Foundation, Greenpeace and Action say, the government is laying the ground- Aid. work to dismantle hard-fought laws for Critics warn Modi may be courting a All articles appearing on these protecting the environment. With hun- backlash by undermining the rights of local pages are the personal opinion of dreds of millions mired in poverty, many communities and by sacrificing decades of believe economic growth at any cost is the environmental laws that required rigorous the writers. Kuwait Times takes no only thing that matters. The latest budget Traffic moves on a bridge over Bellundur Lake which is filled with froth from indus- assessment of industrial consequences, slashed environment funds by 25 percent, trial pollution in Bangalore on Monday. —AP even if those laws weren’t always imple- responsibility for views expressed with little outcry. And business leaders mented. Fishermen have begun protesting therein. Kuwait Times invites have been effusive about Modi’s leader- coastal pollution, while tens of thousands ship, crediting his constant globe-trotting what is to come from Modi’s government. considerations. of farmers rallied last month against plans readers to voice their opinions. with boosting investor sentiment and rais- They point to a mounting assault on envi- While it’s unclear which recommenda- to make land acquisitions easier. A Please send submissions via email ing India’s profile worldwide. ronmental protections meant to check pol- tions Modi’s government will adopt, envi- decades-long Maoist insurgency continues Modi’s approach embodies “the idea lution, prevent unfair land-grabbing and ronmentalists believe it will embrace most unabated and with support from forest- to: [email protected] or that like the West we will grow and clean establish legal rights for tribal communities of them within legislation soon to be pre- dwelling communities who also seek a up later,” said historian Ramachandra Guha. to oversee the land they live on. sented in parliament. “If the laws aren’t greater share of the country’s natural via snail mail to PO Box 1301 “But we don’t have access to colonies like Specifically, the critics object to the loosen- working properly, you don’t just throw resource wealth. “I have this feeling that all Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves Europe had,” he said. “There is no part of ing of rules such as requiring local consent them out. You’re supposed to implement of this will ultimately go wrong,” said Pushp India where no one lives. If you excavate a for mineral prospecting as well as to them, or make them better,” said Leo Jain, director of a Delhi-based environment the right to edit any submission coal mine, or build a factory on a river, you longer-term plans for overhauling the Saldanha of the Environment Support consulting group ERC. “If they take away as necessary. are depriving someone of land, or clean country’s six keystone environment laws. Group, which has campaigned against the public hearings, which is where affected water, or forests.” One of Modi’s first acts as prime minister report’s recommendations. “Most of these people can be heard, then you have a prob- India has a long record of making plans was to form a committee that within three changes will have adverse implications for lem.” —AP NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

After a day full of rain and gray skies, people take in a view of high waters of the swollen Trinity River as they are backlit by sunset at the Trinity River Overlook on Monday in Dallas. — AP Bombing exposes failure to curb sectarian strains DUBAI: A suicide bombing in Saudi moil tearing up Iraq, Syria and Libya. who sympathise with it to justice. But Houthis seized much of that country may well deepen divisions, particularly give an excuse for militants to target Arabia as it presses on with its war Saudi authorities have avoided using analysts say Saudi Arabia and some last September in what Riyadh saw as as it comes in the wake of the Yemen Shiites,” said Waleed Sulais, a against Shiite fighters in Yemen has openly sectarian terms to describe the other Gulf Arab states have done little an expansion by Shiite Iran’s influence war.” Khaled Almaeena, editor at large researcher at the Saudi Adalah Centre exposed the Sunni kingdom’s failure Houthis, allies of Iran who adhere to to crack down on an outpouring of over Sunni Arab lands. at the English-language Saudi Gazette, for human rights who is also a Shiite. to curb sectarianism at home and the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, but online venom, a discourse which wrote that those who carried out the Some have called for the arrest of prompted fears that such tensions can many journalists, clerics and social Shiites say provides an incubator for Iran Fears Al-Qadeeh attack were driven by “an prominent Shiite figures in Saudi only get worse. Islamic State, which media users have shown no such violence against the minority sect. Now with the mosque attack, sec- insane ideology disseminated by self- Arabia, including Seif, while others claimed Friday’s attack on a Shiite restraint. Saudi King Salman con- National identity in Saudi Arabia is tarian relations could feel more strain. appointed clerics and reformers. “For launched what they called the “Storm mosque, is trying to stir up sectarian demned the mosque attack, saying he closely bound up with the strict While Saudi authorities wish to dis- too long, we have kept quiet as they of Deletion” - to push for getting Shiite confrontation as a way of hastening was “heartbroken” over the violence Wahhabi Sunni school, which views courage violence on home soil, there used the mosques, the media and all television stations off the air. the overthrow of the ruling Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Shiism as heretical, and whose lead- are limits to how much they can rein in other forms of communication to Mohsen Al-Awaji, a prominent and is keenly aware of the war’s Nayef flew to the eastern province, ing clerics sometimes publicly cast anti-Shiite rhetoric given the fears spread their evil philosophy,” he wrote Sunni Islamist activist, said the Saudi- potential for pitting Sunni against along with the mufti - the kingdom’s doubt on whether Shiites are truly aroused by an assertive Iran. “There in a column on Sunday. “We did not do led campaign in Yemen, if anything, Shiite. top Sunni religious authority - to offer Muslim. are those who are trying to divide anything and watched silently as some had reduced sectarian tensions and At stake is the stability of the condolences. The language of hate has grown Saudi society on a sectarian basis,” said imams spewed hatred and spread Shiites in the Gulf were not being tar- world’s top oil exporter, a US ally that King Salman also vowed to bring bolder during the course of the Tawfiq Al-Seif, a Saudi thinker. He said falsehood about Muslims of other geted. There were however limits to has escaped the post-Arab Spring tur- those behind the bombing and those Yemen campaign, launched after the the bombing, the second significant sects.” this tolerance. “One cannot be silent at attack against Shiites in six months, those who raise pictures of (Iranian- “rekindles a feeling of fear that we are Islamic Law backed) Hezbollah and to Iranian lead- not looking at isolated incidents”. Traditional Wahhabi doctrine is ers in public,” he said. Houston submerged as Kuwaiti analyst Ghanim Al-Najjar ultra-conservative, viewing Shiites as Islamic State’s enemies, including said the bombing occurred “in the heretical, arguing against interaction Shiites, were “allies of Satan”. Seif said context of turning a blind eye to the with non-Muslims, opposing gender senior Saudi officials have rarely made discourse of hate throughout the mixing, imposing a strict version of any public gestures towards Shiites wild weather kills 20 region”. “This discourse of hate is the Islamic law and urging resumption of that would send a clear message to incubator of this violence.” Toby early Muslim practices. Shiites com- the dominant Sunni majority that tar- HOUSTON: Torrential rain left large parts of Houston still missing in Hays County, also in Texas, officials said. Matthiesen, a research fellow of plain that some Sunni clerics, with geting the minority sect would not be submerged yesterday and trapped fans at an NBA bas- One person was already confirmed dead there and two Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at hundreds of thousands of online fol- tolerated. He said one sure way to ketball game, in savage weather that has killed nearly more died in Oklahoma, which is located to the north of the University of Cambridge, agreed. lowers, regularly attack members of send such a message to hardliners was 20 people in the United States and Mexico. The south- Texas. Many of the dozen missing in Hays County were “After last year’s attack in Al-Ahsa, the minority sect as apostates, rejec- to issue laws that would safeguard there was a lot of positive sentiment tionists and Safavids - a reference to a “national unity” and criminalise hate ern US states of Texas and Oklahoma, and northern from one house that was torn from its foundations dur- from many Saudis from across the 16th century Persian ruling dynasty rhetoric. “I believe that fighting and Mexico, have borne the brunt of several days of wild ing a flash flood over the weekend. There were two fam- kingdom, who denounced the attack,” that introduced Shiite Islam to what is dismantling the incubator of terrorism weather, including tornadoes, which have left scores ilies staying at the A-frame house in the picturesque Matthiesen said, referring to shootings now Iran. is what will be useful in the long run,” dead, missing and injured on both sides of the border. town of Wimberley for the long Memorial Day weekend, that killed seven Shiites in November. Analysts say sectarian discourse Seif said. “The government needs to More than 25 cm of heavy rain fell in just a few hours NBC News reported. Among them were three children. “We also have seen a lot of denuncia- escalated after the Saudi-led military look into political and legal measures, in the Texas city of Houston, triggering the worst flood- Inside was Laura McComb, who was on the phone tions this time, but at the same time campaign against the Houthis began including a law that would preserve ing there in at least a decade and stranding at an arena with her sister when the house, built on stilts, broke off we have seen some applauding the on March 26. “Labels such as enemies national unity and criminalise hate,” he a Houston Rockets player and spectators who had gone and was swept away. “We are in a house that is now attack. So I think this time, the attack and traitors are regularly used. These said. — Reuters to see the basketball team Monday night. Hundreds of floating down the river,” she reportedly told her sister, vehicles, some fully under water, were abandoned on Julie Shields. “Call Mom and Dad. I love you. And pray.” Houston’s roads. Some people were trapped in their Shields told the NBC affiliate KXAN that the phone call cars, others marooned in their homes. ended when McComb thought she saw a light from a Bahrain to cut subsidies for expatriates Two people died overnight in the flooding in the city, helicopter that had come to rescue them. She has not Continued from Page 1 since last year has slashed the government’s net oil rev- Mayor Annise Parker said, with the toll expected to rise. been heard from since Saturday night. enues, which shrank 35 percent from a year earlier to 1.67 “I want to ask and urge people to continue to be safe difficult for Bahrain, which is less wealthy than its neigh- billion rials ($4.35 billion) in the first quarter of this year, pro- and recognize that we may have more rain later today,” Devastating Mexican Tornado bors, as oil prices have plunged since last year. visional finance ministry data showed. she said, encouraging people to stay at home in South of the border, Mexico has also felt Mother Earlier this month the cabinet approved a draft budget This is a serious blow to Oman, which lacks the ample fis- America’s fourth-largest city by population. “We have Nature’s wrath. A savage twister roared through the which envisaged the budget deficit climbing to 1.47 billion cal and hydrocarbon reserves of its wealthier Gulf neigh- cars littered all over the city,” she told a press confer- Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuna at dawn Monday, dinars ($3.90 billion) this year and 1.56 billion dinars next bours. The government swung to a budget deficit of 544.6 ence, adding that emergency crews were attempting to killing at least 13 people and flattening hundreds of year, from an originally planned 914 million dinars last year. million rials in the quarter from a 215.4 million rial surplus a reach the abandoned vehicles to see if anyone had homes in a deadly six-second blast of carnage, officials The government will have to borrow to bridge its budget year ago. But the government is continuing to spend on been trapped inside. said. Rescuers were scrambling to find a baby that was gap, so “now the government borrows to support citizens infrastructure and economic development projects, such as Downtown Houston, where the Toyota Center arena ripped from his parents by the tornado’s 270-300 km- only,” Hammadi was quoted as saying. He did not give a spe- roads, ports, airports and industrial facilities, that it hopes is located, was not under water, said Parker, but about per-hour winds. “The baby was with his parents, who cific timetable for subsidy cuts or say how big they might be. will broaden the economy and eventually reduce its 200 fans had been unable to get home from the NBA were catapulted by the tornado and we can’t find the The subsidy for meat, which costs 47 million dinars, may be dependence on oil. game for several hours after the deluge. At least one infant,” Mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez said. the first to be removed, but it is small compared to electrici- Public investment spending rose 2.3 percent to 555.4 mil- Rockets player, center Dwight Howard, was also among Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto toured the ty and water subsidies, he said. lion rials, with investment in oil production declining slightly those stranded into the night after learning of the ravaged city after spending the night there to offer fed- The budget draft sees spending on non-oil subsidies ris- and investment in natural gas production increasing 35 per- treacherous road conditions. “There’s no need to try to eral assistance. “It was horrible. It started raining in the ing to 754 million dinars in 2015 from an originally planned cent. Meanwhile, current spending on defence and national push it,” the Houston Chronicle reported him as saying. morning. Very early, the wind came and everything 661 million dinars in 2014, and then falling back to 653 mil- security dropped 25 percent to 567.3 million rials. Spending lion dinars in 2016. Oil subsidies would total 103 million on “participation and support”, which includes subsidies, fell “I don’t think it’s smart for anybody to try to be out in started to fly around and then it all fell to the ground,” dinars this year and 105 million dinars next year. Subsidy 48 percent to 189.0 million rials; the government raised this weather.” President Barack Obama called the flood- Ciudad Acuna resident Juanita Perez said tearfully. cuts could push up consumer prices in Bahrain and put domestic natural gas prices on Jan. 1 to save money. ing in Texas “terrible” and said he had offered urgent Coahuila state civil protection director Francisco upward pressure on foreign workers’ wages, potentially hurt- Current spending on civil ministries climbed 9.8 percent assistance to state Governor Greg Abbott. Martinez told AFP that 44 people were hospitalized and ing companies’ competitiveness. Hammadi said the new pol- to 896.4 million rials, suggesting the government has not so Fears were growing meanwhile for at least 12 people another 242 suffered minor injuries. — AFP icy would take into account the issue of competitiveness. far been able to restrain lavish employment of local citizens Meanwhile, Oman’s government has responded to low in state jobs, a big drain on its finances. Oman’s 2015 budget oil prices by cutting spending on defence and subsidies plan, announced in January, envisages government spend- while continuing to invest in diversifying the economy, offi- ing of 14.1 billion rials and a deficit of 2.5 billion rials, assum- cial figures showed yesterday. The plunge of crude prices ing an average oil price of $75 per barrel. — Reuters Court restores citizenship of ex-lawmaker... Continued from Page 1 citizenship is a condemnation of the government,” said former MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari. There has however been no The verdict is significant also because it came after another comment from current members of parliament. bench in the same court decided in September to reject a In another development, head of the National Assembly’s similar case filed by Shemmari, saying that it did not have budgets committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said yesterday jurisdiction to rule on sovereign issues. that the panel discussed the projected state revenues for the That verdict was upheld in March by the court of appeals 2015/2016 fiscal year with Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh. He but Shemmari’s lawyer, who is also defending Barghash, Al- said that revenues are estimated at KD 12.05 billion, down a Humaidi Al-Subaie, challenged the verdict at the court of cas- massive 66 percent compared to last year’s revenues. Oil sation, the country’s highest court whose decisions are final. income accounts for 88 percent of total revenues, compared The government had also revoked the citizenship of sever- to 94 percent last year. He said that oil income is calculated on al other opposition members including the former the basis of $45 a barrel as the price of Kuwaiti oil with a daily spokesman of the Popular Action Movement Saad Al-Ajmi, production of 2.7 million barrels per day. The dinar-dollar who was last month deported to Saudi Arabia on a one-way exchange rate is 290 fils a dollar, while the market rate now is Saudi travel document. Ajmi is also challenging his case in the 302 fils a dollar. administrative court. Abdulsamad said that Kuwaiti revenues are expected to be Former liberal opposition MP Saleh Al-Mulla said he hoped higher than projections because of the improvement in oil that the court verdict will stop the government from politiciz- prices and a higher exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar. ing the nationality law. The opposition groups have insisted This will consequently cut the projected deficit, but the shortfall that the government decisions to revoke citizenships were will persist as long as the price of Kuwaiti oil is under $77 a barrel, politically motivated to crack down on dissent amid a grow- he said. Abdulsamad pointed out that non-oil revenues are pro- HOUSTON: Vehicles are left stranded on Texas State Highway 288 yesterday. — AFP ing opposition movement then. “The restoration of Barghash’s jected at KD 1.26 billion, up 15 percent on last year. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 SPORTS

Di Matteo leaves Schalke West Ham back in Europe Drogba may head to US BERLIN: Schalke 04 coach Roberto Di Matteo left the club yesterday after LONDON: West Ham United have qualified for next season’s LONDON: Didier Drogba will not play for another English team when he leaves Chelsea the Italian said a difference of opinion over plans for next season made it Europa League after finishing top of the Premier League’s and may follow Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard by ending his career in the United impossible for him to see out the remainder of his contract to 2017. Fair Play table. States. The former Chelsea coach took over the Ruhr valley side in October but European football returns to the London club for the first The 37-year-old former Ivory Coast forward played his final game for Chelsea when the ended a disappointing Bundesliga campaign in sixth place, failing to time since 2006-07 in the final season at their famous Upton Premier League champions beat Sunderland 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. achieve his own stated target of securing a place in next season’s Park home before they move to the Olympic Stadium in Champions League. “(Director of sport) Horst Heldt and myself did not 2016-17. “We want to ensure the Boleyn Ground the best “There are some really fantastic teams in the Premier League but my love for this club...I only discuss the past seven months but also next season,” Di Matteo said in send-off possible, and progress in this competition will cer- can’t share it with another English team,” he told the Daily Telegraph on Monday. a club statement. “I offered a plan for a possible successful future and what tainly help with that,” West Ham co-chairmen David Sullivan “Since I put the news I am leaving Chelsea on social media, I was in the dressing-room the conditions for that would need to be. It became clear that the club had and David Gold said in a joint statement. They conceded, and I was receiving some calls from teams which is really unusual. a different emphasis.” though, that the prolonged Europa League qualification “It showed that maybe I can still bring something to a team. Of course I’m interested in Di Matteo, who led Chelsea to Champions League glory in system, which begins with the first qualifying round on July the USA,” added Drogba. “Now I’m going to have a few days and weeks to think about what 2012, said that due to their differences, it was better for 2, will “bring its challenges”. is good for me next but all I want is to play.” both the club and himself to part ways and start afresh. West Ham, without a manager after Sam Allardyce’s exit His former Chelsea team mate Lampard, who was on loan with Manchester “This is why I decided to resign from my position as head on Sunday, will be among 104 teams entering the competi- City this season, is about to start a new career with New York City FC. coach,” he said. Club officials added that at no point was tion with three rounds to negotiate before August playoff Gerrard, who used to patrol England’s midfield alongside Lampard, played Di Matteo sacked or forced to leave as several German round. his last game for Liverpool on Sunday before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy. media reports claimed after Saturday’s 2-0 loss against England’s other Europa League representatives are Drogba re-signed for Chelsea last year after leaving in 2012 following a Hamburg SV in the season finale. “Reports on Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and either Aston Villa, if highly successful eight-year spell with the London club. The Ivorian has Sunday that he was sacked did not correspond they win the FA Cup final against Arsenal, or won four Premier League titles with Chelsea, three League to facts,” Heldt said. —Reuters Southampton. —Reuters Cups, four FA Cups and the Champions League. —Reuters Yankees rout Royals, Cards triumph

NEW YORK: Brett Gardner, Brian McCann Closer Craig Kimbrel came in and and Chase Headley homered during an struck out Erick Aybar. But Pujols slapped eight-run first inning and the New York a 1-0 pitch through the left side of the Yankees quickly erased the memory of a infield after an intentional walk to reign- lost weekend, romping past the AL ing AL MVP Mike Trout. Central-leading Kansas City Royals 14-1 Joe Smith (1-1) pitched two innings for Monday. the victory. Jered Weaver was charged Stephen Drew added another three- with a run and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. He run homer off a favorite foil of the was pulled by manager Mike Scioscia Yankees, Jeremy Guthrie (4-3), before the after 104 pitches with a 3-0 lead - which team made an out in the second. was promptly squandered by rookie Jose Slade Heathcott hit his first major Alvarez. league homer in the seventh as New York, coming off a sweep by Texas, snapped a NATIONALS 2, CUBS 1 six-game skid. The Yankees won for just Wilson Ramos hit a tiebreaking homer the second time in 12 games, beating the in the sixth, Tanner Roark pitched five team that began the day with the best effective innings and Washington beat record in the majors. Chicago. Denard Span also homered for Nathan Eovaldi (4-1) pitched with run- Washington, which has won eight of nine. ners on in all but two of his seven-plus Making his first start of the season in innings. Working on five days’ rest, he place of the injured Doug Fister, Roark (1- allowed eight hits and a run. 2) allowed rookie Kris Bryant’s sixth home run and struck out three. Four relievers CARDINALS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2 combined for four innings of two-hit ball, Jhonny Peralta hit a game-ending with Drew Storen working the ninth for homer in the 10th inning, lifting St. Louis his NL-best 15th save in 16 attempts - to a victory Arizona. Peralta’s leadoff drive closing out the five-hitter. Cubs left-han- to left on a 1-2 pitch from J.C. Ramirez (1- der Tsuyoshi Wada allowed one run and 1) was his fourth career game-winning four hits in 5 1/3 innings in his second homer. The Cardinals improved to 4-1 in start since being recalled from Triple-A five extra-inning home games in May, Iowa. Justin Grimm (1-1) relieved Wada including a sweep against the Pirates at and yielded Ramos’ two-out drive to the beginning of the month. right. NEW YORK: Yankees third baseman Chase Headley (12) connects for an RBI double to center field against the Kansas City Royals during Mark Trumbo hit a tying two-run the fifth inning of a baseball game. —AP homer in the eighth for Arizona, but the GIANTS 8, BREWERS 4 Diamondbacks stranded five the last two Milwaukee won a challenge after Khris a perfect eighth before Zach Britton got eight hits, striking out three with no it out against Chapman (2-3), who came innings. The Cardinals wasted two hits to Davis was called out for missing the plate three straight outs for his 11th save. walks. The 32-year-old’s sinker produced in for the ninth. open the ninth when Ramirez struck out on a home run trot, but Hunter Pence and 18 groundball outs in his first start since Charlie Blackmon opened with a walk Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Matt San Francisco wound up with the win. RANGERS 10, INDIANS 8 the end of an injury plagued 2014. and took third on D.J. Lemahieu’s single. Adams. Davis hit a pair of solo homers, includ- Josh Hamilton was hitless in his return Francisco Cervelli had two hits, includ- Blackmon scored easily on Arenado’s fly Carlos Martinez matched his career ing one that led to a bizarre sequence. In to the majors, but reached on a key error ing a three-run homer, for the Pirates. to center fielder Billy Hamilton, whose high with eight strikeouts in seven score- the first inning, he pointed in the crowd that sent Texas over Cleveland for a sixth Pedro Alvarez added his ninth homer of throw was off-target. less innings for St. Louis, which got an RBI in celebration and skipped across the straight win. the season for Pittsburgh, which moved Rafael Betancourt (2-1) retired the four apiece from Matt Adams and Jason plate. It appeared to both umpire Will Hamilton, slowed this season by shoul- back to .500 (22-22). Mark Melancon batters he faced. John Axford gave up a Heyward. Trevor Rosenthal (1-0) retired Little and Giants catcher Andrew Susac der surgery, was 0 for 3 with two strike- worked a perfect ninth for his 11th save. walk in the ninth while getting his sev- Michael Owings and Tuffy Gosewisch that Davis’ right foot failed to touch down outs and a walk, and scored a run. The Giancarlo Stanton hit his 13th homer enth save in as many chances. with the bases loaded to end the 10th. on the dish, and he was ruled out. 2010 AL MVP came up with runners on and drove in two for the Marlins while Brewers manager Craig Counsell contest- first and second and two outs in the sev- adding a spectacular catch against the MARINERS 4, RAYS 1 DODGERS 6, BRAVES 3 ed the call and after a replay review that enth inning with the score 8-all. He hit an wall in right field. David Phelps (2-2) sur- Robinson Cano drove in two runs, Andre Ethier, Alex Guerrero and Jimmy took several minutes, the home run easy tapper back to pitcher Zach rendered four runs in six innings. The Roenis Elias threw six solid innings and Rollins each homered in the eighth counted. Davis stomped firmly in the McAllister, whose throw was well over the Marlins fell to 2-6 under new manager Seattle beat Tampa Bay. Seattle took a 2-0 inning, rallying Los Angeles to a victory middle of the plate after homering in the head of first baseman Carlos Santana for Dan Jennings. lead in the first on RBI singles by Cano over Atlanta. Ethier got things started, third. Pence’s two-run double capped a a two-base error. Hamilton was traded and Nelson Cruz. Cano entered the game homering to snap a 2-all tie against Nick seven-run rally in the sixth. Center fielder from the Angels back to Texas in late ATHLETICS 4, TIGERS 0 hitless in his previous 12 at-bats. He Masset (0-1). Ethier’s bases-loaded walk Carlos Gomez made two errors in the April. The Indians had won six in a row. Jesse Hahn pitched a four-hitter for his made it 3-1 on a run-scoring single in the in the first drove in the Dodgers’ initial inning. Tanner Scheppers (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 first career complete game, and Oakland eighth. run. Pinch-hitter Guerrero sent a 3-1 pitch innings for the Rangers, who arrived in beat Detroit for its first three-game win- Elias (2-1) gave up one run and six hits. into the left-field pavilion, scoring A.J. ORIOLES 4, ASTROS 3 Cleveland at 4 a.m. after completing a ning streak this season. Mark Lowe, Carson Smith and Fernando Ellis, who walked, to make it 5-2. With two Caleb Joseph and Steve Pearce hit three-game sweep in Yankee Stadium on Hahn (2-4) struck out five and walked Rodney, who pitched the ninth for his outs, Rollins homered for a 6-2 lead. two-run homers off Dallas Keuchel, and Sunday night. Shawn Tolleson pitched the one in his stellar 112-pitch performance. 13th save, completed an eight hitter. It was the Dodgers’ most runs scored Baltimore dealt the left-hander his first ninth for his fourth save. Marc The right-hander pitched around three Seattle went up 4-1 in the ninth on Mike since getting six on May 15 against loss in a victory over Houston. Rzepczynski (1-2) also committed a errors, but allowed only one runner to get Zunino’s solo homer. Jake Odorizzi (3-5) Colorado. They lead the majors with 60 Keuchel (6-1) came in with a 1.67 ERA throwing error in the seventh. to scoring position. He had never gone allowed two runs and five hits in seven homers. Adam Liberatore (1-0) got the and had won three straight starts. He further than seven innings. innings, and Logan Forsythe homered for victory, tossing 11 pitches. Kenley Jansen allowed just one home run in nine METS 6, PHILLIES 3 Max Muncy and Sam Fuld hit RBI dou- the Rays, who have lost three in a row. got three outs in the ninth for his fourth appearances this season before Joseph Wilmer Flores hit a tiebreaking three- bles in the decisive four-run sixth inning. save. connected in the second inning and run homer off Justin De Fratus in the Yoenis Cespedes went hitless in his first BLUE JAY 5, WHITE SOX 0 Pearce went deep in the seventh. Keuchel sixth inning to help Bartolo Colon win a trip back to Oakland since being traded Drew Hutchison pitched a four-hitter, ANGELS 4, PADRES 3 allowed six hits, struck out three and day after his 42nd birthday, and New York to the Boston Red Sox last July 31. He Justin Smoak and Josh Donaldson home- Albert Pujols hit a two-out, broken-bat walked one over eight innings in his first beat Philadelphia to stop a three-game joined the Tigers in another trade Dec. 11. red and Toronto beat Chicago. Hutchison single with the bases loaded in the ninth complete game of 2015 and seventh of losing streak. With the score 3-all, Daniel (4-1) allowed four singles, walked none inning, giving Los Angeles a walk-off win his career. Murphy led off the sixth with a single off ROCKIES 5, REDS 4 and struck out eight while throwing just over San Diego. George Springer had a season-high Elvis Araujo (1-1), De Fratus walked Cincinnati Reds lost a ninth straight 96 pitches in his second career shutout. Kevin Quackenbush (1-1) gave up a three hits and a homer for the Astros, Michael Cuddyer and Flores homered off game as Nolan Arenado homered, had The other came at Texas on May 16, 2014. one-out walk to Marc Krauss and No. 9 who stranded seven and went 1 for 11 the original 16-foot left-field wall, over three hits and drove in the tiebreaking Smoak hit a two-run homer in the first hitter Johnny Giavotella followed with a with runners in scoring position. the 8-foot blue fence erected in front of it run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and Donaldson had a solo drive in the single up the middle that sent pinch-run- Brad Brach (2-0) pitched two scoreless for the 2012 season. Colon (7-3) allowed off Aroldis Chapman that gave Colorado second as the Blue Jays won consecutive ner Collin Cowgill to third. innings of relief and Oliver Drake worked three runs and six hits in six innings, ben- the victory. This is the Reds’ longest los- games for the first time since a three- efiting from plate umpire Larry Vanover’s ing streak since they dropped 11 straight game streak from May 6-9. seemingly wide strike zone. in June 1998 under manager Jack The loss in the opener of a season- McKeon. Arenado had a pair of singles long, 11-game trip stopped a five-game TWINS 7, RED SOX 2 and a solo homer off Reds starter Jason road win streak for the White Sox. Ricky Nolasco struck out five in 7-plus Marquis. He then helped the Rockies pull Chicago has lost six of seven overall. —AP innings and Trevor Plouffe hit a three-run homer to lead surging Minnesota to a vic- tory over Boston. Nolasco (5-1) gave up two runs on sev- MLB results/standings en hits to win his fifth straight start since coming off the disabled list. The Twins NY Yankees 14, Kansas City 1; Colorado 5, Cincinnati 4; NY Mets 6, Philadelphia 3; Baltimore 4, Houston 3; San Francisco 8, Milwaukee 4; Minnesota 7, Boston 2; Washington 2, Chicago Cubs 1; Oakland 4, Detroit 0; Texas 10, got 16 hits to pick up their AL-leading Cleveland 8; St. Louis 3, Arizona 2 (10 innings); Pittsburgh 4, Miami 2; Toronto 6, Chicago White Sox 0; Seattle 4, 16th win in May. After a 1-6 start the Tampa Bay 1; LA Dodgers 6, Atlanta 3; LA Angels 4, San Diego 3. Twins (26-18) are now just two games American League National League behind first-place Kansas City in the AL Eastern Division Eastern Division Central. Joe Kelly (1-4) lasted just 1 2-3 W L PCT GB Washington 27 18 .600 - innings. He gave up seven runs on eight Tampa Bay 24 22 .522 - NY Mets 25 21 .543 2.5 hits in a performance that sapped any NY Yankees 23 22 .511 0.5 Atlanta 22 22 .500 4.5 Baltimore 20 22 .476 2 Philadelphia 19 28 .404 9 sense of momentum the Red Sox had Boston 21 24 .467 2.5 after picking up two straight wins over Miami 18 28 .391 9.5 Toronto 21 26 .447 3.5 Central Division the Angels. Mike Napoli had two hits for Central Division St. Louis 29 16 .644 - Boston, but his string of three straight Kansas City 28 16 .636 - Chicago Cubs 24 20 .545 4.5 Minnesota 26 18 .591 2 games with a homer was snapped. Pittsburgh 22 22 .500 6.5 Detroit 26 20 .565 3 Cincinnati 18 26 .409 10.5 Cleveland 20 24 .455 8 Milwaukee 16 30 .348 13.5 PIRATES 4, MARLINS 2 Chicago White Sox 19 23 .452 8 Charlie Morton tossed seven strong Western Division Western Division Houston 29 17 .630 - LA Dodgers 27 17 .614 - innings in his return from hip surgery and San Francisco 26 20 .565 2 Pittsburgh ran its winning streak to four LA Angels 23 22 .511 5.5 Texas 22 23 .489 6.5 Arizona 21 23 .477 6 straight with a victory over Miami. Seattle 21 23 .477 7 San Diego 21 25 .457 7 LOS ANGELES: Atlanta Braves third baseman Pedro Ciriaco (left) holds up the ball after get- Morton (1-0) gave up two runs on Oakland 17 30 .362 12.5 Colorado 18 25 .419 8.5 ting Los Angeles Dodger Juan Uribe out on a fielderís choice during the seventh inning. —AP WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 SPORTS IOC clear winners in SportAccord battle

