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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 RABI ALAWWAL 4, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Jarrah: DNA UAE, China Arab investors Barca draw tests required set up $10bn pour in billions Arsenal in to get Kuwaiti joint strategic to make Bosnia Champions passports6 investment22 fund a39 holiday hit League20 last 16 Saudi commander, UAE Min 09º Max 17º officer killed in Yemen High Tide 00:59 & 15:20 Riyadh mobilizes counter-insurgency units on border Low Tide 08:40 & 20:35 40 PAGES NO: 16728 150 FILS RIYADH: A top Saudi commander and an Emirati officer from the editor’s desk were killed in Yemen yesterday during Arab coalition operations against Iran-backed rebels, the Riyadh-led alliance said. Saudi Colonel Abdullah Al-Sahyan and Don’t rush Emirati officer Sultan Al-Kitbi were killed at dawn yester- day “while they were carrying out their duties in super- to judge vising operations to liberate Taez” province in Yemen’s southwest, the official SPA news agency said. A Yemeni officer told AFP that both officers were killed when rebels fired a rocket at a coastal road in the strategic province, which overlooks the Bab Al- Mandab Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The rebels claimed in a statement on their By Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan sabanews.net website that they fired a Tochka missile against “a command center run by the enemy” in the Bab Al-Mandab area. The rebels claimed the attack caused “many losses in lives and military equipment,” [email protected] including Apache helicopters, among the Saudi-led coalition ranks. AFP could not immediately confirm these claims from other sources. wo MPs have filed to grill Health Minister Dr Ali Meanwhile, SPA said Saudi Arabia has mobilized Al-Obaidi over a variety of allegations. While fil- counter-insurgency units on its border with Yemen. The Ting interpellation motions is the right of law- decision to activate the four interior ministry regiments makers, one has to look at the bigger picture, as “specializing in guerrilla warfare” comes on the eve of a there is a tendency to look at a person’s flaws and possible ceasefire and United Nations-brokered peace ignore his achievements. Since assuming office, Dr talks in Switzerland today. “This is to support the mili- Obaidi has initiated plenty of new services and has tary forces in combat when the situation demands that,” overseen the opening and refurbishment of many SPA said, suggesting that the units would be a type of health facilities. He has also moved to fight corrup- paramilitary force. “They were also given powers of tion, like referring the Washington health office to SIRWA, Yemen: A Yemeni tribesman from the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to security forces in seizing, arresting, searching, chasing the public prosecution. Yemen’s Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, fires a machine gun in this area west of the city and shooting according to the legal procedures,” it said. Dr Obaidi’s other achievements include working of Marib yesterday. — AFP Continued on Page 13 to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from entering Kuwait, facilitating health services for the elderly, developing health insurance in the country and lead- PAGE PAGE ing the regional office of WHO. In fact, the choice of Supermarkets sell Dead forgotten at Kuwait as an integral member in the executive office of WHO that sets international health legislations, slave-peeled shrimp New Delhi morgues among 34 countries, is a great feather in Dr Obaidi’s cap. The minister also exerted efforts to approve the pensioners’ insurance law and the psychiatric board. The new health facilities and wards opened under Dr Obaidi’s watch include the new Razi Hospital and Two MPs file to grill health minister many operation theaters and wards in Amiri, Sabah, Infectious Diseases, Farwaniya, Adan, Jahra and Ibn By B Izzak ter made no move to investigate the allegations or take Sina hospitals. He also oversaw the openings of a any action, which negatively impacted Kuwait’s image News KUWAIT: MPs Hamdan Al-Azemi and Rakan Al-Nasef abroad. virus laboratory, the Yaqoub Behbehani bone mar- in brief row transplant center and a dermatology center in yesterday filed a request to grill Health Minister Ali Al- The two MPs said they sent a question to the minis- Abdullah Al-Salem. Many polyclinics have opened in Obaidi over a variety of alleged violations and exploita- ter on the issue but he denied that such practices exist- various areas of Kuwait, including the Omariya and tion of Indian nurses recruited for the ministry. National ed, saying that ministry officials met with Indian Dec 24 public holiday Fintas polyclinics. Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said the embassy representatives over the issue. The two law- While this is not an exhaustive list, the positives grilling was supposed to be placed on the agenda of makers said that failure to take any action by the health for Prophet’s birthday the Dec 29/30 sessions, but there is a possibility that ministry forced the Indian government to intervene completely outweigh the negatives. To err is human, KUWAIT: Thursday, Dec 24, will be a public holiday and those responsible have to be taken to account, the two sessions may be held next week instead. and limit the recruitment of nurses to just three gov- Accordingly, the grilling will be taken up for discussion ernment companies to prevent exploitation. There are on the occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) but one has to acknowledge that the health ministry birthday, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has seen a lot of developments under Dr Obaidi. I on Dec 23 and the minister will have the right to thousands of Asian nurses, mainly Indians, working at announced yesterday. The CSC added in a statement believe things have to be put into perspective before demand a two-week postponement. public hospitals and medical centers in Kuwait, who rushing to judge the minister’s work and placing the The grilling is based on five major issues which have repeatedly complained of problems with recruit- that all government offices and institutions would blame about everything that is wrong in the health include medical errors, purchasing drugs and equip- ment companies. suspend work on this day. Bodies with work of spe- ministry solely on his doorstep. Give the man a ment at highly-inflated prices, “playing” with contracts The grilling alleges that the ministry has awarded a cial nature will decide their own holiday accordingly, chance to perform. and squandering public funds, administrative and number of contracts to a private company that was taking public interest into account. Work will resume financial corruption and exploiting the ministerial post. established by the minister himself, although he left on Sunday, Dec 27. The grilling charged the minister of failing to take the company days after being appointed as minister. any action towards reports that recruitment companies The grilling also claims that the ministry ordered pay- Ex-Gitmo inmate for the ministry were asking Indian nurses to pay as ments to a US medical insurance company despite the French teacher ‘invented’ much as KD 7,000 each to be selected. It said that expiry of contract, violations and not receiving the story about Islamist attack wants ‘truth’ on although the reports were published by the Indian approval of supervisory bodies in Kuwait. PARIS: A report from a French schoolteacher that press and raised by the Indian government, the minis- Continued on Page 13 he had been assaulted by a self-styled Islamist UK rendition role militant yesterday, causing classes to be can- celled and an anti-terrorism investigation, turned LONDON: A British resident held in Guantanamo for 700,000 flee Philippines typhoon out to be “invented”, investigators said. “(The more than 13 years has called for transparency over teacher) is being interviewed with a view to Britain’s role in the US rendition program but has establishing the reasons for this invented story,” ruled out seeking criminal prosecution for British offi- cials. “I just want people to tell the truth, like I’m said an official from the Paris prosecutor’s office. doing now,” 46-year-old Shaker Aamer told the BBC Earlier yesterday, other French officials told how yesterday in his first round of interviews since being the teacher had reported that a hooded man released from the US claiming a link to Islamic State had assaulted him military prison in Cuba with a knife-like weapon as he prepared for class- in October. es in a school in Saint-Denis, on the northern Aamer claims that a fringes of Paris. The teacher was taken to hospital British official was after the alleged attack, which triggered an inves- present while he was tigation by anti-terrorism officials. beaten by US inter- rogators at Bagram air base in Afghanistan 41 killed in Argentina following his arrest in police bus accident Shaker Aamer 2002 and before his BUENOS AIRES: At least 41 police officers died yes- transfer to Guantan- terday and several more were injured when their bus amo Bay. Aamer, who was arrested on suspicion of drove off a bridge in northern Argentina, plunging being an Al-Qaeda recruiter, claims he was working into a dry riverbed, officials said. Officials believe a as a volunteer for a charity at the time. Asked by ITV tyre blew out and caused the bus to veer off the whether a public inquiry was warranted, he said: bridge before dawn, falling some 15 m with 60 border “Indeed, indeed definitely. Because for you to under- police aboard, said the emergency chief for the stand what happened, to know the truth, you have to province of Salta, Francisco Marinaro. Ten police offi- enquire, you have to ask questions.” cers were hospitalized, four of them in serious condi- A public inquiry is a type of official review under tion, he told a local radio station. The bus was part of English law that can lead to recommendations on government policy but is not a criminal investigation. a caravan of three carrying police. Mayor Gustavo Speaking to the BBC, the Saudi national added: “I do Solis of Rosario de la Frontera said the road where the not want to prosecute anybody... I don’t believe that accident occurred is known to be in poor condition. the court will solve this problem”. MANILA: Meteorologists from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services “Those of us who know the area try to avoid driving Continued on Page 13 Administration (PAGASA) monitor and plot the direction of powerful Typhoon Melor at their headquarters at night,” he said. The accident occurred in a moun- in suburban Manila yesterday. — AFP (See Page 7) tainous area with dense forests. LOCAL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Kuwait, Tunisia sign 8 deals on cooperation KUWAIT: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime months,” he noted. He voiced hope Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh that the meeting, suggested by US Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah Secretary of State John Kerry, in New said the eight documents signed York next month will help push for a with Tunisia on Sunday will open new political solution to the Syrian crisis. horizons for cooperation various fields of vital importance. Democratic transition Speaking at a joint press confer- Meanwhile, Baccouche said the ence with Tunisian Foreign Minister successful democratic transition in Taieb Baccouche at the conclusion of his country set an example for other the third session of the Joint Higher Arab Spring countries to follow. “The Commission, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled long struggle of the Tunisian civil said the new documents took to 50 society for democracy made the the total number of deals with country’s democratic experiment Tunisia since the establishment of the unique one that heralds a real spring KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sees off Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Foreign diplomatic ties 53 years ago. “Over in countries suffering from dictatorial Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev at the airport yesterday. Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah are pictured the last five decades the two sisterly regimes such as Syria and Libya,” he —Amiri Diwan photos inside the Kyrgyz embassy in South Surra shortly after countries maintained high-level visit stated. it was officially inaugurated yesterday. exchanges which contributed to the In the meantime, he noted that strengthening of the bilateral ties in Tunisia does not seek to export its all fields,” he pointed out. experiment to any country since its Kyrgyz President wraps Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled welcomed policy is based on non-interference Baccouche who pays his first visit to in the domestic affairs of others. “The Kuwait as foreign minister, saying this emergency of democratic Tunisia was visit will add momentum to the spe- by no means easy; it took long years up 3-day visit to Kuwait cial ties between the two countries. of struggle particularly in the transi- He noted that he and the Tunisian tional period,” he said, lauding the minister had the honor earlier in the role of the Tunisian National Dialogue KUWAIT: Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev electricity. He added that several opportunities are Trade exchange day of meeting His Highness the Quartet in this regard. yesterday wrapped up a three-day official visit to provided to all foreign investors seeking to benefit Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- The Nobel laureate Quartet is a the country during which he held formal talks with from the country’s continued economic develop- Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Jaber Al-Sabah who instructed dou- coalition of civil society groups that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- ment. Russia and China have the largest invest- Abdulwahab Al-Wazan said that the Kuwait’s busi- Jaber Al-Sabah. ments in Kyrgyzstan, he said, urging all Arab coun- ness people welcome Atambayev’s visit and desire bling the efforts to realize the aspira- came together in the summer of He was seen off at the airport by His Highness tries, mainly Kuwait, to benefit from Kyrgyzstan’s to explore investment and commercial opportuni- tions of the peoples of both coun- 2013; it is made up of the Tunisian the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh available opportunities and its developed invest- ties there. The size of trade exchange between the tries. General Labor Union (UGTT), the Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National ment atmosphere. He noted that Kyrgyzstan could two countries stands at $500,000 annually, which is Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled added Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, His multiply the size of foreign investments within four below expectations, he said, adding there is still a that he held bilateral in-depth talks Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- years, thanks to the stability of trade atmosphere chance to increase this figure. There are new hori- with Baccouche on the mechanisms Tunisian Human Rights League Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Minister of Amiri and keenness of government on meeting the zons of investment, commercial and tourist coop- of the partnership in all domains. (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- needs of foreign investors. eration with Kyrgyzstan, he said, noting hopes are “The talks showed that our view- Lawyers. Regarding the conflict in Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Kyrgyzstan has tremendous mineral resources, pinned on this visit to promote collaboration in all points are identical on almost all neighboring Libya, Baccouche said Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- mainly gold, silver and coal, and there are invest- fields. Wazzan stressed keenness of the govern- issues including the security ones. We his government made its utmost to Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister ments worth $100 million in one mine over the last ments on bolstering commercial and economic renewed denunciation of the acts of bring the views of the belligerent Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, few years, he made clear. He said the country’s relations, indicating that the Kuwaiti investors have terrorisms that hit many sisterly and parties closer to each other. Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Sheikh investment laws guarantee the protection of for- a great deal of experience in terms of investment in friendly countries, including Tunisia,” On the third session of Kuwaiti- Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy Premier and eign investors and help businessmen start their friendly countries. he went on. Tunisian Joint Hither Commission, he Minister Finance and Acting Minister of Oil Anas Al- projects without facing hindrances or problems. During the forum, a memorandum of under- He reaffirmed Kuwait’s support to welcomed the results of the gather- Saleh, senior State officials, ranking chiefs of the Atambayev looks forward to promoting economic standing (MoU) was signed between Kuwait Tunisia in all measures it might deem ing, saying the just-signed eight doc- Army, the Police and the National Guards. relations with the Arab countries, mainly the State Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the necessary for combating terrorism, uments signal the exemplary rela- of Kuwait. He said that the political reforms, adop- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz drying out the sources of funding for tionship between the two countries. Investment opportunities tion of the parliamentary system, and the develop- Republic on means of boosting bilateral coopera- terrorism, maintaining security and Since the commission failed to meet On Sunday, Atambayev invited Kuwaiti ment of the country’s institutions have contributed tion, and promoting commercial and economic stability, and promoting democracy over the last five years, both sides investors to visit his country to explore the major largely to changing Kyrgyzstan’s economic map relations. Earlier on Sunday, an agreement was investment opportunities there. Addressing the compared with situation in the country 25 years signed to avoid double taxation and evasion of and the rule of law. reaffirmed the need to double efforts first meeting of the Kuwaiti-Kyrgyz investment ago. As for agriculture, Atambayev revealed that his income and capital taxes, and another one was He added that the GCC member to expand cooperation in all fields forum, Atambayev said that his country has prom- country produces many kinds of fruit and vegeta- inked for encouragement and mutual protection of countries are committed to coopera- and realize the aspirations of both ising economic resources in several domains like bles, thanks to rivers and natural water sources investments, and a third one for economic and tion with the international communi- peoples, he added. mineral wealth, agriculture, tourism, transport and which generate electricity. technical cooperation. —KUNA ty in the fight against terrorism and backed up the recent UN Security Development projects Council resolution imposing sanc- During the joint higher commis- tions under Chapter VII of the UN sion, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Amir congratulates Saudi King Charter on sponsors and financiers of that “Kuwait has contributed to the terrorism. launching of 33 development proj- Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled reaffirmed ects in Tunisia in various sectors,” not- on municipal elections’ success Kuwait’s support to the efforts aim- ing that Kuwait Fund for Arab ing to reach a political settlement to Economic Development (KFAED) the Syrian crisis. “We are interested in oversaw the implementation of these Kuwaiti feminists laud women’s election following up the outcomes of the projects. He appreciated the role of KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- commended Saudi King’s decision of giving the pation in elections; this achievement will “put Vienna I and Vienna II conferences the 3,500-strong Tunisian community Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent on Sunday a con- Saudi women the right of participation in the women in the right path” to help, side by side with and the plans for forming a transi- in the development of Kuwait which gratulatory cable to Saudi King Salman bin Kingdom’s municipal elections as both candidate their fellow men, in the country’s development, tional government in Syria in early materializes the cordial people-to- Abdulaziz Al-Saud on the success of the municipal and voter, describing the decision as historic. Secretary of Kuwait Women Cultural Social Society 2016, write a new constitution and people relationship and the state-to- elections. In the cable, His Highness the Amir Lulua Al-Mulla voiced out on Saudi women’s capa- prepare for new elections within 18 state partnership. —KUNA praised Saudi women’s participation as candidates Drastic change bilities as decision-makers. and voters in this elections, which embodied Saudi Meanwhile, a number of Kuwaiti female activists Seham Al-Furaih, a professor of Arabic Literature women’s effective role in the Kingdom’s develop- lauded the election of women in municipal coun- at Kuwait University, meanwhile, said that Saudi ment. cils in Saudi Arabia for the first time after a ban on women have already excelled in the fields of medi- His Highness the Amir also prayed to Allah them taking part in elections was lifted. In separate cine and science and academics where they won Almighty to bless King Salman with long-lasting statements to KUNA yesterday, Kuwaiti feminists many international prizes; hence, it is only natural health and wellness, and the Kingdom and Saudi agreed that winning seats in municipal councils’ to be part and parcel of the country’s advancement people with further development and prosperity. elections is considered a ‘gain’ and ‘drastic change’ by being elected in municipal councils. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- of the general outlook to women in Saudi Arabia. A total of 979 women registered as candidates, Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the President of the Historical Society of Kuwait alongside 6,917 men, to win 2,106 seats at munici- Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Sheikha Maymouna Al-Khalifa Al-Athbi Al-Sabah pal councils across Saudi Arabia is a number that Al-Sabah sent similar cables to the Saudi King. expressed her congratulation to Saudi women on should not be taken ‘lightly’ especially since it is In the meantime, Arab Inter-Parliamentary this landmark achievement, hoping that Kuwaiti their first female participation in a centuries domi- Union President and Speaker of Kuwait’s National women would, eventually, win their quota in the nate-male terrain, Furaih stressed. Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanem hailed the notable parliaments. Sheikha Maymouna, who is also presi- performance of Saudi women in their first partici- dent of citizenship and development association, Unprecedented participation pation, as candidates and voters, in the Kingdom’s said Saudi women are highly educated; hence, they This strong unprecedented participation indi- third municipal elections. are worthy of their participation in the democratic cates that Saudi women are “successful,” social and “The impressive results attained by the Saudi process of their country. political advocate Nabilah Al-Anjari pointed out. women were a source of joy for us and for all of the She gave credit to the late King Abdullah bin Saudi women will have bigger opportunities now analysts who relied on these elections as a historic Abdulaziz for allowing women to engage in the to engage in many social activities in their country, opportunity for the Saudi women to prove their Shura Council, and lauding King Salman bin she added. The two previous rounds of voting for KUWAIT: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh selves, speak out, and contribute to the develop- Abdulaziz for completing this march of giving the municipal councils, in 2005 and 2011, were Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah (right) speaks during a joint press conference with ment of their country alongside the Saudi men,” Al- women their rights by providing a quota for real open to men only. Number of municipal councils Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche on Sunday. Ghanem said in cable he sent to Chairman of Saudi participation in the councils. across the country are 284 with a total of 3, 159 — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Shura Council Dr Abdullah Al-Sheikh. Ghanem also Saudi women are qualified for effective partici- members, including 2,016 elected ones. — KUNA Turkish ambassador stresses keenness on Iraq’s security FM to attend Kuwait-Qatar committee meeting next month

KUWAIT: Turkish Ambassador to Kuwait northern Iraq on December 4. Murad Tameer stressed late Sunday his country’s keenness on Iraq’s security and Joint committee its territorial integrity as well as promot- Meanwhile, First Deputy Prime ing relations with Baghdad. The ambassa- Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh dor made the statement to reporters on Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah the sidelines of a ceremony held by the announced that he will travel to Doha to Qatari embassy here marking Qatar attend the Kuwaiti-Qatari joint higher National Day. committee meeting next month to pro- Turkish forces have been in northern mote bilateral relations in all fields. Iraq since a year and half, and the Iraqi During the ceremony, Sheikh Sabah Al- government knows this fact, he said, not- Khaled stressed in a statement to ing that the Turkish army increased its reporters keenness on opening new hori- forces there to deal with attacks launched zons of cooperation in different fields by the Islamic State (IS). between the two countries. He expressed KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah is pictured with Concerning Iraq’s call for withdrawing his joy that Qatar achieved progress, pros- Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, ambassadors of GCC states and officials and guests in attendance. the Turkish forces from its territories, he perity, achievements and stability. The other officials cut the ceremony’s cake. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat said this matter will be discussed between minister extolled the depth and solidness the two sides, noting Turkey’s Prime of the Kuwaiti-Qatari relations supported Minister will visit Baghdad to discuss the by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah issue with the Iraqi leadership. Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Sheikh He affirmed that the two countries Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. share the same view concerning com- In the meantime, Deputy Foreign bating terrorist groups, especially IS, Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah in a similar referring that the international law gives statement said: “We look forward to the right to countries to defend their ter- attending the meeting next month in ritories if there is a threat. Iraq submit- order to give the bilateral relations a ted on Saturday an official complaint to strong push”. Holding meetings with sis- the UN Security Council against Turkey terly and friendly countries lead to several under the pretext that Ankara violated ideas and views aiming to bolster bilateral the UN charter when it sent forces in relations, he added. —KUNA TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 LOCAL Lawmaker suggests replacing expat workers with bedoons

By A Saleh announced supporting his colleague Mohammed Tana Al-Enezi’s grilling motion KUWAIT: MP Jamal Al-Omar called for against Subaih, noting that the latter had establishing a special center to train state- allowed the spread of rumors and defamed less people with university degrees and some MPs in a recent interview with Al- those who had finished high school in vari- Majles TV channel. “Undocumented accusa- ous fields needed for local labor market so tions are unacceptable when made by a that they could gradually substitute expa- senior official,” he underlined urging the triates. Omar added that bedoons could be minister to name visa traffickers and prove utilized as automobile mechanics, carpen- that some MPs were involved as she ters, constructions laborers, factory techni- claimed. cians, clerks, receptionists and farmers. Players suspended Subaih’s grilling Jahra Sports Club decided punishing Responding to an inquiry filed by MP footballers who assaulted the referees dur- Mohammed Al-Huwailah concerning dis- ing a recent match between Jahra and abled citizens, Minister of Social Affairs and Khaitan in His Highness the Crown Prince’s Labor and Minister of State for Planning Cup. The penalties include suspending KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah chair the cabinet’s meeting yesterday. — KUNA and Development Hind Al-Subaih said the players Ibrahim Al-Otaibi and Soud delay in building the new disabled authori- Othman for two seasons, Humoud Melfi for ty’s headquarters was due to some one season and Abdul Rahman Al-Sarbal Municipal Council’s procedures and adjust- for four matches. The board of directors Public urged to attend ing the project’s blueprints to increase the also accepted the resignation of coach total area. Meanwhile, MP Majed Moussa Yousif Kareem and Abdul Aziz Madloul. Finance minister submits Jaber Stadium festival his financial discloser Cabinet Oks anticorruption bill

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister, Finance ing by laws and regulations that would, KUWAIT: The cabinet has invited citizens and ent soon an anti-corruption draft law to the emissions at the global gathering. Minister and Acting Oil Minister Anas Al- ultimately, prevent abuse of public posi- expatriates to participate in a grand festival slat- assembly. In addition, His Highness the Premier Saleh submitted his financial discloser to tions for personal gains. ed on Friday for the opening of the Jaber Al- apprised the meeting with the outcome of the the Public Authority for Combating His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad International Stadium. This came during Sincere efforts recent visit to Kuwait by Kyrgyz President Corruption (PACC), Finance Ministry Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad was the first to a cabinet meeting held yesterday at the Amiri During its meeting, the cabinet highly appre- Almazbek Atambayev, during which the two Spokesperson Khaled Al-Rawaye said yes- submit his financial discloser, becoming a Airport under chairmanship of His Highness the ciated the sincere efforts by His Highness the sides discussed means of boosting bilateral ties terday. role model for fellow members in the gov- Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in all fields, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah added. Rawaye, who is also the Finance ernment, as well as, stressing the impor- Al-Sabah. and fellow leaders of the Gulf Cooperation The First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister’s advisor, told the press that this tance of following all measures that would The cabinet highly commended the great Council (GCC) during the recent 36th GCC sum- Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- submission came in line with the govern- lead to combating all kinds of corruption in and sincere efforts exerted mainly by the organ- mit, voicing satisfaction with the summit’s posi- Sabah apprised the cabinet of the outcome of ment’s commitment to transparently abid- the country. — KUNA izing committee and the Ministry of Interior for tive and fruitful outcome. In Riyadh, the leaders his participation in the 3rd session of the the inauguration of this giant sports edifice, discussed all GCC-related topics, besides means Kuwait-Tunisia Joint Higher Commission recent- Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting of enhancing the blessed march of the bloc, in ly held in Kuwait. The committee approved a Minister of Electricity and Water Sheikh addition to the political, economic and social host of resolutions and recommendations for Sheikh Mohammad Al-Yousuf Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah developments the region is experiencing, and fostering bilateral ties in all fields, and signed a said in a press statement following the meeting. the implications on the member states. host of agreements and MoUs. The festival will be opened under the aegis of At the beginning of the meeting, the minis- new border security chief His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad ters were informed of the message from Municipal elections Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, he added. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to The cabinet also congratulated Saudi King By Hanan Al-Saadoun for swindling. A Jordanian national had told His Highness the Amir inviting him to attend Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and the Saudi Salmiya police that she was swindled by a Ant-corruption the international exhibition Expo 2017 in people on the successful municipal elections. KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and person only known to her as ‘Saad,’ who Meanwhile, the cabinet has approved a draft Astana, Sheikh Mohammad said. Meanwhile, it offered condolence to Saudi King Interior minister Sheikh told her he is Kuwaiti and law on the fight against corruption, and has Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud over the killing of Mohammad Al-Khaled Al- took KD 400 to hire a lawyer sent it to His Highness the Amir ahead of refer- COP21 a Saudi colonel in Yemen early yesterday. Saudi Hamad Al-Sabah issued a for her imprisoned sister. ral to the National Assembly, Sheikh Then His Highness the Prime Minister noti- Colonel Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Sahyan ministerial decree appoint- Detectives were able to Mohammad Al-Abdullah said. Earlier in the day, fied the cabinet on the outcome of the recent was killed in Yemen’s city Taiz while doing his ing Major General Sheikh identify the suspect and National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- UN conference on climate (COP21) held in Paris. duty as part of the ‘Operation Restoration of Mohammad Yousuf Saud found he is Iraqi. He con- Ghanem said that the government would pres- Kuwait has reiterated its keenness on curbing Hope; in the country. — KUNA Al-Sabah as Assistant fessed to committing the Undersecretary for Land theft and was sent to con- Borders Security Affairs. As cerned authorities. per the decree, Sheikh Meanwhile, Hawally detec- Mohammad Al-Yousuf was tives arrested a Syrian man also asked to present his for beating an Egyptian financial worth to the naiontal; who complained Public Anticorruption at Nugra police station. In Authority within two Major General Sheikh another case, an Egyptian months. Mohammad Yousuf Al-Sabah man was arrested after being accused of stealing Man arrested for swindling money resulting from the sale of company Hawally detectives arrested an Iraqi man products. Govt performance, press law top session’s agenda

KUWAIT: The National Assembly holds a reports filed by the Ministry of Electricity regular session today with an agenda and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research topped by a report by the parliamentary (KISR) on power outages in different parts priorities committee on its follow-up on the of the country on February 11, 2015. Government performance, during the last It also includes an official letter from the legislative term, in addition to laws on eco- finance minister tackling income diversifi- nomic and social planning and regulating cation, an official letter from the Minister trade agencies. of Social Affairs and Labor, accompanied The Parliament is scheduled to discuss by a note on “violations by the President the third report by the parliamentary com- and members of the Board of Directors of mission of educational and cultural affairs, the Kuwaiti Transparency Society.” The amending some provisions of law number lawmakers will also address a request sub- KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled, Cabinet Affairs Minister Sheikh 3/1961 regarding publications and press mitted by some MPs on the issue of the Mohammad Al-Abdullah and other officials tour the Jaber Stadium. law. 180 employees of Kuwait Airways to clarify The committee’s agenda includes official the government’s stand regarding this letters received from the Government, problem. —KUNA Speaker, ministers check Jaber Decisive Storm critic’s Stadium reopening preparations

case adjourned KUWAIT: Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Al- Ghanem said Sunday the security personnel were able to By Meshaal-Al-Enezi adjourned and postponed to Jan 11, 2016. make successive achievements in maintaining the security Notably, both suspects were referred to of the country thanks to their perseverance and vigilance. KUWAIT: The criminal court yesterday prosecution over posting tweets criticizing He called on the hardworking policemen to maintain their heard a case filed by state security against the operation. The criminal court also high level of preparedness particularly in the run-up to the lawyer Khaled Al-Shatti and a university heard a case filed against activist Rania Al- grand opening of Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, professor for criticizing the ‘Decisive Storm’ Saad, media figure Saleh Al-Saeed and a due on Friday, December 18, according to a statement by operation in Yemen. The hearing was blogger for slandering Saudi Arabia. the Interior Ministry’s Security Media Dept. Ghanem made the comments during a meeting, chaired by him, with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Electricity and Water Sheikh Mohammad Al- Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. He voiced satisfaction with the efforts of the organizing committee for the celebration, An armored vehicle parked outside the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. expecting the event to be a resounding success that “will reflect the civilized portrait of Kuwait.” Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled appreciated the efforts being made by the organizing committee and the efforts of the security personnel who live up to the expectations pinned on the event patronized by His Highness the Amir. He expressed confidence in the ability of the security personnel to protect the celebration and ensure its success, according to the statement. After the meeting, Ghanem, Sheikh Mohammad Al- Khaled and Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah as well as security field commanders made an inspection tour of the facilities of the Stadium where they were briefed on the preparations for the celebration. The meeting gathered KUWAIT: The Kuwait National Guard’s (KNG) precautionary inspection unit recently also Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Lieutenant started scanning and searching all sites guarded by KNG officers to enhance security levels, said the department’s director Major General Faleh Shoja’a, noting that mod- General Suleiman Al-Fahad, Director General of the Public ern equipment and technology would be used in detecting and disposing of explo- Authority for Sport (PAS) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sives. and representatives of the organizing committee. —KUNA Ambulances lined up outside the stadium. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 LOCAL

In my view Fighting the culture of hate

By Labeed Abdal

[email protected]

KUWAIT: A group photo for officials in attendance at the press conference yesterday. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh and Yasser Al-Zayyat N Secretary General Ban ki-Moon’s call to fully respect the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the UCrime of Genocide (CPPCG) on the International Day of Views Carat announces results from its Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime is a highly significant perspective to boost awareness and eliminate some of the bad ground breaking consumer study for Kuwait images about inhumane practices in some parts of the world. Despite the presence of a convention to prevent and incrimi- nate genocide since 1948, this did not prevent some devastating KUWAIT: Views Carat announced the It is no surprise that social networking consumers regularly use hashtags that they deeper level of actionable insight on atti- violations of the principles of prohibiting killing mankind or a cer- Kuwaiti results of it globally renowned sites are an important digital touch point, have just seen on TV. tudes towards specific media channels in tain race over delusions about the supremacy of a race or a reli- Consumer Connection System (CCS); the but CCS highlights the need to have a Despite the ever growing importance of the region, thereby introducing greater gion over another. world’s leading research, insight and plan- social-engagement strategy that is integrat- digital, traditional media still plays a vital accountability into any integrated commu- Ban’s emphasis that genocide means more warnings and ning tool which uncovers consumer atti- ed and geared towards generating earned role along the path to purchase. Insights nications plan that incorporates bought, preparation to take immediate measures to solve the problem and tudes towards the most important media media. 71 percent of Kuwait consumers into the Out Of Home revealed that 63 per- owned and earned media channels. show respect to human rights all the time everywhere for protect- channels and how those same consumers believe their online identity is an important cent of consumers highlighted that they ing victims and their families’ rights, especially since those viola- will engage and use any touch point that can part of who they are, revealing just how notice what is being advertised on posters Unrivalled servicing tions were not incidental forms of conflicts (as he put it) and are, influence buying behavior. important it is for brands to have a strong they regularly pass by. Radio had a slightly Karim Bitar, CEO of Views Carat said: “We most of the time, systematically planned for defined purposes that are extremely excited to launch CCS to the can happen without any conflicts, means that solutions should be Kuwaiti market, which will only improve our systematic, especially as poverty, famine and ignorance have local knowledge and ability to provide unri- spread as planned by certain regimes in certain spots to keep cer- valled client servicing. With this level of tain groups under constant pressure. information, Views Carat can introduce We must overcome shortsighted concepts based on fanati- cism and hate for others worldwide according to their identity, religion, race or others to consequently create fake excuses to commit some dreadful and vicious actions that violate the sim- plest rights of life and enhance humiliation of the human race, be that in times of war or peace. There is more of ‘we and them’ or ‘north and south,’ which is totally against all international justice and etiquette rules. The secretary general’s emphasis on preventing genocide reflects commitment to international laws, and governments have to keep such commitments by investing in prevention, taking effective steps that call for the international community’s respect to principles called for by various religions, and accordingly pre- vent barbaric behaviors built on ideas that are supposed to have become instinct because we belong to the human race that had been created to build and construct rather than destroy earth. Karim Bitar, CEO of Views Carat speaks at the press conference.

greater precision to our communications In my view A general view of the audience. planning and make sure we deliver the most In doing so, Views Carat, who announced social presence that allows them to interact lower affinity among consumers with only effective campaigns for our clients.” their new partnership in August of this year, with their fans and followers. So what can 34 percent highlighting that radio reminds Martin Boot, General Manager of Carat Global modeling has gained an unrivalled level of insight that brands do to ensure they are reaching their them of brands they might need to use. Qatar and Kuwait added: “Our new offering moves beyond understanding media con- audience? It is now more important than This is the first time CCS data has been will allow us to assist our existing and poten- sumption: For the first time in Kuwait, CCS ever for brands to create an immersive con- available for the Kuwaiti market, having had tial clients in obtaining truly cost efficient By Nada Borisly has measured consumer interaction with the sumer journey on and offline that tells a its inaugural launch to the region in 2012. advertising that gives them the greatest entire media landscape in a single study and story to their followers. The research, along with Carat’s other pro- return on investment. CCS will uncover Leader’s Legacy begins with stepping to the zone of examined how communication channels prietary tools, helps brands, in any sector or nationally-representative insights which are the uncomfortable debate.” influence a decision making process across a Figures industry, understand the most effective not widely available in this market which “A wide range of specific industries. These The figures revealed that over 57 percent touch points relevant to their target audi- will prove invaluable to brands who wish to Walking the extra mile involves limitless boundaries; leaders invaluable insights into many of the tradition- of Kuwaiti consumers are likely to search for ence. instantly understand the Kuwaiti consumer”. aim to model and create their own individual aspects reveling al and new forms of communication touch more information about a brand or product CCS also includes comprehensive data on The results were announced at the Views their success towards a purposeful reputation not replicated but points will help brands build accountability on the internet as a direct result of watching demographics, lifestyle habits, daily routines Carat launch event on 13 December 2015 in originated according to one’s understanding of being able to and effectiveness into their media planning. their TV advertisement, while 31 percent of and brand information. The result is a far Kuwait City. demonstrate unique personal branding. Never has it been more necessary for teams to be able to work through the Zone of Uncomfortable Debate (ZOUD) - that unspo- ken process that prevents questioning yet generates sensitivity. Activists stepped in apart from their diverse views to create a his- torical moment that portrayed leadership traits emerging across all individuals to debate deep conceptualizations, which lead to challenges hidden for years. Today, we are able to observe how the Paris Climate Change Summit evolved around many years of managing uncertainty by leaders taking ownership of a global aspect, the “ZOUD” became an astonishing moment to view. Mature adaptability recognized by a series of theories and literature reviews enforced to allow leaders to congratulate one another in the agreement that enabled to set a pathway for future diagnostic challenges relating to the zone that has been ambiguous but as a result defined the correct view of “global modeling. Over the past month, we have experienced and observed damaging ironic situations of terrorism and volatility. Severe dis- ruptions still caused worldwide in terms of security and calmness among nations. On the contrary, global collaboration and unity today, managed to illustrate a different scene of memorable inci- dents. KUWAIT: The Finance Ministry’s Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Assistant Undersecretary Fawaz Al-Shallal speaks to reporters. We have observed high leadership standards in face of solidar- Trade Fawaz Al-Shallal inaugurates the exhibition. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh ity from diverse schools of thought representing visionary acts that reflected signs behind the concept of global modeling according to projecting sufficient analysis: ‘Real estate fairs crucial to push economy forward’ l Solid transformation of deliberate emotional intelligence that represents displaying learning agility. KUWAIT: The Finance Ministry said yes- ‘The Elite Real Estate Exhibition’ being and consumers alike and presenting Shallal added. l Political awareness forecasting the catastrophic situations by terday that real estate exhibitions held in held under the patronage of Minister of everything new in the real estate busi- He pointed out that the Kuwaiti rural nations suffering. the country are ‘crucial’ to pushing the Commerce and Industry Dr Yousef Al-Ali ness. More than 70 local and international investor is ‘smart;’ he can recognize good l Dismissal of dysfunctional organizations creating threaten- economic wheel forward. The ministry’s from December 14 to 19. companies are presenting more than 200 investing opportunities whether for per- ing delays by forcing ineffective decisions. Acting Assistant Undersecretary for The exhibition aims at boosting real real estate projects worldwide at the sonal use or for financial gain. The l Competitive discussions generated debating the sincere Foreign Trade Fawaz Al-Shallal made this estate sector in the country, attempting expo; it is also seeing the participation of Ministry’s job is to provide a link between need of considering solutions for unpredictable situations. remark to the press after the opening of to remove obstacles that face investors banks and funding companies as well, investors and investees. —KUNA l Commitment to managing uncertainty towards resembling shared knowledge. l Engagement towards value creation based aspects. l Anticipating the change through vision leadership - Business Models The regulations established proved senior leadership units are figures of speech and action, without a conceding voice the cycle of human nature will not sustain, it is an act of empowerment for all to redefine the challenges encountering all species on the plan- et. The global public understanding transformed due to the effect of ministers and negotiators art of compromise lead by exampling the outcomes as evidence to endorse GLOBAL MODELLING approach. The path of creating hope was collectively determined through findings that supported ambitious compromise leading to success as expected by all nations’ contribution and participa- tion, a dream guided by an aim for forceful success. As Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary UNFCCC stated, “The Paris UN Climate Conference represents an historic opportu- nity to put the world on course to meet the climate change chal- lenge. The world needs a new model of growth that is safe, durable and beneficial to all. The Paris Agreement is not only pos- sible, it is necessary and urgent. We are counting on everyone’s contribution.” The closure observed lead to realizing the ability to work effec- tively in the ‘Zone of Uncomfortable Debate’ a capability that dis- tinguishes effective performance amongst leaders and nations, KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s (CBK) Chairman of the Board external and internal influences, realistic and unpredictable mat- of Directors Ali Al-Mousa honored employee Suleiman Al-Qassar for ters, all delivering a huge transformation to interpret challenging winning the 8th Shooting Championship that was organized recently by situations yet legacy blueprints in favor of long awaited critical the Kuwait Banks Club. Assistant Undersecretary Fawaz Al-Shallal tours the exhibition. concerns unmanaged affecting tomorrow’s generation to come.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 From the Arabic press

Crime Al-Anbaa Report Prepare medicine Eleven arrested for Arab citizen before the injury using ‘fake fingerprint’ KUWAIT: Eleven Kuwaiti citizens were found using “sili- By Dr Nermin Al-Houti cone fingerprints” on behalf of 344 employees at the ministry of electricity and water in Khairan, Zour, Mina efore going into our column today, we should Abdullah, Khaitan and Salmiya. Criminal detectives Bexplain the title. It is a Kuwaiti proverb that simply learned about the forgery and launched an investiga- means “when someone comes with an excuse tion, and were able to catch the forgers red-handed before doing something”. I do not know why I recall this with the silicone prints, for which they used to charge proverb every time I read or hear something related to the KD 50 per month each. issue of gender segregation at the university, which was passed by the National Assembly in 1996. Regardless of the circumstances of its approval and the hands that worked Taxi driver robbed for it, the issue of segregation remains, and here is where our issue starts and here comes the proverb “prepare the A man claiming to be a policeman hit a taxi driver in medicine before the injury”.

his eye and stole his money, mobile phone and IDs —Al-Anbaa It refers to our National Assembly, which prepares before escaping. The Indian driver was in Andalus Arab excuses before it takes any action, so the following assem- when a seemingly angry man stopped behind him World blies come in and discuss issues that were approved with- and told him, “Can’t you stop properly?” He then crises out studies and enough and full preparation, and the best punched him and stole the items. A pedestrian told example we are going through now is gender segregation. police about what happened, so they came with an ambulance to the scene. Investigations are under- way. Meanwhile, an Egyptian man accused three persons of beating him and taking KD 980 that Did Kuwait have enough belonged to the company he works for. He went to Nugra police station and gave policemen a medical university buildings, so report stating the injuries he suffered. Detectives Al-Anbaa began working on the case. what was passed by 500 dinars our respected Assembly Drunk driver arrested could be applied on the A citizen who was drunk told police at a checkpoint in By Sami Al-Khorafi students? Nugra: “I am really drunk and not in the mood for any- thing.” Police found a glass in his hand, and a bottle and handsome, nice-looking man once stood have no problem in buying whatever they want, a half of imported liquor. The man was arrested and tak- boasting before Socrates, who told him to while they are really penniless,” said the wise sales- A Before those who separated genders in 1996 Assembly did en to Nugra police station for further legal action. ‘speak so that he could see him’, which indicates man, adding that stores such as his would have that a man’s true essence lies in the way he thinks and closed down if it had not been for such customers. it, and after many assemblies came following that decision, acts, not in his looks. Fake appearances have been My friend and I left without buying anything, of we ask them a few questions: Did Kuwait have enough university buildings, so what Search for reckless driver tearing our GCC societies apart and everybody is now course. was passed by our respected Assembly could be applied talking about the latest world-famous brands in GCC It really makes me sad how some people are keen A citizen complained against a driver who escaped on the students? Did the legislative and executive markets in order to purchase them, though a wise on false appearances and pretense without knowing after ramming her car when she ignored him. A branches build universities that can accommodate the man once said “famous brands are nothing but a pro- that an arrogant person is like someone standing on security source said a citizen told Sharq police sta- decision’s requirements? Where are the Kuwait University motional lie invented by smart people to rob the rich, top of a mountain, seeing people as tiny, without tion that while driving on Arabian Gulf Road, a man rectors over that decision? Why did you today, all of a but ended up believed by the poor!” realizing that they, as well, see him as tiny! harassed her, but when she ignored him, he hit her sudden, dealt with and referred the proposal to satellite I recently attended a wedding held in a hotel Going to such malls, one can see examples of car and escaped. She gave police the license plate channels? Did you, after failing to implement the deci- adjacent to a famous shopping mall and after the such sick-minded people without knowing any rea- number of the car, and detectives are investigating. sion in deteriorated universities, refer the matter to the wedding, a friend asked to go into the mall to buy son for their sickness. This reminds me of a story people? something for his wife. Going into a store full of when a rich arrogant man saw a poor man Many questions come out from that decision and oth- Campers’ dispute famous international brands, he asked about the approaching. “As usual, these scum - poor people - er similar decisions, so we can only say: “Prepare the med- price of a pair of shoes, and to our surprise, the keep following me for charity,” he said, but was icine before the injury.” Yes, you passed the segregation Abdullah Port policemen arrested a citizen who threat- salesman said it was KD 500. “Does anybody actually astonished when the poor man reached out hand- law and you do not have the facilities to implement it, just ened the owner of a camp of killing his horse with a pay that much for a pair of shoes?!” I asked the sales- ing him his wallet. “You dropped this, sir”, said the to appease some over the fate of a nation, and after the knife he was carrying, then smashed the window of a man, who smiled and asked me to check the price of poor man. appeasement, and as some have forgotten that decision, patrol car. Police received a call from a man about a per- another pair, which was even higher. Finally, we have to know that our Prophet (PBUH) there come some people today to discuss it when you son who attacked him in his Wafra camp, with whom he “Many people like boasting by buying such was very modest and stressed that Allah does not failed to implement it for many reasons, and now you had previous disputes. Police went to the scene, arrest- expensive shoes. They even brag about purchasing like arrogant people because we will all be buried bring it up to cancel it by the people who gave you confi- ed the suspect and took the knife that was with him, dence with their faith. certain items from certain places. Some of them may under the same dirt one day, leaving nothing behind Translated by Kuwait Times and put him in the patrol car. The police source said the borrow to buy such things or even use credit cards but good memories and reputation. — suspect smashed the rear window in an attempt to to show others that they are wealthy enough and —Translated by Kuwait Times escape but failed. —Al-Rai Al-Jarida DNA tests required to get The battle Kuwaiti passports: Jarrah of Jahra By Dr Hassan Jouhar

KUWAIT: Commenting on withdrawing the cit- zens through service centers, where a special to prevent unlawfully adding anybody to citi- added, denying any intention to deport them he battle Kuwait’s sports arena recently witnessed izenship of cleric Nabil Al-Awadhi, the Ministry criminal investigation clerk would be present zenship files,” he explained, noting that he fol- once they get the citizenship. “They will be giv- outside the pitch after a football match between of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for to do the DNA tests for applicants. “DNA will lowed up this measure with a ruling family en residency visas and a chance to get Kuwaiti T Jahra and Khaitan in His Highness the Crown Citizenship and Passports Major General Mazen be a condition to register babies older than six member. citizenship in the future as long as they do not Prince’s Cup was not and will not be the last in succes- Al-Jarrah stressed that MP Kamel Al-Awadhi months, be born in or outside Kuwait in order break any laws,” he added. bedoons sive sport farces. The dreadful scenes of assaulting the arranged for a meeting with him (Jarrah) prior Jarrah explained that an agreement was referees do not only harm Kuwait’s image, they also do a to the withdrawal of the citizenship, in which Speaking about bedoons, Jarrah dared for- made with the Comoros to economically sup- lot of damage to its people and sports history that we Awadhi offered to “do anything to cancel the mer speaker of the house Ahmed Al-Saadoun port them, build special residential complexes barely have parts of left. decision”. Speaking in a meeting at writer Saad to raise the subject now and expressed amaze- and schools in addition to a branch of the We definitely call for taking all possible legal actions Al-Motesh’s National Unity Diwaniya in ment at his comment on withdrawing former Zakat House for bedoons there. He also noted against those responsible and activating KFA’s charter Sulaibikhat, Jarrah stressed that meeting him MP Abdullah Al-Barghash’s citizenship. Jarrah that Kuwait was currently consulting with Iraq, against them. However, the whole scene calls for a stand. at Awadhi’s diwaniya in Daiyah, Nabil Al- also denied any intention to withdraw the citi- Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia to investigate and On the one hand, the number of those involved in the Awadhi told him that he was “ready to do any- zenship of columnist Mohammed Al-Weshaihi, uncover bedoons’ real nationalities. He added fight exceeded the number of fans who watched the thing the authorities wanted him to do and noting that he willingly left the country and that the total number of bedoons registered in match, which indicates that they are no longer interest- asked for 24 hours grace to ‘turn Twitter upside that he would not have been able to do so if he the 1965 census were 34,000, and the state ed in football to support their teams the way fans did in down’. He meant to arrange things with his was in violation of any laws. was entitled to consider granting citizenship to 1960s when simple playfields were flooded with fans allies,” Jarrah said. “The bedoon issue is becoming more like a any of them if it wished to do so, while 80,000 standing behind fences surrounding the pitch regardless Speaking about the new Kuwaiti passports, boil that everybody was afraid to approach unregistered others were unlawfully added of hot or cold weather. Jarrah said that DNA tests will be a condition except me...I cut it open”, he added, explaining and their files would be completely ignored. Yes, indeed. We miss that wonderful time when foot- to issue them with the aim of building a data- the central apparatus or illegal residents would Finally, Jarrah stressed that he was ready to ballers were fit all through the season and kept playing base with citizens’ DNA information. He continue granting bedoons Comoros citizen- tour bedoons’ diwaniyas in Sulaibiya and Taima until they were almost 40 despite lack of modern med- explained that issuance of the new passports ship for those who want it. “This citizenship is to explain the advantages of getting Comoros ical and sport equipment, vitamins and manufactured would start by the beginning of the year, start- officially approved by the Comoros president citizenship for those wishing to legalize their proteins. They also played on very rough pitches without ing with diplomats before offering it to all citi- Major General Mazen Al-Jarrah and speaker in a bilateral agreement”, he stay in Kuwait. —Al-Rai

US defense Liberties diminished after boycotting After all, sports is an secretary signs parliamentary elections: Opposition indicator of develop- ment and government Kandari’s release KUWAIT: Members of the ‘Majority Bloc’ election or not, but stressed that he worse because the government has to opposing the one-vote parliamentary would still boycott it in view of the cur- undo what it has done,” he added noting management. The more KUWAIT: Well-informed sources said that the US elections system law were hosted in a rent system. that liberties were becoming less every Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has signed the seminar organized by Al-Rai to get their On his part, member of the day, reminding that citizens could go to those develop, the more release of the Kuwaiti Guantanamo Bay detainee Fayez opinions and assessment of their ‘boy- Development and Reform Bloc, former Irada Square to voice their complaints, Al-Kandari. The sources cotting’ experience now, three years MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said speak- but now everybody is afraid to do so. it does as well. explained that this step since it was established after the 2012 ing about parliamentary elections seems Member of the Salafist Islamic was preceded by other parliament was dissolved. insignificant in view of the recent region- Alliance Abdullatif Al-Omairi said that it procedures and measures Answering the question, the Public al developments. “Let us be sure that would be wrong to speak about the taken to free Kandari and Constitutional Movement (Hashd) mem- Kuwait will last 18 months more, then let one-vote electoral system as a fact and getting any handsome rewards, seasonal transfers return him to Kuwait. ber and former MP Ali Al-Deqbasi said us talk about elections,” he warned. He warned that if it is taken for granted, between clubs or media exposure. Nonetheless, our “Signing the release is an that electoral systems should be amend- stressed that his bloc would continue that would be the end of the people. “It sports reached stardom and creativity levels! important step towards ed by laws responding to public boycotting parliamentary elections even is not a matter of the electoral law itself, We feel sorry for sports built on dedication that were putting an end to the suf- demands. “We currently need a new if the elections were made the following it is rather a matter of legislative authori- not regulated by laws. They were rather regulated by ferings of the last Kuwaiti political scene that ensures the partici- day. “The government may someday see ties,” he underlined, pointing out that norms that soon turned into commitment and respect Guantanamo detainee,” pation of the majority and the opposi- reason and return rights to citizens...but driven by depression and hopes for a that gave sports more prestige, honor and manners. This stressed the sources. tion in political life,” he said, pointing out it is currently very snobbish and refuses better future, some of the voters who is the opposite of what we see nowadays. Laws and reg- Fayez-Al-Kandari Notably, the US had that the problem was beyond the parlia- dialogue,” he said, pointing out that the had boycotted the previous elections ulations are torn between politics and personal interests agreed last month to ment. “Some parties are trying to deface public opinion was dissatisfied with the may take part in the coming elections. and are not equally and fairly applied to all, with the transfer 33 Guantanamo detainees as part of President the opposition and mix things up in current situation and believes that the “They cannot be more wrong because result of losing this sport and officially suspending our Barak Obama’s efforts to empty the prison of all order to act solely,” he underlined, opposition’s participation in the election the government has destroyed the par- participation in foreign competitions. In addition, the detainees. —Al-Rai explaining that everybody was free to would not straighten things up. liament regardless of our participation,” remains we still domestically have are very disfigured decide whether to run in the coming “We believe it will only make things he rued. —Al-Rai because of the ill manners we have been witnessing. After all, sports is an indicator of development and government management. The more those develop, the Residency detectives bust 30 fake companies more it does as well. However, if sports reaches very bad levels, this is but a real reflection of the general condition KUWAIT: Residency affairs detectives discovered 30 Al-Jarrah, the detectives discovered that 430 workers Mirqab, Hawally and Sharq’s vegetable and fruits mar- of the state where everything is deteriorating including fake companies including 18 that only existed nominal- had been sponsored by fake companies who brought ket. The source also highlighted that this step comes political, economic, cultural or social performance. That ly and had no offices at all, said security sources. The them to Kuwait and left them to seek other jobs in local within the instructions given by MSAL Minister Hind Al- scene of the Jahra football match battle is the same, sources explained that in collaboration with the man- markets, posing considerable security threats. The Subaih to cooperate with residency detectives in a bid dominating everything in Kuwait with only one slight power authority and under direct instructions from the sources said that a large number of these laborers had to fight visa traffickers and reduce marginal and loose difference - location and the culprits. Interior Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for been arrested and interrogated while a search is still in labor in order to ultimately create a demographic bal- —Translated by Kuwait Times Citizenship and Residency Affairs Major General Mazen progress for the others where they live or work in ance in Kuwait. —Al-Rai TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 ‘Unit 732’: The French Trump backers confused by Muslim proposal criticism anti-IS volunteers

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ALBAY PROVINCE: A resident walks past big waves spilling over a wall onto a coastal road in the city of Legaspi.—AFP 700K flee as typhoon slams Philippines No immediate reports of casualties or damage

