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THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 RAJAB 4, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

Leading opposition figure Min 24º Max 38º deported to Saudi Arabia High Tide 03:00 & 14:35 Low Tide Ajmi bundled off to Khafji on one-way travel document 08:55 & 21:45 40 PAGES NO: 16499 150 FILS

KUWAIT: Kuwait has deported a prominent opposition figure to neighboring Saudi Arabia months after revok- ing his citizenship, his group said yesterday. Saad Al- Top brass move towards joint force Ajmi, former spokesman of the Popular Action Movement (PAM), was arrested by secret police on CAIRO: Arab League military chiefs decided yester- Tuesday and escorted to the Saudi city of Khafji by road day to form a panel to examine all aspects of building at night, PAM said in a statement. As part of a crack- a region-wide military force aimed at combating down on the opposition, the jihadists, including the Islamic State (IS) group. The Kuwaiti government revoked bloc agreed in March to set up the force, with mem- Ajmi’s citizenship in September bers given four months to decide on its composition, on the basis of an article in the precise rules of engagement and budget. Top brass nationality law that bans dual gathered at League headquarters in Cairo decided “to citizenship. set up a high-ranking committee under the supervi- Local media said Ajmi was sion of army chiefs to examine all aspects of this accused of holding Saudi citi- issue,” said a statement at the end of their meeting. zenship, which he has denied. “The panel will examine the mechanisms and budget Ajmi has filed a lawsuit to chal- needed to set up the joint Arab military force, and Saad Al-Ajmi lenge the government’s action. also the legal framework.” The authorities have revoked the citizenship of several It was not immediately clear when the committee dozen other figures with links to the opposition over will actually be formed, but the statement said it the past year, including a former Islamist MP and the would meet in the next few weeks. The meeting, owner of a television channel. PAM said that Ajmi was attended by Arab League chief Nabil Al-Arabi, was deported on a one-way Saudi travel document issued chaired by Egyptian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff by the kingdom’s embassy in Kuwait. There has been no Lieutenant General Mahmud Hegazy. Kuwait was official comment on the issue so far. Last October, represented by Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Human Rights Watch called on Kuwait to stop targeting Mohammad Khaled Al-Khudr. opponents by revoking their citizenships, and to rein- Continued on Page 13 CAIRO: Army chiefs from Arab League nations meet at the Arab League headquarters yesterday. — AFP state their nationalities. — AFP News Work contracts PAGE Real strike late to PAGE in brief will be unified end Atletico jinx Kuwait set to apply FATCA requirements KUWAIT: All countries that are signatories to the Assembly passes reforms to sports law Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agree- ment are committed to provide the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with all required information by September, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Any MPs agree to electronic notification law for courts delay in providing the information will be a matter between the Ministry of Finance and the IRS, the min- By B Izzak istry said in a statement. The local committee in charge of concluding the FATCA agreement with the IRS was Chevron to shut joint KUWAIT: The National Assembly yesterday working hard to meet IRS deadlines in coordination passed key amendments to the sports law with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, Wafra oilfield in May but suspended the adoption of the single- the Capital Markets Authority, the Union of Banks and vote system in sports bodies’ elections the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it added. The KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: A Saudi Arabian mits and materials may impact the com- until the legal panel has reviewed the pro- committee, once done with official procedures and pro- unit of US oil major Chevron has told its pany’s ability to safely continue produc- vision. The approval came amid strong crit- tocols regarding FATCA, would have to get constitution- Kuwaiti partner it plans to shut down an tion. Efforts continue with all appropriate icism by a majority of lawmakers of offi- al approbation and lawmakers’ endorsement before a oilfield jointly operated between the two parties to resolve the issue,” said Sally cials overseeing most sports activities, final agreement is reached with the IRS, said the state- Gulf OPEC countries next month over long- Jones, Chevron spokeswoman in an blaming them for Kuwait’s retreat in ment. Any bank or financial institution that does not standing disputes, three industry sources emailed statement. almost all sports competitions. MPs point- comply properly with the requirements of FATCA would familiar with the matter said. The planned The loss of Wafra, which has an output ed out that sports officials are exploiting be subject to financial fines and punitive measures, said closure in May of the joint Wafra onshore capacity of around 200,000-250,000 barrels sports institutions for their own selfish the statement. oilfield in the Neutral Zone between Saudi per day of Arabian Heavy crude, will be felt benefits, while others blamed political dis- Arabia and Kuwait was communicated by more in Kuwait, which has far less spare putes for Kuwait’s performance in major Saudi Arabian Chevron to Kuwait Gulf Oil output than its neighbor. Diplomatic and sports competitions, especially football. India takes Jazeera off Company, according to the sources. industry sources have told Reuters that MP Ahmad Al-Qudhaibi said the new air in Kashmir map row This comes after the crude output from Kuwait has been placing restrictions on amendments are expected to improve the NEW DELHI: India’s government took Al Jazeera another jointly operated field, Khafji, was Chevron which operates Wafra on behalf of level of sports in the country, but insisted news channel off the air yesterday for five days halted in October to comply with environ- Saudi Arabia, as a result of various disputes that there is a need to privatize sports after officials insisted it had repeatedly shown mental regulations. Chevron’s decision mainly related to the right to operate. The clubs. MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah said sports wrong maps of disputed Kashmir. Al Jazeera in was mainly down to problems getting sources say Kuwait was angry because it clubs have become places for political KUWAIT: Awqaf and Justice Minister India showed a blue screen yesterday with a sign work permits from the Kuwaiti authorities was not consulted when the Chevron con- groups and political and sectarian dis- Yaqoub Al-Sane gestures during the saying “as instructed by the ministry of information for its expatriate staff, the sources said. cession to operate Wafra was renewed by putes. National Assembly session yester- and broadcasting, this channel will not be avail- “Current difficulties in securing work per- Riyadh in 2009 until 2039. — Reuters Continued on Page 13 day. — KUNA able”. An official said the order was made earlier this month over the maps that showed parts of the Himalayan Kashmir region in archrival Pakistan International drug gangs and China, an extremely sensitive issue in India. Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English, prey on Filipinos abroad called the ban “a disproportionate response”. “Unfortunately, this is the latest in a series of ongo- MANILA: Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso silently next to him during an interview ing issues. Our journalists have not been granted faces imminent execution in Indonesia, in Manila. visas for years now,” Anstey said. New Delhi impos- but relatives say her only crime was to Veloso lived in a poor farming region es tight restrictions on all printed maps, insisting fall victim to international drug gangs about three hours’ drive north of Manila. they show all of Kashmir as being part of India. who are threatening to kill them if they Life became increasingly tough after she speak out. Echoing horror stories told by broke up with her sons’ father and had to hundreds of other Filipinos in jails provide for them alone. She flew to Bullock named world’s around the world, the 30-year-old single Malaysia after being promised a job most beautiful woman mother claims she was duped into ferry- there, but was told on arrival that the NEW YORK: Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock was ing narcotics. She insists she would never only work available was actually in named the world’s most beautiful woman in 2015 by have gambled her life and two sons’ Indonesia, her parents said. While in People magazine yesterday and laughed when she futures on a bag of heroin. But she is one Malaysia, the drugs were secretly sewn heard about the honor. “No, really. I just said, ‘That’s of several foreigners whose executions into her suitcase, according to her par- ridiculous,’” she told the magazine. Bullock, 50, who won for drug crimes are drawing closer in ents. Veloso was arrested five years ago a best actress Academy Award in 2010 for her role in Indonesia. at Yogyakarta airport with 2.6 kg of hero- “The Blind Side”, said she found beauty in her role as a Veloso believes, according to her par- in in her suitcase. She is on death row mother to her 5-year-old son, Louis. “Real beauty is qui- ents, that she was tricked by a criminal with others including two Australians et. Especially in this town, it’s just so hard not to say, ‘Oh, gang as she desperately sought work and a Frenchman whose legal appeals I need to look like that,” she said about Los Angeles. “The overseas as a maid. Her father, Cesar, 59, are all but exhausted. people I find most beautiful are the ones who aren’t try- said those involved in setting up his Veloso fell prey to a common scam, ing.” Bullock also credits her healthy diet, including daughter had repeatedly contacted him according to Garry Martinez, chairman of green juice, and working out up to five times a week for and other relatives to warn them against overseas workers’ rights group Migrante, helping to keep her grounded and balanced. But it is going public. “My daughter’s recruiters which has been organising near-daily her son who gives her the most joy. When Louis asked MANILA: This photo taken on April 10, 2015 shows family members of Mary Jane have been threatening us... they threat- protest rallies for her in Manila. There are her why she had wrinkles, Bullock told him some of the Veloso, a Philippine domestic worker on death row in Indonesia, staging a ened to kill us one by one,” the father roughly 10 million Filipinos working lines on her face were from laughing so much. protest with supporters near the Malacanang presidential palace.— AFP said as he cried and his grandsons sat Continued on Page 13 LOCAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Sheikh Nasser hosts luncheon for diplomats