BERLIN: The International Olympic erations continued to drop out of the Olympics. IOC. Peru’s Olympic Committee, who had revenues for their entire existence in the Committee (IOC) has emerged as the SportAccord en masse. In an interview It never materialised after he opted to been set to organise SportAccord’s 2017 four-year cycle between Games and this clear winner in a battle for influence over with Reuters last week, Vizer, the head of break them down into four smaller World Combat Games in Lima, also cash injection is something neither Vizer international sports federations as rival the International Judo Federation, cried events so as not to threaten the IOC-but pulled the plug on Sunday, telling Vizer nor SportAccord can replace any time organisation SportAccord has been left foul, accusing IOC President Thomas the battle lines had been drawn. they were siding with the IOC. The World soon. in tatters. A rare public confrontation Bach of pulling federations’ strings in the Federations are the lifeline of the Combat Games have lost five of six “What is the relevance of SportAccord that began last month with a scathing background. Olympics. They bring the big names to Olympic sports, with only judo, the feder- now? The Olympic federations are safe attack by SportAccord President Marius “They (the IOC) did not analyse my the Games, making them the IOC’s most ation Vizer heads, remaining. but non-Olympic federations are in a Vizer on the IOC has essentially ended proposals but just took measures to pun- valuable stakeholder. very awkward position at the moment,” with the complete isolation of ish me because I expressed a voice on A lack of top athletes would mean no OLYMPIC CASH said the Olympic expert. “There is a divi- SportAccord, an umbrella organisation behalf of me and millions of sports peo- top sponsors nor top broadcasting deals. Yet alleged pressure is not enough to sion now that no one wants and that was for some 100 sports federations. ple,” Vizer said. “I was straight and direct “I believe it was about making a point, lead federations to side with the IOC. It is created by SportAccord.” Dozens of them, including most and I feel that president Bach has stayed about telling other potential threats and also the IOC’s financial structure that The organisation was never crucial for Olympic federations, have either with- just behind all the story, in the shadows.” the world of sport that Bach and the IOC ensures millions of dollars are distributed major sports but minor, non-Olympic drawn their membership of SportAccord are in complete control,” an Olympics to them after each Olympics. federations used that platform-an annual or made their opposition to Vizer’s com- COMPLETE CONTROL expert, speaking on condition of Just under $300 million was divided convention and a string of multi-sports ments public, siding with the IOC. It is clear that Bach, elected in 2013, anonymity, told Reuters. between the 28 federations after the events-to increase global exposure and Vizer had accused the IOC of lacking has emerged the big winner in this con- “Pressure or no pressure, anyone out 2008 Beijing Olympics and that figure tap into new revenue streams. transparency and blocking new events, flict against a potential competitor, who there planning to challenge the IOC will went up to a staggering $519 million for A group of 23 such sports wrote to calling their system “expired, outdated, was eager to increase his control over now have to think twice after seeing 26 sports after London 2012 due to even Bach and Vizer on Monday in a desperate wrong, unfair and not at all transparent.” federations. what happened to SportAccord.” greater broadcasting deals. plea to find common ground. With the Even after Vizer proposed a meeting Vizer took over SportAccord two years Vizer’s position has been severely Rights deals have continued to grow IOC boss unwilling to meet before brief- with the IOC to clear the air with a 20- ago and immediately announced the compromised with many federations and the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games will ing the Executive Board in June, time is point agenda that included major United World Championships, an event saying he is no longer speaking on their flush further cash into their coffers. Many running out for Vizer with Bach holding demands in favour of his members, fed- the IOC saw as possible competition to behalf and demanding an apology to the Olympic federations depend on these all the cards. —Reuters Business at the high end is grand for Trump

NEW YORK: Warning bells have sounded on International Golf Links Scotland in Aberdeen the health of golf, from lower participation and Doonbeg in Ireland, now Trump and course closures to environmental International Golf Links, Ireland. Turnberry is demands for reduced water use, but billion- holding the Women’s British Open this year aire Donald Trump says business at the high and remains a candidate to host a fifth British end is grand. Open. Trump yesterday will stage the grand opening of Trump Links at Ferry Point, his lat- FEATHER RUFFLING est golf enterprise, where he oversaw the Some feathers have been ruffled with transformation of a New York City dump into Trump’s rise. He was a vocal critic of the U.S. a jewel of a public course designed by Jack Golf Association’s presentation of the 2014 Nicklaus. “We’re very proud of it. It’s doing men’s and women’s US Opens at Pinehurst, great business. People are thrilled,” the busi- where native grasses were planted to con- nessman told Reuters from behind his mas- serve water as part of a USGA initiative giving sive desk on the top floor of Trump Tower on a browned look to the event. “I like the brown Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. at Turnberry,” Trump said about the vegeta- “And I’m happy because I did a good thing tion at the seaside course. “But I didn’t like the for the city.” A very good thing, at least, for Big brown at Pinehurst because it was artificial. Apple golfers with the means to pay weekday “I love Mike (Davis, USGA executive direc- green fees from $175 for city residents to tor). I just thought that it wasn’t good for tele- $225 for those from beyond its borders, vision. I don’t think it played well on televi- including cart. The treeless links-style course sion and I don’t think it was good for golf.” with dramatic mounds dotting the fairways, In the highlands of Scotland, Trump took stretches from the foot of the Whitestone to tilting at windmills. His Aberdeen project Bridge in the Bronx with views of the hit a snag when he sought to eliminate alter- Manhattan skyline and East River. native energy windmills he felt marred views “It’s the best municipal course in the from the course. “I’ve been really successful in world,” said Trump, not prone to understate- stopping the windmills. These windmills are a ment. “It will be the home of many majors blight,” he said. “I’ve been suing the Scottish over the years.” When real estate magnate and government for about five years.” PGA of avid golfer Trump jumped into the golf busi- America chief executive Pete Bevacqua called ness some 20 years ago he began by building Trump a positive force in golf. courses. After the market swooned he took to “He just gets the game. He loves the game, ANAHEIM: Ducks left wing Matt Beleskey (right) scores the game winning goal past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford during overtime ‘buying low’ and rebuilding distressed, luxury he puts his effort, his personality and his in Game 5 of the Western Conference final of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs. —AP properties. energy behind the game,” Bevacqua told Reuters. “I wish more people with his influ- MAJOR ARRIVAL ence and resources would become passion- Despite some sagging economic results in ate about this game. Right now, he has the Ducks beat Chicago the industry, Trump said his golf interests are Midas touch in golf.” thriving. “Golf is doing great,” he said in his Trump, who made his fortune in real man-cave of a 26th floor executive office, sur- estate, has combined his zest for the art of rounded by plaques and golf trophies and a making a deal with his sport of choice. Of the picture window view of Central Park green- distressed sale that brought him the coastal 5-4 in wild Game 5 ery. “Places that should never have been built property south of Los Angeles, Trump said: have now disappeared.” “You couldn’t buy a piece of land like that for When he started, he said his goal was to a billion dollars today. And I bought it for $27 ANAHEIM: Anaheim’s Matt Beleskey scored just first period for the Ducks. Patrick Maroon scored But the Ducks came out of the dressing room host majors. Trump now has 17 courses and a million. Six hundred acres on the ocean in Los 45 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks a 3-2 with 5:15 to play before Toews’ heroics. with fire and swiftly made the decisive rush at string of majors lined up. Trump National Angeles.” Looking tan and fit with his famed win against Chicago on Monday to take a 3-2 Teuvo Teravainen and Brent Seabrook scored Crawford, who put a rebound straight onto Bedminster (New Jersey) will be hosting the comb-over carefully in place, Trump recalled lead in the NHL Western Conference finals. in the second period for Chicago, which had Beleskey’s stick for his seventh goal of the post- 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and 2022 PGA how he took on the Ferry Point project that Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored two won the previous seven occasions they went season. Championship. Trump National Washington, had languished for decades. stunning goals in 72 seconds late in regulation into a Game 5 with the series tied. “That’s the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” DC, set along the Potomac River, will be site “It was a horrible, horrible disgrace. They to force overtime, but his efforts were in vain as These teams combined for a six-goal third Beleskey said. “It’s a great feeling anytime you do of the 2017 Senior PGA Championship. Trump asked me numerous times during the course Beleskey barreled into the crease and scored on period in Game 4, and they put together anoth- that, especially at home.” The goal came after a National Los Angeles will host the 2015 PGA of years because I get things done,” he said. a rebound of Ryan Kesler’s shot, flying through er memorable finish in a high-level playoff series rallying pep talk from coach Bruce Boudreau Grand Slam of Golf, featuring winners of the “But we could never make a deal. Then Mayor the air in celebration. “It’s Ducks hockey,” said already featuring two multi-overtime games. heading into overtime. “Bruce said, ‘Get your year’s four majors. International acquisitions (Michael) Bloomberg said can you take a look Kesler. “We don’t like to do anything easy.” After Maroon appeared to wrap it up for heads up, boys, we’re going to win this hockey include Turnberry in Scotland, Trump at it, it’s a disaster. “I got it built.” —Reuters Kesler and Sami Vatanen had a goal and an Anaheim, Toews scored with 1:50 left with goalie game,’” said Maroon. “And everyone believed in assist apiece for the Ducks, who moved to the Crawford pulled for an extra skater, and he did it here. We’ve been doing it all year, and that’s the brink of their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals again with 37.2 seconds left on a sharp-angled great thing about our team, that never-give-up since 2007. shot that somehow got through Ducks goalie attitude.” Lee happy to be team player Goaltender Corey Crawford made 23 saves for Frederik Andersen, who made 24 saves. The The Blackhawks must now win two straight SINGAPORE: Former world number one the Blackhawks, who had won four overtime Danish goalie had been mostly superb in the to reach their third Stanley Cup finals in six sea- Lee Chong Wei is by far the biggest name games already in this postseason, including two postseason until allowing two awful goals in sons. “It was a great comeback,” Chicago coach in the Southeast Asian Games’ badminton in this series. They had all the momentum head- Game 5, including that tying howler. “In the play- Joel Quenneville said. “A great second (period), a tournament but the Malaysian shuttler is ing to OT after Toews twin strikes silenced the offs, it’s really tough to control your emotions, great third, amazing finish. Tough in the over- happy to keep his return from a doping crowd at Honda Center - until Beleskey swooped and you’ve got to be good at that,” Andersen time. We didn’t start on time for the first time in ban low-key as he eyes bigger goals. in. said. “That’s what we did today, even though the series. (Anaheim) talked about being ready. For 32-year-old Lee, his appearance in Game 6 is today in Chicago. Cam Fowler and they came up and scored twice there. We refo- Might have been the differential. But great the men’s team event will end a 10-year Kesler scored 32 seconds apart in a three-goal cused (before) OT, so it was great.” comeback.” —AP hiatus from the multi-sports gathering and while his presence will install Malaysia as favourites, an elusive world or Olympic title remains his ultimate target. NBK announces the winners to Lee has spent more than 300 weeks at the top of the rankings since 2006, collect- ing 55 titles along the way, yet has never UEFA Champions League final been able to claim one of badminton’s biggest prizes, falling short in two Olympic In association with MasterCard finals and in three world title showdowns. Four of those defeats came against arch- Lee Chong Wei nemesis Lin Dan and the Malaysian had put KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait ers a chance to win fully paid travel off retirement for one last tilt at overcom- The lost ranking points during his ban (NBK) has announced the two win- packages to see the UEFA ing his Chinese rival and crowning his dropped him to third among Malaysian ners among NBK MasterCard credit Champions League 2015 Final career with either title before his world shuttlers and with only two slots per coun- cardholders of full travel packages Berlin 2015,” said NBK’s Assistant came crashing down last August. try available, he was controversially select- for two persons to attend the UEFA General Manager, Consumer Lee tested positive for dexamethasone ed for the world championships ahead of Champions League Final Berlin Banking Group, Mohammed Al at the world championships in higher-ranked compatriot Chong Wei Feng. 2015. MasterCard in partnership Othman. Copenhagen and when his ‘B’ sample con- Building form and fitness in team com- with NBK has brought the excite- Raghav Prasad, General firmed the findings, he was temporarily petition before the more taxing challenge ment of the UEFA Champions Manager - Gulf Countries, suspended by the Badminton World of individual action, Lee impressed with League 2015 to Kuwait by reward- MasterCard commented: “At Federation (BWF) as he appealed the deci- three victories in as many matches in the ing NBK MasterCard(r) credit card- MasterCard, we value the loyalty of sion. Dexamethasone is not performance- Sudirman Cup earlier this month and will holders with tickets courtesy of our cardholders, and are delighted enhancing but a commonly administered be tough to beat in Singapore. MasterCard, an official sponsor of to thank and reward our con- anti-inflammatory corticosteroid that is not He will then forego the SEA Games’ sin- UEFA Champions League. sumers by providing priceless forbidden when used off-season for reha- gles tournament to complete his world Abdul Mohsen Al Qallaf and experiences. With this opportunity bilitation but deemed illegal if discovered championship preparations at the U.S. and Nadia Mubarak will fly to Berlin to to watch the UEFA Champions in an athlete’s body during competition. Canadian Opens but Lee insists he will be watch the UEFA Champions League League 2015 Final, we are actively Facing a career-ending two-year ban, doing his utmost to help his team win gold Final match between Barcelona rewarding MasterCard cardholders Lee argued that he gained no benefit from at the Indoor Stadium from June 10-12. and Juventus live on June 6, 2015. for using their cards to enjoy sim- a supplement he had taken inadvertently, “This is the first time I’ll be playing as the Each travel package includes ple, safe and secure transactions.” convincing the BWF to reduce his back-dat- second singles ... I’m excited about it,” Lee two round trip airline tickets, hotel NBK’s leadership in the credit ed suspension to eight months. He was said. “I’ve played at first singles for the most accommodation, transfer service card market in Kuwait has been able to return to competition in early May. part of my badminton career. This time, I and match tickets for both the win- established by consistently deliver- Lee is now racing against time to get have a chance to become the hero in a ner and a guest. ing superior value to our cus- match-fit for what is likely to be his last team event by securing the winning point. “The UEFA Champions League is tomers. NBK credit cards are world championships in Jakarta this “We’re banking on our team spirit to over- one of the world’s most popular accepted worldwide and are the August before he ends his career at the come Indonesia and Thailand for the team sporting events, and NBK is offer- safest, most convenient and 2016 Olympics in Rio. gold.” —Reuters ing its MasterCard credit cardhold- rewarding way to pay. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 SPORTS England look up after thrilling Lord’s victory

LONDON: When England crumbled to summer of struggle with the Ashes quickest ever test century at Lord’s, and Moeen’s superb catch at third man ot Jason Gillespie the saga continued on 30 for four on Thursday morning in the series to come. But Joe Root, Ben Stokes, England moved into the ascendancy at to dismiss Boult sealed a 124-run victory Monday. first Test against New Zealand, their cap- Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali had other 429 for six. Trent Boult knocked over the for England. But on the field Cook and his team tain Alastair Cook would have been a ideas. The quartet posted half-centuries last four wickets inside the first hour on “Today, the way our guys bowled... laid down a marker ahead of the Ashes. worried man. to lift England to a total of 389, laying the final day but England had made a we fought incredibly hard on a great With the captain back in the runs, Root a Buffeted by weeks of off-field contro- the foundation for a recovery which statement and their bowlers backed it cricket wicket,” Cook told reporters. “It’s flexible and reliable presence in the mid- versy in which coach Peter Moores was brought about a famous victory in an up. James Anderson and Stuart Broad been a real team effort this week. It’s dle order and the exciting Stokes estab- sacked and the Kevin Pietersen non- enthralling match. reduced New Zealand to 12 for three been a rocky few weeks so to play with lished at number six, England have a selection saga took centre stage, New Zealand batted well to reply and Stokes made a devastating contri- such freedom and passion, the lads are batting order of substance. England took the field in bad shape. with 523 but Cook had the bit between bution with the ball by dismissing Kane pleased with that.” It was a rocky few Although the pace bowling attack A hapless first hour in which Cook, his teeth. The captain occupied the Williamson and Brendon McCullum with weeks indeed. certainly lacks variety, it has the heart Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell crease all day on Sunday to make 153 successive deliveries. With speculation swirling that and fire to ask questions of the failed to withstand the New Zealand not out and combined with Root’s 84 Spirited resistance from BJ Watling Australian Trevor Bayliss is poised to be Australians in what promises to be an pace attack potentially set the tone for a and an inspired 101 from Stokes, the and Corey Anderson proved temporary appointed coach ahead of his compatri- intriguing Ashes series.—Reuters Alonso better off at McLaren — Briatore

LONDON: Fernando Alonso made the right ENGINE TROUBLE move in leaving Ferrari for McLaren even if Honda have returned to Formula One he has yet to score a point this season, this season to renew a partnership with according to the man who has steered the McLaren that enjoyed rare dominance in Spaniard’s Formula One career from the the late 1980s when Ayrton Senna and start. Italian Flavio Briatore, the flamboyant Alain Prost were team mates. and controversial former Renault team They have, however, struggled with the boss, told Reuters Alonso was happy to be complicated new V6 turbo hybrid power back at the misfiring former champions units that rivals had been using for a year and enjoying the challenge. already. “I believe at one point in Ferrari it was Alonso won two championships with over, from both sides. I believe it was a Briatore’s Renault team, after replacing good change,” the manager said of the Button, and had an ill-fated year at move. “McLaren is a serious team. Honda McLaren in 2007 before returning to we know is a great company and we are Renault and then on to Ferrari. there. “I don’t think the situation of “He is happy to be staying at McLaren (Australian Daniel) Ricciardo (at Red Bull) is now,” said Briatore. “I don’t understand why better than that of Fernando. In Formula you guys think it’s a lot of pressure. Drivers One at the moment you have one team like this are very lucky people. Maybe you and it’s Mercedes. Whatever other team have pressure to pay the rent at the end of you are second, and second is the first of the month but these people have no pres- the losers.” While Alonso has yet to score a sure at all.” point in his six races, Ferrari have been on Briatore, who came into Formula One the podium in every grand prix this season with Italian clothing company Benetton in with the Spaniard’s replacement Sebastian the 1980s, said also that the sport needed Vettel finishing second in Monaco on to return to the basics. Sunday. McLaren ended their drought in “In Formula One you need a gladiator, that race with Jenson Button finishing you need a fight, you need the show, you eighth. Briatore, who was banned from need a race. You don’t need to worry if you Formula One after a 2008 Singapore Grand have fuel or no fuel in the car,” he said. “You Prix race-fixing scandal but subsequently don’t need to worry if your tyres last for had the ruling overturned, felt Ferrari were longer. SRI LANKA: This is a Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 file photo of Sri Lanka’s coach Trevor Bayliss (left) talks with captain Kumar Sangakkara during a still no closer to dethroning Mercedes even “I believe the distribution of the money practice session at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. —AP if they appeared to be more competitive. is not correct, you give the money to the “(In qualifying) Vettel was seven tenths rich and not to the poor. It makes no sense,” from Lewis (Hamilton) and last year added the Italian, who owns the Billionaire Fernando was fifth (on the grid for Ferrari) brand of nightclubs and boutiques. “In the Australian appointed and seven tenths (off pole),” he said, speak- last 10 years, the costs are too high to have ing at during the race weekend at the prin- a race. For me, Formula One needs to go cipality. “Between Ferrari and Mercedes it is back to racing, instead of talking all the the same distance. The problem is three or time about fuel consumption. I want to talk England head coach four teams are not there any more. With about the fighting between drivers. “The Honda and McLaren, we have a better more similar the cars, the better racing we future.” have. It’s not a big secret.”—Reuters LONDON: England turned to the old enemy in ed in the game,” England’s director of cricket guide England to a series win in the Caribbean an attempt to restore national pride as Trevor Andrew Strauss said. against what many considered to be a weak Bayliss became the first Australian to be appoint- “He has proved himself in both domestic and West Indies team. ed head coach of the team yesterday. international cricket, has a strong reputation for Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie Contador boosts Giro lead With an Ashes series against Australia loom- man-management and has shown how to build was expected to be appointed to the role after ing on home soil in six weeks’ time, the 52-year- winning teams in all three formats.” talks with Strauss last week but Bayliss was cho- MIAN: Spaniard Alberto Contador took a on his way to overall victory in 2008, Aru old former Sri Lanka coach has been tasked with sen for his proven track record as a coach. massive step towards his second Giro was a long way from safety. repairing battered reputations following HUGE TASK He led Sri Lanka to the 2011 World Cup final d’Italia triumph by increasing his overall Astana had worked hard to increase England’s 5-0 humiliation Down Under 16 Bayliss faces the huge task of instilling some and has twice won the Sheffield Shield with New lead on Fabio Aru after an epic 16th stage their advantage by the start of the 11.8 km months ago. “What particularly excites me about stability into England after their 5-0 mauling in South Wales. Bayliss has also enjoyed success in won by fellow Spaniard Mikel Landa yester- climb to the summit. Contador was 50secs the role is the chance to work with a very talent- Australia led to a period of turbulence, with off- the Twenty20 format, winning the Australian Big day. Astana rider Landa claimed his second behind and, more worryingly for the ed group of players. I firmly believe that the field matters drawing as many headlines as the Bash and Champions League with Sydney Sixers win of the race in winning the 174km ride Spaniard, totally on his own after losing his team has a bright future and I’ll be doing every- team’s miserable form on the pitch. in 2012 and the Indian Premier League title with from Pinzolo to Aprica in the Italian teammates one by one. thing I can to help them realise their potential During the past 18 months, controversial Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014. Dolomites, which took in no less than five But Contador set about cutting his way and achieve success on a consistent basis,” batsman Kevin Pietersen was sacked after the “His expertise in the shorter forms of the categorised mountain passes including the through the stragglers dropped from the Bayliss said in a statement. England management accused of him of being a game will be vital as we build towards three notoriously difficult Mortirolo. earlier front group. Although Aru was forg- He succeeds Peter Moores, who was sacked divisive presence in the dressing room during major ICC events over the next four years; the In what proved to be another small ing on with Landa and Dutchman earlier this month following England’s dismal the doomed 2013-14 Ashes series. ICC World T20 tournament in India in 2016 and humiliation for his team leader Aru, Landa Kruiswijk, the Italian was soon to be left on performance at this year’s World Cup and a 1-1 ECB managing director Paul Downton depart- the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World came over the finish line in 5hr 02min his own too. Contador finally closed the draw in a test series in West Indies. ed in April as he paid the price for England’s fail- Cup which will be staged in England and Wales 51sec to move up to second place overall gap 5km before the summit, prompting “Trevor has an outstanding record as coach, ure to progress during the group stages of the in 2017 and 2019 respectively,” Strauss added. at 4min 02sec behind Contador, who set- Landa-who appeared much fresher than has global experience and is very highly regard- World Cup. Moores was also axed for failing to The Ashes begins on July 8. —Reuters tled for third place at 38sec behind on the Aru-to counter the Spaniard and leave his wheel of Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk. tiring team leader behind, alone and isolat- Astana team leader Aru finished nearly ed, when Contador threatened to ride away three minutes off the pace to drop to third solo. at 4:52 behind Contador, raising further By the summit, Contador, Landa and World Series of Poker doubts about Astana’s leadership with sev- Kruijswijk held nearly a minute’s lead on eral mountain stages on the menu before Yuri Trofimov and Ryder Hesjedal, with Sunday’s final to Milan. Aru’s deficit now at nearly two minutes. On what was billed as the ‘Queen’ stage The gaps remained largely the same starts with new events of the race, Contador emerged a step closer after the descent, with Aru suffering his to his second pink jersey after Astana ulti- own mechanical problem and requiring a mately paid the price for attacking the change of bike before the long ride LAS VEGAS: If the World Series of Poker is lucky, vying for the top prize in the 2006 main event. “My ONLINE TO IN-PERSON Spaniard when he suffered a puncture on through the valley towards the foot of the the popularity of the Las Vegas championship’s biggest concern is actually having enough physical The World Series of Poker is bridging the online the descent of the Aprica, with a little over final climb to Aprica. Aru fought to limit the newest event could cause a poker chip shortage. poker chips,” Palansky said. and offline worlds of poker in a tournament that 60 km remaining. damage, but the grimaces on the Italian’s The annual set of 68 tournaments at the Rio All- will start on WSOP.com and take the final six play- Astana and Katusha pounced on face spoke volumes. Up ahead of him, Suite Hotel & Casino that rewards millions of dol- THE MAIN EVENT ers to a table at the Rio for the win, appealing to a Contador’s misfortune to join forces and Landa pulled ahead of Contador and lars to the best card sharks starts today with a new There will be fewer bricks of cash piled atop the generation of poker players who have grown up open up a gap, which soon left the Spanish Kruijswijk in the final metres of the race to event dubbed the Colossus expected to attract at poker table when the next winner of poker’s Main playing online. race leader a minute down on the stage. put a silver lining around Astana’s now least 10,000 players. The Colossus represents the Event is crowned in November. A guaranteed $10 “You can be in your pajamas anywhere at home But with the Mortirolo to come and seemingly doomed bid to top the race lowest buy-in in 35 years with players ponying-up million top prize is no longer a certainty since top in Nevada,” or a hotel room, or coffee shop, or any- Contador having raced the notorious climb podium on Sunday.—AFP $565 each to win their share of a $5 million prize poker players told series officials they would rather where just so long as you’re physically in Nevada, pool, with the winner likely walking away with see more people win money, in this case the last Palansky said of the new event. And even though nearly $600,000. The 45-year-old event now owned 1,000 players standing. Spreading the wealth is the state has an agreement with Delaware allowing by Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. is also likely to drop the top prize closer to $8 million if players there to join in Nevada’s online cash games, spreading the wealth for its $10,000 no-limit Texas the same number of people who entered last year only players physically in Nevada qualify for tour- Hold ‘em main event and hosting an online tourna- do so again. nament matches, he said. ment that will end with a live poker matchup. Poker pro and hall-of-famer Daniel Negreanu The World Series of Poker drew 82,360 players pushed for it. “I don’t think we lose a single player WHY ALL THE CHANGES? last year with 10 percent winning some of the as a result,” he said. “We’re going to have 1,000 peo- “Poker does have an ecosystem and you must $227.7 million in prize money. ple leave the main event in Las Vegas a winner.” continue to bring new players in the game,” said Lance Bradley, the editor in chief of poker news And if the top winner walks away with only $8 mil- Palansky. That said, last year the event had its most site Bluff.com, said the series has long worked to lion or so? entries ever, some 82,360, a massive number com- widen its appeal. But this year appeared to be “It’s not going to be like, ‘aw, man,’” Negreanu pared with the event’s humble beginnings at a unusually ambitious, catering to the regular guy said. He said he’ll be vying for a chance at the small single table in 1970 at Benny Binion’s who doesn’t mind parting with $565 but would slightly smaller top prize, too, just like he does Horseshoe Casino, where the players ultimately blush at spending $1,000, while still attracting “the every year. voted on the winner in the end. “It’s never been pros who don’t want to play against those guys.” more popular,” Palansky said. —AP

Here’s what’s also new: THE COLOSSUS If everyone expected shows up, there will never have been a larger live poker tournament. World Series of Poker spokesman Seth Palansky said the logistics won’t be as challenging as managing the large number of players who might be new to the tournament because of the cheaper entry fee. “Your eyes are a little bigger and you walk a lit- tle slower,” Palansky said of those new to the over- whelming event. That’s why the World Series of Poker has been encouraging advance registration to cut down on the time players might wait in line to pay. The tournament can fit about 24,800 poker ITALY: Spain’s Alberto Contador wears the pink jersey of the overall leader as he cele- players in the single event if need be, Palansky said. brates on the podium after completing the 16th stage of the Giro díItalia, Tour of The World Series of Poker set the last record for LAS VEGAS: In this July 5, 2014 file photo, a man walks by a sign for the World Series of Poker Italy cycling race. —AP largest live poker tournament with 8,773 people during the main event . —AP WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 SPORTS

Benitez well-placed in Real search for Spanish-speaking boss MADRID: Upon sacking Carlo Ancelotti many by surprise. when he took temporary charge for the as Real Madrid coach, club president Madrid sports daily AS mocked Perez final four months of the 1993-94 sea- Florentino Perez offered the solace that with his own words yesterday on their son. the 10th boss of his reign in charge will front page as he replied “I don’t know” “It is not my decision,” said Del be named next week. when questioned in what aspects Bosque in his usual languid style in Moments later when questioned by Ancelotti had failed after a season with- announcing his latest Spain squad yes- the press if the new coach would be a out a major trophy. Ancelotti delivered terday. “The person that has to make native speaker, Perez agreed it “would the club’s most successful ever year in that decision will bring in the best be very good if he speaks Spanish.” 2014 with the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super coach, but he (Benitez) is among the That confirmation has eliminated Cup and Club World Cup adding to the best.” any doubt that remained among the glory of ending a 12-year wait for their It is another twist of fate that Spanish media that the next man to 10th European Cup. Ancelotti’s sacking came 10 years to the face the task of living up to Perez’s Moreover, he was loved within day since arguably the most memo- highest of standards will be current Madrid’s star-studded dressing room rable match of his and Benitez’s mana- Napoli boss Rafael Benitez. The 55-year- with Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez gerial career as the latter’s Liverpool old is expected to take charge of his and Toni Kroos among those to demon- came from 3-0 down at half-time to final game at the Stadio San Paolo strate their thanks to the Italian on beat Ancelotti’s AC Milan on penalties before his contract expires on Sunday social media after his dismissal, whilst in the Champions League final in when Napoli host Lazio in effectively a Cristiano Ronaldo had preempted Istanbul. playoff for the third Champions League Perez’s decision by calling for Ancelotti Yet, Benitez’s lack of major trophies spot in Serie A. to stay at the weekend. since means there are plenty of “Rafa Benitez is 99 percent certain to The decision has been likened to doubters as to whether he is the right ITALY: Napoli coach Rafael Benitez gives instructions to his players in this file be Real Madrid coach,” Ancelotti’s agent Perez’s sacking of Spain manager man to deliver on the expectations of photo. —AP Ernesto Bronzetti told Italian television Vicente del Bosque in 2003 despite hav- the world’s most expensively assem- station RAI on Monday. For a president ing won La Liga and just a year after bled squad. convinced. However, arguably his best fans with Ancelotti’s dismissal, Perez that has based his mandate around winning the Champions League. One FA Cup with Liverpool, a Europa work came during his last job in Spain now must hope Benitez is just as suc- signing the world’s biggest and most Ironically it was as Del Bosque’s League in a short stint at Chelsea and a over a decade ago in winning two cessful on his return home to ward off expensive stars, Perez’s decision to assistant that a fledgling Benitez took Coppa Italia with a Napoli side that has league titles and the UEFA Cup with serious questions over his competency replace the three-time Champions his first steps in management as Real’s B gone backwards in the past two years is Valencia. to continue leading the world’s richest League winner with Benitez has caught team coach and assistant to Del Bosque not a CV that leaves most Madrid fans Having angered the players and club.—AFP Now the hard work begins for Norwich

LONDON: Norwich City may be celebrating agement approach has already been com- promotion back to the Premier League via pared to the steely determination of fellow the playoffs but their ambitious young Scot Alex Ferguson. manager Alex Neil is already thinking “I set goals and I’m really determined to about strengthening his squad. try to achieve those goals. I don’t get over- Neil, 33, who is set to be the only awed by anyone or even any place. I’m Scottish manager in the English top flight there to do a job and I’ll do it as best I can,” next season, steered the humble Canaries he said. to a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at Among his priorities will be a winger Wembley Stadium on Monday. and a central defender to free captain The rugged Scot has little time to enjoy Russell Martin to play in his favoured right the achievement, however, with meetings back position instead of filling gaps in the scheduled to discuss reinforcements for the middle. task ahead before he takes a well-earned “It’s going to be a huge task for us,” said holiday. “The next couple of days will be Neil. “We’re probably one of the smallest busy. It’s been a long two seasons for me clubs going up into the Premier League but and the playoffs is another three weeks. I’m there are other clubs that do well of a simi- here to do as well as I can to make us as lar size.” good as can be,” he said. Having brought success to the club co- “We’ve got two plans set in place in owned by celebrity cook Delia Smith, after terms of recruitment,” he added as his replacing Neil Adams in January, Neil thoughts turned to the Norfolk club’s Plan knows he has raised the bar and that brings A. Having secured a promotion that will its own pressure. bring riches of at least 120 million pounds “My biggest challenge is going to be ($185.62 million) from ticket sales, TV expectation,” he said. “People will expect us rights, prize money and sponsorship, he to do really well in the Premier League but has money to spend. it’s extremely difficult. “There will be a hell Norwich are fortunate to have a man of a lot of hard work just to make sure we who is confident in his ability and his man- can compete at that level.”—Reuters Key Real players rally behind sacked Ancelotti