MANILA: More than 700,000 people in the as palm trees swayed from the wind. average of 20 typhoons annually. Two of of the main southern island of Mindanao, New airstrikes hit central Philippines fled to safer areas for these usually hit in December, Badrina said, Badrina said. The weather bureau is study- fear of giant waves, floods or landslides as ‘Ghost town’ and are often among the strongest. ing the link between the increasing Damascus suburb Typhoon Melor slammed into the archipel- “The whole province is now a ghost Last year Typhoon Hagupit brought strength of year-end storms and climate ago nation yesterday, officials said. town. We shut all establishments. No floods and landslides to the central region, change, he said. Typhoon Koppu, the last BEIRUT: Syrian government helicopter gunships yes- Melor brushed the northern tip of school, no work,” Albay governor Joey killing 53 people. A low-pressure area, deadly storm to hit the country this year, terday struck a suburb of the capital, Damascus, a day Samar, a farming island of 1.5 million peo- Salceda said on ABS-CBN television. Albay, which could either strengthen into a killed 54 people and forced tens of thou- after airstrikes in the area killed at least 45 people, ple, early yesterday with winds gusting up a province of 1.2 million people, has typhoon or dissipate because of cold winds sands to flee their homes after it pum- activists said as a visiting UN official said the humani- to 185 kilometers per hour, the state become a model for disaster preparedness. blowing from the north, was spotted east meled the north in October. — AFP tarian situation in the war-ravaged country is “a blot on weather bureau said. There were no imme- It recorded zero casualties from Typhoon our collective conscience.” diate reports of casualties or damage. Hagupit last December due to prompt Sunday’s barrage - in which government airstrikes Samar was among areas devastated in evacuations. and bombardment of several opposition-held eastern 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, when giant An additional 130,000 people were Damascus suburbs killed at least 45 people, according waves wiped out entire communities and evacuated in Sorsogon province south of to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human left 7,350 people dead or missing. Albay. The typhoon is expected to cut Rights - was particularly heavy. It followed volleys of Authorities warned that Melor’s power- across the central heartlands in the early mortar shells fired into Damascus by rebels in the area ful winds might whip up four-meter-high hours of Tuesday before heading out to the that had killed three people, including a child, just waves, blow off tin roofs and uproot trees. South China Sea in the west. The storm’s hours earlier. They said heavy rain within its 300-kilome- outer rain bands could hit the capital Yesterday, the UN humanitarian chief Stephen tre diameter could trigger floods and land- Manila, where the second lowest in a four- O’Brien said he was “deeply saddened” by the uptick in slides. In Albay province in the southeast of step storm warning system may be raised violence Sunday. He spoke to reporters in Damascus at Luzon Island, almost 600,000 people were yesterday night, state weather forecaster the end of a three-day visit during which he travelled evacuated due to fears that heavy rain Robert Badrina said. to the central Syrian city of Homs and met with offi- could cause mudslides on the slopes of Stormy weather has forced the cancella- nearby Mayon Volcano, according to the tion of 40 domestic flights and halted 625 cials in the capital. “This is a tragic reminder of the national disaster monitoring office. passenger and cargo ferry trips, the disas- urgency of finding a political solution and security a Residents carrying bags of clothes and ter monitoring agency said. The govern- nationwide ceasefire,” he said. “Such indiscriminate water jugs clambered onto army trucks in ment had prepared more than 200,000 attacks are unacceptable and we must do our utmost Albay’s Legazpi City as authorities sounded food packs and other emergency items to protect innocent civilians.” an evacuation alarm, according to an AFP before the storm’s landfall, social welfare There was no immediate word on casualties from photographer at the scene. Huge waves secretary Corazon Soliman told DZMM Monday’s attacks, which targeted the southwestern crashed into the city’s deserted boulevard radio. The Philippines is battered by an suburb of Daraya. In Sunday’s government attacks, 49 people were killed in the Douma, Saqba and Arbeen suburbs, according to another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees. Syria’s state-run news agency and residents said that in rebel attacks.—AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 INTERNATIONAL Mugabe’s frailty intensifies Zimbabwe leadership race

VICTORIA FALLS: Zimbabwe’s ruling party “They know if they lose power their farms a quota system ensuring that one of themselves-and it is these gains that they nowhere,” said Masunungure. “Ordinarily, at the weekend publicly endorsed 91-year- and businesses will be undermined. That’s Mugabe’s two deputies be a woman-a post fear losing if they are on the wrong side of you would expect them to take advantage old President Robert Mugabe as its candi- why we saw the First Lady (Grace Mugabe) which could go to Grace and put her in pole the succession struggle. Grace Mugabe’s of the deep and profound problems in date for elections in 2018 — but his visible joining in the fray.” position to take over. dairy company provided milk, drinks and ZANU-PF but they are in a comatose state. frailty means that backstage the focus was Grace, 50, was appointed leader of the yogurt to delegates at the Victoria Falls con- “That’s why ZANU-PF can afford to on his successor. Mugabe has stumbled powerful ZANU-PF women’s wing last year ‘Political feuding’ ference. Mugabe, who has refused to name engage in factional fighting because they twice in recent public appearances, and in and led a vicious campaign that brought “The succession question is the mother a successor, used the meeting to call for an know there is no strong opponent outside September read a speech to parliament about the expulsion of Mugabe’s deputy of all problems bedeviling the party and it end to factionalism. the party. As things stand the real rivals for apparently unaware that he had delivered president and possible successor Joice will continue to haunt the party until its “We don’t want to hear people saying ZANU-PF are within ZANU-PF.” Former trade exactly the same address a month earlier. Mujuru. Mujuru is believed to be planning resolved,” said Eldred Masunungure, a politi- ‘these ones belong to (second vice-presi- unionist Morgan Tsvangirai led his These signs of weakness in a man who has to form a new party to contest the next cal scientist from the University of dent Phelekezela) Mphoko, these ones to Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist for 35 elections, but given ZANU-PF’s record of Zimbabwe. “National development is being Mnangagwa’. If all people belong to fac- to victory in 2008 parliamentary elections years have injected new urgency into fac- vote rigging analysts say the real battle for sacrificed at the altar of political feuding.” tions, who then are mine?” It is a good ques- and won the first round of the presidential tional battles led by the elite within his rul- power lies within the ruling party itself. Zimbabwe’s economy has been in crisis for tion, and there is increasing suspicion that vote. But he backed out of the second ing ZANU-PF party. Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa is 15 years since land reforms led to a collapse the answer lies with Grace. round after 200 of his followers were killed “The focus is on retaining power or seen as a front-runner, but there are signs of agriculture, while hyper-inflation Despite the infighting within the ruling in a wave of violence unleashed by ZANU- accessing power as a way of securing their that Mugabe and his wife could be plan- wreaked havoc, unemployment boomed party, the chances of an outsider winning PF. He later served as prime minister in a gains and privileges,” said Godfrey ning to keep power within the family. At the and millions of Zimbabweans fled abroad. the next election are seen as slim, and not unity government brokered by neighboring Kanyenze, head of the Labour and party’s annual conference in Victoria Falls at At the same time, many within the only because of ZANU-PF’s history of states, but his reputation suffered and his Economic Research Institute of Zimbabwe. the weekend, the women’s wing pressed for ZANU-PF elite seized farms and enriched manipulating elections. “The opposition is party has split several times. — AFP Bangui’s pk-5 district votes in crucial CAR referendum

BANGUI: Peacekeepers massed in a flashpoint have had enough, enough!” Makeup balloting district of the Central African Republic capital was also held elsewhere in the troubled former Bangui yesterday to enable people to vote French colony where armed men interfered safely a day after violence prevented them with Sunday’s polling, electoral authorities said. from casting ballots in a key referendum. Five An unnamed source in the UN peacekeep- people were killed in clashes Sunday in the ing force MINUSCA, sent in to quell fighting Muslim-majority PK-5 district, heightening that has forced 10 percent of the population to fears over whether long-delayed elections can flee their homes, reported scattered violence in go ahead on December 27. the north and east of the landlocked country. Another 20 people were wounded, several Some supporters of the mainly Christian seriously, in fighting involving rocket launch- militia known as the “anti-balaka” (anti- ers and machine guns, the Red Cross said yes- machete) also opposed the vote, namely back- terday. UN peacekeepers and French soldiers ers of ousted president Francois Bozize, whose massed yesterday in the PK-5 district, and a candidacy for the upcoming presidential elec- military helicopter circled overhead, to allow tion has been rejected by the constitutional its voters to complete polling in a constitution- court. al referendum aimed at ending Christian- Muslim sectarian strife. ‘Historic step’ Turnout was strong and no new violence Late Sunday, UN special envoy Parfait was reported by midday in the district, nor- Onanga-Anyanga, praised the voters for their mally Bangui’s bustling trading hub. The “courage”, saying they overcame “all fears and Muslim community in PK-5 is split between a threats” to cast their ballots. “The Central majority who favor the electoral process and Africans took a historic step in their march those opposed, now labeled the “enemies of towards greater democracy,” he told reporters. peace”. The UN Security Council was to discuss the situation following the referendum yesterday. ‘Live in peace’ The vote is seen as a test run for presidential DAQUQ: A French volunteer surrounded by Iraqi Kurdish forces flies a small drone carrying out a reconnaissance mission over a “We agree to live together with the and parliamentary elections set for December frontline with the Islamic State group. — AFP Christians. We want to live in peace but we 27 to end more than two years of conflict have been taken hostage” by armed groups, between the Muslim and Christian militias. The said Hassan Brassoul Moussa, a spokesman for proposed constitution would limit presidential Meet ‘Unit 732’: The French Muslim youth in PK-5. He demanded the arrest tenure to two terms, fight institutional corrup- of “criminals who want to sow chaos amongst tion and rein in the armed militias, blamed for us” and Abdoulaye Hissene, a former Seleka years of chaos and terror. “general” accused of orchestrating Sunday’s If adopted, it would usher in the sixth anti-IS volunteers in Iraq violence, came in for special vitriol. republic since independence from France in “This has to stop,” said a young vendor, 1960 and mark the 13th political regime in a Mustapha Younous, as people cheered around country notorious for its chronic instability. Tiny contingent welcomed by Iraqi Kurds him. “If Abdoulaye Hissene (and associates) Results are expected in the next two days. want to do politics they can do it somewhere Unrest has forced the impoverished country to DAQUQ: The translator rushed towards the rudimen- who are some of the main recipients of Western mili- apolitical and non-religious nature of the group. else. We are businessmen and we want to do postpone elections repeatedly despite intense tary trailer housing the French volunteers who came tary aid to fight the Islamic State (IS) group. France has “We’re not Crusaders, we didn’t come here because business!” international pressure to hold them. The to Iraq to fight against the Islamic State jihadist group good relations with Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Daquq we’re unemployed or bored,” said Fred, another mem- A pensioner wearing a baseball cap with Central African Republic plunged into its worst alongside Kurdish forces. “Come quick, the general front line, where the autonomous region’s forces are ber of the group who served 10 years in the army. “We the word “Paix” (peace) emblazoned on it said: crisis since independence after Bozize was wants to see you! And bring your helicopter,” he told deployed, is one of the areas where the French jets are all fathers and have families... We came here to “Let them be beheaded if need be. While we ousted by rebels from the Seleka force in them, as an armored convoy assembled and prepared that are part of the US-led coalition have been the defend our values,” he said. have to pay for the broken goods, they go March 2013, triggering a wave of tit-for-tat vio- to leave the base. General Araz Abdelkader, who com- most active. “These six men are worth many more, Sipping tea at the little blue plastic table outside around freely in their cars with tinted glass. We lence with “anti-balaka” militias. — AFP mands the Kurdish peshmerga forces stationed in they master some technologies we don’t,” the pesh- their trailer, the volunteers also speak of their love for Daquq, a town around 200 kilometers north of merga general said. “They brought this drone from adventure, and some of them feel confined to a token Baghdad, had just received information on possible France, it is very useful to us.” role. “I don’t necessarily want to kill, and even less be jihadist movements near the front line. That day, the small device-which has a range of killed, but we’d like to get more involved,” said one of What the translator calls a helicopter is in fact a four to five kilometers — flew across a wide open Daquq’s Frenchmen, who gave his name as Kim. He small commercial drone which can be carried in a plain to monitor and record enemy movements with- and his comrades are aware their presence is essen- backpack and has turned out to be the French volun- out exposing a peshmerga reconnaissance unit on the tially a PR windfall for the peshmerga, who have cast teers’ most valuable “weapon”. Fred, Kim and Pascal ground. The volunteers in Unit 732 got together on themselves as the world’s first rampart against IS, and are among six former servicemen from France form- social media following the January attacks which IS do not plan to stay longer than three months. They ing the French contingent in Daquq, not counting claimed against satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo could not afford to stay much longer, given that they Bella the dog, the group’s mascot. They have called and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. all arrived in Iraq with barely enough cash for a hotel themselves “Unit 732”, a reference to the date of a bat- “It started with Charlie Hebdo... something hap- room and are only housed and fed by the peshmerga tle that saw Frankish-led forces defeat the troops of pened inside of me,” said Pascal, who wears the but not paid. That is one of the conditions for a the Umayyad caliphate in central France. Kurdish flag on one arm patch and the French tri- smooth return to France, where diplomatic sources All six have significant military experience, but the colour on the other. Other foreigners have volun- say they are unlikely to run into any legal trouble, hav- peshmerga keep them mostly in the rear and they teered to fight alongside the Kurds in Iraq and Syria ing not fought as mercenaries nor in the ranks of a ter- have not yet fired a shot in anger. “We’re working on a since 2014, but no Western country has been harder ror-listed organization. France, a leading member in training program and, mostly, what we do is recon hit by IS than France and the deadly November 13 the coalition against IS, is busy trying to track the hun- and intelligence gathering,” said Pascal, a Corsican attacks in Paris spawned new volunteers. “The attacks dreds of nationals it has among the very jihadists that sporting a salt-and-pepper moustache. With 25 years’ at the Bataclan (concert hall) sparked a wave... Many Unit 732 wants to battle. Kim, himself a Muslim, experience in private security in France, Africa and the people want to join us now,” said Pascal, warning explained that IS’ recruiting prowess in France was a Middle East, he’s the group’s veteran. nonetheless against a mass influx. motivating factor in his decision to come to Iraq. “These people are not Muslims, they’re pigs,” he said. “I Paris attacks ‘Not crusaders’ wanted to show that there were French people fight- BANGUI: A Muslim man sits inside the polling station at the Koudoukou school in the The tiny contingent was welcomed by Iraqi Kurds, Despite its name, the six Frenchmen insist on the ing on the other side too.” — AFP flashpoint PK5 district. —AFP Officer questioned in Egypt: No sign of terrorist Palestinian shooting act in Russian plane crash JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities on Sunday Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, while said they have opened an investigation into at least 112 have been killed on the the actions of a police officer who fatally Palestinian side, including 75 people said CAIRO: A preliminary investigation into the crash of a the plane, killing all 224 people onboard, mostly sibility. The crash led Russia to suspend all flights to shot a 16-year-old Palestinian girl during a by Israel to be attackers. In the latest unrest, Russian passenger plane has found no indication yet Russian vacationers returning home from the Red Sea and from Egypt, dealing a heavy blow to the country’s stabbing attack in Jerusalem last month. Israeli forces shot a young Palestinian of any “illegal or terrorist act,” Egypt’s chief investigator resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The committee is “continu- vital tourism industry. In a statement, the Justice Ministry said woman Sunday after she allegedly said in a statement released yesterday. The vaguely ing its work,” it said. El-Muqadam said the investigating committee it was looking into whether the officer used attempted to stab a pedestrian in the West worded statement by Ayman El-Muqadam said the Russia has said an explosive device had been completed its preliminary report Sunday evening, excessive force while stopping a stabbing Bank. investigation committee so far has not found “any evi- placed onboard the Airbus A321-200 and the Sinai which contained all available information that will be attack by two teenage Palestinian girls. In The military said the woman was evacu- dence” indicating foul play in the Oct 31 downing of branch of the Islamic State group has claimed respon- further investigated. He said the search for wreckage the Nov 23 incident, the 16-year-old girl, ated to a Jerusalem hospital. It did not say extended more than 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the along with a 14-year-old accomplice, how close the woman got to her target. The main crash site and that the committee provided all stabbed and wounded a 70-year-old man incident occurred Sunday in Hebron, a fre- parties that are part of the investigation, including the with scissors before they were shot by the quent flashpoint of violence. Several hun- insurance company and Russian working teams, the officer. dred Israeli settlers live in heavily guarded chance to examine the wreckage. The ministry said the attorney general enclaves in the city, which is home to The investigators analyzed the plane’s 38 comput- had requested the investigation into claims 270,000 Palestinians. ers and two engine computers and is currently check- that the officer shot the 16-year-old girl Israel says the violence is fueled by a ing the technical details of the plane and repairs car- after she had already been restrained. Palestinian campaign of lies and incite- ried out since it was manufactured in May 1997. El- During questioning, the officer said he ment. The Palestinians say it is the result of Muqadam said the investigation committee made 15 believed the girl still posed a threat, the frustrations rooted in Israel’s nearly 50-year visits to the crash site, and the team was coordinating statement said. occupation. Late Sunday, the Israeli army with the air force to move the wreckage to a safe loca- The incident was filmed by a security said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip tion in Cairo for further study. Kremlin spokesman camera and the footage was released to the fired a rocket that landed in an open area of Dmitry Peskov declined to comment directly on the media. The younger girl was wounded. southern Israel. No injuries were reported. Egyptian statement, but told reporters in a conference Palestinians have accused Israel of using ‘Early yesterday, Israeli aircraft struck call, “I can remind you of the conclusion of our experts excessive force during a three-month wave what the military said were two military from the special services, who came to the conclusion of violence, and Sunday’s announcement posts belonging to Hamas, the Islamic mili- that it was a terrorist action.”Aside from a joint techni- appeared to be the first official investiga- tant group that controls Gaza. Israel and cal investigation into the crash by experts from Egypt, tion into the actions of Israeli security forces Hamas fought a 50 day war last year. Russia, France and Ireland, the Egyptian authorities during the unrest. Israel says its tactics are a Although Hamas has largely observed a also opened an investigation into a possible security legitimate response to stabbings and other cease fire since then, Israel said it holds the breach or infiltration by militants of the Sharm El- attacks. group responsible for “all attacks emanat- Sheikh airport staff, security officials have said. That A total of 19 Israelis and an American ing from the Gaza Strip.” There were no HASSANA: In this Sunday, Nov 1, 2015 photo provided by Russian Emergency Situations investigation has focused on baggage handlers, their seminary student have been killed by immediate reports of casualties. — AP Ministry, Egyptian Military on cars approach a plane’s tail at the wreckage of a passenger jet security supervisors and also personnel involved in air- bound for St Petersburg in Russia that crashed. — AP craft catering, according to the officials. — AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 INTERNATIONAL Rising safety concerns for American mosques

CORONA: From the suburbs of Los Angeles to guards, because of fears that an American On Thursday, the Council on American- munity about Muslims,” he said. Jaka said that Americans in repudiating any twisted mindset the outskirts of Washington, DC, mosques mosque could be a target for an attack. Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, was after the San Bernardino shooting federal law that would claim to justify such sickening acts around the United States are warily stepping “We are always concerned about lone wolf forced to evacuate its office on Capitol Hill enforcement officials had also completed a of violence. We encourage everyone to be up security in the face of growing fears about attacks,” said Usama Shami, president of a after receiving a letter containing white pow- security assessment for the mosque. extra vigilant,” the mosque’s website says. Not reprisals on American Muslims. Phoenix mosque that has been working with der. The note said, “Die a painful death, At the East Plano Islamic Center near all mosques see the need for new security. The increasing safety concerns described the Department of Homeland Security to Muslims,” CAIR attorney Maha Sayed said. “Our Dallas, Texas, Nadim Bashir, the imam, said the Mufti Ikram Ul Haq at the Rhode Island Masjid by American Islamic leaders - and the steps review its security measures since the Paris fear is at a pretty high level at this time, given mosque had hired an armed security guard Al-Islam said the mosque there is relying on a they are taking in response, including hiring attack last month. the anti-Muslim rhetoric going on,” said Sayed. ever since the Paris attacks. “We’re just trying police presence during prayer times. armed guards - represent the flip side of the Over the weekend, police arrested a 23- to ramp up our efforts in the community and “We have surveillance. We lock our doors rising public anxiety about Islamic State- year-old man suspected of setting a fire at a ‘Fearful’ security guards quit get a better name,” said Bashir. and we have an alarm system,” he said. Local inspired terror after attacks in Paris and San Southern California mosque in what authori- Given the rising tensions, some mosques A mosque in Corona, California, which, like police, Haq said, “have been increasing patrols Bernardino, California. The call by Republican ties are describing as a hate attack, following say they have struggled to hire and keep secu- San Bernardino, is a working-class suburb on around our places of worship, and that gives us presidential contender Donald Trump to ban the massacre of 14 people in San Bernardino rity guards. In Dulles, Virginia, a suburb of the dusty eastern edge of Los Angeles, has enough sense of security.” The FBI will not Muslims from entering the United States only on Dec 2 by a Muslim couple, US-born Syed Washington with a large Muslim community spent $10,000 over the past two weeks to release data on hate crimes for 2015 until next amplified concerns about an anti-Islamic back- Rizwan Farook, 28, and his Pakistani-born wife center, security guards abruptly quit after the increase security. It is now asking for dona- year. Some critics, including CAIR, say the official lash at mosques and community centers, reli- Tashfeen Malik, 29. Authorities have not said if San Bernardino attacks, said Rizwan Jaka, tions from the congregation to defer that statistics undercount reported incidents target- gious leaders and organizers say. the suspect was motivated by the shooting. chairman of the All Dulles Area Muslim expense, Imam Obair Katchi told Reuters. ing Muslims. For 2014, FBI data showed that out That fire set on Friday at the entrance of Society. “Security guards resigned because The Islamic Society of Corona-Norco has of 1,140 victims of anti-religious hate crimes, Security facilities the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley they were fearful of getting hurt in the back- also put up a banner on its website denounc- approximately 16 percent were victims of an At least two mosques - one in Phoenix and caused no injuries. But it charred the building’s lash,” Jaka said. “People were concerned.” ing the San Bernardino attack. The mosque anti-Islamic bias. “Anecdotally, there is no ques- the other in suburban Virginia - are working stucco front entrance and left it littered with The mosque has now hired armed guards has faced extra scrutiny after it emerged that tion that we have had something of a flood of with the Department of Homeland Security to debris. The FBI is also investigating an incident and the imam of the mosque, Mohamed Enrique Marquez, who supplied guns used in anti-Moslem hatred and hate crimes,” said Mark check up on the security their facilities provide in Philadelphia in which someone drove past a Magid, said security had been increased for the San Bernardino massacre, had once Potok, a senior fellow at the Montgomery, for worshippers in recent weeks. Others report mosque and threw a severed pig’s head at it programs in which children take part. “We are attended. “The Muslim community stands Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a taking a range of steps, including hiring armed from a passing truck as a possible hate crime. concerned about the feeling in the larger com- shoulder to shoulder with our fellow civil rights group. — Reuters Trump backers confused by Muslim proposal criticism ‘You don’t know if they hate us’

GREER: Tracy Hooker isn’t interested in debating the merits of Donald Trump’s proposal to temporarily block Muslims from coming into the United States. She knows some people think it’s bigoted. That oth- ers argue it’s impractical, legally dubious or both. And that every other Republican running for presi- dent has, in some way or another, rejected the idea the plan is even worth talking about. That’s why the hot dog stand worker in the con- servative southern state of South Carolina says Trump is “my guy.” In the wake of the attacks in Paris RIO DE JANEIRO: A protester with a mask depicting Brazilian President Dilma and shootings in San Bernardino, she and other Rousseff takes part in a demonstration in support of her impeachment, at Trump supporters say the Republican presidential Copacabana beach. — AFP frontrunner is the only one is taking on what they believe is a clear and present danger to America and its citizens. Brazil impeachment protests “Think about it. You don’t know what you’ve got here. You’ve got no clue,” she said of the Muslim smaller but still determined tourists, immigrants and refugees Trump wants to temporarily bar from coming to the US. “You don’t SAO PAULO: Thousands took to the streets in able Rousseff dressed up as Pinocchio. And know if they like us. You don’t know if they hate us,” cities across Brazil on Sunday demanding that about 30,000 rallied in the country’s wealthy said Hooker, 47, of Greer, South Carolina. “You don’t embattled President Dilma Rousseff-facing a industrial and financial hub Sao Paulo, G1 know why they’re here.” weak economy and calls for her impeachment- reported. be removed from office. Rousseff is fighting for ‘We are at war’ her political life as she stands accused of illegal Fourth national protest wave The widespread condemnation of the billionaire’s SOUTH CAROLINA: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a town budgeting maneuvers that she says were long- It was the fourth time this year that demon- plan is simply baffling to Hooker and the dozens of hall meeting in the Convocation Center on the University of South Carolina Aiken cam- accepted practices by previous governments. strators across the sprawling nation of 204 mil- Trump supporters interviewed in the past week by pus. — AP A one-time political prisoner during the lion marched to demand the removal of the The Associated Press in Iowa, New Hampshire and 1964-1985 military regimes, Rousseff derides country’s first female president. Organizers South Carolina, the states that kick off the presiden- ban in the CBS poll. they start analyzing what he said and realize, ‘Oh my the attempt to bring her down as a “coup.” blamed the weak turnout on calling the march tial nominating contests. Trump’s campaign said the proposed ban would god, he’s right,’ “he said. “Time has shown that Dilma is unable to gov- with just 15 days notice. “We were expecting “When you’re in war, you have to take steps that apply to “everyone,” including individuals seeking to While Trump has brushed back criticisms, includ- ern. She’s thrown the country down a well,” fewer people (on Sunday) because in the other are not American to protect yourself and defend the immigrate to the US as well as those looking to visit ing from some Republicans, that his idea smacks of argued Adriano de Queiroz, 36, a protester in marches we had two to three months to organ- country,” said Margaret Shontz, of Iowa, as she arrived as tourists. As the week progressed, Trump began to bigotry, some of his backers take that charge person- the capital, Brasilia. One small bit of good news ize ourselves,” said Kim Kataguiri, national coor- at a Trump campaign stop in Des Moines on Friday. fill in additional details. He said American citizens, ally. At Cannon’s restaurant in Greer, South Carolina, for Rousseff was that turnout at the rallies, seen dinator for the Brazil Libre protest group. Iowa’s Dale Witmer, 90, a registered Republican including Muslim members of the military, would be not too far from Rosie’s hot dog stand, manager as a barometer of the national mood, was lower Kataguiri told AFP at the Sao Paulo rally to and Word War II veteran who likes Trump and conser- exempt, as would certain world leaders and athletes Tammy Holcombe argued “everybody’s getting too than expected. expect much larger protest marches next year. vative Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, embraced the Muslim ban coming to the US to compete. offended by this.” Another Cannon’s employee, 50- The turnout hit a total of about 83,000 The turmoil is stirring strong passions in Brazil, as a “great idea.” He said he was taken aback by the year-old Wayne Weathers, chimed in: “The drive-by across 87 cities, the Globo G1 news website cit- where Rousseff’s leftist Workers’ Party has been backlash: “I don’t know how to comprehend that.” ‘It’s temporary’ media says everybody’s a racist who supports Trump. ed police as saying. Organizers disputed that in power since 2003 with the help of its ally Trump made the proposal a week ago, releasing a “By the way, it’s not total and complete. And it’s That’s ridiculous.” figure, saying that 407,000 had marched in PMDB. The protests come as Brazil prepares to statement on Dec. 7 that called for “a total and com- temporary,” Trump said Sunday in an interview with Among some Trump supporters, even those who protest. Either way, the figures are sharply lower host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de plete shutdown of Muslims entering the United CNN. “You’re going to have exceptions. You’re going agree with his proposal, there are some concerns - than the 2.4 million anti-Rousseff marchers that Janeiro, the first time the Games will be held in States until our country’s representatives can figure to have people coming in and you are going to get usually about how the bombastic former reality TV took to the streets on March 15, or the nearly South America. out what the hell is going on.” people in.” star is selling his ideas. “I agree with him, mostly,” said 900,000 that marched in mid-August. Political uncertainty is adding to the coun- An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released New Hampshire state Rep. Stephen Stepanek, Greg Spearman, 46, who owns an electrical firm in Just days ago, pro-Rousseff and opposition try’s economic woes, with GDP down 4.5 per- last week found that at 57 percent, a solid majority of Trump’s campaign co-chairman in the state, said the Greer. “But there’s certainly a better way to say it.” Still lawmakers shoved and screamed at each other cent in the third quarter year-on-year, and the Americans, oppose Trump’s proposal. A CBS News reaction to Trump’s proposal fit the pattern of his other backers said they simply don’t take Trump’s in Congress during a vote to form an impeach- national currency down a third against the dol- poll also found nearly six-in-10 Americans opposed campaign: First outrage, then a realization Trump hit plan at face value. And Trump himself has even sug- ment commission. But protesters in the streets lar this year. A vast corruption scandal centered the ban, with two-thirds saying it goes against the the nail on the head. “He’s always one step ahead of gested his proposed ban was intended to stir up were much calmer Sunday. In Brasilia, thou- on state oil giant Petrobras has also under- country’s founding principles. But Republicans are all the other politicians in pointing out a problem. reaction. “Without the ban,” he said Sunday, “you’re sands marched peacefully behind a giant inflat- mined investor confidence. — AFP far more receptive; 54 percent voiced support for the And everybody’s outraged. And then all of a sudden not going to make the point.” — AP 5 months after Chattanooga, Man fatally shot by LA feds quiet on any terror links police held on to gun LOS ANGELES: A black man who was fatally shot yet to verify that report, Katz said. by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies kept Video, apparently from a cellphone, appeared TENNESSEE: It took about two days for announced investigative details and mine whether it was terrorism or some gested the possibility of terrorism. No holding a gun as he lay dying on the ground, on several media sites. It appears to show the FBI to announce it was investigating drawn conclusions, said former federal other crime. such statement came from the Justice authorities said Sunday in response to questions deputies firing about two dozen bullets, includ- the Dec 2 attack that killed 14 in San prosecutor David S. Weinstein: the Department on the night of the San about why they continued to fire on the man ing several rounds after Robertson falls and is Bernardino, California, as an act of terror. ramped-up visibility of extremism after To terror or not to terror Bernardino attacks as investigators after he fell to the pavement. A close-up from crawling on the ground. “They shot him in his Nearly five months after the killing of the deadly attacks in Paris blamed on The closest federal authorities have worked to determine a motive. security footage showed 28-year-old Nicholas shoulder, and he was crawling,” Pamela Brown, five military personnel in Chattanooga, adherents to the Islamic State extremist come since to calling Chattanooga a ter- Robertson stretched out on the ground with a Robertson’s mother-in-law, told Los Angeles tele- Tennessee, authorities have carefully group. ror attack was Dec 6, when President Kuwaiti born citizen gun in his hand. He died at the scene Saturday vision station KCAL. “He left three kids behind, avoided using the same wording about “What has changed is US and world Barack Obama addressed the nation Initially, authorities described morning in the south Los Angeles suburb of two daughters and a son. What, they could have the attack by a Kuwaiti-born gunman. As perception about terrorists and how the from the Oval Office after San Abdulazeez, a naturalized US citizen Lynwood. Tasered him or anything.” a practical matter, labeling Chattanooga US is combating terrorism,” he said. “That Bernardino. The president noted that as born in Kuwait, as a homegrown violent Two deputies fired 33 bullets at the man after Robertson’s wife declined to speak with the a terror attack would make its victims national pulse about terrorism is high.” the US has improved in preventing extremist. Vice President Joe Biden said he refused to drop the gun and walked across a Associated Press, providing only a photo of their eligible for the Purple Heart, which if At a news conference the day of the large-scale assaults like those on Sept at a memorial for the Chattanooga dead busy street to a filling station where a family children. Earlier, she told the Los Angeles Times awarded would entitle their survivors to Chattanooga shooting, then-US 11, 2001, “terrorists turned to less com- that Abdulazeez was a “perverted member was pumping gas, homicide Capt. that her husband was a stay-at-home father who additional payments and benefits. Attorney Bill Killian said the shooting plicated acts of violence like the mass jihadist” who may have been inspired to Steven Katz said. “When he collapsed, his arms didn’t engage in crime. “Anytime you see him, There’s also a key difference between was being investigated as an act of ter- shootings that are all too common in become “a single lone wolf to commit a were underneath him, and the gun was still in his you see him with the kids,” Nekesha Robertson Chattanooga and San Bernardino in rorism. Minutes later, he backtracked, our society.” Obama then cited both savage act.” hand. There was never a time when the weapon said. “He’d take them to and from school. Help terms of how publicly authorities have saying the investigation would deter- Chattanooga and San Bernardino, as In the days after the San Bernardino was not in his possession,” Katz said. them with homework. He’s a daddy - that’s his well as the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, massacre, the FBI labeled the married Asked if the officers were white, Katz said no job. He didn’t do nothing else.” Nekesha Texas, that killed 13 people and wound- couple behind the attack terrorists who but would not elaborate. He said one had been Robertson said her mother-in-law had called her ed 32 more. The Fort Hood attack, initial- had been “radicalized” with Islamic working in the field for about a year, the other for shortly before the shooting to say her husband ly called an instance of workplace vio- extremist views. The word “terrorism” is about 18 months. Police confronted Robertson as was under the influence of alcohol. She said she lence by many authorities, resulted in used by civilians and government offi- they investigated 911 calls from witnesses who was on her way to get him and had stopped at the murder conviction and death sen- cials alike to describe many killings that saw a man firing a gun into the air. Witnesses said the same gas station to buy milk before the tence of Nidal Hasan, a former US Army may have political or religious over- he was walking down a residential street and shooting happened. Other relatives said the major who said during his court-martial tones, but terrorism is also a federal then through a busy commercial area holding shooting was unjustified and that Robertson may he believed he was defending Taliban criminal charge. In essence, federal code the weapon and acting strangely. not have heard the deputies’ call to drop the gun. leaders from American troops. defines terrorism as any one of a list of Joyce McCants, a spokeswoman for violent acts that is “calculated to influ- Caught on camera ‘Point-blank murder’ the FBI in Knoxville, Tennessee, which ence or affect the conduct of govern- Witnesses told authorities that Robertson “This man never turned at you and looked at oversees Chattanooga, said Thursday ment by intimidation or coercion, or to reportedly fired six to seven rounds and briefly you or pointed the gun at you. Nothing,” said that the bureau is likely to provide an retaliate against government conduct.” went into a car wash and a pizza parlor before Nekesha Robertson’s cousin, Monica Reddix. updated statement this week about the The Associated Press reported previ- deputies arrived. Deputies spotted the man in “What they did yesterday was ... point-blank mur- July 16 killings by Muhammad Youssef ously that Abdulazeez had visited an front of the gas station, where two women and der.” Robertson’s death comes at a time of increas- Abdulazeez. Abdulazeez, 24, was fatally uncle in Jordan before the Chattanooga three children were inside a car, and they ordered ing criticism of police use of force after several shot by police after opening fire at a mil- shooting, but it’s not clear if that visit him to drop the gun, Katz said. But he refused killings of black men by officers have been itary recruiting center and then driving prompted him to adopt extremist views. and at one point pointed the gun in the deputies’ caught on video in California and throughout the to a reserve center, where he killed four Soon after the attack, investigators direction, Katz added. nation. On Dec 2, five San Francisco officers shot Marines and a sailor. found writings from Abdulazeez that ref- The gun was not registered to Robertson and and killed Mario Woods, 26, in the city’s gritty Within hours of the shooting, erence Anwar Al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric has not been reported stolen. Detectives are try- Bayview neighborhood after they say he refused CHATTANOOGA: In this Friday, July 17, 2015 file photo, an FBI investi- Attorney General Loretta Lynch issued a who encouraged and inspired attacks ing to track it, Katz said. Robertson may have commands to drop an 8-inch knife he was carry- gator investigates the scene of a shooting outside a military recruit- statement describing a “national security on the homeland and was killed in a US been in a dispute at home with his spouse before ing. Police were responding to a stabbing report ing center. — AP investigation” - which immediately sug- drone strike in 2011. — AP he went out on the street, but authorities have when they encountered Woods. — AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 INTERNATIONAL French far-right fails to win a single region in elections

PARIS: France’s far-right National Front (FN) turned out on Sunday but said “the warnings” of failed to win a single region in elections Sunday the first round must not be forgotten. despite record results, as voters flocked to tradi- tional parties to keep them out of power. With ‘Everybody loses’ presidential elections due in 2017, the anti- The front page of conservative daily Le immigration FN had hoped the regional polls Figaro announced “The right wins, the left holds would act as a springboard for leader Marine Le up, the FN falls”, but the Catholic newspaper Le Pen. Croix was more succinct, saying only “Everybody But despite a best-ever national vote tally for loses”. In an editorial titled “Not a victory but the the FN, she was trounced by the right-wing absence of defeat”, left-wing Liberation said it opposition in the northern Nord-Pas-de-Calais- was fear of the far-right which had mobilised the Picardie region after the ruling Socialists pulled left, rather than any renewed enthusiasm for the out of the race before the second round. Her 26- Socialist Party. Final results showed Le Pen year-old niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen was also scored around 42 percent to nearly 58 percent clearly defeated by the right-wing grouping in for her right-wing rival Xavier Bertrand in the the southern region that includes the glitzy economically depressed north. resorts of the Cote d’Azur, despite dominating Her niece took around 45 percent of the vote the first round last week. to nearly 55 percent for her right-wing rival in The party had topped the vote in six of 13 the FN’s traditional stronghold in Provence- regions on December 6, with a 28 percent Alpes-Cote-d’Azur. Both women had easily won national share, propelled by anger over the the first round. In a combative speech to sup- struggling economy and fears created by last porters after polls closed, Le Pen said “nothing KARLSRUHE: German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel addresses the CDU annual month’s jihadist attacks in Paris that left 130 can stop us now”. federal congress. — AFP dead. But exactly a month on from those “In its northern and southern bastions we’ve attacks, voters turned out in force-some 58 per- eradicated the evil-doing Socialist Party,” she cent took part, up from 50 percent in the first said. “By tripling our number of councilors, we round-and once again trounced the FN when it will be the main opposition force in most of the Merkel draws cheers for came down to the wire. The ruling Socialists of regions of France,” she added. President Francois Hollande won in five regions, while the centre-right alliance of his predecessor ‘De-demonized’ party centrist line on refugees Nicolas Sarkozy took seven. Nationalists won in The FN has topped European and local polls Corsica. over the past two years, bolstering Le Pen’s One of the biggest upsets on Sunday came claim that it is now “the first party of France”. Pledge to reduce the influx of migrants in the Paris region, which shifted from left to The party also recorded its best-ever score right for the first time in 17 years. Socialist Prime Sunday with 6.8 million votes nationally, up KARLSRUHE: German Chancellor Angela Merkel But she said Germany had a “moral and political” duty fire at home and in many corners of Europe, with crit- Minister Manuel Valls warned that despite the from just over six million in the first round and pledged yesterday to reduce a massive refugee influx as Europe’s top economic power to continue to help ics accusing her of having a big heart but no clear result “the danger of the far-right has not been 6.4 million for Marine Le Pen in her 2012 presi- but insisted on keeping the door open to the world’s the world’s desperate people, particularly those from strategy. removed, far from it”. Sarkozy, leader of the dential bid, when overall turnout was consider- neediest, drawing a rousing standing ovation from war-ravaged Syria. “We will live up to our humanitari- The chancellor won a battle with the right-wing of Republicans party, praised the voters who ably higher. — AFP her party. an responsibility,” she said. the CDU in the run-up to the gathering by torpedo- After weeks of infighting over the expected arrival The gathering of around 1,000 delegates in the ing its bid to set a cap on the number of asylum seek- of around one million asylum seekers to Germany southwestern city of Karlsruhe was seen as one of the ers Germany would take in-a proposal she has this year, Merkel appeared to unite her conservative most important of Merkel’s 15-year tenure at the denounced as immoral and unconstitutional. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) behind a centrist helm of the party. After weeks of internal debate, the compromise text, due to be passed later yesterday, line of generosity with clear limits. CDU was at pains to stage a show of unity ahead of instead calls for a “tangible reduction of asylum seek- She drew loud applause as she repeated her rally- three key state elections in March and a decision next ers and refugees”. ing cry “We can do it” during an impassioned hour- year whether Merkel will stand for a fourth term in Germany is divided roughly down the middle by long speech, capped by nine minutes in which the the 2017 general election. the refugee issue, with a poll on Friday showing 49 1,000 delegates took to their feet to cheer their chan- percent opposed Merkel’s stance while 47 percent cellor, who beamed and waved to the crowd. ‘Big heart, no strategy’ supported it. The CDU has grown jittery as the disaf- Ahead of an EU summit this week, Merkel said she fection has given a boost to the right-wing populist ‘Reduce the number’ was banking on a multi-pronged approach to cut AfD party, which has soared to 10 percent in some Merkel appealed to the venerable party’s sense of refugee numbers, urging bolstered protection for the polls. “Many traditional voters feel homeless,” news history, saying that the same strength that allowed it bloc’s external borders, support for Turkey to host weekly Der Spiegel wrote in its current cover story “to rebuild from the rubble of the war to create the refugees long-term, and a long-shot bid for a distri- headlined “The Anxious Nation”. economic miracle, and to go from division to a reuni- bution scheme among EU member states. Nevertheless, the CDU has recovered its footing in fied country” would get Germany through the She also touted a range of measures already the polls after a steep drop in the autumn and is now refugee crisis. Even in the face of demands from the undertaken in Germany including extending a list of tallying about 39 percent, just 2.5 points off its 2013 right wing of the party for an upper limit on newcom- safe countries of origin, expediting repatriation of showing in the general election. The SPD, which has ers, Merkel insisted Germany would never seal its bor- rejected asylum seekers and beefing up staffing to been riven between centrists and leftists since Merkel der. process applicants. booted then Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder out of “We want to tangibly reduce the number of Merkel is widely seen as Europe’s most influential office in 2005, trails far behind at about 24 percent. PARIS: French opposition right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party top can- refugees arriving,” Merkel said. “With an approach leader and bagged the “Person of the Year” award Merkel also has no clear challenger within her party, didate for the regional elections in the Ile-de-France region Valerie focused on the German, European and global level, from TIME magazine last week and the Financial as even CDU critics acknowledge that she is their Pecresse waves at press conference after the announcement of the second we will succeed in regulating and limiting migration.” Times yesterday. But her open-door stance has drawn strongest asset at the polls. — AFP round of French regional elections. — AFP Dutch school kids get Kosovo oppn releases taste of refugee life THE HAGUE: A hastily abandoned suitcase, hear a lot of figures, but don’t know how to tear gas in parliament an overturned wine glass and a radio blaring put them into perspective, and none of this a warning “to leave now”. A unique museum information is given a human face,” she is giving Dutch school kids a scarily real added. “With this trip, we hope to instill some PRISTINA: Opposition lawmakers released tear opposition lawmakers. An opposition political tion has blocked Kosovo’s parliament with tear glimpse of life as a refugee. In a school outing empathy so they learn to think about these gas yesterday in Kosovo’s parliament as they party, the Alliance for Kosovo’s Future, said one gas, pepper spray, whistles and water bottles to with a difference, teenagers Amy and Sona issues for themselves.” once again tried to pressure the government of its lawmakers, Pal Lekaj, was arrested, alleged- protest the deals and their supporters have held visited the museum in The Hague, opened in Running out of the first area set up as a into renouncing deals with Serbia and ly for using tear gas. violent protests in Pristina. 2010 by the Dutch Red Cross to raise aware- house, the two girls found themselves in a Montenegro. Clouds of smoke from two tear gas Meanwhile, police dispersed dozens of oppo- One of the deals gives more powers to ethnic ness of the work of organizations helping labyrinth of dark corridors echoing with the canisters forced lawmakers out of the debating sition supporters throwing stones and paint out- Serbs in Kosovo while the other demarcates the those fleeing war and poverty. sounds of barking dogs and the strident chamber. The parliamentary session restarted side the building. There were no reports of any border with Montenegro. Kosovo declared inde- Only moments into their tour of shouts of policemen. A sign hanging on a later in another room without the presence of injuries. Over the past three months, the opposi- pendence from Serbia in 2008, an act that Serbia Humanity House, the girls, both 16, were door asked: “Choose! Your possessions or still rejects. The two countries have been holding issued with “a visa” allowing them to start your life?” Images of the horrors and woes of European Union-mediated talks to overcome their journey towards the security of zone B. the refugees’ long march to Europe played their differences. Glauk Konjufca of the Self- And even though this was a staged trip, both across the walls, filmed by researchers among Determination Movement told reporters the had a few heart-stopping moments as they real people. It’s always the little things that opposition would continue different forms of symbolically traced the steps of hundreds of strike home the most, said Mattaar. pressure on the government “to make it under- thousands of people who leave their lives stand that the Aug 25 deals ... cannot pass in behind to make the perilous journey to ‘Anguish, sadness and hope’ Kosovo and that the opposition is determined to Europe’s shores. After setting off, “the trip After filling out piles of paperwork in the use all the methods so these two deals damag- becomes a journey into the unknown, where hope that they may be one day reunited with ing Kosovo’s statehood are not applied.” they have to confront several dangers and their families, Amy and Sona arrived at the US Ambassador Greg Delawie, who was at uncertainties,” said Lisette Mattaar, the muse- border area to be greeted by brusque guards. parliament, criticized yesterday’s incident. He um’s director. “They have to make difficult “Where’s your visa for zone B? What is the repeated the warning from US Secretary of State choices to reach a safe country.” The museum, address, first name and family name of your John Kerry, who visited two weeks ago, that par- dubbed the only one of its kind in the world, friends? What are you going to do in zone B?” liament is “where meaningful debates on public welcomed some 30,000 visitors in 2014 com- The pre-taped voice snapped a series of policy are conducted, where people can listen to pared with 14,000 at the beginning. But with relentless questions at the teenagers, who each other peacefully.” migrants now arriving daily in Europe interest became visibly more ill-at-ease with each If the government refuses to halt the deals, in the refugee issue and demand for tours passing minute. “We hear a lot of stories the opposition wants a referendum on the issues has grown. But careful-the experience is said about what it means to be a refugee and how or a new election. The government, the presi- to be so realistic, parents are warned it is not difficult it is,” said Sona. “Even if it’s just a little dent and the international community have suitable for children under 10. bit, we get an idea of what they are going called for dialogue. The deal on Serb minority “Schoolkids are bombarded with images through.” The experience was even more per- rights is suspended until Kosovo’s constitutional and information about refugees, migration sonal for Sona, as her parents fled Armenia court rules on its legality. The government, and asylum policies without often having all before she was born. But the painful memo- which accuses the opposition of trying to seize power by force, has said it will ask international the right context,” said Audrey Mussoni, who ries of their flight to the Netherlands are nev- PRISTINA: Members of the Parliament disperse after a tear gas was launched by oppo- speaks to the children after the tour. “They er really discussed among her family. — AFP experts to decide on the border demarcation sition lawmakers in the Kosovo’s parliament. — AFP with Montenegro. — AP

Landmark Spain election for voters to test state of nation

MADRID: In the main plaza of a wealthy sub- the center or veer sharply left. An economic a message to the Socialists that they ular austerity cuts seen by many as seriously economy, chiefly a lack of the prevailing fear urban bastion of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, recovery has been underway since late 2013 betrayed their roots and are now “made up of damaging the Spanish welfare state. just a few years ago that Spain’s economy volunteers hand out campaign pamphlets in a nation that almost imploded in Europe’s middle class bureaucrats who have become “What you are seeing right now is the would crash-and-burn - and take the euro- trumpeting economic gains ahead of financial crisis. But the upswing is coupled accustomed to power.” Polls show Prime consequence of the fact that Spain is going zone, comprised of 19 EU nations that share a Sunday’s national election. Sipping an with 21 percent unemployment - the second Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party set to through an unprecedented transition of common currency, down with it. Instead, espresso nearby, toy company executive highest jobless rate behind Greece in the 28- win the most votes, but falling far short of the political change,” said Antonio Barroso, a Spanish exports are up due to ruthless cost Miguel Sanchez describes the new nation European Union. tally needed to retain the majority it holds in London-based analyst with the Teneo cutting by companies and a drop in the value Mercedes-Benz company car he’ll soon get, Parliament - meaning it would have to ally Intelligence political risk consultancy. “It’s of the euro against the dollar. Businesses and thanks to rising sales for his firm following Political landscape with another party, most likely Ciudadanos. because of the combination of the economic families have benefited from lower oil prices, years of tough times. Despite their opposing perspectives, Another possibility would be a matchup crisis and the rejection of the political estab- car sales are up and the important tourism Downtown in a trash-strewn blue-collar Sanchez and Uribe have something in com- between the Socialists and Podemos. lishment, and it’s ushering in an era of new sector benefited from the Arab Spring upris- stronghold of the Socialist Party, unem- mon: Both plan to help transform the nation’s Disenchantment has driven once-faithful and old politicians.” ings, which kept visitors away from North ployed lawyer Maria Uribe rails against sky- political landscape by casting ballots for voters away from the country’s traditional Chief among them are the pony-tailed African destinations on the Mediterranean high joblessness, a seemingly endless string upstart parties set to splinter Spain’s tradi- Popular and Socialist parties that have alter- Pablo Iglesias of Podemos and Albert Rivera Sea. But even though Rajoy is claiming credit of political corruption cases, tax hikes and tional two-party dominance into a four-party nated ruling the nation since 1982, following of Ciudadanos. Both say Spain shouldn’t be for creating 1 million new jobs, economists say public service cutbacks pushed through system. Spain’s return to democracy after decades of content with its nine consecutive quarters of most are for Spaniards hired on short-term Parliament in the past four years. Sanchez thinks the business-friendly, cen- dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco. economic growth following back-to-back contracts with low pay usually lasting a few The differing views from Sanchez and trist Ciudadanos party will do the best job Many blame the Socialists for pulling recessions during the 2008-2013 period and months. These jobs also don’t carry the same Uribe on the state of Spain reflect deep divi- steering the nation’s delicate economy. He Spain to the brink of an economic precipice unemployment that reached a peak of 26.9 level of benefits guaranteed under the law for sions among voters about their country and sees it “giving stability and fiscal clarity for the following a lengthy period of robust eco- percent in the first quarter of 2014. the country’s long-term labor contracts. Entry its economic fortunes as it approaches a cru- government, even if it has to make a coalition nomic growth. And they fault the Popular level salaries for young workers who used to cial ballot that will decide whether the gov- deal with another party.” Uribe plans to cast Party for delivering a recovery that has Bright spots make about 1,000 euros per month in 2008 ernment will stay conservative, head toward her vote for the radical left Podemos party as included meager job gains, as well as unpop- There are certainly bright spots in the are down about 30 percent. — AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 INTERNATIONAL

Icon to politician: As Myanmar changes, so does San Suu Kyi

NAYPYITAW: When Myanmar’s Aung San why we didn’t do it in the past,” Suu Kyi said and powerful ministries. Than Shwe Suu Kyi spoke warmly on a recent radio after meeting Than Shwe, whose regime resigned as head of state and army chief in show about a critical meeting that followed kept her locked up in her lakeside Yangon 2011 and stepped away from active poli- her landslide election victory, she was refer- home and prevented her dying British hus- tics, but diplomats and observers say he ring to talks with the very man who had band from visiting Myanmar. In the month retains enough clout to make the closed- detained her for 15 years. since her election triumph, the 70-year-old door appointment with Suu Kyi a major Listeners might have been surprised by Suu Kyi has also held talks - cordial, accord- step in easing her party’s formation of gov- the Nobel peace laureate’s gentle tone ing to media reports - with President Thein ernment. “It is the truth that she will towards Than Shwe, former head of the jun- Sein, a former military commander, and become the future leader of the country. I ta that ruled Myanmar for nearly half a cen- armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing. will support her with all of my efforts,” the tury. But it was just one of several concilia- In other mollifying moves, she has called former dictator was quoted as saying by his tory gestures Suu Kyi has made towards her on her supporters to restrain their victory grandson Nay Shwe Thway Aung after the one-time enemies since the Nov 8 poll, celebrations and warned NLD lawmakers meeting. underlining her transformation from perse- not to call themselves “winners” in media cuted democracy icon to pragmatic politi- interviews. “It’s about smoothening the Mastering realpolitik cian. Her readiness to forge alliances with way,” said analyst Richard Horsey, a former Suu Kyi’s journey from the barricades to even those she once reviled could augur senior United Nations official in Myanmar. the corridors of power began over three well for Myanmar, no longer a global pariah “It’s about building relationships and politi- years ago when she won a parliament seat. but still a country fraught with political risk cal positioning, which is very important.” She cultivated ties with assembly speaker as Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy The events suggest that Suu Kyi, who Shwe Mann, another former general who (NLD) and the military prepare to share often comes across as stern and uncom- had been part of Than Shwe’s inner circle. NATMAUK: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters as power. promising, is settling into realpolitik. The Shwe Mann was sacked from the leader- she leaves a ceremony to mark the 100th birthday of independence hero Aung army’s powers have not substantially ship of the then-ruling party by President San, in the remote central Myanmar town. — AFP ‘Brighter future’ diminished since a shift to semi-civilian Thein Sein in August, partly because of his “We should think of working for the rule in 2011: Under the constitution, it is closeness to Suu Kyi. The military-backed “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and I meet quite understand each other during these meet- emergence of a brighter future based on guaranteed 25 percent of the seats in par- Union Solidarity and Development Party often,” Shwe Mann told Reuters last week, ings,” he added, calling her “straightforward, the present situation, instead of thinking liament, and controls three big-budget was trounced in last month’s election. referring to her with an honorific. “We got to courageous and very frank”. — Reuters Police jail shopkeeper for banning Ahmadi minority