KUWAIT: Addressing a luncheon banquet in honor of heads of Kuwaiti missions abroad, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al- Mohammad Al-Sabah lavished praise on the character and achievements of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah. Sheikh Nasser said in a brief speech that a point of great pride for him was when the UN conferred the title of the ‘Humanitarian Leader’ on HH the Amir and that of the ‘Humanitarian Center’ on Kuwait. He said he was present at the UN ceremony honoring HH the Amir with that title and heard the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon declaring that “Kuwait has a heart bigger than crises, privation, and pandem- ic diseases.” Sheikh Nasser praised HH the Amir as a magnanimous leader with compassion for his nation and for people around the world. He alluded to HH the Amir’s long history of political prowess and wisdom. Furthermore, Sheikh Nasser congratu- KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- lated the nation for its display of care for the afflicted in Syria Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace yesterday. — KUNA by hosting three donor nations’ conferences aside from gener- ous contributions and donations by Kuwaiti charities and civil society organizations. Amir receives top Sheikh Nasser also praised in his speech HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled state officials Al-Sabah, all heads of Kuwaiti missions abroad, and officials of KUWAIT: His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al- the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sheikh Nasser was the official Sabah makes his address at the luncheon banquet yes- host of the luncheon banquet which was held at the Sheraton terday. — Amiri Diwan photo KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Meanwhile, HH the Crown Prince received yesterday Hotel. — KUNA Jaber Al-Sabah received HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Ghanem, HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad, Sheikh Sabah Al- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace yesterday. His Khaled, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Highness also received National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Deputy Ali Al-Ghanem, HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah and Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. HH the Amir HH Sheikh Nawaf also met Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdallah Al- returned home Tuesday after a private visit to Germany and Ahmad Al-Sabah, and National Security Apparatus’ Chairman Morocco. Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah and Oil Minister Dr Ali Al-Omair are pictured during a lec- ture held on the second day of the 8th conference of Kuwait’s heads of missions yesterday. — KUNA Diplomats discuss foreign investments’ attraction

KUWAIT: The ‘Mubader’ Initiative hosted a handicrafts workshop at the Hubara Center in Ahmadi recently, in coordina- Interior ministry ready for emergency crises: Official tion with Al-Ahmadi Governorate and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). KUWAIT: The 8th conference of Kuwait’s heads of missions under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- (COMs) abroad resumed its sessions yesterday with a lecture Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. focusing on horizons of investments inside and outside the country. The session was opened by Undersecretary of the Emergency crises Foreign Ministry Khalid Al-Jarallah. After the inauguration of the first working session, Interior Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) Managing Director Ministry Undersecretary Lieutenant General Suleiman Al- Bader Al-Saad and Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Fahad said that the ministry is completely ready for crises with Authority Director General Sheikh Mishaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al- security measures to secure the internal front against any infil- Sabah addressed the session on how to attract foreign invest- trations or repercussions caused by the crises. ments in Kuwait. They reviewed means of luring foreign Fahad also briefed participants on the ministry’s efforts in investors to the country as well as its plans, policies and legis- term of cooperation and coordination with other ministries lations aiming to create an attractive investment atmosphere. and government entities, mainly the Defense ministry and the The aim of this conference is to meet the aspirations of country’s National Guard. The session began with a lecture diversifying and boosting the country’s income as well as titled ‘Security Challenges in Kuwait participation in Operation upgrading its economy in general. They two speakers listened Decisive Storm.’ It was presented by various high ranking secu- to proposals and observations of the heads of missions rity, military, and foreign ministry officials. (COMs) abroad, and coordination between theses missions Interior Assistant Undersecretary for State National and the country’s investment authorities. Security Apparatus Sheikh Mubarak Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah talked about the current dangers in the region and their Oil market repercussions on Kuwait’s domestic affairs. Jarallah opened the second day of the conference with a Meanwhile, Army Deputy Chief of Staff for planning in lecture on oil market conditions presented by Oil Minister and Kuwaiti Army Major General Ahmad Abdulwahab Al-Amiri and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Dr Ali Al-Omair Commander of Air Force Brigadier General Abdullah Al- and a number of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Fouderi, and Director of Intelligence in the Ministry of Defence officials. During the lecture, they went over the factors affect- Brigadier Fahad Mohammad Al-Turaiji tackled in full details ing global oil prices, Kuwait’s policy to meet the challenges in the developments in Decisive Storm operations, the theater of the global oil markets during the coming period, as well as the operations, objectives achieved by coalition airstrikes to oil prices movement expectations on the medium term. restore security, stability, and the legitimacy and support to The conference was opened on Tuesday at Bayan Palace Yemen. — KUNA

VIVA organizes health awareness day

KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most developed tele- com operator, organized a health awareness day in collaboration with Diet Center, a dedicated center for Health and Diet Weight Loss Solutions. VIVA held the event with Diet Center’s health pro- fessionals and nutritionists at its headquarters located at Olympia Tower on Thursday, 16 April 2015. VIVA’s health awareness day presented health tips to employ- ees that highlighted the importance of following a healthy lifestyle and good eating habits. Through the health awareness day, the Diet Center will offer VIVA’s employees free checkups, as well as health and nutrition consultations. The Diet Center will also continue its ‘#Ekelny Campaign’ within VIVA by distributing apples to employees as part of its strategy to encourage a healthy lifestyle and to support VIVA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. VIVA’s Health Awareness day is an initiative designed to encourage healthy lifestyles and general wellbeing. KUWAIT: Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister This campaign is in line with VIVA’s commitment towards its Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah employees, the underlying foundation for delivering the compa- received at Bayan Palace yesterday head of the US ny’s aspirations and objectives. VIVA is also dedicated to providing Central Command General Lloyd Austin and his a healthy and suitable environment for its employees. The compa- accompanying delegation. Kuwaiti Ambassador to ny will continue to perform its social duty as a main contributor to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the development of society, and ensure the welfare and better life and senior Foreign Ministry officials attended the for members of society and encourage them to improve their lives meeting. — KUNA at various levels. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 LOCAL Renewal of Hope paves way for political action: Kuwait

KUWAIT: The end of Operation Decisive Storm against the legitimate government in Yemen, would be restored in Yemen, and “the parties and triggering of Operation Renewal of Hope imposed sanctions against the militias, their that harmed the Yemeni people listen to the will pave way for political action leader and son of former presi- voice of reason and return to the table of negoti- on basis of UN Security Council dent Ali Abdullah Saleh. ations.” The Kuwaiti official said the Gulf (UNSC) resolution 2216, Kuwait The resolution, adopted Cooperation Council (GCC) was involved in the said Tuesday. under Chapter VII of the UN reconstruction of Yemen, citing Saudi King The Renewal of Hope will Charter, called for the resump- Salman bin Abdulaziz’s USD 274 million dona- trigger launch of humanitarian tion of political process on the tion to provide humanitarian supplies for the operations to honor dire needs basis of the GCC initiative and needy Yemeni people. of the Yemeni people, Foreign its implementation mecha- The six GCC countries were helping Yemen Ministry Undersecretary Khaled nism, and outcome of the before the March 26 Operation Decisive Storm, Al-Jarallah said. He was speaking national dialogue. said Al-Jarallah, adding that they will “not hesi- to reporters on sidelines of a Jarallah said Kuwait was tate in further efforts to help and rebuild dinner banquet held by Acting confident the Saudi forces Yemen.” Prime Minister and Foreign were capable of deterring any Asked about the framework agreement Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled attempt to undermine the between Iran and the P5+1 group, Al- Al-Hamad Sabah for heads of security and stability of the Jarallah said the deal would be followed by Kuwaiti missions abroad on the Kingdom. He said any initiative “long and tough negotiations until a final KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) provided electric appliances occasion of their 8th conference. aimed at solving the conflict in agreement is reached by end of next June.” for slow learners’ classes to the Al-Mutanabbi Schools for Boys. The step UN resolution 2216 con- Yemen should be based on UN The GCC welcomed the framework agree- comes as part of CBK’s social responsibility efforts and commitment to serve demned the military operations resolution 2216. ment and welcomed efforts of the P5+1 civil society foundations, especially educational institutions. launched by the Houthi militias Khaled Al-Jarallah Jarallah hoped peace group members. —KUNA Kuwait strongly condemns GCC Red Crescent Ethiopians’ killing in Libya Societies’ efforts for

KUWAIT: Kuwait strongly condemned the phenomenon, which is threatening securi- Yemenis applauded ‘vicious crime’ committed by Islamic State ty and stability of the world, a foreign min- (IS) terrorists when they killed scores of istry source said in a statement to KUNA. DOHA: The Saudi-led coalition’s announcement that innocent Ethiopians in Libya. This crime Kuwait is firmly supporting Ethiopia in its the Operation Decisive Storm has ended and a underlined importance of doubling inter- efforts to fighting terrorism, and extended Renewal of Hope has started in Yemen opens the national efforts to confront all forms of ter- condolences for the Ethiopian government door for humanitarian work through cooperation rorism to rid the world from this dangerous and families of victims. —KUNA with the Supreme Committee for Relief in the coun- try, a senior Yemeni official said. Yemen’s Minister of Human Rights Ezzedine Al- Asbahi yesterday commended efforts by the Gulf DOHA: Yemen’s Minister of Human Rights Ezzedine Al-Asbahi and Kuwait Red Cooperation Council (GCC) Red Crescent Societies to Crescent Society Chairman Helal Al-Sayer are seen during the meeting. —KUNA aid the Yemeni people suffering hard conditions at home. Asbahi addressed the 11th meeting of chief of the GCC Red Crescent Societies, saying that the quick response to hold the gathering highlighted keenness by the GCC member states to fulfill their humanitari- an role in support of Yemenis. He referred to reports on the vulnerable humani- tarian conditions of the displaced and refugees suf- fering from lack of medications, foodstuff, water and fuel. He called for providing urgent relief aid to alle- viate their sufferings. He stressed that the GCC states, which began offering help and support to Yemen even before the launch of Decisive Storm, would extend relief and humanitarian aid to the country.