MADRID: Some of Real Madrid’s key play- helm of the world’s richest club by income, WARSAW: Dnipro’s Papa Gueye (second left) and his teammates jog during a training session on the eve of the final match of the Europa League ers have rallied around coach Carlo said he did not mind the players advertis- soccer against Sevilla. —AP Ancelotti after the Italian was made the ing their affection for Ancelotti. Going so scapegoat for a season without major tro- obviously against the wishes of a majority phies and sacked on Monday. of the squad may, however, make the job of Top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo had whoever succeeds Ancelotti that much Euro success lifts gloom already offered his support for Ancelotti on harder. Saturday, the Portugal forward saying he While Real’s two captains, Iker Casillas hoped to work with him again next season. and Sergio Ramos, have yet to comment in President Florentino Perez decided, public following Ancelotti’s dismissal, the in war-weary Ukraine however, that “a new impetus” was needed decision of some players to make their feel- and fired Ancelotti two years into a three- ings known on social media is unusual at a year contract. club that obsessively controls the flow of UKRAINE: Eastern Ukrainian club Dnipro are neighbouring big cities such as Donetsk. friends and friends of friends who are fighting. The decision, taken just a year after information. unexpectedly poised for possible European soc- Many attribute this to Ihor Kolomoisky, FC They have been drafted into the army or are in Ancelotti guided Real to their historic 10th Perez said the club would unveil Real’s cer glory, lifting the gloom in their war-weary Dnipro’s billionaire owner and president, who volunteer battalions. We and our fanatical fans European Cup triumph, prompted several new coach next week, with local media country, at least for a while. bankrolled formation of a pro-government mili- help them as best as we can,” Fedetsky said. important figures in the dressing room to reporting Napoli’s Spanish manager Rafa With fighting raging on the doorstep of its tia to stop early signs of separatist sympathies “The world should know about our country show their appreciation for the coach on Benitez as the front runner. hometown of Dnipropetrovsk, the club had to taking root. He later fell foul of the pro-Western and know that, despite the war, life goes on and Twitter. “Thanks for everything boss,” Real’s “The players have shown their affection travel 500 km (310 miles) to play their Europa authorities and was dumped as regional gover- that the entertainment of football is not foreign Brazil left back Marcelo wrote. “You are real- for Ancelotti, the same affection myself and League home matches in the capital, Kiev, away nor, though his Privat banking group still holds to us,” said Oleksander Moiseyenko, a 49-year- ly great.” Germany midfielder Toni Kroos the supporters have for him,” Perez told from their fans and often at near-empty stadi- FC Dnipro. old shopkeeper in the city. added: “Thank you boss. It was a pleasure reporters. ums. That sapped morale early on, they say. Dnipro’s success on the pitch has been the to work with you. I wish you all the best for “Not only does that not upset me but I But despite the odds, they have fought their WAR GIVES AN EDGE result of waiting for errors from their opponents the future.” think it is a natural response to have when way to the Europa League final today against The main boulevard of Dnipropetrovsk, and moving quickly to punish them. Their out- Colombian international James someone is leaving Madrid after spending Spain’s Sevilla, and when they run onto the pitch where acacias throw off a heady scent in the standing player is Yevhen Konoplyanka, 25, who Rodriguez also thanked Ancelotti, saying a period of time here,” added the construc- in Warsaw they say they will have their compatri- evening, is still called Prospekt Karl Marx-but expertly laid on the winning second goal to he had “learned a great deal in a short time” tion magnate. “It is gesture of fondness and ots on the front line in mind. probably not for much longer as a national pro- clinch a 2-1 win over Napoli in the semi-final. from the 55-year-old, while France forward affection from the players.” “These are hard times for our state and for us gramme for dropping Soviet name tags takes Football pundits say it is unlikely that Dnipro Karim Benzema expressed his gratitude for Ancelotti has said he plans to take a year too. We are hoping our sporting achievement hold. As in many Ukrainian cities, a monument will triumph against Sevilla, who captured the “two great years”. out and will have surgery in Canada to cor- will inspire our heroes who are defending our to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin was taken Europa League trophy last year against Perez, who has worked his way through rect a neck condition that was causing tin- country from the enemy,” Dnipro defender down in the centre last year. Portugal’s Benfica and have won 10 of their 14 nine coaches in two six-year stints at the gling in his hands. —Reuters Artem Fedetsky told Reuters. “We know the The team had to fly back and forth to Kiev for Europa League matches this season. By contrast, whole of Ukraine will be with us at the stadium. qualifying matches after a ruling by soccer’s Dnipro’s record en route to the final has been We will be playing for them,” head coach Myron organising body UEFA that the Dnipro Arena sta- seven victories and four defeats, with five Markevich said. An industrial city of just under dium was too dangerous. matches drawn. one million, Dnipropetrovsk has avoided being “We had to play all our home matches in Kiev No matter what happens in Warsaw, the club sucked into the war against Russian-backed and the stands were practically empty and with- will celebrate triumph over adversity. “We (have) rebels, a conflict which has killed more than out the Eurocup feel that there should be,” said understood that, since things are not easy for 6,200 people in just over a year. Fedetsky, 30. “But we gritted our teeth, fought our country just now, we should strive to do bet- It has seen an influx of refugees and is home on and eventually people got interested. At the ter in European Cup matches so that people can to an important medical centre for treating mili- game with Napoli there was a full stadium.” see in Europe and elsewhere that, though things tary wounded, and has come to be regarded as a The war has added an edge to the support are difficult for us now, football is still alive in bulwark against the separatist threat affecting Dnipropetrovsk has shown for the team. “I have Ukraine,” Markevich said. —Reuters Tense talks on Israel expulsion vote at FIFA

ZURICH: FIFA leaders yesterday stepped up motion that will require the backing of three told the FIFA executive committee on Monday efforts to head off a vote called by Palestine to quarters of the 209 member federations to pass. about his trip to the Middle East last week to expel Israel from football’s world body claiming “Our asks are clear, just and fair: Freedom of meet Netanyahu and Abbas. But he did not unfair treatment of its players. movement, end of racism and expulsion of all report a deal. “Negotiations are still going on but they are teams from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Blatter’s main talks have been with Rajoub very complicated,” a top FIFA official told AFP. Palestine competing in the Israeli league.” and Israel Football Association President Ofer “There may not be a solution until the final Rajoub said Monday as he left for Zurich. Eini who says restrictions on Palestinian players hours,” added the official, speaking on condition He said that if the conditions are not met “we are a security question. of anonymity. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has will push for our resolution to be voted in the “The FIFA president will report to the held talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin FIFA congress to suspend the Israeli Football Congress on this dossier later this week with the Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Association.” aim of providing a framework for strengthening Abbas in a bid to prevent the politically charged Palestine, which has been a FIFA member the development of football in the region,” said a vote at a FIFA congress on Friday. since 1998, wants world football’s governing FIFA statement. FIFA would not discuss the talks. But a body to bar Israel from international competi- Blatter strongly opposes the vote saying it is spokeswoman for the governing body said “only tion over its restrictions on the movement of bringing politics into football and that Israel has Palestine can withdraw the demand to suspend Palestinian players. not breached FIFA’s statutes. “The executive Israel from the agenda.” It also opposes the participation in the Israeli underlined that a FIFA member association SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal in this file Palestinian Football Association president championships of five clubs located in Jewish should not be suspended if it has not violated photo. —AP Jibril Rajoub has so far refused to withdraw the settlements in the occupied West Bank. Blatter the FIFA statutes,” said the statement. —AFP Contador Euro success lifts boosts gloom in Giro lead18 war-weary19 Ukraine WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Tense talks on Israel expulsion vote at FIFA Page 19

FRANCE: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen at the Roland Garros stadium. — AP Djokovic, Nadal ease through Bouchard crashes at French Open

PARIS: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal eased closer to without a European claycourt title for the first time since crashed out at the hands of France’s Kristina Mladenovic. when he swept past Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko. Ferrer, 33 a French Open quarter-final showdown yesterday but 2005 and with many in the sport writing him off as a Bouchard went down 6-4, 6-4 to the world number 44, and seeded seven, won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to become just the women’s tour poster girl Eugenie Bouchard was a first- spent force. her eighth defeat in her last nine matches. Mladenovic, second active player behind Nadal to win 300 matches round casualty. But in a cheeky riposte to his critics, the 14-time 22, goes on to face either Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on the surface. Top seed Djokovic, bidding to win a first French Open major winner played with the number ‘9’ stitched into or Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic. Ferrer, the Roland Garros runner-up in 2013, goes on and become just the eighth man to complete the career the heels of his tennis shoes to remind people of his The world number 44 has a liking for Court Suzanne to face compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Croatia’s Marin Grand Slam, defeated experienced Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, astonishing record at the tournament where he has only Lenglen-last year she knocked out Chinese star Li Na at Cilic, the ninth-seeded US Open champion, defeated 7-5, 6-2. ever lost once. the same stage. “To get past the first round in these con- Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Svetlana The victory over 33-year-old Finn, who was playing in Halys, making his Grand Slam debut, was broken five ditions, it’s magnificent,” she said. Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, beat Dutchwoman Kiki his 50th major, was Djokovic’s 23rd consecutive win this times and made 52 unforced errors.Nadal goes on to Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Petra Kvitova Bertens 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 and will next face 2010 winner year. The 28-year-old Serb, seeded to meet nine-time face compatriot Nicolas Almagro for a place in the last needed two and a half hours to see off New Zealand’s Francesca Schiavone of Italy. champion Nadal in the last eight, will next face either 32. “I played well. I changed direction with my forehands world number 80 Marina Erakovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, getting Fifth seed and former world number one Caroline Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller or Paolo Lorenzi of Italy. down the line. After the first three games I was moving broken six times and committing 47 unforced errors. Wozniacki won through to the second round, beating Nadal opened his bid for a 10th title with a 6-3, 6-3, 6- better,” said Nadal. The 25-year-old goes on to face Silvia Soler-Espinosa Italy’s Karin Knapp 6-3, 6-0. 4 win over world number 296 Quentin Halys. Nadal, “I have had ups and downs this season. I am trying to of Spain. Serbian 25th seed Jelena Jankovic, a three-time Italian Knapp came into the event having claimed her seeded a humble six this year-his lowest for a decade- avoid that happening here. But I am here to play well semi-finalist, suffered her first opening-round loss in a second career title in Nuremberg last week. But she was needed just one hour and 50 minutes to see off the 18- and compete. That is my mentality and the goal is always decade when she went down 6-3, 6-4 to Bulgarian quali- the architect of her own downfall with a total of 50 year-old and record his 67th career win at Roland Garros. the same.” fier Sesil Karatantcheva. unforced errors, and Wozniacki now goes on to face The defending champion came into the tournament Canadian sixth seed Bouchard, a semi-finalist in 2014, Spain’s David Ferrer won his 300th claycourt match Germany’s Julia Goerges. —AFP Rockets stave off Uganda athletics playoff elimination coach facing new HOUSTON: Houston’s James Harden scored a play- take a 3-0 lead in the series. The Warriors will try off career-high 45 points while Golden State’s again at home in Game 5 today. sex abuse charges Stephen Curry suffered a scary fall as the Rockets Houston bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to the led from start to finish and beat the Warriors 128- Los Angeles Clippers in the conference semifinals. KAMPALA: A Ugandan athletics coach with his case adjourned until June 5, the 115 on Monday to stave off elimination from the But they face a much bigger challenge in this has been charged with two more cases of Daily Monitor newspaper reported. NBA playoffs. series, as no team in NBA history has won a playoff alleged sexual abuse, police said yester- Earlier this month it was revealed The Rockets scored 45 points in the first quarter series after trailing 3-0. day, with the country’s sports bosses Wemali was also HIV positive and there - equaling a playoff record - to quickly get on top. Houston’s Dwight Howard had 14 points and 12 under renewed pressure over the scan- are fears the virus may have been spread They were up by 22 in the second quarter when rebounds, and received a flagrant 1 foul early in the dal. Uganda, an emerging distance run- further among other runners, with league MVP Curry landed on his head in a nasty third quarter after throwing an elbow at Andrew ning country that is establishing itself as reports adding that several athletes are spill and missed about 12 minutes before return- Bogut’s head. He would be suspended by accumu- a challenger to the dominance of Kenya also pregant by the coach. The Uganda ing. lation of flagrant foul points if the NBA upgrades it and Ethiopia, was hit with the athletics Athletics Federation (UAF) has been Curry’s first field goal after returning was a 3- to a flagrant 2 after review. sex abuse scandal last year. accused of dragging their feet or even pointer that got Golden State within six points “I hope not,” Howard said when asked about It broke after the country’s star dis- trying to cover up the scandal, and is with less than 8-1/2 minutes remaining. But that possibility. “But there’s nothing I can do about tance runner and Commonwealth gold now facing threats of a boycott. Harden, who had 17 points in the fourth quarter, it at this point. It’s never my intention to hurt any- medallist Moses Kipsiro made public Yesterday, Kapchorwa’s district chair- scored the next seven points as part of 10 straight body on the floor. My reaction was to try to get complaints from his female teammates person warned that together with athletes by Houston to push the lead to 114-98 and effec- him off me, but I can’t react that way.” against Peter Wemali, until recently the they would boycott UAF activities until its head coach of a training camp in eastern head, Dominic Otucet, was sacked. tively end it, cutting the series deficit to 3-1. The Warriors made 20 3-pointers and Houston HOUSTON: Golden State Warriors guard Uganda. “Our children are being raped, they are Harden’s match-winning performance made up had 17 to set an NBA record for most 3-pointers Andre Iguodala (9) looks to pass around for a disappointing output in Game 3. “I always combined in a playoff game. The two additional charges, con- being beaten and no one from UAF is Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) firmed by police spokesman Fred helping,” Sam Cheptoris told the Daily want to take it out on my opponent in a good way,” Curry was injured after he jumped in the air during the second half in Game 4 of the NBA Harden said. “Just being aggressive, taking shots, as Trevor Ariza was about to go up for a shot. Enanga, mean Wemali is now accused of Monitor. basketball Western Conference finals. — AP getting to the basket, not really forcing anything Ariza saw him and stopped abruptly, causing sexually abusing a total five girls. The two A boycott could affect Uganda’s partici- and allowing the game to come to me.” Curry to be upended in midair when he crashed ly getting up and walking off the court. “It was all charges relate to girls living near the pation in the World Athletics Championships Klay Thompson had 24 points and Curry added into Ariza’s shoulder. His head hit the court and minor stuff compared to how it looked,” Curry camp, and not runners. The coach in China in August, which the nation’s 23 for Golden State, which had been looking to it propelled him up and back onto the floor said. “But I’ll get some good rest and be ready to appeared in a court in Kapchorwa in Olympic marathon gold medallist and secure its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975 where he remained for several minutes. Curry go. Since it happened to now, nothing has got- eastern Uganda on Monday, where the defending world champion Stephen after routing Houston 115-80 on Saturday night to looked dazed as he was attended to before slow- ten worse.” — AP country’s athletes have a training base, Kiprotich is expected to attend. — AFP Kuwait’s resident credit growth picks up in March

Page 22 Business Greece’s creditors must ‘get their act together’: Varoufakis WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Page 23 Charter to buy TWC in H+K, Buchanan join forces to launch H+K Financial new cable mega-deal Page 26 Page 25

ABIDJAN: (From left) Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of African Development Bank (ADB) Rwandan Donald Kaberuka, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, Beninese President Thomas Boni Yayi and Nigerian President Mahamadou Issoufou attend the annual meeting of the African Development Bank (ADB) yesterday in Abidjan. — AFP (See Page 25) Ray of hope for US factories as spending up Consumer confidence rises in May, house prices up in March WASHINGTON: A gauge of US business invest- omist at TD Securities in New York. government debt prices rose. US stocks were urement, rose 0.8 percent last month after a 1.0 The upbeat report added to housing starts ment spending plans increased solidly for a sec- Business spending has slackened as a sharp trading lower. percent increase in March. A 2.5 percent drop in data in indicating that housing was gaining ond straight month in April, a hopeful sign for decline in energy prices forced oilfield compa- The increase in core capital goods orders transportation equipment, however, weighed momentum after treading water for much of manufacturing activity after a long spell of nies, including Schlumberger and Halliburton, offers cautious optimism that business spend- down on overall orders for durable goods - last year. A fourth report showed single-family weakness. The overall economy is gradually to slash their capital expenditure budgets. ing outside the energy sector will pick up in the items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are home prices rose in March from a year earlier. firming, with other reports yesterday showing Investment has also been undermined by a coming months and support manufacturing, meant to last three years or more - which fell The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 consumer confidence perking up this month strong dollar, which has squeezed profits of and the broader economy, after a dismal first 0.5 percent last month. metropolitan areas increased 5 percent from a and house prices extending gains in March, multinational corporations. quarter. Although order books at manufactur- Orders for machinery recorded their biggest year ago, matching February’s gain. which should boost household equity and sup- In a separate report, the Conference Board ers remain lean, the core capital goods data gain in eight months in April and the increase Economists believe housing will take the port consumer spending. said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 95.4 corroborates other surveys, including one on in bookings for primary metals was the largest baton from a lethargic manufacturing sector The Commerce Department said non- this month from 94.3 in April. Consumers’ out- small businesses, that showed a jump in capital since September. While orders for computers and help to drive economic growth this year. defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, look for the labor market improved, with a rise expenditure plans in April and May. and electronic products fell 3.6 percent, that Housing is being buoyed by a strengthening a closely watched proxy for business spending in the share of households anticipating more Economic growth slumped early in the year followed a hefty 7.7 percent surge in March. jobs market, which is encouraging young plans, rose 1.0 percent last month after an jobs in the months ahead. and data so far on retail sales and manufactur- Orders for electrical equipment, appliances adults to set up their own households. While upwardly revised 1.5 percent increase in March. The rebound in business spending, together ing point to tepid economic activity early in the and components dropped 1.5 percent after higher home prices could reduce affordability, The so-called core capital goods orders were with a sturdy labor market, a strengthening second quarter. Economists polled by Reuters gaining 0.9 percent the prior month. In another they could encourage more homeowners to previously reported to have increased 0.6 per- housing market and firming underlying infla- had forecast core capital goods orders gaining report the Commerce Department said new put their houses on the market, which could cent in March. tion, should keep the Federal Reserve on course 0.4 percent. home sales increased 6.8 percent to a seasonal- ease supply constraints and boost sales. In “It provides some indication that business to raise interest rates later this year. Shipments of core capital goods, which are ly adjusted annual rate of 517,000 units. March’s addition, higher home values boost household capital investment activity might be on the The dollar rallied against a basket of curren- used to calculate equipment spending in the sales pace was revised up to 484,000 units from net worth, which is positive for consumer mend,” said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief econ- cies on the upbeat data, while prices for US government’s gross domestic product meas- the previously reported 481,000 units. spending. — Reuters If you want Qatar state contracts, Gulf moves little but Maaden lifts Saudi give us flight slots, says airline CEO MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS AMSTERDAM: In handing out lucrative public procurement contracts, Qatar is likely to favor countries whose airports DUBAI: Shares in Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) helped Marka also announced the completion of its first interna- grant take-off and landing slots to state-owned Qatar lift the Riyadh bourse yesterday as they surged to a record tional investment: a 65 percent acquisition in Icons, a football Airways, its chief executive said yesterday. high, while other Gulf markets barely moved and profit-taking memorabilia company, for 15.3 million dirhams ($4.2 million). The remarks by Akbar Al-Baker, in Amsterdam to launch a continued in Egypt. Abu Dhabi’s bourse slipped 0.2 percent but Abu Dhabi new six-times-a-week route, may fan the protests of western Saudi Arabia’s index rose 0.8 percent and Maaden gained Commercial Bank climbed 0.6 percent. MSCI increased the carriers that Gulf competitors have unfair advantages 6.4 percent to 47.90 riyals, becoming the most heavily traded stock’s weighting in its emerging markets index in its latest because of their close relationships to their governments. stock and breaking through technical resistance at 46.30 review, which will take effect at the end of this month. He said the Qatari government would undoubtedly take riyals, where it had peaked in March and April. Al-Rajhi Capital Another stock upgraded by MSCI, Ezdan Holding, rose 1.5 note if the airline, one of a trio of Gulf carriers that have shift- this week raised Maaden’s target price to 52.00 riyals from percent and was the main support for Qatar’s index , which ed the industry’s centre of gravity eastward, were not award- 41.00 riyals, citing its growing output and an improving busi- inched up 0.1 percent. Ezdan will join the emerging markets ed the extra slot it is seeking in order to fly seven days a ness outlook. Maaden said this month that its massive smelter benchmark for the first time. Egypt’s market edged down 0.8 week to and from Amsterdam Schiphol. run jointly with US group Alcoa, which had experienced sev- percent as Telecom Egypt tumbled 4.3 percent ahead of its “If you do not allow us to benefit in a small way by bring- eral technical glitches on start-up, would produce above its exclusion from MSCI’s emerging markets index. The move, ing flights, you should not expect commercial contracts initial capacity target this year. which takes effect at the end of this month, is likely to result in from the government,” he said. Earlier this month, the Dutch Dairy firm Almarai rose 1.4 percent after its board a sell-off by passive funds which closely follow the MSCI government said it would temporarily stop granting new AMSTERDAM: Akbar Al-Baqer, CEO of Qatar Airways, approved a capital investment plan for 2016-2020 which will benchmark; active investors have already been selling in antic- slots at Schiphol to Gulf airlines, promising a tougher line attends a press conference announcing the new flight reach 21 billion riyals ($5.6 billion). ipation. against possible “unfair competition” from the Middle East. schedule between Qatar and Schiphol airport in The firm said it wanted to double consolidated sales in the Meanwhile, property firm Medinet Nasr for Housing and That stance, if maintained, would prevent Qatar Airways Amsterdam yesterday. — AFP period and expand its activities in farming, manufacturing, Development (MNHD) rose 1.9 percent after its board from getting the extra day it wants. “My government will temporary freeze on new Gulf airline services to the United distribution and logistics. Foodmaker Savola Group, which has approved an offer from Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz definitely not be happy... (Royal Dutch) Shell is one of the States to protect them against more than $40 billion in a 36.5 percent stake in Almarai, rose 0.9 percent. Alhokair to build a mall at MNHD’s Teegan development. biggest single investors in the country and there are some domestic subsidies they say Qatar, Emirates and Etihad have Alhokair, whose shares rose 0.7 percent on Tuesday, will $150 billion in infrastructure projects coming up in the next received in the past decade. UAE, EGYPT own and operate the mall for 50 years before transferring it to years,” Baker said. But, comparing the American carriers’ frequent sojourns Other Gulf markets were trendless and barely moved MNHD, which in the meantime will receive a share of the mall’s While he later stressed that he had no direct influence in chapter 11 bankruptcy to a state subsidy, Baker said the yesterday. Dubai’s index edged down 0.2 percent as most revenues under the proposed deal. Beltone Financial Holding , over public procurement decisions, he said Qatar offered government’s equity holding was the only support he stocks declined in low-volume trading. But retail and the main shareholder of MNHD with a 31.2 percent stake, rich pickings for western companies in the run-up to its received. Europe’s flag carriers had enjoyed government restaurant start-up Marka surged 5.7 percent after a compa- surged 9.1 percent. “Such deals should help MNHD to signifi- hosting of the 2022 soccer World Cup. Decisions about car- equity holdings for most of their history, he said. “And we are ny executive said it expected to turn profitable in 2016, cantly improve on its financial performance and balance sheet, go-carrying slots are likely to be at least as important in the still a young airline.” He said the airline, founded in 1993, even though the firm had earlier targeted profitability in enabling it to unlock significant value from its unutilized land airline’s thinking as passenger slots, with Qatar now by some would be listed by the end of this decade or early the next, the fourth quarter of 2015. bank,” Cairo’s Naeem Brokerage said in a note. — Reuters measures among the world’s top 10 freight airlines. with 49 percent of the equity free for non-Qatari investors to US carriers Delta, United and American Airlines want a buy.— Reuters WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 BUSINESS Kuwait’s resident credit News in brief

growth picks up in March OPEC basket price up to $61.18 pb VEINNA: The OPEC daily basket price yesterday stood at $61.18 a barrel Monday, compared with $62.03 the NBK ECONOMIC REPORT previous day, the cartel said here yesterday. The aver- age annual rate of the OPEC basket price hit $105.85 KUWAIT: Resident credit growth picked up in March, pb, it said. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes though growth eased to 5.4 percent year-on-year (y/y) on (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend basis effects. Credit was up a healthy KD 214 million, its (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran strongest gain in four months. Most of the gain was in Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), household debt, credit for securities purchases and real Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light estate. Money supply saw a strong month as well thanks (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi to large gains in private deposits, mainly in foreign curren- Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venez). In their cy. Deposit rates remained stable, while interbank rates recent annual meeting, OPEC oil ministers had agreed eased on the month. to maintain production at a level of 30 million barrels Household credit growth continued to reflect the a day. health of the consumer sector. Growth of the segment regained strength in March growing slightly to 12.4 per- cent with a healthy addition of KD 85 million compared to last month’s weak gain of KD 29 million. Growth in March came from installment loans, still the main driver of DAE to sell StandardAero household credit growth, with consumer loans seeing a to Veritas Capital fund small decline. DUBAI: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has agreed Card spending data also held up well despite some to sell StandardAero, an engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, to an affiliate of pri- moderation, indicating consumer spending remained vate equity firm Veritas Capital, it said in a statement robust. Quarterly point-of-sale (POS) data spending yesterday. Dubai’s DAE did not disclose the value for growth slowed in 1Q15 but remained healthy at 12.6 per- the deal but said it will use the proceeds from the sale cent y/y. The pace was the slowest in three years. Total to expand the rest of its operations, including to card sales also eased to 8.8 percent y/y, with ATM activity “aggressively acquire” more aircraft to expand it leas- growth remaining steady. ing business. With a current net book value of $3.7 The nonbank financial sector remained in deleveraging billion, DAE said it will refocus its efforts in building mode, with credit falling by KD 47 million. The decline was an aerospace footprint from Dubai. StandardAero will the largest in five months, though the decline in sector be sold to Veritas Capital Fund V. debt over the last year continued to slow to 7.9 percent lion on the month. Indeed, some sectors saw small eased to 1.4 percent y/y. y/y. declines, including industry and trade. Average customer deposit rates on dinar time deposits All remaining credit rose by a solid KD 175 million, March saw a large increase in private deposits, likely were up in March, while interbank rates eased. The aver- though growth eased to 4.0 percent y/y on basis effects. related to bank dividend payments during the month. age rates on the 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 12- Most of the gain came from a large gain in lending for the Still, money supply (M2) growth eased to 3.6 percent y/y month time deposits increased by 1-3 basis points (bps) to Egypt picks arrangers for purchase of securities (+KD 134 million) and real estate on basis effects. Private deposits were up by KD 960 mil- 0.61 percent, 0.78 percent, 0.97 percent and 1.20 percent, potential dollar bond issue (+KD 89 million). Excluding those two sectors, however, lion, most of it in foreign currency deposits (+KD 656 mil- respectively. KD interbank rates eased in March following DUBAI: Egypt as picked five banks to arrange fixed growth in business credit was more tepid, up KD 40 mil- lion) and KD time deposits (+KD 308 million). M1 growth a pick up last month, reaching 0.81 percent, down 3 bps. income investor meetings from tomorrow ahead of a potential dollar-denominated bond issue, a docu- ment from lead arrangers showed yesterday. The sov- ereign, rated B3/B-/B by Moody’s/Standard and Indonesia, Turkey, IDB to form Poor’s/ Fitch, has mandated BNP Paribas, Citigroup, JP Almarai approves Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Natixis to arrange the roadshows. Meetings for the bond issue will be held sharia infrastructure megabank $5.6bn capex plan in the United Arab Emirates, London and the United States between May 28 and June 3, the document JAKARTA: Indonesia is prepared to contribute at least Both Indonesia and Turkey have pledged to put at for 2016-20 added. $300 million to a new Islamic infrastructure bank that least $300 million into the bank. It was not immediately the Southeast Asian nation will co-found with Turkey clear how much the IDB would contribute. and a Saudi-based multilateral lender, the country’s Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said the DUBAI: The board of Saudi Arabia’s Almarai has finance minister said yesterday. bank would be a “megabank”, the country’s state approved a capital investment plan which will reach 21 billion riyals ($5.6 billion) in the next five years, it US dollar traded at KD 0.302 The idea for the proposed bank comes as Asian Anadolu Agency reported last week. Indonesia has said KUWAIT: US dollar rate vis-a-vis the Kuwaiti dinar nations seek to boost cross-border lending for infra- it needs $455 billion during Widodo’s five-year term to said yesterday. The Gulf’s largest dairy firm said the 2016-2020 program will replace their existing stood at KD 0.302 while the euro dropped to KD 0.331 structure, with China taking the lead with its Asian upgrade dilapidated facilities, and multilateral lenders yesterday, as compared to Monday’s trades, the Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). have offered to provide more funds to the country. investment plan-which foresaw spending worth 15.7 billion riyals between 2013 and 2017 — and Central Bank of Kuwait said. Sterling pound dropped Improving Indonesia’s creaking infrastructure is one On a visit to Jakarta last week, World Bank President to KD 0.467, likewise Swiss franc which fell to KD would cover expansion in the areas of farming, man- of President Joko Widodo’s main priorities. In his first Jim Yong Kim offered up to $12 billion in new financing 0.319, however the Japanese yen firmed trading at ufacturing, distribution and logistics. “The objec- budget in February, Widodo allocated 290 trillion rupiah to 2019. Indonesia also plans to form a separate state- KD 0.002. The greenback rose against other hard cur- ($21.96 billion) for capital spending. owned infrastructure bank, and it wants to play a big tives set by the board include increasing further its rencies on the international markets after “It will be like an infrastructure bank, but with a role at the AIIB, from which the country is expected to presence in all segments and geographies where it Washington announced plans to raise the interest sharia approach, with the republic of Indonesia, Turkey receive major funds. The AIIB is also discussing with the operates, targeting to double consolidated sales, rate later this year and that it would be hiked in the and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) as founding IDB the use of Islamic financing as part of its lending while improving the financial performance,” it said in future, on small scale and in stages in the next years. a statement. members,” Indonesia’s Finance Minister Bambang tools, the IDB’s president Ahmad Mohamed Ali told Meanwhile, the euro has posted record fall since four Almarai is present in the six Gulf countries as well Brodjonegoro told reporters. Reuters. — Reuters weeks ago due a deadlock in talks between Greece as Egypt and Jordan. It also owns Fondomonte, an and its creditors on bailout terms. Argentinian farming firm which supplies feed to its dairy herd. The company posted a 12 percent rise in first Saudi regulator to raise IPO quarter net profit to 306.5 million riyals ($81.7 mil- lion) in the three months to March 31, aided by a Marka delays timeline for allocations to investors 11.7 percent year-on-year increase in first-quarter turning profitable to 2016 sales, which rose to 3.04 billion riyals. DUBAI: Dubai’s Marka, a retail and restaurant start- Food companies in the kingdom are drawing sig- up that listed on the emirate’s bourse last year, expects to turn profitable in 2016, a company offi- DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s stock market regulator said it would shares to institutional investors and 40 percent to retail nificant interest from investors, who see the sector cial said yesterday, pushing back the timeline given raise the proportion of shares allocated to institutional investors. Its statement did not say what the new alloca- as a way to tap into the growing wealth in the earlier. In January, Marka said it expected to turn investors in initial public offers as it aimed to reduce tion levels would be, but said 90 percent of institutional region. profitable in the fourth quarter of 2015. “The com- volatility in the market. The kingdom’s stock market, set to shares would go to institutions that catered to retail The firm is expected to benefit from the opening pany has to consolidate the acquisitions,” Managing open to qualified financial institutions on June 15, is domi- investors, so that retail investors could indirectly own the of the kingdom’s equity market to direct foreign Director Khaled Almheri said, explaining why the nated by retail investors in terms of daily trading volumes. equity. investment on June 15 and has been included by profitability was delayed. The company has been “Markets with a big tranche of institutional investors The CMA said it aimed to encourage retail investors to index compiler MSCI in its standalone Saudi index boosting its revenue with new acquisitions. On are characterized by low volatility and high efficiency,” the participate in IPOs through specialized channels that set to be launched on June 1. Almarai will use its Tuesday, it announced the completion of its first Capital Market Authority said in a statement late on were run by professionals with greater understanding of growing operating cash-flow besides bank facilities, international investment: a 65 percent acquisition Monday. risks. Some traders have criticized funds which profit by money from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund in Icons, a football memorabilia company, for 15.3 “Increasing institutional investors’ strategic ownership selling retail investors shares that they obtain at lower (SIDF) and the Agricultural Development Fund million dirhams ($4.2 million). In December, Marka in listed companies supports governance practices and prices in the primary market. But the CMA said it would (ADF), or its existing sukuk program to finance its said it had agreed to buy sporting goods firm increases transparency, a target that is hard to achieve not restrict funds from selling their allocated IPO shares if investment plan, it said. Investments required for Retailcorp from Istithmar World, a unit of state- amid the dominance of retail investors in the market.” they wished. “Restricting fund managers’ ability to sell is product renovation and innovation have also been owned conglomerate Dubai World for 220 million In recent IPOs, the latest of which was Saudi Company not in line with international practices in this regard,” it factored in the plan, it added. —Reuters dirhams ($60 million). for Tools and Hardware, the CMA allocated 60 percent of said. —Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. GOLD Saudi Riyals 81.310 US Dollars 0.299400 0.303900 20 gram 244.170 Jordanian Dinar 426.125 US Dollars Mint 0.299900 0.303900 10 gram 124.780 ASIAN COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound 39.491 5 gram 63.070 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.242 Asia Japanese Yen 2.498 Indian Rupees 4.751 Bangladesh Taka 0.003558 0.004158 Chinese Yuan 0.047497 0.050997 Indian Rupees 4.781 UAE Exchange Centre WLL Pakistani Rupees 2.961 Pakistani Rupees 2.973 Bangladesh Taka 3.876 Hong Kong Dollar 0.037060 0.039810 Srilankan Rupees 2.246 Philippines Pesso 6.777 Indian Rupee 0.004530 0.004920 Nepali Rupees 2.989 CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000 Cyprus pound 741.050 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025 Singapore Dollar 228.440 Australian Dollar 226.06 Japanese Yen 3.525 Japanese Yen 0.002405 0.002585 Hongkong Dollar 39.124 Canadian Dollar 250.59 Syrian Pound 2.595 Kenyan Shilling 0.003093 0.003093 Bangladesh Taka 3.897 Swiss Franc 326.20 Nepalese Rupees 3.025 Korean Won 0.000265 0.000280 Philippine Peso 6.814 Euro 335.84 Malaysian Ringgit 85.500 Malaysian Ringgit 0.080581 0.086581 Thai Baht 9.099 US Dollar 303.55 Chinese Yuan Renminbi 49.040 Nepalese Rupee 0.003044 0.003214 Sterling Pound 472.42 Thai Bhat 9.970 Pakistan Rupee 0.002783 0.003063 GCC COUNTRIES Japanese Yen 2.53 Turkish Lira 116.910 Philippine Peso 0.006711 0.006991 Saudi Riyal 80.910 Bangladesh Taka 3.897 Sierra Leone 0.000067 0.000073 Qatari Riyal 83.345 Indian Rupee 4.773 Bahrain Exchange Company wll Singapore Dollar 0.221829 0.227829 Omani Riyal 788.170 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.251 South African Rand 0.019288 0.027788 Bahraini Dinar 80.770 Nepali Rupee 2.984 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001847 0.002427 Pakistani Rupee 2.978 UAE Dirham 82.607 CURRENCY BUY SELL Taiwan 0.009808 0.009988 UAE Dirhams 82.52 Europe Thai Baht 0.008745 0.0009295 ARAB COUNTRIES Bahraini Dinar 805.70 Belgian Franc 0.007919 0.008919 Egyptian Pound - Cash 42.350 Egyptian Pound 39.67 British Pound 0.461644 0.470644 Jordanian Dinar 431.23 Arab Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.670 Czech Korune 0.004086 0.016086 Omani Riyal 787.25 Bahraini Dinar 0.798577 0.806577 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.416 Danish Krone 0.040381 0.045381 Tunisian Dinar 157.290 Qatari Riyal 83.59 Egyptian Pound 0.039436 0.041986 Euro 0.325960 0.333960 Jordanian Dinar 427.960 Saudi Riyal 80.86 Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085 Norwegian Krone 0.035454 0.040654 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.035 Iraqi Dinar 0.000186 0.000246 Romanian Leu 0.074329 0.074329 Syrian Lira 2.162 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Jordanian Dinar 0.423765 0.431265 Morocco Dirham 31.589 Slovakia 0.009058 0.019058 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Swedish Krona 0.031849 0.036849 Lebanese Pound 0.000151 0.000251 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Swiss Franc 0.313477 0.323677 Moroccan Dirhams 0.021832 0.045832 US Dollar Transfer 303.250 US Dollar 302.900 Turkish Lira 0.115551 0.122551 Nigerian Naira 0.001253 0.001888 Euro 336.610 Canadian Dollar 255.880 Omani Riyal 0.782300 0.787980 Sterling Pound 472.310 Sterling Pound 475.240 Australasia Qatar Riyal 0.082653 0.083866 Canadian dollar 248.770 Euro 345.788 Australian Dollar 0.229032 0.240532 Saudi Riyal 0.080297 0.080997 Turkish lira 116.720 Swiss Frank 276.932 New Zealand Dollar 0.215377 0.224877 Syrian Pound 0.001286 0.001506 Swiss Franc 324.160 Bahrain Dinar 799.730 Tunisian Dinar 0.151486 0.159486 Australian Dollar 239.870 UAE Dirhams 82.500 America Turkish Lira 0.115551 0.122551 US Dollar Buying 302.050 Qatari Riyals 83.740 Canadian Dollar 0.240979 0.249479 UAE Dirhams 0.081651 0.082800 Yemeni Riyal 0.001372 0.001452 BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Lehman collapse shapes BoE’s trading test for lenders