LAHORE: Pakistani police charged a shop- Haider Ashraf, a senior police official, told keeper with blasphemy yesterday after he AFP. banned members of the Ahmadi minority A spokesman for the Ahmadi communi- from entering his shop, a rare bid by ty, Amir Mehmood, welcomed the move as authorities to protect an ethnic group that the “first drop of rain”. Senior columnist and usually suffers state-sanctioned persecu- former lawmaker Ayaz Amir said the move tion. was “significant” and could help reduce The shopkeeper in the eastern city of persecution of the Ahmadis. Lahore was charged with spreading reli- The group were legally declared non- gious hatred, officials said, citing the Muslims in Pakistan for their belief in a National Action Plan, a grand scheme to prophet after Mohammad, and have long combat extremism put in place in the wake been persecuted in the deeply conserva- of a Taliban massacre at a school last year tive country. In November Ahmadi families that left more than 150 people dead. The were forced to flee the eastern city of move comes just two days before the first Jhelum after an angry mob torched a fac- anniversary of the assault on the army-run tory there, accusing the minority of burn- school in Peshawar, which shocked and ing Korans. Hardline Islamic scholars outraged Pakistanis already scarred by denounce the Ahmadis as heretics, nearly a decade of attacks. describing their belief in a prophet after According to police, Aabid Hashmi, the Mohammad as blasphemy-a hugely sensi- owner of a computer shop in the city’s tive issue in Pakistan, where even upmarket commercial region, had dis- unproven allegations stir mob lynching DARIEN: In this photo taken Sept 15, 2015, Inderjit Singh Mukker, left at podium, speaks at a news conference saying because of played a poster outside his shop banning and violence. But authorities have previ- his brown skin, turban and beard, he was the victim of a beating. — AP photos Ahmadi customers from entering. “The ously defended state-sanctioned discrimi- arrest was made under National Action nation against the group, insisting they are Sikhs feel in danger, join with Plan (NAP) for spreading religious hatred,” “constitutionally protected”. — AFP Muslims to combat backlash Probe into missing Laos activist deemed a ‘farce’ Bullying, harassment and vandalism against Sikhs BANGKOK: An investigation into the dis- we tell you,” Robertson said. New CCTV CHICAGO: Pardeep Kaleka spent sev- and made an obscene reference to appearance of Laotian activist Sombath footage obtained by Sombath’s family eral days after 9/11 at his father’s ISIS. A Sikh woman said she recently Somphone three years ago is “a farce” and shows his jeep-which has never been South Milwaukee gas station, fearing was forced to show her breast pump has had a chilling effect on civil society, found-being driven in the opposite direc- that his family would be targeted by before taking her seat on an airplane rights groups said yesterday. Sombath, an tion than had been previously assumed. people who assumed they were in Minneapolis because another pas- award-winning campaigner for sustain- Activists said this pointed to holes in the Muslim. No, Kaleka explained on senger thought she might be an able development, vanished from the investigation. behalf of his father, who wore a turban extremist. Several Sikh football fans streets of Vientiane after he was pulled “This case is eminently solvable,” said and beard and spoke only in broken said they initially were not allowed over at a police checkpoint on the Sam Zarifi, from the International English, the family was Sikh, a into Qualcomm Stadium to watch the evening of December 15, 2012. Commission of Jurists. He said a lack of Southeast Asian religion based on San Diego Chargers game against the CCTV cameras in the Laos capital cap- political will-not a lack of evidence-has equality and unrelated to Islam. But Denver Broncos last Sunday because tured the moment his battered jeep stymied the probe. Laos is the current amid a new wave of anti-Islamic senti- some of them were wearing turbans. stopped at the checkpoint before he is chair of the Association of Southeast ment since the terror attacks in Paris Schoolchildren say they’ve been bul- later seen getting into an unknown vehi- Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is set to host and San Bernardino, Kaleka is vowing lied. cle. His case has cast a dark cloud over next year’s summit for the ten-member to take an entirely different approach. For most Sikhs, much of the back- civil society in Laos, an impoverished block. “For us it does not matter who lash has been frequent stares or com- tightly-controlled communist country. It But breaking a 10-year tradition, there they’re targeting,” said Kaleka, a former ments and occasional online insults. CHICAGO: This undated photo provided by Kanwar Singh, shows his has also raised the issue of impunity for will be no ASEAN Peoples’ Forum in 2016 Milwaukee police officer and teacher Former NCAA basketball player Darsh powerful state and business interests and HRW said it was a deliberate move by whose father was one of six people father, Inderjit Mukker, after he was beaten in a September 2015 road Singh said he has heard insults rage incident with a Chicago-area teenager in which the teen called held responsible for routinely killing or the Laos government which it said was killed in 2012 when a white suprema- throughout his life, including when “disappearing” activists across the region. reluctant to allow discussion of cist opened fire at a Sikh temple in Oak the 53-year-old Sikh taxi driver “Bin Laden” and repeatedly hit him in someone recently yelled “Osama!” at the face. Rights groups accuse local authorities Sombath’s disappearance and other sen- Creek, Wisconsin. “This time we cannot him as he was crossing a street in of failing to carry out even the most cur- sitive issues. “Not content to just censor differentiate ourselves; when hate Phoenix. Then last week, a photo mak- support each other’s legal action, lion followers worldwide, most of sory of investigations and withholding the Laos people, the leaders of Vientiane rhetoric is being spewed we cannot be ing the rounds on Facebook showed including a lawsuit filed over a New them in India. There are more than information. “The official investigation so now want to censor the regional dialogue on the sidelines.” the former Trinity University basketball York City police surveillance program 500,000 Sikhs in the US Male followers far has been a farce. It is a bad joke,” Phil in ASEAN,” Robertson said. Across the US, Sikhs and Muslims player - the first turbaned Sikh to play targeting New Jersey Muslims. “We are often cover their heads with turbans, Robertson, deputy director of Human Enforced disappearances are ugly real- are banding together to defend their in the NCAA - with the caption: in this fight together,” said Gurjot Kaur, which are considered sacred, and Rights Watch Asia, told reporters in ities across the region, where powerful respective religions. Someone bent on “Nobody wants to guard Muhammad, a senior staff attorney at The Sikh refrain from shaving their beards. Thailand. The apathy has had a chilling business interests and murky state actors harming Muslims wouldn’t under- he’s too explosive.” A friend came to his Coalition, founded the night of Sept Reports of bullying, harassment and effect on activist groups and civil society, stand accused of routinely making oppo- stand - or care about - the distinction defense with a lengthy post - saying, 11. vandalism against Sikhs have risen in he added, speaking at a press briefing to nents vanish. While data is scarce, rights between the two faiths, they say, and “do the world a favor and educate recent weeks. mark the anniversary of Sombath’s disap- campaigners say likely hundreds of peo- both also deserve to live in peace. yourself” - which got tens of thousands A monotheistic faith Last week, a Sikh temple in Orange pearance. ple have vanished across Southeast Asia So they plan educational sessions of likes. “A lot of people act out of fear Sikhism, a monotheistic faith, was County, California, was vandalized, as “The message to the Laos people from in the past two decades, often after com- and rallies. They successfully pushed or ignorance,” said Singh. “I don’t know founded more than 500 years ago in was a truck in the parking lot by some- their government is: we can take anyone ing up against local business, criminal or the FBI to track hate crimes against who started it, but whoever they are, I Southeast Asia and has roughly 27 mil- one who misspelled the word “Islam” at anytime so shut up, sit down and do as political interests. — AFP Sikhs. They speak to lawmakers and forgive them.” — AP Pakistan governor killer loses bid to review death sentence

ISLAMABAD: A former police bodyguard on Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in soften the legislation. Critics including European death row in Pakistan for assassinating a politi- Pakistan, an Islamic republic of some 200 million, governments say Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are cian inched closer to execution yesterday as the and Qadri has been hailed as a hero by many largely misused, with hundreds of people lan- Supreme Court rejected his petition for a sen- conservatives eager to drown out any calls to guishing in jails under false charges. — AFP tence review. Mumtaz Qadri was feted as a hero by Islamist supporters after he shot the liberal governor of Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, 28 times in broad daylight in an upscale Islamabad market in 2011. He later admitted the killing, saying he object- ed to the politician’s calls to reform Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. Rights groups say these are frequently used to pursue vendettas, particularly against religious minorities. Taseer had also been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been on death row since 2010 after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). “The review petition has been dismissed” by a three-judge panel headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Qadri’s lawyer Khwaja Muhammad Sharif told AFP. Sharif said his client’s last option was to file a mercy petition to the Pakistani president. In DHAKA: A Bangladeshi girl holds a national flag as people gather to pay hom- previous hearings Qadri’s lawyers drew on age at the Intellectual Martyrs Memorial yesterday. Thousands of Islamic texts to argue that he was justified in Bangladeshis paid tribute to the memory of dozens of intellectuals who were killing Taseer, saying that by criticizing the law systematic killed during the 1971 war that won the South Asian country its the politician was himself guilty of blasphemy-an KARACHI: Pakistani supporters of former police bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri carry plac- independence from Pakistan. — AFP argument rejected by the lead judge. ards with his portrait as they shout slogans during a protest yesterday. — AFP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 INTERNATIONAL

Activists urge release of man detained over Facebook post

BANGKOK: Thai activists yesterday prominent anti-junta activist, Siriwat ens to embroil the military government. of Thailand’s criminal code - the equivalent held at Bangkok’s high-security Klong Prem demanded the release of a man arrested for Serithiwat. “Plain clothes security officers Soldiers and police intercepted them at a of sedition - as well as under the wide-rang- Central prison, police said. sharing an infographic on Facebook detail- went to a hospital where Thanet was stay- train station, and detained some for several ing Computer Crimes Act for allegedly re- The junta has made a top priority of pro- ing alleged graft in an army-built park, say- ing,” Siriwat told reporters outside a criminal hours before their release. posting a diagram on Facebook linking jun- tecting the monarchy through the use of ing plainclothes security officers took him court in the capital. “I would like the court The Rajabakti Park, built in the seaside ta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha and other offi- Thailand’s royal defamation laws, which are by force. Since taking power in a military to release Thanet. He needs medical atten- resort town of Hua Hin south of Bangkok, cials to alleged corruption involving the among the world’s harshest. Those accused coup in May 2014, Thailand’s ruling junta tion. We are afraid for his life.” and dedicated to the monarchy, has been at park. of lese-majeste are tried in military courts, has issued directives that have largely sti- A junta spokesman declined to com- the centre of allegations of corruption and A second man, Thanakorn Siripaiboon, which have handed down record sentences. fled dissent, including barring political dis- ment on the arrest of Thanet, who is being misspent funds. A military probe into its 27, was arrested on Dec. 8 for sharing posts A military court refused Thanakorn bail, said cussions and debate. held at Bangkok’s 11th Army Circle military finances found no corruption, but graft about government corruption and hitting his lawyer, Anon Nampa. “They said his On Sunday, a 25-year-old student, base. Thanet was among a group of accusations persist among opposition the “like” button on a post with an image crimes are punishable by many years in Thanet Anantawong, was taken from a hos- activists who tried to visit the park, at the groups and the media. deemed insulting to Thailand’s king, Human prison and they are afraid he will offend pital while he awaited an operation, said centre of a corruption scandal that threat- Thanet faces charges under Article 116 Rights Watch said on Saturday. He is being again if released,” he added. — Reuters Vietnamese jailed for wearing army attire

HANOI: A Vietnamese court jailed a man for 15 army,” Dung’s lawyer Vo An Don said. The months yesterday, a court clerk said, for wearing Republican Army was the army of the US- the army uniform of the former South Vietnam backed Saigon regime defeated by communist regime, which fought a bitter war against the troops in April 1975. “This case is politically sensi- communist north. Nguyen Viet Dung, 29, from tive. I do not agree with this sentence... Dung is central Nghe An province, was charged with innocent,” Don said, adding that Dung, who is in “disturbing public disorder” and found guilty poor health, did not say a word in court. Dung after a half-day trial at a district court in Hanoi, a was arrested in April and has been in detention court clerk told AFP on condition of anonymity. since then. Police and other security officials Dung wore the uniform during a demonstra- blocked streets around the court yesterday and tion in Hanoi in April over a plan by city authori- kept protesters and onlookers away from the ties-later shelved after a strong public backlash- building. But several dozen demonstrators wav- to cut down hundreds of trees across the capital. ing signs proclaiming Dung’s innocence gath- Dung was the only one of hundreds of demon- ered near the court, urging his released. strators, who mobilized using Facebook and Vietnam’s communist one-party state is regular- attracted widespread support from Vietnam’s ly denounced by rights groups and Western emerging urban middle class, to be put on trial. governments for its hardline stance on human “It was only because he wore the uniform of rights. Authorities are notorious for using several the Republican Army, and he was behind the vaguely worded provisions of the penal code to establishment of a group in support of that jail activists and regime critics. — AFP Australian teenager pleads guilty to ‘terrorism’ charge

SYDNEY: A Melbourne teen arrested after buildings after they were arrested during ear- police found explosives at his home pleaded ly-morning raids by counter-terrorism police guilty yesterday to a terrorism-related charge, in Sydney. Three other men, all of them highlighting concerns about youth radicaliza- already in custody on terrorism-related tion following last week’s arrest of a 15-year- offences, were also charged as part of the old Sydney boy in police raids. The 17-year- same operation. Police have described as “dis- BEIJING: Chinese police push away journalists and supporters of human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang demonstrating near the old was planning an attack using improvised turbing” the high number of young Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court. — AFP explosive devices, police said in May when Australians charged with or involved in vio- they raided his home in Greenvale, 20 kilome- lent actions. The matter has raised concerns ters north of Australia’s second city, about how well the government is dealing Scuffles at court as China Melbourne. The boy, who could not be identi- with at-risk youth in the Muslim population. fied because of his age, pleaded guilty to a Just weeks before the 17-year-old boy was single charge of “engaging in an act in prepa- arrested, five other Melbourne teenagers ration for, or planning, a terrorist act,” the were arrested over the planning of an unrelat- rights lawyer put on trial Australian Associated Press reported from the ed Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack courtroom. Prosecutors dropped two other against police on the national ANZAC day hol- charges following the guilty plea, the AAP iday. In September 2014, police shot dead a Questioned over comments on communist party reported. Victoria state County Court officials teenager in the southern city of Melbourne could not be reached immediately for com- after he stabbed two counter-terrorism offi- BEIJING: Police and men in plainclothes scuffled No ruling was issued yesterday but Mo said he ple at a train station in Kunming. ment. cers. Three months later, two hostages were with supporters of one of China’s most celebrated expected it “quite quickly”. Supporter Bao Renpu “Don’t be a conqueror or a plunderer,” he wrote. Australia, a staunch ally of the United killed when police stormed a central Sydney human rights lawyers yesterday as he was tried over condemned the strong-arm tactics against the “No matter whether your aggression is a preemptive States and its battle against Islamist militants cafe to end a 17-hour siege by a lone gun- online comments critical of the ruling Communist crowd. measure or a responsive measure, it’s all aggression. in Iraq and Syria, has been on heightened man, who was also killed. A 15-year-old boy Party. “On the outside, the government talks about It’s all about making the other side your enemy.” The alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since shot and killed an accountant at police head- Dozens of Pu Zhiqiang’s supporters travelled from human rights and democracy, but on the inside, it 50-year-old is the latest person to be tried in a crack- last year. Last Thursday, police said they had quarters in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta across the country, some for thousands of kilome- simply doesn’t exist,” she said. Security personnel- down on critics of the Communist Party overseen by charged a 20-year-old man and a 15-year-old in October and was then killed in a gunfight ters, to protest outside the courtroom in Beijing. The those in civilian dress identifiable by “smiley face” President Xi Jinping, which has seen hundreds boy with conspiracy to attack government with police outside the building. — Reuters crowd was shoved hundreds of meters away. “Pu stickers on their clothing-also pushed and shouted at detained and dozens sent to prison. He is virtually Zhiqiang! Innocent!” protesters shouted before being senior US diplomat Dan Biers and journalists. certain to be convicted in the Communist-controlled broken up by police who said they had obstructed “Lawyers and civil society leaders such as Mr Pu court. the pavement. should not be subject to continuing repression but A former client of his, Xie Sunming, told AFP: Authorities dragged at least three people away, should be allowed to contribute to the building of a “Sure, they won’t let us into the courtroom, but that’s an AFP reporter at the scene saw, and shoved at least prosperous and stable China,” Biers said. not what’s important. I’m here to support Pu two to the ground. Pu, who has represented labor A diplomat from the European Union mission was Zhiqiang, a good man who helped me immensely.” camp victims and dissident artist Ai Weiwei, was also shoved and shouted down as he delivered a Xie was sentenced to a year in a labor camp in 2009 detained a year and a half ago in a nationwide crack- statement criticising the process. Yao Lianshe, a citi- for posting a single sentence on an online forum down on critics. He faces a maximum of eight years zen who attends as many trials as he can despite fre- accusing a local government official of corrupt busi- in jail on charges of “inciting ethnic hatred” and “pick- quent police harassment, told AFP: “China has too ness ties. ing quarrels and provoking trouble”, according to his few good lawyers-he was one of the few.” “Nothing in He drove 20 hours from Chongqing in southwest- lawyer Mo Shaoping. In a trial that lasted little more China will ever change for the better unless the peo- ern China to stand outside the Beijing courthouse, than three hours, he said Beijing’s Number Two ple are unafraid to stand up to authority and bear saying he and a friend “had to sneak out and drive all Intermediate People’s Court considered the evi- witness.” night”, unable to travel by air or train for fear of being dence-seven posts Pu made on a microblog detained. The US embassy said in a statement it between 2011 and 2014. According to Mo, his client ‘Don’t be a conqueror’ viewed “with great concern” incidents in which diplo- told the court he was willing to apologize to anyone In the comments for which he was tried, Pu said mats were not given appropriate protection and who had been harmed by his comments. China did not need Communist rule, writing: “Other respect. than secrecy, cheating, passing the buck, delay, the China’s foreign ministry said authorities func- KUALA LUMPUR: In this Friday, Dec 11, 2015 file photo, Xing Xing, formerly known as Fu ‘Man of the law’ hammer and sickle, what kinds of secrets of gover- tioned “in accordance with the law” and “people Wa, one of the two giant pandas from China, sniffs for food at the Giant Panda “I am a man of the law,” the lawyer quoted Pu as nance does this party have?” He also condemned should cooperate with them”. “When you come to Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The two giant pandas saying. “I have faith in the law, so I believe and hope government policy in the mainly Muslim far-western China, you need to respect China’s laws,” one police have been on loan to Malaysia from China for 10 years since May 21, 2014 to mark the that the court can give me a verdict that can stand region of Xinjiang as “absurd” in the wake of a bloody officer told foreign journalists as he punched his way 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. — AP the test of history.” knife attack blamed on separatists that killed 31 peo- through a crowd. — AFP Japan court to decide on Indonesian minister distances 19thcentury family laws govt from Freeport extortion JAKARTA: A senior Indonesian minister Stick to the facts yesterday sought to distance the adminis- Pandjaitan, who founded coal and TOKYO: Japan’s top court will rule this week on a man’s sexual control even after divorce,” Ido, 50, zle. “My child was finally registered after this bizarre tration from parliament speaker Setya palm oil firm Toba Sejahtera Group in pair of 19th century family laws that critics blast as told AFP. She vividly recalls her frustration after the legal procedure,” said Ido, now an activist helping Novanto, who is fighting allegations that 2004, said he never discussed such an sexist and out of touch. The Supreme Court will birth of a child with her second husband. A munici- those in similar situations. he tried to extort shares worth $1.8 billion issue with Novanto and had no prior weigh in on the legality of a six-month ban on pal official said her ex-husband must be registered Some western countries have also had similar in the local unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc. knowledge of the meeting. “My friendship women remarrying after divorce and another law as the father of her baby-who, under the rules, was laws. France, for example, in 2004 abolished a Novanto is at the center of a major with Novanto is limited to his work as that requires spouses to have the same surname, in born too soon after they divorced-even though he requirement that women wait 300 days before political scandal, with a parliamentary House speaker and mine as coordinating a highly anticipated decision set for Wednesday. was not biologically related to the child. remarrying. The situation in Japan has left some ethics council investigating allegations he minister,” Pandjaitan told the ethics hear- The court will decide whether to uphold, A long and difficult split left Ido feeling unable people-possibly tens of thousands in a state of used the name of President Joko Widodo ing broadcast live on television. “Since I amend or strike down the controversial legislation, to ask the former husband to publicly acknowl- legal limbo because they end up unregistered in to pressure Freeport’s officials for the have taken public office, I haven’t been which dates back to an era of starkly different edge the child as not his, so she had to sue her new either family, which can make it tough to get a per- shares, in return for a contract extension. involved in business.” social mores. The half-year remarriage ban is linked spouse in a judicial tango to fix the paternity puz- manent job or receive social services. — AFP Novanto has denied any wrongdoing. The minister urged panel members to to complex rules over the timing of a child’s birth Analysts say the high-profile case could “stick to the facts” as the case could hurt after divorce-designed to determine whether a further erode investor confidence in investor sentiment. Widodo, who has not child belonged to the ex-husband or the new Southeast Asia’s largest economy, with been called before the ethics panel, has spouse’s family in an era before DNA testing. Indonesia routinely ranked as one of the urged authorities to conduct a transparent The surname rule is a throwback to Japan’s feu- world’s most corrupt countries. “We must investigation. The attorney general’s office dal family system, in which all women and children not politicize this anymore because hon- is also looking into the case. Freeport came under the control of the head of household- estly we’re playing with something that Indonesia must sell the Indonesian gov- traditionally a man. “Even if the feudal family sys- can cause financial damage to this nation,” ernment a greater share of its Grasberg tem is long gone, many people still have the image Luhut Pandjaitan, chief security minister copper and gold mine, one of the world’s of a woman marrying into the husband’s house- and key presidential adviser, told the biggest, under regulations passed last year hold,” said Waseda University law professor ethics panel. by the previous administration. Masayuki Tanamura. Pandjaitan was called to testify after his The government already has a 9.36 per- name came up repeatedly in a secretly cent stake in Freeport’s Indonesian opera- Sexual control recorded meeting between Novanto and tions, and is due to take another 10.64 per- That system was abolished in 1948, part of the head of Freeport’s Indonesian opera- cent stake. In return for Freeport’s shares, broad reforms pushed by the post-World War II US tions. In the recording, Novanto indicated Novanto allegedly told the company exec- occupation, but Japan’s civil code maintained the he had the approval of Pandjaitan, who utive that he could ensure the miner’s con- two articles-which will go before the court this was then the presidential chief of staff, to tract would be extended from 2021 to week. Activists say the laws are a continued reflec- negotiate for the 20 percent stake on 2041. US-based Freeport sought the con- tion of the country’s male-dominated society more behalf of Widodo. An ethics panel member tract extension to give it legal certainty than a century after they came into effect. said Pandjaitan’s name was mentioned 66 before investing billions of dollars in the Mother and activist Masae Ido knows firsthand times during the two-hour recording. Grasberg mine. — Reuters the implications of the half-year ban on remar- riage. “These laws mean a woman remains under a TOKYO: This picture taken on December 12, 2015 shows a family strolling at a park. — AFP NEWS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15 , 2015

A couple walks at the Tegeler lake in Berlin yesterday as the sun sets. —AFP In Iran, sharing photos on mobile apps can mean jail

TEHRAN: The tattooed young Iranian initially sparked won- WhatsApp and Viber, all used by millions, spread “immoral and their servers are in the UK,” Ruhollah Momeninasab, an gy student, is much the same. “I mostly use Telegram to der and some envy when pictures of him with scantily-clad, content” from the West into the minds of Iranians. IT specialist, said in a debate on national television this share content with my classmates and chat with my friends.” heavily made-up women, often more than one at a time, Telegram is the most popular messaging service in Iran. month. The Berlin-based company rejected the remarks Vahid’s case, however, has shown how private lives can went viral. In a morally conservative country, the obvious Children and teenagers use it to chat while youths organize regarding Iran’s arch-foe, saying it had “no connection at all” quickly become public with unintended consequences. As breach of a female dress code was one thing. The compro- their social and love lives on it. Even grandmothers share to Israel. well as facing possible criminal charges, several of the mising poses the 14 women were captured in was another. recipes on the app, often via its thousands of interest groups. With a high-level of smartphone use and 70 percent of women he was pictured with have launched legal action When the people who patrol Iran’s heavily filtered Internet But the problems in controlling shared content could lead to Iran’s population having access to the Internet, mobile apps against him, saying they were duped. “I had no relations found out, the man known only as Vahid landed in jail. access being restricted. “If Telegram doesn’t take proper have transformed social lives. Masiha, 47, a housewife, runs with him,” said Rojin, 23, noting that when she saw the pic- Images of the women - pouting at the camera and mostly measures to comply with our laws within a short time, this two small Telegram groups, one “for the ladies” and one tures on social media she telephoned Vahid, and told him: “I wearing miniskirts and crop tops - spread via smartphones, body will move to filter it,” Abdul Samad Khorram Abadi, sec- “mixed group for positive thinking and psychology”. “I spend either get really famous with this or my life will be triggering both ridicule and outrage in the Islamic republic. retary of Iran’s Committee for Specifying Cyber Crimes, said most of my spare time here,” she said. Fatemeh, 21, a sociolo- destroyed.” — AFP Jokes about Vahid - the authorities have not released his last month. The committee is Iran’s highest IT regulator and it surname - proliferated, yet he remains in custody and could decides which websites and services to censor. be prosecuted. The scandal has also provoked a wider debate Facebook and Twitter remain blocked in Iran but are about smartphone use and the technology used to share accessed by millions using easily available software. Two MPs file to grill health minister content. The pictures - and rumors about the main protago- Telegram’s rise poses a deeper dilemma - even the office of nist - spread rapidly on Telegram, the free-to-download the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, runs Continued from Page 1 The grilling accused the minister of planning to sign instant messaging app. Vahid, a 30-year-old real estate agent, public service channels on it, which, presumably, would lose a “highly-suspicious” project for automated links was quickly - and wrongly - said to own a Maserati and their purpose if the app was shut down and no-one in Iran It said that based on the Audit Bureau report, the between the ministry and Kuwaiti health offices abroad expensive villa in northern Tehran. As if the infamy was not could use it. It also skirts other restrictions - a banned satel- ministry purchased large quantities of medical equip- with a British company at a cost of around KD 55 mil- bad enough - one media outlet dubbed him Don Juan - mat- lite television channel has attracted 800,000 subscribers on ment that it did not use and kept it in storage. It esti- lion. The two lawmakers also accused the minister of ters worsened when he took to Telegram again to say his its Telegram channel, where comic material is easily shared. mated the cost of some of the equipment at KD 5 mil- being politically responsible for medical errors that phone had been stolen, claiming the women were his sisters Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president, has spoken lion. The grilling accuses the health ministry of request- resulted in the death of six Kuwaitis and an expatriate and arguing that his privacy was invaded. regularly about how attempts to block websites do not ing extra funds of KD 17 million to pay for variation in public hospitals. They claimed the minister did not “Posting that video was the biggest mistake of my life,” he work. With Internet use rising each year among a population orders to a local company for a contract worth only KD initiate any investigation into the errors and only was later quoted as saying in an apologetic media appear- of 78 million, he has said a fresh approach is needed to tack- 20 million. The ministry action came although the gov- issued media statements. ance after being arrested by Iran’s Cyber Police. The force has le abuse. State intervention, however, remains prominent. ernment’s legal department ruled that the company is The grilling claims that the ministry has made a wide powers to screen the Internet for content deemed un- When Telegram was asked in September to stop “harmful” not entitled to the funds. number of purchases of drugs and medical equipment Islamic. In the past eight months, 609 men and 114 women content reaching Iran, the company took appropriate meas- The grilling also cites suspected financial violations at highly-inflated prices, sometimes more than double have been arrested for cybercrimes because of alleged “eco- ures, according to Iran’s Telecommunications Minister in a contract with a local company to register expatri- the actual price. It cited several examples for such pur- nomic, moral and social” transgressions, official figures show. Mahmoud Vaezi. ates in the medical insurance system. It said that the chases. The grilling also spoke of a large number of vio- No report of Vahid’s phone being stolen was ever filed, But when new pornographic content surfaced, the app’s according to police, and his plight has darkened since he was owner Pavel Durov accused Iran of blocking the service, only ministry is still dealing with the company although the lations in contracts and projects by the ministry that detained and publicly shamed with pictures of him in hand- to apologise later when it emerged that bandwidth prob- contract expired in July 2014. It also said that the Audit cost state coffers tens of millions of dinars, and claimed cuffs and head in hands making the front page of several lems were to blame. The debate over inappropriate content Bureau found that the number of medical insurance the minister did not take any action. The grilling said newspapers. The case has become a cause celebre among has also triggered conspiracy theories about Telegram and certificates issued was less than the number of expatri- that the public health situation in Kuwait has deterio- Telegram’s opponents, who say the app and others such as calls for a clampdown. “Telegram’s headquarters are in Israel ates who entered the country and the ministry alleged- rated and the minister is directly responsible for the ly did not investigate the issue. chaotic conditions and must be held to account. Saudi commander, UAE officer killed... Ex-Gitmo inmate wants ‘truth’ on UK... Continued from Page 1 death of its officer without specifying his rank. Continued from Page 1 In a series of cases still being considered by Britain’s In early September, a similar rebel missile strike on a court, campaigners have called for the security services The coalition has been battling Iran-backed rebels in coalition base in Yemen’s eastern Marib province killed Dominic Grieve, head of a parliamentary committee to be put on trial for allegedly working together with the Yemen since March, and has provided loyalist forces 67 coalition soldiers, most of them Emiratis. So far at charged with overseeing Britain’s security services, said United States on a programme to allow terror detainees with troops and equipment as well as carrying out air least 80 people, mostly soldiers and border guards, he hoped Aamer would take part in an ongoing inquiry to be tortured. In his interviews with British media, strikes on insurgent positions. Sahyan on Saturday met have been killed in Saudi Arabia because of the Yemen into detainee treatment and rendition. “It would be Aamer claimed brutal treatment in detention and spoke Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi who conflict. The UAE says it has lost almost 70 soldiers so immensely helpful to us if both Shaker Aamer but also of his emotional reunion with his four children - one of awarded him with a medal of courage, according to far. Several Bahraini troops and one Qatari soldier have the other detainees were to help us,” Grieve told BBC whom was born when he was already in detention. Yemen’s official sabanew.net. He was identified as com- been killed as part of the coalition operations. In Yemen Radio 4’s Today program. “And I say that fully under- Aamer said the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo mander of the Saudi forces in provisional capital Aden, itself, the United Nations says more than 5,800 people standing that in the end they might, after we publish constituted a “war crime”, claiming that at different where Hadi is based. The United Arab Emirates, playing have been killed, about half of them civilians, and more the report, say they still want a full judicial inquiry,” he points he was forced to drink sewage water, deprived of a key role in the Saudi-led coalition, confirmed the than 27,000 wounded since March. — Agencies said. sleep and hog-tied by his interrogators. — AFP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 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 China metal exchange at centre of investment scandal

By David Stanway

he plain four-storey Fanya exchange building in this southern Chinese city is teeming with investigators trying to understand Thow an obscure metal trading business turned into one of China’s most audacious investment schemes. Tucked behind an upmarket shopping mall, the Fanya Exchange was founded in 2011 with the aim of giving China greater global control over the supply and price of 14 strategic and rare metals. It also offered an investment product promising annual returns as high as 13.68 percent and the flexibility to deposit and withdraw money at will. It almost seemed too good to be true. And it was. In July, hun- dreds of citizens gathered outside the exchange building in Kunming, demanding to know what had happened to more than 40 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) they had invested in a Fanya-backed product known as “Rijinbao” or “Daily Golden Jewel”. Five months later, they are Supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves still waiting for answers. Government investigators and independent auditors are trying to get to grips with yet another wealth manage- By Margie Mason peeled shrimp from the abusive Gig shed to it’s even remotely part of my business.” Wal- laws, and we have been closing those ment product (WMP) gone awry in China, one that the government major Thai exporting companies. They also Mart, Red Lobster and other companies gaps,” said M L Puntarik Smiti, the Thai itself had promoted. oor migrant workers and children are traced similar connections from another said they strive to ensure the shrimp they Labor Ministry’s permanent secretary. Fears are rising about the underlying risks to China’s financial being sold to factories in Thailand factory raided six months earlier, and inter- receive is not tainted by slavery. “As the Critics argue, however, that changes have system from the $2.6 trillion WMP industry and the challenges it Pand forced to peel shrimp that ends viewed more than two dozen workers from world’s largest seafood restaurant, we been largely cosmetic. Former slaves pose to Chinese regulators. Many of these products are being sold up in global supply chains, including those both sites. In all, several companies received know the important role we play in setting repeatedly described how police took them on a plethora of privately run exchanges, which have come under of Wal-Mart and Red Lobster, the world’s tainted shrimp, including Thai Union, one of and ensuring compliance with seafood into custody and then sold them to agents increasing scrutiny from the state securities regulator, who is wor- largest retailer and the world’s largest the world’s biggest seafood companies, and industry standards, and we’re committed to who trafficked them again. They say police ried illegal behaviour was putting billions of yuan at risk. The scan- seafood restaurant chain, an AP investiga- a subsidiary. doing our part to make sure the seafood are paid to look the other way and that offi- dal also highlights the political and social risks for the ruling tion found. At the Gig Peeling Factory, near- The farmed shrimp can mix with differ- we buy and serve is sourced in a way that is cers frequently do not understand labor Communist Party as China’s growing class of retail investors, with ly 100 Burmese laborers were trapped, most ent batches of seafood as it is packaged, ethical, responsible and sustainable,” Red laws. limited investment opportunities, become outraged over the dis- working for almost nothing. They spent 16 branded and shipped, making it impossible Lobster said in a statement. Tin Nyo Win escaped the Gig factory and appearance of their life-savings into schemes they thought the hours a day with their aching hands in ice to determine where any individual piece Red Lobster, Whole Foods and H-E-B was helped by a labor rights group, which government had endorsed as safe. water, ripping the guts, heads, tails and was peeled. But because at least some of Supermarkets were among the companies pressured authorities to act. On Nov 9, “We do see that Chinese regulators tend to be a bit more behind shells off shrimp. One girl was so tiny she the Thai exporters’ shrimp was processed by that said they were confident - based on dozens of officers and military troops burst the curve,” said Zhou Hao, senior emerging markets economist at had to stand on a stool to reach the peeling forced labor, all of it is considered associat- assurances from their Thai supplier - that into the shed. Frightened Burmese workers Commerzbank in Singapore. “We’ve seen it with stocks, in forex, and table. Some workers had been there for ed with slavery, according to United Nations their particular shrimp was not associated huddled on the dirty concrete floor. One in the futures markets. It’s kind of a policeman and thief problem.” “It’s months, even years. Always, someone was and US standards. with abusive factories. That Thai supplier young mother breast-fed a 5-month-old not that they don’t want to do well, but the market develops very watching. US customs records show the shrimp admits it hadn’t known where it was getting baby, while children were taken to a corner. quickly and part of the problem is that there are many different regu- “They didn’t let us rest,” said Eae Hpaw, made its way into the supply chains of all its shrimp and sent a note outlining cor- But no one at the shed was arrested for lators and a lot of gaps between them.” 16, her arms a patchwork of scars from major US food stores and retailers such as rective measures to US businesses demand- human trafficking. Instead, migrants with As the Fanya scandal unfolded, a group of investors tracked down shrimp-related infections and allergies. “We Wal-Mart, Kroger, Whole Foods, Dollar ing answers last week. Responding to US papers, including seven children, were sent the chairman of the exchange, Shan Jiuliang, and hustled him off to a stopped working around 7 in the evening. General and Petco, along with restaurants business demands for answers to AP’s find- back there to work. Ten undocumented police station. Other groups of investors have descended on govern- We would take a shower and sleep. Then we such as Red Lobster and Olive Garden. It ings, Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri children were taken from their parents and ment bodies in Beijing and Shanghai to stage protests. Security would start again around 3 in the morning.” also entered supply chains for some of acknowledged “that illicitly sourced product put into a shelter. Twenty-one other illegal guards blocked Reuters from entering the Fanya exchange building. Pervasive human trafficking has helped America’s best-known seafood brands and may have fraudulently entered its supply workers were detained, including Tin Nyo But in an interview outside, a Fanya manager who identified himself turn Thailand into one of the world’s pet foods, including Chicken of the Sea and chain”. Win and his wife, but all have since been only by his surname Liao said the current investigations were expect- biggest shrimp providers. Despite repeated Fancy Feast. AP reporters went to supermar- Susan Coppedge, the U.S. State moved to government shelters for human- ed to conclude within two months. “We urge investors to show promises by businesses and government to kets in all 50 states and found shrimp prod- Department’s new anti-trafficking ambassa- trafficking victims. patience,” he said. clean up the country’s $7 billion seafood ucts from supply chains tainted with forced dor, said problems persist because offend- Local authorities have been ordered to In a sign that Beijing has finally taken notice, the Kunming city export industry, abuses persist, fueled by labor. ers aren’t held accountable - though the US reinvestigate the factory, which is now government has said it is investigating illegal behaviour at the corruption and complicity among police Import and export records from Europe itself hasn’t punished Thailand, an impor- closed. Police said workers were moved to exchange and that it had set up a “clean and rectify” team. It has and authorities. Arrests and prosecutions and Asia are confidential, but the Thai com- tant Southeast Asian ally. She said American another shed linked to the same owners. A promised to take action if illegal activity is uncovered. A new are rare. Raids can end up sending migrants panies receiving shrimp tracked by the AP consumers “can speak through their wallets” Gig owner reached by phone declined to Communist Party head has been appointed in Kunming and the vice- without proper paperwork to jail, while all say they ship to those continents. AP by avoiding slave-produced products. comment. Meanwhile, the AP informed mayor was dismissed in October on corruption charges. Still, after owners go unpunished. “I was shocked after reporters in England, Germany, Italy and Thailand passed laws this year to crack labor rights investigators who work closely waiting so many months for action, investors are sceptical they will working there a while, and I realized there Ireland found several brands sourced from down on fishing-industry abuses and is with police about another shed where recover their money. “If the government had taken just 10 percent of was no way out,” said Tin Nyo Win, 22, Thailand in supermarkets in those coun- working to register undocumented migrant workers said they were being held against the energy it used to stop us and spent it on trying to deal with Shan another former Gig factory worker, who tries. The businesses that responded to AP’s workers, who often are lured from home by their will. It is being examined. Jiuliang, then the Fanya situation would have been resolved immedi- routinely peeled 175 pounds of shrimp with findings condemned the practices that brokers with promises of good-paying jobs. NOTE: More than 2,000 trapped fishermen ately,” said a Shanghai-based investor who gave his name as Wang. his wife for just $4 a day. lead to these conditions. Many asked for They are then sold to shrimp sheds such as have been freed this year as a result of an The exchange and the Kunming government declined to comment. Hundreds of shrimp-peeling sheds are details and said they were launching inves- the Gig factory, where Tin Nyo Win and his ongoing Associated Press investigative series Investors said the “Rijinbao” scheme was advertised on state television hidden in plain sight in Samut Sakhon, an tigations. wife learned they would have to work off into slavery in the Thai seafood industry. The and the Fanya exchange described itself as government-backed and hour outside Bangkok, some with slaves “I want to eliminate this,” said Dirk what was considered their combined worth: reports also have led to a dozen arrests, mil- regulated. However, analysts say Chinese investors often assume locked inside. Last month, AP journalists fol- Leuenberger, CEO of Aqua Star, a leading $830, an insurmountable debt. lions of dollars’ worth of seizures and propos- banks and the government will cover any losses, so they fail to read lowed and filmed trucks loaded with freshly seafood suppler. “I think it’s disgusting that “There have been some flaws in the als for new federal laws. —AP the small print. Fanya guaranteed the product, which was based on rising metal prices and interest earned on financial deals. Rare Earths Kantanka? ‘Made in Ghana’ cars go on sale The Fanya Metals Exchange was launched shortly after China, the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, imposed quotas on produc- tion and exports in a bid to support prices and attract downstream By Nana Boakye-Yiadom Buy Local tomatoes and fish - all money “which could a key component of Kantanka’s vehicles, consumers to China. Fanya was keen to provide a supporting role, Ghana’s President John Dramani have gone into the pockets of Ghanaian whose radiator grilles feature Ghana’s five- saying it wanted to raise the value of the whole minor metals industri- apanese Toyotas, German Mercedes Mahama has been pushing his compatriots entrepreneurs”, he said. “Any import items pointed star emblem. Wood from Ghanaian al chain. It stockpiled and traded 14 metals, rapidly becoming the and BMWs, GM cars and trucks from to buy locally to boost a stuttering econo- we buy as Ghanaians constitutes an export forests is used to make dashboards while biggest minor metals market in the world. These metals are minor Jthe USA are driven in countries around my hit by inflation, a depreciating currency of jobs in this country, especially in respect the cream-coloured leather seats in the because they are a byproduct of extracting other major metals, such the world. But in Ghana an inventor and and high public sector debt. In 2014, he of the items for which we have compara- black SUV were made in the country’s sec- as zinc or copper. church leader who started out trying to showed off a pair of Ghana-made shoes tive advantage to produce,” he said at the ond biggest commercial city, Kumasi. Akan “Fanya prices already lead global prices, and have made China’s make voice-controlled television sets is during his annual State of the Nation time. - a language widely used in Ghana - is writ- voice on the minor metals’ stage growing increasingly strong,” it telling the auto giants to move over. address and criticized the lack of apprecia- For Kantanka some key components ten alongside English on the electronics. boasted on its website in 2014. Prices for the metals traded on the Kwadwo Safo Kantanka -nicknamed the tion of locally made goods and over- such as glass, tyres and brake callipers are exchange rose sharply and became increasingly out of sync with “Apostle” because he also runs a network of reliance on imports. He noted that some imported, AFP was told on a visit to the ‘The Next Toyota’? world prices. Its most traded metal - indium - more than doubled churches - has finally realized his dream of $1.5 billion was spent in foreign currency company’s technology research centre Kantanka’s son was adamant about the between 2012 and 2015 to $1,200 per kg. Prices kept rising from the developing and marketing cars “Made in on items such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, west of Accra last year. But local sourcing is uniqueness of the cars, which have all been end of 2014 even as global prices headed into a rapid decline. Ghana”. “It’s been in the pipeline since approved for safety by Ghana’s Drivers The price difference kept traders outside of China wary of using 1971,” Kwado Safo junior, one of the inven- Vehicle Licensing Authority. The Made in the exchange. Now they are worried about what will happen to the tor’s sons, told AFP. “It started with the old Ghana label means that “if you have any accumulated stock of metals on the exchange. “It’s not clear how all man, so it’s been a long time coming.” problems with the vehicle, you wouldn’t this winds down, or what the local government or Beijing will do,” said Kantanka’s range of sports utility vehi- have to import from India or China or David Abraham, director of the Technology, Rare and Electronic cles and pick-up trucks have got Ghana America. All the parts are right here and we Materials Center. “There are lots of wild cards here.” —Reuters talking on social media, thanks in part to an have a 24-hour service,” he said. Six months advertising campaign using local movie ago, Ghana’s police service received one of and music stars. The sticker price of the the pick-up trucks, potentially paving the vehicles run from $18,000 to $35,000 - out way for other government agencies to of range for most people in Ghana. But a place orders. All articles appearing on these cheaper saloon car is expected to go on Kantanka junior is upbeat about the way pages are the personal opinion of sale next year. The locally made vehicles are ahead. “The future of Kantanka for the next the writers. Kuwait Times takes no entering a tough market, going up against 10 years is to try as much as possible to responsibility for views expressed established brands in a country that sees increase our lines,” he said. To the current about 12,000 new and 100,000 second- three lines, he said, “we intend to increase therein. Kuwait Times invites read- hand cars imported every year. by next year January, February and add ers to voice their opinions. Please But the inventor’s son, who is chief exec- two more lines to it. We intend to go into send submissions via email to: opin- utive of the Kantanka Group, is confident more lines like buses, mini-vans and all the demand is there and the firm can hold that.” For Ghanaians, the cars could put [email protected] or via snail its own in the competition. “Already we their West African nation on the map. “We mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. have certain companies in Ghana who have must believe in the Ghanaian just like The editor reserves the right to edit come to make certain outrageous orders Toyotas and Hyundais,” said Murtala for huge numbers that we have to meet. Mohammed, who lives in Accra. “They all any submission as necessary. So, we are working,” he said, without giving This file photo taken on Feb 12, 2014 shows a Kantanka car at the Apostle Safo started from scratch. Who knows? Kantaka any specifics. Technology Research Centre in Gomoa Mpota. —AFP could be the next Toyota.” —AFP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS

Espanyol sack Klopp takes blame Finn to join Sergio Gonzalez for Mignolet error England squad BARCELONA: La Liga side Espanyol sacked coach Sergio Gonzalez yesterday after a run of just one ANFIELD: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp sought to ease the LONDON: England have added fast bowler Steven Finn to their squad win in their last eight games. “Espanyol have pressure on goalkeeper Simon Mignolet by blaming himself for the for the four-match series in South Africa that starts decided in the past few hours to release the error that allowed West Bromwich Albion to equalise during with the first test on Boxing Day. He was initially Catalan coach from his duties,” the club said in a Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Anfield. Captain Jordan Henderson put left out because of a foot injury but proved his fit- statement on their website. Gonzalez was a for- Liverpool ahead only for Mignolet to flap at a West Brom corner ness on the England Lions tour of the United mer Espanyol player and led them to a soon after, allowing Craig Dawson to wipe out the home side’s Arab Emirates, playing in two Twenty20s against respectable 10th-placed finish in his first season advantage. Liverpool conceded again from another West Brom cor- Pakistan A last weekend. “I’ve been really pleased in charge last season. However, a 1-0 ner in the second half, before substitute Divock Origi salvaged a with the way things have gone with the Lions,” Finn said in a news release yesterday. “I’ve bowled defeat to Celta Vigo despite playing point with an injury-time equaliser aided by a deflection. Klopp was my overs and my foot has come through fine. I’m against 10 men for over 40 minutes on asked his opinion on Mignolet’s performance after the game, but excited by the prospect of linking up with the team Saturday left them just three points refused to blame the Belgian for the mistake. “I said to Simon at half- above the relegation zone in 12th. out in South Africa.” Finn, 26, played the last of his time: ‘If somebody says it was your fault, you can say it’s not true, it’s 26 tests against Australia at the Oval in Last month, Chinese model car my fault’-because I want a keeper who helps, a keeper who comes maker Rastar Group struck a deal to August. The second test against South out and tries everything,” the manager was quoted as saying by the Africa will be played in Cape Town buy an 80 percent stake in the club’s website (www.liverpoolfc.com). “In this there were 20 players Barcelona-based club with a 45 mil- from Jan. 2,, with further matches in around him. He tried and didn’t get the ball for the first goal. “The Johannesburg (Jan. 14-18) and lion euro injection expected to help next one I have to see again. —Reuters clear the club’s debts.— AFP Pretoria (Jan. 22-26). —Reuters

Jaber Stadium ready for a grand celebration

KUWAIT: Director General of Al-Mansour appreciated the Humoud Fulaiteh and Khalid Al- ebration due to differences in ness on making sure about the Sports Public Authority (SPA) efforts of the chairman of the Roudhan. views, and said this is absolutely safety of the stadium and its Sheikh Ahmad Al-Mansour said organizing committee Sheikh Al-Mansour said that he is untrue. insistence to postpone the use that work is ongoing at Jaber Mohammad Al-Abdallah Al- available at the stadium every- Commenting on the readi- of Jaber Stadium until all techni- Stadium to bring out the perfect Mubarak and Sheikh Salman Al- day and follows the latest devel- ness of Jaber Stadium he said cal observations were addressed celebration on Friday. He said, Humoud, Information Minister, opment on the celebration SPA received an authenticated where some problems were everyone is doing their job per- State Minister for Youth Affairs organization, adding that every- official certificate from the most found earlier. fectly to guarantee that the final considering their work as huge one is working for the higher major consultative office in He said the role of SPA will show on the celebration day will effort, along with the rest of interest of Kuwait. England, confirming the safety continue until the last person be a historic event with many members such as Deputy Al-Mansour denied that he is of the stadium. leaves the stadium on Friday. surprises. Director General of SPA Dr distancing himself from the cel- He spoke about SPA’s keen- Sheikh Ahmad Al-Mansour Rome to stage 2022 Ryder Cup

ROME: Rome organisers were celebrating Durante, a former golf pro turned lawyer, yestrday after the Italian capital won the believes Ryder Cup officials were swung right to stage the 2022 edition of golf’s late in the day by the Italian golf federa- Ryder Cup for the first time. tion’s proposal to boost the existing Italian “I’m very happy, because these things Open. do not happen at random, there’s been an From 2017, it will come with prize mon- extraordinary amount of work done by our ey totalling 7m euros. “I think our project bid team,” Rome’s bid co-ordinator Marco bid was strong in each part, but our federa- Durante told AFP in a telephone interview tion’s decision to make a bigger and on Monday. “I had the honour of co-ordi- stronger Italian Open has probably given nating a great team, and now we’ve got the us the last push,” he said. result.” “We proposed an event to be included The cream of world golf will descend on in the World Series, it will be a 7m euros the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in prize money event, which will start in 2017 seven years’ time for the biennial contest because the 2016 schedule is already there. between Europe and the United States, “Every week we were ticking new box- Ryder Cup organisers confirmed in a state- es... and we even added something at the ment.”The Italian capital city of Rome will end that had not been part of the plans. host The Ryder Cup for the first time in “Overall, the growth of our bid was the 2022,” it said, adding that the “golf’s great- most convincing thing.” The Ryder Cup est team event will be staged on the statement added: “The Italian bid was con- Continent of Europe for the third time.” sistently strong across all the areas evaluat- Four nations - Austria, Germany, Italy ed and in particular in their pledge to and Spain - had been competing for the undertake a complete reconstruction of Officials seen at the conference. right to stage the 2022 edition. the golf course at Marco Simone to the Germany’s bid chief Marco Kaussler said highest standards demanded by Ryder Cup he was disappointed after failing for the Europe, in addition to a hugely significant GulfRun season kicks off with second successive time to persuade Ryder commitment to the Italian Open in terms of Cup chiefs, having lost the 2018 tourna- guaranteeing a EUR7 million prize fund for ment rights to France. the championship for 11 years, beginning GulfRun 24HR Karting Endurance 5 He told the SID news agency, an AFP in 2017.” subsidiary: “Of course, we’re disappointed, Founded by and still owned by celebrat- we had in all areas put in a reasonable, bal- By Nawara Fattahova lighting its dedication to applying safety meas- mobile racing and training in a safe and secure ed fashion designer Laura Biagiotti and her ures while driving as GulfRun is considered an environment and karting is one of the pillars of anced and sustainable application.” family, the Marco Simone Club hosted the KUWAIT: GulfRun - powered by Zain - season is ideal and safe alternative to street racing which motorsports. After inspecting all four sites in recent Italian Open in 1994. Rome organisers now back and kicking off with GulfRun 24HR Karting threatens youth’s lives. Zain is the sponsor of GulfRun’s and Pro-Vision Sport Management months, organisers finally plumped for Endurance 5 that will take place from December Zaid Ashkanani, the ME champion of Formula 2 team extend their gratitude to the continuous Rome, whose venue is only 17km from the have seven years in which to carry out the course changes necessary to fully test the 17 - 19 at the SIRBB Circuit in Shuwaikh. GulfRun and Porsche GT Cup, and Salah Bin Eidan the ME support by Kuwait’s private sector, which centre of the ‘Eternal City’. From the 17th and Pro-Vision Sports Management announced champion in rally,” added Al Khashti. acknowledges the important role sport plays tee, players and fans alike can spot the mettle of the world’s top golfers Durante added: “It’s always been a very good that 20 teams have taken the challenge to par- The GulfRun Karting Endurance Race follows amongst Kuwait’s youth. GulfRun 24HR Karting dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica on a clear ticipate in the exciting 24 hour long karting international regulations and certified marshals Endurance Race is supported by a wide range of course, but we are ready to answer any day, although the venue’s transport links to endurance race. fly in from the UK to regulate the race in accor- sponsors: Title sponsorship by Zain; GR Karting the capital and its thousands of hotels were request from the Ryder Cup committee.” This year also international teams will be par- dance to FIA regulations. The GulfRun Karting Pace Car: Audi; Platinum Sponsors Algida and key factors in the final decision, as well as Next year’s tournament will be held in ticipating in this event. “There are participants Endurance Race was first launched in 2011 to American Tax Bureau; Gold sponsorship by Slider Italy’s pledge to use their staging of the Hazeltine National in Minnesota, while from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain including the create an exciting competition in Kuwait that Station, The Correspondent, Al-Sawan and tournament to further develop the sport France will host the 2018 event and champion of Middle East also from Bahrain. The aligns with GulfRun’s objective to promote auto- Moonlight Studios, Kidsville. throughout the country. Whistling Straits in Wisconsin hosts the 20 participating teams present about 200 racers, 2020 Ryder Cup, two years before it returns as each team should include between 4 - 12 pac- TICKING NEW BOXES to the old continent. Europe have won six ers. Apart of the teams registered there is a wait- Europe-Asia merger is “I believe it will be a great push for our out of the last seven editions of the Ryder ing list for those who couldn’t participate due to golf movement, and increase participation Cup including a 16 1/2 to 11/1/2 win at the limit of team. So in case a team didn’t attend in our sport,” added Durante.However Gleneagles, Scotland last year. —AFP the next in the line may participate instead,” only way forward: Bjorn Ahmad Al-Mudhaf, CEO GulfRun told Kuwait Times. CHON BURI: European Tour veteran Thomas larly good for younger players, who will bene- Participation was open for interested individ- Bjorn has described a proposed merger with fit from tougher competition and the chance uals from age 16 and above. “This year the par- the Asian Tour as “the only way forward”, to play in Europe. Including the four majors ticipation was opened for all nationalities and despite concern among some Asian players. and four World Golf Championship events, the both genders. The interest in this race was very Bjorn, who is chairman of the European Tour’s European Tour listed 48 tournaments on the high so we have a long waiting list of those who tournament committee which represents 2015 season’s schedule, while the Asian Tour couldn’t participate. The main goal of this race is players’ interests, said Asian players shouldn’t had 28. to prepare the youth to participate internation- worry about losing playing opportunities if The two tours have a long history of coop- ally, and to get training in safe place. Due to the the mega-tour goes ahead. The proposal to eration, including co-sanctioning five tourna- high interest, we decided to hold more than one combine the tours’ business dealings and ments in Asia this year. “Talented Asian players race per year to satisfy the wide audience,” he memberships could be a game-changer, but like Thongchai (Jaidee) and Jeev had to further said. some Asian players are concerned about change their style of play when they joined Ahmed Al-Majed, of Pro-Vision Sports being squeezed out by European stars. the European Tour,” Bjorn said. “They had to Management said, “We have a record number of However, Bjorn said the plan provided a learn the hard way, but eventually they adapt- teams competing and look forward to an excit- great opportunity for Asian pros-and denied ed because they are talented and they have ing race at Sirbb Circuit. We witnessed a record that Europe was trying to take over tourna- done very well. A merger would speed up that breaking amount of attendees last year, and ments in the region. “A merger is the only way process.” have many exciting events planned on and off- forward,” Bjorn said at the Thailand Golf Bjorn added: “There is so much great talent Championship, which finished on Sunday. track this year.” Ahmed Al-Mudhaf of GulfRun in Asia with lots of young players coming “I appreciate some of the (Asian Tour) play- added that “We have lots in store this season through. If the young players join a combined ers are concerned, but they will actually bene- starting off with GulfRun 24HR Karting tour they will learn a lot quicker. It will be Endurance 5 - we have four international racers fit from it... It will provide a great opportunity great for them.” participating for the young Asian players.” The merger talks have coincided with a European Tour CEO Keith Pelley, who is SAFETY MEASURES shake-up at the Asian Tour, where CEO Mike spearheading the merger, flew to Macau in Waleed Al Khashti, Zain Kuwait’s Corporate Kerr’s resignation was announced without October to address a meeting of Asian Tour Communications and Relations Director said: explanation last week. The body’s board has players. He later conceded some players are “Zain’s support to this much anticipated event also seen a change in personnel, although the hostile, although negotiations are continuing. for the second year running stems from its Asian Tour has not responded to requests for But Bjorn stressed: “The European Tour are not utmost responsibility of youth’s talent develop- confirmation when approached by AFP. When trying to take over tournaments. We have a ment and the sports sector, which comes in line asked about the merger situation, Indian vet- full schedule as it is. But the combined efforts with our Corporate Social Responsibility strate- eran Jeev Milkha Singh said in Thailand: “We of the two tours would make it very strong. gy, especially that this exciting race was estab- have a new board and we will wait to see what “Let’s get it together,” added the Dane. It NEWPORT: This is a Monday, Oct. 4, 2010 file photo of Europe’s Edoardo Molinari, lished by a group of Kuwaiti youth”. they recommend.” will be good for all players concerned, both on left, and Francesco Molinari, brothers from Italy, as they hold the trophy after Europe Zain is always sponsoring sports events. “We the European and Asian Tour.” “The Asian Tour won the 2010 Ryder Cup golf tournament at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, were keen on taking part in this exciting event ‘LET’S GET IT TOGETHER’ players need not worry. It’s the only way for- Wales. The Ryder Cup is headed to Italy for the first time, with the Marco Simone club yet again after the passion we found from the Bjorn said a merged tour would be particu- ward,” he said. — AFP in Rome chosen yesterdayto host golf’s biggest team event in 2022. — AP youth during last year’s event. Zain is also high- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS

Ex-Ferrari boss to put foot down on Rome’s Olympic bid

ROME: Former Ferrari boss Luca di will fight to win the 2024 event under 2012, Los Angeles and Budapest. The revelation that millions of euros tant. It will do the world of good for the Montezelemo says bringing the Olympic the banner of ancient Rome, capitalising The prospect of being able to stage destined for public services were being city, for the citizens, for the country and Games to Rome would mean more to on the city’s unique historic heritage events with the unrivalled splendours of siphoned off by criminals through for the Olympics. him than all the titles he amassed in while playing down modern day prob- Rome and the Vatican as the backdrop rigged tenders and other scams has “What we have now is a huge oppor- Formula One. lems of corruption, strapped finances will inevitably carry sway with some of damaged Rome’s international image tunity to use our team spirit to set a Speaking Monday at the launch of and crumbling infrastructure. the IOC members who will decide the and left residents fuming over deterio- goal, take on a challenge. the Rome 2024 bid logo - an image of “The message from today is clear, 2024 host in Lima, Peru in September rating public transport, refuse and road “A lesson of Rome 1960 was to look the Colosseum in the red, white and there is a big enthusiasm in the city, 2017. maintenance services. ahead, to look at the town of the future. green of the Italian flag - the motorsport especially from the young people,” di But with the Olympic movement still Against that backdrop, some Romans And you can still see today that Rome legend shrugged off suggestions the Montezelemo told AFP after the ceremo- trying to cast off the legacy of its own question if a bid for the Olympics should 1960 left to the town key infrastructural Eternal City’s campaign has been slug- ny. “And we have a very clear vision with, corruption scandals, Rome may be be a priority ahead of investment in elements.” Di Montezelemo, 68, is cur- gish off the starting grid. behind everything, passion. “I was lucky handicapped by recent revelations of infrastructure. rently combining his leadership of the “We want these Olympics and we will enough to win 19 world championship organised crime’s infiltration of City Hall. Di Montezemelo’s response is that bid with the role of CEO and Chairman work night and day to get them,” he told titles in Formula One. If I can contribute the Mafia Capitale arrests and trial are a at Alitalia but he expects soon to have an unveiling ceremony at the Palazetto to bring these games to my country it CLEAN-UP UNDERWAY sign that the authorities have cracked more time for the Olympic race. dello Sport, built to host basketball and would be maybe an even more impor- A scandal known locally as Mafia the problem and that the Olympics can “Thank God, in a couple of months I weightlifting for the 1960 Games in tant victory.” Capitale is currently in court with the tri- be a catalyst for a general upgrade of will leave the CEO role and I will remain Rome and still going strong as a sports Rome faces competition from Paris, al of dozens of local officials, politicians the city, as happened in 1960. only chairman. But I have been used to and arts venue today. bidding again after a heartbreakingly and businessmen set to drag on well “It is the past,” he said. “The clean-up doing a few jobs together, so I will try The choice of logo reflects how Italy narrow defeat to London in the race for into next year. that is now taking place is very impor- my best.” — AFP Khawaja fitness doubt after Big Bash pullout

SYDNEY: Australia batsman Usman New Zealand in Perth last month, and Khawaja has pulled out of a Twenty20 Australian coach Darren Lehmann said game this week and faces a fitness check he was not willing to risk him without a before the Boxing Day Test against the warm-up game. “We certainly need him West Indies, Cricket Australia said yester- playing and with the hamstring we don’t day. Khawaja, 28, was due to return from want him playing Test match cricket if a hamstring injury in Thursday’s opening he’s not fully fit,” Lehmann said after Big Bash League match for the Sydney Australia’s innings first Test defeat of the Thunder after being included in the 13- West Indies in Hobart. “He will have to man Australia Test squad for Melbourne. be sharp in those Big Bash League T20 But Cricket Australia medical staff have games he’s playing and get through ruled him out of the clash against the those-then we’ll make a decision from Sydney Sixers. there.” Khawaja scored 174 and 121 bat- Khawaja will need to prove his fitness ting at three against New Zealand before before Sunday’s Big Bash game with the he was injured, while his replacement, Melbourne Stars, which would be his Marsh, made a strong case for his reten- only remaining fixture before the Boxing tion with his highest Test score of 182 in Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Hobart. Ground. If he fails that test, selectors will Australia captain Steve Smith is also be spared the onerous decision of trying have treatment for knee and hip injuries to put him back into the Australian team in the lead-up to the Melbourne Test, and at the expense of either Joe Burns or has been ruled out of the Sixers’ opening Shaun Marsh. two Big Bash matches. Khawaja has not played since injuring He said he expected to be fit for the his hamstring in the second Test against Boxing Day clash. — AFP Serena Williams named Sportsperson of 2015 DUNEDIN: Trent Boult (L) of New Zealand bowls to Dinesh Chandimal of Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews (Top R) looking on NEW YORK: Serena Williams, who pounding”-a right elbow strain and nasty during day five of the first International Test cricket match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at University Oval in Dunedin yesterday. — AFP owned the tennis world this year even as flu at the French Open (again, she won). she battled illness and injury, was named In a powerful statement against sportsperson of 2015 yesterday by racism, Williams also returned to play a Sports Illustrated. tournament at Indian Wells, California, Kiwis enjoy 122-run The magazine said it was honoring for the first time since 2001. That year she the 34-year-old icon both for her posi- was greeted with boos and her family tively stunning numbers and her pluck in says she even endured racial slurs. achieving what it called one of the great- Williams called that return her “great- win as Sri Lanka fold est late-career runs in the history of any est moment in tennis.” “Serena has made sport. Williams won three major titles, a very strong case as not only the great- triumphed in 53 of the 56 matches she est tennis player of her generation but of DUNEDIN: A “miracle ball” from the recalled Neil year-old batsman, in his 24th Test, decided to Southee had him lbw. played and ranked number one for every all time, and after the string of perform- Wagner set New Zealand up for a 122-run win in push his pad at the spinner and was hit plumb in At lunch, Sri Lanka were 224-6 with the final week of the season for the second ances she put together in 2015, she is the first Test yesterday as Sri Lanka folded with front without playing a shot. four wickets falling for the addition of 58 runs in straight year. one of the most dominant athletes play- the loss of seven wickets on the final day. Kithuruwan Vithanage decided attack was 11 overs after the interval. For New Zealand, And for six weeks this season, Williams ing today,” Sports Illustrated Group New Zealand had set the Sri Lankans a formi- the best policy, batting at a run-a-ball pace to Southee took three for 52 while Trent Boult, had twice as many ranking points as the Editor Paul Fichtenbaum said. “This year dable 405-run target but with sufficient time to take the target below 200. With six fours and a Wagner and Santner finished with two wickets world number two player. Sports was spectacular,” Williams said of her lat- get there on a non-threatening University Oval six to his name he reached 38 before Tim each.—AFP Illustrated said this was a first in the 40- est accolade. “For Sports Illustrated to wicket. The Sri Lanka batsmen, however, failed year history of the WTA rankings. recognize my hard work, dedication and to show the necessary patience and were all out But those stats mask a year that was sheer determination with this award for 282 midway though the final day. Resistance “all internal discord and quelled revolts; gives me hope to continue on and do crumbled after Wagner, back in the side after a Williams battled her body like never better. As I always say, it takes a village - year out of Test cricket, captured the crucial scalp of Angelo Mathews, who had put on 56 before,” Sports Illustrated said. To wit: a not just one person. This is not just an with Dinesh Chandimal for the fourth wicket. cough and cold that had her vomiting accomplishment for me, but for my After being peppered by short deliveries tar- during a match at the Australian Open, whole team and all my fans. I am beyond geting the rib cage, Mathews, on 25, was taken which she won anyway; bone bruises in honored,” she said, according to Sports by surprise by a full-length delivery which rat- both knees-”the residue of 20 years of Illustrated. — AFP tled into his stumps. His dismissal upset the rhythm of top-scorer Chandimal (58) who only lasted another 17 balls before he was beaten by Mitchell Santner. “Neil Wagner really stepped up for us,” captain Brendon McCullum said of the left-arm seamer playing his 18th Test. “Once he got that break- through, got Angelo out, then we certainly relaxed the shoulders after that and were able to push home the advantage. “It was beautifully set up. Wags decided that at some stage he was going to bowl the miracle ball, try and hit the base of leg stump and in the end it split his defence.” Sri Lankan captain Mathews, who acknowl- edged being caught in a Wagner “trap”, described the match as a learning experience for his young side. “Most of the batters were solid in technique. It’s just the mindset that we’ve got to shift around a little bit,” he said. “We’ve got so many inexperienced guys at the moment, it’ll take a bit of time to get going.” The comprehensive victory gave New Zealand their fourth consecutive win over Sri Lanka in the past three years.

DUCKING FOR COVER After a second-innings declaration at 267-3 DUNEDIN: New Zealand’s Neil Wagner, left, celebrates with Tom Latham after bowling out Sri by McCullum, Sri Lanka had more than five ses- Lanka’s Angelo Mathews for 25. — AP sions to reach 405 or survive for the draw. When they resumed Monday at 109-3, and with an extra half-hour tacked on to make up for three rain breaks the previous day, Sri Lanka SCOREBOARD were 296 runs behind. But any hopes of a sal- vage job were built around the experienced DUNEDIN, New Zealand: Scoreboard at the close of the final day of the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at University Oval in Dunedin yesterday: Chandimal and Mathews digging in for a long stay at the crease. New Zealand 1st innings 431 (M. Guptill 156, K. D. Chameera b Santner 14 New Zealand tried everything to break the Williamson 88, B. McCullum 75; Pradeep 4-112) S. Lakmal c&b Bracewell 23 partnership, including Trent Boult changing his Sri Lanka 1st innings 294 (D. Karunaratne 84, D. N. Pradeep not out 4 grip which saw him lose control of one ball, forc- Chandimal 83; Southee 3-71, Wagner 3-87) Extras: (b2, lb4, w1) 7 ing umpire Richard Kettleborough to duck for New Zealand 2nd innings 267 (T. Latham 109 n.o., Total (10 wickets, 95.2 overs) 282 cover as it shot towards his head. K. Williamson 71; Herath 2-62) Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Karunaratne), 2-64 Finally it was Wagner who broke the partner- Sri Lanka 2nd innings (overnight 109-3) (Jayasundera), 3-109 (Mendis), D. Karunaratne c Watling b Southee 29 4-165 (Mathews), 5-165 (Chandimal), 6-213 ship when he fired two short deliveries at K. Mendis c Watling b Southee 46 (Vithanage), 7-236 (Herath), 8-249 Mathews. The Sri Lankan skipper shaped up as if U. Jayasundera c Watling b Wagner 3 (Siriwardana), 9-268 (Chameera), 10-282 (Lakmal) NEW YORK: Serena Williams of the US returns the ball to Roberta Vinci of Italy during expecting a third similar delivery only for D. Chandimal lbw Santner 58 Bowling: Boult 15-2-58-2, Southee 21-6-52-3, their 2015 US Open Women’s singles semifinals match at the USTA Billie Jean King Wagner to bowl full, and the ball speared off the A. Mathews b Wagner 25 Bracewell 19.2-5-46-1, Santner National Tennis Center in New York. Serena Williams, who owned the tennis world left pad and on to middle stump. K. Vithanage lbw Southee 38 22-6-53-2, Wagner 17-5-56-2, Williamson 1-0-11-0 this year even as she battled illness and injury, was named sportsperson of 2015 yes- Chandimal was gone soon after for 58 when M. Siriwardana c McCullum b Boult 29 (w1). R. Herath c Guptill b Boult 6 Result: New Zealand won by 122 runs. terday by Sports Illustrated. — AFP trapped leg before wicket by Santner. The 26- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS

ToyotaGAZOO racing back on podium during final round World Endurance Championship in Bahrain

BAHRAIN: ToyotaGAZOO Racing returned to its sister car for third as all drivers took their turn President, said, “It was great to finally fight for a the podium in a thrilling six hours of Bahrain, fighting for a strong result to end the season. podium again. This was a nice way to finish a the final round of the 2015 World Endurance The two Toyotas established themselves in a difficult season and it gives us added motiva- Championship which was held recently at the clear third and fourth, closing out the final two tion for the winter. We want to be battling at Bahrain International Circuit. hours with consistent lap times and crossing the the front every race. That is the expectation for An emotional result saw Alex Wurz stand on line together, separated by only 1.177seconds. next year and everyone is already working hard the podium in his last-ever race, claiming third According to Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief to achieve this. This was a special race, as the place in the #2 TS040 Hybrid he shared with Representative, Middle East and North Africa last one for Alex before his retirement and I am StÈphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway. Representative Office, Toyota Motor happy he could end his career in a positive way. As well as being the team’s first podium Corporation, “It was a superb performance by According to Alex Wurz, “In my last race, I got since the opening round of the season at the team to earn a podium finish at Bahrain. I a bit unfortunate with some technical issues, Silverstone, the result also marked Alex’s 12th congratulate the team for their performance but otherwise we had a faultless day in our car podium for Toyota in 28 races, including five and their competitive spirit all throughout this and that brought us to third. We had a hard bat- victories. Another very reliable race for the season. This deep involvement in motorsports tle with the sister car which went down to the TS040 Hybrid saw the team profit in the Bahrain has helped Toyota tremendously and led to new wire in the end. It was nerve-wracking to watch. heat, whilst some of its rivals encountered insights in making ever better cars both on the I am very happy for the team, who got their problems, and the #1 of Anthony Davidson, track and off it, while putting the high perform- reward for always working very hard.” Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima finished ance capabilities of Toyota hybrid vehicles in a Toyota finished the year third in the manu- a strong fourth. more positive light. I would like to thank our facturers’ World Championship. Anthony and The race began in bright sunshine as fans for their encouragement and we look for- Sebastien placed fifth on exactly the same Sebastien established the #1 in fifth, while Alex, ward to their support during what promises to points as the #2 crew but ahead courtesy of taking the start in the #2 for his last-ever race, be an exciting season in 2016.” more fourth places. Kazuki was seventh having over two seasons, winning five times as part of for 2016 which will start testing early next year was sixth. Despite a busy track and plenty of missed the Spa race in Belgium due to injury. 14 podium finishes, most of which came during prior to its first public appearance during the incidents, both TS040 Hybrids kept up a strong DIFFICULT SEASON Today’s race brought the curtain down on its double World Championship-winning season Prologue test at France’s Paul Ricard circuit in pace, with the #1 putting increasing pressure on On this occasion, Toshio Sato, Team the TS040 Hybrid era. It competed in 16 races in 2014. It will be succeeded by an all-new car March. NHL Results/Standings Wade leads rally, Heat NY Islanders 4, New Jersey 0; Colorado 3, St. Louis 1; Chicago 4, Vancouver 0. Western Conference Detroit 16 8 6 78 77 38 Central Division Boston 16 9 3 91 77 35 WLOTLGFGAPTS Ottawa 15 10 5 92 90 35 beat Grizzlies 100-97 Dallas 22 6 2 102 79 46 Florida 14 12 4 76 74 32 Chicago 17 10 4 85 75 38 Tampa Bay 14 13 3 71 68 31 St. Louis 17 10 4 78 75 38 MIAMI: Dwyane Wade’s jumper with 21.9 seconds left gave Minnesota 15 7 6 73 66 36 Buffalo 12 15 3 72 83 27 Miami its first and only lead of the second half and the Nashville 15 10 5 80 79 35 Toronto 10 13 5 64 76 25 Heat rallied from 16 points down to beat the Memphis Winnipeg 14 14 2 82 91 30 Metropolitan Division Grizzlies 100-97 and end a three-game slide on Sunday Colorado 14 16 1 85 88 29 Washington 20 6 2 85 62 42 night. Chris Bosh scored 22 points, Gerald Green added 16 and Luol Deng scored 15 for Miami. Wade’s jumper put the Pacific Division NY Islanders 18 8 5 89 72 41 Heat up one, and Justise Winslow closed it out with two Los Angeles 19 8 2 75 61 40 NY Rangers 18 9 4 90 72 40 Arizona 14 14 2 81 95 30 free throws in the final second. Wade finished with 14 New Jersey 15 11 4 74 75 34 Vancouver 11 12 8 79 86 30 points. Jeff Green scored a season-high 26 points for Pittsburgh 15 10 3 67 67 33 San Jose 14 14 1 75 78 29 Memphis, while surprise starter Matt Barnes finished with Calgary 13 14 2 78 103 28 Philadelphia 12 12 6 62 83 30 13 points and 13 rebounds. Former Heat guard Mario Edmonton 13 15 2 82 90 28 Carolina 12 14 4 74 92 28 Chalmers had 12 for Memphis, which was outscored 11-0 Anaheim 11 13 5 56 73 27 Columbus 11 17 3 74 93 25 in the final 2:34. Eastern Conference Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point THUNDER 104, JAZZ 98, OT Atlantic Division in the standings and are not included in the loss Montreal 20 8 3 100 70 43 Kevin Durant scored 31 points - all but two after half- column (L). time - and Oklahoma City rallied from a 16-point deficit for a second win over Utah in a three-day span. Russell Westbrook added 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who have won nine straight home games Blackhawks against Utah dating to the 2010-11 season. Oklahoma City extended its longest winning streak of the season to five games. Rodney Hood had 23 points, Gordon Hayward scored 22 and Alec Burks added 21 for the Jazz, who fell blank Canucks five games behind first-place Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division. Westbrook scored two baskets in the first 36 seconds of overtime to give the Thunder the lead, CHICAGO: Chicago’s Patrick Kane stretch and moved into second place in and Utah missed its first nine field-goal attempts in the extended his points streak to 26 games the Metropolitan Division - one point extra period. The Jazz avoided an OT shutout on Hayward’s as the Blackhawks beat the Vancouver ahead of the crosstown-rival Rangers. basket with 8.6 seconds left. Canucks 4-0 on Sunday to move into a The Islanders trailed the Rangers by 11 share of second place in the NHL Central points entering play on Nov. 25. The Division. Kane, the NHL’s leading scorer Islanders also improved to 11-4-2 at RAPTORS 96, 76ERS 76 MIAMI: Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) looks for an open teammate past with 46 points, had the second assist on home in their first season at Brooklyn’s DeMar DeRozan had 25 points, Luis Scola added 22 and Memphis Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball Duncan Keith’s power-play goal midway Barclays Center. Cory Schneider gave up Toronto beat Philadelphia for its fourth straight win. game, Sunday, in Miami. — AP through the first. He surpassed Sidney three goals on 18 shots before he was DeRozan came into the night averaging 21.7 points per Crosby’s 25-game streak, set in 2010-11, replaced by Keith Kincaid after Martin’s game, and this was his third straight outing with at least 20 points. Scola matched his season-high point total from a NBA Results/Standings for the longest in the league since 1992- goals 7 1/2 minutes into the second game in November. Toronto started slowly, trailing 16-8 at 93. The Blackhawks right wing has 16 period. Kincaid finished with 11 saves. the midpoint of the first quarter. But the Raptors then took Phoenix 108, Minnesota 101; Miami 100, Memphis 97; Toronto 96, Philadelphia 76; Oklahoma City 104, goals and 24 assists during his run, and a The Devils were again without Travis charge to hand the 76ers their sixth straight loss. Jahlil Utah 98 (OT). point in 29 of Chicago’s 31 games. Corey Zajac (upper body injury) and Adam Okafor led Philadelphia with 23 points and 14 rebounds Eastern Conference Western Conference Crawford made 30 saves while Dennis Henrique (lower body). while Robert Covington added 15 points and nine Atlantic Division Northwest Division Rasmussen, Andrew Shaw and Brandon rebounds. W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 16 8 .667 - Mashinter also scored for the AVALANCHE 3, BLUES 1 Toronto 16 9 .640 - Utah 10 12 .455 5 Blackhawks, who are level on points Jack Skille and John Mitchell scored in SUNS 108, TIMBERWOLVES 101 Boston 14 10 .583 1.5 Portland 10 15 .400 6.5 with St. Louis, eight points behind the first period and Semyon Varlamov Brandon Knight rebounded from a one-point outing in NY Knicks 11 14 .440 5 Denver 9 14 .391 6.5 Brooklyn 7 16 .304 8 Central leader Dallas. Ryan Miller had 26 made a season-high 42 saves to lead his last game to make seven 3-pointers and score 25 Minnesota 9 14 .391 6.5 Philadelphia 1 24 .040 15 Pacific Division saves for the Canucks. Colorado to victory at St. Louis, Carl points, helping Phoenix beat Minnesota. Knight scored Central Division Golden State 24 1 .960 - Soderberg added an empty-net goal nine of his points in the fourth quarter, all on 3s. The Cleveland 15 7 .682 - LA Clippers 14 10 .583 9.5 with 22 seconds remaining to seal the Timberwolves committed 24 turnovers, including nine in Chicago 13 8 .619 1.5 Phoenix 11 14 .440 13 ISLANDERS 4, DEVILS 0 victory. Varlamov stopped the first 36 the third quarter, which helped the Suns get out in transi- Indiana 13 9 .591 2 Sacramento 9 15 .375 14.5 Marek Zidlicky scored twice and shots until Vladimir Tarasenko spoiled tion and take control of the game for good. Phoenix scored Detroit 14 11 .560 2.5 Milwaukee 10 15 .400 6.5 LA Lakers 3 21 .125 20.5 Thomas Greiss made 27 saves for his first his shutout bid with a power-play goal 43 points off turnovers for the game. Zach LaVine led the Southwest Division Wolves with 28 points and Kevin Martin added 19. The Southeast Division shutout of the season to help the with 7:05 remaining. It was Tarasenko’s Charlotte 14 9 .609 - San Antonio 20 5 .800 - Islanders extend their streak without a team-high 18th of the season. Jake Suns didn’t score for more than 4 minutes during the Miami 13 9 .591 0.5 Dallas 13 11 .542 6.5 regulation loss to 10 games. John Allen, who had 26 saves in a 3-0 shutout fourth quarter as Minnesota cut into a 19-point lead, but Atlanta 14 11 .560 1 Memphis 13 12 .520 7 Tavares and Matt Martin also scored for against Dallas on Saturday, stopped 15 P.J. Tucker’s 3-pointer at the 7:54 mark followed by Eric Orlando 12 11 .522 2 Houston 12 12 .500 7.5 the Islanders, who are on an 8-0-2 saves against Colorado. —AP Bledsoe’s steal and dunk gave Phoenix a 90-75 lead. —AP Washington 10 12 .455 3.5 New Orleans 6 17 .261 13 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS

NFL Results/Standings

Buffalo 20, Philadelphia 23; San Francisco 10, Cleveland 24; Detroit 14, St. Louis 21; New Orleans 24, at Tampa Bay 17; Tennessee 8, New York Jets 30; Pittsburgh 33, Cincinnati 20; Indianapolis 16, Jacksonville 51; San Diego 3, Kansas City 10; Washington 24, Chicago 21; Atlanta 0, Carolina 38; Seattle 35, Baltimore 6; Oakland 15, Denver 12; Dallas 7, Green Bay 28; New England 27, Houston 6. American Football Conference AFC East W L T OTL PF PA PCT New England 11 2 0 1 402 253 .846 NY Jets 8 5 0 0 325 256 .615 Buffalo 6 7 0 0 316 301 .462 Miami 5 7 0 0 240 300 .417 AFC North Cincinnati 10 3 0 0 354 229 .769 Pittsburgh 8 5 0 1 344 260 .615 Baltimore 4 9 0 1 278 326 .308 Cleveland 3 10 0 1 240 357 .231 AFC South Indianapolis 6 7 0 1 275 356 .462 Houston 6 7 0 0 259 291 .462 Jacksonville 5 8 0 1 326 357 .385 Tennessee 3 10 0 0 253 326 .231 AFC West Denver 10 3 0 0 281 225 .769 Kansas City 8 5 0 0 331 24 .615 Oakland 6 7 0 0 299 326 .462 San Diego 3 10 0 0 250 334 .231 National Football Conference NFC East Washington 6 7 0 1 281 307 .462 Philadelphia 6 7 0 0 301 322 .462 NY Giants 5 7 0 1 307 296 .417 Dallas 4 9 0 2 230 305 .308 NFC North Green Bay 9 4 0 0 317 245 .692 Minnesota 8 5 0 0 258 255 .615 Chicago 5 8 0 2 272 314 .385 Detroit 4 9 0 0 267 336 .308 NFC South Carolina 13 0 0 0 411 243 1.000 Tampa Bay 6 7 0 0 288 322 .462 Atlanta 6 7 0 1 279 295 .462 New Orleans 5 8 0 1 323 397 .385 NFC West Arizona 11 2 0 0 405 252 .846 Seattle 8 5 0 2 340 235 .615 St. Louis 5 8 0 1 210 271 .385 San Francisco 4 9 0 0 188 315 .308

Ooredoo trains young footballers in collaboration CHARLOTTE: Ca rolina Pa nthers players celebrate late in the second half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday. ThePanthers won 38-0. — AP with PSG Academy KUWAIT: Ooredoo Kuwait, a member of the inter- Panthers punish Falcons national Ooredoo Group, has announced hosting an intensive camp for young football lovers, in collaboration with The Paris Saint-Germain to clinch playoff bye Academy, in Kuwait City between 17 and 19 December 2015. The camp will be an excellent opportunity for youngsters to learn a lot about football skills CHARLOTTE: Cam Newton added to his MVP the NFC North over Minnesota after their second touchdown, along with his first interception after a including tactical and defensive playing, stamina resume, completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards straight victory. With 435 yards and 29 first downs, franchise-record 312 attempts. But it was a banged- and three touchdowns, and the unbeaten Carolina Green Bay got better production out of its inconsis- up defense that held San Diego without a touch- training and the basic rules of football. Applying Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 on tent offense with coach Mike McCarthy assuming down for the second time this season that allowed for the intensive three day camp can be done Sunday to clinch a first-round bye in the NFC play- play-calling duties again. The Packers were still ham- the Chiefs (8-5) to escape. The Chargers (3-10) took through a link announced on Ooredoo’s Instagram account offs. Newton connected on scoring strikes of 74 and pered at times by penalties and problems in short- over at their 11 with 5 minutes left and quickly @Ooredookuwait. 46 yards to Ted Ginn Jr., and Jonathan Stewart ran yardage situations. But the defense and running moved into Kansas City territory, converting fourth Mijbil Alayoub, Director of Corporate Communications at Ooredoo for a touchdown as the Panthers (13-0) scored on game came up with big plays in the fourth quarter. down three times. But after San Diego was called for Kuwait, said: “Glad to partner with a renowned football academy such as their first three possessions. Newton also threw a 4- Dallas’ touchdown came on Robert Turbin’s 7-yard delay of game at the Chiefs 1 with 5 seconds left, The Saint Paris-Gemain, I believe with their support Ooredoo will be yard TD pass to Ed Dickson in the final seconds of run midway through the third quarter to make it 14- Philip Rivers threw incomplete into the end zone. able to develop the talents and skills of all participants. Football is a very the first half before leaving for good at the end of 7. The Cowboys (4-9) suffered a setback to their San Diego still had 2 seconds left, and an incom- popular sport not only in Kuwait but also in the Middle East therefore the third quarter with Carolina up 38. He finished chances of winning the mediocre NFC East. plete pass that would have ended the game was we trust that such an initiative will be welcomed and well received by a with a career-high quarterback rating of 153.3, and blown dead for a false start. With the ball pushed lot of people”. the Panthers won their 17th straight regular-season SEAHAWKS 35, RAVENS 6 back to the 11-yard line, Rivers scrambled to his The Paris Saint-Germain Academy by Ooredoo is open for children game. Carolina’s defense forced four turnovers and Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, right and threw to the end zone, where his pass final aged 6 to 16. All registered participants will receive diplomas on the suc- had five sacks, while limiting struggling Falcons three to Doug Baldwin, against the injury-depleted pass fell incomplete. The Chiefs spilled onto the field cessful completion of their training, as well as a Paris Saint-Germain quarterback Matt Ryan to 224 yards passing. Atlanta Ravens. Wilson went 23 for 32 for 292 yards. The five to celebrate another big win in their playoff chase. football kit, consisting of a football shirt, shorts and socks. Hosting The is 6-7 and has dropped six in a row. TD throws matched a career high - set earlier this Paris Saint-Germain Academy intensive camp comes in line with the season against Pittsburgh - and gave him 16 over his JETS 30, TITANS 8 company’s corporate social responsibility which youth forms an impor- PATRIOTS 27, TEXANS 6 last four games. Baldwin scored on passes of 14, 22 Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes tant element of. Tom Brady threw for 226 yards and two touch- and 16 yards. Tyler Lockett caught TD throws of 8 and New York’s stingy defense stifled Marcus downs and the New England Patriots snapped a and 49 yards. Seattle’s second-ranked defense Mariota and the Titans’ offense for most of the game. two-game skid to clinch a playoff spot. Brady threw backed Wilson by keeping the Ravens (4-9) out of Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Bilal Powell each TD passes to Keshawn Martin and Rob Gronkowski the end zone, forcing two turnovers and allowing caught TD passes for the Jets (8-5), who stayed on Qatar ‘singled out’ for in the first half to help New England build a 17-6 only 28 yards rushing. The Seahawks (8-5) have won track in the AFC playoff race with their first three- lead. The Patriots (11-2) didn’t move the ball as well six of seven to move into position for an NFC wild game winning streak since 2011. Fitzpatrick, who criticism, says 2022 head in the second half, but the defense harassed Brian card. Baltimore’s offense sputtered under the direc- has set a single-season career high with 25 touch- Hoyer into multiple mistakes. Jabaal Sheard had tion of Jimmy Clausen, who completed 23 of 40 down throws, finished 21 of 36 for 263 yards. Chris strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The passes for a career-high 274 yards and an intercep- Ivory ran for 101 yards on 22 carries, and Randy DOHA: Qatar has been unfairly “sin- Patriots recovered the second one early in the tion. Bullock kicked three field goals. Muhammad gled out” for criticism the 2022 World fourth, and James White made it 27-6 with a 2-yard Wilkerson had three sacks. The lone highlight for the Cup committee chief said yesterday, run three plays later. Hoyer was sacked five times lowly Titans (3-10) came in the third quarter when adding that no labourer has died dur- EAGLES 23, BILLS 20 and left the game to be evaluated for a concussion 3:26 left, then Ed Reynolds intercepted Tyrod Antonio Andrews took a direct snap and connected ing more than 14 million man-hours of with about 9 minutes remaining for the Texans (6-7). Taylor’s pass in the final minutes. LeSean McCoy had with Mariota for a 41-yard touchdown - the rookie work on tournament venues. The quarterback already missed a game this season 74 yards rushing and 35 receiving in his return to quarterback’s first career reception. In a robust defence of Qatar’s posi- after getting a concussion on Nov. 16. Philadelphia. He kissed the Eagles logo at midfield tion, Hassan Al-Thawadi, also said the before the coin toss, but ran off the field immediate- Gulf state does not expect to lose the SAINTS 24, BUCCANEERS 17 ly after the game. McCoy never approached Chip Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes to World Cup, regardless of an ongoing STEELERS 33, BENGALS 20 Andy Dalton broke his right thumb while making Kelly. He said last week he didn’t want to shake Marques Colston and the Saints stopped a four- investigation into the 2022 bidding a tackle on an interception, and the Steelers Kelly’s hand or talk to the man who traded him. The game losing streak, Brees completed 31 of 41 passes process in Switzerland, amid allega- roughed up backup AJ McCarron while pulling away Eagles (6-7) and Redskins (6-7) are tied atop the NFC for 312 yards without an interception. Colston tions of corruption. Hassan Al-Thawadi to a victory that left the AFC North up for grabs. The East standings. The New York Giants (5-7) could scored on receptions of 1 and 3 yards in the first half, Thawadi, secretary-general of the Steelers (8-5) rumbled with the Bengals during make it a three-way tie with a win at Miami on and Tim Hightower added a 3-yard TD run in the 2022 Supreme Committee, the body the right to host the 2022 World Cup. pregame warmups and then led the whole way, Monday night. The Bills (6-7) fell two games behind third quarter for the Saints (5-8). The loss was the overseeing tournament preparations But asked if he was concerned that evi- sending Cincinnati (10-3) to its first lopsided loss of in the AFC wild-card race. Taylor’s streak of 222 pass- second in three games for the Bucs (6-7), whose said there was no evidence of wrong- dence could surface to compromise the season. William Gay returned one of McCarron’s es without a pick ended when his deep pass went hopes to make a run at a NFC wild card took a hit. doing against Qatar and that the coun- Qatar, Thawadi added: “I think if you passes 23 yards for a touchdown, and Ben right to Reynolds with 1:16 remaining. Jameis Winston threw a fourth-quarter TD pass to try would cooperate with investigators examine it closely you can see these Roethlisberger had another good day as Pittsburgh’s Adam Humphries to trim a 14-point deficit to 24-17. in Switzerland and the US “should investigations focus on individuals, not resurgent offense kept rolling. Pittsburgh has scored The Bucs got the ball back with just over five min- there be any request”. “We always a young, hard-working bid committee REDSKINS 24, BEARS 21 30 points in five straight games, a franchise record. Kirk Cousins threw for 300 yards and a touch- utes remaining, punted four plays later and then expected criticism,” Thawadi said in an from Qatar.” The game - and potentially Cincinnati’s season - down and the Redskins hung on to beat the Bears watched New Orleans grind out three first downs to interview posted on the Supreme turned on one interception. Stephon Truitt picked after Chicago’s Robbie Gould missed yet another end the game. Committee’s website. 14 MILLION MAN-HOURS off Dalton’s shovel pass in the first quarter, and the late field goal. Washington, which came in tied with “There isn’t a single major sporting As well as corruption, critics have quarterback broke his right thumb while making the Philadelphia and the Giants for the NFC East lead, event in the world that doesn’t go consistently rounded on Qatar for its BROWNS 24, 49ERS 10 tackle. It’s unclear how many weeks he’ll miss. went ahead early in the fourth quarter on Dustin Johnny Manziel shook off a first-half interception through that journey, but I think ours record on migrant workers’ rights. Hopkins’ 47-yard field goal. The Redskins (6-7) broke and sideline meltdown by throwing a touchdown has been particularly intense. “We This summer it was claimed in the a nine-game road losing streak dating to last sea- pass in his first start since being benched for off- became the victim of a campaign that US media that 1,200 labourers had RAIDERS 15, BRONCOS 12 Khalil Mack had five sacks of Brock Osweiler, son. The Bears (5-8) were in position to score after field antics. The Browns snapped a seven-game los- singled out Qatar and our successful died on World Cup construction sites, a including one in the end zone for a safety, and Jay Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery with a 50-yard pass that ing streak. Manziel passed for 270 yards, delivering a bid without any shred of evidence.” charge fiercly denied by Doha. “That is Derek Carr bounced back from an awful first half. put the ball on the Washington 35. The usually reli- quality performance the Browns (3-10) desperately Asked if he was worried Qatar simply not true,” said Thawadi. Carr threw two touchdown passes and the Raiders able Gould, who missed the potential winner at the needed. He tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Gary could lose the 2022 tournament, a “In more than 14 million man hours (6-7) beat the Broncos for the first time since Sept. end of regulation in last week’s overtime loss to San Barnidge late in the third quarter as the Browns won defiant Thawadi replied: “Absolutely worked the Supreme Committee has 12, 2011, despite being held to minus-12 yards in Francisco, got a chance to redeem himself. His 50- for the first time since Oct. 11 and took some pres- not.” So far, Qatar has not been con- not experienced one fatality on site.” the first half - the worst performance by a team yard attempt wasn’t even close as it sailed wide sure off coach Mike Pettine. Just before halftime, tacted by investigators in Switzerland Work has begun on six of a possible heading into halftime in nearly a quarter-century. right. Manziel threw a pick and followed it with an angry or the US, confirmed Thawadi. eight venues that will be used in 2022. The Broncos (10-3) failed to hold onto a 12-0 half- outburst on the bench. Isaiah Crowell rushed for 145 Last week, US attorney general Rights groups have attacked Qatar time lead or several on-target throws from Osweiler, yards and had two short TD runs for Cleveland. The Loretta Lynch said she hoped Doha over the pace and substance of labour JAGUARS 51, COLTS 16 including two big drops by Demaryius Thomas, one Blake Bortles threw for three touchdowns and 49ers (4-9) allowed nine sacks and managed just 127 would cooperate with any investiga- reform. for a touchdown and another for a late first down. ran for a score - all in the second half - and the yards on offense before a 94-yard drive in garbage tion, if necessary. Late last month, a Amnesty said this month that Doha The one that really stung was a drop by a wide-open Jaguars ended the Colts’ 16-game winning streak in time. spokesman for the Swiss Office of the had done “almost nothing” in the five Vernon Davis at the Oakland 42 on fourth-and-5 the AFC South. The Jaguars (5-8) scored on offense, Attorney General (OAG) — which is years since being awarded the World from the Denver 37 with 3:45 left. Denver’s Brandon defense and special teams in the same game for the looking into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup to improve treatment of the coun- RAMS 21, LIONS 14 McManus, who nailed four field goals in the first first time since 2011, the franchise’s most complete Todd Gurley ran for 140 yards and two second- Cups-told AFP that no Qatari officials try’s almost two million foreign work- half, clanked a 49-yarder that would have tied it off game under third-year coach Gus Bradley. It helped half touchdowns, and the Rams ended a five-game had been questioned “so far”. ers, many working on tournament the left upright with 10:22 remaining, however. Jacksonville gain ground in the muddled division, at losing streak. Trumaine Johnson’s 58-yard intercep- At the same time however, the OAG projects. Earlier this year, Qatar Sebastian Janikowski then missed a 43-yarder with least on the Colts (6-7). Indianapolis’ division streak tion return for St. Louis (5-8) was the only score in added it would “particularly welcome” announced changes to the much-criti- 5:07 remaining, giving the Broncos good field posi- was the longest in NFL history. The Colts’ previous the first half, plus he did most of the work holding evidence from disgraced Qatari foot- cised “kafala” system, which limits the tion at their 33, but Davis had his big drop on fourth loss against the AFC South came on Dec. 16, 2012, at Calvin Johnson to a late 16-yard catch. Aaron ball powerbroker Mohamed bin rights of movement for workers and down after that. Houston. Donald had three sacks of Matthew Stafford to fur- Hammam, a former FIFA vice president has been likened by critics to modern- ther boost a defense that had sagged in recent and Asian Football Confederation day slavery. Thawadi said these weeks. Golden Tate caught two touchdown passes president. The 66-year-old, twice reforms showed Doha’s “determina- PACKERS 28, COWBOYS 7 CHIEFS 10, CHARGERS 3 Eddie Lacy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, The Chiefs kept San Diego out of the end zone for Detroit (4-9), which didn’t have much to show for banned for life from FIFA, was seen as a tion” to use the World Cup as a “cata- while fellow running back James Starks added two twice in the final seconds for their seventh consecu- extra days off to regroup from a game-ending des- central figure in helping secure Qatar lyst” for change. —AFP scores. The Packers (9-4) have a one-game lead in tive win. Alex Smith threw for 191 yards and a peration TD pass by the Packers on Dec. 3.— AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS

Sports court dimisses Nakhid appeal against FIFA rejection GENEVA: The Court of Arbitration for as the head of world football’s governing violation of the applicable FIFA rules.” been approved for the race to succeed confederation (UEFA). Platini is still hop- Sport (CAS) yesterday dismissed an body. Nakhid’s candidacy was invalidat- “As a consequence, those letters of Blatter, who is serving a 90-suspension ing to enter the race but he has been appeal by former Trinidad and Tobago ed because he only received four valid support were disregarded, meaning that over corruption allegations. They include barred to date while serving his own sus- player David Nakhid against a FIFA deci- nominations out of FIFA’s 209-member David Nakhid had not met the qualifying France’s Jerome Champagne, Prince Ali pension by FIFA’s ethics committee. sion to disqualify him as a presidential national association and presidential can- criterion of obtaining declarations of sup- bin Al Hussein of Jordan, South African He may face a stiffer punishment, candidate. Nakhid, 51, had challenged didates required five. A CAS statement port from at least five member associa- business tycoon Tokyo Sexwale, Asia’s including a possible lifetime ban, his exclusion by FIFA’s ad-hoc electoral confirmed previous reports that one of tions, and accordingly, his candidature football chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim when FIFA’s ethics court issues a ver- committee barring him from the Nakhid’s supporting associations also could not be validated,” the statement Al Khalifa and Gianni Infantino, who is dict in Platini’s corruption case next February 26 vote to replace Sepp Blatter gave backing to another candidate, “in further said. Five candidates have so far Michel Platini’s deputy at the European week. —AFP

Ignored in Europe, Club World Cup finds adulation in S America OSAKA: Unloved in Europe, the Club for anything,” midfielder Carlos Sanchez World Cup is still adored in South America told reporters after a training session. “I’m where players regard the tournament as not going to have another opportunity like the pinnacle of their careers and clubs as this.” Veteran Javier Saviola, who has the high point in their history. returned to end his career at River after he Thousands of fans of South American was raised at the club, said the Millionaires champions River Plate have been arriving had always been obsessed with beating in Japan over the last week, hoping their Europe’s best. “I started playing for the club team can pull off a major upset and when I was eight and it (River’s obsession) dethrone European champions Barcelona. has been there all the time,” he said. “The In contrast to the indifference among club has always seen it as an opportunity European media and fans, the build-up in for glory but, if anything, there’s more South America lasts for weeks and is often expectation this time than there was in 96 comparable to the World Cup itself. with Juventus.” Spanish champions Barcelona, who The tournament, featuring the six conti- have squeezed the tournament into their nental club champions plus national cham- busy schedule, arrived in Japan on Monday, pions of the host nation, has existed in its three days before their semi-final against current form since 2005, having succeeded Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande the Intercontinental Cup, a one-off played on Thursday. in Tokyo between the European and South River Plate, on the other hand, have American champions. coasted through the last few months since The 1980s saw South American domi- winning the Libertadores Cup, clearly with nance but the momentum changed with their minds on Japan, and arrived more the globalisation of the sport which has than one week ahead of Wednesday’s semi- turned the region’s clubs into feeders for final in Osaka against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Europe-based teams. The South Americans champions of the host nation. are now closer to the standard of teams For their send-off from Argentina, River from Asia and Africa and often find the held a public training session in their stadi- semi-final a real struggle, especially with um and a carnival-like procession to the air- the tantalizing prospect of a match against port. An estimated 25,000 flag-waving, a big-name European side at stake. drum-banging fans lined the 30-kilometre Curiously, as the gap has widened, South route, letting off fireworks, and dozens of American enthusiasm appears to have private car followed the team bus, hooting grown, the appeal now being that a team incessantly, to form a huge and rowdy con- such as River Plate, made up largely of jour- TURIN: Juventus’ defender Giorgio Chiellini (C) fights for the ball with Juventus’ defender Alex Sandro from Brazil during the Italian Serie A voy which blocked the highway. In all, neymen players, can have a pop at trying football match Juventus vs Fiorentina on Sunday at the “Juventus Stadium” in Turin. — AFP River are expected to receive the backing to beat star-studded Barcelona. Former of around 15,000 fans who have defied a Porto and Olympique Marseille midfielder 30-hour flight and enormous expense to Luis Gonzalez said he had fond memories make the trip. of getting up at dawn to watch the fixture Juve go fourth with River, who won the old Intercontinental during the 1980s. Cup in 1986 but lost to Juventus 10 years “Those live broadcasts early in the later, were also given rapturous reception morning,” he told FIFA.com. “I never as they arrived by bullet train in Osaka from thought I’d have the chance to play in such win, Roma hold Napoli Tokyo as several hundred supporters an amazing competition. For us, playing in crowded onto the platform. “This is a the Club World Cup is like touching the unique moment and I wouldn’t change it heavens.” —Reuters MILAN: Juventus surged back into the Serie A Turin when Ilicic converted from the spot after Napoli, however, steadily took control of title race with a 3-1 home win over Fiorentina Juve’s Giorgio Chiellini was adjudged to have the contest and had their chances to win, with on Sunday, while Napoli and AS Roma played brought down Federico Bernardeschi, Marek Hamsik forcing Szczesny into an out- out a 0-0 stalemate and 10-man AC Milan were although the hosts accused the winger of div- standing double save at the death. held 1-1 by bottom club Hellas Verona. ing. Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala struck Juventus responded almost immediately, ‘OBVIOUS SUPREMACY’ second-half goals to add further impetus to equalising in the sixth minute when Cuadrado “If this was a boxing match, Roma’s corner Juve’s title challenge after a poor start to the met Patrice Evra’s cross with a looping header, would have thrown in the towel,” Napoli coach season. before Mandzukic scored in the 80th after Maurizio Sarri told Mediaset Premium. “We Second-placed Fiore’s Josip Ilicic had given Fiorentina keeper Ciprian Tatarunsanu failed didn’t make the most of our obvious suprema- the visitors the lead with a penalty during a to hold Paulo Dybala’s effort. cy during the match.” breathless opening, but Juventus were level Dybala added a third in the second minute “At this moment Inter are in first place, but minutes later when Juan Cuadrado equalised of stoppage time when Cuadrado pressured they have had luck on their side,” Roma play- against his former club. Davide Astori into an error before playing in maker Miralem Pjanic told Sky Sport Italia. Juve’s sixth successive league win helped the Argentine forward, who slotted home past “We’ve got all the time in the world to close them go fourth on 30 points, six behind Tatarunsanu. the gap.” league leaders Inter Milan, while Fiorentina “As we were so far behind, it is important to AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was left stay four points off the top. close (the gap) even more before the (winter) fuming at the referee as they drew 1-1 at Roma, who have now gone four league break,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri home to bottom club Hellas Verona. games without a win, had goalkeeper told Sky Sport Italia. Carlos Bacca opened the scoring in the Wojciech Szczesny to thank for keeping them “At this moment, the team are playing rela- 52nd minute, but Luca Toni equalised from the in the contest against Napoli but they still tively well, although we have to improve tech- spot in the 57th after Nigel de Jong brought dropped to fifth place a point behind nically and make fewer mistakes.” down Leandro Greco and was sent off for pre- Juventus. Napoli are level on 32 points with Roma were booed off the pitch in midweek venting a clear scoring opportunity. Fiore. after an insipid 0-0 Champions League draw “The fans are right to complain and I am Valter Birsa scored the only goal of the against BATE Borisov despite qualifying for the sorry for them and the club,” Mihajlovic said to game as Chievo beat Atalanta, who had Nicolo last 16. Mediaset. “You’ve never seen me talk about Cherubin and Jasmin Kurtic sent off, while On-loan Chelsea forward Mohamed Salah referees, but you can’t fail to mention some YOKOHAMA: Spain’s FC Barcelona footballers arrive at the Narita international air- Empoli beat struggling Carpi 3-0 to go ninth. returned to the starting lineup for the first things, because for the last two games we’ve port in Narita, suburban Tokyo yesterday. FC Barcelona will play against Asian cham- time since early November against Napoli, and been seriously hurt.” Milan are in seventh on pion Guagzhou Evergrande of China at the semi-final of the Club World Cup in JUVE RESPOND gave them a dynamism that was missing in his 25 points, while Verona stay rooted to the foot Yokohama on December 17. — AFP Fiore took the lead in the third minute in absence. of the table with seven points. — Reuters Manchester United go into unknown in Europa League

NYON: Triple European champions Manchester United and their under-fire coach Louis van Gaal face a tricky task against little-known Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League following yesterday’s draw. United, knocked out of the Champions League last week, meet the Danish league winners, an unsung club backed by owner Matthew Benham who eliminated Southampton earlier in the competition. Midtjylland’s pony-tailed chairman Rasmus Ankersen, appointed by former financier and professional gambler Benham, who also owns English second-tier club Brentford, issued a warning after the draw. “We have already beaten one English team so we are not afraid,” said Ankersen. “We are a small club with a small budget and we know we can’t outspend them so we have to out-think them and, so far, this way has worked for us in the Europa League. “We know we have a chance and we will take up the challenge. If we can beat Southampton we can beat Manchester United and the players will feel that and believe it.” Midtjylland have adopted the use of mathematical modelling and key performance indicators in their man- agement and style of play, factors Van Gaal will need to study after a probable call to fellow Dutchman and Southampton manager Ronald Koeman. Van Gaal has received a lot of criticism following his team’s Champions League exit and their 2-1 defeat by pro- moted Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday. In other eye-catching ties Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp returns to Germany to face Augsburg, another club in their maiden European campaign, while Sevilla, bidding for a hat-trick of Europa League titles, meet Norwegian team Molde. Former Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund and Porto also lock horns while Olympique de Marseille take on Athletic Bilbao, Anderlecht play Olympiakos Piraeus, Shakhtar Donetsk face Schalke 04 and Lazio meet Galatasaray. The first legs will be played on Feb. 18 and the return matches seven days later. — Reuters NYON: The result of the draw for the UEFA Europa league round of sixteen is displayed on a screen, yesterday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. — AFP Serena named Juve go fourth Sportsperson with win, Roma of 2015 hold Napoli

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 201516 19

GulfRun season kicks off with GulfRun 24HR Karting Endurance 5 Page 15

NYON: The results of the draw for the UEFA Champions league round of sixteen is displayed on a screen, yesterday at the European football organization’s headquarters in Nyon. — AFP Barcelona face Arsenal, Chelsea play PSG again