Boosting dialogue Meth dealer busted Meanwhile, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Chairman Dr Helal Al-Sayer emphasized the impor- tance of exchanging of ideas and views, as well as By Hanan Al-Saadoun and Meshaal Al-Enezi House robbed boosting dialogue on the major issues related to the An Egyptian man reported that uniden- humanitarian scene in the Arab World. KUWAIT: A bedoon man (stateless) was tified robbers had broken into his house in Sayer made the call in a statement on the side- recently arrested in possession of 1.25 kilos of Maidan Hawalli and stolen what’s worth lines of the meeting which started yesterday in ICE (methamphetamines), said security KD 50,000 of jewelry and cash. A case was Doha. He underlined the need to organize a relief sources. Case papers indicate that narcotics filed and further investigations are in detectives were tipped off concerning the progress. campaign for the afflicted families in Yemen, saying suspect’s activity in selling drugs. On storm- that the recent events in the country had forced peo- ing his residence, detectives found the drugs Bank account robbed ple to flee towns to the more poverty-stricken coun- which he admitted to possessing for trade. A female expat recently filed a case at tryside. Salamiya police station reporting that KD For Sayer, the media and the civil society organi- Hawally arrest 8,000 had been stolen from her bank zations have a significant role to play in this context, A citizen was arrested in Hawalli for driv- account after she had lost her ATM card. A namely conveying to the world the reality of the ing under the effect of drugs, said security case was filed. humanitarian situation in Yemen. In general, the sources. They noted that the man was arrest- KRCS chief urged developing more effective tools to ed when he lost control over his vehicle and it Fugitive caught deliver humanitarian aid to the afflicted in hot spots, collided into an Egyptian’s car. In other news, a man wanted for a total of 90 years’ imprisonment was recently in line with the relevant basic principles. Kidnapped girl rescued arrested in Jahra, said security sources Security forces recently located a kid- nothing that the suspect was referred to Road map napped girl who was being held at a ranch relevant authorities. Qatar Red Crescent Society Chairman Dr and rescue her. The girl was located using Mohammed Bin Ghanem Al-Maadheed stressed dur- satellites. A case was filed and further investi- Citizen dies midflight ing his opening speech the importance of setting a gations are in progress. A citizen in his forties passed away road map for joint coordination between GCC Red onboard a flight inbound from Europe yes- Crescent Societies in offering humanitarian, social Ahmadi traffic insult terday, said security sources noting that and relief aid. An Ahmadi traffic policeman recently filed the man’s body was subject to examina- He also underscored the significance of coordina- a complaint against a citizen accusing him of tion on landing and that the cause of insulting and assaulting him when he issued death was not yet revealed. tion between GCC Red Crescent societies and GCC him a ticket. Secretariat General, besides uniting positions Ex wife gets KD 4,000 towards the relief supplies, offered especially to Maid escape attempt fails The court of appeal yesterday ordered a Yemen. An Ethiopian maid recently failed in flee- citizen to pay his ex wife KD 4,000 to com- He welcomed the hosting of this event in Qatar, ing her sponsor’s house in Firdous when a pensate her for assaulting her at the place adding that the Qatari society will exert all possible rope she used to climb down from the sec- she worked in when they were still mar- efforts to boost cooperation among GCC Red ond floor broke and she fell. The woman was ried. A first instance court ruling had only Crescent societies, which are considered the most injured in the fall and will be charged with sentenced him to pay KD 2,700 in compen- prominent at the international level. —KUNA attempted suicide. sation.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) organized a lecture yesterday that discussed the risks of unlicensed weapons to public safety. It took place in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior. —By Hanan Al-Saadoun LOCAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

The speakers are seen at the event. Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer delivers his speech. The winners pictured in a group photo. MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab competition winners announced Sponsored by Zain Group

KUWAIT: Zain Group, a leading mobile tele- made by Zain Group CEO, Scott team that developed a technology to Social Entrepreneurship proud to be fostering the growth of this com innovator in eight markets across the Gegenheimer; MITEF Pan Arab, Managing resolve the problem of shopping for shoes Track: (3 equal winners) competition. I’m confident that many of Middle East and Africa announces that Director, Joelle Yazbeck and MIT Arab online whereby the user scans their foot Visualizing Impact-A Lebanese entity these teams will succeed in translating teams from Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Alumini Association, President, Hazem with a smartphone to confirm their size for that is a citizen data journalism laboratory their ideas into successful projects.” Egypt, Morocco, and the United Arab Zureiqat. that particular brand of shoes. that deploys data science, design and Apart from the winners’ prize money, Emirates made it to the winners’ stage at the Earlier this year, Zain Group confirmed it technology for social justice. each of the Ideas, Startups, and Social MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab competi- would partner with founding partner, Abdul 3rd place: Screen DY-a Moroccan based La Perle de la Mer-A Morocco based Entrepreneurship track semi-finalists ben- tion. The contestants were singled out for Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, for the team that developed a platform to offer any entity whose project aspires to ensure the efitted from top tier training, mentorship, putting forward the best start-up innovative eighth edition of the competition, which mobile developer the ability to build com- health and safety of products through the coaching, media exposure, and great net- and creative business ideas in the Arab received 4,275 individual and team applica- plex, custom, and native apps that work on establishment of purification plants that working opportunities throughout the world from amongst 75 contesting teams tions (representing a record participation of all platforms within days. will allow marketing of products in differ- competition. from 15 Arab countries. over 12,000 entrepreneurs) from 21 Arab ent markets directly Widely known as MIT, the The competition’s final ceremony, at countries. The three tracks that entrants Ideas Track Tahrir Academy-An Egypt based entity Massachusetts Institute of Technology is which the winners were announced, is a cul- applied for were: Ideas, Startups, and Social Winner: Kotobna-Egypt based team that offering a blended learning platform that recognized for being one of the leading mination of six months of planning, with Entrepreneurship. gives young talented Arab authors an alter- provides engaging learning experiences to universities in the world, earning a reputa- the gala ceremony being held at the The winners of the MIT Enterprise Forum native method to publish and monetize Egyptian youth through combining world tion as a key player in the advancement of Symphony Style Hotel in Kuwait on 20 April. Pan Arab competition shared total prize their work (novels, comics, article collec- class and carefully localized teaching the digital age. The high profile ceremony witnessed money amounting to US$135,000, and the tions, blog collections, and research papers. methods with the latest technologies. MIT focuses on better equipping stu- Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, Undersecretary list of the victors was as follows: Commenting on Zain’s involvement and dents with the right tools to transform of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs 2nd place: Concure-a Saudi Arabian the success of the MIT Enterprise Forum technological ideas into successful busi- attend the event and present at the cere- Startups Track team that has developed a proof of concept competition, Scott Gegenheimer, Zain nesses across many academic fields. mony as did leading Kuwaiti business fig- Winner: Colorbug-a Lebanese team prototype that is a multi-layered blanket for Group CEO said, “I congratulate the organ- Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise ures Mohammed Alshaya, Executive based in the UAE that created an ideal solu- use in curing concrete, in which the product izers of both the MIT Enterprise Forum and Forum (MITEF) of the Pan Arab Region is Chairman of M H Alshaya Co; Mohammed tion fusing the traditional with the digital absorbs water easily, lies flat after initial set- MIT Arab Alumini Association for holding one of the 28 worldwide chapters of the Jaffar, CEO of Talabat.com; and Tarek whereby children are encouraged to color ting, and is reusable. such a quality event in Kuwait. I also con- MITEF Global, an avid promoter of innova- Sultan, CEO and Vice Chairman of Agility. books and then enhance their experience gratulate all the semi-finalists and winners tion worldwide, engaging aspiring entre- All received rousing applause from the 500 with augmented reality technology in order 3rd place: Nano Ebers-an Egypt based for showing how progressive and dynamic preneurs in mentorship and networking. strong audience who were immensely- to enjoy learning in an interactive and team that has developed a high honey con- their startup ideas are. For more information on the MIT Enterprise impressed and inspired by their candid entertaining way. centration and nanofiber structure that Much of the region’s future develop- Forum Arab Startup Competition semi- comments and visionary statements. enhances antimicrobial effects and pro- ment will be driven by young innovative finalist and winners, please visit Keynote speeches at the event were also 2nd place: Project IO-a Jordan based motes moist wound healing. people in technology, so Zain is especially www.mitarabcompetition.com.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) members returned back home from Saudi Arabia where they performed Omrah as part of KJA’s annual Omrah trip. KJA Treasurer Adnan Al-Rashid thanked Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and Kuwait Telecom Company (VIVA) for supporting the trip. Conference ‘excellent opportunity to put Health Economics into use’