LONDON: Britain’s top banks will be test- to look more closely at markets risks in said in a statement. ed this year for their ability to cope with the light of recent volatility. Regulators Lehman’s collapse froze global mar- the type of market mayhem that followed across the world are casting a nervous kets and left other banks unable to sell the collapse of US bank Lehman Brothers eye on bond markets, fearing there assets on their trading books to shore in 2008, the Bank of England said yester- could be a stampede for the exit by up their capital buffers, triggering day. investors when interest rates finally start painful losses that were ultimately The specific test for risks from trading to move off their prolonged low levels. passed on to taxpayers in many cases. books will be applied to seven banks and Bouts of extreme volatility in bond The Bank of England said the lenders will supplement the broader annual markets last autumn and in the Swiss being tested will have to judge how stress tests announced in March. A 36 franc this year have also served to focus long they would take to sell specific percent slide in UK blue chip shares, minds on the question of whether assets during times of stress and give crude oil falling by a third, and Hong banks have the capacity to cope with estimates of potential losses. Kong shares dropping 65 percent are intense selling pressure. “The Bank’s “It should be noted that banks included in theoretical “stress” scenarios. innovations in the 2015 traded risk should explain carefully the basis of the Bank of England Deputy Governor stress test are inspired by what has hap- key judgments that they have made,” Andrew Bailey, who also heads the cen- pened in real stress events, and espe- the central bank said. “Moreover, banks’ tral bank’s Prudential Regulatory cially in the crisis that followed the judgments will be subject to rigorous Authority, spoke last week of the need Lehman default,” the Bank of England challenge from the Bank.”— Reuters Egypt extends Mediterranean THESSALONIKI: A woman walks past the underground rail construction in Thessaloniki yesterday. The project which started in 2003 by a consortium of Greek and Italian companies has been delayed due to numerous archae- gas exploration tender ological finds, land appropriations and a lack of funding. — AFP CAIRO: Egypt has extended its tender for gy crisis in decades, with increasing con- requested more time to complete evalua- natural gas exploration in the sumption and declining production turn- tions. Greece’s creditors must ‘get Mediterranean Sea by two months with ing the country from a net energy EGAS vice-president Mahfouz Al- the addition of four new blocks, the state exporter to a net importer over the past Buny told Reuters the period was gas board said yesterday, as the country few years. The north African country has extended at the request of a number their act together’: Varoufakis seeks to boost domestic energy produc- tried to tackle energy shortages by raising of companies who wanted further tion. The bidding period now runs to July energy prices, building new power plants, details on the blocks available, and to ‘Cobble a loan deal before money runs out’ 30 and will include 12 offshore conces- importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and give firms time to evaluate the four sions instead of eight, the Egyptian encouraging more domestic oil and gas new blocks up for tender. The four ATHENS: Greece’s outspoken Finance Minister Yanis ‘No money’ Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said production. additional blocks are Northeast Habi Varoufakis yesterday urged the country’s international credi- Greece’s radical left government in recent days has sent in an advertisement published in state- Egypt has extended tender periods in Marine, North Farma Marine, North tors to “get their act together” and help cobble together a new conflicting messages on its finances as the state gradually runs run Al-Ahram newspaper. the past when there was not enough Tabiya Marine and Northeast Amiriya loan deal before the struggling nation’s money runs out. out of money. Over the weekend, a cabinet minister said Egypt is going through its worst ener- interest or when potential bidders Marine, EGAS said.— Reuters The call came amid the Greek government’s inability to Greece had “no money” to make a series of repayments to the agree with its creditors-the International Monetary Fund, the IMF from June 5. European Union and the European Central Bank-on reforms “The instalments for the IMF in June are (overall) 1.6 billion that would unlock some 7.2 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in euros ($1.8 billion). This money will not be given. There isn’t promised bailout funds. any to be given. This is a known fact,” Interior Minister Nikos “It’s about time the institutions, in particular the IMF, get Voutsis said on Sunday. A day later, a government spokesman their act together, and come to an agreement with us,” insisted the country would continue its payments for as long Varoufakis told CNN. “It’s about time they come to the table as it could. “To the extent that we are able to pay, we will keep and meet us, not half the way, but one quarter of the way, we on repaying these obligations,” government spokesman have already met them three quarters of the way,” Varoufakis Gabriel Sakellaridis told reporters. said. Sources in Athens with knowledge of the issue said the The talks resumed yesterday, with the two sides haggling Greek state would face particular difficulty to keep up pay- over tax issues, social insurance, labor rights and the size of ments towards the end of the June. But Varoufakis on Tuesday Greece’s budget surplus. The government hopes to secure an denied that Greece is about to run out of money.”Our state, as agreement by early June at the latest. a result of huge sacrifices by the Greek people, has managed The European Union’s economic affairs commissioner to live within its means,” he said. “We will make the payment Pierre Moscovici agreed that the discussions had to “speed up.” because I have no doubt that we will have an agreement,” he “We are aware of the liquidity problems in Greece and this is added. A German finance ministry source said a Greek default why it’s so important now that negotiations that take place in to the IMF on June 5 was unlikely. Brussels speed up,” he said on the sidelines of a conference in “Greece appears to have understood that without the IMF, Dublin. there is no deal,” the official said. “We want that agreement, we want it fast, we are working Greek daily Ta Nea yesterday said US Treasury Secretary on it hard,” he said. “The prime minister... has instructed our Jack Lew had told Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that negotiators at technical level to speed things up,” the ruling Washington would exert influence to help break the deadlock. Syriza party’s top European Parliament lawmaker Dimitris Tsipras’ office confirmed the two men had spoken on the tele- Papadimoulis told Skai TV. phone but declined to comment further. — AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Greek concerns haunt euro, stocks

LONDON: The euro slid yesterday and the country’s creditors on Monday, claiming ue. Greece’s creditors must “get their act because Athens has been unable to marked an eighth straight gain to a 15- European stock markets struggled on con- that their wish to impose further austerity on together” and help produce a new loan deal agree with its creditors-the year high. cerns over Greece’s ability to meet looming Greece as the cause of the stalemate,” said for the cash-strapped country, Finance International Monetary Fund, the Hong Kong added 0.92 percent to repayment deadlines, dealers said. Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. In early Minister Yanis Varoufakis said. European Union and the European 28,249.86 — its highest close since The dollar was also boosted by expecta- afternoon deals, London’s FTSE 100 index “It’s about time the institutions, in particu- Central Bank-on reforms that would December 2007 — and Shanghai tions the US Federal Reserve will raise inter- shed 0.11 percent to 7,024.10 points and lar the IMF, get their act together, and come unlock some 7.2 billion euros ($7.9 bil- jumped 2.02 percent to 4,910.90 — the est rates in the coming months. The shared Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dipped 0.47 percent to to an agreement with us,” the outspoken lion) in promised bailout cash. highest since January 2008. euro-zone unit slid to $1.0860, down from 11,759 compared with Friday’s closing levels. Varoufakis told CNN. Over the weekend, a cabinet minister The indices were boosted by hopes $1.0980 late Monday. Both markets were shut Monday. Greece’s radical left government in recent said Greece had “no money” to make a for fresh Chinese measures to boost the “The euro continued to fall Tuesday with In Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.38 percent to days has sent conflicting messages on its series of repayments to the IMF from economy as well as Beijing’s decision many blaming Yanis Varoufakis after the 5,136.50 compared with the close on finances as the state is gradually running out June 5, but a government spokesman Friday to relax rules on access to main- Greek finance minister pointed the finger at Monday, when it had lost 0.50 percent in val- of money. Greece is facing a cash crunch insisted the country would keep up pay- land financial markets. ments as long as it could. “The euro- Tokyo ended up 0.12 percent, helped zone is on edge as the countdown by a weaker yen, hopes for corporate begins to Greece’s next two debt repay- earnings and the Bank of Japan’s ultra- ment instalments,” said Currencies loose monetary policy. With Wall Street Direct analyst Phil McHugh. and most European markets closed “Greece’s crunch point is its debt Monday for public holidays there were repayments to the International few catalysts outside Asia to drive busi- Monetary Fund on 5 and 12 June. ness. The dollar has meanwhile been “Reports over the weekend suggest underpinned by growing hopes the that Greece won’t be able to make these Federal Reserve will raise interest rates payments without striking a deal with in the coming months-a view supported its creditors.” Major Asian markets most- by comments from Fed chief Janet ly rose yesterday, with Hong Kong and Yellen who said Friday she expects a Shanghai leading the way, while Tokyo hike “at some point this year”. — AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Charter to buy TWC in new cable mega-deal

NEW YORK: Charter Communications announced yes- public places, and the expansion of the facilities foot- terday it is acquiring rival Time Warner Cable to create a print of optical networks to serve the large, small and powerful new player in the US pay TV and broadband medium sized business services marketplace.” sector. The deal worth $55.3 billion plus debt comes TWC was also courted by France’s Altice in weeks after Comcast abandoned a bid for TWC in the exploratory talks. But the group headed by Franco- face of opposition from US antitrust regulators. Israeli telecoms and media magnate Patrick Drahi will Including debt, the deal is valued at $78.7 billion. not make a counter-bid, a source close to the company The merger, which also needs regulatory approval, told AFP. would create a major new rival for Comcast, whose plan for TWC drew fierce opposition from consumer Shifting TV habits groups and fueled fears of creating a dominant player The consolidation comes with the cable TV industry in the broadband Internet market. seeking to adapt to a shift of viewing habits to online Charter also brings into the mix Bright House media such as Netflix and Hulu, which allow people to Networks, for which it announced a buyout earlier this watch on demand. year. The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable Although the number of cable “cord cutters” has and Bright House will have 23.9 million customers in 41 been relatively modest in recent years, analysts expect states. this trend to accelerate, which could have a significant In a statement, Charter said the deal would lead to impact on the television industry. improvements in both Internet and video services. Analysts said the deal is likely to get approval but “The teams at Charter, Time Warner Cable and could face scrutiny from regulators. Bright House Networks are filled with the innovators of “We do not expect hurdles as large as those our industry ... That spirit of innovation will live on, and Comcast faced,” said Barclays analyst Kannan it will create real benefits and great long-term value for Venkateshwar in a note to clients, arguing that the area the customers, shareholders and employees of all three covered would be less than that of Comcast. companies,” said Tom Rutledge, president and chief “However, given the degree of political pushback executive of Charter who will also head the combined the Comcast deal received, we believe the degree of group. scrutiny on the deal is still likely to be quite intense “With our larger reach, we will be able to accelerate even if the deal is smaller in scale.” The deal repre- the deployment of faster Internet speeds, state-of-the- sents a coup for magnate John Malone’s holding art video experiences, and fully-featured voice prod- company Liberty Broadband, which is the control- ucts, at highly competitive prices. In addition, we will ling shareholder at Charter and will hold voting NEW YORK: The entrance to the Time Warner Center is seen in New York City. US cable company Charter drive greater competition through further deployment power of 25 percent of the new company under the Communications announced yesterday it is acquiring rival Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $78.7 of new competitive facilities-based Wi-Fi networks in plan. — AFP billion, in a major consolidation on the American market. — AFP China’s yuan currency ‘no longer undervalued’: IMF New assessment dispels Treasury fears over Chinese currency

BEIJING: China’s yuan currency, which Washington pretty much dovish such as the euro,” he told AFP. arrangements with 10 countries and regions and has long alleged was manipulated, is “no longer “Against the dollar they won’t need much help signed currency swap agreements with 28 central undervalued”, the International Monetary Fund said anyway as the greenback will most likely appreciate banks. yesterday. further as the market prepares for a rate hike later The Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment “Our assessment now is that the substantial real this year,” he added. Bank, which aims to support infrastructure develop- effective appreciation over the past year has ment across the continent and is expected to rival brought the exchange rate to a level that is no Trillions of dollars existing international institutions such as the IMF longer undervalued,” the IMF said in a statement China’s vast and regular trade surpluses have itself and the World Bank, is also expected to facili- after a consultation mission to China. seen it accumulate the world’s largest foreign tate wider international use of the yuan. The value of the yuan, also known as the ren- exchange reserves, which stood at $3.73 trillion at The AIIB will be operational by the end of this minbi, has been a source of tension for years with the end of March. year, prospective founding members said last week China’s major trade partners-led by Washington- “The still-too-strong external position highlights after a three-day meeting in Singapore to discuss accusing Beijing of keeping it artificially low to give the need for other policy reforms-which are indeed policies. China said in March it hopes the yuan will ABIDJAN: President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi (left), Gabonese President Ali Bongo Chinese exporters an unfair competitive advantage, part of the authorities’ agenda-to reduce excess sav- “in the foreseeable future” become part of the IMF’s (second left), Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara (center) and President of African which Beijing denied. ings and achieve sustained external balance,” the SDR assets, which are currently made up of only the Development Bank (ADB) Rwandan Donald Kaberuka (right) attend to the annual meet- China keeps a tight grip on the value of the yuan IMF said. “We urge the authorities to make rapid US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British ing of the ADB yesterday in Abidjan. — AFP out of concerns that unpredictable currency inflows progress toward greater exchange rate flexibility, a pound. and outflows could harm the economy and weaken key requirement for a large economy like China’s The global lender’s executive board reviews the its financial control. Nonetheless it is still pushing that strives for market-based pricing and is integrat- basket composition every five years, with the next Africa seeking super banker to for the currency to play a greater role in the world ing rapidly in global financial markets,” the IMF said. examination due this year. In the statement the IMF financial system, such as being included in the bas- Such steps included ensuring that in future “the said it will “work closely with the Chinese authori- manage new economic frontier ket that makes up the IMF’s own “special drawing exchange rate adjusts with changes in fundamen- ties in this regard”. “RMB inclusion is not a matter of rights” reserve currency. tals”, it added. China has set up yuan clearing ‘if’ but ‘when’,” it added. — AFP ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Eight candidates are KKR setting up shop in Africa, while several The US Treasury said in a semi-annual report last vying to become the next head of the strategic countries now finance themselves fully on the month to the Congress that the yuan remained “sig- African Development Bank as the continent is market. nificantly undervalued”, although it stopped short undergoing an economic transformation. With And without losing sight of the need to fight of branding Beijing a currency manipulator, which 80 ADB shareholders — 54 African states and 26 poverty and develop infrastructure, the new would trigger sanctions from Washington. non-African countries set to vote tomorrow, it is ADB chief must plan to manage the continent’s US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew last week reit- difficult to predict who will succeed Rwandan financial attractiveness. erated the opinion, urging China to make more Donald Kaberuka, bank chief for two consecu- progress on foreign exchange reforms, according to tive terms since 2005. No more ‘white elephants’ Bloomberg News. The yuan is one of the most sta- The new super banker will take over an ADB Nigeria’s Adesina told AFP in late March that ble currencies in world foreign exchange markets, seeking to diversify beyond its traditional role he wanted to “finish off the white elephants”, in with day-to-day volatility strictly limited by the as a development bank, which lends money for a reference to useless luxury projects that are authorities, and it spent almost two years around major projects-a total of $6.8 billion for 317 often financed using international aid and built the 6.82 to the dollar level until May 2010. operations in 2013.Today despite multiple con- by foreign businessmen, and which reek of cor- It later appreciated, reaching a high of 6.0406 in flicts, health crises such as Ebola, and stagger- ruption. January 2014, according to figures from Bloomberg ing poverty, Africa is seen as “a new frontier in He called for “intelligent infrastructure that is News, but has since fallen back, and with Chinese world economic growth”, Amethis investment more productive, more competitive”. He also growth slowing, it dropped to 6.2747 earlier this fund founder Luc Rigouzzo told AFP. He noted urged more cooperation across borders, pitch- year, its lowest level since October 2012. It has since that the continent’s gross domestic product has ing ideas such as an “African Google”, a transna- risen by around 1 percent. doubled since the year 2000 to $2 trillion (1.8 tional electricity market, and a regional stock Nonetheless on a trade-weighted basis and trillion euros). In an OECD-led report released exchange. Mali’s Sidibe told AFP he wants to adjusted for inflation, the Treasury report said the Monday, economists predicted the overall “pull the bank out of its comfort zone”. The ADB currency’s real effective exchange rate against the African economy would expand by 4.5 percent should act as a “financial catalyst”, not just as a dollar was up over 10 percent over the previous six this year. lender. Cape Verde’s Duarte shares a similar months. Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst with London- In this new frontier, shareholders in the vision. If chosen, she wants to turn the ADB into based currency trading platform Forex.com, was Abidjan-based bank might for the first time pick an “innovative, creative bank that responds to skeptical about the multilateral lender’s fair value a woman, Cristina Duarte, Cape Verde’s finance the specific needs of African countries and their findings. minister, who would also be the first private sectors”. The winning candidate needs “It probably will give the Chinese authorities an Portuguese speaker to run the bank. to secure a majority of votes from both bank excuse to hold down the value of yuan, especially BEIJING: A worker stands on a building under construction in Beijing yesterday. — AFP Other contenders include Akinwumi members and African states. — AFP against currencies where the central banks are still Adesina from Nigeria, which rivals South Africa as an investors’ favourite despite fighting a six- year insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists in the country’s north. However, a win by Adesina, UK corporation tax take G7 finance ministers, central Nigeria’s outgoing agriculture minister, would break an unwritten rule that regional heavy- from banks slumps: Study weight countries should not run the ADB. bankers to meet in Dresden The candidates from Francophone African LONDON: Britain’s banks have in more in global tax between 2010 and countries are Mali’s Birama Sidibe, an expert in recent years paid a third of the corpo- 2012 than between 2005 and 2007, BERLIN: Finance ministers and central bank governors of the In addition, International Monetary Fund managing direc- development, Tunisia’s ex-finance chief Jalloul ration tax they were paying less than but only 11 percent - or 1.4 billion Group of Seven wealthiest nations meet in Dresden this week tor Christine Lagarde, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Ayed and Bedoumra Kordje, current finance a decade ago despite a rebound in pounds - was paid in Britain in to discuss the health of the global economy and financial reg- European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and the EU minister in Chad, who if chosen would become profits, a study showed yesterday. 2010/12, compared to 30 percent in ulation, with Greece also certainly on the agenda. Commissioner For Economic and Monetary Affairs, Pierre the ADB’s first president from central Africa. The study comes as HSBC and the earlier period, according to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has invited Moscovici-all key players in the Greek dossier-will all be in Ethiopian finance minister Sufian Ahmed, Standard Chartered assess whether study, published in the journal Fiscal his counterparts and their central bank chiefs from Britain, Dresden. The IMF, ECB and EU Commission-previously known Sierra Leone’s foreign minister Samura Kamara to move their headquarters to Asia, Studies. Meeks said a rise in tax- Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United States, for a meet- as the “troika” of Greece’s creditors-are trying to hammer out a and former ADB vice president Thomas Sakala partly due to pressure from share- deductible impairments due largely ing starting Wednesday and “an in-depth exchange of views” debt deal with Athens, in return for pledges by the Greek gov- of Zimbabwe round out the list. holders after a rise in a UK bank tax. to bad loans contributed to the fall in in the eastern German city. ernment to push through crucial economic reforms. But UK corporation tax receipts corporation tax payments, but the But there will also be other experts seated around the “Of course, we will talk about it, but the problem still has to West, Asia play kingmakers from banks fell to 1.3 billion pounds drop could also reflect banks reclassi- table, Schaeuble said in an interview with German public be resolved in Greece,” Schaeuble said. Talks on unlocking ($2 billion) in 2011/12 and 2.3 billion fying some UK-originating profits to Foreign investors will likely play the role of radio Deutschlandfunk at the weekend. For the first time, some 7.2 billion euros in remaining bailout cash for Greece pounds in 2012-13 from 7 billion other jurisdictions, a rise in profits kingmaker in choosing the next ADB chief. “we’ve also specifically invited a number of the world’s lead- were set to resume in Brussels on Tuesday. According to pounds in 2005/06, according to a made overseas or more generous UK The United States-the ADB’s second-biggest ing economists and monetary policy experts so that we can Athens, the two sides are still apart on tax issues, social insur- study from Cambridge Judge tax exemptions. shareholder after Nigeria-will have a central role think about and find better solutions” to today’s pressing eco- ance, labor rights and the size of Greece’s budget surplus. The Business School. That left banks pay- Britain introduced a bank levy in in the vote, as will Japan and China. France nomic policy issues, he said, such as striking a balance government hopes to secure an agreement by early June at ing just 4 percent of total UK corpora- 2010 to ensure banks paid a “fair con- wants a bank president who is “more concerned between budget consolidation and investment, and the rules the latest. tion tax receipts in 2011/12 from 20 tribution” to society after the 2007/09 about the interests” of Francophone Africa, the of the international financial architecture. percent six years earlier. “The exact financial crisis. HSBC is expected to finance ministry says. A “real novelty” will be a “symposium” organized for tomor- Other issues reasons are difficult to pinpoint due pay $1.5 billion under the levy this But analysts say Western powers need to row morning, where the finance ministers will meet seven top The Dresden meeting will also examine the current high to incomplete and patchy disclosure year, up from $900 million in 2013. take a new view of Africa. “The West has held on economists, such as Nouriel Roubini, Kenneth Rogoff and level of volatility on the financial markets and the outlook for to a vision that was true 30 years ago, of an requirements on banks, which we The bank, Europe’s biggest, is assess- believe obstruct analysis,” said Geoff ing its best domicile on a number of even Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary. global growth against a backdrop of disappointing data. The empty, rural continent with a colonial trading And contrary to past practice, the German government G7 ministers will also discuss the battle to cut off financing to post economy, heavily dependent on raw mate- Meeks, a co-author of the study and factors, including taxation. It paid professor of financial accounting at $7.9 billion in total taxes last year, does not plan to issue a final communique when the meeting terror groups such as the Islamic State. rials and the trickling-in of foreign aid,” said wraps up on Friday. On the first evening of the meeting, a ceremony will be Rigouzzo, a former chief of France’s develop- Cambridge Judge. including $2.4 billion in Britain and The profitability of major UK $1.3 billion in Hong Kong. held in Dresden’s reconstructed Frauenkirche, the church ment agency. Africa “is still seen as waiting for Greece’s troubles almost totally destroyed in the bombing of Dresden by the handouts, but we are no longer in that situa- banks recovered to levels seen before But that included only $69 million the financial crisis, but Meeks said in UK corporation tax, because it allo- Schaeuble conceded that Greece would also “certainly be British and US allies during World War II and the remaining tion,” he said. “Public development aid now on the agenda.” He insisted that Greece’s troubles were “not a ruins of which were left as a war memorial. The church was accounts for less than 2.5 percent of the conti- there was a “paucity” of disclosure on cates much of its global costs to its how banks pay tax between national UK operations, meaning it can book problem that the G7 can solve. But it would be illusory to rebuilt following German unification and finally reconsecrated nent’s GDP.” expect us not to talk about it and for our colleagues and part- in 2005. The city of Dresden itself has hit the headlines Private capital is flowing, with major US- jurisdictions. more profit in lower tax countries Four of the big UK banks paid such as Hong Kong. — Reuters ners from the US, Canada and Japan not to ask what’s going around the world in recent months because it was here that based investment and equity firms Carlyle and on.” the anti-Islam movement, Pegida, was born. —AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Hill+Knowlton, Buchanan join forces to launch H+K Financial Comprehensive corp communications consultancy in MEA