NYON: Holders and Spanish league leaders with a similar understanding of the game. “We know what can happen if you have 10 Barcelona will play Premier League leaders They will be two great matches. We must have poor minutes on a European night.” Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions maximum respect for Arsenal.” Juventus could come to regret having Champions League last 16 fixtures League, 10 years after the sides faced each “Barca are used to playing under pressure blown their finale in the group stage, leaving PARIS: Fixtures for the last 16 round of SECOND LEGS other in the final, following yesterday’s draw in every sense. But we are the reigning cham- Manchester City, who will take on Dynamo the Champions League following the Tuesday March 8: for the first knockout stage. pions and that gives you an edge.” Arsenal club Kiev, with the better draw on paper. draw made in Nyon yesterday: Spanish league leaders Barcelona, chasing a secretary David Miles said: “It is not easy and “Everybody wanted to avoid Barca and Wolfsburg (GER) v Gent (BEL) sixth title, prevailed 2-1 in the 2006 final at the the one to avoid at this stage, but it is up to us Real Madrid (ESP) v Rome (ITA) Bayern so we are not so lucky but Bayern will FIRST LEGS Stade de France in Paris and also triumphed in and we will give them a game. not be glad they drew Juve,” said Juventus Tuesday Feb 16: the knockout phase in 2010 and 2011. “Messi, Neymar, Suarez... you could go on, ambassador Pavel Nedved. Wednesday March 9: Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea (ENG) Chelsea, who are enduring a torrid time in but we have our own world class players and I Manchester City director of football Txiki Chelsea (ENG) v Paris Saint-Germain Benfica POR) v Zenit Saint-PÈtersburg the Premier League, will face French league am sure they will be fantastic games in Begiristain said: “They have a good side (FRA) leaders Paris St Germain in the knockout London and in Barcelona.” (RUS) (Kiev)and it will be difficult for us. They are Zenit Saint-PÈtersburg (RUS) v Benfica stages for the third year in succession after the There is also a familiar feel about the growing in the competition and it will be a French champions triumphed at the same Chelsea v PSG tie. “There is not much we don’t Wednesday Feb 17: (POR) big challenge but we hope to be ready. stage last season and the London club had the know about Paris,” said Chelsea general secre- Gent (BEL) v Wolfsburg (GER) “They are a strong side, but they like to upper hand in the quarter-finals the previous tary David Barnard. Roma (ITA) v Real Madrid (ESP) Tuesday March 15: year. “You only know if it’s a good draw after the play football and it is just 11 v 11. We are Atletico Madrid (ESP) v PSV Eindhoven improving and gaining experience in the Another clash between big guns will fea- tie. We are ambitious, we have two-and-a-half Tuesday Feb 23: (NED) competition so we hope to do well.” ture former winners Juventus and Bayern months to prepare,” PSG sports director Olivier Arsenal (ENG) v Barcelona (ESP) Manchester City (ENG) v Dynamo Kiev PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Munich, while 10-times champions Real Letang said. Real Madrid and Roma have also Juventus ITA) V Bayern Munich (GER) (UKR) Madrid were drawn against AS Roma. It is the seen a lot of each other in the competition, Madrid and Benfica will be against Zenit St Petersburg. Gent, in their first participation in game between the pacesetters in Spain and though not since 2008 when the Italians won Wednesday Feb 24: the competition, will take on Germany’s VfL Wednesday March 16: Arsenal which most catches the eye, however. 201 home and away in the last 16. PSV Eindhoven (NED) v Atletico Madrid Wolfsburg. The first legs of the ties are spread Barcelona (ESP) v Arsenal (ENG) “We are certain to see a sporting spectacu- “You have to be very much on your guard. (ESP) over four days in February, with the returns Bayern M¸nich (GER) v Juventus Turin lar,” said Barca director Albert Soler. “Arsenal If we see ourselves as favourites things won’t Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Manchester City on March 8, 9 and 15, when there are two (ITA). - AFP and Barcelona have a similar style of play. The go well for us,” said Real director Emilio (ENG) fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides Butragueno. matches. — Reuters Real Madrid beaten again at Villarreal, Atletico joint top

MADRID: Real Madrid’s La Liga title hopes break and had a series of chances to turn the with Atletico’s only serious effort of the sec- were dealt another huge blow as they suf- game on its head. Benzema had scored five ond-half delivered a vital three points. fered a third league defeat in five games to times in his last two outings for Madrid “We always work to be better and it is clear Roberto Soldado’s solitary goal at Villarreal. despite his off-field problems which saw him that we continue on our course, looking to Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 win over Athletic indefinitely banned from playing for France in improve without looking at the other teams,” Bilbao earlier in the day means Real now trail midweek, however his range was off as he said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. their city rivals and Barcelona by five points at volleyed inches wide from Gareth Bale’s “It is not easy to concede first and come the top of the table. Real were outplayed in through ball. back. We are happy with our work, but we the first-half, but reacted after the break and Another fine Bale cross was blasted over by don’t understand any other way than through were left to rue a hat-trick of missed chances Benzema moments later before Bale had a sheer effort.” by troubled French striker Karim Benzema as great chance himself, but on his weaker right Valencia escaped from Eibar with a point defeat piles the pressure on under fire coach foot didn’t have the power to beat Alphonse despite another disappointing display after Rafael Benitez. Areola in the Villarreal goal. crashing out of the Champions League Elsewhere, a late own goal salvaged a point Benzema had one final chance to rescue a against Lyon in Neville’s first game in charge for Valencia in Gary Neville’s first taste of La point, but his and Madrid’s night was summed in midweek. Liga action as Los Che battled back with 10 up when he headed wide when unmarked Sergi Enrich deservedly opened the scor- men to draw 1-1 at Eibar. inside the area 17 minutes from time. ing for Eibar with the last kick of the first half. Real had won five consecutive games since Victory takes Villarreal back to within a However, the turning point came midway being thrashed 4-0 at home by Barca last point of fourth-placed Celta Vigo. At the through the second period when Valencia month, but were forced onto the back foot by Vicente Calderon, Atletico were forced to goalkeeper Jaume Domenech saved Saul a whirlwind start from Villarreal. come from behind as they conceded for just Berjon’s penalty after Lucas Orban had been Jonathan dos Santos had already smacked the seventh time in 15 La Liga games this sea- very harshly sent off for supposedly elbowing the inside of the post before Soldado turned son when Aymeric Laporte swept home Benat Dani Garcia. home Cedric Bakambu’s pass against his old Etxebarria’s corner at the back post. And Valencia got the slice of luck they club on eight minutes. Bakambu had two Atletico had barely threatened in the first- needed when David Junca turned the ball great chances to double Villarreal’s advantage half but levelled with the last action of the into his own net five minutes from time. before half-time, but the Congolese striker half as Saul Niguez headed in at the near post. A point leaves Valencia seven points off the pulled his shot wide when clean through on Jan Oblak made two great saves at the start of top four in eighth. “The last 20 minutes is the Keylor Navas before firing over from inside the second period from Eneko Boveda and minimum that Valencia should show every the area. Aduriz to keep Atletico in the game. week,” said Neville. “We wanted to win, a draw VILLARREAL: Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, back, duels for the ball with Having been dominated in the first-half, And they proved vital as Antoine is not ideal, but it is positive given the circum- Villarreal’s Jonathan dos Santos during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Madrid came out a different side after the Griezmann’s stunning strike from 25 yards stances.” — AFP Madrigal stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday. —AP Kuwait inflation a tick higher at 3.2% in Sept Page 22

Hedge funds add to record bearish positions in oil Business Page 23 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 Al-Mazaya Holding participates in Free-falling of oil prices continues to affect MENA markets Cityscape Kuwait as gold sponsor Page 25 Page 26

JEDDAH: A man sits in a Nissan car during the opening day of the Saudi International Motor Show yesterday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. — AFP Foreign banks charge back into Gulf local Gulf lenders squeezed as they lose market share

DUBAI/TOKYO: Foreign banks are regaining lost ground in “We believe that current market conditions will create a Highlighting this problem is the United Arab Emirates’ but many of those cut services or, in the case of Royal Bank of the Gulf’s financial sector, stealing a march on local lenders as number of business opportunities for us if we use our three-month Emirates Interbank Offered Rate (EIBOR), at a Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, withdrew completely they grapple with job cuts and a liquidity squeeze caused by strengths effectively.” said Hidefumi Takeuchi, regional head of record low as recently as February but trading at a 31-month after the financial crisis. That’s helped clear the way for the the plunging oil price. Japanese, French and US banks are the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Mizuho high last week. Japanese banks to gain market share so quickly, epitomised looking to pick up business in the region as the oil price Financial Group. The squeeze is already starting to be felt: First Gulf Bank, by their leading role as three of six arrangers on a $5.5 billion slump pushes domestic players to curb the flow of cheap Japan’s export credit agencies-Japan Bank for International the UAE’s third-largest bank by assets and one of the most loan to Qatar. loans which, until recently, had secured them a dominant Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment expansive names during the boom, laid off around 100 staff But some of the old international players remain. In the position in the market. Insurance (NEXI) — have helped support the lenders’ in-roads, last month. loan market, French banks are returning strongly and are set The shift marks a change in fortune for Gulf banks, which with Japanese contractors securing big wins in Gulf infrastruc- Local banks are also going from being lenders to borrow- to benefit as liquidity dries up at local lenders. in the years following the global financial crisis had poached ture projects and bringing with them cash from their home ers, with unprecedented activity in the financial institutions “Whereas some people are now nervous because we’ve staff and aggressively filled gaps left by international lenders financial institutions. loan market as the year closes and banks seek to lock in fund- seen the price of credit rise very quickly, this is exactly what I as they retreated to tackle problems at home. “The recent That puts Japanese lenders in prime position for advisory ing before U.S. interest rates increase. The result is only one want as I can continue lending,” said Natixis’ Eedle. Such price changes in liquidity and pricing have probably levelled the roles on these huge deals. The adviser on the $5.2 billion Liwa regional bank-Riyad Bank-has a top-six slot in the year-to-end- rises, plus a reduction in liquidity as fewer banks offer loans, playing field more equally between the local and internation- plastics project in Oman is SMFG. November 2015 league table for Gulf syndicated lending, should push more borrowers to debt capital markets in 2016, al banks,” said Simon Eedle, group regional head of the Middle down from four in 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. which will suit international banks who can give local institu- East at Natixis, noting the market was much changed from six Changing fortunes Japan’s MUFG and SMFG secured second and third spots in tions access to global investor cash. months ago. Local banks dominated Gulf loan markets in recent years the table respectively, while Samba Financial Group slipped to The environment in which international banks operate has Leading the charge of foreign lenders are Japan’s mega- due to the low cost of funds from government oil deposits 23rd from 2nd in 2014. The trend is set to continue in 2016 as changed much since 2008 though. New regulations make it banks: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Mizuho which provide around 10 to 35 percent of banks’ non-equity oil remains subdued, restricting the revenue Gulf govern- more capital-intensive to sell the kind of products which have Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group funding in the six-nation Gulf, according to rating agency ments can place with local lenders. been the staple of the Gulf, such as long-dated loans, mean- (SMFG). Flush with the proceeds of their government’s Moody’s. While this drove loan interest rates to uneconomical ing local companies will have to adapt to the new banking “Abenomics’” quantitative easing program, all three are hiring levels for foreign lenders, the oil price fall has severely impact- New entrants order. “We live in a return on equity world and that’s what staff and increasing business lines as they look to deploy ed the amount of liquidity local banks could lend and the rate Last time foreign banks held pole position in Gulf banking, motivates us now,” said Sammy Kayello, chairman of Middle funds. at which they do. the leading names included many US and European banks, East and North Africa at Morgan Stanley. — Reuters Fed rate hike wrong move Oil slump deepens Saudi for emerging economies gloom; Gulf, Egypt mixed PARIS: An expected first interest rate in almost a decade by tal outflows, a drop in currency value and hence (a stoking of) the Federal Reserve tomorrow could squeeze emerging inflation,” Garnier said. economies’ room for manoeuvre as they try to stave off reces- But Capital Economics research credits emerging nations MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS sion, analysts warn. with more resilience, saying yesterday they are “well placed to The rise would mark “the end of a very big illusion,” says withstand Fed tightening” as previous evidence suggested DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s bourse slid in the last hour of EGYPT Christine Rifflart, economist with French think tank OFCE. “the onset of higher interest rates in the US does not necessar- trade yesterday to end lower for a third session as crude Egypt’s benchmark rose 0.2 percent to 6,408 points, Emerging economies have done well out of the Fed’s latter ily trigger a rush to the exits.” The consultancy added that the prices extended a slump, while markets in Egypt, Qatar but remains within 110 points of November’s 2015 low. day generous monetary policy but with the cycle seemingly impending rise comes against a largely favorable economic and the United Arab Emirates made slight rebounds fol- In a surprise move, Egypt’s central bank on Sunday about to turn many of them, already battling pallid growth, backdrop and has been priced in by traders. lowing sustained declines. Brent prices tumbled to injected more foreign currency liquidity into the bank- face further headwinds. $36.78 by 1233 GMT, dropping further towards 11-year ing system, helping restore confidence among some Many emerging states are large scale producers of raw Rock and hard place lows. Saudi Arabia’s index fell 1.2 percent to a three-year foreign stock traders who were net buyers on Cairo’s materials and have ridden the boom of Chinese demand. Oil producing nations, hit by the price of crude tumbling to low of 6,686 points. Selling intensified as Brent prices fell bourse. Local and Arab investors were net sellers, With that having fallen off, growth has taken a hit. Worse seven-year lows, likewise have to deal with the fallout of a US below $37, Reuters data showed. bourse data showed. “We believe this foreign currency still, rising rates will penalize their debt financing condi- rates rise and accompanying dollar rise. Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), the Gulf’s largest injection - our so called Operation Confidence - has a tions and push down their currencies, hitting export earn- “The Gulf states, whose money is linked to the greenback, stock by market value, also fell 1.2 percent. Almarai very short life span,” said a note by Cairo-based Pharos ings. could find themselves saddled with an over-valued currency. bucked the trend, jumping 5.6 percent to 80 riyals after Holding. “The buzz around renewed negotiations with So much for the economics-but political crises also comes To maintain their stability vis-a-vis the dollar they will in turn it announced a dividend distribution of 1.15 riyals per Gulf countries and the IMF over sizeable financial assis- to bear, not least in Brazil where President Dilma Rousseff is have to raise their own rates,” thereby losing a growth-boost- share for 2015. This is 15 percent higher than 2014’s tance reinforces just how short-lived this move will be.” battling to stave off impeachment while the fact South African ing monetary tool, explains Garnier. In the case of oil producer dividend and will be the dairy company’s biggest pay- President Jacob Zuma is on his third finance minister inside a Nigeria “as the Fed tightens and the dollar gets stronger, you out since 2011. Almarai also said it would raise its capi- Oil tumbles week has caused confidence and the rand to plummet. will see more pressure on the Nigerian naira,” predicts Fitch tal by 33 percent by issuing 1 bonus share for every 3 Oil prices tumbled 4 percent yesterday, coming close Developing nations’ central banks are pinning their hopes ratings agency director Jermaine Leonard. held. The capital boost is aimed at supporting the food to their 11-year low, on growing fears that the global oil on a moderate rise to ensure the Fed does not make their task “If we start to see more pressure on the naira, we will have producer’s five-year 21 billion riyal ($5.60 billion) glut would worsen in the months to come in a pricing of keeping their own situation on an even keel insurmount- to ask the question, ‘how long can Central Bank of Nigeria spending program. Dubai’s bourse climbed 1.2 percent war between leading OPEC and non-OPEC producers. able. defend the naira at the present level of just below 200 to the as 19 of the 21 traded stocks ended higher. The index Brent crude fell by 4 percent to below $36.40 a barrel for A US rate rise risks increased capital outflow in emerging dollar?’ China may, in contrast, prove to be a special “emerg- had hit a two-year low a day earlier. Abu Dhabi’s index the first time since December 2008 and US West Texas states who could respond by raising their own, in many cases ing” case and fare better after any Fed decision to end the rose 0.6 percent, recovering some of Sunday’s losses as Intermediate (WTI) sank almost 3 percent below $34.60 a already high, rates. long months of rate rise rumble. Etisalat, the UAE’s largest listed company, added 1 per- barrel. Brent traded only 14 cents above the lows last “If they want to retain a certain currency stability the China’s own central bank Friday indicated it believes the cent. seen during the 2008 financial crisis of $36.20 a barrel. If emerging countries will have to raise their rates. Yet, as they yuan’s value ought in future to be less dependent on the dol- Fellow bluechips First Gulf Bank and Aldar Properties Brent falls below that level, that will be its lowest since are caught in an economic slowdown or even recession in lar and more measured against a basket of trading partner were among the other gainers, each jumping 1.8 per- mid-2004 - a year when oil was beginning its surge from some cases, they really ought to do the opposite,” says Olivier currencies. That could help the Asian giant as it battles its cent. Qatar’s bourse rose 1 percent as all but one stock the single digits it hit during the 1998 financial crisis and Garnier, chief economist with Societe Generale. own growth downturn. “Loosening its exchange objective gained, although it remains near a two-year low. when talk of a commodity super-cycle was only begin- Brazil is a notable example with inflation in double figures would give it greater scope to manage internal demand bet- Heavyweights Qatar National Bank and Masraf Al-Rayan ning. WTI’s financial crisis low was $32.40 in December and rates already sky high at 14.25 percent, leaving little mar- ter, to cut interest rates and to try to spread credit demand climbed 0.1 and 0.2 percent respectively. Combined, the 2008. “Oil is coming under pressure as the lack of OPEC gin for more upward movement. “US monetary policy poses on the banking market,” commented Rifflart. “That would banks account for about a third of Qatar’s total market cuts mean incessant oversupply continues,” said Amrita each time a problem in Brazil. Its economy is in recession and give (Beijing) the means to regulate its domestic demand,” capitalisation. Sen from Energy Aspects think tank. — Reuters it should loosen monetary policy but that only reinforces capi- she concluded. — AFP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 BUSINESS News in brief

OPEC oil price edges down to $33.76 pb VIENNA: The crude basket price went down by 93 cents Friday and stood at $33.76 per barrel, com- pared with $34.69 pb the previous day, the OPEC said yesterday. It added that the monthly average of the OPECís basket price in November was $40.50 per barrel while in October it was $45.02 per barrel which indicates. The yearly average for the basket last year was $96.29 per barrel, it said. During their recent meeting in Vienna, OPEC member countries had decided to maintain their production at 30 mil- lion barrels per day (bpd) despite a surplus in the market estimated at over a million barrels.

Kuwait inflation a tick Saudi bonds to sell new 20bn riyal bond issue DUBAI: Saudi Arabiaís government contacted local banks yesterday to sell them local currency bonds higher at 3.2% in Sept worth 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion), which will be allo- cated next week, the Maaal financial website reported, citing unnamed sources. The new issues will bring to 115 billion riyals the amount of bonds issued by the NBK REPORT government to local banks this year. It resumed issuing bonds to banks in July for the first time since 2007 to KUWAIT: Inflation in consumer prices was just a tick high- cover a budget deficit created by low oil prices. The er in October, rising from 3.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) in maturities on the latest bonds will yield slightly less September to 3.2 percent y/y. Inflation across most com- than the previous issue back in November. The new ponents remained broadly stable; clothing & footwear five-year tranche will yield 1.95 percent, a seven-year inflation appears to have gained the most momentum on portion will yield 2.20 percent, and a 10-year tranche a month-on-month basis. Core inflation (which excludes 2.85 percent, according to the website. food items) also saw a slight uptick, rising from 2.8 percent y/y to 2.9 percent. Food price inflation came in slightly lower against a backdrop of declining global prices. With Almarai moots dividend inflation in most components set to remain in-check until hike for 2015 the end of 2015, we expect annual inflation to average close to 3.4 percent in 2015, before easing to 3 percent in DUBAI: Saudi Arabiaís Almarai is proposing to hike 2016. its dividend for 2015 and increase its share capital Inflation in local food prices slowed slightly from 4.4 through the issuance of bonus shares to help sup- percent y/y in September to 4.3 percent in October, as port its growth plans. The Gulfís largest dairy firm global food prices continued to decline. According to the said yesterday its board had recommended a cash Commodity Research Bureauís global commodity index, dividend of 1.15 riyals ($0.31) per share for 2015. international food prices fell by around 13 percent y/y in That is up from the 1 riyal payout for 2014, according October. Given the ongoing weakness in international to Thomson Reuters data. The total value of the lat- food inflation, we expect upward pressures on local food decline for the seventh consecutive month. Inflation in manufacturing component subsided. Inflation in the est dividend payout would be 690 million riyals, the inflation to be limited in the near-to-medium term. clothing & footwear costs is seeing a large correction, fol- wholesale price index (WPI), updated quarterly, fell from company said in a statement to the Saudi bourse. Inflation in housing services was unchanged from lowing a high base around the same period last year. The 3.4 percent y/y in June (its last update) to 2.6 percent in Almaraiís board also decided to recommend to Septemberís 5.7 percent y/y reading. Inflation in this seg- stronger dinar has helped keep inflationary pressures in September, as a slowdown in inflation in manufacturing shareholders to raise its share capital by 33 percent ment (a bulk of which is made up of housing rents) wit- this segment down, especially as most items are imported. was offset by inflationary gains in agriculture, livestock & to 8 billion riyals through the issuance of one bonus nessed strong gains over the past year, particularly in Inflation in the ëother goods & servicesí segment also fishing, and mining & quarrying. The agriculture, livestock share for every three shares currently owned, the 4Q14 and 1Q15. It appears to have peaked in 2Q15 and we maintained its downward trend in October. Inflation in & fishing component gained some ground in 3Q15 on the company said in a separate statement. may see it continue to recede over the following months. this segment, which includes prices of personal care prod- back of a hike in fish & seafood prices during the same Inflation in furnishings & household maintenance con- ucts and jewelry and certain business charges, continues period. However, inflation in this segment is forecast to tinued to ease and clothing & footwear prices remained in to see a downward correction. Given that a bulk of the subside in 4Q15 after fish & seafood prices were lowered. decline. Inflation in furnishings & household maintenance items in this component is imported, the slowdown can Inflation in the WPI is forecast to be moderate in the UAE, China set up came in marginally lower in October, at 2.5 percent y/y. also be explained by the stronger dinar. near-to-medium term. This will help keep inflation in the Clothing & footwear inflation appears to have bottomed Wholesale price inflation eased in the third quarter of consumer price index in check and lead to an annual aver- $10bn joint strategic out; nonetheless prices in this segment continued to this year, mainly as upward inflationary pressures from its age close to our 3.4 percent forecast in 2015. investment fund DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates and China have established a New S African joint strategic investment fund worth $10 billion, the UAE’s state news agency reported, as China pursues its ambition to rebuild minister vows to Silk Road trade routes. The agreement was clinched during a three-day visit by Abu tackle rand fall Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan to China, and follows a cooperation deal between state-owned PRETORIA: South Africa’s new Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan oil companies in both countries. vowed yesterday to stabilize the tottering economy after his prede- “The launch of this strategic fund with commercial goals cessor lasted just four days in the job amid a dramatic slump in the builds on the next phase in our partnership in our quest to work rand. “We will stay the course of sound fiscal management,” Gordhan in a close way to develop the economies of the two countries told reporters. “Our expenditure ceiling is sacrosanct. We can have and take part in the growth of the global economy,” Sheikh extra expenditure only if we raise extra revenue.” President Jacob Mohammed was quoted as saying by the WAM news agency. The Zuma last week ousted respected finance minister Nhlanhla Nene fund, which will be financed equally by both countries, will pur- in favor of the little-known David van Rooyen, triggering a backlash sue a range of opportunities in various asset classes including that led to a U-turn on Sunday when Rooyen himself was removed. greenfield projects, in which operational facilities are built from “The facts about the developments that took place last week and scratch. the response of the financial markets are well-known,” Gordhan said. The report quoted Chinese president Xi Jinping as saying that “Our currency fell, the stock market dropped by 2.94 percent and “the fund will play a pivotal role in supporting the strategy of bond yields shot up by over 150 basis points. “Our government is ‘One Belt One Road’”. Announced two years ago, the plan to acutely aware of the financial impact this had on those who are rebuild Silk Road trade links with Europe and Asia aims to extend invested in this economy.” Zuma was accused of sacking Nene partly China’s global influence through financing infrastructure projects because the minister had publicly slapped down a move by state- in 65 countries and to win new markets for Chinese companies. owned South African Airways (SAA) to renegotiate a plane-leasing Political analysts will watch the ties forged during Sheikh deal with Airbus. Gordhan yesterday issued a sharp warning against Mohammed’s visit for any signs of shifting political loyalties, after alleged malpractice by those involved in SAA and other state- the UAE’s traditional ally, the United States, sought rapproche- owned companies. “It’s time that individuals or groups of individuals ment with Iran, to the dismay of Gulf nations. The new fund will stop playing with state entities as if it’s a personal toy from which be administered and managed by Abu Dhabi state fund you can extract money when you feel like,” he said. “These are public Mubadala on the Emirati side. A subsidiary of China institutions, their primary responsibility is to either contribute to the Development Bank and the State Administration of Foreign economy (or) contribute to providing a service or revenue.” Exchange will act on Beijing’s behalf. Gordhan, who served as finance minister from 2009 to 2014, was re- The fund joins others set up by the UAE and Abu Dhabi, the appointed to the role in a bid to calm markets after the rand fell to MYANMAR: Children play in front of a brick factory on the outskirts of the northern Myanmar city of Mandalay yesterday. —AFP largest emirate in the country, to invest with different countries, an all-time low of 16 to the dollar when Nene was fired. —AFP including Russia and France. —Reuters EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. GOLD Bahrain Dinar 805.040 America 20 Gram 219.040 UAE Dirhams 83.090 Canadian Dollar 0.215940 0.224440 10 Gram 112.210 US Dollars 0.299950 0.304450 ASIAN COUNTRIES Qatari Riyals 84.310 5 Gram 56.79 US Dollars Mint 0.300450 0.304450 Japanese Yen 2.511 Saudi Riyals 81.825 Indian Rupees 4.544 Jordanian Dinar 428.910 Asia Pakistani Rupees 2.920 UAE Exchange Centre WLL Egyptian Pound 38.751 Bangladesh Taka 0.003459 0.004059 Srilankan Rupees 2.123 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.126 Chinese Yuan 0.045898 0.049398 Nepali Rupees 2.842 Indian Rupees 4.537 Hong Kong Dollar 0.037129 0.039879 Singapore Dollar 216.100 COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Pakistani Rupees 2.920 Indian Rupee 0.004326 0.004716 Hongkong Dollar 39.232 Australian Dollar 209.25 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000017 0.000023 Bangladesh Taka 3.846 Bangladesh Taka 3.849 Canadian Dollar 227.76 Japanese Yen 0.002433 0.002613 Philippine Peso 6.424 Swiss Franc 313.06 Philippines Pesso 6.431 Kenyan Shilling 0.003160 0.003160 Thai Baht 8.451 Euro 337.68 Cyprus pound 579.600 Korean Won 0.000246 0.000261 US Dollar 304.15 Japanese Yen 3.505 Malaysian Ringgit 0.067209 0.073209 Syrian Pound 2.610 Nepalese Rupee 0.002883 0.003053 GCC COUNTRIES Sterling Pound 464.05 Nepalese Rupees 3.830 Pakistan Rupee 0.002697 0.002977 Saudi Riyal 81.123 Japanese Yen 2.54 Qatari Riyal 83.565 Malaysian Ringgit 71.210 Philippine Peso 0.006428 0.006708 Bangladesh Taka 3.853 Sierra Leone 0.000067 0.000073 Omani Riyal 790.150 Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.600 Indian Rupee 4.555 Singapore Dollar 0.212066 0.218066 Bahraini Dinar 807.890 Thai Bhat 9.375 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.128 South African Rand 0.014335 0.022835 UAE Dirham 82.825 Turkish Lira 102.970 Nepali Rupee 2.846 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001764 0.002344 Taiwan 0.009120 0.009300 ARAB COUNTRIES Pakistani Rupee 2.933 Thai Baht 0.008117 0.008667 Egyptian Pound - Cash 37.700 UAE Dirhams 0.08277 Bahrain Exchange Company Egyptian Pound - Transfer 38.897 Bahraini Dinar 0.8083 Arab Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.420 Bahraini Dinar 0.799609 0.807609 Egyptian Pound 0.03875 COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFT Tunisian Dinar 151.270 Egyptian Pound 0.036183 0.039309 Jordanian Dinar 0.4326 Europe Jordanian Dinar 428.390 Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085 Omani Riyal 0.7898 British Pound 0.454940 0.463940 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.027 Iraqi Dinar 0.000200 0.000260 Qatari Riyal 0.08386 Czech Korune 0.004357 0.016357 Syrian Lira 2.168 Jordanian Dinar 0.424847 0.432347 Saudi Riyal 0.08107 Danish Krone 0.040693 0.045693 Morocco Dirham 31.345 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Euro 0.327623 0.335623 Lebanese Pound 0.000152 0.000252 Norwegian Krone 0.031034 0.036234 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Moroccan Dirhams 0.022084 0.046084 Romanian Leu 0.087220 0.087220 Nigerian Naira 0.001256 0.001891 US Dollar Transfer 304.050 Slovakia 0.009083 0.019083 Euro 334.760 Omani Riyal 0.783320 0.789000 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Swedish Krona 0.031676 0.036676 Qatar Riyal 0.082804 0.084017 Sterling Pound 463.370 US Dollar 304.300 Swiss Franc 0.301813 0.312013 Saudi Riyal 0.080443 0.081143 Canadian dollar 222.100 Canadian Dollar 223.610 Turkish Lira 0.098087 0.108387 Syrian Pound 0.001289 0.001509 Turkish lira 102.530 Sterling Pound 462.955 Tunisian Dinar 0.147821 0.155821 Swiss Franc 309.940 Euro 334.875 Australasia Turkish Lira 0.098087 0.108387 Australian Dollar `220.130 Swiss Frank 300.725 Australian Dollar 0.210351 0.221851 UAE Dirhams 0.081800 0.082949 US Dollar Buying 302.850 New Zealand Dollar 0.197366 0.206866 Yemeni Riyal 0.001374 0.001454 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 BUSINESS

India: Paris climate deal won’t affect plans to double coal output

NEW DELHI: India still plans to double generation. “The environment is non- India’s contribution to global greenhouse ing new coal projects in favour of gas and house gas emissions. coal output by 2020 and rely on the negotiable and we are extremely careful gases emissions was just 2.5 percent with renewable energy, India should have few Environmentalists worry that despite resource for decades afterwards, a senior about it,” Anil Swarup, the top bureaucrat 17 percent of the world’s population, difficulties in financing dozens more new India’s commitment to renewable energy, official said yesterday, days after rich and in the coal ministry, told Reuters. “(But) while developed countries contributed a mines. State-owned producer Coal India, its rising use of coal at a time when many poor countries agreed in Paris to curb car- our dependence on coal will continue. fifth of emissions with just 5 percent of for example, has enough internal cash Western nations are rejecting the dirty bon emissions blamed for global warm- There are no other alternatives available.” the world’s population. resources to drive more production, fossil fuel will hamper the world’s fight ing. While India has plans to add 30 times “While contributing to (the) growth of Swarup said. against climate change. India, the world’s third-largest carbon more solar-powered generation capacity renewable energy, energy conservation & At the global climate summit in Paris, India, which is targeting to more emitter, is dependent on coal for about by 2022, there were limitations to clean efficiency, we’ll make sure our develop- nations forged a landmark agreement on than double coal output to 1.5 billion two-thirds of its energy needs and has energy and coal would remain the most ment process (does) not get hampered,” Saturday to set the course for an historic tons this decade, says coal provides the pledged to mine more of the fuel to pow- efficient energy source for decades, he Goyal said in a post on Twitter. transformation of the world’s fossil fuel- cheapest energy for rapid industrializa- er its resource-hungry economy while said. Minister for Power, Coal and Even though many international driven economy within decades, includ- tion that would lift millions out of also promising to increase clean energy Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, said lenders are turning their backs on financ- ing eliminating net man-made green- poverty. — Reuters

Delays help Dubai rents stay flat in 2015

DUBAI: The delayed handover of about ing against releasing units. Sales contracts 6,000 homes in Dubai has helped rents allow for some delays. remain flat so far in 2015 though residen- “Those who have some flexibility in tial sales prices have fallen more than 10 their delivery pipelines will stall their deliv- percent, industry consultants CBRE said ery until rental or capital values of those yesterday. units give better returns,” said Nicholas Dubai’s real estate sector has stuttered Maclean, managing director of CBRE this year following a rebound close to the Middle East. “Providing they don’t have a peak values of the previous decade as a commitment to deliver those units, it’s a strong local currency made buying proper- smart way of doing development. A key ty more expensive for foreign investors. weakness of some developments in Dubai Overall, Dubai apartment and house sales in the last 10 years or so was the lack of prices on average fell 16 and 14 percent phasing in deliveries.” respectively in the first 11 months of 2015, CBRE estimates Dubai’s residential sec- CBRE estimated, forecasting further tor can absorb 20,000 new units each year declines in sale prices next year. before vacancy rates increase. “You’re see- Apartment rents were flat over the ing a more pronounced impact this year, same period, while house rents dipped 4 but there’s always going to be some slip- percent, CBRE said. “The (rental) market has page,” said Green. held up very well but it doesn’t tell the full He forecast sale prices would decline by story,” said Mat Green, UAE head of about 10 percent in 2016, although per- research at CBRE Middle East. “We have a formances would differ markedly by dis- very fragmented market.” trict. He said rental values in the city’s more “Sales are driven by sentiment, outside expensive districts such as Palm Jumeirah influences, the currency situation, so and Dubai Marina had fallen while cheaper, you’ve a lot of external fundamentals influ- peripheral areas have seen prices rise in encing the investment decision, it’s not 2015. CBRE had forecast 20,000 units easy to forecast,” said Green. THE HAGUE: Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem (left) and Dutch State Secretary of Finance would be handed over in 2015, but only The UAE dirham is pegged to the dollar, Eric Wiebes (right) receive European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici (center) at the Dutch about 14,000 will be delivered by the end which this year is up 9.2 percent versus the of the year due to late payments by euro, 6.6 percent against India’s rupee and Ministry of Finance in The Hague yesterday. —AFP investors, difficulties in obtaining comple- 2.8 percent higher against the British tion certificates and some developers opt- pound. — Reuters Hedge funds add to record China to keep 2016 economic bearish positions in oil growth in ‘reasonable’ range BEIJING: Chinese leaders, meeting ahead of efforts will be made to improve the quality of Policy shift after OPEC decision to keep output an agenda-setting conference, pledged yes- efficiency of the supply system,” Xinhua said. terday to keep the country’s economic Premier Li Keqiang recently pledged to growth in a “reasonable range” in 2016 by step up “supply-side” reforms to generate new LONDON: Rather than taking profits, hedge strongly correlated with movements in the meeting on Dec. 4 as implied volatility contin- expanding domestic demand and making growth engines in the economy while tack- funds continued to add to their record bearish price of Brent and WTI throughout 2015, so it ues to increase. supply-side improvements. ling factory overcapacity and so-called zom- positions after the Organization of the comes as no surprise that the extra shorts The implied volatility embedded within The pledge was reported by the official bie firms. Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed helped push both markers to new lows. one-month at the money Brent options has Xinhua news agency, which said the Xinhua said that the government will take to reach agreement on a production target at By the end of the week, both Brent and WTI risen to more than 50 percent, up from a previ- Politburo, a top decision-making body of the more steps next year to help companies lower the start of the month. were trading well below $40 per barrel, at their ous high of 47 percent before OPEC’s decision ruling Communist Party that President Xi costs, tackle property inventories and ward By Dec. 8, hedge funds and other money lowest levels since the depths of the financial was announced. Jinping chairs, convened yesterday. No num- off financial risks. The government will pro- managers had accumulated short positions in crisis and recession in 2008/2009. There has Implied volatility is now the in 93rd per- bers were reported for what leaders see as mote mergers and acquisitions next year, as the main WTI and Brent futures and options been no sign of mass short covering among centile for all trading days since 2006, accord- “reasonable”, but yesterday’s meeting signals well as let strong firms survive and weak ones contracts equivalent to 364 million barrels. speculators despite the fact that WTI and Brent ing to estimates derived from Thomson that the annual Central Economic Conference close under the principle of “survival of the The combined short position in Brent and prices have both fallen almost $12 in less than Reuters Eikon. In the short term, the short - at which policymakers are expected map out fittest”, Xinhua said. WTI was up by almost 5 million barrels com- two months. positions can be rolled forward profitably 2016 economic and reform plans and targets - Beijing has been struggling to reach its pared with the previous week and 161 million Both the poor supply-demand fundamen- because the market remains in contango so should open soon. In 2014, there was a economic growth target of around 7 percent barrels since the middle of October. tals and momentum trading strategies appear the hedge funds are buying back cheap Politburo meeting on Dec. 5, and the pivotal this year, despite a raft of policy easing steps The combined short position is easily the to favour the downside for the time being. But futures positions and selling more expensive economic conference was held Dec. 9-11. in recent months. President Xi has said that largest on record, dwarfing the previous the risks associated with such a large short ones. In reporting yesterday’s Politburo meeting, China must achieve annual average growth of records of 325 million barrels set in August and position that will need to be covered at some Positive roll yield is adding to the returns Xinhua said without elaborating that macro- no less than 6.5 percent over the next five 299 million barrels in March. Hedge funds point are clearly rising. from being short in a falling market and ensur- economic policies will be kept stable while years to hit the country’s goal of doubling booked some profits on Brent, reducing short The cost of buying protection against a sud- ing the positions are very profitable. But at micro-policies will be flexible. “While appro- gross domestic product and per capita positions by 8 million barrels last week, but den price movement up or down through some point the short positions will have be priately expanding aggregate demand, more income by 2020 from 2010. — Reuters added 13 million in WTI, according to data options is becoming progressively more scaled back significantly; the high level of from the US Commodity Futures Trading expensive. implied volatility shows that option dealers are Commission and ICE Futures Europe. Brent crude options are now even more braced for turbulence when some of the Hedge fund short positions have been expensive than they were before the OPEC hedge funds try to exit. — Reuters

Argentina axes tax Newell Rubbermaid to buy on grain exports Jarden in $13.2bn deal NEW YORK: Newell Rubbermaid is buying canvas on which to leverage our advan- BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s new pro-business president, rival Jarden in a $13.2 billion cash-and-stock taged set of brand development and com- Mauricio Macri, announced large tax cuts on agricultural deal that creates a global consumer goods mercial capabilities for accelerated growth exports yesterday, pleasing local farmers but raising fears of giant, the US companies announced yester- and margin expansion,” said Michael Polk, a grain and soy glut on world markets. Macri, who took day. president and chief executive of Newell office Thursday, had made it a central campaign pledge to Newell Rubbermaid, maker of Rubbermaid, in a statement. slash the South American farming giant’s steep taxes on Rubbermaid storage containers, Sharpie Newell Rubbermaid estimated the merg- agricultural exports, which had triggered a major clash pens and Calphalon cookware, said the er will yield about $500 million in cost syner- between producers and former president Cristina Kirchner’s combination of the two companies into the gies over four years, followed by “strong administration. new Newell Brands would create a powerful double-digit) earnings per share growth. Export taxes will be eliminated altogether for wheat, portfolio of strong global brands with $16 Under the terms of the deal, Jarden share- corn and sorghum, and for soy the tax will drop from 35 billion in annual revenues. holders will receive for each share they own percent to 30 percent, Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile Jarden’s brands include Coleman tents, $21 in cash and 0.862 shares of Newell told reporters. All of those taxes had been introduced in Yankee Candle candles, AeroBed inflatable Rubbermaid. Based on Newell Rubbermaid’s AMRITSAR: Indian food vendors prepare poori or puri - fried puffed whole wheat 2008 under Kirchner. “I am going to sign the decree today,” mattresses, Crock-Pot cookers and Mr. closing share price on Friday, the acquisition flat bread - and channa or chole masala - chickpeas - at a 56-year-old shop in Macri, whose inauguration ended more than a decade of Coffee coffeemakers. “The scale of our com- offer represents a 24 percent premium to Amritsar yesterday. One plate of channa with two poori’s and accompanying pick- left-wing rule, said in a speech to farmers. Argentine farmers bined businesses in key categories, channels Jarden’s share price average over 30 days as les sells for INR 20. — AFP had accused Kirchner of saddling the agricultural industry and geographies creates a much broader of Friday. — AFP with an unfair share of the national tax burden, hurting their international competitiveness. Turkey PM says debate over But outside Argentina, markets have been wary of what Macri’s victory would mean for already low global prices for CB independence ‘overblown’ agricultural commodities. Argentine farmers have been stockpiling their crops in hopes of more favorable condi- ANKARA: The recent debate over the inde- Davutoglu’s comments did little to relieve tions. pendence of the Turkish central bank is pressure on the lira currency, which has lost They have an estimated 17 million tons of soy, 20 million “overblown,” Prime Minister Ahmet 1.57 percent of its value against the dollar tons of corn and 10 million tons of wheat in stock. Davutoglu said yesterday, and added the since late on Friday, weakening with other Argentina is the world’s third-largest producer and exporter bank would take “necessary steps” after a rate emerging market assets ahead of a Fed of soy, after the United States and Brazil, and vies with increase from the US Federal Reserve expect- meeting that starts on Tuesday. Ukraine for the title of third-largest corn exporter. ed this week. Turkey’s current deficit account, which It is also the world’s seventh biggest wheat exporter. “We President Tayyip Erdogan has been a fre- stood at around $130 million, remains fragile can double Argentina’s food production,” Macri told farmers, quent critic of what he say are Turkey’s exces- but is under control, he said. The government encouraging them to grow more. sively high interest rates, leading to questions has a wide reform plan to improve Turkey’s The announcement is the first of the economic reforms about whether the central bank has kept investment environment and will hold meet- promised by the conservative president, who has vowed to rates on hold since February due to political ings next month and in February with foreign overhaul Kirchner’s legacy of hands-on economic manage- interference. “I believe the debate over the investors, governments and institutions, he ment, including protectionist import controls, heavy export central bank has been overblown,” Davutoglu said. taxes and an official exchange rate. Argentina, Latin said in an interview broadcast live on broad- Separately, Davutoglu said Turkey could America’s third-largest economy, is suffering from high infla- caster AHaber. “The central bank will take the hold separate referenda on a new constitu- tion and facing a recession next year. Macri has also vowed necessary steps in terms of its policy-tool tion and an executive presidential system. to let the peso currency float freely, a move that will likely LISBON: Men walk past the entrance to the headquarters of Portuguese bank independence ... I don’t think the Fed’s Erdogan, Davutoglu’s predecessor as prime trigger a steep devaluation-and also boost Argentine BANIF in Lisbon yesterday. Banif shares collapsed today on the Lisbon Stock impact on us will be too long-lasting or minister, has lobbied for expanded powers exports by making them cheaper. — Reuters Exchange, falling over 35%, with news reports pointing to an imminent govern- unsettling.” for his office. — Reuters ment intervention. — PHOTO TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 BUSINESS Volatility sweeps through world markets

LONDON: Volatility swept through world mar- Gordhan was re-appointed finance minister. In tinued guiding its currency lower, setting the down 1.6 percent at $37.30, within a few ing its losses far this year to about 4 per- kets yesterday with China’s yuan hitting a fresh early trading yesterday, the FTSE EuroFirst yuan/dollar official midpoint at its weakest cents of Friday’s low. cent. Volatile Shanghai stocks ended yes- multi-year year low and oil’s continued travails index of leading 300 shares was up 0.6 percent since July 2011. The scattergun nature of global mar- terday 2.5 percent higher, the biggest rise adding to nervousness before an expected at 1,406 points. That followed last week’s 3.8 Beijing’s introduction of a yuan rate index kets comes as the US Federal Reserve is since Nov 4. “We seem to find ourselves hike in US interest rates later this week. Asian percent fall, the second biggest weekly fall this against a basket of peers, seen as a move likely to raise interest rates for the first edging towards the next, most worrying stocks traded in the red but European stocks year. traders said would depeg the renminbi from time in almost a decade later this week. phase of FX Wars ... to a synchronized showed more signs of life, recovering from Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent and the greenback over time, further weighed on “Nerves are fraying ahead of the Fed’s attempt by all major economies to keep their worst week in almost four months to Germany’s DAX was up 0.4 percent, in stark the yuan. expected decision to lift US rates on their currencies from appreciating, or to open this week on a positive note. contrast to Asia, where MSCI’s broadest index Oil prices continued their freefall after the Wednesday. And this might just be a fore- guide them lower,” Rabobank analysts Emerging markets struggled for direction, of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit a 2-1/2- International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that taste of what’s to come if the market does said yesterday. weighed down by the weakness in China’s cur- month low and was last down 0.8 percent and global oversupply could worsen next year. not like what the Fed has to say on “Logically, that cannot be achieved for rency, Asian stocks and oil, but buffeted by a Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.8 percent. Brent crude fell below $38 a barrel for the first Wednesday,” said Steve Barrow, head of all of them, and if China manages to suc- surge in South African markets after Pravin The People’s Bank of China on Monday con- time in seven years on Friday and was last G10 strategy at Standard Bank in London. ceed in its goals, it will mean others are On Friday, the Dow sank 1.8 percent failing to do so, potentially forcing other and the S&P 500 lost 1.9 percent. Both central banks to retaliate,” they said. indices are in the red year-to-date, on South Africa’s rand had been one of the track for their first annual decline since biggest movers down in recent months, in 2008. part due to investor concerns over the country’s political turmoil, particularly the Retaliation in first instability surrounding the position of Talk of so-called “currency wars” finance minister. picked up again after China’s decision to The rand rallied 5 percent yesterday, its loosen its grip on the yuan and allow slow biggest rise in seven years, after the wide- but steady depreciation in recent weeks ly-respected Gordhan was reappointed. added to concerns that the economy may Elsewhere in currencies, the US dollar rose be more fragile than expected. against major currencies, recovering some China late on Friday launched a new of last week’s lost ground. The euro was trade-weighted yuan exchange rate down a third of one percent at $1.0950 index. Beijing said it was intended to dis- and the dollar was up a third of one per- courage investors from exclusively track- cent against the yen at 121.20 yen. ing the yuan’s fluctuations against the The greenback’s rise was supported by greenback. Data on Saturday painted a a move up in US Treasury bond yields. The slightly brighter economic picture, how- 10-year yield was up 3 basis points at 2.17 ever. Factory output growth accelerated percent and the 2-year yield was up 2 basis to a 5-month high, while retail sales rose points at 0.915 percent. A US rate hike at an annual 11.2 percent pace, the would be a first step towards normalizing strongest this year. monetary conditions after an extended Spot yuan fell to as low as 6.4665 to period of loose policy, which had helped the dollar, its lowest since mid-2011, tak- shore up riskier assets. —Reuters TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 BUSINESS

Free-falling of oil prices continues to affect MENA markets

KUWAIT: Financial Centre “Markaz” recently long-term foreign and local currency sovereign released its Monthly Market Research report that MARKAZ MONTHLY RESEARCH REPORT credit to ‘A-plus/A-1’, citing a “pronounced negative examines and analyzes the performance of equity swing” in the government’s budget balance. S&P markets in the MENA region as well as the global November, making it a cumulative YTD declined of kept its outlook for the ratings negative, saying it equity markets for the month of November. 15.4 percent. could lower them further in the next two years The report stated that barring Saudi Arabia, MENA markets liquidity continued its momen- unless the government managed a large and sus- Kuwait and Morocco, MENA markets ended in red tum in November, with volume increasing by 20 tained cut in its deficit. Moody’s has Pointed out during the month of November 2015, with Egypt (- percent and value traded by 7.7 percent, post the that the fiscal position of Saudi Arabia is weakening, 14.6 percent) declining the most, followed by Qatar lulled market activity in the last quarter. With the while keeping its rating unchanged. Saudi Arabian (-13.0 percent), Dubai (-8.6 percent) and Oman (-6.4 exception of Oman and Jordan, other MENA mar- corporate earnings declined during Q3 2015 as low percent). Decline in oil price by 10 percent during kets witnessed rise in market liquidity, with Bahrain, increase in 2016, as China’s economic growth is oil prices pulled down the wider economy. the month and subsequent monetary tightening Kuwait, and the UAE leading the charge. Bahrain expected to improve, thereby driving oil demand. Cumulative net income at 166 listed companies has led to the regional market response. showed the most improvement with value traded The company is also eyeing overseas acquisition dropped 14 percent from a year earlier to $7.4bn. Egypt markets were affected badly after con- increasing by 268 percent and volume traded to expand its markets geographically. Emirates Saudi Arabia’s cabinet recently stated that it was cerns regarding the fall in tourism revenues trig- increasing by 167 percent, after being the worst hit Telecom has benefited from its decision to allow for- ready to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC coun- gered a massive sell-off, while Qatar and the UAE in Oct’15. eign and institutional investors to own its shares tries to achieve market stability, before OPEC met on markets suffered due to falling oil prices and the SABIC (KSA) was the top performing blue chip, and has rallied since the announcement made dur- Dec 4 to review its year-long policy of not support- MSCI rebalancing, after addition of overseas listed gaining 9.1 percent in November, followed by ing the previous quarter. Qatari companies, ing prices. But the OPEC members were not able to Chinese companies to the emerging markets index. Emirates Telecom (UAE) and Saudi Telecom (KSA), Industries Qatar (-18.3 percent), Ezdan Holdings (- agree on a production ceiling as Iran wanted to Saudi Arabia (1.6 percent), Kuwait Wt.ed index (1.2 which gained 7.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respec- 18.0 percent) and Masraf Al-Rayan (-17.4 percent) scale back its production to levels prior to western percent) and Kuwait Price index (0.5 percent) mar- tively. Despite SABIC’s Q3 profit falling 9.4 percent to were the top three losers in November, as they were sanctions before it considers production curb, which kets gained marginally in November, due to investor $1.5bn, the company was able to beat analyst esti- affected by the rebalancing of the MSCI emerging led to further decline in oil price. The market expectation of stabilization of oil price in the OPEC mates by cutting operational costs. Also, SABIC esti- markets index and the fall in hydrocarbon price. remains over-supplied, with production having risen meeting. S&P GCC declined 2.3 percent in mates chemical prices to either remain stable or Standard & Poor’s cut its ratings for Saudi Arabia’s to a record 97.09mbpd. Security fears blight European tourism

LONDON: Europe’s travel industry could lose ing from 800 million euros to well over 1 billion over $1 billion in revenues because of the impact euros. of the Paris attacks, analysts say, though low oil With the political and security situation still prices and a recovering economy will offset volatile in many parts of the Middle East and security worries for the best-placed companies. major Western countries on high alert for further Keen to benefit from the positive factors, Islamist attacks, safety fears will continue to hang investors are focusing on groups that offer a over the sector for the foreseeable future. wide range of destinations, can avoid places “It can get worse when, instead of having one where safety is in doubt, and have robust event, you are starting to have a series of events, enough finances to absorb potential shocks. because people then feel very insecure,” said “Big companies may be better prepared Daniele Patti, senior research analyst at Allianz because they have more ... and further destina- Global Investors. On the positive side, analysts tions that will be tempering the losses,” said Ipek cited tour operator TUI , cruise operator Carnival, Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at London Capital online holiday retailer On The Beach Group, Group. Ryanair and British Airways parent IAG as being The full impact of the Nov. 13 attacks that able to weather the storm. killed 130 people in Paris will become clearer TUI, the world’s largest tour operator, said on with fourth-quarter results, but there is already Thursday it was confident of increasing earnings evidence of a significant hit to Europe’s tourism by more than 10 percent this year, as it switched industry, worth $500 billion according to the out of Egypt and Tunisia to focus on the Canary UN’s World Tourism Organization. Islands and Cyprus instead. Hotel revenues in Paris are down 30-40 per- With ships seen as less likely to be targeted in cent from last year’s levels, restaurant revenues attacks, Carnival was cited as a good bet in the have fallen by a similar margin while new flight current context, while On The Beach Group bookings to Paris fell by 27 percent in the week could benefit from its focus on destinations like following the attacks. That cost Air France KLM Spain, Portugal and the Canaries. 50 million euros ($55 million), while British bus Airlines are also attractive as they are trad- and train operator Stagecoach last week issued a ing at a discount to the market, with Ryanair profit warning because of customer fears about and IAG’s price-to-earnings ratios at 13 and JEDDAH: A man looks at a car displayed during the opening day of the Saudi International Motor Show on Sunday in the Red Sea trips to big cities. 11.5 respectively, compared with an average of city of Jeddah. — AFP “I suspect that we’re going to see a little bit 16.6 on the STOXX Europe 600 index and 16.4 more of a lingering impact for the travel indus- on the UK FTSE 100 index. Oil is a key factor for try,” said Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City airlines, with analysts estimating that a dollar Index. Analysts who spoke to Reuters gave esti- drop in the oil price added between 10 and 15 Shell sees more job cuts as mates of the total revenue hit on Europe’s travel pence (15 to 23 cents) to their share prices last and tourism sectors from the Paris attacks rang- year. — Reuters BG deal gets China green light Cuba reaches debt deal Deal to face Shell, BG shareholder votes with its creditors LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell expects to slash thou- to more than half BG’s roughly 5,000 employees. undermined the deal. sands more jobs to save costs if its takeover of BG The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company had “The deal doesn’t make financial sense at the cur- Group goes through as planned early next year fol- already outlined steps to protect dividend payouts rent oil price. You have got to be pretty bullish on the PARIS: Cuba has reached a deal with its Earlier this month, diplomats said lowing a final green light from China. and cashflow following the merger, which include current oil price to make this deal work.” David creditors under which they will forgive Cuba was nearing a deal with 15 rich The acquisition, which was announced on April 8 cost savings of $3.5 billion and $30 billion in asset dis- Cumming, Head of Equities at Standard Life $8.5 billion of late payment charges and creditor nations of the Paris Club to and is biggest in the sector in a decade, has been posals. The new job cuts are also in addition to previ- Investments, told BBC Radio yesterday. Analysts at Cuba will pay $2.6 billion of arrears over restructure $16 billion in debt stemming cleared by China’s Ministry of Commerce, Shell said ously announced plans to reduce Shell’s headcount Credit Suisse, however, said the deal still made strate- an 18-year period, according to the from a 1986 default, with creditors yesterday, after earlier approvals from Australia, Brazil and contractor positions by 7,500 worldwide. gic sense. “Yes, it is tough when one looks at spot oil French Finance Ministry and Cuba’s Paris expected to forgive most of the amount and the European Union. Shell and BG will now send Shell B shares were down 1.6 percent by 1217 prices ... We are in the camp of ‘Yes’, not just because Club creditors. French Finance Minister owed. One diplomat said that Cuba had a merger prospectus to their shareholders and hold GMT, while BG shares traded 0.3 percent lower. A BG of the strategic rationale longer term, but also Michel Sapin said that of the $470 mil- agreed to pay the principal of around $5 special general meetings for votes on the deal. If spokesman said the company would remain focused because of Shell’s CEO and Chairman, who we think lion in principal and original interest billion owed since its 1986 default in approved, it will face a court hearing 10 days later and on its business plan until the deal is completed. are the right people at the helm in this environment,” payments that Cuba owes to France, exchange for forgiving $11 billion in could be completed by early February. the bank said. $240 million will be repaid, while the service charges, interest and penalties, Some shareholders, however, have voiced con- INVESTOR CONCERNS Last month, sources told Reuters that the Chinese rest will be converted into development with talks focused on how long Cuba cern over the merits of the acquisition following the The combination will transform Shell into the Ministry of Commerce had pressed Shell to sweeten projects for Cuba. would take to repay and how much of sharp slide in oil prices. The fall in Shell’s share price world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader and a long-term LNG supply contracts as the world’s top “This agreement opens a new era in the money would be reinvested in Cuba. since April means the value of the deal has fallen to major offshore oil producer focused on Brazil’s rapid- energy consumer faces a large surfeit over the next the relations between Cuba and the Most of the creditors are willing to $53 billion from $70 billion. ly-developing sub-salt oil basin that would rival Exxon five years. international financial community,” show flexibility due to their increased Shortly after announcing the green light from Mobil’s position as the world’s biggest international The integration of the two companies has been Sapin said in a statement. France is interest in doing business in Cuba fol- China, Shell issued a statement saying it expected to oil company. planned by a joint committee in recent months but Cuba’s main creditor and will be lowing the Communist-run island’s cut about 2,800 roles globally from the combined Shell has nevertheless had to battle a sharp slide could encounter some difficulties as BG’s small and annulling $4 billion of the $8.5 billion detente with the United States and con- group. That would be nearly 3 percent of the group’s in oil prices, which have fallen from $55 a barrel in relatively nimble operations are merged with Shell’s total under the deal. tinuing domestic reforms. — Reuters combined workforce of about 100,000, or equivalent April to below $40 a barrel, which some investors said much larger structure. — Reuters