KUWAIT: Nouf EXPO and Kuwait Professor Salek continued, “During the Advancement for Conferences and conference, fortunately, Kuwait will witness Exhibitions Management Establishment the participation of many international organ- (KADCEM) efforts are underway to finalize izations and world-class industry specialists. In the organizing activities of Kuwait that sense, Kuwait has a genuine opportunity Conference and Exhibition on National to catch up with the rest of the world, albeit Health Economics. The conference, due to be starting much later. However, we have to be held from 10-12 May 2015 at Al-Baraka clear that the conference can only blow the Ballroom of Crowne Plaza hotel, will be con- start whistle. What comes after is the most vened under the patronage of the Prime important. Revamping healthcare policies Minister of Kuwait, His Highness and services is a lifelong process Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad which requires knowledge, pas- Al-Sabah. His Excellency the sion and dedication. What every- Minister of Health Dr Ali Saad Al- body should be totally clear Obaidi is chairing the confer- about is that any change ence that is attracting many brought to healthcare policies world-class organizations and and services should be: First, well speakers. studied; second, well planned; In a press release, Professor third, well implemented; and Sam Salek, Professor of finally carefully measured and Pharmacoepidemiology, School evaluated according to agreed- of Life and Medical Sciences, upon success factors. Building Department of Pharmacy, Professor Sam Salek the local experience is vital. The University of Hertfordshire, regional or international com- United Kingdom, and Director - Institute for munity can only help; but Kuwait’s healthcare Medicine Development, Cardiff, UK said “I am policy makers bear the responsibility.” pleased to participate in this event and to chair its second day activities. The Professor Sam Salik: Short Biography Conference is an excellent opportunity to Professor Sam Salek, BPharm PhD RPh put Health Economics into practical use in MRPSGB FFPM FESCP, is Professor of Kuwait for the first time. The conference is Pharmacoepidemiology, School of Life and enjoying a strong government support that Medical Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, can only contribute to its success.” University of Hertfordshire, UK, and Director - Commenting on the conference, Institute for Medicine Development, Cardiff, Professor Salek said, “Healthcare policy mak- UK, and a Visiting Professor - State of Hessen, ers in Kuwait, like their counterparts in many Germany. Among his other responsibilities is other countries, realize that they should the Founder and Chair of “Patient immediately start their Health Economics Engagement Special Interest Group” of the program. Healthcare policies and services International Society of Quality of Research should be planned based on new principles. and Chair - European Hematology Governments should be able to deliver con- Association Scientific Working Group for sistent and efficient healthcare services. “Quality of Life and Symptoms”. Professor Health Economics help us plan, develop, Salek is well known for his contribution to implement, and deliver those services based Health Sciences and has led many research on new grounds of sustainability and cost projects in Health-Related Quality of Life efficiency.” Measurement (HRQoL). LOCAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Unified contract for expat laborers

By Meshaal Al-Enezi found to be in violation of Committee on Educational, Kuwait’s labor law in the emi- Social and Health Affairs to KUWAIT: All contacts for expatriate laborers rate’s official gazette, Kuwait draw up the practical mecha- working in Kuwait will be unified and will Today. She also noted that more nisms to put into effect the include special clauses and conditions to coordination with labor export- report’s recommendations, the protect laborers’ rights. According to Hind ing countries would be required cabinet said in a statement. Al-Subaih, Minister of Social Affairs and before visas are opened again. Subaih had announced a Labor, the unified contracts will stipulate The cabinet last Monday week before that the new working hours, wages and other basic con- reviewed a report about demography structure study ditions of employment. Kuwait’s demographic imbal- had been finished, and noted Facing a similar problem with labor vio- ance study, including an expla- Minister Hind that issuance of work permits lations, Egypt has begun publishing the nation about the population Al-Subaih for the private sector will be names of violating companies in its official policies, and recommendations reopened for all sectors while gazette. Subaih has suggested that Kuwait likely to help repair the imbalances. The companies will be allowed to bring only 25 will follow suit and also list companies report was referred to the Ministerial percent of their staff needs from abroad. Burgan Bank sponsors Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced its sponsorship of Microsoft’s annual Imagine Cup for the third time. This is an Entertainment international, premier, student technology competition that is aimed at encouraging students to use their creativi- City entrance ty and passion to present solutions for many of the world’s toughest challenges using technology. Imagine Cup is one of the most prestigious global stu- ticket offer dent technology competitions. It provides opportunities KUWAIT: The Touristic Enterprises Company announced a for students across all disciplines around the world to team new summer promotion on entrance tickets to the up and use their creativity, passion and knowledge of tech- Entertainment City, offering nology to create applications, games and integrated solu- entrance of two persons with one tions that can change the way we live, work and play. KD3.500 ticket. The promotion is Through this sponsorship, Burgan Bank will assist in the valid from April 20 to May 2, 2015, development and encouragement of young business and also includes free entrance for savvy individuals to creatively search for solutions to real children under the age of 4, said problems affecting the world. This will be accomplished by Saqr Al-Badr, Acting Director of the research, brainstorming, design elements, as well as find- Public Relations and Marketing ing the right mechanics suitable to tackle the respective Department. The Entertainment issues. City welcomes visitors everyday Keeping in line with the bank’s social responsibility ini- from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am, and tiatives, Imagine Cup is an innovative concept that paves the way for top talents to hone their skills as software Saqr Al-Badr entrance on Mondays is exclusive for female visitors. experts on a common, competitive and productive plat- form. Hence, Imagine Cup will continue to inspire the next generation of technology and business innovators in Kuwait. Arab agricultural The competition will include a round of country finals cooperation needed that will be held on April 22nd at the American University of Kuwait, where the winning team will advance to Seattle, KUWAIT: Arab countries need to increase their efforts at exchanging USA to compete at the worldwide finals. expertise regarding agricultural issues, said chairperson of the Public Burgan Bank continues to establish long lasting foot- Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources Nabila Al-Khalil prints within the social fabric of Kuwait with an aim to pro- at an Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands vide greater social support to the society. The bank has (ACSAD) meeting yesterday. The ACSAD was eager to pursue scientif- been actively involved in a variety of sponsorships and ini- ic research in attempting to improve the agricultural and economic tiatives that demonstrate its commitment to the wider conditions in Arab arid zones and dry lands, she said. —KUNA public in education as well as other sectors. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 From the Arabic press

Al-Anbaa Al-Anbaa It’s been ten years! An up-to-date crime

By Dr Khadijah Al-Mahmeed By Salah Al-Sayer he famous Arab poet Imra’ul-Qais once decided n May 16, 2015, 10 years will have passed since Kuwaiti women won their political rights on the same going to the Romans asking for their help to get back Oday back in 2005. It is a period that calls for a pause to This lost kingdom. Doing so, he then departed, leav- assess the political and civil gains women have achieved ing his daughter Hind, his cousin and his armor in after such a substantial shift in Kuwait’s political history. Samaw’al’s care, but he never came to reclaim them. When It was such an exceptional period during which a daring his opponents knew about this, they ordered Samaw’al to parliamentary decision was passed granting women enfran- surrender the articles deposited with him, giving him the chisement and the right to run for parliamentary elections. option to choose between doing so or killing his own son. As a result of this right, 4 female citizens made their way to Samaw’al chose the harder option and preferred to keep the parliament for the first time, but that record was never his pledge to Imra’ul Qais. Doing so, Samaw’al became beaten afterwards and female citizens never succeeded to enhance and develop such gains. Their numbers in parlia- famous for his faithfulness and an Arabic saying was said in ment decreased until the recent female-less one is in office. this regard, which goes ‘Awfa min Samaw’al’, which means Cabinet-wise, we dropped from two female ministers to only that someone is ‘more faithful than Samaw’al’. one nowadays. This is a normal result in a society that had Stories about kidnapping and death threats are recently been governed and run by men for long centuries. Even the repeating, after the 1970s when people knew terrorist political blocs that demanded granting women political organizations like the Red Brigades, Baader Meinhof, Black rights have none of them on their boards despite the fact September and the Japanese Red Army. Their criminal that so many highly qualified and politically competent activities were diverse and always committed under the slo- women are found among their supporters. gan of ‘revolutionary violence’, which included diplomats’ Another reason for women’s absence from the decision- assassination and hijacking planes and exploding them. making bodies is that political practices in Kuwait still lack objective measures in practicing democracy. Instead of One of the most famous of their crimes was the kidnapping being governed by serious plans and institutional programs and killing of Italian prime minister Aldo Moro in 1978. that need qualified citizens of both genders, decision-mak- However, the most up-to-date and strangest of all ing bodies are impulsively run and governed by individual crimes is what Houthi is doing in Yemen, where he decid- and sectarian interests. ed to kidnap an entire people using arms and occupying As far as civil gains are concerned, despite the substantial cities with foreign support and without listening to any shift in female citizens’ rights, things are still being utilized reasoning. He went too far in defiance and making for propaganda and showoff during electoral campaigns and alliances with a toppled president who has power, funds once nominees win their parliamentary seats, they de-priori- and bad intentions. However, these bad guys’ plans were tize the promises made to female voters and move them to the tail end of their agendas to be omitted soon afterwards. fortunately foiled by the Decisive Storm strikes. — Translated by Kuwait Times Al-Jarida — Translated by Kuwait Times Janitor molests diplomat’s daughter