KUWAIT: Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K), the for MEA companies to reach major global Strategies in the MEA region, said: “We have to formalize an agreement to establish the Middle East and Africa region’s (MEA) longest capital markets through its network offices in been partners with Buchanan on a number of pre-eminent financial communications firm established international communications London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and client assignments and have established a in the region to tap into the growing need for consultancy, and Buchanan, one of the Shanghai, among others. strong working relationship. It makes sense specialist advisory and investor relations serv- world’s leading financial communications Buchanan’s specialist advisors have ices. consultancies, have joined forces to launch teamed up with H+K’s MEA investor relations “This is a win-win for clients as they bene- H+K Financial, a specialist financial communi- certified practitioners to provide full corpo- fit from combining the strength of the cations division dedicated to MEA. rate and financial communications services, region’s longest-established international Staffed by 60 advisors with professional providing advisory services on transactions communications consultancy with one of the backgrounds including investment banking, including Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), fund City of London’s most respected financial equity research and financial journalism, H+K raises, mergers and acquisitions and corpo- communications firms.” Financial combines H+K’s 30-year MEA her- rate restructurings. Bobby Morse, Buchanan’s Senior Partner, itage with Buchanan’s 25-year history of pro- In addition, the offer includes bespoke said: “This is an exciting time for capital mar- viding leading financial communications and investor relations services from shareholder kets across the MEA region with develop- capital markets services to international listed register analysis and investor access, through ments such as the opening of the Tadawul, and private companies. to annual report, corporate governance and the Saudi Stock Exchange, to qualified foreign H+K Financial addresses the growing financial transparency communications. investors, and the emergence of successful demand for world class financial communica- These services, along with the core corporate family owned conglomerates seeking a better tions and investor relations services in MEA as and reputation management services, are profile on international capital markets. companies seek to raise their profiles and now provided in all of the main hubs “With the positive regulatory changes in gain access to international capital markets, throughout the H+K MEA network to current MEA markets, and the increasing demand while upgrading their corporate governance. and prospective clients. from the global investment community to The firm will also provide international H+K Financial will work with H+K’s global invest in quality growth opportunities, this investors access to growth opportunities in network of 87 offices to deliver a truly global partnership with H+K provides not only a Al-Babtain the region. financial communications offering. With comprehensive network, but also a her- With 15 offices across the MEA region, direct access through WPP, H+K and itage of excellence built over 30 years announces special including all key capital markets, H+K Buchanan’s parent company, H+K Financial throughout the region to deliver best in Financial becomes the region’s largest, most also offers clients broader services including class corporate reputation, investor rela- offer on Nissan 370Z experienced and most influential financial advertising, branding and media buying. tions and financial communications to MEA communications firm. It also provides access Sconaid McGeachin, CEO of Hill+Knowlton Sconaid McGeachin companies.” KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Co, the exclusive agent of Nissan vehicles in the State of Kuwait, announced the new promotion on selected Nissan 370Z ProMaster International launches vehicles, that will be appreciated by drift enthusiasts in Kuwait. This promotion will allow customers to purchase the Nissan 370Z for a special price starting from KD 8,999 its business activity in Kuwait in addition to a thrilling trip to try the ‘Nissan 370Z Drift KUWAIT: ProMaster International Company for General projects. Our aim is to enable tangible accessibility through Experience’ along with international instructors at the Construction Material Trading, announced the launching of its proximity of distribution, and reach every household’s tool- City of Dubai - Nissan GT Academy. operation for distribution within the markets of Kuwait and box”. Mr Diab emphasized the growing demand within the Al-Babtain launched this new promotion after the the Middle East, offering quality brands and products that aim Middle Eastern market for imports and products coming from great successes achieved held by Nissan 370Z during the Gulf Bank’s monthly to deliver satisfaction to different consumer segments. Louay Europe, enabling an anticipated accomplishment for our world of drifting which was held in the City of Dubai. Diab, General Manager, stated that the company has estab- brands: Setting a Guinness World Record for the longest twin- draw and Red lished a distribution agreement with EuroMaster, a leading Raider (Construction building and woodworking) vehicle drift in the City of Dubai, by drifting around a European company in the field of Power Tools, Pneumatic Topmaster (Professional hand tools) track without stopping for 28.52 kilometers, proving the Account draw live Tools, Hand Tools, and Hardware, in addition to Sanitary Ware, Gadget (“Do it yourself” hand tools) superior abilities of the Nissan 370Z vehicle. Electric Equipment, household and outdoor products. Mr. TopGarden (watering systems and garden tools) The sport of drifting started to develop in the Middle on Marina FM today Diab elaborated, “The Company has its own strategy where TopStrong (brushes and rollers for dying, fasteners, hard- East at the beginning of 2009, when the first regional we place confidence in each employee and every business ware) competition kicked off. With time, this sport has grown KUWAIT: Gulf Bank yesterday announced that it will be partner, aiming for mutual success”. TopChrome (bath, kitchen and toilet products and acces- and became one of the most popular sports in the Eng Mahmoud Al-Salibi, Sales Manager, added, “The sories) Middle East. holding its second monthly Salary Account draw and Red Account draw, simultaneously, today at 8 am live at Marina European ProMaster product range serves various sectors in Makalon (power switches and sockets; couplers and exten- This promotion reflects the commitment of Al-Babtain Kuwait, including, but not limited to, retail and construction ders; heaters; bath fans) Co to meet clients’ expectations and demands, especially FM. The draws will be held under the supervision of a the motorsports fanatics in the region. As this kind of Ministry of Commerce representative, where six winners will sports is considered dangerous in case it was practiced be announced. far from the places specialized for it, this led Al-Babtain to The bank’s Salary Offer guarantees a cash gift up to launch its special offer to let its clients who love adven- KD150 upon salary transfer and a chance to win cash prizes tures to practice their favorite sport at a professional and cars in monthly, quarterly and annual mega draws. track that ensures learning and practicing drift is done in Gulf Bank customers who have transferred their salary a safe environment. are eligible to be part of the draws and win many attractive Nissan 370Z has one of the most developed sports prizes. The bank’s monthly cash draw will have six winners, cars engines in the world, in addition to a long list of each winning up to KD 1,500 (First prize is KD 1500, second modern technologies that are based on enhancing the prize is KD 1,000, third prize is KD 800, fourth prize is KD 600, performance. Nissan 370Z is powered by a DOHC V6 fifth prize is KD 400, sixth prize is KD 200). Annually, two engine with Variable Valve and Lift Control 3.7 L and pro- salary customers will receive the chance to win a cash gift of duces 328 bhp. It’s available in two transmission options; KD25,000 each. six speed manual transmission or the seven speed auto- Furthermore, new Red Account customers who open an matic transmission, which features the world’s first syn- account and transfer their student allowance will also be eli- chronized down/up shift rev-matching system, gible to enter the monthly cash draws for a chance to also SynchroRev Match, which shifts between lower speed win up to KD 1,500. In addition, the quarterly car draw will and the engine rotation speed. be for 1 lucky winner who will have a chance to win a new On this occasion, the Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al- Camaro LT Coupe or a Cadillac SRX. Alongside these excit- Babtain Co. invites all adventurous and draft enthusiasts ing cash and car prizes, Gulf Bank has also partnered with to visit the various showrooms around Kuwait to check ZAIN, to present red customers with exclusive offers on the the new promotion and benefit from the special pack- latest smartphone bundles or internet plans. ages exclusively offered by Al-Babtain. Through the bank’s red program, customers can also see movies at all Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC) cine- mas during the weekend for KD 1.750 instead of the usual Ford’s Valencia KD 3.5, which is a 50 percent discount on the normal price. Gulf Bank is the only bank in Kuwait presenting both Salary plant boosts and Red customers with these one of a kind offers. demand for N African car parts Angel Gurria re-elected to South African growth slows RABAT: Ford Motor Co will more than double the third term as OECD chief to 1.3% as unemployment rises amount of parts it buys in from North African-based suppliers for its newly expanded vehicle assembly plant PARIS: Former Mexican Finance Minister think tanks), Gurria has widened the PRETORIA: South Africa’s gross domestic which generates more than 95 percent of in Spain and elsewhere, a company official said yester- Angel Gurria was re-elected secretary OECD’s focus from traditional macro-eco- product slowed to a disappointing 1.3 per- the country’s electricity, has been weak- day. general of the Organization for Economic nomic indicators to a more diverse range cent in the first months of 2015, official ened by years of underinvestment and Ford announced in February the final phase of a 2.3 Cooperation and Development (OECD) of factors affecting economies and soci- data showed yesterday, as rolling power ageing infrastructure, as well as gover- yesterday, giving him a further six years to eties. billion-euro ($2.50 billion) expansion of its operations in cuts dampened manufacturing output. nance problems. Valencia, in what it said was the biggest investment press his agenda of innovation ahead. Those have included impact studies Initially elected to the post in 2006, Gurria and policy proposals on youth alco- The figure announced by Statistics South The South African economy is due to ever to be made in Spain’s auto industry. “We purchase Africa was sharply below growth of 4.1 grow at about 2.2 percent this year. “The parts (worth) in the hundreds of millions of dollars from has pursued his objective of transforming holism, education, taxation, the environ- the once somnolent, deeply wonkish ment and reversing the growing wealth percent in the last quarter of 2014 as the upside will be contained by load shed- North Africa, and over the next three years we will more country struggles with an electricity crisis ding, lower international commodity than double that,” Jim Benintende, president of Ford OECD into an agenda-setting source of gap. Long considered the faithful sound- research closer to the lives of real people ing board of policies championed by and high unemployment. prices and subdued global demand,” Middle East and Africa, told Reuters. and fast-moving societies. founding Western powers after World War New unemployment figures released Nedbank said in a statement. “We don’t give a breakdown of parts purchasing for “I am honoured and humbled by the II, under the 65-year-old Gurria’s lead the on Tuesday were the highest since 2003, “Today’s GDP figures are consistent specific markets, but we purchase more than $100 bil- trust and confidence the members have OECD has advanced diverse and at times underlining the weak economy two with the Reserve Bank’s general assess- lion of parts annually around the globe,” he added. bestowed upon me, and look forward to unexpected policy positions, and weighs decades after the end of the apartheid ment of the economy, reflecting little Following its expansion over the last four years Ford continuing to transform the OECD into a in as respected, equal voice during G20 regime. The unemployment rate was 26.4 underlying momentum.” South Africa’s says the Valencia plant now has a production capacity cutting-edge international organization and other international summits. percent in the first quarter of 2015, rising to poor performance comes at a time when of 450,000 vehicles a year, enabling the plant to build to promote better policies for better lives,” Prior to heading the OECD, the media- 50.3 percent among 15 to 24-year-olds and other countries in the sub-Saharan region six different models at the same time. It currently pro- said Gurria in a statement after the orga- savvy Gurria served from 1998 to 2000 as 31.4 percent among 25 to 34-year-olds. are on track to record growth of 3.5 per- duces the Mondeo car, Kuga SUV, Transit Connect van nization’s 34 member states unanimously Mexico’s finance minister, where he helped “Unemployment remains the biggest cent this year, according to a report and Tourneo Connect MPVs and this year will also begin re-elected him to a third term. Committed contain the country’s deep economic crisis, problem in South Africa,” said statistician- released on Monday by the African production of the new S-MAX and Galaxy MPVs. to creating what he has termed a “do and was instrumental in renegotiating its general Pali Lehohla. “But we also see Development Bank. Ford’s main component suppliers in North Africa are tank” (rather than more theory-rooted crushing debt load.— AFP some progression... there is an upward “Nobody should be that surprised,” said the Moroccan units of Delphi and Lear. trend, albeit subdued, that shows that Ryan Wibberley, head of equity dealing for Led by Renault’s continued expansion in the country, (the) labor absorption rate is increasing.” emerging markets at Investec. “I think the the autos industry is now crucial to Morocco’s economy. South Africa’s manufacturing industry risks to growth must stand to the down- Export sales of cars and components in the first four fell 2.4 percent last quarter, while agricul- side based on the plight that Eskom is in. months of this year worth 15.86 billion dirhams ($1.6 ture has been badly hit by the effects of a “The picture is-I don’t want to say billion) - around 22 percent of the country’s total severe drought, according the latest fig- bleak-the picture is concerning,” he said. exports. ures. “Manufacturing has yielded results “There needs to be a resolution of the Meanwhile Ford said it is aiming to boost sales of its that are negative,” said Lehohla speaking power situation, a resolution of wage own cars in Morocco and elsewhere in North Africa with over a video link from Cape Town to negotiations and a turnaround in the the opening yesterday of a new sales office for the reporters in Pretoria, the country’s admin- monetary cycle.” The ruling African region in Casablanca and plans to open 13 new retail istrative capital. “Of course electricity as a National Congress party has failed to cre- outlets in North Africa this year, including three in major driver of production-its absence ate jobs in South Africa, where whites still Morocco. Morocco is Ford’s largest market in North dampens the production.” earn considerably more on average than Africa, where the company said it currently has a 9 per- blacks, who are also more likely to be cent market share. Power cuts unemployed. The company sold 3,400 cars and SUVs in Morocco in Load-shedding-regularly scheduled Frustration over that resulted in xeno- the first four months of this year, 26 pct up from the PARIS: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) power cuts to reduce energy usage-has phobic riots earlier this year, with maraud- same period in 2014. In all of Africa the US carmaker become part of everyday life for many ing mobs of South Africans targeting for- sold 104,000 vehicles in 2014, and expects that figure to Secretary General Angel Gurria delivering a speech at the OECD headquarters in Paris. — AFP people and companies in South Africa. eigners and looting their shops, claiming rise this year, Benintende said. — Reuters State-owned power company Eskom, that they were stealing jobs. — AFP WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 TECHNOLOGY

UN slams Nauru for Facebook ban, stifling dissent

WELLINGTON: The United Nations on in political protesters facing seven-year senting opinions on Nauru and Kaye Rathke told a media briefing in The Nauru government’s informa- Monday criticised the tiny Pacific jail terms. expressed concern the Internet clamp- Washington on May 14. tion office did not response to requests nation of Nauru for blocking access to The UN special rapporteur on free- down was “designed to prevent asy- Since 2013 Australia has sent all asy- for comment. In a statement this the Internet, including Facebook, and dom of opinion and expression, David lum-seekers and refugees in the coun- lum-seekers arriving by boat into month, President Baron Waqa said urged it to reverse a clampdown on Kaye, said the changes were too broad try from hearing information on their detention on Nauru and Papua New Nauru was a sovereign country and freedom of speech. and should be repealed. situation”. Guinea, and denied them resettlement insisted “criticism from self-appointed Nauru curbed Internet access in the In a statement issued Monday, he His comments come after the US in Australia despite an outcry from human rights activists overseas is noth- nation of 10,000 people last month, said Nauru should allow freedom of State Department earlier this month rights groups. ing more than an attempt to bully a saying it was barring pornography, expression without fear of prosecution. called on Nauru to ease the Internet Official Australian data shows the small Pacific nation”. although social media sites such as “These new laws could be used to muz- restrictions, saying freedom expression detention centre has been an econom- He denied the Internet restriction Facebook were caught in the dragnet. zle dissenting opinions and deter was essential to a healthy democracy. ic boon for aid-dependent Nauru, was linked to the asylum seeker camp, Leaders on the island, which is human rights defenders, academics, “We’ve certainly conveyed our views employing about 650 locals as saying it was impose so “Nauruans are home to an Australian-run asylum- journalists, students, politicians and to the government there and reiterate Canberra spends some Aus$470 million not left exposed and vulnerable to the seeker detention camp, then intro- civil society members,” he said. our call for these restrictions to be lift- ($370 million) annually to operate the actions of criminals, sexual perverts duced laws that critics say could result Facebook is a major forum for dis- ed,” State Department spokesman Jeff facility. and cyber bullies”. —AFP DigitalGlobe, Saab venture sees big returns from 3-D models ‘Producing entire globe at unmatched accuracy’

WASHINGTON: US satellite imagery provider kilometers of high-quality satellite imagery to ucts business, said the company sold the com- DigitalGlobe Inc and Sweden’s Saab AB yester- create realistic 3-D models of huge parts of the mercial rights to the 3-D technology to an day announced a new joint venture aimed at globe. unidentified IT firm several years ago, but held building an accurate 3-D model of the earth and The US military has long used 3-D modeling onto the right to develop it for military and gov- capturing billions of dollars in new business. and aerial imagery for planning tactical missions, ernment use. Tony Frazier, senior vice president at but the work often relied on classified data and Saab, maker of the Gripen fighter jet, initially DigitalGlobe, said the two companies had been focused on smaller areas. developed the 3-D technology as a missile tar- working together for two years, but were now Vricon will produce quicker models that can get-seeker, but soon realized the tool could be creating a separate US-based venture, Vricon Inc, be more easily shared with allies and others, used for many other applications. to accelerate the work and team up on distribu- since they are based on commercial imagery, Vricon aims to produce 3-D models of about tion. Frazier said. The effort also dovetails with the a third of the earth’s 100 million square kilome- “We feel this is a multibillion-dollar opportu- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) ters of useable land mass within three years. nity,” Frazier said, noting the venture would ini- push to better utilize social media, unclassified Using a highly automated process should allow tially focus on customers in the defense, security data, and other publicly available material, and the venture to produce about 2 million square and infrastructure markets. “We’re going to liter- positions Vricon to bid for some of that work. kilometers of 3-D models each month, Vice ally produce the entire globe at unmatched The move will further expand the US foot- President Isaac Zaworski said. This April 2015 photo shows the “Boat To Plate” smartphone app being created by a accuracy.” print of Saab, which is already teamed with He said hosting the model on the cloud group of Maine fishermen and scientists that will allow consumers to source seafood Frazier said the new venture would use Saab’s Boeing Co to compete for a new US Air Force would also make it easier for analysts to access all the way back to the fishermen who caught it. — AP 3-D computer processing technology and training plane. and work with the models, instead of needing to DigitalGlobe’s vast archive of billions of square Dan Jangblad, head of Saab’s industrial prod- wait for bandwidth-heavy downloads. —Reuters Latest in food-track tech: Swipe a code and meet your fisherman

PORTLAND: After eyeing a piece of had- rants. The Gulf of Maine seafood tool repre- dock on the supermarket counter, a cus- sents a new horizon in food traceability in tomer scans a code and finds out the fish that it will use data from multiple sources was caught in the waters of Georges Bank to bring traceable seafood from a large, and learns the name of the fishing boat - diverse fishery to supermarket consumers, and maybe even sees a picture of the smil- Levin said. Hannaford Supermarkets, which ing, rain-slickened fisherman who reeled it has more than 150 locations in New in. Welcome to the future of buying New England and New York, is on board. England seafood. Despite the growth of food tracking A group of scientists and fishermen said technology, it’s not well-known to many the technology isn’t about a gimmick so consumers, and the industry is trying to much as survival. They’re working on a new change that, said Phil Werdal, CEO of Trace tool they say will allow consumers to learn Register, a Washington-based digital trace- the backstory of a piece of fish while stand- ability company and one of the industry’s ing in the supermarket aisle with their key players. smartphone. “I think it’s in the very early stages of In an era when many sectors of the New development, the consumer piece,” Werdal England fishing industry are struggling said. “It’s evolving and improving, but it’s with depleted not that common right now.” resources and choking catch quotas, Gulf of Maine Research Institute is work- increasing the cachet of local seafood ing with Trace Register and Vancouver- could be the last, best hope, said Ben based This Fish to make the tool possible. Martens, executive director of the Maine The institute will likely initially apply it to Coast Fishermen’s Association, one of the seafood labeled through its sustainable groups involved in the “Boat to Plate” proj- seafood verification program, Levin said. ect. That program includes popular New “Most fishermen don’t want to be England staples such as cod and lobster involved in this kind of stuff. They want to that are pulled from the waters in and go out into the water,” said Martens, whose around the Gulf of Maine, a critical fishing group represents 35 mostly small-boat fish- ground that touches three states and two ermen. “We just don’t think that’s the way Canadian provinces. SHANGHAI: Visitors try the SYNC system from Ford during the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Asia in Shanghai yesterday. More than of the future.” “Locally, this will provide fishermen a 200 technology companies from 15 countries around the world are showcasing their consumer technology innovations at CES Asia which takes Gulf of Maine Research Institute in way to differentiate their products and cre- place from May 25 to 27. —AFP Portland is developing the tool, which was ate a more even playing field in a global recently awarded a $175,000 federal gov- seafood market place,” Levin said. ernment grant, in cooperation with Maine To grow the project, Boat to Plate’s Consumer Electronics Show Coast. Final release is about two years away architects will need buy-in from New and will likely take the form of a smart- England’s notoriously provincial commer- phone app, said Jen Levin, the institute’s cial fishermen. Terry Alexander, a Harpswell, Asia kicks off in Shanghai sustainable seafood program manager. Maine, fisherman who sits on a key New The project involves bringing together England regulatory council, said he is reluc- SHANGHAI: The Consumer Electronics data about the different pieces of the sup- tant to describe the program as “new tech- ply chain - including catch, landing, auc- Show Asia (CES Asia 2015) is taking a leap nology.” Savvy consumers have long had tion, processing and delivery - and allows into China as it launches the Asian ver- the ability to trace their fish back to the the buyer to see all the way back to the sion of the show. CES Asia is being held fisherman, Levin said. source if they know their fishermen and this week and there’s likely to be a huge The plan is the latest in the fast-growing distributors, he said. selection of new gadgets and tech news food traceability tech sector, which seeks to “I don’t think it’s anything new, other coming out of the Far East. connect retailers, restaurants and cus- than that it’s an app, and a bunch of techies At the pre-show keynote this year, tomers with the origin and journey of their are trying to get some money out of it, but Audi took the lead in talking about its lat- food. The world market for food traceability that’s just me,” Alexander said. “It’s good est electric car, the Audi R8 e-tron. technologies will reach $11.15 billion in technology. I just don’t think it’s a new Passengers will be able to experience the 2015, an increase of more than a half-bil- technology.” car’s piloted drive feature on the busy lion dollars from the previous year, accord- But there is precedent for similar proj- roads of Shanghai for an 8km trip. ing to market research firm Visiongain. ects succeeding. Jared Auerbach, owner of But if the Audi keynote is a portent of Consumers have had access to technol- Boston seafood distributor Red’s Best, said things to come, this mini-CES in China ogy that connects them with the histories he has provided wholesalers with backsto- may be rather subdued before the more of such items as flour, berries, Alaskan ries about his fish since about 2008. established tradeshow, Comptuex, takes salmon and antibiotic-free beef since the “What we have found is there’s value in place in Taipei. The International CES late 2000s, industry professionals said. The that data that we have to collect,” he said. takes place every year in Las Vegas during QR codes - the black and white digital “We found that down at the other end of the month of January, but the Asian ver- SHANGHAI: An exhibitor (L) demonstrates a smart lamp which can be controlled by a phone app to squares readable with a camera - appear in the supply chain, there’s real tangible value sion is more focused on Chinese develop- visitors during the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Asia in Shanghai yesterday. More than both farmers markets and high-end restau- in that story.” — AP ments and announcements, as well as 200 technology companies from 15 countries around the world are showcasing their consumer tech- other nearby Asia companies latest tech nology innovations at CES Asia which takes place from May 25 to 27. — AFP wares. There is certainly less of a global focus, Mexico cab drivers snarl but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as China is a key market for consumer elec- traffic in anti-Uber demo tronics, especially for global brands who are aiming to woo increasingly affluent Chinese consumers - making CES Asia MEXICO CITY: Thousands of Mexico City cheaper prices. “It’s completely unlawful. 2015 an important opportunity for the taxi drivers snarled traffic in the mega-capi- Uber is a foreign company that comes to showcase event. tal on Monday in a protest demanding that Mexico to illegally become rich,” said Scenes like this are common at con- the government ban US ride-sharing serv- Marcelino Cadena, 40-year-old owner of a sumer electronics shows in Asia. ice Uber. taxi company. Taxi drivers pay at least 6,000 “It was a big decision, and you know In response, Uber fired back by offering pesos ($400) per year in taxes, license what, part of it is a lot of companies ask free cab service “on a day so complicated to plates and other charges to the city gov- for it”, said Gary Shapiro, who is president move” around the metropolis of 20 million ernment, in addition to a 16 percent tax if of the Consumer Electronics Association. people and four million vehicles. clients ask for receipts. “They wanted Las Vegas here. Right Taxi drivers on foot and many in their Ernesto Hernandez, 37, said his taxi here, people love their technology. cars blocked the city’s main arteries, paint- stand only receives 20 phone calls per day There’s a huge market for digital devices ing windows with the words “Uber Out” compared to the 70 times it rang before here in Asia, and of course, Shanghai is and holding signs reading “Criminals with Uber’s arrival in August 2013. the official city of the future”. It’s not cer- license plates.” Uber has been hit with court injunctions tain exactly what products will be on The protesters said the app-based taxi in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and show early this week, and that’s always service was costing them between 10 and Spain, and has faced protests from taxi part of the excitement. But if the show is 50 percent of their work because Uber is firms in numerous other major cities, successful, it looks like it could become a SHANGHAI: A visitor tries on a device which can transform movies played on mobile phones into 3D exempt from certain taxes and can offer including London and Brussels. —AFP regular, annual occurrence. movies during the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Asia in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE What’s hot? Life sciences challenge tech in global innovation

LONDON: The life sciences industry is increasingly ing rules in the United States, there are also signs of gy, where inventions rose 12 and 7 percent respec- assignees in nine of the 12 industries analysed in the taking over from the tech sector in driving global more fundamental shifts, with the volume of pub- tively, according to the 2015 State of Innovation report. innovation, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis lished scientific literature-a precursor to patents- report published on Tuesday. (http://stateofinnova- In addition to watching a Samsung TV and using of global patents. down 22 percent across 12 industries. tion.com). a Samsung phone, the South Korean group also With more patents applied for or granted in 2014 Significantly, patents for semiconductors fell 5 There was also a marked increase in food, bever- wants consumers to take Samsung-manufactured than in any other year in history, humankind has percent in 2014. That may spell trouble for other ages and tobacco, up 21 percent, and in cosmetics prescription drugs, consume Samsung energy drinks never been more inventive, whether in designing areas, since microchips form a bedrock for innova- and well-being, up 8 percent. and wear Samsung make-up. driverless cars, discovering new drugs for cancer or tions such as wearable tech, big data and the so- These sectors also highlight the convergence of Its broad push, following a bruising patent battle building bionic limbs. called Internet-of-things, which allows wireless com- industries and the emergence of products such as with Apple, reflects a growing determination by But growth in innovation has nonetheless munication between appliances. nutraceuticals-foods and drinks with potential Asian players to stake their claim on the knowledge slowed, with worldwide patent volume up 3 percent Still, with more than 2.1 million unique inventions health benefits-and cosmeceuticals, the combina- economy. last year, the smallest annual rise since the end of recorded across industries last year, the world is not tion of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. China, too, is a rising force in the patenting land- the global recession in 2009. Previous years have exactly short of new ideas. Some of the world’s biggest companies are scape, led by companies including Huawei and ZTE, seen near double-digit percentage increases. Major sectors showing impressive patent growth embracing this blurring of boundaries, notably as well as institutions such as the Chinese Academy While part of that may be due to tighter patent- in 2014 included pharmaceuticals and biotechnolo- Samsung, which is among the top 25 patent of Sciences. — Reuters World already reaping benefits from ozone treaty

PARIS: The UN treaty to protect the ozone layer the state of the stratosphere. has prevented a likely surge in skin cancer in Concentrations of ozone-depleting gases Australia, New Zealand and northern Europe, a are now about 10 percent below their peak of study published yesterday said. 1993, although it will take until around 2050 If the 1987 Montreal Protocol had never before the ozone hole over Antarctica shrinks to been signed, the ozone hole over Antarctica its 1980 state. would have grown in size by 40 percent by Translating rises in ultra-violet levels into 2013, it said. increases in skin cancer is hard to quantify, but Ultra-violet levels in Australia and New “changes as large as these would have had Zealand, which currently have the highest mor- potentially serious consequences in the tality rates from skin cancer, could have risen by decades that followed,” said the paper. between eight and 12 percent. Previous research suggests every five-per- In northern Europe, depletion of the ozone cent rise in ultra-violet leads to increases of 15 layer over the Arctic could have boosted ultra- and eight percent in the incidence of squamous violet levels in Scandinavia and Britain by more and basal cell carcinoma respectively, the two than 14 percent, it said. commonest forms of skin cancer. “Our research confirms the importance of That calculation is based on the absence of the Montreal Protocol and shows that we have additional measures to protect the public from already had real benefits,” said Martyn damaging rays. Chipperfield, a professor at Britain’s University of But the impact on melanoma, a rarer but Leeds who led the study. deadlier type of skin cancer, has never been “We knew that it would save us from large measured. ozone loss ‘in the future,’ but in fact we are Some of the chemicals scrapped under the already past the point when things would have Montreal Protocol also happen to be hefty become noticeably worse.” greenhouse gases, with a powerful ability to The Protocol commits all UN members to trap the sun’s heat. scrapping a group of chlorine- and bromine- According to a study published in 2013, their containing chemicals. phaseout also provided a perceptible gain in Used in aerosol sprays, solvents and refriger- the fight against climate change-it prevented ants, these substances destroy ozone molecules additional warming of 0.1 degrees Celsius (0.2 in the stratosphere that filter out cancer-caus- degrees Fahrenheit). ing ultra-violet light. The Protocol has been implemented by 196 The authors to the paper, published in the states and the European Union, making it the TAMPA: US Navy Capt. Harris Halverson, shown in this ultra wide angle photo, demonstrates some of the functions in the cockpit of the journal Nature Communications, built a 3D first treaty in the history of the United Nations National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s P-3 turboprop aircraft “Miss Piggy”, at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. While best computer model based on the latest data about to achieve universal ratification. — AFP known as “hurricane hunters,” NOAA’s four-engine WP-3D turboprops support a wide variety of national and international meteorological, oceanographic, and environmental research and monitoring programs in addition to hurricane research and reconnaissance. Projects range China readies national from air chemistry, climate, and ocean heat content studies to satellite data validation. — AP carbon market to fight World’s least-polluting nations climate change aim to set Paris climate bar high BEIJING: At first, the numbers and company “China is taking this step to accept its names flashing on a big board in Beijing’s responsibility in stopping climate change,” financial district suggest a booming market. said Zhou Cheng, the Beijing exchange’s vice Gambia aims to cut emissions 25 to 30% by 2030 A closer look indicates otherwise: The president. “This affects industry in a legal, sci- scrolling list rotates the same dozen or so entific way, and it lets them form their busi- BARCELONA: If your country were responsible for A key lesson is ensuring the plan “makes sense planting trees on farms can conserve water, boost trades, all from last year. The lights from the ness plans while looking at carbon emissions only 0.05 percent of the world’s climate-changing at the country level” and is not just designed to fit yields and store more carbon, for example. Beijing Environment Exchange - one of seven too.” emissions, you might not think it worth making a international requirements, said Yamil Bonduki, a pilot markets in China for trading carbon - rais- If anything, the national plan heralds a plan to curb that pollution - especially when you technical advisor with UNDP. That is particularly Funding guide es questions for the country as it prepares for strategy change for a country that’s so far still need to get electricity to much of your popula- important because “you need high-level political Whatever goes into the INDCs will be scruti- next year’s roll-out of a nationwide system used its one party system to order everything tion. endorsement”, he said. nised by donors and investors, Ricardo-AEA’s that could help the world’s biggest emitter of from factory closures to barbecue bans by giv- But the Gambian government thinks otherwise. In Bangladesh, some participants in discussions Holdaway said, making them a convenient place to heat-trapping carbon dioxide rein in its emis- ing companies a money-making incentive to It is already working on its contribution to a new on the INDC questioned why the South Asian set out the support countries need to realise their sions. cut their carbon emissions, said Jeff Swartz, global deal to tackle climate change, due to be nation should even produce a plan when its emis- ambitions for climate action. A successful carbon offset, or “cap-and- international policy director at the Geneva- hammered out in Paris at the end of this year. sions are such a small fraction of the world total. Even if the plans do not contain explicit finan- trade,” market could play a big part in cutting based nonprofit group the International Under the United Nations Framework In response to such doubts, some countries are cial demands, many developing nations are likely China’s emissions - and help the world tackle Emissions Trading Association. Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), all coun- working to put a price tag on the economic bene- to present what they can achieve within the con- global warming. Already launched in Europe, tries have been invited to submit an “intended fits of measures to tackle climate change, said straints of their own budgets, and what they could California and a few other spots, such carbon Different policies nationally determined contribution” (INDC), setting CDKN’s Sura.— Reuters do with increased financial assistance and access to offset markets limit how much carbon can be For some Chinese companies, selling out what they will do to combat global warming, in Another option is to show how work on an clean technology. emitted per year by factories and businesses. excess carbon offset credits could bring in mil- advance of December’s Paris climate talks. INDC can produce better data, giving “a clearer pic- Gambia’s Jallow said his country would struggle They then let those businesses that release lions of dollars a year. “China is using a number “We think that if even the smallest nation or the ture of your future emissions” to support policy to implement its plans without international sup- less carbon than the cap sell to other compa- of different policies, both command-and-con- poorest country can develop an INDC, there should making, said Munjurul Khan, an academic who port. Many developing countries are hoping that nies permissions to emit whatever’s left. trol but also market policies,” Swartz said. be no excuse from any country to say (they) can- heads up a team of local experts developing will come from the fledgling Green Climate Fund So far, the pilots have failed to make a “(Emissions trading) will provide a fundamen- not,” said Bubu Pateh Jallow, a former Gambian offi- Bangladesh’s offer. set up under the UNFCCC. noticeable dent in carbon emissions, with tal solution to allow China to peak its emis- cial who advises the government on climate Chris Dodwell, international projects director Ricardo-AEA’s Dodwell said climate finance and about 978 million yuan, or $158 million, trad- sions.” change. “There is a moral obligation that we have with Ricardo-AEA, noted that as Bangladesh push- technology transfer for poorer countries were ed since their launch in 2013, compared to the The past decade, however, has been a to do this.” es forward with solar power for homes and irriga- “absolutely core and central” to the Paris deal. 7.2 billion euros, or about $8 billion, of carbon spotty one for carbon credit experiments in With assistance from Germany and the UK- tion, it is recognising the potential of those The INDC process should enable poorer coun- offsets that were traded in the European mar- China. based Climate and Development Knowledge advances to curb emissions - even though its focus tries to make the links between putting together ket in its first year of operation, Five years ago, European Union officials Network (CDKN), Gambia has held consultations so far has been on helping people adapt to climate their own development priorities and climate 2006. Many companies required to buy ended a carbon offset plan that paid Chinese with technical experts, as well as groups from change impacts. strategies, and winning climate finance via the carbon credits have waited until the last companies to destroy the greenhouse gas bureaucrats to businesses to women in all its eight Some developing countries, including Mexico Paris agreement to help put those into practice. minute of compliance periods to make their HFC-23 after learning that the companies regions. and Gabon, are also putting planned adaptation “If that balance can be struck, then you start to trades, which has raised concerns about low were producing the gas only to be paid to Initial results suggest Gambia could aim to cut measures in their INDCs, keen to highlight the get some interesting political buy-in to the agree- liquidity in the market. Some observers ques- destroy it. emissions 25 to 30 percent by 2030 from 2000 lev- mutual benefits of both types of action - how ment,” he said. — Reuters tion the reliability of data recording how Kathy Kong, CEO of Beijing-based trading els, Jallow said. Measures to get there include using solar and much companies are emitting. firm Timing Carbon, said the pilot markets still wind energy for rural electrification, reducing pow- Chinese officials, however, say the pilot have a lot of room to grow. For example, the er loss during transmission, recovering gases from Meth seizures quadruple markets aren’t meant to significantly cut the markets still offer only spot trading with no landfills, composting waste, and introducing agro- country’s carbon profile yet. Instead, they say futures markets, which greatly limits the forestry and better soil management. across much of Asia-Pacific they are learning important lessons from their potential market size. Regulators must also So far, 37 countries - including the United experiments and will use them in what will step in to prop up falling carbon offset prices States, Russia, Canada and European Union mem- BANGKOK: Methamphetamine seizures 250 million in 2013. soon become the world’s biggest carbon off- and keep prices at other times from reaching ber states - have formally submitted their INDCs. set market. unsustainable highs. — AP across much of the Asia-Pacific region have Long popular in the poorer Mekong region Among them are two developing countries: quadrupled over five years, the UN said yes- countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Mexico and Gabon. But they have yet to be joined terday, citing rising wealth as one reason for a Thailand and Vietnam as an affordable high- by any of the world’s poorest nations. boom in production and consumption. often for people working long hours such as Kiran Sura, who leads a project for CDKN help- Growing economic integration across the truck drivers-yaba is finding new users in ing eight developing states shape their U.N. cli- region was also enabling cross-border crimi- wealthier countries such as South Korea, mate offers, says it’s unlikely that all 48 least-devel- nal networks to cooperate in peddling Malaysia and Singapore, the UNODC said. oped countries will submit a plan. amphetamine-type stimulants and so-called “This significant increase of seizures might But with France earlier this year having added 3 “legal highs”, the United Nations Office on partly be the result of effective law enforce- million euros ($3.35 million) to the aid pot support- Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report. ment measures, “ the study said. ing those efforts, around two thirds might, she said. The study, which was released in Bangkok, But the rise “also points to expanding man- An ongoing survey by the NewClimate Institute covers Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania, ufacture and an increase of trafficking to and shows that INDCs from countries producing 84 per- but excluded South Asia. through the region as the synthetic drug mar- cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to Between 2008 and 2013, the last year cov- ket is becoming increasingly interconnected be tabled by the Paris conference, and nearly 60 ered by the UNODC figures, regional seizures with other regions.” percent of countries are receiving funding to help of methamphetamine-known colloquially as The UN’s research also reports a significant prepare them. meth-rose nearly four-fold from 11 to 42 met- increase in the production and consumption ric tonnes. of new psychoactive substances-often Domestic appeal Much of the increase is down to an explo- referred to as “legal highs”. Emelia Holdaway of environmental consultancy sion in production of meth tablets, known in These are laboratory produced chemical Ricardo-AEA, who co-authored a CDKN guide to parts of Asia as “yaba”. compounds that mimic the effects of popular drafting INDCs, said many developing countries The drug, a potent stimulant, tends to recreational drugs like ecstasy and cannabis need support because they have limited technical come in two forms, a powerful crystalline vari- but are not yet controlled by international expertise and financial resources, and the time ant known as “ice” or crystal meth, and the drug conventions. frame for the process is short. usually less pure “yaba” tablets. In 2009 the number of reported new That is why officials and experts from industri- Between 2008 and 2013 crystal meth substances on regional markets was 34. By alised countries - including Britain, the United ARKANSAS: In this May 7, 2015 photo, botanist Theo Witsell examines a plant near seizures doubled, from seven to around 14 November 2014 that number had jumped States, Japan, Germany and France - have shared tonnes. to 137, with Australia, New Zealand, Mount Ida, Ark. Witsell, the botanist for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, their experience of crafting emissions reduction and a handful of other commission staff have combed the state in recent years to But meth tablet seizures grew eight fold, Singapore and Japan reporting the largest goals in regional workshops organised by the from 30 million tablets in 2008 to more than number of new substances. — AFP find, collect and preserve more than 70,000 native plant species. — AP United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE Zimbabweans get 100 million condoms in HIV battle