Japan business confidence UK may nationalize Rolls-Royce’s nuclear flat despite recovery signs submarine business: FT

TOKYO: Japan’s biggest manufacturers Sentiment among non-manufacturers said Junichi Makino, chief economist at Last month, official economic growth LONDON: The UK government is considering nationalizing the were in a cautious mood during the last was also unchanged in the latest BoJ SMBC Nikko Securities. figures showed another contraction in nuclear submarine business of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, which quarter of the year, a central bank survey report, along with confidence at medi- “In the immediate term, exports and the July-September period, suggesting powers its Trident missile deterrent system, the Financial Times showed yesterday, despite a modest um-size and small manufacturers. production have bottomed out,” Makino Japan had fallen into its second recession reported. pick-up in the world’s number three December’s Tankan set a “weak tone” for added. “Among non-manufacturers... in as many years. The government may also decide to merge some or all parts economy. The Bank of Japan’s closely- the mood among Japan’s firms, while (sentiment) remains weak, despite But later revised figures actually of Rolls-Royce Holdings’ businesses with BAE Systems, the FT watched Tankan report showed confi- company forecasts were also lacklustre, improvement in commercial conditions.” showed modest 0.3 percent growth in said on Sunday. dence among major manufacturers was the quarter, as capital spending and fac- Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Warren East had ruled out any flat at plus 12 in December from the pre- tory output picked up. The initial data plans to “sell big chunks” of their business in November amid vious quarter. threatened to deal an another blow to pressure from activist investor ValueAct for the company to The survey of more than 10,000 com- Prime Minister divest its marine engine business and focus on its main aero- panies nationwide is the most compre- Shinzo Abe, who has staked his repu- engine business. hensive indicator of how Japan Inc. is far- tation on kick-starting the economy with The company shocked investors four months ago when it ing, and marks the difference between a policy blitz of fiscal spending, aggres- said profits from its aero-engine business, its biggest unit the percentage of firms that are upbeat sive monetary policy easing and structur- which last year accounted for about half of profits and which it and those that see conditions as unfavor- al reforms-dubbed Abenomics. is counting on for future growth, would shrink in 2016. Officials able. Japan’s economy fell into a brief at Prime Minister David Cameron’s office are concerned that The latest result was slightly better recession in 2014 after consumers tight- Rolls-Royce’s management has no substantial experience of than market expectations, and likely to ened their belts as Tokyo hiked the coun- defending itself in the event of a hostile takeover bid, the FT temper hopes that Japanese policymak- try’s consumption tax to help pay down a reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ers will expand their stimulus program. massive national debt. That downturn The paper quoted a government spokesperson saying that The BoJ holds its last meeting of 2015 spurred the central bank to sharply the company is a “major contributor to the UK economy and is this week. “The upside surprise in today’s increase its already massive bond-buying an important supplier of defense equipment to the govern- Tankan survey will support the Bank of program-a cornerstone of Abenomics- ment.” Japan’s upbeat view on the economy and effectively printing money to spur lend- The 131-year-old company that supplies engines to air- suggests that policymakers will leave the ing. But the moves, and Abe’s lurch to planes, ships and for industrial use, issued a fourth profit warn- pace of asset purchases unchanged at overhaul Japan’s highly-regulated econo- ing in November as a slowdown in Asia hit demand for servic- least until January,” research firm Capital my, have been slow going as the conser- ing older aircraft engines. Representatives of the UK govern- Economics said in a commentary. vative premier marks his third year in ment and BAE Systems could not be reached immediately for The latest report comes after the BoJ’s office this month. Japan, once boasting comment outside regular business hours. Rolls-Royce declined previous survey showed sentiment fell TOKYO: People stand in front of an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Asia’s biggest economy with internation- to comment other than to say yesterday that it was in contact from its highest level in more than a year, Tokyo yesterday. Asian stock markets were mostly lower yesterday Wall Street’s ally known brands, has been overtaken with the UK government as a matter of routine to keep officials as a slowdown in China and weakness at losses as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s decision this week on by rival China, as years of deflation updated on performance and progress. — Reuters home dented firms’ confidence. whether to go ahead with an interest rate hike. —AP weighed on growth. — AFP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 BUSINESS Al-Mazaya Holding participates in Cityscape Kuwait as gold sponsor

KUWAIT: Al-Mazaya Holding Company has over involve constructing one of the largest concluded its participation as a Gold Sponsor recreation cities in the Arab world, which fur- of the proceedings of the 2nd edition of ther adds to the significance of the location. Cityscape Kuwait, which was organized on The Queue Point project consists of 3,131 resi- Kuwait International Fairgrounds, Mishref, dential units offering 1, 2 or 3 bedroom apart- between 9 - 11 December 2015. A select num- ments starting from KD 45,000. The comple- ber of real estate investment companies from tion and sale rates of the project both amount Kuwait and other countries in the region also to 80 percent, wherein First and Second participated. Phases have been delivered, with the Third Al-Mazaya applauded this participation, Phase to be delivered end of August 2016.” Al- which involved a huge marketing campaign. Mazaya will also be exhibiting the Ritim The campaign included the media sponsor- Istanbul project, developed in partnership ship of the exhibition jointly with CNBC with Dumankaya Real Estate Group - Turkey, Arabiya TV, which is one of the most important consisting of 6 towers, 3 of which are allocat- Arab economic channels concerned with eco- ed to serve residential purposes, offering 863 nomic and real estate affairs in the Arab world. residential apartments ranging from 1 to 3 A number of different projects of the company bedrooms starting from KD 35,000, alongside in Dubai, the Sultanate of Oman and Turkey another commercial centre to be constructed were showcased in the exhibition. over more than 22,000 m≤. The project is 75 Commenting on the participation, Sheikh percent complete and 60 percent sold, with Mubarak Al-Sabah, Assistant Executive residential towers scheduled for completion Director for Marketing at Al-Mazaya Holding by end of June 2016. said: “CITYSCAPE Kuwait is the ideal platform Another major project the company will be to reciprocate information on the Kuwaiti real introducing is Mazaya Residence ideally locat- estate market. It is also a unique opportunity ed in the Sultanate of Oman. The project is to build business relationships with local, strategically situated adjacent to a number of regional and world investors, and contributes significant commercial centres behind Muscat to opening marketing windows to participants City Centre constructed on a 23,194 m≤-span from inside and outside Kuwait, as well as to during this year, GCC countries are still the expansion. Qatar will host the World Cup in volume of investment. Moreover, most ten- of quality residential and commercial units. investors seeking quality investment opportu- destination of investors from all over the 2022, whereas the UAE will host the World dered projects were medium housing proj- Realistically, the project will offer 200 residen- nities.” world.” He stressed that the real estate sector is Expo 2020, in addition to numerous regional ects, which made them secure and stable tial units consisting of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms Al-Sabah added: “The current stage currently witnessing a sound corrective and global events that will attract thousands projects at acceptable prices.” with rates starting from KD 31,600, as well as demands real investment companies to process which attracts many investors, at a of visitors. The tourism sector has witnessed He elaborated: “Al-Mazaya will introduce many other entertainment facilities available increase their participation in specialized exhi- time when real estate is considered one of the enormous changes and is now one of the many of its quality projects executed in the such as swimming pools, parks and play- bitions. They should boost sales through ori- secure investment sectors. most important sectors yielding feasible eco- region including Queue Point residential proj- grounds. ented marketing campaigns that study in nomic returns. As such, investments in the ect wherein Al-Mazaya has developed 52 resi- Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah concluded his depth the requirements of both the end user Advantages real estate sector will soon be of greater mar- dential buildings through direct and indirect statement by stressing that Al-Mazaya and investor. The world is generally undergo- Al-Sabah emphasized: “Our region has ket value.” investments tailored to middle-class housing. Holding is keen to always be present in these ing an economic slowdown associated with a many advantages and is going to witness He continued: “All projects offered by Al- Queue Point is a leading project of Al-Mazaya local and international events so as to be per- decline in world oil prices, which constitutes a major events. Saudi Arabia has a huge domes- Mazaya target the investor and end user cate- ideally located in Dubailand, promising a manently in touch with its clients and to keep turning point in major investment decisions in tic demand and every year it will need thou- gories. Through its participation, Al-Mazaya bright future to the emirate consisting of them informed about the key developments our region and the world at large. It can hence sands of residential and commercial units and has provided solutions for the two groups many central residential and entertainment being witnessed by the company locally and be said that despite the decline of oil returns infrastructure in light of the population with rates and benefits, in keeping with the projects. The future plans of Dubailand more- regionally. 66% of professionals in MENA feel HR practices are flourishing

bayt.com survey

DUBAI: According to a recent ‘The Role of HR in the company’s HR division shares enough information with Middle East and North Africa Workplace’ poll conducted them. On a positive note, 66.2 percent share different by Bayt.com, the region’s number one job site, Human views and believe that they mostly receive all the data Resources (HR) practices in MENA are flourishing. that they need. 50.8 percent of interviewees say that According to 73.4 percent of polled professionals, in their HR department does not consistently or ever pro- terms of alignment, there is a strong alignment that exist vide new joiners with company policies and procedures between their company’s overall business vision and that (for example, an employee handbook). of their HR department. However, a large portion of the To top it all, 46.1 percent of professionals think that interviewees (26.5 percent), disagree, stating that, to their company is a good place to work. “It is no surprise varying degrees, there is not alignment. 26.6 percent of that a company’s HR practices greatly impact employees’ the poll’s respondents rate their company’s overall HR performance, job satisfaction and engagement levels,” performance as ‘excellent’; in parallel, 43.4 percent brand said Suhail Masri, VP Sales, Bayt.com. “Today, a jobhold- their organization’s HR function as ‘average’ or in need of er’s workplace behavior is strongly dictated by the very improvements. policies, procedures, and goals that stem from the HR When asked which areas their HR department need- division. According to the survey results, in this regard, ed to improve the most, 17 percent of MENA’s jobholders although the HR departments are doing well, there is still answered ‘recruiting and interviewing’, 5.3 percent said room for improvement.” ‘compensation and promotion’, 18.3 percent responded Suhail also added, “At Bayt.com, however, we have Royal Enfield with ‘training and development’, 11.5 percent specified long made it our mission to work hand-in-hand with HR ‘communication with staff’, 1.6 percent mentioned ‘termi- departments in the region to provide them with innova- Crossing significant nations’, and 11 percent cited ‘handling complaints and tive, effective solutions designed to increase employee staff problems’. 35.2 percent of respondents admitted productivity, improve workplace morale, and streamline that enhancements were needed across all areas. HR processes and services. Our ultimate objective is to milestones in Kuwait 49.8 percent of polled professionals claim that their bridge the gap between employee and employer by not company’s HR department has a clear HR policy to hire just assisting companies in recruiting and retaining the and retain national talent - which, today, is considered a very best talent - but also helping them build the corner- KUWAIT: Royal Enfield, the world’s old- amongst the touring enthusiasts. high priority across organizations in the MENA region. stones of a successful organizational and corporate cul- est motorcycling company, along with Combining distinctive “black” styling Interestingly, 30 percent of employees say the opposite. ture. Our HR-services portfolio has evolved over the years Kuwait Automotive Imports Co WLL (Al- with a 500cc Unit Construction Engine When it comes to hiring, 33.1 percent of MENA profes- to include the full repertoire of employer offerings Shaya & Al-Sagar) - KAICO, a leading delivering 27.2 bhp being fed through sionals state that their HR department is doing a good including basic, assisted and verified recruitment at all automotive and auto products distribu- an electronic fuel injection system and job of hiring and retaining talent to a great extent, 33.5 career levels; nationalization and diversification advisory; tor in Kuwait, introduced the retro 41.3 Nm torque, the Rumbler 500 is set percent to a small extent and 33.5 percent say they are company profiles; specialized research including salaries street - Classic 500 and the definitive to make a distinct statement in Kuwait. not. In addition, 45.7 percent of interviewees say that benchmarking; Talentera, an A-to-Z applicant tracking cruiser - Rumbler 500 motorcycles The Rumbler 500 is extremely suitable their company’s HR division is sufficiently breeding and solution; virtual career fairs and more. Our HR services towards the end of 2014. This iconic for long distance riding with its range, developing leaders. Only 31.7 percent disagree, and are tailored to specific company needs across the recruit- motorcycle brand with British origin is a ergonomics, looks, excellent braking, another 22.6 percent admit that this is taking place but ment cycle continuum.” part of the India based Eicher Motors night riding visibility and luggage car- only ‘to a small extent’. Data for the Bayt.com ‘The Role of HR in the Middle Ltd. The motorcycles are manufactured riage capability. The Rumbler 500 is A total of 66 percent of respondents feel that their HR East and North Africa Workplace’ poll was collected from two of its facilities based in available in shades of Stone (matte department is effectively promoting employees well- online from October 14 - November 4 2015, with 5,270 Chennai (Madras). black), Marine (metallic blue), Lightning ness. The remaining 34 percent, however, disagree. One- respondents covering more than 19 countries in the The design of the Royal Enfield (metallic silver grey). third of respondents (33.8 percent) don’t think that their MENA region. Classic 500 is a tribute to the retro look The Royal Enfield motorcycles have of British motorcycles in the post-World captured the attention of the citizens of War II era. The motorcycle is powered Kuwait in a very short span of time and by fuel injected 500cc, 4 stroke, spark have crossed important milestones in ignition, air cooled, OHV unit construc- its journey since launch. With the tion engine. The front & rear mud- weather becoming pleasant and winter guards, the headlight casing, the fuel approaching soon, motor cycles are tank, the oval tool box, the exhaust fins, burning rubbers in the roads of Kuwait. the speedometer dials, the single-seat Further to make this season even more spring saddle, tail light assembly and interesting and exciting for all those the headlamp cap, all these conform to who would want to hit the road with a the timeless imagery of British motorcy- Royal Enfield Motorcycle, KAICO has cles from post war era. The Classic 500 tied up Kuwait Motoring Company to is available in Kuwait in the Tan, Black, provide free training & coordination for Silver, Chrome Black and Chrome two wheeler license to all its customers. Maroon colors. This would be a very attractive option Built to the need of the long dis- to all the motorcycling enthusiasts in tance rider, the Royal Enfield Rumbler Kuwait. 500 gives a new definition to highway Another important milestone in cruising. The motorcycle is set to pro- Royal Enfield’s journey in Kuwait, Burgan Bank wins ‘Best vide comfort, style and enhance the Bahrain Exchange Company for its “BEC pleasure of leisure motorcycling Motorcycle Bonanza” has placed an Co-Branded Credit Card’ award order for 20 units of Royal Enfield Motorcycles. This KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced that it has won the an innovative and solid range of products that facilitates is a first of its kind cam- coveted ‘Best Co-Branded Credit Card’ award from The customers’ banking processes and in turn rewards them. paign in Kuwait with two Banker Middle East Kuwait Product Awards 2015, for the On behalf of Burgan Bank, I would like thank the CPI motorcycles given away Burgan Bank Qatar Airways co-branded MasterCard. The panel of judges at The Banker Middle East for endorsing each week over 10 weeks Banker Middle East Kuwait Product Awards 2015 are the bank’s co-branded credit card. I would also like to for its lucky draw winners. designed to identify and reward quality and excellence express my sincere gratitude to our staff who work tire- Royal Enfield is now in financial products and services. lessly to achieve similar accolades year after year.” heading towards the Robin Amlot - Chief Executive Officer of CPI financials Burgan Bank constantly strives to be innovative, and completion of its first along with Omer Hussain- Sales Director at CPI to benchmark against banking excellence in the region. year in Kuwait. With the FINANCIALs visited Burgan Bank and presented the Most recently, Burgan Bank’s Qatar Airways co-branded overwhelming response award to Venkat Menon - Burgan Bank’s Chief Retail MasterCard was awarded the “Best Credit Card Initiative and support, KAICO & Banking Officer. of the Year in Kuwait” from the Asian Banking and Royal Enfield is geared up Commenting on the bank’s latest win, Venkat Menon, Finance Magazine 2015 Awards, reflecting the success of to go the extra mile to Burgan Bank’s Chief Retail Banking Officer said: “It is a Burgan Bank’s Qatar Airways co-branded MasterCard, establish significant mile- great honor for us to receive the award from a leading the fastest air mile earner in Kuwait, providing the best in stones during its journey institution like The Banker Middle East. This award is a class banking experiences accompanied with various in Kuwait. reflection of our commitment to growth and to building benefits to cardholders in Kuwait. technology TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Canon sparks enthusiasm for photography at workshop in Kenya

DUBAI: Canon, a world leader in imaging solutions Middle East said: “Canon is keen to nurture the hosted its fourth professional photography workshop youth in the Middle East and Africa. Our equipment in Nairobi from 1st December - 7th December, 2015, is known all over the world by amateur and profes- as part of its commitment to the communities in sional photographers, alike. With these workshops, which it operates. The week-long session, held in participants have access to high quality instruction partnership with the Kenyatta University, sparked the that could lead them to lifelong careers in photog- minds of 10 young, aspiring photographers who raphy. We know Africa is brimming with creative jointly explored the art of storytelling their home talent, it’s just a question of drawing it out.” country of Kenya, during the course of the program. Professor Thairu, coordinator at the School of In keeping with Canon’s ‘Kyosei’ philosophy of living Creative Arts, Film and Media Studies, Kenyatta and working together for the common good, Canon University, said: “The Canon Workshop held at has undertaken an array of youth-based initiatives Kenyatta University is a great opportunity which across the Middle East and Africa. The workshop, host- demonstrates that Kenyatta University, through its ed by the world renowned photojournalist Gary Department of Film and Theatre Arts, is without Knight, a Canon Master, was organized to provide the reasonable doubt, a progressive and proactive uni- participants with the opportunity to a gain new and versity. Simultaneously, it allows Canon to continue greater understanding of the technicalities of editing, popularizing and entrenching itself as the pre- along with the subtleties and nuances of capturing ferred makers of photography equipment in East beautiful images whilst having access to Canon equip- Africa.” ment. Commenting on the workshop initiative, Gary A number of workshop lectures were conducted Knight said: “This is the fourth Canon workshop I by Gary Knight, with the support of Canon employ- have led in Africa. I love coming to this part of the ees, in addition, to a series of guest lectures, aimed at world as young photographers are full of hope and inspiring the participants. commitment for a better future in the Arts. On 1st December, Joan Pereruan, Group Photo Introducing these young men and women to the Editor at the Nation Media Group, Treasurer & best quality camera equipment, shooting and edit- Founder of the Photojournalists Association of Kenya, ing techniques is a real joy.” gave a lecture on her experiences and knowledge date, and how one can make a living from photogra- Quality instruction Canon Middle East serves as an active partner in about the industry, and what makes a strong image. phy, while Georgina Goodwin, Professional Gathoni Kinyanjui was the student guest lectur- the communities it operates in, by working with She also spoke about the ethics and code of conduct Photojournalist & Kenyan News Photographer of the er from the previous workshop and discussed her governments, scientific, academic, humanitarian, which you should practice as a photographer. Year 2013, spoke on her experiences and knowledge experiences on the workshop and her career, there- and arts and culture organisations, to integrate cor- Thereafter, Victor Peace, Professional Fashion & Travel about the industry and why it’s important to share after. porate social responsibility across all elements of photographer, spoke on his career and experience to and tell your stories in society. Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon the business. BT boosts ‘Cloud of Clouds’ with hosted riverbed service Customers to benefit from improved performance

KUWAIT: BT announced yesterday that as part of es at BT Global Services, said: “Our Cloud of Clouds its Cloud of Clouds vision it will deploy virtual vision is rapidly coming to fruition. By including Riverbed SteelHead application acceleration tech- Riverbed-as-a-service in our offering, we address nology in the core of its global network, providing one of the key issues faced by our customers: the superior application performance for customers performance and reliability of applications hosted accessing BT’s own cloud services as well as other in the cloud. The new service builds on the direct leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. It is network connectivity we already provide to major the first time Riverbed technology has been cloud providers by bringing better speed, perform- deployed into the core of a global telecoms net- ance and control to applications hosted with these work. cloud providers. This joint offering with Riverbed is BT and Riverbed are embedding their services a milestone on the journey to software-defined at global business hubs in Europe, North America networks, and creates an additional differentiator and Asia in locations where BT has direct links to against our competitors.” leading cloud providers and high-capacity internet Paul O’Farrell, Senior Vice President and General breakout. The service will be available globally Manager, SteelHead and SteelFusion, at Riverbed from early 2016 and accessible through BT’s IP said, “CIOs want to enjoy all of the benefits of the Connect VPN from 198 countries and territories. Keith Langridge hybrid enterprise while solving the challenges of A series of pilots of the new capability showed application delivery in this complex environment. BAIKONUR: Members of the main crew of the 46/47 expedition to the International Space substantial network performance improvements to delivering applications over the internet. Riverbed invented WAN optimization in 2004 with Station (ISS), (from L) Britain’s astronaut Tim Peake, Russian cosmonaut Yuri for SaaS applications such as the Microsoft Office Using Network Function Virtualization (NFV), the launch of SteelHead and is today the leader in Malenchenko and US astronaut Tim Kopra take part in a press conference at the Russian- 365 productivity suite. In addition to application the new service will help customers take advan- application performance infrastructure. The new leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan yesterday. — AFP acceleration and network bandwidth optimization, tage of broader virtualized functions, such as appli- integrated cloud-based solution from BT and customers using the new service also gain cation performance management and the man- Riverbed will provide unmatched application avail- 3 space station astronauts increased control over their applications, better agement of high speed access to private and pub- ability and acceleration as a service, offering an end-to-end visibility into performance, and signifi- lic clouds. easier on-ramp to cloud computing via BT’s Cloud safely return to Earth cantly improved reliability and security compared Keith Langridge, vice president, network servic- Connect service.”

MOSCOW: A three-person crew from the to help the crew get out of the capsule, International Space Station landed safely which rested on its side in the snow. Clash of dueling climate Japan asteroid Friday in the snowy steppes of Kazakhstan. Because of the cold temperatures and The US space agency’s Kjell Lindgren, strong winds, the crew was quickly flown to realities: Science and politics probe enters ‘target Russia’s Oleg Kononenko and Kimiya Yui of Dzhezkazgan after a brief inspection by Japan returned to Earth in their Soyuz TMA- doctors. In better weather, the crew under- LE BOURGET, France: Two sets of reality are that we lose 350.” At a news conference, orbit’ in space quest 17M capsule after 141 days in space. They goes a post-flight medical check-up in a clashing as climate talks go into overtime: Anderson and colleagues went through the touched down on schedule at 7:12 pm tent at the landing site. Diplomatic real politics and hard science. Top draft agreement - which still is being modified TOKYO: A Japanese space probe successfully entered local time (1312 GMT) about 120 kilome- Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of experts say that while a goal of limiting warming and negotiated - and said it isn’t near to getting “target orbit” and is on its way to rendezvousing with a ters ( 75 kilometers) northeast of NASA and crewmates Mikhail Kornienko in a new draft climate agreement is laudable, the close to the goal. They especially criticized vague Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. and Sergey Volkov of Russia remain on the rest of the proposed pact doesn’t provide the language that talks of “greenhouse gas emis- faraway asteroid, in a quest to study the origin of the solar Kononenko reported to the Russian station. They will be joined by three new tools to achieve it - and in some ways, it even sions neutrality” without really defining it. system, authorities said yesterday. Earlier this month the Mission Control that the crew was feeling crew members next Tuesday: NASA’s Tim goes backward. “There’s an absolutely huge dis- “We really need to be keeping around 90 unmanned explorer, Hayabusa 2, passed by Earth to har- fine as the capsule was descending by Kopra, Russia’s Yuri Malenchenko and the connect between the negotiations and the percent of all current reserves (of fossil fuels) in ness the planet’s gravitational pull in a bid to switch its parachute in thick clouds before landing European Space Agency’s Tim Peake. Kelly political rhetoric, and what’s very clearly coming the ground,” Anderson said. Burning coal, oil and orbital path to continue toward tiny Ryugu asteroid. softly in darkness on the wind-swept and Kornienko are on the first joint US- out of the science,” Kevin Anderson, deputy gas emit heat-trapping gases that cause global “The Hayabusa 2... entered the target orbit to travel to steppes. Russian rescue teams in four heli- Russian one-year mission at the space sta- director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate warming. “You have to go to zero carbon dioxide the asteroid,” Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) copters arrived quickly at the landing site tion. — AP Research in Britain, said Friday as the high-stakes emissions by 2050 in order to have a fair chance” said in a statement. Hayabusa 2 was launched a year ago climate talks dragged into an extra day. of reaching the 1.5-degree goal, Schellnhuber aboard Japan’s main H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima The latest draft of a proposed international said. Joeri Rogelj, of the International Institute Space Center for its six-year mission to bring back mineral Renewable energy stocks climate agreement lists a goal of “holding the for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, went fur- samples from the asteroid. It is expected to reach Ryugu, increase in the global average temperature to ther: “Without zero emissions, 2 degrees is named after a mythical castle in a Japanese folk tale, in rally after Paris climate deal well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees impossible. Without zero emissions, tempera- mid-2018 and spend around 18 months in the area. Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels” and ture stabilization is impossible.” It will also drop rover robots and a “landing package” urges efforts to limit it even further, to 1.5 But John Reilly, co-director of MIT’s Joint that includes equipment for surface observation. If all LONDON/COPENHAGEN: European renew- this century. Nearly 200 countries took part degrees Celsius. Program on the Science and Policy of Global able energy stocks rallied on Monday fol- in the negotiations to strike the first climate goes well, soil samples will be returned to Earth in late This even as Earth has already warmed nearly Change, said “that’s way out there” and doesn’t 2020. lowing an agreement over the weekend at deal to commit all countries to cut emis- 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since take into account politics, including US conser- the Paris global climate summit to find ways sions, with an initial target being set for Analysing the extra-terrestrial materials could help the mid-18th century. Dana Fisher, director of vative opposition, and the needs of African shed light on the birth of the solar system 4.6 billion years to stop global warming. 2020. the Program for Society and the Environment at nations to develop. “They can say whatever they Goldman Sachs’ analysts described the Along with the wind turbine makers, ago and offer clues about what gave rise to life on Earth, the University of Maryland, said she sees “a cou- want in Paris,” said Fisher, but Republicans in the scientists have said. — AFP deal in Paris as the most important climate Goldman Sachs’ other top picks for stocks ple of dueling realities,” including one she calls a US Congress “are screaming no way and we have agreement since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, that would benefit from the Paris climate “kumbaya moment” where everybody talks this huge fossil fuel industry and infrastructure in adding it would boost the world’s low car- deal included electric car company Tesla about the importance of a 1.5-degree cap on place.” Still, Fisher and Reilly said the goal of bon-emissions economy, which it estimated Motors, solar panel group SolarEdge and global temperature increase but no one does keeping warming to 1.5 degrees is important. It’s Apple Music wins as a fast-growing $600 billion-plus market. Albemarle, a chemicals company that sup- anything to implement it. And because the Paris especially crucial for small islands, said Reilly, Norway’s REC Silicon, which makes the plies lithium - a key component for batter- draft removes discussion of carbon dioxide adding: “It’s hard to accept a target where some exclusive video deal key raw material for solar panels, surged 10 ies. emissions from shipping and air travel, of the negotiating states won’t exist, and that’s percent. Shares in wind turbine makers However, others cautioned against rush- Anderson said he considers the Paris proposal what 2 degrees is.” In the end, some experts with Taylor Swift Vestas Wind, Nordex and Gamesa also rose ing in to buy such stocks, noting that the even weaker than the one that came out of were downright gloomy. “If you ask me if I think by between 2-5 percent, outperforming a Paris agreement was not a legally binding Copenhagen in 2009. “It is not consistent with we’ll succeed,” said Anderson. “No, I think we’ll 0.7 percent rise on the benchmark pan- treaty. Some critics added that the United science, which the Copenhagen accord had fail.” — Reuters NEW YORK: Pop star Taylor Swift’s “1989 World Tour Live” European FTSEurofirst 300 index. States, the world’s biggest economy, might directly written into it,” Anderson told The concert video will be available exclusively on Apple Inc’s Novozymes, a maker of biofuel technolo- back away from the targets set in the Paris Associated Press. music streaming service, Apple Music, starting Dec. 20, gy, climbed 1.2 percent, solar power gener- climate agreement if the Republican Party And the current language for poor people in Apple said on the service’s Twitter account on Sunday. ator Scatec Solar advanced 2.5 percent, Enel won next year’s US presidential election, developing nations like Africa and Asia, “is some- Swift, who celebrated her 26th birthday on Sunday, Green Power rose 0.7 percent and given general skepticism within the where between dangerous and deadly,” tweeted a trailer for the concert video and said: “Thank you Greencoat UK Wind progressed 1.7 percent. Republican camp over such matters. “I Anderson added. The negotiations also don’t so much for all the birthday wishes. I have a little surprise The iShares Global Clean Energy Exchange would not just rush in to buy these stocks take into account what emissions cuts are need- for you.” The trailer’s description listed Jonas Akerlund as Traded Fund , which allows investors to on the back of the weekend’s agreement. ed to limit warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius, the video’s director. trade a basket of stocks involved in the You need to give time to wait for the dust to said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the The singer also tweeted that an interview discussing the renewable energy space, also rose 2 per- settle, and 2020 is still a long way out,” said Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in video was broadcast at 9 am PST (1700 GMT) yesterday on cent. Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Germany. “The politics simply leave it out of the Beats 1, Apple’s radio station. Apple officials were not Andrea Williams, European equities fund investment management firm Prime equation.” immediately available for comment. manager at Royal London Asset Partners. Andrew Jones, co-director of Climate Apple introduced Apple Music in June. Apple Chief Management, said that while her portfolio Nevertheless, many brokers said that - Interactive who runs computer simulations of Executive Tim Cook said in October the music streaming did not currently hold such stocks, the Paris for now - the Paris climate agreement what individual nations’ emissions promises service had netted more than 6.5 million paid users, and climate deal might lead her to start consid- would enhance the prospects for compa- mean in terms of temperature, said current that an additional 8.5 million people were participating in ering buying up those companies. nies involved in the renewable energy pledges will amount to another couple degrees a free trial. Swift said in June she would put her hit album “The Paris climate change agreement industry. Celsius warming from now, blowing right past BERLIN: German Environment Minister “1989” on Apple Music, days after the tech giant bowed to will definitely help the renewables industry, “In short, we think the Paris agreement the goal of keeping warming to less than 2 Barbara Hendricks shows an “Adoption of pressure from Swift and some independent music groups as it should lead to continued investment in represents a strong outcome and will there- degrees above pre-industrial levels. the Paris Agreement” as she arrives for a and labels and agreed to pay artists during a free trial of its the area by major world economies,” she fore help boost the long-term fundamen- And making the goal a more stringent 1.5 news conference in Berlin yesterday. Envoys music service. said. The agreement commits both rich and tals of the capital-goods and low-carbon instead of 2 degrees without reducing emissions from 195 nations on December 12 adopted Swift’s decision came after she pulled her entire catalog poor nations to reining in rising emissions power-generation sectors while weakening just doesn’t cut it, he said. “It’s kind of like this: to cheers and tears a historic accord to stop of music from online streaming platform Spotify in blamed for warming the planet, and sets the long-term fundamentals of fossil-fuel My friends and I have committed to losing 300 global warming, which threatens humanity November 2014 and refused to offer “1989” on streaming out a sweeping, long-term goal of eliminat- industries,” Barclays’ analysts wrote in a pounds but are failing so far,” Jones said. “Instead with rising seas and worsening droughts, services, saying the business had shrunk the numbers of ing net manmade greenhouse gas output note. — Reuters of eating less and exercising more, I propose floods and storms. — AFP paid album sales drastically. — Reuters TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE Dead forgotten at New Delhi’s decrepit morgues

NEW DELHI: A rusted carving knife and a mallet lie on a steel table, while inside the cold storage rooms, bodies take up every square inch of the blood-stained floors. More than 2,500 autopsies are carried out every year at New Delhi’s oldest and busiest morgue, but the air purifiers have long been broken and disinfectant supplies for washing floors ran out two months ago. “The mortu- ary is compromised at every level,” Sabzi Mandi mortuary’s chief doctor, L.C Gupta, told AFP of the dearth of resources. The decrepit state of the Indian capital’s dozen- odd morgues, mostly state run, recently stunned the High Court which ordered the city’s government to take action. From outdated equipment to poor stor- age of bodies and sick staff, the results of a court-ordered investigation made disturbing reading and shocked many in this deeply reli- gious country. “It’s a clear cut case of negli- gence,” said lawyer Saqid, who uses one NEW DELHI: In this photograph an Indian medic walks through a cold NEW DELHI: Indian medics move a body from a broken stretcher and on name, appointed by the court to conduct the storage unit as he inspects a morgue. — AFP photos to a new one at a morgue. probe. “There are a lot of rights under the constitution and people in India spend a lot ly to come and collect unclaimed bodies but his officials have said that a review of discovered that the body of a prison inmate a lack of funds impacts on the living as well of time fighting for them,” he told AFP as he after the row was reported in a leading the situation is under way. The court whose death was being investigated had as the dead, with staff falling ill from han- poured over photos and documents in his Indian daily. ordered the probe in 2014 after authorities been chewed by rats. The report found that dling bodies infected with tuberculosis and office. other diseases. “But the dead cannot protest their rights.” Sick staff At Sabzi Mandi, staff use only bathroom The crisis is compounded by the sheer num- In the storage rooms, there are no soap to wash their hands, while a shortage ber of unidentified bodies, several thousand shelves or racks to hold the numerous bod- of hospital-grade products means floors are a year, that fill Delhi’s morgues after being ies. Encased in white plastic, most are lying cleaned instead with bleach, a doctor said. discovered outside train stations, bus termi- on the floor, with many of the wrappings “It’s an occupational hazard,” Dr Komal nals and other public places. Many are home- ripped and open. A single, scuffed boot sits Singh said of staff falling sick at his mortu- less men who pour into the city of 16 million on top of one body and a hand flops over ary at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in from villages every year desperately search- the edge of a rusted trolley holding another. Delhi’s west. The morgue opened in 1995 ing for work. They die from disease, malnutri- According to the court’s report, a key prob- with four medical officers and with tion and the impact of living on the city’s lem is the large number of autopsies per- resources for 400 autopsies a year. Now the harsh streets. formed at the request of overcautious same number of staff perform up to 1,800 Protocol says they must be kept for up to police, creating a backlog and placing pres- autopsies annually. 72 hours in a morgue to allow families time sure on staff. With the court finally shining a spotlight to collect them. But many remain for much “Police insist on post mortems as a mat- on the crisis, Singh said he is hopeful the longer, unclaimed by relatives and shunned ter of routine even though their own circu- government will approve his request for by the reluctant police who found them, lar says there is no need if there are no sus- more funds to double storage space for placing a strain on the morgues themselves. picious circumstances,” Saqid said. Delhi’s bodies and update equipment. “People are The crisis reportedly boiled over earlier this health minister Satyendar Jain, who report- interested in the treatment of the living but year when bodies were left on the street out- edly said he felt ill after touring the morgues in our society they don’t bother so much side Sabzi Mandi, with frustrated staff refus- in the wake of the report, has promised to about what happens to the dead,” he told ing to take them back in. Gupta denied the improve conditions. NEW DELHI: Indian family members collect the body of a relative from a AFP. “But the court is taking this seriously incident, but added that police moved quick- Jain declined AFP requests for comment, morgue. and we are hopeful.” — AFP

Can the Paris agreement protect UK Tinder users urged poor farmers from climate change? to donate organs

‘Farmers need to get enough crops to reduce poverty’ LONDON: US dating app Tinder is Sally Johnson, NHS director of Organ teaming up with Britain’s National Donation and Transplantation. “Joining BARCELONA: Purity Gachanga is one small-scale First for food security change threats,” he added. Health Service (NHS) to raise awareness the register takes only a couple of min- farmer who is beating climate change. On her sev- Given that, it is surprising the world “agriculture” among the young about organ dona- utes-about the same amount of time eral acres of land in Embu North district in central does not appear once in the text of the new global Paying for plans tion, it said yesterday. Romance-seek- as a few swipes on Tinder.” Around Kenya, she keeps cows and goats that produce agreement to tackle climate change adopted in Others in the agricultural research community ers swiping on some profiles will be 7,000 people are currently on the milk, grows trees for fodder, and collects water to Paris on Saturday. A key reason for this is that and agencies working with small farmers high- prompted to sign up to the NHS organ transplant waiting list in Britain. irrigate her food crops in a pond filled with tilapia developing nations long resisted including agricul- lighted the widespread inclusion of agricultural fish. Since she started out in the 1970s, she has ture in the climate negotiations, fearing efforts to policies in the nearly 190 national action plans sub- donor register. After swiping, users will “Tinder users regularly make the deci- overcome increasingly erratic rainfall by using new feed their people would be compromised by pres- mitted to the United Nations as a basis for the cli- receive a message reading: “If only it sion to swipe left or right wondering technologies and trying out different crops and sure to reduce planet-warming emissions from mate deal. Analysis by the CGIAR Research was that easy for those in need of a life- whether someone may be the person trees. She even turns her animal manure into bio- farms. Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food saving organ to find a match.” As part they are looking for,” added Hermion gas, harnessing methane for clean energy. A 2015 study from the UN Food and Agriculture Security (CCAFS) shows agriculture is discussed in of the campaign, artificial profiles have Way, Tinder’s head of European com- And she doesn’t stay quiet about it. She hosts Organization (FAO) found that emissions from agri- 80 percent of those plans, a signal that addressing also been created for Olympic medal- munications. “While those swiping groups of other Kenyan farmers and international culture are growing, accounting for around 11 per- agriculture in the context of climate change is a list Jade Jones and soap stars Jamie decisions are important and could be researchers on her farm to show them the effec- cent of the global total in 2010. The Paris climate priority. Laing and Gemma Oaten. the first step to a successful relation- tiveness of a mixed crop, livestock and tree farming agreement refers only indirectly to agriculture, in Kanayo F Nwanze, president of the International “With the help of these bespoke ship, we hope that the NHS profiles... system in the face of worsening climate pressures. terms of making sure people have enough to eat. Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said this profiles on Tinder, we’ll grab people’s will encourage people to make and act “We try to help ourselves so that climate change Its non-binding introduction recognizes “the fun- was a good springboard for approaching top deci- attention and throw a spotlight on the upon a different decision too-to sign will not affect us,” she told a discussion about sup- damental priority of safeguarding food security sion makers in developing countries about protect- importance of organ donation,” said up as an organ donor.” — AFP porting farmers on the sidelines of the recent cli- and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabili- ing their farmers from climate change. In a report mate change talks in Paris. ties of food production systems to the adverse released in Paris, IFAD said technical interventions - It is a strategy that has worked well for her - impacts of climate change”. like hardier seeds and accurate weather forecasts - over the years, she has been able to build a stone The binding part of the deal states that boost- are not enough to help small farmers cope, and house for her family of 11 children, connected to ing the world’s ability to adapt to those impacts must be backed up by national strategies, laws and AstraZeneca says in power and water supplies. “Farmers need to get and foster climate resilience and low-emissions budgets. enough crops to sustain their family and reduce development should be done “in a manner that One major barrier to helping small-scale farm- poverty, and educate their children,” she said. But does not threaten food production”. Yet, despite ers adapt to extreme weather and reduce emis- talks with Acerta Pharma millions of others are struggling to maintain their the politics that largely excluded agriculture, the sions from their activities is insufficient money for yields amid crop damage from severe droughts or FAO welcomed the agreement, noting that for the research and action on the ground, experts noted. LONDON: British phamaceuticals giant advanced talks to buy Dutch firm Acerta flash floods, with no assets in reserve to help them first time ever, food security features in a global cli- The CCAFS study of national climate plans found AstraZeneca revealed yesterday that it for more than $5.0 billion (4.5 billion bounce back from a crisis. mate change accord. the 48 least developed countries alone will need was in discussions over a deal with can- euros). The International Food Policy Research Institute “This is a game changer for the 800 million peo- funding of $5 billion per year - $3 billion for adap- cer drug maker Acerta Pharma. “Further AstraZeneca, which rejected a released a study in Paris showing that climate ple still suffering from chronic hunger, and for 80 tation and $2 billion for reducing farm emissions. to recent speculation, AstraZeneca con- takeover bid from US giant Pfizer last change is a threat to agricultural growth, affecting percent of the world’s poor who live in rural areas That sum is much higher than current commit- firms that it is exploring potential strate- year, is seeking to rebuild its portfolio of productivity, prices and a new global goal to end and earn income - and feed their families - from ments to climate funds for agriculture, and at least gic options with Acerta Pharma,” it said exclusive medicines amid intense com- hunger by 2030. In the Philippines, for instance, cli- agriculture,” FAO Director-General JosÈ Graziano da 10 percent more per year than multilateral climate in a brief statement issued in response petition from generic drugmakers. mate change is projected to cut per-capita con- Silva said in a statement after the deal was funds spent on agricultural projects in the last to press speculation. “There can be no Acerta has offices in the Netherlands sumption of cereals by 24 percent and fruits and reached. “By including food security, the interna- decade, it said. “Climate finance needs to include certainty that any transaction will ulti- and the United States. The biotechnolo- vegetables by 13 percent, increasing the number tional community fully acknowledges that urgent agriculture as a key sector, and support countries mately be entered into, or as to the gy company develops treatments for of people at risk of hunger by 1.4 million in 2030 attention is needed to preserve the well-being and to implement the plans they have laid out,” said terms of any transaction.” The Wall Street several types of cancer and autoim- and 2.5 million by 2050, the institute said. future of those who are on the frontline of climate CCAFS director Bruce Campbell. — Reuters had reported on Friday that Astra was in mune diseases. — AFP Crunch time again for health law; Today sign-up deadline

WASHINGTON: Rising premiums and shaken faith $500 to $2600. “I’m getting less coverage for about the when they file their 2016 taxes. Fines will sting: The among insurers have cast a cloud over sign-up season same, and I’m not happy with that,” Collins said. “But I fines for people who remain uninsured in 2016 have for President Barack Obama’s health care law, and now don’t know what I would do if I weren’t getting the gov- gone up substantially. A study from the nonpartisan it’s crunch time again. Today is the deadline for millions ernment subsidy. I was already being priced out of Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average of uninsured procrastinators to sign up in time for cov- health insurance before Obamacare.” The coverage tax penalty will rise to $969 per household, or nearly 50 erage to begin on Jan 1. As the health insurance expan- allows her to get regular preventive care that’s impor- percent. The fines are one of the law’s methods for sion enters its third year, their decisions are critical to its tant for people like her, in their early 60s. nudging healthy people to get insured. Fines of $900 economic viability. A surge of younger, healthier cus- The Obama administration says it’s seeing a vigor- would put a serious dent in most income tax refunds, tomers could hold down premiums in a market that’s ous consumer response this sign-up season, with more and it’s enough money to pay several months’ worth of struggling to grow. than 1 million new customers already. “All the evidence subsidized premiums. This year uninsured people got a “Medical costs of enrollees have been higher than for us is that the marketplace is strong, it’s vibrant, and second chance to sign up and avoid penalties if they expected and total enrollment remains low,” said it’s growing,” said Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers for found out about the fines upon filing their tax returns. Caroline Pearson, a vice president at the consulting firm Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the gov- There’s no such reprieve next year. Avalere Health. “If participation is leveling off, then ernment’s major insurance programs. Still, the adminis- Website working: The HealthCare.gov website, plans may be stuck with a risk pool that is not particu- tration’s sign-up target for 2016, the president’s last full famously balky a couple of years ago, is working well by larly balanced.” More than half of the health law’s 23 year in office, is modest: 10 million people enrolled and most accounts. The site has some consumer-friendly nonprofit insurance cooperatives have folded, and paying premiums at the end of the year, an increase of enhancements including a cost calculator, a doctor and even some major industry players have recently gone about 10 percent. Some important things for con- hospital look-up feature and a way to see whether your public with doubts. There have been bumps with the sumers thinking about signing up for the first time, as prescription drugs are covered. Consumers are urged to health law, says business owner Rayna Collins of well as for those renewing: double-check the physician finder results with their Lincoln, Nebraska, but overall she counts on it. She’s plans and doctors. Ahead of sign-up season, it was surprised, however, that many people she knows have Deadlines: Today expected that premiums for health law plans would go remained uninsured. is the deadline to sign up for coverage so it can take up in most places. A wave of closures among the law’s “It’s heartbreaking to think that they could have effect on the first of the year. It’s also the deadline to nonprofit insurance co-ops led to more worries. But affordable insurance,” said Collins. “They think it’s like make any changes to existing coverage so they take what really seems to have shaken confidence were going on welfare.” One friend believed incorrectly that effect Jan 1. Current customers will be automatically recent comments by UnitedHealth CEO Stephen insurers could still turn down customers with pre-exist- renewed Jan. 1 if they make no changes, but they may Hemsley that the nation’s largest insurer had made a ing health conditions, a practice barred under the law. save money now by shopping for a plan with lower bad decision in expanding into more of the law’s insur- Collins, a graphic designer, has had to make adjust- premiums. ance exchanges. Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser ments. She switched insurers for 2016 because the The final deadline for new sign-ups and plan switch- Foundation, says the health law’s insurance markets company she was with left the market. Her premium es is Jan 31, 2016. After that, new enrollments and appear to be making progress. But they’re not there yet. LINCOLN, Nebraska: Graphic designer Rayna Collins poses for a photo in her will be about the same, after subsidies the law provides changes are only allowed under special circumstances. “It’s going to take more people enrolled to be fully suc- home in Lincoln. — AP for private coverage. But her deductible will spike from People who remain uninsured after Jan. 31 risk fines cessful,” Altman said. — AP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE YC bets big on ‘supportive housing’ to curb homelessness

NEW YORK: The scene of neighbors hanging dents’ council. And after years of bouncing ter. About 58,000 people now rely on shelters - holiday decorations at their tidy Bronx apart- between relatives’ homes and shelters where 12 percent more than two years ago - possibly ment building was nothing remarkable, she’d bathe at 4 a.m. because so many women thousands more live on the streets, and the except to the people doing it. Like everyone jockeyed to wash up, she finally has a place of city logged 60 percent more complaints about else at Haven Apartments, they had been her own. Yet some communities have homelessness this year than last. homeless and mentally ill. And now they have shunned supportive housing, and some Homelessness has declined nationwide in their own apartments, in a building offering experts caution that it has limitations. Dating recent years while rising in some places - Los on-site help with everything from handling to the 1980s, supportive housing has expand- Angeles and Hawaii recently declared it a state finances to managing medical care to making ed from under 190,000 residents nationwide in of emergency - as rents climbed ahead of friends. Facing a stubborn swell in homeless- 2007 to over 300,000 in 2014, federal statistics incomes, among other likely factors. ness, New York is embarking on what may be show. It’s been credited with reducing chronic New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the biggest investment any city has made in homelessness in Utah from 1,900 people to his plan last month to nearly double the places like Haven - a $2.6 billion plan to create just 178 in a decade. Places from San Francisco 32,000 existing supportive housing apart- 15,000 “supportive housing” apartments. to Massachusetts have major programs. “It’s ments citywide. The earlier ones were partly Advocates see the nation’s fast-growing more than just getting people out of sight by state-financed. The plan includes building stock of supportive housing as a potent, cost- giving them a home,” says Mary Brosnahan, 7,500 new apartments and designating 7,500 effective tool for getting people off the streets president of the Coalition for the Homeless others scattered in various buildings, where and into stable lives. And it has been that for advocacy group. “Because once they have that social workers would visit regularly. While resi- Iris Soto, who moved into Haven from a home- ... they can flip that switch from survival to dents generally pay a portion of their disability less shelter in 2013. “I feel like this is my family working on thriving.” or other benefits in rent, the city expects to that I got here,” says Soto, 59. spend about $30,000 per apartment per year Staffers helped her cope with the depres- Housing apartments on services. Still, studies have found support- BRONX, New York: Robert Blake, 43, a resident of Haven apartments sion that used to spur thoughts of hurting her- New York is betting big on it at a time ive housing saves thousands of dollars a year who was formerly homeless, shows his dorm-like apartment. — AP self. Neighbors elected her president of a resi- when homelessness has come front and cen- in shelter, hospital and jail costs. — AP

Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement

LE BOURGET, France: UN climate talks reached it will be possible for them to do so if renewable a milestone Saturday when more than 190 coun- energy sources become more affordable and tries adopted the first accord asking all countries effective. to join the fight against global warming. Here * Transparency: There is no penalty for coun- are some of the key elements of the deal: tries that miss their emissions targets. But the Long-term goal: The long-term objective of agreement has transparency rules to help the agreement is to make sure global warming encourage countries to actually do what they stays “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees say they will do. That was one of the most diffi- Fahrenheit) and to “pursue efforts” to limit the cult pieces to agree on, with China asking for temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 softer requirements for developing countries. degrees Fahrenheit). Temperatures have already The agreement says all countries must report on increased by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees their emissions and their efforts the reduce Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. To achieve them. But it allows for some “flexibility” for devel- that goal, governments pledged to stop the rise oping countries that “need it.” in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions “as * Money: The agreement says wealthy coun- soon as possible.” By some point after 2050, the tries should continue to offer financial support MEXICO : A dancer applies a mixture of alcohol and marijuana to MEXICO : Marijuana plants which are grown for medicinal purposes agreement says, man-made emissions should be to help poor countries reduce their emissions relieve muscle aches at a clandestine greenhouse in Mexico City. — are pictured in a clandestine greenhouse. reduced to a level that forests and oceans can and adapt to climate change. It also encourages AFP photos absorb. other countries to pitch in on a voluntary basis. * Emissions targets: In order to reach the That paves the way for emerging economies long-term goal, countries agreed to set national such as China to contribute, even though it ‘Grandma’s magic remedy: targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions doesn’t require them to do so. Actual dollar every five years. More than 180 countries have amounts were kept out of the agreement itself, already submitted targets for the first cycle but wealthy nations had previously pledged to ‘Mexico’s medical marijuana secret beginning in 2020. Only developed countries are provide $100 billion annually in climate finance expected to slash their emissions in absolute by 2020. terms; developing nations are “encouraged” to * Loss and damage: In a victory for small ‘It’s an ancient medicine, passed on from generation to generation’ do so as their capabilities evolve over time. Until island nations threatened by rising seas, the then, they are expected only to rein in the agreement includes a section recognizing “loss MEXICO CITY: When her legs ache, this The national discussion was Home brew tetrahydrocannabinol-the main psy- growth of emissions as their economies develop. and damage” associated with climate-related Mexican grandmother rubs them with launched in November when the Jorge Hernandez Tinajero, a veter- choactive ingredient in cannabis- * Reviewing targets: The initial targets won’t disasters. The US long objected to addressing marijuana-infused alcohol. She is well Supreme Court issued a landmark rul- an pot legalization activist, said which is used to treat nausea, and be enough to put the world on a path to meet the issue in the agreement, worried that it would aware the homemade remedy defies ing authorizing four people to grow Spanish conquistadors brought hemp extracts that are used for vaporiza- the long-term temperature goal. So the agree- lead to claims of compensation for damage the country’s cannabis ban, but her and smoke marijuana for personal use, with them, and indigenous popula- tions. ment asks governments to review their targets caused by extreme weather events. In the end, family has used the concoction to treat opening the door for others to seek tions added it to their ceremonial and “If your mom has a migraine, you in the next four years and see if they can the issue was included, but a footnote specifical- ailments since she was a child, handing similar permits. Weeks earlier, the par- medicinal traditions. “Marijuana began give her a little tea because the pain “update” them. That doesn’t require govern- ly stated that loss and damage does not involve it down the generations. “I really have a ents of an eight-year-old girl named to be used in different ways in the 16th goes away with a little bit of marijua- ments to deepen their cuts. But the hope is that liability or compensation. — AP lot of faith in it,” said the slender 53- Grace, who suffers from a severe form century, for rituals guided by shamans, na,” he said. “Typically I make alcohol year-old, a housewife and amateur of epilepsy, won a legal battle to which persist to this day in some vil- for the grandmother of a friend who dancer who spoke to AFP about her import a cannabis-based oil to treat her lages,” said Tinajero, who is part of the has pains in the hands or feet due to cannabis use on condition of strict condition. But for generations Mexican Association of Cannabis arthritis or sciatica,” said the man, who anonymity. “When I’m very tired, I Mexicans have been using “grandma’s Studies. In a Mexico City home, a 33- insists he gives away the medicine for spread it on my legs, feet and body. It’s magic remedy” to combat a wide range year-old publicist agreed to show AFP free. really good. I can go without salt but of pains, fevers or other complaints. reporters his hydroponic system of not without marijuana with alcohol. My The cannabis-infused oil can be some 20 marijuana plants growing National debate grandmother used it,” she said, holding kept for months, and many keep a flask under intense spotlights. “This is for While President Enrique Pena Nieto a plastic bottle filled with the leaves hidden in a closet. The remedy also personal and medical use,” he said has voiced opposition to legalizing and liquid. comes in dry forms or as pastes. Some from his greenhouse, walking barefoot marijuana, he has convened experts to In turn, she used the family remedy drink marijuana tea to relieve and smoking a joint during the chat. hold debates between January and to care for her three children, and three headaches or help with insomnia while “There’s no sale or purchases. We March to see if the government should grandchildren. For the kids, a piece of others smoke it to fight nausea or can- only do this to change the system and change the law in the wake of the cotton soaked in the liquid is placed in cer-related pains. “Infused into alcohol this war” against drug trafficking, he Supreme Court ruling. In its wake, the bellybutton to fight fevers. When is the traditional use for rheumatism as said, echoing the argument among Mexican health authorities this week they’re congested, the alcohol is well as muscular and circulation pains,” pro-legalization activists that decrimi- issued the first permit allowing the rubbed on the chest and back. A said Humberto Rocca, a doctor special- nalizing pot will help combat the vio- individuals concerned to grow their debate on whether to legalize marijua- izing in addictions and herbalism. “It’s lence associated with the illegal trade. own marijuana for recreational pur- na for recreational or medicinal uses in an ancient medicine, passed on from He taught himself to make various poses. Though limited to those four Mexico is in its infant stages, but generation to generation. Young peo- types of therapeutic marijuana, includ- people only, the authorization opens a PARIS: Activists gather during a demonstration near the Eiffel Tower during Mexicans have used cannabis for thera- ple know that their grandmothers or ing the traditional alcohol-based crack in Mexico’s prohibitionist poli- the COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. — AP peutic purposes for centuries. mothers use it,” Rocca said. recipe, a thick wax concentrate of cies. — AFP WHAT’S ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Christmas bells have rung!

he Men’s Voice and Choral Society staged their release their first audio CD “Abide with me” along with gathered. The remarkable day culminated with the 100 Member 15th annual Christmas carols at the American office bearers Vice President Mathew Varghese, A special mention to Shine Cherian Sam for leading Mass Choir singing to ‘Bethlehm Puri Veedhiyil’ and TInternational School, Maidan Hawally on Dec 4, Secretary Thomas Varghese and Joint Secretary Kurien the choir on three songs. Rev Emmanuel Ghareeb, Pastor ‘Silent Night’ conducted by Amaldev and the popular 2015 to mark the beginning of the Christmas season. George, in the presence of the hundreds gathered. of the Arabic Language Congregation, felicitated the anthem “Hallelujah Chorus” conducted by Babu followed The chief guest for the evening, three-time state award The evening event opened with prayer by Rev Sunil choir for their wonderful performance during these past by the closing prayer and benediction by C C Sabu, Vicar winner for Best Music Director in Malayalam films, Jerry Joy of St Thomas Marthoma Church, Kuwait. Suresh 15 years. A thought-provoking and inspiring Christmas of St Pauls CSI Congregation Ahmadi and Rev Santhosh Amaldev, led the group in two age-old Christmas Thomas, the President of the group, welcomed the message was delivered by Rev Biju Sam, Vicar of the Philip, Vicar of St Peters Marthoma Church respectively. melodies that lifted the audience to cloud nine. guests and the audience to the concert. Under the able Ahmadi Marthoma Church. The organizers of this concert, who left no stone He was also honoured for creating splendid music guidance of choir masters Ajith Babu and Fredrick Ninan Joseph, the General Convenor of the program unturned to ensure a memorable day for everyone, were compositions for the past many years. The Men’s Voice Nirmal, the performance of Men’s Voice and Choral rendered the Vote of Thanks. Bobby Kurien added Thomas Thomas, Akash John Thomas and Mathew M. and Choral Society were even privileged to have him Society was a real treat to the eyes and ears of those essence to the evening by compeering for the event. Varghese.