KUWAIT: An Asian janitor of a Mahboula to break open her apartment door and that he sponsor, a 49-year-old female citizen, reported Citizen robbed of car, wallet, phone Man harassed over the phone building was recently arrested for sexually was only scared off by her screams and her finding the maid bleeding with a knife still in A citizen reported that, instead of thank- A 51-year-old citizen reported that some- molesting a diplomat’s daughter living in the warning that she was calling police. A case her belly. Hospital doctors managed to ing him for the favor of giving a man a lift, one he knew and named to the police had same building. Case papers indicate that the was filed and further investigations are in remove the knife and the maid was put under upon arriving at his destination in Jleeb Al- been harassing him through making over 70 girl told her father about the incident and the progress to identify and apprehend the sus- observation at the ICU pending recovery to be Shuyoukh, the man drew a knife and stole three-hour phone calls to him, which usually diplomat then reported the matter to police, pect. interrogated. his car, wallet and mobile phone. A case was annoyed him and spoiled his weekends. The accusing the janitor of touching his daughter’s filed and further investigations are in man said that the annoying suspect had been body. Checking the surveillance cameras fixed Indian with knife wound Stepdad beats up girl progress. calling him on Fridays from 7 am to 10 am. A at the gate verified the diplomat’s story and An Indian man was recently rushed to A female citizen recently accused her case was filed and the man is being sum- the suspect was accordingly arrested and con- Farwaniya hospital in a critical condition. He stepfather of beating her and grounding Syrian caught with hash moned for further investigation. fronted with the video. was found to be severely bleeding from a her at home in Fintas, said security A Syrian man in his thirties was recently wound in his neck. A note was found near him, arrested in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh with the pos- sources. The girl added that he had been Jewelry stolen Ex photographs teacher allegedly from an ex girlfriend, but it has not session of two bars of hashish he was on his interfering in her personal business taking A female citizen living in Adan report- A female teacher recently filed a complaint been translated yet. A case of attempted mur- way to sell, said security sources. Case advantage of the fact that she had been ed that her housemaid had fled the against her ex husband accusing him of using der was filed and further investigations are in papers indicate that narcotics detectives living with him and her mother since he house stealing some of her jewelry and his smart mobile phone to photograph her progress. had been tipped off concerning the sus- married her mother. She added that he KD 3200 from her bedroom. A case was while she was dropping her kids at school in pect’s activity selling drugs around the had been going through her personal filed and further investigations are in Mishref, said security sources. They noted that Maid stabs self area. The suspect was ambushed and belongings and searching her mobile progress. Meanwhile, in another case, a the suspect is being summoned for further An Indian housemaid was also rushed to arrested red-handed in the middle of a phone calls log. The stepfather responded Jordanian man recently accused his investigations. Farwaniya hospital with a deep self inflicted to the accusations by telling policemen transaction. To detectives’ surprise, the sus- Indian partner of forging his signature on stab wound to the abdomen. The maid that the girl was impolite and that she had pect confessed to drug trafficking for their company cheque. A case was filed US woman harassed attempted suicide at her sponsor’s house in repeatedly insulted him before her moth- someone already doing time at the central and the partner is being summoned for A female US citizen living in Rumaithiya Abdullah Al-Mubarak area, said security er. A case was filed and both sides were prison. A case was filed and further investi- further investigations. reported that an unidentified angry man tried sources. Case papers indicate that the maid’s referred to further investigations. gations are in progress. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Radioactive drone found on Japanese ‘Bully’ New Zealand PM sorry for pulling waitress’ hair PM’s office roof Page 9 Page 11 France foils ‘imminent’ church attack

PARIS: An IT student allegedly plan- course be to protect citizens but also ning a church attack in France has to rally together, unite and to be been arrested, the country’s interior hugely determined faced with this minister said yesterday, just over three terrorist threat,” he said on French tel- months after Paris was hit by a jihadist evision. killing spree. In a baffling series of events, the 24-year-old Franco- Haphazard, chance arrest Algerian-known to intelligence servic- The attack was foiled by chance es for wanting to fight in Syria along- after the suspect called police on side jihadists-was detained Sunday in Sunday morning, saying he was Paris after he himself called police injured, according to police sources, over a bullet injury to his leg. who asked to remain anonymous. “Several war weapons, hand guns, They found him with a bullet in the ammunition, bullet-proof vests and leg, and he described being wounded computer and telephone hardware” during a settling of scores. were subsequently found at his home Investigators do not exclude that he and in his car, Interior Minister may have injured himself. They fol- Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters. His lowed traces of blood left by the sus- DNA was later found in the car of a pect and found his car, where they young mother from northern France discovered part of the “arsenal” who died in mysterious circumstances described by Cazeneuve. Then they over the weekend near Paris. searched his home in southeast Paris Cazeneuve told reporters that apart and found the incriminating research from the weapons, police had also dis- on his computer. covered detailed research “clearly Several members of his entourage establishing that the person was plan- and family have since been detained, ning to commit an imminent attack some of whom sympathize with radi- against one or two churches”. “Sunday cal Islam, the sources said. During morning, this attack was foiled.” their investigations, police then dis- The arrest comes more than three covered the suspect’s DNA in the car months after Islamic extremists went of Aurelie Chatelain, an unemployed on a three-day killing spree in and dance enthusiast, who was found around Paris, leaving 17 people dead. dead over the weekend in Villejuif The January 7-9 attacks on Charlie near Paris-the town where the church- Hebdo magazine, a policewoman and es were targeted, according to a a Jewish supermarket sent shock- police source. But the suspect’s waves around the world, and prompt- alleged link to the death was not clear. SAINT-DIZIER: Picture shows the house in the Vert-Bois neighborhood in Saint-Dizier, where a 25-year-old-woman was arrested in connection with the ed several reforms in France including detention of a Franco-Algerian student, allegedly planning a church attack in France. — AFP controversial new spy laws that are Mystery murder link currently being debated in parlia- Chatelain’s body was discovered on her Facebook page on Saturday Chatelain’s distraught father, Jean-Luc, Wednesday that the probe would represent almost half the number of ment. French Prime Minister Manuel on Sunday morning in her car. She evening. Some nine hours later, her told AFP Monday that the mother of determine why Chatelain was killed, European fighters present, according Valls reiterated government warnings had been shot three times. The 32- body was discovered by passers-by as five-year-old Juliette had no enemies. and reiterated that the country was to a report released this month by the that the country was facing an year-old mother had just come to the smoke poured out of the car from an “The father of the little girl... and faced with an “unprecedented terror- upper house Senate. Authorities are “unprecedented terrorist threat”. area from northern France to take a overheating laptop. A judicial source my daughter have been separated for ist threat”. Hundreds of French nation- concerned that these nationals will “Terrorists are targeting France to pilates training course and had writ- said Sunday that investigators were several years but they got along fine,” als have left France to join jihadist come back and commit attacks on divide us and our response must of ten of how happy she was to be there open to all possibilities. But he said. Cazeneuve promised ranks in Iraq and Syria, where they home turf. — AFP INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Palestinian reconciliation hits rock bottom

GAZA: A year after rival Palestinian nationalist move- place before the end of 2014, have not materialized Diak said there had been no talks, laying the blame Islamists seized power in the enclave. ments Hamas and Fatah agreed to end their bitter and officials admit the ballot is unlikely to happen squarely at the feet of Hamas, which he accused of They took over from 70,000 employees of the divisions, the unity deal they signed appears to be on any time soon. “repeatedly throwing a spanner in the works”. Palestinian Authority (PA) who were forced out of their the brink of collapse. This week, a ministerial delega- “It’s not the government’s job to negotiate: it is the positions but have still been paid their salaries. Since tion from the Ramallah-based consensus govern- ‘Failure’ in Gaza government of all the people and Hamas does not the deal, the Hamas employees have not received ment headed to the Gaza Strip, the stronghold of The extent of the dispute was highlighted on respect either the government or the law,” he said. wages, except for a one-off payment to around half of Hamas, for what was to be a week-long visit focused Monday when a group of eight ministers and around Since last year’s agreement, Hamas has demanded them in October. The consensus government has on resolving a long-running dispute over employees. 30 senior officials hurriedly left Gaza after admitting the government cover the salaries of its 50,000 pledged to return the 70,000 former PA employees to But they stayed only one day, ordered home by the “failure” of their mission. Cabinet secretary Ali Abu employees who have been on the books since the their positions, and the delegation which went to Gaza prime minister Rami Hamdallah as the scope of the had aimed to register them all. It has said Hamas work- row became clear. ers would be hired only “according to need” in a move The Islamist Hamas movement has ruled Gaza denounced by the Islamist movement as “discrimina- since 2007 when it expelled forces loyal to president tion”. “Without a solution for these employees, there Mahmud Abbas’s West Bank-based Fatah from the will be no remedy or progress in the reconciliation,” tiny coastal enclave. The rival factions agreed to bury said Abu Saada, the political scientist. the hatchet on April 23, 2014 thanks to a surprise rec- onciliation agreement which led to the creation of a An intractable dispute national unity government. The aim was to bring During their brief visit to Gaza, the delegation governance of the Palestinian territories under one members did not leave their hotel, with Hamas say- authority, a cabinet of independent technocrats ing it was “by choice”. But Mahmud al-Zaq, a member acceptable to both sides which would work to hold of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said it elections as quickly as possible. was due to the “thuggish” and “terrorist” methods of But a year on, little has changed-and the reconcili- Hamas. For the Palestinian Authority, the biggest ation pact is showing signs of severe strain. “Nothing problem is the question of up to 30,000 armed has changed on the ground. The reconciliation has Hamas employees who work for its security services stalled and we are heading for an even greater divi- whom it does not want to pay. Constrained by vari- sion,” said Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a Gaza-based polit- ous international agreements, the PA says it is unable ical scientist. Sworn in last June, the so-called nation- to send money to Gaza to pay them because Hamas al consensus government has rarely set foot in Gaza is blacklisted as a “terrorist” group by Israel, the where Hamas remains the de facto power, despite United States and the European Union. This week, formally standing down. And the two movements Hamas employees were again demonstrating in Gaza have repeatedly accused each other of blocking over plans to replace them. “Discriminating against moves to facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza, which them is hindering the reconciliation,” warned Daud was devastated by a 50-day war with Israel last year. Shihab, spokesman for Islamic Jihad, the second The promised elections, which were to have taken GAZA: Palestinian fishermen carry a crate of fish at the port of Gaza City yesterday. — AFP force in Gaza. — AFP News Afghanistan lynching stokes in brief