HARARE: More than 100 million condoms cent since 2009. About 1.3 million ous year,” said Amon Mpofu, a director at the they are handed out by community health were distributed in Zimbabwe last year, a huge Zimbabweans out of a population of 13 million National Aids Council. workers in rural areas. increase on previous years, indicating that still live with HIV, with 618,980 people on anti- “The distribution of condoms and the corre- Shops also sell them at a government-sub- more people were practising safe sex in the retroviral treatment. sponding decline in the rate of infection shows sidised rate. HIV is one of the leading killers in battle against HIV, authorities said yesterday. “We had 104 million male condoms and 5.2 people are using protection.” southern Africa, and health authorities are According to the National Aids Council, HIV million female condoms distributed last year Condoms are freely available in public advocating safe sex to curb the spread of the rates in Zimbabwe have declined by 30 per- alone, up from a total of 28 million the previ- places including bars, clinics and colleges and virus. — AFP

Zimbabweans go hungry as drought hammers Africa

SIYAGIJIMA: Even in the best of not plan for the imports in its 2015 times, life is harsh in Siyagijima, a budget. desolate village in southwest That means the burden is likely to Zimbabwe. After the worst regional fall on the shoulders of international drought in nearly a decade and the donors, who have been distributing failure of nearby crops, it is likely to food since 2004 despite broad eco- be even harsher. nomic sanctions imposed by the For 31-year-old Mejury Tererai, West after the seizure of thousands whose maize and cotton crops have of white-owned farms from 2000 been decimated, that means feeding and a violent election in 2002. her children nothing but scarce WFP director for Zimbabwe Sory maize and groundnuts. Ouane told Reuters the United She would be lucky to get 50 kilos Nations agency was looking for $60 of maize this year - enough for just million for local food aid. over a month. Her cotton is a write- off and she owes $27 to the firm that Drought in ‘maize belt’ provided her with chemicals. If she Neighbouring Zambia and South fails to pay, they will sell her single Africa, from which Zimbabwe has goat or chickens or rip the corrugat- imported maize in the past, also face ed iron roof from her two-roomed dramatically lower harvests. house, she said. Zambian agriculture minister She hopes President Robert Given Lubinda told Reuters this Mugabe’s government can provide month his country’s yield would basic support, but it is far from clear drop 21 percent but it would still that it has the means. produce an export surplus of “Our request is that we need help 876,000 tonnes. with food so that our children are In a recent estimate, the WFP said able to go to school and concen- crop failure rates in parts of South trate,” she said in the village, 400 km Africa’s maize belt had been over 50 (250 miles) southwest of the capital. percent. South Africa grows more “Last year we had a good harvest than 40 percent of regional maize. KIGOMA: A girl stays out of the sun as Burundian refugees queue for vulnerability screening in the Lake Tanganyika stadium in Kigoma. Some but this year we got very little. It was At least 600,000 people in Malawi 3,000 cases of cholera have been reported in Tanzania, mainly among Burundian refugees fleeing political violence, the UN said, adding that up too hot and we received little rain,” also need food aid after their crops to 400 new cases were being counted daily. So far, 31 people have died of the water-born disease in the area around the western Tanzanian bor- der town Kaguna, which has been flooded with refugees, the UN refugee agency said. —AFP she added, as her two-year-old son were washed away by massive flood- slept on her bosom. ing in January, the WFP said. The drought is likely to damage In Gokwe South, Tererai’s district harvests across southern Africa - of Zimbabwe, the government esti- Cholera outbreak among from southern Angola to Botswana, mates 60 percent of the maize crop Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and has failed. Even the larger scale Namibia, the World Food farmers have not been spared. Burundi refugees slowing Programme (WFP) says. “We are expecting 6-1/2 tonnes. The impact is looking particularly Last year we had 15-1/2. This year’s serious for Zimbabwe, where the crop was severely affected by heat,” economy has been struggling for said mother-of-three Rosewitha WHO confirms drop in cases, urges continued vigilance five years to recover from a cata- Manjovha, another farmer. strophic recession that was marked Although drought is blamed for GENEVA: A cholera outbreak raging among reported last week was reclassified, Edwards ments have begun for massive decontamina- by billion percent hyperinflation and this year’s crop failure, Zimbabwean Burundian refugees in Tanzania has slowed sig- said. tion.” widespread food shortages. farmers are reluctant to grow small nificantly with no new deaths reported in the The World Health Organization, which is also At the Tanganyika stadium in Kigoma, where The government and foreign grains such as sorghum and millet, past five days, the United Nations said yester- working to contain the outbreak, confirmed the refugees had been living while waiting to move relief agencies are still assessing which are more resistant to drought day. drop in cases, but urged continued vigilance. on to the camp, “the water and sanitation situa- needs but one official said up to 1.8 but are not widely eaten in So far, around 30 people have died and more “Despite the downward trend we have seen tions have also been showing positive results,” million people - more than a tenth of Zimbabwe. than 4,400 people have been infected with in the last few days the situation is still dire,” Edwards said. the population - may require food Most farmers also struggle to buy cholera in the western Tanzania’s Lake Rufaro Chatora, WHO representative in the Cholera is transmitted through contaminat- aid. seed and fertiliser. A 10 kg pack of Tanganyika area, which has been flooded with region, told reporters in a conference call. ed drinking water, and UNHCR said overcrowd- The 2015 harvest is forecast at seed costs up to $30 while a 50 kg people fleeing political unrest in neighbouring He pointed out that cholera was endemic to ing and unsanitary conditions in Kagunga, as 950,000 tonnes of maize, the staple, bag of fertiliser costs $40, a fortune Burundi, the UN refugee agency said. the region, and also existed on the Burundi side well as the consumption of water directly from far less than the 1.8 million tonnes to many. But UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told of the border. the lake, were believe to have sparked the out- reporters in Geneva that the number of new “We have to be on the watch-out,” he said. break. Zimbabwe’s people need. Farmers also lose up to 35 percent daily cases had fallen to around 100 from a peak The tiny and hard-to-access Tanzanian bor- Burundi’s crisis erupted late last month after Harare has plans to import of harvested maize due to poor stor- of 915 on May 18. der town Kagunga had been struggling with the ruling CNDD-FDD party nominated 700,000 tonnes of white maize, age, according to the WFP. Last week, the agency reported an average tens of thousands of refugees living in dire con- President Pierre Nkurunziza to stand for a third which would cost $168 million, To counter this, it is piloting a of 300-400 cases daily. “The reduction in cases is ditions. UNHCR and other organisations have term in June presidential elections, prompting according to the latest spot prices project in which farmers store up largely due to the concerted approach to con- been working to move them by ship to the street protests that have so far left at left at least from GrainSA, a farmers’ body in to a tonne of maize in airtight can- tain the spread of the outbreak through intensi- western province of Kigoma and by bus or on 30 people dead. neighbouring South Africa, the vas “cocoons” that keep oxygen fied measures to promote hygiene,” he said. foot to the Nyagurusu refugee camp, and The crisis deepened earlier this month when region’s top producer. and moisture out. The maize can “For now the situation is improving, but Edwards said Tuesday that around 30,000 had a top general staged a failed coup attempt. But the government is already then be stored for more than six clearly resolving it fully may take several weeks,” so far been transferred to the camp. Since early April, some 90,500 Burundians struggling to pay for expenses as months without being attacked by he added. “We hope to complete the movements of the have fled to neighbouring countries, with basic as civil service salaries and did weevils. — Reuters The number of deaths had been revised remaining few thousand refugees either today around half of them taking refuge in Tanzania, down from 31 to 30 after one of the deaths or tomorrow,” he said, adding that “arrange- Edwards said. — AFP WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Lu&Lu Hypermarket to launch special Ramadan campaign

u&Lu Hypermarket, the region’s will be presented at a discount for cus- largest retail chain, will launch its tomers to experience shopping to the LRamadan campaign across all outlets utmost level of satisfaction. Lu&Lu in Kuwait in celebration of the Holy month Hypermarket is also promoting Special of Ramadan, starting from 27 May. This Offers on many items like pre Ramadan month-long initiative is in keeping with its hygiene products and linen goods such as commitment to fulfilling the needs of its prayer mats, carpets, table mats etc., which valued patrons during the Holy month. many will find useful during this month. Lu&Lu Hypermarket will feature an Aside from this, the special prices pro- unprecedented variety of promotions on motion also covers household appliances required necessities and others during this such as microwave ovens, mixer grinder, Holy Month to provide for a hassle-free etc. If you are looking to refurbish your shopping. Special offers from the Grocery home, consider Lu&Lu Hypermarket’s fan- Food Sections on a full-range of fresh food, tastic Ramadan promotion an opportunity fruits & vegetables ,meat, fish and poultry to fill your house with the latest home items in addition to instant drink items like appliances and furnishings. Tang Juices will make healthy eating possi- Tasteful new Ramadan celebration dis- ble and affordable. plays will decorate the Hypermarket, Furthermore, a variety of roastery items adding to the festive mood and reminding like dates, nuts and special dry figs will be patrons of the significance of the holy cele- on offer, a delicious complement to add to brations. any meal. If you are planning to buy dates Lu&Lu Hypermarket’s irresistible promo- to break your fast, Lu&Lu Hypermarket out- tion provides products at reasonable prices lets have an extensive variety of dates to within easy reach. With the range of promo- choose from. tions for every season, the hypermarket Special Hot Food Counters will serve an aims to bring joy and affordable shopping assortment of piping hot, delicious snacks to patrons to enhance the special signifi- for customers looking for a quick bite. cance of any occasion. Lu&Lu Hypermarket’s Celebrate your Iftar with flair, by trying the special festival promotions always prove to Iftar counters presenting many scrump- be popular with their customers, as they tious sweets, and special take-away dishes bring together key elements that contribute arranged exclusively for Ramadan to a celebration - affordable shopping, cus- Not only food items, but other products tomer satisfaction and product variety.

ASSE Kuwait Elects office bearers for the term 2015-2016

merican Society of Safety Engineers, Kuwait Chapter in Secretary - Jignesh Shah line with its By-Laws conducted the Annual Elections Treasurer - Sanjay Jaiswal. Afor the elect positions (President, Vice President, These elect members will work in close co-ordination with Secretary & Treasurer) for the term 2015-2016. The election present Executive Committee and take over with effective was organized on 29th April 2015 at Kohinoor Banquets Ball, from July 2015. This process is being adopted in the Chapter Fahaheel and the following are the details of the elected offi- since the year 2004 to ensure smooth transition to the cers. Chapter year provides some sort of understanding of Chapter President - GolamariSampath Reddy operations for the incoming Committee. ASSE Kuwait Chapter Vice President - Dinesh Kumar Dutta congratulates the newly elected members.

Sabah Al-Ahmad Giftedness and Creativity Center honours students

ational Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim said it is important to care for skilled students, adding that they will be the corner stone of soci- ety development. Al-Ghanim spoke to journalists after honoring 124 students (from the gifted classrooms) which belongs to Sabah Al-Ahmad NGiftedness and Creativity Center that was held at the Regency Hotel under his patronage. WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Zain holds blood donation campaign

ain, the pioneer company in present- Bank, is within its social programs that aims ing mobile services in Kuwait organ- at raising the awareness status of its Zized the third campaign of blood employees on the importance of donating donation by its employees this year, to urge blood. them for more participation in social cam- The Central Blood Bank honored Zain paigns that aim at rescuing the lives of oth- last year for its role in organizing blood ers. donations campaigns, at the sidelines of The company said that this campaign, celebrating the international blood donors’ which is in cooperation with Central Blood day. Holiday Inn Salmiya earns 2014 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence

oliday Inn Kuwait - Salmiya was honored for the third dence to our commitment to excellent service which is appre- year in a row as a Top Performing Business type hotel ciated into positive reviews on TripAdvisor.” Has reviewed by Travelers on the World’s Largest Travel “TripAdvisor is delighted to award Holiday Inn Kuwait the site “TripAdvisor” and received a Certificate of Excellence 2015 Certificate of Excellence. This achievement is a direct award. this award is given only to establishments that consis- result of your consistently great reviews from TripAdvisor trav- tently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. ellers.” said Marc Charron, President, TripAdvisor for Business. “Again, we delighted to receive the TripAdvisor Certificate “The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing of Excellence for the third consecutive year” said Monjed establishments around the world the recognition they Salha, General Manager. “As we continue to offer our cus- deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most - tomers with memorable experience, and this award is an evi- their customers.” KAMCO organizes blood donation drive

AMCO Investment Company, a leading invest- Department said, “As part of KAMCO’s social responsi- ment company with one of the largest AUMs in bility framework, we continue to contribute to the Kthe region, and a winner of the prestigious wellbeing of our society by focusing on different caus- Kuwait Asset Manager of the Year Award 2015, recently es such as health, education and the environment. The organized a blood donation drive in coordination with emergency call for blood donation resulted in a large the Central Blood Bank in Kuwait. turnout of volunteers, demonstating a keen level of The event witnessed a high turnout of donors from care to such causes.” KAMCO and other group participating companies who “In addition to hosting health specialists to conduct took part in this effort, reflecting the importance of lectures on disease awareness, we are proud to such social initiatives that demonstrate the benefits of announce the success of our annual cooperation with blood donation. the Central Blood Bank, and look forward to more col- Ms Sana Al Hadlaq, Senior Vice President of laborations in the future with an aim to mark a positive KAMCO’s Client Relationship and Marketing impact in our society ,”Al Hadlaq added. ACK launches second training program for its Robotics Club

he Robotics Club of the Australian lows basic commands, while contributing College of Kuwait (ACK) is ready to to design and program a LEGO robot. They Tlaunch its second training program will also take part in applications develop- for students aged 12-17 years old. The pro- ment and various contests. By the end of gram will take place at ACK’s campus in the program, certificates and trophies will West Mishref from the 1sttill the 27th of be distributed to participants and winners. August, 2015. With this initiative, ACK Robotics Club Over the course of 4 weeks, participants aims to spread the culture of robot technol- will commence the training with multiple ogy among the youth empowering them introductory sessions led by instructors to with engineering skills, as well as giving learn about robotics, how to program and them a chance to innovate while encourag- operate robots, as well as several methods ing them to utilize their free time during of robot mounting and assembling. During the summer holidays in a productive envi- the ongoing sessions, the participants will ronment. The registration period for the also learn how to design a robot that fol- Robotics club is from July 1 till August 1. Nandhanam conducts Arangetram 2015

andhanam Kuwait conducted “Arangetram The live accompaniment team Bijeesh Krishna handed over the mementoes & certificates to the 2015” at American International School, (Vocal), Reju Narayanan (Vocal) Venugopal Arangetram paricipants. Priya Mani handed over a NMaidan Hawalli on 15th May 2015. The pro- Kurumassery (Mridangam), Suresh Nambuthiri memento to Bala Subramanyam, as a token of gram was inaugurated by A K Srivastava, Second (Violin) who welcomed the audience by a lovely appreciation from nandhanam for his whole-heart- Secretary (Information, Press and Culture) Indian Ganesha Sthuthi. In Arangetram 2015, 80 students ed support as a parent and well-wisher of nand- Embassy, who appreciated Nandhanam for their performed their Arangetram in Bharata Natym, hanam. She also handed over mementos to the efforts to demonstrate the artistic culture and her- Mohiniyaattam, Kuchipudi dance forms and 6 oth- teachers, the musicians as a gesture of apprecia- itage in its original form. Priya Mani, national er students performed bharatanatym Varnnam in tion from Nandhanam for their efforts in present- award winner and judge in dance reality shows accordance to the live music. ing Arangetram 2015 in its realistic manner. were the special guest for the event along with Priya Mani appreciated the efforts and dedica- Nandhanam also appreciated the makeup artists other dignitaries from Kuwait. Nayana Santhosh tion of the teachers, students and live accompani- Jayan V Narayanan, Shaji Sebastian and Shri Master delivered the welcome speech followed by the ment team for very joyous presentation – a visual Suresh in the event. Nandhanam directors – national anthem. and harmonious treat. She feels so proud and Nayana Santhosh and Bindhu Prasad handed over Indian Embassy official A. K. Srivastava released enchanted on her return to Kuwait through such a a memento to Priya Mani. Nandhanam thanked the the Souvenir – Arangetram 2015 and the first copy prestigious event and she appreciated the efforts sponsors, the teachers, the parents and the well- given to Priya Mani, the special guest for the done by the organizers for organizing such a pro- wishers for their immense support and for showing event. gram in its original and traditional form. Priya Mani their passion towards our culture and heritage. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 TV PROGRAMS

17:30 The Pioneer Woman 21:50 World’s Deadliest Animals 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:40 World’s Weirdest 18:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:30 Shark Men 19:00 Chopped 20:00 Guy’s Grocery Games 00:00 Blade-18 00:20 Fast N’ Loud 21:00 Chopped 02:00 The Courier-PG15 01:10 Running Wild With Bear 22:00 The Next Iron Chef 04:00 Ice Soldiers-PG15 Grylls 23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 06:00 The Recruit-PG15 02:00 So You Think You’d Survive? 23:30 Chopped 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 08:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 02:50 Marooned With Ed Stafford Stewart Wolverine-PG 03:40 Storage Hunters 01:00 The Nightly Show With Larry 10:00 A Common Man-PG15 04:05 Backroad Bounty Wilmore 12:00 Ice Soldiers-PG15 05:00 How It’s Made 01:30 The League 14:00 The Recruit-PG15 05:30 How Do They Do It? 02:00 Louie 16:00 The Sanctuary-PG15 06:00 Alaska: The Last Frontier 00:10 The Jonathan Ross Show 02:30 Louie 18:00 A Common Man-PG15 06:50 Overhaulin’ 03:00 Hot In Cleveland 20:00 Closed Circuit-PG15 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 01:05 Please Marry My Boy Australia 03:30 Parks And Recreation 22:00 Bullet To The Head-18 08:30 Storage Hunters 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 08:55 Backroad Bounty 02:00 Emmerdale 02:25 Holiday: Heaven On Earth Jimmy Fallon 09:45 How It’s Made 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 10:10 How Do They Do It? 02:55 Coronation Street 03:25 Home Fires 09:00 Hot In Cleveland 10:35 Running Wild With Bear 10:00 Marry Me Grylls 04:20 The Widower 00:30 Struck By Lightning 05:15 The Chase: Celebrity 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 11:25 So You Think You’d Survive? Jimmy Fallon 02:30 Cuban Fury 12:15 Marooned With Ed Stafford Specials 04:30 Chalet Girl 06:10 Please Marry My Boy 14:00 Parks And Recreation 13:05 Storage Hunters 15:00 Marry Me 06:30 Hello Ladies: The Movie 13:30 Backroad Bounty Australia 08:00 Never Been Kissed 07:05 Coronation Street 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 14:20 Alaska: The Last Frontier Stewart 10:00 Cuban Fury 15:10 Overhaulin’ 07:30 Home Fires 12:00 Until She Came Along 08:25 The Widower 16:00 The Nightly Show With Larry 16:00 Fast N’ Loud Wilmore 14:00 10 Years 16:50 How It’s Made 09:20 The Chase 16:00 Never Been Kissed 10:15 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 17:15 How Do They Do It? 18:00 Hot In Cleveland 18:00 Bachelorette 17:40 American Muscle 10:40 The Jonathan Ross Show 20:00 Friends With Kids 11:35 Please Marry My Boy 18:30 The Goldbergs 18:30 Mind Control Freaks 19:00 Modern Family 22:00 A Haunted House 18:55 Mind Control Freaks Australia 12:30 The Chase: Celebrity 19:30 Modern Family 19:20 The Pop Illusionist 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 20:10 Backroad Bounty Specials 13:25 Emmerdale Jimmy Fallon 21:00 Mind Control Freaks 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 21:25 Mind Control Freaks 13:50 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 14:15 Coronation Street Stewart 01:00 Draft Day-PG15 21:50 The Pop Illusionist 21:30 The Nightly Show With Larry 03:00 Pawn-PG15 22:40 Man vs Weird 14:40 The Jonathan Ross Show 15:35 The Chase Wilmore 05:00 Safe Haven-PG15 23:30 Fast N’ Loud: Demolition 22:00 Web Therapy 07:00 Mirror Mirror-PG15 Theater 16:30 Foyle’s War 18:20 The Chase: Celebrity 22:30 Web Therapy 09:00 Belle-PG15 Specials 23:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm 11:00 Safe Haven-PG15 19:10 Coronation Street 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 13:00 A Secret Promise-PG15 19:35 The Chase 15:00 Robot & Frank-PG15 20:30 Foyle’s War 17:00 Belle-PG15 22:20 Coronation Street 19:00 The Citizen-PG15 00:00 Escape Club 22:50 Emmerdale 21:00 The Trials Of Cate McCall 00:55 Extreme Close-Up 23:15 The Chase: Celebrity 23:00 Her-18 01:25 Keeping Up With The 00:00 Parenthood Specials Kardashians 01:00 Chicago Fire 02:20 Giuliana & Bill 02:00 The Americans 03:15 Christina Milian Turned Up 03:00 Mistresses 04:10 The E! True Hollywood Story 04:00 Bones 05:00 Criminal Minds 05:05 E!ES 01:30 Searching For Sugar Man 06:00 Keeping Up With The 06:00 Parenthood 00:00 Somewhere In China 08:00 Perception 03:00 One Chance Kardashians 04:45 August: Osage County 06:55 Keeping Up With The 01:00 Knights Of Mayhem 09:00 Criminal Minds 02:00 Traveler’s Guide To The 10:00 Bones 07:00 One Chance Kardashians 09:00 Metallica: Through The 07:50 Style Star Planets 11:00 Chicago Fire 03:00 Inside 12:00 Emmerdale Never 08:20 Richkids Of Beverly Hills 11:00 Searching For Sugar Man 08:45 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 04:00 Remote Survival 12:30 Coronation Street 05:00 Air Crash Investigation 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:30 The Portrait Of A Lady 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 15:00 August: Osage County 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 06:00 Great Migrations 14:00 Perception 07:00 Megaship 15:00 Parenthood 17:15 Metallica: Through The 11:10 Fashion Bloggers Never 11:35 Fashion Bloggers 08:00 Somewhere In China 16:00 Emmerdale 09:00 Knights Of Mayhem 16:30 Coronation Street 19:00 Up Close And Personal 12:05 House Of DVF 21:30 The Fifth Estate 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 10:00 Traveler’s Guide To The 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 13:35 THS Planets 18:00 Perception 14:30 Style Star 11:00 Star Talk 20:00 Franklin & Bash 15:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take 12:00 Doomsday Preppers 21:00 Chicago Fire The Hamptons 13:00 Zambezi 22:00 Outlander 14:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 23:00 Mistresses 02:00 Lay The Favorite-PG15 16:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take 03:45 Paranoia-PG15 The Hamptons 15:00 Shark Men 16:00 Caught In The Act 05:30 When The Game Stands 17:00 Richkids Of Beverly Hills Tall-PG15 17:30 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 17:00 The Big Picture With Kal Penn 07:30 Planes: Fire And Rescue-PG 18:00 Beyond Candid With 09:00 Non-Stop-PG15 Giuliana 17:30 The Big Picture With Kal Penn 10:45 Grudge Match-PG15 19:00 Good Work 12:45 Saving Mr. Banks-PG15 20:00 Christina Milian Turned Up 18:00 Naked Science 2.5 00:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 19:00 Shark Men 01:00 Good Morning America 15:00 The Book Thief-PG15 21:00 Keeping Up With The 17:15 Non-Stop-PG15 Kardashians 20:00 Caught In The Act 03:00 Better Call Saul 21:00 The Big Picture With Kal 04:00 Defiance 19:00 Baggage Claim-PG15 PARTS PER BILLION ON OSN MOVIES HD 22:00 Fashion Police 21:00 Parts Per Billion-18 23:00 Good Work Penn 05:00 Good Morning America 21:30 The Big Picture With Kal 07:00 Emmerdale 22:45 Rush-18 23:05 Last Chance Salon 12:15 Sofia The First Penn 07:30 Coronation Street 23:55 Outrageous Emergency 12:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:00 Naked Science 2.5 08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 13:10 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 23:00 Star Talk 09:00 The Night Shift 01:00 LPGA Tour 13:35 Zou 07:00 Golfing World 13:50 Jake And The Never Land 10:00 Emmerdale 00:00 Pawn Stars 10:30 Coronation Street 08:00 Gillette World Sport Pirates 00:30 Pawn Stars 00:30 Guy’s Big Bite 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:00 NRL Full Time 14:15 Doc McStuffins 01:00 The Secret Of NIMH 01:00 Storage Wars 01:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 12:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter 02:45 A Cat In Paris 12:30 Live Rugby League State of 14:45 Miles From Tomorrow 01:30 Storage Wars 01:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 13:00 C.S.I. 04:30 Otto Is A Rhino Origin 03:00 Deadly Women 15:10 Messages From Miles 02:00 Man Fire Food 14:00 Live Good Morning America 06:00 The Happy Cricket 2 16:00 PGA Tour Highlights 02:00 Shipping Wars 03:45 Couples Who Kill 15:15 Sofia The First 02:30 Man Fire Food 00:20 Speed Kills 16:00 The Night Shift 08:00 Princess And The Pea 17:00 PGA European Tour 02:30 Shipping Wars 04:30 Blood Relatives 15:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:00 Guy’s Big Bite 01:10 Dangerous Encounters 17:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter 10:00 Luke And Lucy: The Texas Highlights 03:00 American Pickers 05:20 Nightmare Next Door 16:05 Lilo & Stitch 03:30 Guy’s Big Bite 02:00 Ultimate Predator 18:00 C.S.I. Rangers 18:00 Golfing World 04:00 Ice Road Truckers 06:10 True Crime With 16:30 Adventures Of The 04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:50 Built For The Kill 19:00 The Night Shift 11:30 Knight Rusty 19:00 Inside The PGA Tour 05:00 Counting Cars Aphrodite Jones Gummi Bears 04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:45 Speed Kills 20:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter 13:00 A Cat In Paris 19:30 European Tour Weekly 05:30 Counting Cars 07:00 Nightmare Next Door 17:00 Chip n Dale Rescue 05:00 Chopped 04:40 Mother Croc 21:00 C.S.I. 14:30 The Happets 20:00 Trans World Sport 06:00 American Restoration 07:50 Fatal Encounters Rangers 06:00 Guy’s Grocery Games 05:35 Ultimate Predator 22:00 Better Call Saul 16:00 Hammer Boy 06:30 American Restoration 08:40 I Almost Got Away With It 17:25 Ducktales 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 06:30 Built For The Kill 23:00 Salem 18:00 Luke And Lucy: The Texas 07:00 Counting Cars 09:30 I Was Murdered 18:00 Miles From Tomorrow 07:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 07:25 Speed Kills Rangers 07:30 Counting Cars 09:55 Stalked: Someone’s 18:30 Sofia The First 08:00 Chopped 08:20 Ultimate Animal Countdown Watching 18:55 Messages From Miles 20:00 Twigson 14:30 Super Rugby Highlights 08:00 Big Rig Bounty Hunters 09:00 Barefoot Contessa 09:15 Animals Gone Wild 10:20 Forensic Detectives 19:00 The Adventures Of Disney 22:00 The Happets 15:00 Super Rugby Highlights 09:00 Counting Cars 09:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 10:10 World’s Deadliest Animals 11:10 On The Case With Paula Fairies 23:30 Hammer Boy 15:30 Super Rugby Highlights 09:30 Counting Cars 10:30 The Pioneer Woman 11:05 World’s Weirdest Zahn 19:30 Jake And The Neverland 00:00 Tactical Force 17:30 Gillette World Sport 10:00 American Pickers 11:00 The Pioneer Woman 12:00 Shark Men 12:00 Blood Relatives Pirates 02:00 Blade 18:00 Indy Car Highlights 11:00 Pawn Stars 11:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 12:55 Ultimate Predator 12:50 True Crime With 19:45 Doc McStuffins 04:00 The Courier 19:00 WWE Vintage 11:30 Pawn Stars 12:00 Chopped 13:50 Built For The Kill 06:00 Ice Soldiers Aphrodite Jones 20:00 Adventures Of The 23:00 Gillette World Sport 12:00 Storage Wars 13:00 Guy’s Big Bite 14:45 Speed Kills 08:00 The Recruit 13:40 Who On Earth Did I Gummi Bears 23:30 Golfing World 12:30 Storage Wars 13:30 Guy’s Big Bite 15:40 Africa’s Deadliest 10:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 00:00 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Marry? 20:30 Sofia The First 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:35 Animals Gone Wild Wolverine 02:00 Ong Bak 3-PG15 13:00 Counting Cars 14:05 Who On Earth Did I 20:55 Cars Toons 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:30 World’s Deadliest Animals 12:00 A Common Man 04:00 Marvel’s The Invincible Iron 13:30 Counting Cars Marry? 21:00 Chip n Dale Rescue 15:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 14:00 Ice Soldiers 14:00 Shipping Wars 14:30 On The Case With Paula Rangers 18:25 World’s Weirdest 16:00 The Recruit Man-PG 15:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 19:20 Speed Kills 06:00 The Grandmaster-PG15 14:30 Shipping Wars Zahn 21:30 Ducktales 18:00 The Sanctuary 15:00 American Pickers 15:20 I Was Murdered 22:00 Lilo & Stitch 16:00 Chopped 20:10 Africa’s Deadliest 20:00 A Common Man 08:00 High Moon-PG15 19:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:00 The Pioneer Woman 21:00 Animals Gone Wild 22:00 Closed Circuit 10:00 Tinker Bell And The Pirate 19:30 Indian Premier League H/L : 16:00 American Restoration 15:45 Stalked: Someone’s 22:25 Art Attack Fairy-FAM Qualifier 1 16:30 American Restoration Watching 22:55 Limon And Oli 12:00 Marvel’s The Invincible Iron 20:30 Indian Premier League H/L : 17:00 Storage Wars 16:10 Fatal Encounters 23:05 Zou Man-PG Eliminator 17:30 Storage Wars 17:00 Blood Relatives 23:20 Mouk 14:00 Peace, Love & 21:30 Indian Premier League H/L : 18:00 Pawn Stars 17:50 I Almost Got Away With It 23:35 Jungle Junction Misunderstanding-PG15 Qualifier 2 18:30 Pawn Stars 18:40 Forensic Detectives 23:50 Art Attack 16:00 High Moon-PG15 22:30 Indian Premier League H/L : 19:00 Storage Wars 19:30 True Crime With 00:15 Julius Jr. 18:00 The Worricker: Salting The Final 19:30 Storage Wars Aphrodite Jones 00:30 Calimero Battlefield-PG15 20:00 Shipping Wars 20:20 The Will 00:45 Henry Hugglemonster 21:10 Who On Earth Did I 01:00 Zou 20:00 The Calling-PG15 20:30 Shipping Wars Marry? 01:15 Jungle Junction 22:00 Paranormal Activity: The 21:00 Storage Wars Marked Ones-18 21:35 Who On Earth... 01:25 Art Attack 21:30 Storage Wars 22:00 Unravelled 01:50 Julius Jr. 22:00 Swamp People 22:50 Missing In Maui: A 02:00 Calimero 01:00 In The Dark 23:00 Search For The Lost Giants Disappeared Special 02:15 Henry Hugglemonster 02:45 Thorne: Scaredycat 23:40 Couples Who Kill 02:25 Zou 04:15 K-Pax 00:30 Deadly Devotion 02:40 Mouk 06:15 Hanna 01:20 Stalked: Someone’s 02:50 Jungle Junction 00:00 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 08:15 Inferno Watching 01:00 Live MSNBC Politicsnation 10:00 In The Dark 01:45 Stalked: Someone’s 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 11:30 Death At A Funeral Watching 02:30 ABC World News With David 13:00 Toy Story 3 02:10 Unravelled Muir 14:45 The Incredibles 00:45 Body Bizarre 03:00 Live MSNBC All In With Chris 16:45 That’s What I Am 01:35 Long Island Medium Hayes 18:30 Death At A Funeral 02:00 Last Chance Salon 06:00 Kid vs Kat 04:00 Live MSNBC The Rachel 20:00 Rogue Assassin 02:50 Say Yes To The Dress 06:10 Zeke & Luther Maddow Show 21:45 Last Orders 03:15 Something Borrowed, 06:35 Kickin’ It 05:00 Live MSNBC The Last Word 23:30 Meet Bill Something New 07:00 Phineas And Ferb W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 03:40 Soul Food Family 07:25 Lab Rats 06:00 NBC Nightly News 04:30 Cake Boss 03:00 Art Attack 07:50 Supa Strikas 06:30 ABC World News With David 05:00 Little People, Big World 03:25 Julius Jr. 08:15 Mini Ninjas Muir 05:30 Extreme Couponing 03:35 Calimero 08:40 Kirby Buckets 06:57 NBC Nightly News 06:00 17 Kids And Counting 03:50 Henry Hugglemonster 09:05 Ultimate Spider-Man: Web 07:18 ABC World News With David 06:25 The Next Great Baker 04:00 Zou Warriors Muir 00:00 Lost 07:15 Say Yes To The Dress 04:15 Mouk 09:30 Kickin’ It 07:39 Live ABC Nightline 01:00 Masterchef: The 07:40 Something Borrowed, 04:25 Jungle Junction 09:55 Phineas And Ferb 08:06 MSNBC The Rachel Professionals Something New 04:35 Art Attack 10:20 Boyster Maddow Show 02:00 Private Practice 08:05 Oprah: Where Are They 05:00 Julius Jr. 10:45 Zeke & Luther 09:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ 03:00 The Block Now? 05:10 Calimero 11:10 Lab Rats Lawrence O’Donnell 04:00 Desperate Housewives 08:55 Oprah’s Next Chapter 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster 11:35 Phineas And Ferb 10:00 Live ABC World News Now 05:00 The Simpsons 09:45 Cake Boss 05:35 Zou 12:00 Pair Of Kings 10:30 Live ABC World News Now 05:30 The Simpsons 10:10 Little People, Big World 05:50 Mouk 12:30 Supa Strikas 11:00 Live NBC Early Today 06:00 Greek 10:35 Extreme Couponing 06:00 Jungle Junction 12:55 Kickin’ It 11:30 Live ABC America This 07:00 According To Jim 11:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 06:10 Art Attack 13:20 Phineas And Ferb Morning 07:30 According To Jim 11:50 Little People, Big World: 06:35 Julius Jr. 13:40 Mighty Med 12:00 Live ABC America This 08:00 Lost Down Under 06:45 Calimero 14:05 Zeke & Luther Morning 09:00 Masterchef: The 12:40 The Next Great Baker 07:00 Jungle Junction 14:30 Kickin’ It 12:30 Live ABC America This Professionals 13:30 The Next Great Baker 07:15 Zou 14:55 Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Morning 10:00 The Simpsons 14:20 Shopping Is My Life 07:30 Calimero Warriors 13:00 Live ABC America This 10:30 The Simpsons 15:10 Cake Boss 07:45 Loopdidoo 15:20 Supa Strikas Morning 11:00 Private Practice 15:35 Little People, Big World 08:00 Limon And Oli 15:45 Mini Ninjas 13:30 MSNBC First Look 12:00 The Block 16:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 08:10 Jake And The Never Land 16:10 Pair Of Kings 14:00 Live NBC Today Show 13:00 Desperate Housewives 16:50 Say Yes To The Dress Pirates 16:35 Supa Strikas 17:57 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris 14:00 According To Jim 17:15 Something Borrowed, 08:35 Doc McStuffins 17:00 Kirby Buckets Matthews 14:30 According To Jim Something New 09:05 Art Attack 17:30 Mighty Med 18:38 MSNBC The Rachel 15:00 Greek 17:40 17 Kids And Counting 09:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 17:55 Disney Mickey Mouse Maddow Show 16:00 Lost 18:05 Extreme Couponing 10:00 Sofia The First Shorts 19:19 MSNBC The Last Word W/ 17:00 Masterchef: The 18:30 Soul Food Family 10:25 Henry Hugglemonster 18:00 Kickin’ It Lawrence O’Donnell Professionals 19:20 Oprah: Where Are They 10:55 Miles From Tomorrow 18:25 Lab Rats 20:00 Live MSNBC Live With 18:00 Private Practice Now? 11:20 Jake And The Neverland 18:50 Supa Strikas Thomas Roberts 19:00 The Block 20:10 The Next Great Baker: Road Pirates 19:15 Phineas And Ferb 22:00 Live MSNBC The Cycle 20:00 The Secret Life Of The To The Finale 11:35 Limon And Oli 19:40 Phineas And Ferb 23:00 Live MSNBC Now With Alex American Teenager 21:00 Outrageous Emergency 11:45 Loopdidoo 20:05 The 7D Wagner 21:00 Melissa & Joey 21:50 Outrageous Births 12:00 Handy Manny 20:30 Ultimate Spider-Man ICE SOLDIERS ON OSN MOVIES ACTIN HD 21:30 Melissa & Joey 22:40 Long Island Medium Classifieds