In cooperation with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, the Performing Arts Academy LoYAC (Lapa) organized a solo concert of pianist Lulua Al-Shamlan on Dec 12. Lulwa has won numerous international awards. Kala (Art) Kuwait holds ‘NIRAM 2015’ TODAY’S EVENTS ECE Exhibition The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The American University of Kuwait has organized the ECE Exhibition 2015. The event will host keynote speakers Bassam Hamady, Senior Resident Engineer at SSH; Haider Al-Mosawi, Sirdab Lab; and Ahmad N Marafi and Hashim K Bahbahani, VIVA Coded Academy. The event will take place today, Dec 15, 2015 from 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm in the auditorium at The American University of Kuwait.

Cultural seminar The Najla Al-Naki Cultural Forum will hold a seminar under the title of ‘Culture, Arts & Letters ...Where to?’ The ala (Art) Kuwait “Metro Medical Care - Convener Public Relation, Kala (Art) Kuwait. Prizes and 173 consolation prizes went to Indian Private School, Ahmadi, IIIrd Prize- seminar is due to be held at 7:30 pm today, December 15, NIRAM 2015” Children’s Day painting The marvelous evening started with the each group (total 260 prizes). Anoushka Pillai, 7th Std, United Indian which will be attended by NCCAL’s former secretary gen- Kcompetition concluded with the national anthem of Kuwait followed by School, Abbassiya & Gayathri Mohandas P, eral Dr Bader Al-Refae, the theatrical arts institute dean Dr prize distribution to all winners at a colorful India’s. The List of main winners as follows: 8th Std, United Indian School and Fedora Fahd Al-Hajri, media icon Amal Abdullah, veteran actor ceremonial function held at Indian The judges adjudged unanimously the Group-A: Ist Prize- Pournami Carol Menezes, 8th Std, Carmel School. Jassim Al-Nabhan and writer Awatif Al-Zain. The forum is Community School, Khaitan on Dec 11, first place to IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Jayaprakash, LKG, Indian Community Group-D: Ist Prize- Safa Sherin, 10th Std, headquartered in house number 388, block 2, Salwa. 2015. The program was witnessed by com- Abbasiya, second position to Fahaheel Al- School, Junior Branch, Salmiya, IInd Prize- India International School, Mangaf IInd munity leaders, business personalities, Wataniya Indian Private School (DPS), Anaika P Shibu, UKG, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Prize- Ferin Francis, 11th Std, United Indian school principals, art teachers and media Ahmadi, third position to United Indian Bhavan, Abbassiya and Gauri Laiju, LKG, School, Abbassiya & Veena Varghese, 11th TIES Center lecture representatives. The painting competition School, Abbasiya and fourth position to IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya, Std, Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private was held on the occasion of the birthday of Carmel School. The panel of judges, artist IIIrd Prize- Harisankar, Ist Std, Carmel School, Ahmadi, IIIrd Prize- Keerthiga The TIES Center cordially invites all those interested to late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Sasikrishnan, artist Shummy John, artist M School & Gatha Ajai Nair, Ist Std, IES- Nagarajan, 12th Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya a lecture entitled, “Outbreak: Plagues that Changed Minister of independent India. V John, artist Nikesh and artist Sunil Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya. Bhavan, Abbassiya. History,” by Bryn Barnard today, December 15th, 2015 at Gargi Sunil, The First Lady, Indian Kulanada were honored by Kala (Art) Group-B: Ist Prize- Saafalya M Sunish, Clay Sculpture: Ist Prize- Aadithya S 7:00 pm. Modern society has been shaped by infectious Embassy Kuwait, inaugurated the function Kuwait by giving mementos in recognition 4th Std, Gulf Indian School, Fahaheel, IInd Krishnan, 10th Std, United Indian School, diseases including bubonic plague, smallpox, yellow and appreciated all winners for their fabu- of their laudable services in the field of Prize- Mridula P R, 3rd Std, IES-Bharatiya Abbassiya, IInd Prize- Abu Amaan, 11th fever, influenza, cholera, tuberculosis and toxoplasma. lous painting works, which was displayed Arts. Kala (Art) Kuwait presented memen- Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya, IIIrd Prize - Fida Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Bryn discusses how disease has changed the way we treat at the entrance. Shirshad highlighted tos to Jeeves Erinjery, Divya Kiran and. Ancy, 3rd Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya, IIIrd Prize- Divya Umesh illness, improve sanitation, provide drinking water and Panditji’s empathy towards children and his Nisha Dileep for their tremendous contri- Abbassiya and Ann Sarah Shiju, 4th Std, Deshnur, 8th Std, Indian Community invented antibiotics. Bryn Barnard has illustrated 25 chil- vision for India and appreciated the organ- bution in compeering the event. India International School, Mangaf. School, Khaitan and Anoushka Pillai, 7th dren’s books and is the author and illustrator of three izers for conducting such programs. The It is noteworthy to say that a total of Group-C: Ist Prize- Neha Joseph Alapatt, Std, United Indian School, Abbassiya. books published by Random House, New York: 11th Anniversary souvenir of “NIRAM” was 2,215 students from 20 Indian schools in 8th Std., Carmel School, IInd Prize- Malavika Open Canvas (for Parents & Guests): Ist Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters That Changed released by Mustafa Hamza, Vice Chairman Kuwait had participated in the competition Vidhugopan, 8th Std, Fahaheel Al Watanieh Prize- Geetha Ravindran, IInd Prize Rajan K History, Outbreak: Plagues That Changed History, and The & CEO, Metro Medical Group by handing classified into five groups. Five 1st prizes, Indian Private School, Ahmadi & Esha R and Sree Kumar, IIIrd Prize Najla Genius of Islam. over the first copy to K Hassan Koya, eight 2nd prizes, nine 3rd prizes, 65 Merit Banerjee, 7th Std, Fahaheel Al Watanieh Jamshed. WHAT’S ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

English teacher Mulham Adnan, ELT supervisors Al-Najjar, Amrani and Sallam and teacher Waleed Ja’far. Checking the rules during the first round.

Consulting the electronic Scrabble Checker on word validity. Shakir Reshamwala and teacher Abul Soud checking the game in progress. Scrabble board

The four winners - Ali, Mohammed, Saleh and Abdul Rahman. Supervisors and teachers in group photo with the winners. Mubarak ELT team organizes first Scrabble contest

By Hassan Abdel Al-Bari Mubarak ELT supervisors, Mahmoud Al- included English teachers Mulham Adan Soud Al-Zaid came third and Jaber Al-Ali first year public school students compete in Najjar, Jawad Amrani, Mohammed Taha and from Imam Malek School and Hassan Abdel came fourth. Thus, Imam Malek will repre- Scrabble as part of the ELT Supervision ubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Zone’s Mohammed Sallam. Bari from Jaber Al-Ali School, who were both sent Mubarak Al-Kabeer in the finals due to General’s plan to enhance students’ vocabu- ELT supervision team recently Six students from the area’s seven boys’ supervised by professional Scrabble player be held in April, where one male and one lary improve their mastery of English. Morganized the first Scrabble contest schools competed in the contest that ran for and Kuwait Times Front Page Editor Shakir female student will represent each of the six Notably, Reshamwala has represented for public secondary school students. The about three hours where players played Reshamwala. educational zones to win Kuwait’s Public Kuwait in various world championships and contest was hosted at Imam Malek three rounds. Those with the highest scores Imam Malek School won the first place, Schools’ Scrabble Championship. tournaments in Australia, US, Poland, Secondary school and supervised by qualified for the final game. The jury panel Abdullah Mubarak came second, Khaled It is noteworthy to mention that this is the Malaysia, India and around the Gulf. Dartmouth College and AUK cooperation expands to Tuck

uring the 2016-2017 academic School of Business, commented: “As we year, the Tuck School of prepare future global business leaders DBusiness at Dartmouth College at Tuck, nothing is more critical than will engage with the American hands-on experience engaging with University of Kuwait by sending Tuck other cultures. The launch of TuckGO students to Kuwait as part of Tuck’s this year ensures that all Tuck students OnSite Global Consulting Program. The have an immersive global business team will work for AUK, researching experience in a country new to them and recommending methods to moving forward. We are proud to pro- enhance the current Business and vide experiences like these in partner- Economics curriculum, and conducting ship with schools like AUK who are lead- market studies to determine demand ers in important global markets.” for growth and expansion in AUK In addition to sending Tuck MBAs to Business and Economics offerings. Kuwait for consulting purposes, “We are eager to welcome the Tuck TuckGO will welcome two AUK student MBA students to our university and interns in the summer of 2016. The stu- benefit from the experience and per- dents will work with the various spective they can offer in our strategic TuckGO international programs and planning process,” said Nizar Hamzeh, participate in educational seminars to President of the American University of gain exposure to the operations of an Kuwait. “AUK has a well-established American graduate business school. undergraduate business program and Dale F. Eickelman, Lazarus Professor of is currently under consideration for Anthropology and Relationship accreditation by the AACSB program - Coordinator for the Dartmouth AUK we believe the in-depth research and Program, added, “The Dartmouth-AUK strategic guidance the Tuck team pro- Wang of AUK’s College of Business and serve domestic, regional, and interna- program has welcomed interns since toward exploring other co-operative adds an exciting dimension to the vides will build nicely on our founda- Economics added, “We are committed tional needs. Tuck and AUK can learn 2005. The addition of AUK internships possibilities.” Beth Hindmarsh, offerings we have for AUK students tion of quality education and drive us to continuous improvement and to from one another.” for students at Tuck in 2016 is a first for Dartmouth-AUK Program Coordinator, who come to Dartmouth in the sum- even further in that direction.” Dean Jin preparing our students to envision and Matthew Slaughter, Dean of the Tuck both institutions, and a first step added, “This collaboration with Tuck mer.”

GUST signs deal with KPC

ulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) tion programs, internationally recognized, specifically to ing academy for one of Kuwait’s more prominent banks, KPC further solidifies its position as a genuine hub of marked an important occasion by signing a the oil sector, including but limited to CFA, CMA, CPA, in addition to the brand new Gulf Financial Center (GFC) knowledge and career advancement. GMemorandum of Understanding with Kuwait CIA, PMP, and CISSP. - an initiative developed and supported by the Amiri Basem Al-Issa, Deputy Managing Director, Training Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to become their academic Dr Donald Bates, GUST President, said, “This partner- Diwan, GUST, and a group of leading companies from the and Development at KPC said, “We believe deeply in and training partner in providing training and certifica- ship shows the trust the highly esteemed organizations, private sector. GFC is home to a virtual trading and deal- empowering our employees with the best opportunities tion to KPC staff. such as KPC, place in our University to provide efficient ing room which is among the most technologically to develop their skills and knowledge and help them GUST will begin offering professional development training benefiting, and adding to their employees’ advanced in the region. What’s more, GUST also oper- perform their jobs better. We are constantly working to programs to all KPC bachelor degree holders, with the knowledge and skills. As a University, we are privileged ates a subsidiary, PACE (Professional Advancement and find ways to enable our people to reach their highest aspiration at offering the entire organization in the to be given such a crucial and formative role in the Continuing Education), whose sole purpose is to provide potential, and our strategy is to provide employees with future. GUST will also provide training and certification careers of KPC employees.” training courses in subjects such as GMAT preparation, the tools and support to enable outstanding perform- for KPC staff on a variety of topics. In addition, the Since GUST’s establishment, it has set itself as a center CFA, CMA, and PMP (Project Management Professional) ance that exceeds our expectations and creates future University is tasked with offering training and certifica- for professional development. It currently houses a train- certification to professional adults. The new deal with talent and leaders.” p32.qxp_Layout 1 12/14/15 8:39 PM Page 1

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 TV PROGRAMS

12:30 Frozen Fever 01:00 Chopped 02:40 Food School 03:45 The Cafe 12:45 Mako Mermaids 02:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 03:05 Food School 04:15 The Weakest Link 13:10 Mako Mermaids 02:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 03:30 Dream Cruises 05:00 Teletubbies 13:35 Mako Mermaids 03:00 Man Finds Food 04:20 The Food Files 05:25 The Green Balloon Club 14:00 Mako Mermaids 03:30 Man Finds Food 04:45 The Food Files 05:50 Charlie And Lola 00:20 Shocking Survival Videos 14:30 I Didn’t Do It 04:00 Food Court Wars 05:10 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 06:00 Teletubbies 00:45 Cuban Chrome 14:55 Lolirock 05:00 Chopped 05:35 David Rocco’s Dolce India 06:25 The Green Balloon Club 01:35 Cuban Chrome 15:20 The Naughty List 06:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 06:00 Chefs Run Wild 06:50 Charlie And Lola 02:25 Cuban Chrome 16:10 Best Friends Whenever 06:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 06:25 The Best Job In The World 07:00 Jollywobbles 03:15 Cuban Chrome 16:35 Austin & Ally 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 06:50 Bangkok Airport 07:15 Doctors 04:05 Cuban Chrome 17:00 Gravity Falls 07:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 07:40 George Clarke’s Amazing 07:40 Doctors 05:00 Cuban Chrome 17:25 Frozen Fever 08:00 Chopped Spaces 08:10 Doctors 06:00 Ice Lake Rebels 17:35 Descendants 09:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 08:30 Dog Whisperer 08:40 Doctors 06:50 Desert Car Kings 18:00 Descendants 10:00 The Kitchen 09:20 The Peninsula: The Making 09:10 Eastenders 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 19:55 Dog With A Blog 11:00 The Kitchen Of A Gala 09:40 Eastenders 08:30 Auction Hunters 20:20 Jessie 12:00 Chopped 10:10 Ariana’s Persian Kitchen 10:10 Eastenders 08:55 Property Wars 20:45 Good Luck Charlie 13:00 Guy’s Big Bite 10:35 Chasing Time 10:40 Eastenders 09:20 Storage Hunters UK 21:10 Good Luck Charlie 13:30 Guy’s Big Bite 11:00 Hook It, Cook It 11:10 Breaking Pointe 09:45 Americarna 21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 11:25 Street Food Around The 11:50 Doctor Who 10:10 How It’s Made 22:00 Binny And The Ghost 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives World 12:35 Doctor Who 10:35 Alaskan Bush People 22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 15:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 11:50 Bondi Rescue Outback 13:20 The Mimic 11:25 Alaska: The Last Frontier Teenage Witch 15:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives Adventure 13:45 Breaking Pointe 12:15 Flying Wild Alaska 22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 16:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 12:40 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen 14:25 The Weakest Link 13:05 Auction Hunters Teenage Witch 16:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 13:05 Charlie Luxton’s Homes By 15:10 Doctor Who 13:30 Property Wars 23:10 Wolfblood 17:00 Chopped The Sea 15:55 Doctor Who 13:55 Storage Hunters UK 23:35 Wolfblood 18:00 Siba’s Table 14:00 Valentine Warner Eats 16:40 The Vicar Of Dibley 14:20 Ice Lake Rebels 18:30 Siba’s Table Scandinavia 17:20 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 15:10 Kindig Customs 19:00 Siba’s Table 14:30 This Is Brazil 18:15 Tess Of The D’urbervilles 16:00 Fast N’ Loud 19:30 Siba’s Table 15:25 Exploring The Vine 19:05 The Paradise 16:50 Americarna 20:00 Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers 15:50 Exploring The Vine 20:00 New Tricks 17:15 How It’s Made 20:30 Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers 16:20 The Food Files 20:55 Sherlock 17:40 Misfit Garage 00:00 Nina Needs To Go 21:00 Chopped South Africa 16:45 The Food Files 22:25 Waking The Dead 18:30 Wheeler Dealers 00:05 Henry Hugglemonster 22:00 Follow Donal... To Vietnam 17:15 Tales From The Bush Larder 23:15 Waking The Dead 19:20 Outback Truckers 00:20 Calimero 22:30 Follow Donal... To Vietnam 17:40 My Sri Lanka With Peter 00:10 The Paradise 20:10 Property Wars 00:35 Zou 23:00 Girl Eat World Kuruvita 01:05 New Tricks 20:35 Storage Wars Canada 00:50 Loopdidoo 23:30 Girl Eat World 18:10 Chefs Run Wild 02:00 Waking The Dead 21:00 Blood Lions - Bred For The 01:05 Art Attack 18:35 The Best Job In The World 02:50 Waking The Dead Bullet 01:30 Henry Hugglemonster 19:05 Food School 21:50 Hell Road Russia 01:45 Calimero 19:30 Exploring The Vine 22:40 Wheeler Dealers 02:00 Zou 20:00 Exploring The Vine 23:30 Kindig Customs 02:15 Loopdidoo 20:25 The Food Files 02:30 Art Attack 00:15 Coronation Street 20:50 The Food Files 02:55 Henry Hugglemonster 00:40 Coronation Street 21:15 Tales From The Bush Larder 03:14 Grojband 03:05 Calimero 01:05 Peter Andre’s 60 Minute 21:40 My Sri Lanka With Peter 03:35 Johnny Test 03:20 Zou Makeover Kuruvita 05:05 Transformers: Robots In 03:30 Loopdidoo 22:05 Chefs Run Wild 00:35 How The Universe Works 02:00 The Chase: Celebrity Disguise 03:45 Art Attack 22:30 The Best Job In The World 01:20 How The Universe Works Specials 05:27 Transformers: Robots In 04:10 Henry Hugglemonster 22:55 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen 02:08 How The Universe Works 02:55 Coronation Street Disguise 04:20 Calimero 23:20 Charlie Luxton’s Homes By 02:55 How The Universe Works 03:20 Coronation Street 05:50 Regular Show 04:35 Zou 03:45 Coronation Street The Sea 06:00 The Amazing World Of 03:42 What Could Possibly Go 04:45 Loopdidoo Wrong? 04:10 Coronation Street Gumball 05:00 Art Attack 04:30 Coronation Street 07:00 Transformers: Robots In 04:29 What Could Possibly Go 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster Wrong? 04:50 Come Date With Me Disguise 05:35 Calimero Australia 07:25 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 05:16 What Could Possibly Go 05:50 Zou Wrong? 05:15 Paul O’Grady: For The Love 07:50 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 06:00 Loopdidoo 08:10 Ben 10: Omniverse 06:03 What Could Possibly Go Of Dogs 00:20 Africa’s Blood River 06:15 Art Attack 08:35 Ben 10: Omniverse Wrong? 05:45 Paul O’Grady: For The Love 01:10 World’s Deadliest Killer Three 06:35 Henry Hugglemonster 09:00 Matt Hatter Chronicles 06:50 What Could Possibly Go Of Dogs 02:00 Monster Fish 06:50 Calimero 09:20 Teen Titans Go! Wrong? 06:10 The Jonathan Ross Show 02:50 Cameramen Who Dare 07:00 Zou 09:45 Teen Titans Go! 07:37 Deadliest Space Weather 07:05 Seven Days With‚Ķ 03:45 World’s Wildest Encounters 07:20 Loopdidoo 10:10 We Bare Bears - New 08:00 Deadliest Space Weather 08:00 Dancing On The Edge 04:40 Animal Superpowers 07:35 Art Attack LAST PASSENGER ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 10:30 Johnny Test 08:23 Mythbusters 09:30 Dancing On The Edge 05:35 Bearhood 08:00 Calimero 10:55 The Amazing World Of 09:08 Mythbusters 11:30 Dancing On The Edge 06:30 Monster Fish 08:10 Zou 07:00 Franklin & Bash 04:00 A Christmas Wish-PG15 Gumball 09:53 Mythbusters 13:30 Dancing On The Edge 07:25 The Kill Zone 08:25 Limon And Oli 08:00 Graceland 06:00 Diana-PG15 11:20 Adventure Time 10:38 Mythbusters 14:20 Derren Brown - The Great Art 08:20 Wild Australia 08:35 Jake And The Neverland 09:00 The Whispers 08:00 Imogene-PG15 12:05 Regular Show 11:23 Mythbusters Robbery 09:15 Wild Case Files Pirates 10:00 Unforgettable 10:00 Fatal Instinct-PG15 12:16 Regular Show 12:08 How It’s Made 15:45 The Syndicate 10:10 Freaks & Creeps 09:05 Sofia The First 11:00 Franklin & Bash 12:00 Admission-PG15 12:27 Regular Show 12:30 How It’s Made 16:45 The Jonathan Ross Show 11:05 The Lion Whisperer 00:00 Man Of Tai Chi-PG15 09:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:00 Emmerdale 14:00 Heaven Is For Real-PG 12:38 Regular Show 12:53 How It’s Made 17:35 Seven Days With‚Ķ 12:00 Bearhood 02:00 I, Frankenstein-PG15 10:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:30 Coronation Street 16:00 Imogene-PG15 12:50 Johnny Test 13:15 How It’s Made 18:30 Come Date With Me 12:55 Monster Fish 04:00 Aeon Flux-PG15 10:30 Doc McStuffins 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Recoil-PG15 13:40 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 13:38 How It’s Made Australia 13:50 Dangerous Encounters 11:00 Sofia The First 14:00 Graceland 06:00 King Arthur-PG15 20:00 Good People-PG15 14:00 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 14:00 How It’s Made 19:00 The Syndicate 14:45 Outback Wrangler 19:55 Doc McStuffins 15:00 Unforgettable 08:15 Special ID-PG15 22:00 Neighbors-18 14:25 Teen Titans Go! 14:23 How It’s Made 19:55 Paul O’Grady: For The Love 15:10 Outback Wrangler 20:15 Jake And The Never Land 16:00 Emmerdale 10:00 Aeon Flux-PG15 15:10 Matt Hatter Chronicles 14:46 How It’s Made Of Dogs 15:40 The Living Edens Pirates 16:30 Coronation Street 12:00 The River Wild-PG15 15:35 Ben 10: Omniverse 15:10 How It’s Made 20:20 Paul O’Grady: For The Love 16:35 Elephant Queen 20:45 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:00 Man Of Tai Chi-PG15 16:00 Ben 10: Omniverse 15:33 How It’s Made Of Dogs 17:30 Vacations Gone Wild 21:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:00 Graceland 16:00 The Scorpion King 4: Quest 16:20 Regular Show 15:57 Home Factory 20:45 The Jonathan Ross Show 18:25 Caught In The Act 21:35 Sofia The First 19:00 Heroes Reborn 16:32 Regular Show 16:19 Home Factory 21:45 The Chase: Celebrity 19:20 Outback Wrangler For Power-PG15 22:00 Cinderella III: A Twist In Time 20:00 The Blacklist 00:00 Live MSNBC Caught On 16:44 Regular Show 16:44 Mighty Ships Specials 19:45 Outback Wrangler 18:00 The Italian Job (2003)-PG15 23:30 Lilo & Stitch 21:00 Scandal Camera 16:56 Regular Show 17:31 Food Factory 22:40 Seven Days With‚Ķ 20:10 The Living Edens 20:00 Last Passenger-PG15 22:00 How To Get Away With 01:00 Live MSNBC Caught On 17:10 We Bare Bears - New 17:54 Food Factory 23:40 Derren Brown - The Great Art 21:00 Elephant Queen 22:00 Reign Of Assassins-PG15 Murder Camera 17:30 Adventure Time 18:18 Strip The Cosmos Robbery 21:50 Vacations Gone Wild 23:00 The Knick 02:00 Live ABC World News 17:55 Steven Universe 19:05 How The Universe Works 22:40 Caught In The Act 02:30 Live NBC Nightly News 18:20 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 19:50 How The Universe Works 23:30 Bearhood 03:00 MSNBC Caught On Camera 20:40 How The Universe Works 18:40 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 00:00 New Money 04:00 NBC Saturday Today Show 19:05 Teen Titans Go! 21:25 How The Universe Works 00:30 Fashion Bloggers 06:00 ABC 20/20 22:15 How The Universe Works 19:50 Transformers: Robots In 00:55 Fashion Bloggers 00:00 Welcome To The Jungle 07:00 Live MSNBC Special 23:00 How The Universe Works 00:10 Man V. Viral Disguise New 01:25 Stewarts And Hamiltons 02:00 Stand Up Guys 08:00 Live MSNBC Investigates 23:45 What Could Possibly Go 01:00 Breakthrough 00:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 20:15 New The Amazing World Of 02:20 E! News 04:00 Shanghai Calling 09:00 Live MSNBC Investigates Wrong? 02:00 Hubble’s Cosmic Journey 01:00 Chicago Fire Gumball 03:15 Eric And Jessie: Game On 00:30 Hot In Cleveland 06:00 A Simple Twist Of Fate 10:00 MSNBC Caught On Camera 02:55 The Border 02:00 Good Morning America 20:40 Clarence 03:40 Eric And Jessie: Game On 01:30 Saturday Night Live 08:00 Big Fat Liar 11:00 MSNBC All In With Chris 03:50 Locked Up Abroad 03:00 Tyrant 21:00 Regular Show 04:10 E! Entertainment Special 02:30 You’re The Worst 10:00 Shanghai Calling Hayes 04:45 Breakthrough 04:00 Helix 21:11 Regular Show 05:05 The E! True Hollywood Story 03:30 2 Broke Girls 12:00 All About Christmas Eve 12:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris 05:40 Yukon Gold 05:00 Chicago Fire 21:22 Regular Show 06:00 Keeping Up With The 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 14:00 Mousehunt Matthews 06:35 Wicked Tuna: North vs. 06:00 Good Morning America 21:33 Regular Show Kardashians Jimmy Fallon 16:00 Big Fat Liar 13:00 MSNBC Special South 07:00 Emmerdale 21:50 We Bare Bears - New 00:00 Violetta 06:55 Keeping Up With The 05:30 Last Man Standing 18:00 When In Rome 14:00 ABC 20/20 07:30 Ultimate Airport Dubai 07:30 Coronation Street 22:15 Uncle Grandpa 00:45 The Hive Kardashians 06:00 I Hate My Teenage Daughter 20:00 She Wants Me 15:00 MSNBC Your Business 08:25 Megastructures 08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 22:40 Johnny Test 00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 07:50 Style Star 06:30 My Name Is Earl 22:00 Behaving Badly 15:30 Live MSNBC Your Business 09:20 Man V. Viral 09:00 Red Band Society 00:10 Adventure Time Teenage Witch 08:20 E! News 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 16:00 Live NBC Sunday Today 10:15 Breakthrough 10:00 Emmerdale 01:40 Transformers: Robots In 01:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 09:15 House Of DVF 08:30 Last Man Standing Show 11:10 Hubble’s Cosmic Journey 10:30 Coronation Street Disguise Teenage Witch 10:15 House Of DVF 10:30 My Name Is Earl 17:00 Live NBC Meet The Press 12:05 Do Or Die 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 02:02 Transformers: Robots In 01:40 Wolfblood 11:10 Fashion Bloggers 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 18:00 ABC This Week With G 12:30 Do Or Die 12:00 Drop Dead Diva Disguise 02:05 Wolfblood 11:35 Fashion Bloggers Jimmy Fallon Stephanopoulos 13:00 Dog Whisperer 13:00 Once Upon A Time 01:00 I’ll Follow You Down-PG15 02:25 Grojband 02:30 Violetta 12:05 E! News 12:00 I Hate My Teenage Daughter 19:00 Live MSNBC Melissa Harris- 14:00 Dog Whisperer 14:00 Red Band Society 02:45 Deadfall-PG15 02:51 Grojband 03:15 The Hive 13:05 Keeping Up With The 12:30 $#! My Dad Says Perry 15:00 Yukon Gold 15:00 Chicago Fire 04:30 For Greater Glory-PG15 03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Kardashians 13:00 Last Man Standing 20:00 NBC Meet The Press 16:00 Wicked Tuna: North vs. 16:00 Live Good Morning America 07:00 Atlas Shrugged Part 2: The Teenage Witch 14:05 Keeping Up With The 13:30 My Name Is Earl 21:00 ABC This Week With G South 17:00 Drop Dead Diva Strike-PG15 03:45 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Kardashians 14:00 2 Broke Girls Stephanopoulos 17:00 Ultimate Airport Dubai 18:00 Once Upon A Time 09:00 My Last Day Without You- Teenage Witch 15:00 Dash Dolls 15:30 Hot In Cleveland 22:00 MSNBC Weekends With 18:00 Megastructures 19:00 Red Band Society PG15 04:10 Wolfblood 16:00 Christina Milian Turned Up 16:30 I Hate My Teenage Daughter Alex Witt Sunday 19:00 Yukon Gold 20:00 Drop Dead Diva 10:30 For Greater Glory-PG15 04:35 The Haunting Of... 04:35 Wolfblood 17:00 New Money 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 20:00 Wicked Tuna: North vs. 21:00 Once Upon A Time 13:00 Half Of A Yellow Sun-PG15 05:25 The Ghost Inside My Child 05:00 Violetta 17:30 New Money 18:00 Marry Me South 22:00 Tyrant 15:00 Stone Markers-PG15 06:15 Martina Cole’s Lady Killers 05:45 The Hive 18:00 E! News 18:30 2 Broke Girls 20:50 Ultimate Airport Dubai 23:00 Helix 17:00 My Last Day Without You- 07:05 The First 48 05:50 Mouk 19:00 Fashion Bloggers 19:00 About A Boy 21:40 Megastructures PG15 08:00 The First 48 06:00 Lolirock 19:30 Fashion Bloggers 19:30 Last Man On Earth 04:00 Hi, Mom! 22:30 Yukon Gold 19:00 Blood-PG15 09:00 The First 48 06:25 Hank Zipzer 20:00 Keeping Up With The 20:00 Mulaney 05:30 Rich Kids 23:20 Monster Fish 21:00 Two Men In Town-PG15 10:00 Fatal Vows 06:50 Girl Meets World Kardashians 21:00 Hot In Cleveland 07:05 Big Screen 22:00 Married 23:00 August: Osage County-PG15 11:00 Fatal Vows 07:15 H2O: Just Add Water 20:30 Keeping Up With The 07:20 One Summer Love 12:00 I Didn’t Do It Kardashians 22:30 Silicon Valley 09:00 Nobody’s Fool 07:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:00 Tomorrow You’re Gone 13:00 I Dated A Psycho 21:00 Keeping Up With The 23:00 You’re The Worst 10:45 Movers And Shakers 08:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 02:00 Man Of Tai Chi 14:00 Crimes That Shook Britain Kardashians 23:30 Mulaney 12:05 Eight Men Out 08:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 04:00 I, Frankenstein 15:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 22:00 Christina Milian Turned Up 14:05 One More Kiss 08:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 06:00 Aeon Flux 02:00 Awakenings 16:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 23:00 Dash Dolls 15:45 Kid Colter 09:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:10 Valentine Warner Eats 08:00 King Arthur 04:15 The Butler 17:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 17:25 Nobody’s Fool 09:45 Miraculous: Tales Of Scandinavia 10:15 Special ID 06:30 Odeio O Dia Dos 18:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 19:10 Rich Kids Ladybug And Cat Noir 00:35 My Sri Lanka With Peter 00:00 Bates Motel 12:00 Aeon Flux Namorados 19:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 20:45 Big Screen 10:10 Best Friends Whenever Kuruvita 01:00 Heroes Reborn 14:00 The River Wild 08:30 I Am Ali 20:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 21:00 True Confessions 10:35 Girl Meets World 01:00 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen 02:00 The Blacklist 16:00 Man Of Tai Chi 10:30 The Butler 21:00 The Secret Tapes Of The 22:45 Dracula 2000 11:00 Mako Mermaids 01:25 Charlie Luxton’s Homes By 03:00 Minority Report 18:00 The Scorpion King 4: Quest 13:00 Se Puder... Dirija! O.J. Case 00:25 True Confessions 11:25 Dog With A Blog The Sea 04:00 The Whispers For Power 15:00 Julie And Julia 23:00 Joanna Yeates: Murder At 02:10 The Faculty 11:50 Gravity Falls 00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 02:15 Valentine Warner Eats 05:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 20:00 The Italian Job (2003) 17:00 I Am Ali Christmas 12:20 I Love Violetta 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives Scandinavia 06:00 Unforgettable 22:00 Last Passenger 19:00 Collaborator 23:55 Killer Kids 21:00 McCanick 00:50 The Last Goodbye 23:00 Eden 01:20 The Last Goodbye 01:45 The Haunting Of... 02:45 Joanna Yeates: Murder At Christmas 01:15 The Purge: Anarchy-PG15 03:35 Rogue Nature With Dave 03:00 Bad Parents-PG15 Salmoni 05:00 Earth To Echo-PG15 04:25 Bull Shark: World’s Deadliest 07:00 The Theory Of Everything- Shark... PG15 05:15 The Lion Queen 09:00 Barefoot-PG15 06:02 River Monsters (Best Of 03:05 Calimero 10:30 The Expendables 3-PG15 Series 1-5) 03:20 Zou 12:45 X-Men: Days Of Future Past- 06:49 Biggest And Baddest 03:30 Loopdidoo PG15 07:36 Call Of The Wildman 03:45 Art Attack 15:00 Romeo & Juliet-PG15 08:00 Call Of The Wildman 04:10 Henry Hugglemonster 17:15 Barefoot-PG15 08:25 Treehouse Masters 04:20 Calimero 19:00 Kill The Messenger-PG15 09:15 Treehouse Masters 04:35 Zou 21:00 Kelly & Cal-PG15 10:10 Treehouse Masters 04:45 Loopdidoo 23:00 Fury-PG15 11:05 Treehouse Masters 05:00 Art Attack 12:00 Treehouse Masters 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster 12:55 Ten Deadliest Snakes 05:35 Calimero 13:50 River Monsters (Best Of 05:50 Zou 06:00 Loopdidoo 01:00 Marvel’s Planet Hulk Series 1-5) 14:45 Biggest And Baddest 06:15 Art Attack 02:45 Vampire Dog 06:35 Henry Hugglemonster 04:30 Columbus In The Last 15:40 Untamed China With Nigel Marven 06:50 Calimero Journey 07:00 Zou 06:00 Delhi Safari 16:35 Almost Human With Jane Goodall 07:20 Loopdidoo 07:45 Memory Loss 07:35 Art Attack 09:15 Captain Sabertooth And The 17:30 Deadly Islands 18:25 The Lion Queen 08:00 Calimero Treasure Of Lama Rama 08:10 Zou 11:00 Ernest & Celestine 19:20 Rogue Nature With Dave Salmoni 08:25 Limon And Oli 12:30 Vampire Dog 08:35 Jake And The Neverland 14:15 The Three Dogateers 20:15 Rogue Nature With Dave Salmoni Pirates 16:00 Top Cat: The Movie 09:05 Sofia The First 18:00 Captain Sabertooth And The 21:10 Bull Shark: World’s Deadliest Shark... 09:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Treasure Of Lama Rama 10:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 20:00 Pororo: The Racing 22:05 The Lion Queen 23:00 River Monsters 10:30 Doc McStuffins Adventure 11:00 Sofia The First 22:00 The Three Dogateers 23:55 Biggest And Baddest 00:50 Ten Deadliest Snakes 19:00 Sofia The First 23:45 Marvel’s Thor: Tales Of 19:30 Sofia The First Asgaard 01:45 River Monsters (Best Of Series 1-5) 19:55 Doc McStuffins 02:40 Biggest And Baddest 20:15 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 20:45 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 21:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 00:00 Sin City: A Dame To Kill For- 21:35 Sofia The First 18 22:00 Cinderella III: A Twist In Time 23:30 Lilo & Stitch THE ITALIAN JOB ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 02:00 Maleficent-PG 03:00 Doctor Who Classifieds

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

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IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 11:45 PM “IN THE HEART OF THE SEA” 6:00 PM (C 5098) FANAR-4 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 8:45 PM 15-12-2015 SHARQIA-2 THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 1:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 11:30 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 1:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 3:15 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 3:15 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 5:30 PM AVENUES-5 CHANGE OF NAME THE GOOD DINOSAUR 5:30 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:45 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 1:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:45 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 10:00 PM CLOSE RANGE 1:30 PM My daughter, Magishaa THE GOOD DINOSAUR 10:00 PM BUS 657 12:15 AM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 3:15 PM CREED 12:15 AM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 5:30 PM Madhan Kumar, born on FANAR-5 THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:45 PM 05th June 2014 (native dis- SHARQIA-3 CREED 12:45 PM Special Show “HOWL” 7:45 PM trict: Coimbatore), residing CLOSE RANGE 12:30 PM TAMASHA - Hindi 3:30 PM CLOSE RANGE 10:00 PM at No. 54, Jothi Theatre CLOSE RANGE 2:30 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 3:30 PM CLOSE RANGE 12:05 AM Road, Chinnasamy Kadu, CLOSE RANGE 4:30 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 6:30 PM Ammapet, Salem - 636003. CLOSE RANGE 6:30 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 9:30 PM 360º- 1 BUS 657 8:30 PM CREED 9:30 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 1:00 PM Shall henceforth be known CLOSE RANGE 10:30 PM CREED 12:30 AM THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 3:15 PM as Darssha Madhan Kumar. CLOSE RANGE 12:30 AM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 5:30 PM (C 5096) MARINA-1 THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 7:45 PM 12-12-2015 MUHALAB-1 HYENA ROAD 12:45 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 10:00 PM I, Potturi Harsavardhana BUS 657 11:45 AM HYENA ROAD 3:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 12:15 AM Naidu, holder of Indian IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 1:45 PM HYENA ROAD 5:15 PM Passport No: M7062597, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 4:15 PM HYENA ROAD 7:30 PM 360º- 2 CREED 6:45 PM HYENA ROAD 10:00 PM BUS 657 1:00 PM R/o Diguvanallaguttapalli IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 9:30 PM HYENA ROAD 12:30 AM BUS 657 3:00 PM Village, Guttapalli Post, CREED 12:05 AM V8-2 5:00 PM Sambepalli Mandal, Kadapa MARINA-2 BUS 657 7:00 PM Dist., AP, changed my name MUHALAB-2 THE GOOD DINOSAUR 12:30 PM BUS 657 9:00 PM as Muhammad Arshad. ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 1:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 2:45 PM BUS 657 11:00 PM (C 5095) ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 3:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 5:00 PM BUS 657 1:00 AM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 5:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:15 PM 10-12-2015 ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 2:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 9:30 PM 360º- 3 BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 4:00 PM CREED 11:45 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 11:30 AM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 7:00 PM CREED 2:30 PM TAMASHA - Hindi 7:00 PM MARINA-3 BRIDGE OF SPIES 5:30 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 10:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 11:30 AM CREED 8:30 PM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 1:00 AM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 1:45 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 11:30 PM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 10:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 4:15 PM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 12:05 AM BRIDGE OF SPIES 6:45 PM AL-KOUT.1 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 9:45 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 1:00 PM MUHALAB-3 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 12:15 AM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 3:15 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 12:15 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 5:30 PM 112 THE GOOD DINOSAUR 2:30 PM AVENUES-1 THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:45 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 4:45 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 1:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 10:00 PM THE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:00 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 4:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 12:15 AM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY THE GOOD DINOSAUR 9:15 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 7:00 PM FOR CIVIL INFORMATION IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 11:30 PM BRIDGE OF SPIES 10:00 PM AL-KOUT.2 BUS 657 2:00 PM HYENA ROAD 12:45 PM Automated enquiry FANAR-1 BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 4:00 PM HYENA ROAD 3:00 PM about the Civil ID card is STRIKE ONE 12:15 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 7:00 PM HYENA ROAD 5:15 PM STRIKE ONE 2:45 PM BENGAL TIGER - Telugu 10:00 PM HYENA ROAD 7:30 PM 1889988 STRIKE ONE 5:00 PM BUS 657 1:15 AM HYENA ROAD 9:45 PM STRIKE ONE 7:30 PM HYENA ROAD 12:05 AM STRIKE ONE 9:45 PM AVENUES-2 STRIKE ONE 12:05 AM HOWL 11:30 AM AL-KOUT.3 Prayer timings BUS 657 1:30 PM STRIKE ONE 11:30 AM FANAR-2 HOWL 3:45 PM STRIKE ONE 1:30 PM V8-2 11:30 AM BUS 657 6:00 PM STRIKE ONE 3:45 PM Fajr: 05:10 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 1:30 PM HOWL 8:15 PM STRIKE ONE 6:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 4:00 PM HOWL 10:30 PM STRIKE ONE 8:15 PM Shorook 06:34 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 6:45 PM HOWL 12:45 AM STRIKE ONE 10:30 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 9:15 PM STRIKE ONE 12:45 AM Duhr: 11:43 IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 11:45 PM AVENUES-3 CLOSE RANGE 1:00 PM AL-KOUT.4 Asr: 14:33 FANAR-3 CLOSE RANGE 3:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 11:30 AM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 12:30 PM CLOSE RANGE 5:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 2:00 PM Maghrib: 16:51 ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 2:30 PM CLOSE RANGE 7:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 4:30 PM ZINZANA (Emirati Film) 4:30 PM CLOSE RANGE 9:00 PM IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 7:00 PM Isha: 18:14

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

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 15/12/2015 KAC 284 Dhaka 14:45 Departure Flights on Tuesday 15/12/2015 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 Airlines Flt Route Time KAC 788 Jeddah 14:50 Airlines Flt Route Time UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 BBC 143 Dhaka 00:05 FBA 831 Al Najaf 14:55 AIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05 JZR 324 Al Najaf 14:25 MSC 415 Sohag 00:05 GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00 JAD 302 Amman 00:15 KAC 673 Dubai 15:00 KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 00:20 KNE 472 Jeddah 15:05 THY 6377 Istanbul 00:25 FDB 058 Dubai 15:10 JZR 267 Beirut 00:30 OMA 645 Muscat 15:30 FDB 072 Dubai 00:40 QTR 1079 Doha 15:10 JZR 539 Cairo 00:40 NIA 251 Alexandria 15:30 MSC 404 Asyut 00:55 AXB 394 Kozhikode 15:20 FDB 069 Dubai 00:55 KAC 562 Amman 15:40 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:55 KAC 617 Doha 15:45 THY 772 Istanbul 01:05 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45 MSC 416 Sohag 01:00 SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45 DLH 635 Doha 01:35 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 BBC 143 Chittagong/Dhaka 01:35 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45 QTR 1072 Doha 16:10 KLM 411 Amsterdam 01:35 KAC 613 Bahrain 15:50 PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00 FDB 051 Dubai 16:30 KAC 283 Dhaka 02:10 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50 UAE 853 Dubai 02:30 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:40 THY 773 Istanbul 02:30 KAC 741 Dammam 15:55 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30 RJA 640 Amman 16:55 DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:35 FBA 832 Al Najaf 15:55 OMA 643 Muscat 02:55 KAC 542 Cairo 16:55 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45 KNE 473 Jeddah 16:05 FDB 067 Dubai 03:05 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 KAC 381 Delhi 03:30 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25 RJA 644 Amman 03:05 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 UAE 854 Dubai 03:45 NIA 252 Alexandria 16:30 MSR 612 Cairo 03:10 JZR 325 Al Najaf 17:50 PGT 859 Istanbul 03:55 OMA 646 Muscat 16:30 QTR 1076 Doha 03:15 MSR 614 Cairo 17:50 OMA 644 Muscat 03:55 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 KKK 6507 Istanbul 03:20 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55 FDB 068 Dubai 04:00 JZR 238 Amman 17:30 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:25 KAC 502 Beirut 18:00 MSR 613 Cairo 04:10 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:30 JZR 503 Luxor 04:25 UAE 875 Dubai 18:00 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:15 FDB 052 Dubai 17:35 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40 FDB 063 Dubai 18:05 KKK 6508 Istanbul 04:20 QTR 1073 Doha 17:40 THY 770 Istanbul 05:55 UAL 982 IAD 18:15 QTR 1077 Doha 05:00 JZR 538 Cairo 17:45 FDB 5061 Dubai 06:30 JZR 177 Dubai 18:20 THY 765 Istanbul 05:15 UAE 858 Dubai 17:45 BAW 157 London 06:40 KAC 680 Muscat 18:25 JZR 560 Sohag 06:10 RJA 641 Amman 17:55 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:20 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30 FDB 070 Dubai 06:30 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 QTR 1086 Doha 07:40 ABY 123 Sharjah 18:45 JZR 164 Dubai 06:55 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 FDB 053 Dubai 07:45 QTR 1080 Doha 18:55 RJA 645 Amman 07:05 SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50 KAC 742 Dammam 19:05 THY 771 Istanbul 07:05 JZR 184 Dubai 18:40 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50 KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10 FDB 5062 Dubai 07:10 MSR 615 Cairo 18:50 OMA 641 Muscat 08:00 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:25 GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15 FDB 064 Dubai 19:20 KAC 354 BLR 08:15 KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:30 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 ABY 124 Sharjah 19:25 KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30 QTR 1087 Doha 08:40 UAE 876 Dubai 19:30 KAC 352 Kochi 08:30 KAC 618 Doha 19:35 BAW 156 London 08:45 UAL 982 Bahrain 19:30 UAE 855 Dubai 08:40 KAC 104 London 19:40 SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50 GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15 KAC 362 Colombo 08:50 KAC 674 Dubai 19:45 OMA 642 Muscat 08:55 KAC 361 Colombo 20:45 KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:50 MSR 618 Alexandria 20:05 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25 QTR 1081 Doha 20:50 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00 FDB 061 Dubai 20:20 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40 KAC 351 Kochi 20:50 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20 OMA 647 Muscat 20:20 KAC 513 Tehran 09:45 KAC 343 Chennai 21:00 QTR 1070 Doha 09:25 FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50 KAC 101 London/New York 09:55 MSR 607 Luxor 21:05 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:55 KAC 541 Cairo 09:55 KAC 331 Trivandrum 21:10 KAC 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur 09:50 JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55 UAE 856 Dubai 09:55 OMA 648 Muscat 21:20 IRC 6507 Shiraz 10:30 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20 KAC 561 Amman 10:00 FDB 062 Dubai 21:20 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 MEA 402 Beirut 21:20 KAC 671 Dubai 10:05 DLH 634 Doha 21:45 IRA 675 Lar 10:40 ALK 229 Colombo 21:25 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:25 FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50 UAE 873 Dubai 11:05 UAE 859 Dubai 21:40 KAC 501 Beirut 10:30 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 RBG 553 Alexandria 11:15 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 FDB 056 Dubai 10:35 JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55 JZR 165 Dubai 11:30 QTR 1082 Doha 22:00 KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:00 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:10 MEA 404 Beirut 11:55 KLM 415 Amsterdam 22:05 QTR 1071 Doha 11:00 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:10 FDB 075 Dubai 12:25 AIC 987 Chennai/Hyderabad 22:25 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25 MEA 403 Beirut 22:20 MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:25 IRC 6508 Shiraz 11:30 ALK 230 Colombo 22:25 JZR 561 Sohag 12:45 FDB 059 Dubai 22:30 IRA 674 Lar 11:40 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30 UAE 871 Dubai 12:50 PIA 239 Sialkot 22:35 RBG 554 Alexandria 11:55 UAE 860 Dubai 22:55 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 JZR 239 Amman 23:05 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20 KAC 345 Ahmedabad 23:00 KAC 382 Delhi 13:50 JZR 185 Dubai 23:15 UAE 874 Dubai 12:30 QTR 1083 Doha 23:05 QTR 1078 Doha 14:10 UAL 981 Bahrain 23:25 MEA 405 Beirut 12:55 KLM 415 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05 FDB 057 Dubai 14:10 JAD 301 Amman 23:30 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 KAC 205 Islamabad 23:10 KAC 514 Tehran 14:10 FDB 071 Dubai 23:45 KAC 679 Muscat 13:00 ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:15 AXB 393 Kozhikode 14:20 THY 764 Istanbul 23:50 FDB 076 Dubai 13:10 FDB 060 Dubai 23:35 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 JAI 574 Mumbai 23:55 MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30 PIA 240 Sialkot 23:35 KAC 672 Dubai 14:45 MSC 403 Asyut 23:55 JZR 176 Dubai 13:45 KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:35 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION p34_p34 stars 12/14/15 8:40 PM Page 1

stars34 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

CROSSWORD 1110 STAR TRACK

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

You are most persuasive today and can be quite charismatic in speech and There is a good possibility of a career turning point that may require some your approach to things. You may find yourself lecturing or guiding others. careful thought and good judgment on your part. The current flow of events may dictate You are a natural for self-expression. You enjoy guest appearances, or writing professional- a path that runs against your best talents and abilities. Do not sell yourself short. Hang in ly or just simply a sales job-however, whatever you do, you go all the way. If you are in there. Appreciating things of value is easy for you now, even the idea of value itself. You sales, you will soon find yourself in the competition for the best salesperson this year. may find yourself gaining materialistically at this time, as it is certainly a time when materi- Import, export business may be of interest-particularly if it allows you more time at home. al things have a great deal of importance for you. Your practical side is showing and you Exercise is important to you and you may want to grab a friend or loved one and enjoy a could be recognized for your vision of ways to create a better business. Remember to add bike ride near your home this afternoon. Tonight you may be asked to join a planning people to your holiday list that are easily forgotten. This is the season to show your appre- committee for the next celebration in your neighborhood. ciation to the people that bring you comfort: service people.