17 Indian pilgrims anger against ‘fake mullahs’ killed in bus crash KATHMANDU: Seventeen Indian pilgrims were killed when a bus swerved off a highway in central Nepal yester- day and plunged 300 meters down a mountain, police said. The bus was heading to the Indian town of Gorakhpur Ubiquitous shamans go underground returning from a pilgrimage to the famed Hindu temple of Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, when the accident hap- KABUL: The savage lynching of an Afghan woman who railed “healers” peddling amulets, talismans and good luck charms. ation in Afghanistan-where nearly two-thirds of the popula- pened. “Twelve Indian passengers were killed on the spot. openly against superstitious practices has stoked public anger “Not every man who wears a turban is a religious scholar,” tion is under 25 - that is often torn between conservatism and Five others died during treatment,” Hemant Bahadur over the treatment of women but also ignited revulsion Daiulhaq Abid, Afghanistan’s deputy minister for religious modernity as the country rebuilds itself after decades of war. Chettri, a local police official said. More than two dozen against Kabul’s ubiquitous shamans, forcing them to go affairs, told reporters. Abid said his investigation revealed that “Farkhunda’s death brought a revolution,” women’s rights injured have been taken to Kathmandu for treatment, four underground. Last month a furious mob turned on the amulet seller falsely accused activist Belqis Osmani said. “It shocked everyone, awakened of whom are said to be in a critical condition. “Many fami- Farkhunda, 27, beating her in broad daylight and setting her Farkhunda-a graduate in Islamic studies-of burning the everyone. It warned the traditional-minded people that a new lies have reached out to us. body ablaze on the banks of the Kabul River after an amulet Koran as her anti-superstition advocacy had been driving generation is emerging-a generation that is more educated seller, whom she had castigated, falsely accused her of blas- away his customers. Many of Kabul’s divine healers went and open-minded. They are more liberal and they don’t fall for phemy. Her killing, which triggered protests around underground even before Abid’s ministry launched an tricks of fake mullahs,” she said. 10 killed in PNG tribal Afghanistan and several world cities, drew global attention to unprecedented crackdown in the wake of Farkhunda’s killing, fight over stolen pig the treatment of Afghan women, while her funeral procession shutting down their shops and evicting them from roadside ‘Exploiting ignorance’ SYDNEY: At least 10 people died and several others saw female pallbearers bucking tradition to carry her casket. markets. Padlocked stores and vacant roadside stalls have Ahmad Jawad, a 37-year-old Kabul resident, said the were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds after a But the “Justice for Farkhunda” movement, as it is known, is become a familiar sight in the meandering and congested “Justice for Farkhunda” movement marked a rare battle in tribal fight over a stolen pig in Papua New Guinea, not about women’s rights alone. “Down with ignorance” has lanes of Murad Khani in Kabul’s Old City, one of several hubs Afghanistan against pervasive ignorance. “I once went to a tra- local media reported yesterday. The clash, in the been a familiar chant at protests denouncing her killing, where spiritual healers have thrived for decades. ditional healer because I was in love with my cousin and highland province of Hela, erupted between the which has prompted public sentiment to turn against Kabul’s The backlash highlights the angst of a post-Taleban gener- wanted to marry her. He gave me some perfume and paper Wapiago and Tapamu clans, Assistant Police amulets. He instructed me to sprinkle perfume on the Commissioner Teddy Tei told PNG’s Post-Courier. amulets and burn them,” he said. “I did that for a week and Provincial police commander Mark Yangen said a girl everyone around me got a headache because of the bad aged six and a 60-year-old woman were among smell. I couldn’t marry my cousin in the end, and realized that my ignorance had been exploited for a charlatan’s monetary those killed. “The fighting started over a pig. The sus- gain.” But the backlash seems to be limited to urban centers pect (who allegedly stole the pig) was arrested, then such as Kabul. Just a two-hour drive outside the capital, in the the owner of the pig came up with a gun and shot village of Shakar Dara, it is business as usual. two guys, the relatives of the guy who was stealing Baba Sahib, in his 60s, sat at the edge of a shrine, surround- the pig,” Yangen told the Australian Broadcasting ed by stacks of amulets, charts with Arabic verses and photo- Corporation. “From then a fight flared up and four copies of what he called “talismans for all problems”. men were murdered at the scene... and two on the Traditional healers are much-revered in the deeply conserva- other side of the group.” tive countryside, where illiteracy remains rampant. Several decades of war have destroyed infrastructure in Afghanistan, with rural denizens having little or no access to conventional health services. Many are forced to rely on healers for a variety Powerful storm kills of problems-from debilitating maladies and infertility to find- 33 in eastern India ing stolen items and uniting lost lovers. Frequently help is NEW DELHI: A powerful storm swept through India’s sought despite warnings by religious clerics that such prac- eastern Bihar state overnight leaving at least 33 peo- tices are at odds with Islamic doctrines. Since the 2001 US-led ple dead and destroying crops and properties, officials invasion that toppled the Taleban government, the United and a report said yesterday. The storm lashed several States and other foreign donors have invested millions of dol- districts across the impoverished state, uprooting trees lars in Afghanistan’s public health system. But most govern- ment hospitals are still bedeviled by poor quality of care, and toppling power lines, the officials said. “Thirty scarcity of equipment and pervasive corruption. As the mid- three people are confirmed dead and over 80 are day sun rose, a trickle of village clients called on Baba Sahib to injured,” Vyasji, principal secretary of Bihar’s disaster seek remedies for health ailments, relationship issues and to management department, said. “Communication and ward off “evil spirits”. For a turbaned village elder who com- electricity has been disrupted in the storm-hit areas plained about a severe headache, he offered the same paper and roads blocked with fallen trees,” Vyasji, who uses amulet he offered to another client worrying about memory only one name said. “The extent of damage will be loss. “Wrap it in a white cloth and then in a red cloth, and then known only after we are able to reach all the areas.” tuck it into your turban. Your headache will go away,” Baba Bihar’s director general of police, P K Thakur, said he Sahib said. The elder kissed the amulet and turned back, look- feared the death toll could rise, with rescue workers ing hopeful. — AFP still trying to reach some of the storm-hit areas. Taleban announces spring offensive in Afghanistan KABUL: The Taleban said yesterday their spring offensive in Afghanistan will begin this week, the first time the insur- gents’ annual campaign against the Afghan government will take place without NATO troops on the battlefield. In past years, spring and the melting of snow on the mountains along the bor- der with Pakistan marked a significant upsurge in the fighting between the Taleban and NATO forces along with their local allies. This fighting season, the insurgents will face just Afghan forces after the withdrawal of most interna- tional combat troops at the end of last year. A Taleban statement, which was emailed to media, said the offensive - NANGARHAR: Afghan security personnel retaliate against Taleban insurgents dubbed “Azm” or perseverance in Dari during an anti-Taleban operation in Dur Baba district near the Pakistan- and Arabic - will begin on Friday. It Afghanistan border. — AFP added that the Islamic Emirate of eign occupation and for the implemen- Taleban appear no closer to their goal of Afghanistan, as the Taleban call them- tation of Islamic rule throughout the overthrowing the Kabul government. selves, is “determined to prolong the country, the Islamic Emirate is deter- This has opened up an opportunity ongoing jihad,” or holy war. The state- mined to prolong the ongoing jihad for what is perceived to be an affiliate of ment also said that under US leadership, against the foreign invaders as well as the Islamic State group, which already the “crusaders” will maintain “control of their internal stooges,” the Taleban said. controls large parts of Iraq and Syria, to our land and space” through security In recent weeks, attacks in the north and establish a small presence in agreements with the Afghan govern- east of the country have intensified in Afghanistan. The development has ment. The agreements allow NATO and the build-up to the warm weather fight- alarmed many Afghans, including influ- the US to keep a limited number of non- ing season. The insurgents can be ential warlord Ismail Khan, former gov- combat troops in Afghanistan to train expected to fight until snow falls on the ernor of western Herat province, who and assist Afghan forces in their fight Hindu Kush, when the militants return called on President Ashraf Ghani to against the insurgency. to the mountains. Fighting even stops in improve security and kickstart a mori- “For the complete liberation of our many places for meals and prayers. But bund economy to avoid a war with an IS beloved homeland from the yoke of for- after more than a decade of war, the offshoot. — AP INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Turkey faces delicate battle against IS sympathizers A crackdown by Ankara could make it a target, experts say