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (21/05/2015 TO 27/05/2015)

SHARQIA-1 SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 10:30 PM POLTERGEIST 11:30 AM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 12:45 AM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 1:30 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:45 PM FANAR-4 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 6:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 11:30 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:15 PM TOMORROWLAND 2:00 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 10:30 PM TOMORROWLAND 4:30 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 12:45 AM TOMORROWLAND 7:15 PM TOMORROWLAND 9:45 PM SHARQIA-2 TOMORROWLAND 12:30 AM TOMORROWLAND 11:30 AM TOMORROWLAND 2:00 PM FANAR-5 TOMORROWLAND 4:30 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 12:30 PM TOMORROWLAND 7:00 PM POLTERGEIST 3:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 9:30 PM POLTERGEIST 5:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 12:05 AM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 7:00 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 9:30 PM SHARQIA-3 TOMORROWLAND 12:05 AM OUT OF THE DARK 1:00 PM POLTERGEIST 3:00 PM MARINA-1 OUT OF THE DARK 5:00 PM OUT OF THE DARK 12:30 PM POLTERGEIST 7:00 PM OUT OF THE DARK 2:30 PM OUT OF THE DARK 9:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 4:30 PM POLTERGEIST 11:00 PM OUT OF THE DARK 6:45 PM OUT OF THE DARK 1:00 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:45 PM OUT OF THE DARK 11:00 PM MUHALAB-1 OUT OF THE DARK 1:00 AM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 1:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:15 PM MARINA-2 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 5:30 PM TOMORROWLAND 12:15 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 7:45 PM TOMORROWLAND 2:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 5:15 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 12:15 AM TOMORROWLAND 7:45 PM TOMORROWLAND 10:15 PM MUHALAB-2 TOMORROWLAND 12:45 AM OUT OF THE DARK 12:45 PM POLTERGEIST 2:45 PM MARINA-3 OUT OF THE DARK 4:45 PM POLTERGEIST -3D 11:30 AM OUT OF THE DARK 6:45 PM POLTERGEIST -3D 1:30 PM POLTERGEIST 8:45 PM POLTERGEIST -3D 3:30 PM OUT OF THE DARK 10:45 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - 3D 5:30 PM POLTERGEIST 12:45 AM POLTERGEIST -3D 8:00 PM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - 3D 10:00 PM MUHALAB-3 POLTERGEIST -3D 12:30 AM TOMORROWLAND 12:00 PM LOST TOMORROWLAND 2:30 PM AVENUES-1 TOMORROWLAND 5:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 1:00 PM TOMORROWLAND 7:30 PM A MOUSE TALE 3:45 PM Original document policy TOMORROWLAND 10:00 PM A MOUSE TALE 6:00 PM No: 633001805-3 TOMORROWLAND 12:30 AM PIKU - HINDI 8:15 PM Muhammad Iqbal Anjum THE BLOOD LANDS 10:45 PM DV the State Life Insurance FANAR-1 THE BLOOD LANDS 12:45 AM Corporation of Pakistan POLTERGEIST 12:00 PM Gulf Zone is reported to POLTERGEIST 2:00 PM AVENUES-2 have been lost. Anyone ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 4:00 PM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 12:15 PM finding the same or claim- ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 6:30 PM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 2:30 PM POLTERGEIST 8:45 PM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 4:45 PM ing any interest in it should ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:45 PM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 7:00 PM communicate with the POLTERGEIST 1:00 AM SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 9:15 PM Manager, Kuwait State Life SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 11:45 PM Office Ph: 22452208. FANAR-2 (C 4991) Prayer timings OUT OF THE DARK 12:15 PM AVENUES-3 TUITION OUT OF THE DARK 2:15 PM POLTERGEIST 11:45 AM Original document policy Tuition available morning OUT OF THE DARK 4:15 PM POLTERGEIST -3D 2:00 PM No: 633003743-7 Shahid Fajr: 03:18 OUT OF THE DARK 6:15 PM POLTERGEIST 4:15 PM time also. For American, Mehmood DV the State OUT OF THE DARK 8:15 PM POLTERGEIST -3D 6:30 PM English, bilingual and Arab Shorook 04:50 OUT OF THE DARK 10:15 PM POLTERGEIST 8:45 PM Life Insurance Corporation schools’ students. IGCSE OUT OF THE DARK 12:15 AM POLTERGEIST -3D 11:00 PM of Pakistan Gulf Zone is (preparation with past Duhr: 11:46 POLTERGEIST 1:15 AM reported to have been lost. papers). IELTS /TOEFL. (5 to FANAR-3 Anyone finding the same 7 lessons) GMAT/SAT Asr: 15:20 SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 1:00 PM AVENUES-4 or claiming any interest in Literature for University stu- SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 3:15 PM POLTERGEIST 1:00 PM it should communicate dents. Spoken English for Maghrib: 18:41 SPOOKS: THE GREATER GOOD 5:30 PM POLTERGEIST 3:15 PM with the Manager, Kuwait AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 7:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 5:30 PM the Arabs. Experienced State Life Office Ph: English Teacher #66948099 Isha: 20:08 22452208. (C 4992) (C 4990)

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

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 27/5/2015 KNE 460 Riyadh 14:10 Departure Flights on Wednesday 27/5/2015 SAW 702 Damascus 13:35 Airlines Flt Route Time GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20 Airlines Flt Route Time MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 QTR 1084 Doha 00:05 FDB 057 Dubai 14:20 AIC 988 Hyderabad/Chennai 00:05 THY 767 Istanbul 14:10 THY 772 Istanbul 00:15 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 JZR 239 Amman 00:20 KAC 742 Dammam 14:50 UAL 981 IAD 00:25 MSR 576 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:40 JZR 267 Beirut 00:30 KAC 540 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:50 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:25 CLX 792 Hanoi 14:45 DLH 637 Dammam 00:35 KNE 472 Jeddah 14:55 FDB 072 Dubai 00:30 IRC 527 Mashhad 14:50 FDB 068 Dubai 00:55 RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 15:00 JZR 502 Luxor 01:10 KAC 545 Alexandria 15:00 MSR 502 Cairo 01:20 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00 DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35 QTR 1079 Doha 15:05 JAI 574 Mumbai 01:30 KNE 462 Madinah 15:05 THY 773 Istanbul 02:05 FDB 058 Dubai 15:05 JZR 539 Cairo 01:30 OMA 645 Muscat 15:05 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:50 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35 JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 02:55 KNE 481 Taif 15:10 RJA 642 Amman 01:45 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55 KAC 617 Doha 15:15 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:50 RJA 640 Amman 15:55 KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:10 KAC 673 Dubai 15:20 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15 JZR 535 Cairo 16:05 MSC 404 Sohag 03:30 SVA 503 Jeddah 15:45 KKK 6507 Istanbul 02:15 FDB 051 Dubai 16:10 OMA 644 Muscat 03:35 JZR 188 Dubai 15:50 UAE 853 Dubai 02:25 KAC 512 Mashhad 16:10 UAE 854 Dubai 03:45 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:55 MSC 403 Sohag 02:30 QTR 1072 Doha 16:20 FDB 068 Dubai 04:00 KAC 791 Madinah 16:00 OMA 643 Muscat 02:35 IRM 1180 Mashhad 16:35 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05 KNE 473 Jeddah 16:00 QTR 1076 Doha 03:05 JZR 787 Riyadh 16:45 QTR 1077 Doha 04:05 KNE 463 Madinah 16:00 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:05 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:50 MSR 613 Cairo 04:15 OMA 646 Muscat 16:05 CEB 7694 Manila 03:10 KAC 562 Amman 17:00 SYR 342 Damascus 04:25 RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:10 FDB 067 Dubai 03:15 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 CEB 7695 Manila 04:40 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15 MSR 612 Cairo 03:15 JZR 357 Mashhad 17:30 THY 765 Istanbul 04:55 RJA 641 Amman 16:55 SYR 341 Latakia/KAC 03:25 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 560 Sohag 05:00 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 KAC 1544 Cairo 03:35 JZR 177 Dubai 17:45 MSC 406 Sohag 05:00 FDB 052 Dubai 17:10 MSC 401 Alexandria 04:00 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50 MSR 503 Cairo 05:20 QTR 1073 Doha 17:25 THY 770 Istanbul 04:40 SYR 343 Damascus 17:55 QTR 1085 Doha 05:20 UAE 858 Dubai 17:40 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10 FDB 065 Dubai 18:05 RJA 643 Amman 06:35 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:40 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15 JZR 483 Istanbul 18:20 GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50 IRM 1187 Tehran 17:50 BAW 157 London 06:35 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35 THY 771 Istanbul 06:50 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 KAC 288 Dhaka 06:55 KAC 502 Beirut 18:35 FDB 070 Dubai 07:05 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 JZR 503 Luxor 07:20 KAC 542 Cairo 18:55 JZR 164 Dubai 07:15 JZR 184 Dubai 18:20 KAC 382 Delhi 07:30 KAC 618 Doha 18:55 BAW 156 London 08:30 KAC 563 Amman 18:30 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:45 QTR 1080 Doha 18:55 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 JZR 538 Cairo 18:40 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:00 KAC 539 Sharm el-Sheikh 08:50 JZR 238 Amman 18:45 KAC 204 Lahore 07:50 UAE 875 Dubai 19:05 KAC 117 New York 08:55 SYR 344 Damascus 18:55 KAC 352 Kochi 07:55 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05 QTR 1087 Doha 08:55 FDB 066 Dubai 18:55 QTR 1086 Doha 07:55 FDB 063 Dubai 19:10 JZR 534 Cairo 09:15 JZR 124 Bahrain 19:20 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55 ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20 KAC 671 Dubai 09:25 GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50 KAC 344 Chennai 08:15 MSR 606 Luxor 19:30 KAC 619 Doha 09:30 FDB 064 Dubai 19:50 UAE 855 Dubai 08:25 JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:30 QTR 1081 Doha 19:55 KAC 362 Colombo 08:30 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:40 JZR 482 Istanbul 09:40 ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05 AGY 684 Sohag 19:50 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45 KAC 361 Colombo 20:00 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:10 FDB 061 Dubai 19:50 UAE 856 Dubai 09:50 MSR 619 Alexandria 20:30 IRM 1186 Tehran 09:15 KAC 102 New York/London 19:55 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00 UAE 876 Dubai 20:35 IRA 665 Shiraz 09:25 KAC 674 Dubai 20:00 KAC 511 Mashhad 10:20 JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35 KAC 350 Kochi 09:40 OMA 647 Muscat 20:00 IRM 1181 Mashhad 10:25 FDB 062 Dubai 20:35 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 KNE 480 Taif 20:10 IRA 664 Shiraz 10:25 AGY 681 Alexandria 20:50 QTR 1070 Doha 10:00 MEA 402 Beirut 20:15 FDB 056 Dubai 10:40 KAC 1543 Cairo 20:55 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 DLH 636 Frankfurt 20:20 KAC 501 Beirut 11:00 OMA 648 Muscat 21:00 UAE 873 Dubai 10:40 JZR 189 Dubai 20:25 QTR 1071 Doha 11:00 DLH 636 Dammam 21:00 MEA 404 Beirut 10:55 ETD 919 Abu Dhabi 20:35 KAC 175 Frankfurt/Geneva 11:15 KAC 331 Trivandrum 21:00 AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:15 KAC 792 Madinah 20:55 KAC 561 Amman 11:25 KAC 283 Dhaka 21:05 MSC 405 Sohag 11:20 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35 KAC 351 Kochi 21:05 JZR 561 Sohag 11:25 UAE 859 Dubai 21:15 JZR 356 Mashhad 11:40 KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10 AGY 680 Alexandria 11:40 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:15 KAC 741 Dammam 11:50 MEA 403 Beirut 21:15 IRM 1188 Mashhad 11:45 FDB 073 Dubai 21:30 MEA 405 Beirut 11:55 JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15 JZR 165 Dubai 11:50 QTR 1074 Doha 21:30 KAC 541 Cairo 12:05 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 IAW 157 Al Najaf 12:00 AIC 975 Chennai/Mumbai 21:35 KAC 103 London 12:10 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:05 FDB 075 Dubai 12:25 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 UAE 874 Dubai 12:10 FDB 074 Dubai 22:10 SAW 701 Damascus 12:35 KAC 546 Alexandria 22:05 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15 ALK 230 Colombo 22:20 UAE 871 Dubai 12:45 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10 AXB 890 Mangalore 12:15 KAC 381 Delhi 22:20 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 THY 764 Istanbul 22:10 MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20 UAE 860 Dubai 22:25 THY 766 Istanbul 13:10 JZR 125 Bahrain 22:15 AGY 685 Sohag 12:40 KAC 349 Kochi 22:30 KAC 620 Doha 13:10 BBC 044 Dhaka/Dammam 22:40 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:30 CLX 792 Luxembourg 13:15 FDB 059 Dubai 22:50 IAW 158 Al Najaf 13:00 ETD 920 Dubai 22:35 IRC 526 Mashhad 13:50 JZR 185 Dubai 22:55 JZR 176 Dubai 13:10 QTR 1075 Doha 22:40 MSR 575 Sharm el-Sheikh 13:55 JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 23:00 IRM 1189 Mashhad 13:10 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45 KAC 672 Dubai 13:55 FDB 071 Dubai 23:35 FDB 076 Dubai 13:10 ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00 QTR 1078 Doha 14:05 KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 23:40 JZR 786 Riyadh 13:20 KAC 205 Islamabad 23:05 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 WORD SEARCH PUZZLE CROSSWORD 915 STAR TRACK

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Working toward goals you share with others could bring you closer togeth- er as friends and lovers, Aries. The whole is definitely more than the sum of the parts. You're likely to produce better results as a group or partnership than you would have otherwise. This is an "all pull together" sort of day. Romantically, you may have an exciting, passionate encounter!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Today you might face a task that seems as workable as emptying the ocean with a teacup. But with help from others, you will not only be able to handle it but also produce exceptional results. Physically, you're likely to feel full of strength and stamina, ready to move mountains. Don't be too surprised if you actually manage to budge a few!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

The desire to travel, perhaps to visit a close friend, may come up today, Gemini. You may put a lot of energy into exploring the possibilities. You might also want to travel to places where you can get some artistic inspira- tion for creative projects. Your energy and enthusiasm are high, so you ACROSS DOWN should be able to accomplish this without neglecting your other chores. 1. Contemptuous name for a Black man who is 1. A fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel abjectly servile and deferential to Whites. and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate. 4. The slender spear of the Bantu-speaking people 2. Large elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of of Africa. Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean. Cancer (June 21-July 22) 11. The inner surface of the hand from the wrist to 3. Something that is a source of danger. 4. In bed. the base of the fingers. Yesterday’s Solution 15. Any of various primates with short tails or no 5. A toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur Expect a lot of activity in your home today, Cancer. A group, perhaps a large tail at all. and tellurium. one, hosted by you or a family member could meet there and provoke 16. Capital and largest city of Yugoslavia. 6. An internationally recognized distress signal in stimulating conversations. You could get caught up in the energy, putting 17. Very dark black. radio code. you in touch with a new awareness of your feelings. Tonight, expect vivid 18. A long pointed rod used as a weapon. 7. A loose narrow strip of skin near the base of a dreams of travel, strange places, or flying. 20. Something (often something deceptively fingernail. attractive) that catches you unawares. 8. Studies of the formation of basic linguistic units. 9. A river in north central Switzerland that runs 21. An Iranian language spoken in Afghanistan. Leo (July 23-August 22) 22. Malevolent aspect of Devi. northeast into the Rhine. 10. The content of cognition. 24. Before noon. The desire to meet with a romantic partner and look and feel 11. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling). 25. Black tropical American cuckoo. your best could give rise to a lot of short journeys in your area. Perhaps you 27. A ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion- 12. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from will want to work out, buy some new clothes, or get a haircut. This might resistant diamagnetic metallic element. aba cloth. be a good idea. Passions promise to run high today. Stimulating conversa- 28. Being one more than one hundred. 13. Spanish poet and dramatist (1898-1936). tions could bring fascinating information to light. 14. Mosses similar to those of genus Bryum but 29. An upward slope or grade (as in a road). larger. 32. English scholastic philosopher and assumed 19. 1 species. author of Occam's Razor (1285-1349). 23. A ballistic missile that is capable of traveling 33. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to from one continent to another. agree on a common policy for the sale of petrole- 26. A member of a people who have no perma- Virgo (August 23-September 22) um. nent home but move about according to the sea- 35. Elder brother of Krishna. sons. 37. An intensely radioactive metallic element that 30. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism. It's time to stop acting like you think others want to see you act, Virgo. The occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores. 31. Characteristic of or relating to winter. planetary configuration confirms that it's time to express yourself - your 38. A metric unit of length equal to one thou- emotions, desires, and point of view - to take a firmer stand and define 34. Type genus of the Parulidae. sandth of a meter. more clearly who you are to others and to yourself. Second-guessing 36. Inability to coordinate voluntary muscle move- 39. The large yellow root of a rutabaga plant used potential reactions will ultimately get you nowhere. ments. as food. 40. Strike with disgust or revulsion. 43. To move or force, esp. in an effort to get some- 41. A benevolent aspect of Devi. thing open. 42. A mountain range in South America running 46. A very poisonous metallic element that has 5000 miles along the Pacific coast. three allotropic forms. 44. A state in the Rocky Mountains. Libra (September 23-October 22) 48. (informal) Roused to anger. 45. The feeling of being bored by something 49. Cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal ves- tedious. Your energy is high and your stamina particularly strong today. Working out or playing sports could appeal to you now. Running or sel. 47. An antidepressant drug that acts by blocking aerobics could offer valuable exercise and clear your head to allow for new 50. The federal department that administers fed- the reuptake of serotonin so that more serotonin eral program dealing with better housing and ideas. You also should feel particularly passionate. If you're involved with is available to act on receptors in the brain. someone, Libra, expect a great evening. If not, don't be surprised if you urban renewal. 52. A written agreement between two states or get some admiring glances. 51. A radioactive transuranic metallic element. sovereigns. 53. The second largest city in Tunisia. 54. A heavy ductile magnetic metallic element. Daily SuDoku 56. Being nine more than forty. 55. A midnight meeting of witches to practice 58. Have confidence or faith in. witchcraft and sorcery. 59. A river in north central Switzerland that runs 57. Combined or joined to increase in size or Scorpio (October 23-November 21) northeast into the Rhine. quantity or scope. 60. Italian poet considered the national poet of 61. Lacking any definite plan or order or purpose. A reunion with a family member who has been away or out of touch could modern Italy (1835-1907). 62. An independent agency of the United States generate some powerful emotions, Scorpio. Memories could come flood- 64. A Hindu goddess who releases from sin or dis- government responsible for collecting and coor- ing back, making you both nostalgic and maybe a bit angry. Take care to ease. dinating intelligence and counterintelligence curb the latter. You don't want to spoil your reunion. Take a long, objec- 67. An inflammatory disease involving the seba- activities abroad in the national interest. tive look at the memories and try to figure out what they mean to you ceous glands of the skin. 63. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. now. Then let them go. 69. Make less active or intense. 65. Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor. 72. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia 66. Moderately warm. or North Africa. 68. City in southwestern Colombia in a rich agri- Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) 76. A genus of Ploceidae. cultural area. 78. A city in northwestern Syria. 70. Capital city of the Apulia region on the Adriatic 79. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh. coast. Today your mind is likely to be on travel, Sagittarius. You might have to 80. The United Nations agency concerned with 71. On or toward the lee. spend a lot of time running errands in the car. You could also be planning the interests of labor. 73. Any competition. a long vacation, perhaps one centered on a group function or seminar of 81. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat 74. A Loloish language. some sort. Your physical energy is high, but there's still a danger of tiring trimmed off. 75. Anything that serves as an enticement. yourself out. Relax at home this evening. 85. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. 77. The residue that remains when something is 86. An anticipated outcome that is intended or burned. that guides your planned actions. 82. An informal term for a father. 87. A large estate in Spanish-speaking countries. 83. A radioactive element of the actinide series. Capricorn (December 22-January 19) 88. Take in solid food. 84. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. Today you might decide to put in some extra hours on the job or take on Yesterday’s Solution an extra project of some sort in order to bring in a little more money. Since you're feeling strong and energetic enough to move mountains, Capricorn, Yesterday’s Solution you need to take care not to overexert yourself. Work hard and earn your money, but pace yourself. Try to get a little exercise before going to bed.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

Passion and determination mark today. Your energy should be high, Aquarius, and you should feel strong and powerful. This is the perfect day to give whatever goals you've been trying to accomplish that one last push toward completion. You may surprise yourself with the power and quality of your work and the positive attention your efforts receive.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Your inner power and awareness should be acute today, Pisces. Some intense dreams and revelations could come from deep within, allowing you to release old traumas and phobias, and enabling you to move ahead with more confidence. Physical energy is high, though you may feel you need more sleep than usual. Your intuition is also sharp, enabling you to be more in touch with others. Use it! WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 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, MAY 27, 2015

Music & Movies Bob Marley musical tries to help heal an uneasy Baltimore ost theater professionals like to say that whatever The musical features mid-’70s Marley albums as “Exodus,” they’re working on is very relevant to what’s going on in “Kaya,” and “Rastaman Vibration,” which include the songs This image released by Center Mthe real world. That was not possibly more true than in “Jamming,” “Three Little Birds” and “Roots, Rock, Reggae.” Mitchell Stage shows Mitchell Brunings Baltimore this spring. The city’s flagship theater, Center Stage, Brunings portrays the title character. Kwei-Armah played Marley’s during a performance of the debuted a musical about reggae icon and civil rights activist Bob song “Burnin’ and Lootin’” on his way into work on the night of musical ‘Marley.’ — AP Marley during the city’s spasm of violence and peaceful protests the first curfew. following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Several preview performances for the musical “Marley” were lost amid Emotional climax protests marching near the theater and the actors had to rush to The song’s lyrics were prescient: This morning I woke up in a finish rehearsals early on several evenings to accommodate a curfew/Oh God, I was a prisoner, too/Could not recognize the city-wide curfew. faces standing over me/They were all dressed in uniforms of bru- There were soldiers, horses and armored vehicles in the tality.” “Somebody wrote these lyrics 30 years ago, somebody streets and helicopters in the air as the cast and crew tried to fin- tapped into something 30, 40 years ago and it’s more applicable ish a work that highlighted the life of a singer who demanded than some of the work I’ve done throughout all of my life,” said social justice and freedom for black people. A new framing scene Kwei-Armah. “It’s humbling and beautiful. It validates for me why was added to the play in which two black men watch footage of I’m doing theater.” Suzette Newman, an executive producer of the Baltimore protests on a smartphone, making the connection “Marley,” said she is working to get the musical on the road after it between the two movements clear. On May 2, the cast went out ends its run in Baltimore on June 14. into the streets to give a free concert, including singing “One “We absolutely hope that it will travel and go elsewhere. We’re Heart” to try to heal the city. in the process of those discussions right now,” she said. Until then, “When real life is happening around you and you’re trying to she and Kwei-Armah watch nightly as the audience goes from produce art, you have to submit to real life and have faith,” said punching the air with “Get Up, Stand Up” to joining the actors Kwame Kwei-Armah, Center Stage’s artistic director who also onstage in the show’s emotional climax with “One Love.” “The wrote and directed the Marley musical. “I’m not sure in my life power of Bob hits me afresh nearly every night. Suzette and I are that I’ll ever feel that connected or ever feel that blessed or ever standing at the back, seeing the audience as they respond and feel that visceral call that theater is about the here and now.” The run onto the stage to sing with the cast ‘One Love’ in a city that musical focuses on the years 1975 to 1978, when Marley survived needs to be one and healed,” said Kwei-Armah. — AP an attempted assassination in Jamaica and went into exile in London. It’s the first time a stage musical has used both Marley’s songs and his life story.