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

Your ability to take action and get things accomplished is appreciated-as Going out and about to gather and exchange information becomes a more long as you are not too strong in expressing yourself. Working out ways to organize proj- enlightened part of your life, a very educational experience. Neighbors or family have a big ects and people is liable to become a topic of special interest-and a challenge. You will do impact on your goals and make a big impression. This is a very socially active period. well. Your health and work improve and profits are good. You are happy when you can live Emotional support comes from your good friends, ideals and social interaction now. Your on a royal scale. However, your generous nature and your love of fine possessions could life may be due for some important changes to take place. There is a need to break away have you in trouble soon if financial plans are not made. You must put aside funds, build- from old-fashioned ideas that you may carry from your past, to something totally new, dif- ing up the amount a little at a time in order to have a sense of security. Before you know it ferent and unique. Allowing yourself to trek into the future with new concepts and leaving you will have a nice nest egg. Get your tax papers in order for next year. Any opportunity some of the old patterns behind will benefit you in many exciting ways. Dare to be differ- to work on this ahead of time is a good thing. ent and allow your aesthetic and perceptive side to emerge.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You are great at coordinating events. Any entertainment group or business You may discover some new method in which you can communicate effec- that depends on bookings would be at an advantage with you on staff. A business of your tively. This communication could be with an old customer that was hard to own will give you freedom and this is where you seem the happiest. Organizing projects deal with in the past. Your attention today to gain the best results with this customer is a and people is a plus now. If you are not working for yourself, you could consider working good thing. You have time left this morning to help others complete their tasks. Do not ACROSS or New Zealand. for a hotel or a catering group or a theme park, etc. When organizing a lecture, have more fuss over the little stuff; it’s all little stuff! Today and tomorrow could be the beginning of a 1. A federal agency established to regulate the 7. Make fit for, or change to suit a new pur- material prepared than you can use in the time required. This will give you some sort of a successful work program and this attitude will help you move forward. It is always a good release of new foods and health-related pose. safety net. An elderly person in your life may need more attention than in the past. idea, however, to proof your work before moving forward. Humor is sometimes necessary products. 8. Prong on a fork or pitchfork. Remember that there is always enough time for the important things-if it is important, when we become rushed and today is perfect for your sort of humor. Make it a point to 4. Any of several plants of the genus Hepatica 9. A large waterfall on the border between you will find time for it. laugh. Expect surprise visits. having 3-lobed leaves and white or pink- Argentina and Brazil. ish flowers in early spring. 10. A genus of Caltha. 12. The unit of frequency. 11. A silvery ductile metallic element found 15. (of roads) Made of logs laid down cross- primarily in bauxite. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) wise. 12. (Mexican) Ground beef and chili peppers Your feelings are much more reflective than expressive just now-but there 16. Very generous. or chili powder often with tomatoes and Things are really moving in the direction of helping you to bring out your 17. Goddess of the dead and queen of the kidney beans. are places to go, people to see and business over which to be productive. Your superiors praise your work and your keen eye for detail. Be realistic with your estimate of the length unique and unusual qualities. You may find that someone close to you understands and is underworld. 13. Wood of a pecan tree. supportive of your eccentricities. Opportunities keep appearing mysteriously to aid in your of time you think it will take you to finish a project. You and your team are feeling good 18. An organization of countries formed in 14. Informal language consisting of words and climb up the corporate ladder. This could all be beneficial in allowing you to come up with about the accomplishments of late. You have already accomplished quite a lot and it will 1961 to agree on a common policy for the expressions that are not considered new solutions or inventions. Everything suggests that you will be taking the initiative. You sale of petroleum. appropriate for formal occasions. not be long before you will be able to enjoy a celebration of completion. The relationship could feel great support from those around you, or circumstances could dictate your tak- 20. Small wildcat of the mountains of Siberia 19. Any of various often strong-smelling between you and a boss or superior improves. You discover that a personal checking or ing action. You have been working very, very hard. Enjoy socializing or plan to socialize as a Tibet and Mongolia. plants of the genus Cleome having showy savings balance is starting to look good due to your efforts to keep the budget under con- host or guest this week in some fun gathering. This could be a get-together with people 22. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or spider-shaped flowers. trol. Everything in your life is coming together well. that enjoy the same things you enjoy. Scotland or the Isle of Man. 21. Aristocratic Italian family of powerful mer- 24. Partially carbonized vegetable matter satu- chants and bankers who ruled Florence in rated with water. the 15th century. 25. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in 23. Marked by good order and cleanliness in Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) favor of a person or cause). appearance or habits. Besting others in the heat of competition and taking on a leadership role 26. A legally binding command or decision 27. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal means more to you now than in the past-second best just will not cut it with you at this Others may see you as a bit reserved; it should, however, work to your advantage. So meone in authority re co gn izes your talent. Yo u may want to atte nd some entered on the court record (as if issued to 10 liters. time. You may have been waiting for some time to take on a new job. The only thing stand- sort of schooling to fine-tune your craft. Wh at is expressed by others today may be based by a court or judge). 29. (Roman mythology) God of love. ing between you and a new position is a little competition and yet you would be wise to on fact, but you seem determined to check the facts for yourself. This action may be neces- 28. Graded markings that indicate light or 31. Plot of land belonging to an English parish compete with only yourself . . . This is where you find the winner. Make sure the interviewer shaded areas in a drawing or painting. church or an ecclesiastical office. sary to your profession but harmful to the psyche of a co-worker, depending on your knows that you do very well at remaining calm under fire. You are mentally strong. This insight. Co mmit to a financial deal with a club, group or organization to day. Avoid being 30. The cardinal number that is the sum of 32. English theoretical physicist who applied afternoon you need to make an extra effort to hang on to your wallet; you watch the seven and one. relativity theory to quantum mechanics the one who does all the work by compromising with others. It may be your turn to cook spending spree of a friend and may be tempted to follow along. Why not just offer to help this evening and if so, others will stay around to re ap the benefits. If you walk with your 33. The language of the nomadic Lapp people and predicted the existence of antimatter hold the packages you won’t have to spend the energy to make the payments. in northern Scandinavia and the Kola and the positron (1902-1984). sweetheart afte r the evening meal to night, there will be re ward s. Peninsula. 35. A white linen liturgical vestment with 34. In a slim or slender manner. sleeves. 37. English scholastic philosopher and 36. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) assumed author of Occam's Razor (1285- skewer usually with vegetables. Insight into your own inner self or psychology could come to the surface 1349). 38. (astronomy) A relatively small extraterres- Gentleness is a very important asset that you present to others. This is 41. Wrap us in a cerecloth, as of a corpse. trial body consisting of a frozen mass that today, and in a form that you can manage. You may find yourself in the mood for penetrat- almost a gracefulness that is regal. You may not seem disturbed by any diffi- 44. A loose sleeveless outer garment made travels around the sun in a highly elliptical ing conversations or thoughts. Solving problems or making important decisions should cult events that naturally occur around the office, but you could take a few frustrated feel- from aba cloth. orbit. be easy for you today. You will find a way around just about any obstacle that you might ings home with you. If you notice this happening, slow down, take a deep breath and 47. Water soaked soil. 39. Earlier a god. come across today. You will, however, be in control and be able to guide yourself with adjust your thinking to a most positive place. This could possibly be the memory of a vaca- 48. The process of remembering (especially 40. (from a combination of MOdulate and ease. Your sense of inner direction is good and may lead to good opportunities. Wanting tion or birth of a child; then let go of the day and create a healing place for you and your the process of recovering information by DEModulate) Electronic equipment con- to expand your horizons and trying to be the very best that you can be, could have you family in your home. This is your castle against the slings and arrows of the world, so to mental effort). sisting of a device used to connect com- exploring some interesting places today. This evening, your attention may be sparked in speak; create a good place. Others should see you as rather elegant just now, especially in 51. A unit of current equal to 10 amperes. puters by a telephone line. areas such as politics, education, travel, religion or law. social circles. You are genuinely pleased to share what you know with others. 54. African tree having an exceedingly thick 42. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd 43. Essential oil or perfume obtained from and has an edible pulp called monkey flowers. Word Search Yesterday Solution bread. 45. A coarse obnoxious person. 56. Desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having 46. The blood group whose red cells carry small white flowers. both the A and B antigens. 57. Spread or daub over. 49. Lower in esteem. 61. A hard brittle blue-white multivalent 50. Praise, glorify, or honor. metallic element. 52. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of 62. A doctor's degree in musical arts. rubberized fabric. 63. A choice that is made by voting. 53. Type genus of the Percidae. 66. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage 55. The word class that qualifies verbs or claus- is opened and a section of a blood vessel es. is grafted from the aorta to the coronary 58. (computer science) A system of world- artery to bypass the blocked section of wide electronic communication in which the coronary artery and improve the a computer user can compose a message blood supply to the heart. at one terminal that is generated at the 70. Same in identity. recipient's terminal when he logs in. 72. A woman hired to suckle a child of some- 59. (informal) "in the dumps". one else. 60. Rock star and drummer for the Beatles 73. A dissolute man in fashionable society. (born in 1940). 77. A master's degree in business. 64. Evergreen trees and shrubs having oily 78. Thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of one-seeded fruits. the lateral columns and anterior horns of 65. A member of an Iroquoian people former- the spinal cord. ly living on the south shore of Lake Erie in 79. Biennial or perennial herbs of north tem- northern Ohio and northwest perate regions. Pennsylvania and western New York. 80. Annual grass of Europe and North Africa. 67. Projectiles to be fired from a gun. 68. A small cake leavened with yeast. DOWN 69. Stairway in India leading down to a land- 1. Beat severely with a whip or rod. ing on the water. 2. Amino acid that is formed in the liver and 71. A unit of electrical power in an AC circuit converted into dopamine in the brain. equal to the power dissipated when 1 volt 3. American novelist (1909-1955). produces a current of 1 ampere. 4. A unit of power equal to 746 watts. 74. A metallic element having four allotropic 5. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth forms. group. 75. An informal term for a father. 6. (Australian and New Zealand) A disparaging 76. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali term for English immigrants to Australia earth group. Yesterday’s Solution

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Gossip Dita Von Teese’s make-up confidence

ita Von Teese feels more confident when she wears make-up. practice makes. So often, a stranger or friend will admire my look, The 43-year-old Burlesque dancer admits she finds it more and, in the same breath, hopelessly follow up that she or he can’t Dfun to apply her own make-up and feels a sense of “integrity possibly achieve such ‘perfection’. “I am not perfect. Who is? What is and pride” when she’s put her own face on. She shared: “Doing it perfection, anyway, but striving to be the best you can be! Strive for [make-up] myself is a matter of integrity and pride. I look forward to glamour! Glamour is a thing of beauty - but it’s not about being born stepping out into the world and honestly stating, ‘Yes, I did this.’ “I beautiful. Don’t just work what you have - accentuate and exagger- love the confidence it gives me. Truth is, it takes less time for me to ate. If perfection is being free of all flaws, then the only flaws worth do it myself. It is also so much more fun!” And Dita insists it is all fretting over are apathy and self-doubt. Feel beautiful, and you’ll look about practice and that no one is born with a “perfect” face. Writing it too.” in her book ‘Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide To Eccentric Glamour’, she added: “Beauty takes practice. And you know what

Kim advised against more kids im Kardashian West has been advised not to have any more children. The ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ star - who Khas daughter North, two, and son Saint, nine days, with husband Kanye West - has been warned by doctors that it is “near- ly a guarantee” she will suffer from life-threatening placenta accre- ta for a third time if she gets pregnant again. And, according to TMZ, 35-year-old Kim - who has previously spoken of how much she doesn’t enjoy being pregnant - is also scared of having anoth- er “extremely painful birth” if she does conceive again. The couple also think another addition to their brood would be “too much” so they are not too upset at stopping with two children. Though they are very busy with their two kids, little Saint is making life easier for his parents as he is described as the “perfect baby” who is eat- ing and sleeping very well and barely cries - the “opposite” of his older sister. It was previously claimed Kim was “extremely anxious” ahead of delivering Saint, who was born almost three weeks ahead of his due date. A source said: “She had some pretty intense anxiety the last couple of days [of pregnancy] and especially just before the baby came. “She was scared for [this] delivery because Holland: Social of her past issues. She is thrilled [but it was] just so painful for her.” Harington’s bus embarrassment media can it Harington stopped using buses when they was some bus with the ‘Pompeii’ poster going across in began advertising his movies. The 28-year-old the background. “The first time, it was funny, but then Kactor was embarrassed when his movie after that, it just became really tedious.” Kit enjoyed transform fashion ‘Pompeii’ was released in cinemas because the promo- working on the action film because he didn’t have a tional posters were so hard to avoid. He said: “I used to stuntman so could do all the physical scenes himself. enry Holland thinks social media can transform fashion. The 32-year-old designer believes the photo-sharing app love to catch the bus, and I couldn’t catch them for He said: “I was supposed to be smashed against the Instagram could help fashion houses sell more clothes months during that, because of the fear that I might wall, but I went through it by accident. I went straight H straight from the runway. He said: “There’s only so long that fash- be sitting above my own head on the side of the bus. through the wall! And that made the final cut, which is ion houses are going to spend huge amounts of money on shows Occupational hazard, isn’t it?” And the buses also quite fun. “There was a lot of cool stuff I got to do and not get their money back. “The fact that those looks are on caused problems for Kit while he was shooting because I didn’t have a stuntman for this. I did every- Instagram while the public has to wait three months to purchase ‘Spooks: The Greater Good’ as the movie was filmed in thing myself. I like that! “I like it when they say, ‘You them seems so backward.” However, Henry admits Instagram, in London and they kept driving past the outdoor know, we haven’t got a stuntman for you. Can you do particular, is making people more vain as users try to “curate” their scenes. He told Vulture: “It’s funny to look back at it it?’ “So I was climbing up buildings, jumping from lives. He added to the London Evening Standard newspaper: “The now, but at the time, they were a real pain in the ass! “I building to building, sprinting through Heathrow air- fact that we broadcast our lives all over the internet means all was half naked on a bus the whole time we were port, all sorts of stuff!” aspects of our lives become more curated. “People are conscious shooting because of the ‘Pompeii’ poster. Every two about what their houses look like in their Instagram feeds and seconds, we would have to call, ‘Cut!’ because there they’re conscious of their outfits. If they like their outfit they’ll post it, it’s show-off. People are more conscious of what their lives look like and we all know the reality is you’re sat by yourself with a hot chocolate.” Meanwhile, Henry is happy to be a pioneer of mixing fashion and technology, having recently dressed his models in Khloe Kardashian wearable payment technology. celebrates slams Kris Jenner Dyke hloe Kardashian branded her mother Kris Jenner a 90th birthday One Direction “psycho” for staying in touch with Lamar Odom. The K31-year-old star was furious with the family matri- arch when she discovered she was still in constant contact with flash mob thanks fans with her estranged husband, even after she decided to ick Van Dyke’s 90th birthday was marked by a ouis Tomlinson has thanked One Direction’s fans for a finally move on with their divorce. In ‘Keeping Up With the “special” five years. The group are now going on hiatus Kardashians’ scenes filmed before Lamar’s near-fatal over- chimney sweep flash mob. The veteran actor reached the milestone age yesterday and Lfollowing their final performance on UK TV show ‘The X dose in October, Khloe confronted Kris after she gave the D Factor’ last night and the 23-year-old singer admitted taking enjoyed a number of public celebrations, including basketball player her new phone number. She fumed over to the stage for the last time was very “emotional”. He tweet- the ‘Mary Poppins’ dance tribute at Los Angeles’ out- the phone: “I was removed from this whole situation. I ed: “Well that was an emotional night !! Never can we thank don’t care, are you psycho?” And Khloe’s sister, Kim door shopping mall The Grove on Saturday . Dick and you enough for how special you have made the last five Kardashian West - who had earlier advised her mother not his wife Arlene Silver-Van Dyke, 44, stood on an upper years for us! ... I hope you realise what we have all done to speak with Lamar - branded Kris a “piece of s**t”. level to cheer as the flash mob danced along to ‘Step together really is incredible. You guys have made us what we However, the 60-year-old star refused to apologize and in Time’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’ and are today! We’ll be back soon enough (sic)! Elsewhere, band- insisted she hadn’t done anything wrong. She said: “He’s ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and took part in a mate Harry Styles, 21, referred to the fans as “team mates” had so many issues he’s been dealing with. “Lamar doesn’t sing-along, and he later described the performance - and thanked his legions of followers for having “changed have a lot of extended family. When he reaches out I’m which was choreographed by Dana and Jenna their lives”. He posted to Twitter: “To you, you have changed going to respond.” Kim slammed her mother as “stupid” Spellman - as “unbelievable”. He said in a YouTube our lives and no words will ever be good enough to thank while furious Khloe - who split from Lamar in December video which he shared on Twitter: “Unbelievable! Oh you for what we have done together ... You are the greatest 2013 - admitted she felt particularly hurt because she my God! Great!” Dick later joined the crowd to sing team mates we have ever known. Thank you (sic).” During sided with Kris when she divorced her stepfather Caitlyn another tune from the musical, ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’ and their appearance at the ‘X Factor’ final, the quartet - which Jenner, who was previously known as Bruce. She said: enjoyed having ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to him. He later Johnson’s girlfriend also includes Liam Payne and Niall Horan - performed their latest single ‘Infinity’ before their mentor Simon Cowell led a “When you wanted to be mad at Caitlyn, the first thing I tweeted: “I am very grateful that at 90 years old, I can still go out and play!!” And the birthday fun didn’t end star-studded tribute video, which included contributions did was be on your side and I protected you and I defend- from the likes of David Beckham, James Corden and Little ed you. And that was my dad of 23 years!” The former ‘X on Saturday as yesterday he was honored in doesn’t want big baby Disneyland with a dedication ceremony. This time, he Mix. Speaking to the group, Simon said: “It’s been a privilege, Factor’ host told her mother she felt they needed a “major wayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s gi rlfriend is wo rried about it’s been fun. Enjoy the break and I’ll always be there.” Little break” from each other, so Kris agreed and decided not to sang ‘Jolly Holiday’ for well-wishers, and was serenad- ed with ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’. He and wife Arlene were having a “20lb baby”. The ‘San Andreas’ actor and Mix said they were “proud” of their pals. They said: “You guys go on their family vacation. Following Lamar’s collapse long-term partner Lauren Hashian will welcome a the marshals for the Christmas Parade at the D have smashed it for many years and we are so proud of you.” from a drink and drugs binge, Khloe again put her divorce daughter into the world next year and the singer is hoping And David, 40, added: “Boys, what can I say. Five years and Californian resort and led the troupe in a classic car. on hold as she felt it wasn’t the right time to go through her well-built partner’s genes won’t be passed down to the you have given so much to so many people. You are unbe- the process. The crowd sang a Happy Birthday song to the leg- little girl. She wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of her- lievably talented but more importantly unbelievably nice endary actor And the theme park even produced a self and Dwayne: “And like Big Daddy says - Couldn’t be guys. You need to come back soon or you’re going to have limited-edition birthday cake to mark the actor’s prouder of all the kickass women she’s going to have around more videos like that.” They then bowed out with a rendition birthday, which was only available yesterday. her! And Men of course ;).. “#LetsJustHopeBigDaddy of ‘History’, which they sang while a video montage of their Doesnt=20lbBaby (sic)” Lauren has been fairly quiet on social career - including with former member Zayn Malik - played media since announcing her pregnancy, but is enjoying behind them. every minute. She also wrote: “I know I’m late to the party... Sometimes life gets full and busy in the best ways :)... So grateful and in awe of this time. To experience creating a little life is just incredible. This beautiful cycle of life and woman- hood beginning again. (sic)” The couple announced in September they were having their first child together and the 43-year-old wrestler-turned-actor - who already has a 14- year-old daughter, Simone, with ex-wife Dany Garcia - revealed last month they found out they are expecting a girl. He posted a picture of himself cradling Lauren’s baby bump, and captioned the image: “I was raised by and live with amaz- ing and strong women, so the universe felt we needed one more... IT’S A BABY GIRL!! THANK YOU guys so much for the awesome support and love you’ve sent @laurenhashianoffi- cial and myself from around the world. We’re so grateful for this blessing and thrilled to share the news with y’all. (sic)” lifestyle TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Gossip Rowland not buying Christmas gifts for son

elly Rowland is giving her son last year’s gifts this her former bandmate Beyonce - who has three-year-old thought Titan would look so cute in his little skunk cos- Christmas. The former Destiny’s Child singer insists daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay-Z - but she insists they tume. We tried it on him the other day and he looked Kshe and husband Tim Witherspoon won’t be spoiling talk about more than just their kids. She said: “Well, we def- adorable. “It’s all about having family time and this 12-month-old Titan over the festive season because he got initely have more things to talk about now, but we don’t moment to really bond because everybody’s on the go so many presents last year. She told the New York Post consume our conversations with our babies.” Though the now. I think Halloween just gives you time to celebrate newspaper’s Page Six column: “He’s gotten so much stuff in 34-year-old singer tires of being asked when Destiny’s with the ones closest to you.” one year. When he was born, he was set for next Christmas. Child plan to reunite, she can understand the curiosity. She “We’re going to honestly pull some of those toys out and admitted: “I would ask the same question.” While Kelly isn’t wrap them .?.?. He’ll be set until he’s three.” Being a mother planning much for Christmas, she previously spoke of how has given Kelly more opportunity to bond with friends like much she enjoyed Halloween with her family. She said: “I Clooney launches campaign Presley wants to to feed homeless in Scotland relive wedding day eorge Clooney has launched a new all five of our shops.” “When George visited with ex-husband Elvis campaign to provide food to the our shop last month, we asked him to Ghomeless in Scotland over make the first donation and with such a riscilla Presley would love to relive her wedding day Christmas. The 54-year-old actor has joined global star on film supporting us we’re with her late ex-husband Elvis Presley just one more forces with Social Bite to feed thousands of hoping we can smash last year’s total and Ptime. The 70-year-old actress may have divorced the people living on the streets over the festive help even more people.” The video leads legendary rock ‘n’ roll star in 1973 - four years before his season and throughout 2016 after he viewers to the deals and events website iti- death in 1977 - but she has admitted she still gets a warm recorded a video message to encourage son.com where people can give just £5 to fuzzy feeling inside when she reminisces about their “pri- people to part with their money in name of buy a homeless person a Christmas dinner. vate” nuptials at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas in 1967. a good cause during his flying visit to the The money raised will also contribute Asked what one moment she would like to relive with the remarkable sandwich shop in Edinburgh towards a convoy of Social Bite vans, which late singer, she said: “Probably our wedding, 21 was the last month. Josh Littlejohn, Social Bite’s co- is leaving on 26 December stashed with age and it wasn’t a fanfare, it was all arranged where it was founder, said: “Last year we asked the pub- food and winter essentials to deliver to very private. It wasn’t like it is today where everyone has lic to pay £5 to allow us to open on refugee camps in Calais, the Serbia-Croatia the biggest, the best, the most expensive wedding. “It was Christmas day and give local homeless border, and Lesbos. Meanwhile, George has really a nice wedding. Then we had our friends join us all in people a place to go for a good meal. Our already chipped £650 off the charity target Swift celebrates birthday Memphis after that.” However, the vibrant-haired beauty target was to provide 800 meals. “We were after he left the large sum of money with has very different views on her life with the famous lip- amazed by the response and received over the organization during his visit in quivering hunk as she struggled with her rock and roll 36,000 donations from all over the world November. at a Christmas-themed party lifestyle at such a young age. Speaking on ‘Good Morning meaning we not only fed folk at Christmas, Britain’ this morning, she said: “[It was] not like anything I we were able to feed them all year round in aylor Swift celebrated her birthday at announced yesterday she is teaming up could have imagined. I was a kid thrown into rock ‘n’ roll at a Christmas-themed party yesterday. with Jimmy for a new venture. The ‘Bad a very young age. “Life was not normal in any way, we TThe ‘Shake It Off’ hitmaker was Blood’ hitmaker took to Twitter to reveal lived during the evening and slept during the day.” accompanied by boyfriend Calvin Harris the forthcoming release of the ‘1989’ World and her mother Andrea for a lavish bash at Tour LIVE concert film on Apple Music. She Apple executive Jimmy Iovine’s Malibu tweeted: “Thank you so much for all the home, which, as well as marking the pop birthday wishes. I have a little surprise for star turning 26 also saw guests toast anoth- you.#1989WorldTourLIVE @applemusic er birthday girl, Jimmy’s daughter Jessica, (sic).” And Taylor also included a clip of the as well as ring in the festive season. A film in which she explained her dreams for source told Us Weekly magazine:” Taylor the tour. She said: “Getting ready for this, I was given a cake and they sang ‘Happy wondered about a lot of things. I wondered Birthday.’ “ And Taylor and Calvin weren’t what it would be like to perform for 70,000 the only famous guests at the bash. The people. I wondered what it would look like source added: “Gwen Stefani and Blake if they were all lit up and just dancing Shelton were there and they looked really, around like no one was watching them.” really cute.” In a video posted on snapchat, Referring to her many celebrity guests on Taylor, Calvin and DJ Snake were shown the tour, she said: “I wondered what would snuggling up to Santa while posing for happen if I invited the most amazing artists photographs, while Jimmy’s son Jamie in the world to come out with me and per- Iovine shared a selfie of himself hanging form with me on my stage. Would they do out with the couple. Jamie’s other pictures it?” The film has been directed by Jonas from the bash showed guests were enter- Akerlund and will be released on tained by a giant, real-snow, ski slope, rein- December 20. deers, penguins and a Santa’s grotto. As well as enjoying the party, Taylor also

Kris relieved she can’t Lawrence compares have more children Saint West to ris Jenner feels relieved she can’t think I could get pregnant. If I am pregnant, have any more children. The 60- I don’t know what I would do!” Following Princess Charlotte Kyear-old showbiz matriarch - who is her candid conversation with Kourtney, Kris already a mother of five daughters, one son rings her gynecologist who tells her ennifer Lawrence thinks the birth of Kim Kardashian and a grandmother to five children - is emphatically that there’s no chance she will West’s son was as exciting as when Duchess Catherine shown wondering whether she can still get get pregnant. Kris subsequently admitted: Jgave birth to Princess Charlotte. The ‘Joy’ actress thinks pregnant in a new episode of ‘Keeping Up “Never thought I’d be happy to hear, ‘No, the anticipation around the birth of the reality TV star and with the Kardashians’. A group of her you can’t get pregnant!”‘ Earlier this year, husband Kanye West’s little boy Saint was as huge as when friends, one of them asked if she was on Kris revealed : “I realized I don’t want to get the British royal, who was previously known as Kate birth control. Recalling the conversation, married. But I really have a lot of fun with Middleton, and her husband Prince William welcomed Kris said: “Why in the world at 60 years old Corey and I love being with him.” their second child into the world earlier this year. Jennifer - would I be on birth control?! “And she said, who is a huge fan of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ - ‘Because you can still get pregnant.’ “I don’t said:”Oh, my God! It was like when Princess Kate was hav- ing a princess. “I can’t wait for it to be 16 years from now, we’ll have a teenage princess. That’s just the same in America and we’ll have a little prince.” However, the Oscar- winning actress joked she wasn’t very impressed when she heard what Kim and Kanye - who already have a two-year- old daughter, North - had named their son. She told E! News: “I’m so mad that they stole my baby name though- Saint Lawrence.” The ‘Hunger Games’ star has made no secret of her love of the reality TV family and almost passed out when her friends invited a surprise guest to her 25th birthday celebrations in August - Kim’s mother Kris Gomez fuels Horan Jenner. She said at the time: “My knees buckled. I fell. Seriously! It was the closest I’ve ever come to losing con- sciousness. I had NO IDEA. I’d never met her before, but dating rumors we’ve always watched ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’.” elena Gomez was reportedly spotted backstage with Niall Horan at the UK version of ‘The X Factor’. The 23-year-old beauty and the One Direction Ssinger have been romantically linked in recent weeks and although they’ve continually rubbished the rumors, the sight of Selena mingling with Niall and the rest of the chart-topping band is sure to heighten speculation about their rela- tionship status. The former Disney star was seen mixing with fans and a few of Niall’s friends at the show, according to E! News. The show itself featured a special performance from One Direction and a video tribute to the band, who are taking a break in 2016. Earlier this month, Selena admitted she thinks Niall is “amazing”, but insisted they are definitely not dating. Asked if they’re a couple, Selena said: “Oh my god! No [but] I love him, I always have. He’s amazing.” Selena has also been romantically linked to her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber after he was recently seen serenading her at a bar. However, a source claimed she is “terrified” of trusting him. The insider said: “Selena is still in love with Justin, but as exciting as it is for them to be back together, she’s terrified to trust her heart again because he’s hurt her so many times. “Justin has this belief that Selena’s cool with him hooking up with other women and that they don’t need to be exclusive. She may say it’s OK, but in reality it tears her apart to know he’s seeing other girls.” lifestyle TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Movies & Music

In this file photo Justin Bieber arrives at the American In this file photo Justin Bieber performs live during a small concert for charity in Toronto. In this file photo Justin Bieber performs at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Theater, in Los Angeles. — AP photos Grown men now love Bieber’s music, too ost grown men love musical acts like the Black Keys rently at Nos. 2 and 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart - helped Halsey. And the Grammy-nominated “Where Are U Now” - first with Justin Bieber ...?’ And now we all are I think.” Bieber and Kendrick Lamar. Now, you can add Justin Bieber’s Bieber solidify his comeback after years of a broken image released on the album “Skrillex & Diplo Present Jack U” in released his debut EP in 2009 at 15, and before this year, he’d Mname to that list. With his recent batch of hit singles that included arrests, public smoking and fainting onstage February - helped Bieber achieve his first Top 10 hit since been best known for the bubble gum-pop jam “Baby,” despite and a semi-grown-up sound - including the electro-pop that led to hospitalization. 2012’s “Beauty and a Beat.” Some fans were surprised when releasing other hits. “Where Are U Now” with DJ-producers Skrillex and Diplo - But now, at 21, his music is in the spotlight. “He dropped an they learned it was Bieber singing smoothly on the song. “I DJ Enuff said Bieber is accepted among older fans because adult men have begun attending the musical church of album that was ... solid across the board,” said DJ Enuff, a vet- kept asking my girlfriend, ‘Who is that guy? I keep hearing his he’s grown up and entered a new chapter in his life. “A lot of Bieber, and while some have issues acknowledging it, others eran radio personality for New York hip-hop station Hot 97. voice.’ She didn’t even know until we actually had to go male listeners we have at our station wouldn’t even touch a proudly say they’re Beliebers. “There’s urban radio stations across the country that play it, through the radio station’s playlist to find out it was Justin Justin Bieber record. But now ... we’re playing Justin Bieber “You can’t deny where Justin Bieber is right now musically. there’s rhythmic crossover stations that can play it, there’s pop Bieber,” said 33-year-old Ennis Iheme of Jersey City, New records and no one’s even questioning it,” he said. “It’s part of You want to not like him, but you kind of just have to respect stations that can play it.” “Purpose,” which features downbeat Jersey, who works in rail service operations. “I’m a Justin the format.”—AP it,” said Timothy Javier, a 30-year-old nurse from Fort Lee, New R&B tracks, ballads and club-worthy anthems, debuted at No.1 Bieber fan now.” Jersey. Javier said Bieber’s new album, “Purpose,” reminds him and sold an impressive 649,000 equivalent album units in its Others say they’re surprised they enjoy Bieber’s new sound of Justin Timberlake’s “Justified,” his 2002 solo debut that first week. Skrillex produced a number of the tracks; Ed and are coming to terms with being Bieber fans. “I think helped him transition from ‘N Sync frontman to a leader of Sheeran co-wrote the ballad “Love Yourself,” a Top 5 hit; and grown men have a problem with the term ‘Belieber,’” said Paul pop music. The singles “Sorry” and “What Do You Mean?” - cur- guests include Nas, Big Sean, Travis Scott and newcomer Costabile, a host at iHeartRadio. “We’re like, ‘Can we be OK Lawrence Kasdan on the past, present and future of Han Solo awrence Kasdan isn’t afraid to play favorites. specifics of what exactly “The Force Awakens,” out iment of Han is why Kasdan understands keenly For him, Han Solo is it. He didn’t create the Friday, is about are being treated like state secrets, how difficult it will be to find an actor to play a Lscruffy-looking smuggler. He hadn’t even fans have been able to glean a few things from the young Han. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“21 heard the lore that George Lucas partially based trailers and promos. In the over 30 years since the Jump Street”) have seen thousands of actors as Han on Francis Ford Coppola. But it was Kasdan events of “Return of the Jedi” Han Solo, for one, has they try to fill those twentysomething shoes. who helped fully realize “Star Wars’” favorite changed his tune about the force, which he once “Harrison is one of a kind. He’s a one-off,” Kasdan scoundrel when he stepped in to write “The Empire dismissed as a hokey religion. said. “There is going to be a lot of pressure on any- Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” “He’s reckless, he’s feckless,” Kasdan said in a recent interview. “He’s cynical. He’s tough. He’s pragmatic. He’s not that smart. I like that. He’s the most fun.” In fact, it was the character of Han that made him consider coming back to the world of “Star Wars” in the first place. When Kathleen Kennedy called him up in 2012 to tell him that she was tak- ing over Lucasfilm and that they were planning to make more “Star Wars” films, Kasdan took the meet- ing of course, but wasn’t certain he wanted to This file photo taken on October 17, 2015 shows Belgian rejoin the franchise. Yet for Kasdan, 66, a four-time pop sensation Paul Van Haver aka Stromae attending a Oscar nominee who wrote “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” press conference in Kigali, Rwanda. — AFP and wrote and directed “The Big Chill,” “The Accidental Tourist” and “Grand Canyon,” the shad- ow of “Star Wars” loomed large. “It’s always been playing in the background of Singer Stromae my life. The movies were so big,” he said. “They nev- er go away. “ At Skywalker Ranch, Kennedy, Kasdan and George Lucas talked about plans for a new tril- secretly marries ogy and a number of spin-offs, including one about a young Han Solo.”I said, ‘Oh, that’s interest- ing,’” Kasdan recalled. So he signed on to write the “(Hans is) older and wiser. But wiser is only one who tries to be that (younger) character ... He’s This photo provided by stylist in Belgium young Han anthology movie with his 36-year-old worth so much,” Kasdan teased. “We don’t get any got to be a believable antecedent.” But beyond Lucasfilm shows Peter son, Jon Kasdan, and agreed to consult on “The smarter. What we call wisdom is really just the finding that perfect person, Kasdan has just been Mayhew as Chewbacca and tromae, the Belgian pop superstar whose French-language Force Awakens,” which Michael Arndt (“Toy Story accumulation of experiences. But when you do enjoying the chance to work with his son on the Harrison Ford as Han Solo songs have found global appeal, secretly tied the knot with 3”) was writing. Kasdan had been consulting for have a lot of experience, it gives you perspective. script - even if it’s been trying at times. in ‘Star Wars: The Force his stylist at the weekend, the venue manager said yester- nine months on “The Force Awakens” - coming in You think about your life in terms of, do you want “Collaborating with anyone is challenging. But Awakens,’ directed by J.J. S when it’s your son, now there’s this additional thing day. The genre-merging singer married Coralie Barbier just weeks once or twice a week while also writing the Han to continue to do the things you’ve always done or Abrams. — AP photos after completing a world tour that took him as far away as New movie - when they asked him to take over the do you want to break it up somehow? ... Are you of like, ‘Dad, do you know what you’re talking York and Rwanda, where his father was killed in the 1994 geno- script with director J.J. Abrams. stuck now or is there still a possibility of change? about?’” Kasdan laughed. “But ‘Star Wars’ is all about cide. And I think those are the issues, not just for Han, that - fathers and sons.” After the Han film comes “The wedding took place on Saturday. It was a family affair No big adjustment but for everybody.” out in 2018, Kasdan said he will really be leaving with some friends there too,” said Stijn Beschuyt, the manager of “There were issues that were coming up and “Star Wars” behind this time. “That’s enough,” he the hotel wedding venue, a stylishly converted church in the town there was enormous pressure to get the thing Ford’s legacy said with Han Solo definitiveness. “I’m done.”— AP of Malines. The 180 invited guests were at first unaware of the done, recalled Kasdan. “People were being hired. If that sounds like a lot of philosophizing and event’s true purpose but quickly caught on, Beschuyt said. “It was Stages were being rented...when everyone decided soul-searching, don’t worry, Kasdan promises Han a beautiful ceremony done in great taste,” he said, adding that he that J.J. and I would write the script, there was no is still funny, too. “Harrison is sort of beyond belief had faced the formidable task of keeping the secret “for months”. big adjustment. We were already really getting in this movie,” Kasdan said. “He’s absolute gold. It’s Brussels resident Stromae, 30, and his 31-year-old bride first visit- along. Then, we just started again.” While the like Spencer Tracy.” Ford’s legacy and iconic embod- ed the hotel “about a year ago” and fell in love with it, Beschuyt said. Stromae, whose real name is Paul Van Haver, has won a huge following in Belgium and France for his tunes which merge pop, electro and rap, including his 2009 hit “Alors on danse”. While Disney’s ‘Star Wars’ marketing danceable they are also introspective with themes including the absence of his Rwandan father. In October he became just the third French-language artist to fill New York’s legendary Madison force reaches for female fans Square Garden venue after crooner Charles Aznavour and warbler Celine Dion. — AFP tar Wars” actress Daisy Ridley smiles - always royalty. In the “Force Awakens”, Ridley’s on the cover of Glamour magazine, character, Rey, was created as a scrappy scav- “SStormtrooper necklaces are on sale at enger and a pilot, not a princess. In movie trail- Kay Jewelers, and commercials for the new film ers, Rey battles with a staff-like weapon, not Jennifer Lawrence on “The Force Awakens” are running during Kim unlike “Hunger Games” warrior Katniss Everdeen Kardashian’s reality TV show. Walt Disney Co is and her bow and arrow. Gwendoline Christie ‘Hunger Games’ reaching out to women and girls to broaden the plays the first female villain, Captain Phasma. franchise’s male-dominated audience and help Actress Lupita Nyong’o has a significant role, and recoup the $4 billion it spent to buy “Star Wars” Carrie Fisher is back as Princess Leia, now a gen- prequels: ‘It’s Too Soon’ producer Lucasfilm. Female fans may determine eral.—Reuters In this Thursday, Dec 10, 2015 file photo, director J.J. Abrams, third right, and actors, John f Lionsgate, the studio behind the mega-grossing if “Force Awakens” meets projections for record- Boyega, second left, Daisy Ridley, third left, and Adam Driver, second right, pose for photos breaking box office returns after it opens Dec. “Hunger Games” series, decides to re-enter the arena, it during the Japan Premiere of their latest film ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ in Tokyo. — AP will do so without Jennifer Lawrence. The woman who 18. The casting of Ridley, 23, as the film’s star plus I a flood of R2-D2 purses, BB-8 dresses and other brought Katniss Everdeen to life on the big screen made it clear that she won’t be dusting off the bow and arrows for Curtain rises on first merchandise suggest Disney is courting the rumored prequels to the series that made her a star. “I female young adult audience that turned wouldn’t be involved,” Lawrence told Variety during the movies such as “The Hunger Games” into block- premiere of her new film, “Joy.” “I think it’s too soon. ‘Star Wars’ film in a decade busters, said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst They’ve got to let the body get cold, in my opinion.” at Exhibitor Relations Co. “The guys are already ollywood rolls out the red carpet yes- gade stormtrooper in the trailer, as well as in,” Bock said. “If you can get that ‘Hunger Games’ “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2” was original- terday for the premiere of “Star Wars: Oscar Isaac who slips into the skin of pilot Poe ly supposed to be the end of the franchise, but Lionsgate and ‘Twilight’ fan base to join up, then you are HThe Force Awakens,” the first film in the Dameron. Much to the delight of millions, talking about possibly $700 million domestically, vice chairman Michael Burns hinted that the studio was epic space saga in a decade, and fans are beloved veterans of the original blockbusters- maybe even more.” exploring new plot lines and spinoff opportunities at last frantic. The star-studded screening of the Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher-will once week’s UBS Global Media and Communications Only one film, “Avatar,” reached that level, sell- most anticipated movie of the year will be again play Han Solo and Princess Leia. “Star ing $760 million worth of tickets in the United Conference. He told investors that the series could be like followed by a global release starting Wars” has attracted generations of loyal fans Harry Potter and “live on and on.” Lawrence may be right States and Canada after its December 2009 Wednesday. It officially hits US theaters ever since the first film arrived in 1977, creat- release. Disney has honed its strategy in recent that audiences need a breather from the world of Panem. Friday. “When we finished shooting it felt like ing a signature moment in the history of pop “Mockingjay - Part 2” is a box office hit, but it is on pace to years, though, with superhero and action fran- ‘Oh, it’s so long until it comes out-and now culture. It turned Ford, Fisher and Mark Hamill chises. Stars of “The Avengers” visited talk shows be the lowest grossing film of the series on a domestic we’re here,’” Daisy Ridley, who plays the scav- (Luke Skywalker) into stars overnight. “You basis. The actress seemed thrilled to be reuniting with such as “The View,” and the sequel, “Age of enger Rey, told AFP as the clock ticked down. could say it’s the themes, it’s the Force, it’s the Ultron,” had two leading female characters. David O. Russell for a third go-round. Her “Silver Linings The 23-year-old British actress, in her first lightsaber-there’s just something in this that Playbook” and “American Hustle” director pitched her on About 40 percent of opening weekend audi- big screen role, is among the fresh faces join- touches people, and I don’t think you can ences was female for both films, according to the idea of getting the band back together in an unusual ing the latest installment of the sci-fi smash summarize that,” Ridley said.—AFP This photo provided by Disney/Lucasfilm way, she told Variety.—Reuters Shawn Robbins, senior analyst at BoxOffice.com. hit that has a huge following around the While it’s difficult to quantify the gender shows Daisy Ridley as Rey in a scene from globe. Others include fellow Brit John breakdown of fans historically, earlier “Star Wars” the film, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Boyega who plays Finn, portrayed as a rene- movies featured just one main female character directed by J.J. Abrams. — AP lifestyle TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

Feature

OSENIK: Photo shows recently opened the first Arab-funded resort in Bosnia Osenik, 50 kms south of Sarajevo, Photo shows recently opened the first Arab-funded resort in Bosnia Osenik. with 160 individual houses and apartments built around an artificial lake. — AP photos Arab investors pour in billions to make Bosnia a holiday hit s tourists from the Persian Gulf countries look to munity offers swimming pools, supermarkets, sport Ahmed acknowledges that for many, Bosnia is still book their next holiday to escape the summer facilities and views of the mountains where the Winter associated with its terrible war 20 years ago and over- Aheat, Arab investors are betting on an unusual Olympic Games were held in 1984. “It is a tourist vil- coming that image is a challenge. “We spent millions destination: Bosnia. The mountainous Balkan country, lage but also an investment opportunity,” said Al on marketing,” he said. Bosnia has seen a significant which was devastated by the 1992-95 war, is becom- Kanderi. “We managed to promote Bosnia’s tourist rise in tourism in recent years, with visitors from East ing a popular destination for tourists from the United potentials in Gulf countries and we are proud to be and West flocking to Sarajevo to see “little Jerusalem” - Photo shows a billboard announcing building of euro2.3 billion ($2.4 billion) town called Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar thanks to its comfort- the first ones to complete a project.” a city loaded with history that features Catholic and Buroj Ozone on the Bjelasnica mountain area, less than 15 kilometers southwest of able summer temperatures and local Muslim commu- But the 25 million-euro ($27 million) project Christian Orthodox churches, Jewish temples and Sarajevo. nity. appears tiny compared with the one planned by mosques next to each other. Attracted by cheap land and labor, Arab investors Ismail Ahmed, the head of Buroj Property Overall tourism numbers are up 30 percent this are looking to ride the trend. They are building thou- Development from Dubai. Wearing his traditional year from last year, with Austrians and Germans the sands of homes and hotels around the capital Arab jalabiya and sandals, Ahmed stood in the icy rain most represented nationalities. But visits from Gulf Sarajevo and heavily promoting the destination to above the plateau where his company plans to build a countries are growing the fastest. The number of middle class families looking for cheaper alternatives 2.3 billion-euro ($2.4 billion) town called Buroj Ozone Kuwaitis has more than tripled this year to 33,000. to the glamorous Swiss resorts. It’s also a boost for on the Bjelasnica mountain, less than 15 kilometers (9 Bosnian president Bakir Izetbegovic says the country is Bosnia’s economy, which is still recovering from the miles) southwest of Sarajevo. slowly becoming better organized and recovering war and struggling with unemployment of over 40 “Jannah,” or paradise in Arabic, he said as he waved from its past. The government is building a new high- percent. All the construction is done by local compa- his hand over the picturesque plateau where in April way that will make travel and transport easier and nies, ensuring jobs. “Bosnia’s tourism has a bright construction work will begin on 2,000 villas, 60 hotels, allow tourists to reach the coast from Sarajevo within future,” said Jasem Ahmed Al Kanderi, the head of the 186 residential buildings, a hospital, shopping malls, an hour. “We will continue to work on the stabilization Gulf Estate Company from Kuwait. “The country is restaurants and even a dancing fountain. For tourists of this country, on passing laws that will speed up beautiful.” from the United Arab Emirates, Buroj Ozone’s altitude investments and make them safe,” Izetbegovic said as His company built and recently opened the first at nearly 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and an average he watched the opening of the Kuwaiti resort. — AP Arab-funded resort in Bosnia. Located southwest of summer temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77 Sarajevo, it includes 160 individual houses and apart- Fahrenheit) can offer refuge from summer tempera- ments built around an artificial lake. The gated com- tures of up to 49 degrees (120 F) in Dubai.

Ismail Ahmed, right, the head of Buroj Property Development from Dubai looks at the plateau where his company plans to build a euro 2.3 billion town.

A shepherd protecting from rain at the plateau where his company plans to build a Photo shows recently opened the first Arab-funded resort in Bosnia Osenik. euro2.3 billion town.

Frederique Constant & Behbehani Group reveal the first Swiss made Horological Smartwatch in Kuwait

rederique Constant and Behbehani Group Displaying central hours and minutes hands, the recharge a battery. unveiled the Horological Smartwatch model “ smart “ counter is positioned at 6 o’clock. The small The Frederique Constant Swiss Horological Fpowered by MotionX-365 in Al Hamra red hand indicates you the date during the day and Smartwatches will support the following function- Thermae Premise on the 75th floor in Al Hamra will point out the moon during your sleep, while alities: Business Tower. the small steel hand shows you the percentage of • Always-on time & date Abdul Mohsen Behbehani, Director of your activity or sleep goals. One of the main asset • MotionX activity tracking Behbehani Group, and Sebastien Cretegny, that you have to remember is that the battery life of • Sleeptracker sleep monitoring Regional Sales Director of Frederique Constant, wel- these models is two years. • Sleep cycle alarms comed guests to take a look at the Frederique Powered by MotionX, the Frederique Constant • Get-Active alerts Constant horological smartwatch. Swiss Horological Smartwatches are capable of bi- • Adaptive coaching With the introduction of these new Horological directional communication with iPhone and • 2+ years battery life Smartwatch models, the Swiss Watch Manufacturer Android apps. The Swiss Horological Smartwatch is • MotionX cloud backup and restore Frederique Constant has definitively managed to the synthesis of high-tech innovation and tradition- Frederique Constant Swiss Horological preserve its design spirit in offering a “ real “ Swiss al Swiss watch craftsmanship; it is the link (no pun Smartwatches: The beautiful Swiss watch that you watch, which has the addition smart feature to be intended) between modern and classic, and the love to wear that is now smart and connected, pow- connected. bridge between Silicon Valley and Switzerland. ered by MotionX With a dial design completely “ horological “ and There is no digital screen on the Swiss Horological The MotionX patented sensor-fusion engine proposed with a silver finishing, the model is avail- Smartwatch. Instead, the beautiful laser cut hands tracks activity and sleep patterns with high accura- able with an refined polished stainless steel 42mm on the watch dial display information in analog cy. Activity and sleep information is presented in Photos show people at the event. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayat case. An alligator strap finishes the models for an form. The Swiss Horological Smartwatches retain real-time on the Swiss Horological Smartwatch elegant style, with a folding clasp for a more sporty their natural classic beauty and can deliver the ben- using beautiful traditional analog dials. The version. efits of the quantified self, all without ever having to Frederique Constant Swiss Horological Smartwatch synchronizes automatically with applications on Apple and Android smartphones. On the iOS and Android apps, simple and easy-to-understand graphics highlight how much one has moved and slept during the day, week, or month. This data will assist users to better understanding themselves, and along with appropriate goal setting and intelli- gent coaching, will improve their well being. Better sleep and a more active lifestyle are widely recog- nized as simple, but effective, positive behavioral changes. The Frederique Constant Swiss Horological Smartwatch now combines the features and functionality of the MotionX technology plat- form with a luxury timepiece. Frederique Constant is housed under the luxury retail conglomerate, Behbehani group, with over 75 years of experience. Behbehani Group owns and manages a series of showrooms and stores exclu- sively for international watch brands as well as jew- ellery. These showrooms are located in prestigious malls around Kuwait such as, Marina Mall, Souq Sharq, Al-Kout, Laila Gallery, Al-Hamra Luxury Center, The Gate Mall, Behbehani Complex and The Avenues. Arab investors pour in billions to make Bosnia a holiday hit

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 39

People watch fireworks during the illumination of a giant Christmas tree at the launch of 2015 Christmas Festivities in Beirut,Lebanon, Friday. — AP Christmas comes early to 8-year-old disfigured by fire little girl who lost her family and suffered disfiguring princess should have a tiara. Here’s yours,” and then skipped to burns in an arson fire is having an incredible Christmas, Dolder to show her the shiny rhinestone tiara, saying “Look, Athanks to the generosity of thousands of strangers Mom!” around the world who were moved by her simple Facebook Safyre has endured much since the awful day in May 2013 wish. “This year’s been magical, amazing,” said Liz Dolder, who when firefighters found her clutched in the arms of her dying posted a picture of her niece, Safyre Terry, on Facebook earlier father, who had shielded her with his body and saved her this month. The post showed Safyre with a Christmas card tree from the flames that killed him and Safyre’s three younger sib- Dolder got at a thrift store, and said the 8-year-old hoped to lings in their apartment in Schenectady in upstate New York. get enough cards to fill it. “I haven’t found a word in my vocab- She has had countless reconstructive surgeries to rebuild her ulary to describe what has happened,” Dolder said Wednesday. mouth, nose and face. She eventually lost a hand and a foot to Kevin Clark, a member of a motorcycle group who met repeated infections. But her spirits lifted considerably last Safyre at a benefit bikers held for her this fall, reposted the January when a tracheal tube was removed and she was able picture. Before long, it had been shared tens of thousands of to speak again. times, and cards and gifts started pouring in from across the “That’s when she came back out,” Dolder said, wiping away United States and overseas. Another friend put a post on the tears. “She’s been through hell and back. But she’s an amazing YouCaring.com crowdfunding site with a $15,000 goal to help girl, just so full of life and love. We can’t keep her to ourselves. Dolder and her husband, Mike - Safyre’s new family - deal with We wanted to share with the world her message of faith, hope medical costs and other financial challenges. More than and love.” $174,000 has been donated since the Christmas card post Safyre, with long sandy hair, pink leggings and glitter- went viral this week. spangled sneakers, showed not a hint of self-consciousness as On Wednesday, Safyre opened some of the hundreds of TV cameras pressed in to record her opening gifts and cards cards and gifts that had arrived at a post office box in a local Wednesday afternoon. Asked by reporters what she would say mall. There were teddy bears, stuffed kittens, handmade jew- to the strangers who had been moved to send these things, elry, personalized Christmas tree ornaments, whimsical socks, she beamed into a camera. “Thank you!” she said. — AP Safyre Terry, 8, wears a rhinestone tiara , one of the gifts Safyre Terry, 8, and Kevin Clark collect cards and gifts, at a books and cards signed by whole classrooms of schoolchild- she received Wednesday, Dec 9, 2015, at a post office near post office. ren. Safyre opened a silver box with a card that said, “Every her home in Rotterdam, NY. — AP photos National Museum of Oman

Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayed Fahd bin Mahmud Al-Said (center) looks at artifacts displayed at the National Museum of Oman in Muscat during its inauguration ceremony.

Sultan Qaboos’ first throne is displayed at the National Museum of Oman in Muscat during its inauguration cere- mony. A stone tower from the 3rd millennium BC is displayed.

An artifact is displayed at the National Museum of Oman Artifacts are displayed at the National Museum of Oman. Artifacts are displayed at the National Museum of Oman. in Muscat.— AFP photos