ISTANBUL: Defne Bayrak’s husband was a suicide bomber Daesh (Islamic State) attack is the number one threat for trolled part of Syria. But the crackdown, carried out under groups and of helping foreign fighters pass into Syria. He who killed CIA operatives in a 2009 attack in Afghanistan. Turkey at the moment ... This is a huge risk for the government pressure from concerned European partners, has ratcheted up vehemently denies that his small community of followers, Now, she is among the hundreds of Turks using social media before the elections.” the risk that Turkey itself becomes a target for returning mili- many of whom read his sermons and articles online, has links to show support for Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Bayrak, her Twitter page emblazoned with the Islamic State tants. Halis Bayancuk, a Turkish cleric detained several times to either Al-Qaeda or Islamic State. Turkey, a Sunni Muslim nation with a secular constitution, is a logo and pictures of the group’s fighters riding on pick-up on suspicion of aiding Al-Qaeda, cautioned Ankara against While the website Bayancuk writes for does not praise member, albeit reluctantly, of the US-led coalition against trucks, tweeted last week that she had “migrated to the land taking a more active role in the US-led fight against Islamic Islamic State or militant Islamist groups, other sites still Islamic State. Most of its 77 million people are deeply opposed of the caliph”. “People said Islamic State accused people of State. accessible in Turkey openly do, despite new laws which the to the militant group’s savage tactics. being infidels, hanged and killed people. I have seen no such “I believe Turkey could be harmed because of it,” Bayancuk, government has used to block access to Twitter, Facebook But pockets of Turkish social media hum with pro-Islamic thing since my arrival,” she said in one tweet. “My God would also known as ‘Abu Hanzala’, said in an apartment-turned- and other content it deems inappropriate. Turkey’s chal- State activity and at least six websites provide daily updates grant their successors the conquest of Rome,” she said in prayer room on a run-down street in Istanbul’s Gunesli neigh- lenge, diplomats say, is balancing the need to fulfill its obli- on its self-declared caliphate, carved out in Syria and Iraq. An another. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has estimated borhood. “I wouldn’t know what kind of harm. But if you team gations to its Western and regional allies without making October survey by pollster Metropoll said up to 12 percent of that the number of Turks who have joined Islamic State is up with the West in their war ... you’d lose all legitimacy in the itself a target for insurgents who control swathes of territory Turks do not see the group as a “terrorist organization”. This around 500-700, lower than from some European countries, eyes of the people of the Middle East.” Bayancuk was detained just over its southern borders. “If Turkey starts doing harm to sympathy is of growing concern to officials in Ankara, diplo- although some diplomats put the number of Turks in the three times between 2008 and 2014 on suspicion of being a these networks, some of which are fully operational, there mats and security experts say, as they fear a network of fight- thousands. US officials have estimated that as many as 15,000 leading member of Al-Qaeda in Turkey. Turkish media have would be a backlash, and they’re afraid of that,” said one ers, recruiters and facilitators is being cultivated in Turkey to foreign fighters are operating in Syria alone, including 3,000 said the 31-year-old is suspected of fund raising for militant Western diplomat. — Reuters support Islamic State operations over the border. Westerners, many of whom crossed through Turkey. Turkey has stepped up its efforts to destroy these networks but analysts say pushing the militants too far could lead to the Crackdown EU candidate nation becoming a target itself, particularly The Turkish authorities say they have blocked entry to ahead of June elections. “From the beginning Turkey didn’t Turkey to more than 7,000 would-be jihadists in recent years. fully appreciate the danger of the Islamic State networks. Now There have been dozens of detentions and deportations in it has become riskier to dismantle them,” said Bahadir Dincer, recent months, most recently a British couple with four young Middle East Expert at the Ankara-based think-tank USAK. “A children suspected of trying to travel to an Islamic State-con- ‘Bully’ New Zealand PM sorry for pulling waitress’ hair

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key pub- ‘Crossed the line’ licly apologized yesterday to a waitress who labeled him a Key won a third term in office last year and is normally “schoolyard bully” for repeatedly pulling her ponytail on renowned for his political radar, enjoying 49 percent sup- visits to her cafe. As women’s groups expressed outrage, port in opinion polls even after seven years in power. Key said he now realized his behavior was inappropriate Quizzed on whether he had acted appropriately, the 53- but insisted he was merely “horsing around”, not acting year-old said he had visited the cafe for years and had a fun maliciously. “It was all in the context of a bit of banter that relationship with staff, including practical jokes. “It’s a very was going on,” he told TVNZ, saying he apologized and warm, friendly relationship. In that context you’d say yes, gave the woman two bottles of wine when he realized she but if you look at it now, no,” he said. The row stirred a had taken offence. The unnamed Auckland waitress strong reaction on social media and was soon trending on recounted her story in an anonymous column on left-wing Twitter under the hashtag #ponytailgate, with most criticiz- website thedailyblog.co.nz, saying the conservative ing Key but some saying it would not affect his popularity leader’s actions reduced her to tears. She said Key persisted ratings. in tugging her hair on at least half a dozen separate occa- The National Women’s Council said it was difficult for a sions, even though she had clearly signaled her displeasure female cafe worker to stand up to the prime minister and and once warned his security detail she would punch him Key had “crossed the line” with his unwanted touching. if he continued. “The fact that our prime minister has joined the list of peo- At one point, Key’s wife Bronagh told him “leave the ple outed for sexism highlights how much sexism is part poor girl alone”, the woman wrote, saying that the prime of our culture. And it starts at the top,” it said. Human minister gave the impression “that he just didn’t care”. “He Rights Commissioner Jackie Blue also weighed in saying: was like the schoolyard bully tugging on the little girls’ hair “It’s never okay to touch someone without their permis- trying to get a reaction, experiencing that feeling of pow- sion.” Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei described Key’s er,” she said in the blog. The waitress said Key eventually behavior as “weird”, saying it was disrespectful towards the got the message and stopped tormenting her in late woman and her job. “New Zealanders know you can’t walk March, telling her he had not realized how upset she was at into a cafe and start tugging on someone’s hair, especially his behavior, which lasted for several months. “Really?! That if they’ve told you they don’t like it,” she told reporters. was almost more offensive than the harassment itself,” she “John Key should be held to the same standards as the rest wrote. of us.”— AFP On the hunt for the presidency, Jeb Bush adopts ‘caveman’ diet

WASHINGTON: Jeb Bush is eating like a caveman, and he has literally shrunk in size. The former Florida governor, expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, is on the popular Paleo diet, which is based on what are believed to be the eating habits of the Paleolithic hunters and gatherers. For Paleo practitioners, lean meat and fruits and vegetables are in and processed foods, dairy products and sugary delights are out. For Bush, the results have been noticeable. Late last year he was something of a pudgy doughboy with a full face and soft jawline. Today the 6-foot, 4-inch-tall Bush sports a more chiseled look. His campaign-in-waiting would not say how much he had lost, but he looks to have shed 20 or 30 pounds. His son George P Bush, the newly elected Texas land commissioner, talked Jeb and Jeb Bush Jr into trying it, a source close to Bush said. Bush, who associates say has been dining on grilled chicken and salad while snacking on nuts and also exercising, is hardly the first politician to aim for a leaner look ahead of an expected campaign. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key Politicians entering a presidential campaign often decide to lose a few pounds to project a more vigorous image. Usually when they do so it means they are seriously considering a candidacy. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee lost 110 pounds in the years before his 2008 bid for the Republican nomination. (He has gained some of it back). New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is also con- sidering a run for the Republican nomination, underwent Lap-Band surgery two years ago and lost some of his con- siderable girth. Bush’s friends have noticed the weight loss and are envious. “Like a lot of us, Jeb has struggled with his weight at times. I’m slightly irritated that I seem to have found every pound he’s lost,” said Bush friend Ana Navarro, a Miami-based Republican strategist.