Nielsen survey Michael Gambon to play Winston says Liam Neeson Churchill in ITV-Masterpiece film

is big ad man ichael Gambon, who was Professor and at Chartwell in Kent. The film will air in d executives looking for a celebrity to endorse Albus Dumbledore in the Harry the US on PBS in 2016. Rebecca Eaton, execu- their product can’t do much better than actor MPotter movies, is to play Winston tive producer for Masterpiece, said: “Winston ALiam Neeson. That’s the conclusion of the Nielsen Churchill in ITV and Masterpiece’s feature- Churchill is an epic figure to Americans, much company, which looked at celebrities who made com- length film “Churchill’s Secret.” Lindsay as he is to the British. He epitomizes the mercials during the first three months of the year and Duncan co-stars as Clementine Churchill. Set Special Relationship, a phrase he coined.” The ranked them with a calculation that takes into account during the summer months of 1953, drama will be adapted by Stewart Harcourt likability, public awareness, influence and other factors. Churchill-now British Prime Minister for the from Jonathan Smith’s book “The Churchill Its first “N-Scores” were released yesterday. Neeson and second time and in his late 70s-suffers a life- Secret: KBO.” It will be directed “Da Vinci’s Pierce Brosnan had identical scores of 94, although threatening stroke, which is kept secret from Demons’” Charles Sturridge, with Timothy Neeson was judged to have a greater influence in getting the world. Told from the viewpoint of his Bricknell producing. “Churchill’s Secret” is a products sold. young nurse, Millie Appleyard, the drama fol- Daybreak Pictures-Masterpiece co-produc- By looking at the effectiveness of celebrity pitchmen, lows his battle to recover as his long-suffering tion for ITV. Passion Distribution will handle the company best known for television ratings will now wife, Clemmie, desperately hopes the stroke international sales. Executive producers Hal compete with Marketing Evaluations Inc., a company will force Winston to retire, while his political Vogel and David Aukin will oversee produc- that produces the better-known Q Score, a measurement friends and foes plot to determine who will tion. — Reuters of public attitudes toward well-known figures. Besides succeed him. Meanwhile, his adult children attaching scores to celebrity endorsers, Nielsen intends descend on his home, Chartwell, unsure if he to offer marketers detailed information about the per- will pull through, as tensions within his family sonalities and habits of people who respond well to each begin to surface. Michael Gambon celebrity so they can better match pitchmen and prod- Filming will begin next month in London, ucts, said Chad Dreas, Nielsen’s managing director of media analytics. “What do they buy? Where do they shop? What do they watch?” said Dreas, describing the details Nielsen intends to sell. Neeson, who has been featured in an ad for Supercell Games, is viewed positively by 85 percent Tyler James Williams would of Americans who know him, Nielsen said. Brosnan and Matthew McConaughey, both featured in car commer- cials recently, also scored well in Nielsens’ measure- ‘Absolutely Love’ to play Spider-Man ment.—AP yler James Williams as Miles Morales? He certainly more diverse superheroes. Morales is a version of Spider- wouldn’t mind it. The actor, best known for playing Man that started to appear in the comicbooks in 2011 after Tthe title role in “Everybody Hates Chris” and a recent the most well-known Spidey, Peter Parker, died. It’s likely turn on “The Walking Dead,” revealed in a recent interview that audiences won’t get a live-action film portrayal of with Flicks and the City that he would “absolutely” portray Morales any time soon, though. Marvel Studios president the Morales iteration of Spider-Man, and that he’s even Kevin Feige revealed last month that the next Spider-Man read for Marvel before. “I kind of follow the Miles Morales movie will focus on a teenage Parker. The next Spider-Man character quite a bit,” Williams said. “And I’m open to the movie is slated for July 2017. Marvel will reportedly intro- idea, I am. I’m not starting campaigns or anything for it duce the next Spider-Man in “Captain America: Civil War,” because I trust Marvel. I’ve read for them before. So I trust which will debut on May 6, 2016. — Reuters what their decisions will be.” “But yeah, I’d love to do it,” he went on. “I would absolutely love to do it.” The 22-year-old actor was an Internet favorite to play the web-slinger, with fans creating a campaign to further the cause amplified by a demand for Malik to make Korea box office: ‘Mad Max’ musical comeback on wins holiday weekend Naughty Boy album aughty Boy has revealed Zayn Malik’s first post-One ad Max: Fury Road” and “Spy” dominated the lion and expanding its total to $12.9 million after two week- Direction release will be on his second album. The produc- Korean box office over the three-day Buddha’s ends. er has been supporting his friend in the wake of his depar- Birthday holiday weekend. “Mad Max” bounced Opening on Thursday, local newcomer “The Treacherous” N “M ture from 1D and has now confirmed Zayn has recorded a track to top spot, earning $7.75 million from 954,000 admissions took fourth in its first weekend, after briefly toppling the chart his upcoming LP, the follow-up to 2013’s ‘Hotel Cabana’. Speaking between Friday and Monday. It has amassed $17.2 million on the opening day. The sexy costume drama managed $4.54 to BANG Showbiz at The 60th Anniversary Ivor Novello Awards, he from 2.12 million admissions after two weekends on release. million over five days. “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” took fifth said: “Zayn is definitely going to be on the album. I’m keeping it With strong average weekend occupancy rates and good place, adding $1.85 million and pushing its total to $80.47 mil- Loncraine to direct interesting. I’m an artist person and I’m drawn to proper singers advance ticket sales, the Warner Bros release looks set to con- lion from 10.4 million admissions after five weekends on and artists and to me Zayn is the epitome of a great artist. Our tinue strongly into its third week. release. DreamWorks Animation’s “Home” opened sixth, earn- romantic comedy drama track is going to be ready in a couple of months ... You are going to US action comedy “Spy” opened in second-placed on ing $1.65 million in five days. The Cannes Critics’ Week title be shocked by what he comes out with ... I feel that the last five Thursday (21 May) and earned $6.63 million from 903,000 “Coin Locker Girl” dropped to seventh, earning $83,500 over years have the most important for him but I feel he has a future admissions between Thursday and Monday. The top two films the four days. Released on 29 April, the film has totaled $10.97 ‘Finding Your Feet’ beyond that.” accounted for 53% of total revenue between Friday and million. — Reuters When quizzed on whether or not the tune will be a single, he Monday. Last week’s number one, the noir thriller “The ichard Loncraine, who was Emmy nominated for “My teased: “Maybe, maybe...” Naughty Boy has a whole host of other Chronicles of Evil” dropped to third place, earning $4.28 mil- House in Umbria,” is to direct “Finding Your Feet,” a roman- big names on the LP, including Miguel and Emeli Sande - who has Rtic comedy-drama written by Meg Leonard and “St worked with previously - and his goal is to make a record with no Trinian’s” scribe Nick Moorcroft. The story follows a middle-class, “boundaries” and to get Janet Jackson on a track. He said: “I’ve just judgmental snob who finds her aspirational world turned met Ben Howard and we’re going to work together, I’ve reached upside down as she approaches retirement. Unable to deal with out to Annie Lennox, I want to get her on the album her Grammys the shame of her predicament, she goes into exile with her performance was amazing. These are people for my album, I’ve estranged bohemian sister, who lives in an inner-city project and been working with Miguel and Emeli is going to be on it. This is an is a keen member of a senior citizens dance group based at exciting mix of people and a mixture of what is exciting about Sadler’s Wells Theatre. music right now. There are no boundaries, I can be a Naughty Boy Loncraine commented: “Good stories are hard to find, and on the album and off the album, there are no restrictions for me. great ones all but impossible. Sometimes you get lucky. ‘Finding There’s no concept this time, I just want to do straight hits. It’s var- Your Feet’ is for me the best kind of story. It is about people, and ied, I think that’s what someone in my position should do. I want how their lives entwine. The script made me cry and laugh. to get Janet Jackson, I want to do a song with her.” Often at the same time. I cannot wait to get into production on this moving and funny film.” Loncraine recently directed US com- Massive machine edy-drama “Five Flights Up,” starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Naughty Boy has felt the wrath of One Direction’s fans on Keaton, which was distributed by Focus. Twitter since he got embroiled in Zayn’s online spat with Louis Tomlinson, something he admits shocked him. Now, the music Commercial film maker just wants to get “back to business” and get his record out. Eclipse Films producer John Sachs said: “We’re thrilled to be Revealing his surprise at the vitriol aimed at him online, he said: “I in business with a renowned filmmaker like Richard Loncraine. never anticipated this because I am in my own musical bubble, I’m This is a highly commercial film and Richard is a rare breed of just a creative. For me, the whole reason I got involved (in the director who has had success in almost every genre. But what spat) is because I have been working with Zayn, not because I’ve excited us most was his distinct vision for this project and his got anything untoward against anyone. Obviously the One understanding of the complexities of balancing comedy with Direction machine is a massive machine, maybe I didn’t under- drama.” The film is scheduled to start shooting in October on stand it. And there’s no doubt about how passionate their fans are. location in London and Venice. Regular Loncraine collaborator, I just became part of the jigsaw, but I’m not entertaining it like Irene Lamb, is casting. —Reuters others would. — Bang Showbiz lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Features BB King death probed as homicide after poison claim

olice in Las Vegas have launched a homicide investiga- “I hope they have a factual basis that they can demonstrate from African American spirituals in the Deep South. In tion into the death of BB King, a Nevada coroner’s office for their defamatory and libelous allegations,” Brent Bryson Memphis, his longtime place of residence, the BB King Psaid Monday, after the blues guitar legend’s daughters said in a statement, according to the entertainment site. Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened in 2008 to reportedly accused his aides of poisoning him. King died at Earlier the local coroner confirmed the homicide investigation showcase artifacts from the legendary guitarist, as well as the age 89 on May 14 in Las Vegas, where he kept his residence and said that King’s remains would undergo an autopsy. “Our cultural heritage of the Mississippi Delta. His final resting while he kept up a grueling schedule of tours that ended only coroner takes jurisdctn over #BBKing body, performs autopsy. place could turn the museum into even more of a tourist last year. Two of King’s daughters-Karen Williams and Patty Results: 6-8wks min. Homicide investgtn w/ @LVMPD,” the draw. Elvis Presley was buried at his Graceland estate, which King-have alleged he was poisoned by his business manager Clark County, Nevada coroner’s office announced on Twitter, draws some 500,000 visitors a year and is by far the biggest Laverne Toney and his personal assistant, Eonline reported. referring to the Las Vegas police department. Given the time- tourist attraction in Memphis. — AFP “I believe my father was poisoned and that he was adminis- frame for the autopsy, King’s funeral in his beloved Memphis trated foreign substances to induce his premature death,” the has been postponed, local media reported. Riley B King was daughters wrote in separate but identical affidavits, the enter- born in poverty and grew up working in cotton fields, but tainment site said. “(I) request a formal investigation into this went on to master the guitar and entered the music business matter,” the court documents reportedly said. Toney, who is the after traveling to Memphis and working for radio stations. executor of King’s estate, shrugged off the daughters’ charge. He became known as the Beale Street Blues Boy, which File photo shows US blues artist BB “They’ve been making allegations all along. What’s new?” eventually earned him the moniker BB King. For decades, King performing during the 8th Toney said, according to Eonline. An attorney for King’s estate King played shows almost every night, becoming the premier edition of the Nice Jazz Festival in also dismissed the daughters’ accusations as “ridiculous”. ambassador for the blues-the music genre that emerged Nice, southeastern France. — AFP

General views show the forest of cedars in the Moroccan town of Azrou. — AFP photos Morocco’s majestic cedars threatened by climate change

he cedar tree, considered by many to be cedars. Like the region’s 800,000 sheep, goat and ers. The fragrant wood is a favorite of cabinet mak- Morocco’s national treasure, is coming under cows, the animals have become more and more ers and essential oil produced from it is said to have Tattack from climate change, greedy humans sedentary due to water shortages that have led to medicinal benefits, as well as being used in aro- who indulge in illegal logging, and monkeys. The deforestation.”Water shortages compounded by matherapy. noble conifer Cedrus Atlantica covers about the behavior of the animals are contributing to the “This wood is gold,” said Miloud Bouyekhf, insist- 134,000 hectares (330,000 acres) of the North withering of the cedars,” said Abderrahim Derrou, ing that he, like others, respects the law and would African country. Although less well-known than its the director of the Ifran national park in the region. only cut down trees that had been designated for Lebanese cousin Cedrus Libani, the Moroccan cedar ‘This wood is gold’ felling by the forestry department. “Even sawdust is is still a potent symbol of national pride. The cedars The park was set up a decade ago in the Middle used,” the woodcutter said as he headed into the cover vast stretches of Morocco’s mountainous Atlas as part of a project to regenerate the forest forest with a chainsaw, vowing he would abide by Middle Atlas, near the town of Azrou. and protect its fragile ecosystem. Hundreds of the rules. Illegal logging takes place under the cov- It is these rugged slopes that are home to a rare young cedars can today be seen sprouting sky- er of darkness, when poachers plunge their saws and iconic cedar, named after World War I French wards throughout the region. Morocco is also work- into trees that are hundreds of year old. general Henri Gouraud, who was stationed in ing on plans to secure the “endangered species” Abderrahim Houmy, secretary general of the Morocco to take charge of colonial troops. A key label for its cedars and a “world heritage” mention High Commissioner for Water, Forests and the Fight tourist attraction, the Gouraud cedar stands 42 from UN cultural body UNESCO. In the meantime, against Desertification, said that while illegal log- meters (140 feet) tall and is 900 years old, with one authorities have set up a plan to limit areas where ging is damaging, in constitutes a minor threat to distinctive branch that juts out like a candelabra. “It cattle can graze as part of efforts to protect the for- Morocco’s cedars compared to the grave danger is really beautiful, like being in Switzerland,” said est. “If the forest goes, everything will disappear. posed by climate change. “Climate change is the Badreddin, a recent visitor from Tunisia. The area is a The people here know that very well but life here is real threat,” he said, adding that rises in tempera- trekker’s paradise, and home to local monkeys tough,” said a shepherd in Ain Leuh forest, one of ture, droughts and flooding could spell doom for known as Barbary macaques, as well as sheep and the region’s most ecologically important. the cedar if nothing is done soon to protect the goats, which have in recent decades had to change Officials are also cracking down on poachers Biblical tree. — AFP their eating habits due to waves of drought. who are after prized cedar wood, as a cubic meter The monkeys are known to feed on plants and (35.3 cubic feet) can fetch 14,000 dirhams (around insects, and enjoy peanuts that visitors throw their 1,3000 euros, $1,475) at market price. Even if the way. But experts have noted that in recent years the price drops on the black market, the wood is still monkeys have been forced to alter their diets, highly valued. Earlier this month local media chewing on bark to boost their calcium intake and reported that a forestry department official was nibbling small branches that sprout from the killed in a car accident as he gave chase to poach- US returns 25 looted artifacts to Italy: Vases, frescoes

he United States yesterday officially returned 25 artifacts gallery listings, or as a result of customs searches, court cases “Italy is blessed with a rich cultural legacy and therefore Minneapolis museum director contacted the Italian culture that had been looted over the decades from Italy, includ- or tips. One 17th-century Venetian canon was seized by Boston cursed to suffer the pillaging of important cultural artifacts,” ministry after reading an article about one suspect piece, Ting Etruscan vases, 1st-century frescoes and precious border patrol agents as it was being smuggled from Egypt to Phillips said, adding that Interpol estimates the illicit trade in police said. Phillips praised the collaboration between Italy’s books that ended up in US museums, universities and private the US inside construction equipment, police said. cultural heritage produces more than $9 billion in profits each police and US Homeland Security and border patrol agents. He collections. Italy has been on a campaign to recover looted US Ambassador John Phillips joined Italy’s carabinieri art year. Police said several of the items were allegedly sold by also said the US had returned more than 7,600 objects to over artifacts, using the courts and public shaming to compel police to show off the haul. It included Etruscan vases from the Italian dealers Giacomo Medici and Gianfranco Becchina, both 30 countries and foreign citizens since 2007. — AP museums and collectors to return antiquities, and has won Toledo Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, convicted of trafficking in plundered Roman artifacts. After the back several important pieces. 17th-century botany books from Johns Hopkins University in objects were recovered, Italian authorities confirmed their The items yesterday were either spontaneously turned over Baltimore and a manuscript from the 1500s stolen from the provenance. to US authorities or were seized by police after investigators Turin archdiocese in 1990 that ended up listed in the University Police stressed that most collectors and museums willingly noticed them in Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction catalogues, of South Florida’s special collections. gave up the artifacts after learning they had been stolen. The

A first century BC fresco taken from Pompeii is displayed during a press conference in Rome.

The cover of a second century Roman marble sarcophagus, representing a woman, is displayed. — AP photos

An Italian Carabinieri paramilitary police officer stands A third century BC terracotta head, left, and a second cen- An Italian Carabiniere paramilitary police officer stands A Carabinieri Italian paramilitary police officer stands next to close to an ancient Etruscan ‘Kalpis’, a vase dated 500 BC. tury Roman bronze figure representing Mars, are shown next to an uncredited first century Fresco. a group of ancient artifacts returned Italy by The United during a press conference. States, on display in a Rome Carabinieri barracks, yesterday. lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Travel

A group of American tourists on a guided tour listen to information on the Cathedral, in Old Havana, Cuba. — AP photos

A group of American tourists on a guided tour listen to information on the Cathedral, in Old Havana, Cuba. — AP photos Tourists enjoy cigars, drinks and live music at the Bodeguita del Medio Bar, frequented by the late American novelist Ernest Hemingway in Old Havana, Cuba. Americans find ways to visit Cuba despite tourism ban

s travel to Cuba for tourist activities permitted? No.” That’s what the US Treasury Department website says. And yet Diapers, aspirin and religion “IHavana is loaded with Americans, from the Floridita bar, They traveled from Manhattan to a synagogue in Havana, where they pose for photos with a bust of Ernest Hemingway, to bringing diapers, aspirin and questions. Nicole Gordon, Roger the Rum Museum. Sure, some Americans follow the rules on sanc- Bernstein and daughters Danielle and Lara obtained permission tioned travel - bringing supplies to Cuban churches or syna- to travel to Cuba for religious activities with a letter signed by the gogues, for example, on a religious activities license. Others come New York Board of Rabbis. A Cuban government tour guide on approved group tours known as “people-to-people” trips with accompanied them to El Patronato synagogue in Old Havana and themed itineraries like the arts. other sites like Jewish cemeteries. But the 36 percent increase in American visitors here since US “We want to tell the people in America what we see here, the President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro conditions,” Gordon said as the guide translated for members of El announced a thaw in relations includes many travelers who side- Patronato. The visitors saw tattered Spanish-Hebrew prayer books, step the rules. Some travel via third countries by flying to Cuba broken stained glass windows and old photos. And they learned from Mexico or the Bahamas. Others fly on their own from the US, facts like this: There is no rabbi in Cuba, so couples marry under casually filling out paperwork for one of 12 categories of travel civil law, then wait for visiting rabbis to perform group weddings. authorized by the US, without much worry that anyone will check After their donations were delivered, Bernstein tucked some cash on its accuracy. in a charity box. “We’re hoping to be a little bit helpful,” Gordon The fact is, “there’s been almost no active enforcement” of the said.

Sailing from Key West to Havana On May 16, five 16-foot Hobie Cat sailboats and over a dozen support vessels ran the first official boat race from Key West to Havana in more than 50 years. The race was originally scheduled Washington State University, WSU, professors Benjamin Shors and Ed Rabel, talk with for April 18 but was postponed because getting US government students including Jessica Shapiro, second from right, and Selena Alvarado, at the Park permission took longer than expected. Two Hobies were wrecked View Hotel in Havana. in rough seas on the way over - though all crewmembers were accounted for - but organizer George Bellenger said the trip’s val- ue outweighed the losses. “We kicked the doors open with our a taxi driver to a hairdresser. The trip was authorized under US Hobie Cats,” he said over lunch at the Hemingway Marina in rules as educational, and professors kept careful records of their Havana, where the group stayed in a hotel awaiting a boat parade itineraries, as required by regulations - even though they’ve never, in Havana harbor and a friendly race with Cuban Olympic sailors. from past trips, been asked for proof of their activities. Describing centuries of connections between Key West and Especially eye-opening was a visit they made to the “The Park Havana, he added: “Our working mantra is ‘Bridging cultural of Sorrow,” where Cubans seek permission from US officials in divides through traditional maritime heritage.’” Havana to travel to America. Most are denied, hence the sorrow. “Socialism, democracy - it’s not so black and white,” said student Challenging students to think Jessica Shapiro. “I’m feeling very conflicted and enlightened.” “Our A group of Washington State University journalism students students should be challenged to develop their thinking,” said spent 11 days in Cuba, meeting Cuban journalists at state-run Benjamin Shors, one of the professors. “What better place to foster newspapers and Radio Havana, along with ordinary Cubans, from intellectual development than here?”— AP

Tourists ride a classic tourism ban under the Obama administration, according to attor- American convertible in ney Robert Muse, an expert on the legal aspects of Cuba travel. Havana, Cuba. Here are five vignettes of Americans visiting Cuba on different types of trips.

‘It’s so easy’ New Yorker Zach Chaltiel, 28, traveled to Havana from the US with some buddies after graduating from law school. He researched the trip online, booked a villa through Airbnb, hired a driver, and filled out a form saying the purpose of his trip was “support for the Cuban people,” one of the 12 authorized travel categories. “It’s so easy,” said Chaltiel as he shared drinks with friends at the Hotel Nacional, overlooking the sea as a peacock strutted by. “I just wanted to go before it becomes all Americanized.”

Curious about an isolated country Two Americans peered inside Hemingway’s house, Finca Vigia, marveling at the animal trophies, bookshelves and open bottles that made it seem as if the writer was still there. Nearby, Cuban students lined up for a peek and tourists from around the world took photos. But the Americans didn’t want to reveal too much about them- selves other than first names, Sabine and Anna. They’d come via the Bahamas because getting permission to travel from the US seemed complicated, given their varied interests and lack of offi- cial itinerary. Mostly, said Sabine, “we’re interested in coming to a country that has been so isolated.” US tourists walk outside the Bodeguita del Medio Bar frequented by the late American novelist Ernest Hemingway in Old Havana, Cuba.

Two American tourists peer in through a windows of Ernest Hemingway’s Havana home, Finca Vigia. Zach Chaltiel, Benjamin Clack and Nima Noori pose for a Zach Chaltiel, Benjamin Clack and Nima Noori pose for a photo out- photo outside the Hotel Nacional, in Havana. side the Hotel Nacional, in Havana. lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Features British designer growing

Alice Munro trains and prunes tree branches as they grow on specially constructed inverted frames to produce chairs at the ‘Full Grown’ plantation site. trees into furniture

Gavin Munro trains and prunes a tree over a frame to grow a complete table.

Tree branches grow around specially constructed frames to grow complete items of furniture at artist Gavin Munro’s ‘Full Grown’ plantation near Wirksworth, central England. — AFP photos

eep in the English countryside, there’s a bizarre sight: grafting and how things stick together.” He graduated in furni- to get easier when we get in the black.” Fortunately an investor is rows of trees being grown into upside-down chairs, slow- ture design in Leeds, northern England, and ended up making on board while the furniture matures. Chairs go for £2,500 Dly taking shape over years of careful nurturing. Around items from driftwood in California. “I was stitching together big- ($3,950, 3,450 euros); lampshades start at £900 and hexagon- 150 armchairs, 100 lampshades and other items including mirror ger lumps and I had a ‘Eureka!’ moment: if we grow the things shaped mirrors at £450. Pre-sales have largely gone to cus- frames are being grown out of the ground in a highly unusual we want directly into the shape, there’s no waste,” he said. “In tomers in France and the United States, but the telephone is also adventure in furniture design. The brainchild of Gavin Munro, his 2005 I came back to the UK and got the chance to plant a few buzzing with orders from London, Hong Kong, Germany and Full Grown company has produced some early prototypes, with trees and see.” Spain. For the first eight years, word of the project did not each item one solid, joinless piece of wood. “It’s a bit like a vine- stretch beyond the local area and “hill walkers that got lost”, said yard. You’ve got a few years to get everything up and growing,” ‘Exercise in faith’ Munro. “In the town, a few people really like it, a few think you’re Tree branches grow on specially constructed frames to he said. Nearly a decade on, the fruits of his labours are still up to two nuts.”— AFP become picture frames. And it is not simply a case of planting the trees and leaving years away. The first chairs will be harvested at the end of 2016 them to it. There’s plenty of give and take between Munro and in the depths of winter, planed and finished, then sold the fol- his plantation. “They don’t grow into chairs on their own. At the lowing year. “I’m not going to see the consequence of this morn- same time, you can’t force them to do anything they don’t want ing’s work for five years at the earliest,” he said. to do otherwise they die back,” he said. The 2.5-acre (one “It’s a real exercise in faith to keep doing it. I’m sure it’s going hectare) plot of rented farmland is situated in the rolling grassy fields outside the market town of Wirksworth in rural Derbyshire, central England.On a farm also containing a micro-brewery, a smokery, flower cultivation and plenty of sheep, the rows of trees are growing around blue corrugated plastic frames. Munro, 40, nurtures them and coaxes them into shape, through years of pruning, coppicing and grafting.Willow can take four to five years to grow into a chair, whereas oak can take up to nine years. Munro also works with ash, hazel, crab apple and sycamore.

Tree branches grow around a specially constructed frame ‘Eureka!’ moment to grow on a chair. “A lot of the stuff we do is Stone Age. Since we were cave- men, we were cutting trees down at various heights,” he said.”It’s an extension of the natural rhythm. Everything we do is based on what happens anyway and making the subtlest twist to that. Early on I was torturing them and ultimately it doesn’t work.” Early experiments with chemical weedkiller caused more harm than good, so organic methods are used. Powdery mildew is kept down with milk, while caterpillars are picked off. The daily duties involve groundkeeping and going round the furniture with secateurs. “At any given point, there’s a branch that’s in the right moment to do something and you’ve got to find it,” said Munro.”For every 100 pieces, there are 1,000 shoots and branches that you want, and 10,000 that you don’t. It’s not necessarily obvious which one is which.” Early experiences got Munro’s mind racing about what he could do with trees. His mother had an overgrown bonsai which looked like a throne, while a bad back as a youngster meant his spine Samples of finished wood pieces, grown and shaped by A prototype chair, grown and shaped by artist and furni- Tree branches grow on specially constructed frames to was broken and reset in hospital. “That got me thinking about Gavin Munro. ture maker Gavin Munro. become picture frames.

New floral prints bring spring indoors

loral motifs pop up every spring in home-furnishing col- modern rooms, bring out the brightest hues of the pattern.” She sofas,” says Griffin. “They’re a better bet for armchairs, ottomans glass pattern, in melon and blue/gray, produced in collabora- lections, and after a long winter they’re always a welcome advises making oversize floral patterns the star of the room. Pair and window treatments, which you can change more easily if tion with London designer Sarah Campbell of the textile firm Fsight. But this year, there seem to be more of them than them with textured solids or subtle stripes, and don’t overdo it you tire of the pattern in a few years.” Collier Campbell. The pillows are a good way to accent a space ever, and they feel particularly fresh. New York interior designer by adding a bunch of distracting prints. Be mindful where you with the motif. Elaine Griffin says it began a few seasons back with a move- plant your flowers. Some options And crisp, color-saturated and oversize graphic blooms give ment toward kinder, gentler silhouettes and patterns. “Design “Avoid florals on big and long-lived upholstered pieces like West Elm has a new collection of pillows in a floral, stained- the Habanero bedding collection lots of morning energy. has been trending toward a subtle but high-impact femininity,” A shapely midcentury modern chair is given a zinnia print at she says. “It started with softer, more fluid shapes in upholstery. Homegoods. Here too, a painterly watercolor floral motif gives a Paler or more glamorous finishes for case goods. Dressmaker- duvet cover a romantic vibe. And a green-and-white demitasse inspired details like pleated-ruffle and grosgrain-trimmed throw set would be just the thing for a spring lunch. pillows and draperies. Check out Target’s online store for web-only offerings of “There’s no more feminine pattern than florals, and from the contemporary furniture pieces like ottomans, chairs, chaises runway to decorative fabrics and accessories, they’re every- and benches in both custom and readymade cotton floral where.” In the 1980s, floral chintz spread like marmalade across prints, with a range that will appeal to both traditionalist and the decor landscape as English country style took hold. It was a modernist. formal, somewhat overwrought look with, says Griffin, “a bow Overscale photoprint poppies give Detroit-based photogra- and ribbon on everything that didn’t move.” Chintz is back, but pher MarySue Price’s Straits Studio shower curtain a pop of it’s a looser, more relaxed version. And the cottage prints that in pow. Alison Coxon of the San Diego-based studio Kess Inhouse the past could be a little dowdy are more lighthearted. has a shower curtain with a ‘70s-style flower print. Also in the mix: bold, geometric flower motifs and ethnic flo- Cost Plus World Market’s got a pretty stool painted with a ral patterns. delicate, Indian floral pattern in blue, gold and pink. And a chic Some vintage prints reinterpret florals through a midcentury jacquard print in soft black and white graces an inexpensive but lens for a fresh take on both styles. But you’ll also find more elegant reading chair. While the palette is muted, the pattern painterly floral designs, with a wistful watercolor look. The new makes it a standout piece, especially in a room with neutral or florals can go just about anywhere, says Griffin. dark tones. — AP “For conservative spaces, coordinate complementary fabrics with the darkest hue in the floral,” she says. “For zippier, more British designer growing trees 39into furniture WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

A samba dancer performs at the annual Carnival of Cultures parade in Berlin, Germany. Thousands of people attend the festival with costumes from all over the world. — AP

egendary “Lawrence of Arabia” actor Omar Sharif is He earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as Sherif Ali ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ battling Alzheimer’s disease, his agent Steve Kenis in David Lean’s iconic film opposite Peter O’Toole. Sharif fol- Lconfirmed to The Associated Press on Monday. No lowed the breakthrough performance with the title role in additional details were provided about the 83-year-old or Lean’s “Doctor Zhivago,” co-starring Julie Christie. He then star Omar Sharif his care. His son, Tarek Sharif, revealed the diagnosis in an played Fanny Brice’s husband, Nicky Arnstein, in “Funny Girl” interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo on May 23. The alongside Barbra Streisand. His last completed feature film Egyptian-born Sharif rose to international stardom with his credits were in 2013. — AP role in the 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia”- Sharif’s first has Alzheimer’s English-language film.

Elaborate Schaumburg treehouse ‘slid by us,’ trustee says fter an elaborate treehouse prompted Schaumburg officials to said they wanted to ensure future structures were safe and more in line consider regulating the structures, trustees said at a meeting with a traditional treehouse. “One slid by us,” Kozak said after the meet- AThursday night that they hoped to prevent similar dwellings from ing. “You learn from the past.” appearing in village trees in the future. Members of the village Planning, Building and Development Committee strongly supported a proposal to Free access limit the size, height and other aspects of treehouses. “We’ve been aware Trustees also said they were concerned with Alexander allowing visi- that there could be a treehouse issue for some time,” Trustee Jack Sullivan tors into the treehouse. Under Schaumburg village code, Alexander does said afterward. not rent the treehouse itself, but instead rents a room in his house and The elaborate treehouse in question, built by Dan Alexander, includes allows visitors free access to the treehouse and backyard. “To me, it’s air conditioning and a coffee maker, among other amenities. Available to opening a hotel in a residential area,” Trustee George Dunham said. travelers for $195 a night on airbnb.com, it has attracted couples seeking Alexander, a buddy and his son initially built the structure for private romantic getaways, hipsters from Chicago and a large number of travel- use but began renting it out after he read an article about Airbnb. He ers from Madison, Wis., Alexander said. asked village officials whether he needed a permit before beginning con- “This thing that he’s got there is not a treehouse,” Trustee Frank Kozak struction, he said Wednesday, and was told he did not. His treehouse, said. “It’s an elaborate setup.” Still, Kozak added, “The guy did a nice job.” which is bigger than the proposed regulations would allow, would be Under the proposal, which has yet to receive final approval, treehouses grandfathered into a new ordinance, Fitzgerald said. could be no more than 100 square feet and have bases no more than 25 Other cities, including Arlington Heights, have regulated treehouses. feet off the ground. The proposed regulations would also require the Schaumburg also considered regulations years ago but eventually decid- structures to be set back from property lines and require builders to get a ed against them, officials said. This round of proposed regulations could $15 permit before starting construction. cut out future competition for Alexander, he said previously, but it comes The regulations are designed to prevent residents from building tree- down to what village officials want. “I like treehouses, so I think it’s cool houses that adversely affect neighboring properties, Schaumburg when people build treehouses,” he said. “But Schaumburg’s going to do Director of Community Development Julie Fitzgerald said. what they’re going to do.”— AP Though Fitzgerald said there was no reason to think other Schaumburg residents might want to create a similar treehouse, trustees The treehouse of Dan Alexander in Schaumburg, Ill. — AP photos

A view of the kitchen area in the treehouse. A view of the sleeping area in Dan Alexander’s treehouse.