‘It’s just a fad’ Some nutritionists are opposed to Paleo since it involves eating a lot of meat, which could lead to a higher consumption of fat since many high-protein foods have higher fat levels than carbohydrates. Bush is not known to consult a nutritionist about the diet, and his team declined to answer questions about criticisms of it. “It’s just a fad, there’s no magic to it,” said Dr Christopher Ochner, a weight loss and nutrition expert at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “If you called it something else and just ate more lean protein and fresh fruits you would lose weight.” Ochner said there are “other more well balanced, less faddish diets out there.” But Loren Cordain, one of the people who popularized the diet, defended Paleo as a “life- time program of eating.” “More power to him,” Cordain said of Bush. “Paleo is all about health and well being for all of us,” said Cordain, who is professor emeritus at the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University. It is unclear how well Bush, 62, can stick to the diet given the various tempting delicacies that pop up on the cam- paign trail during long, stressful days. There’s the tantalizing fried Snickers candy bar that is a staple of the Iowa State Fair, Kringle pastries in Wisconsin, the jelly-filled “pazcki” doughnuts of Michigan. And there is pretty much a slice of pizza everywhere you go. “When you go to a diner or a cof- fee shop, you’d be surprised how often patrons will offer you a doughnut, a piece of pie, something that is deep- fried, has sugar on it,” said Kevin Madden, who was a fre- quent flyer as a senior adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. “At the Iowa State Fair, everything is deep- fried and on a stick. It’s hard to resist,” Madden said. Bush has been known to stray on occasion from the diet. Sometimes in the evenings he’ll have a glass of wine, which is not Paleo compliant. —Reuters

INTERNATIONAL Britain’s swing seats fed up with election onslaught

LONDON: People living in Britain’s key here by just 841 votes in 2010, is Maajid up for grabs,” Cooper said. “This allows us swing constituencies have suffered bliz- Nawaz, a former Islamist who now chairs to be on the streets more often, to deliv- zards of leaflets and armies of political the anti-extremist thinktank Quilliam. er more leaflets, talk to far more voters... canvassers vying for their vote ahead of Nawaz is thought to be behind his rivals, We have knocked on every door in the a knife-edge election on May 7. “It’s his campaign hindered by a video that constituency several times,” he added. In awful really, leaflets come through the emerged in the press of him receiving a one year, the Conservatives have flooded door even at nine o’clock at night,” said dance in a strip club on what he has said the constituency with half a million pensioner Mary Kate Spencer, a resident was his stag night. Nawaz wrote on his brochures, aside from leaflets about of Hampstead and Kilburn the closest Facebook page that the footage was purely local issues. Eyston Alexander, 71, fought constituency in England. “I don’t “vindictively leaked to the press” as part who lives off Kilburn High Street, called even bother to read them.” Interested or of a “a planned and sustained attack the leafleting a “total waste”. “Tories don’t not, Hampstead and Kilburn is a prime campaign”. deal with poor people... they can keep target for politicians, as the constituen- their leaflets,” he said. cy spanning gritty high streets and ‘Chilly’ reception Andre Polya, a campaigner for the some of London’s wealthiest areas was Just one road or apartment block Labor Party, has also seen his share of won by Labor by just 42 votes in 2010 can make the difference, and volunteers disenchantment. “The reception can be out of almost 53,000 ballots. canvas up and down the streets of mar- chilly,” he said. “We use the electoral reg- The constituency is a toss-up ginal constituencies from morning to ister and call everyone, primarily the between the centre-right Conservative night. “The parties are broke, so they undecideds,” said the Frenchman, who party of David Cameron, his junior coali- only spend their money on marginal has lived in London for 50 years and tion partners the Liberal Democrats, constituencies,” said Simon Hix, profes- whose brick Hampstead house will serve and the centre-left Labor party led by sor of European and comparative poli- as campaign headquarters on election Ed Miliband. Every seat is crucial in a tics at the London School of Economics. night. Like the Conservatives, the Labor race in which Labor and Conservative In Hampstead, where party posters are party plans to intensify efforts with the have been tied for months, with neither blooming like spring flowers, four finishing line in sight. But at least for likely to win enough of the 650 con- leaflets from the Conservative party some, their efforts will be in vain. “Labor stituency seats to form an outright have been delivered to each house in leaflets I tear up directly, and the rest majority. In Hampstead and Kilburn, the the last month, according to also go directly in the bin,” Spencer said, LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party, race is a close one between Labor’s Conservative political director Oliver adding that she intends to vote for a David Cameron (right) and Mayor of London and Conservative party can- Tulip Siddiq-the niece of Bangladesh’s Cooper. party she has never received a leaflet didate for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, Boris Johnson prime minister-and her Conservative “The central party has put together from. “I think I will vote UKIP,” she said- (center) clean their hands after participating in a hand-painting session challenger Simon Marcus, a retired rug- activists from both seats we are pretty the insurgent right-wing UK at the Advantage children’s daycare nursery during a UK general election by player. sure to win and seats we are pretty sure Independence Party that advocates for The candidate for the Liberal we are not going to win and put them fewer immigrants and Britain quitting campaign event in Surbiton, south London yesterday. —AFP Democrats, a party which trailed Labor into constituencies where everything is the European Union. —AFP How ‘Godfather’ of Lagos could shape Nigerian govt Tinubu’s alliance helped president-elect

LAGOS: “I am a talent hunter. I put talents in job done and a knack for picking bright, com- have.’” But like other powerful political figures office, I help them,” says former Lagos state mitted technocrats to do it. To critics he is a in Nigeria, Tinubu’s power resides largely in the governor and opposition alliance leader Bola ruthless godfather who doles out lucrative con- huge patronage he wields, which has given him Tinubu, being quite open about his role as one tracts to his friends’ firms, insists on installing influence over, for instance, the ‘area boys’- of Nigeria’s most powerful political godfathers. his man in office and is capable of sending in Lagos street toughs who run rackets and guard “I use the best hand, the best brain, the best street thugs if he fails to get his way. The APC, cars. Ingeniously, he gave some of them uni- experience for the job,” he said after voting this which came to power on anger over corruption forms and turned them into traffic cops. month in a governorship election in Nigeria’s and growing insecurity, has declined to speak After he voted on April 11, a group of area economic capital which, as expected, his hand publicly about policies. boys mobbed The Jagaban, and he lectured picked candidate Akinwunmi Ambode won. them on their disorderly behavior. “If you want But it isn’t only in his traditional fiefdom in the The Jagaban me to do something for you, line up in an ethnic Yoruba southwest that Tinubu has The Nigerian practice of political godfather- orderly manner. Then I can share my peanuts,” sought to be a kingmaker. His support for for- ing has long been criticized by rights cam- he told them, adding: “some of you have not mer military ruler Muhammadu Buhari was paigners as impeding democracy by enabling even voted.” A day later, when celebrations seen as a key factor in the latter’s win against powerful oligarchs to capture state institutions. erupted outside his home, two groups of area BARAKA: Congolese man Andre Shindano smiles after recognizing Cuban- President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 But few deny that in Lagos, at least, the former boys got into a fight over money that had been Argentinean guerrilla leader Ernesto Che Guevara, whom he met as a boy, in presidential election in Africa’s biggest econo- governor managed to fix things no one distributed and they began hitting each other a picture during an interview with AFP in Baraka. —AFP my and oil producer. thought fixable. Under his tenure at the turn of with planks of wood, a Reuters reporter saw. The pro-Buhari alliance that Tinubu headed, the millennium and that of his successor But interviewed later, many of them said they Fifty years later: tracing the All Progressives Congress (APC), rallied Babatunde Fashola, a technocrat hand picked loved Tinubu since “he’s a man of the common elites around Buhari in the southwest, Nigeria’s by Tinubu, the city scrubbed up dramatically. people.” wealthiest region. That enabled Buhari to tackle Trash got collected, crime fell, trees were plant- A businessman close to him says although Che’s ‘failure’ in Congo a perception that his support lies only in the ed and traffic was better managed. “There were Tinubu runs a formidable business empire, he is dust-blown, largely Muslim north. The reli- refuse mountains around, tax collection was often short of cash because he gives so much BARAKA: “This is the story of a failure,” east of the Congo. giously mixed southwest had voted over- very low,” recalls Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, a for- away to oil the wheels of patronage. Yet Tinubu Marxist guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Che wanted to meet with rebel leader whelmingly for Jonathan in the 2011 race. So mer council leader under Tinubu. “But very may have less influence over Buhari than he Guevara wrote in his journal after a bid to Laurent-Desire Kabila, whom he had seen ‘The Jagaban’, an honorific title beloved of quickly he seemed to sort things out.” had hoped, argues Kayode Akindele, CEO of bring “revolutionary war” to the Congo 50 a few months earlier in Brazzaville, capital Tinubu’s supporters, could have much say in Gbadebo-Smith noticed an advantage consultancy 46 Parallels. “He didn’t really deliv- years ago. Che arrived secretly at the head of the neighboring former French Congo, what reform policies the new government will Tinubu has over other Nigerian “big men” is er in the southwest. It was only a slight lead,” he of a dozen Cuban fighters of black African but Kabila was travelling abroad. When he focus on, and who fills which cabinet posts. that you could disagree with him and he lis- said, compared to the absolute thumping origin on April 24, 1965, to join rebels in finally showed up on July 7 Kabila stayed “The party he led is half of the APC. He can ... tened, changing his mind when faced with a Jonathan received from voters in the largely what today is the Democratic Republic of only four days amid circumstances Che lay claim to that power,” said Clement good argument. He also sets high standards, Muslim north. “The APC, post-elections, is now Congo. Their aim was to make the heart of described as “organized chaos”. “The main Nwankwo of the Situation Room civil society says Lagos waste management head Ola very northern,” he added. That could limit any Africa a bulwark against neocolonialism flaw of the Congolese is that they don’t group. “Buhari will feel (an) ... obligation to him.” Oresanya, to whom Tinubu gave three months influence The Jagaban has-and replicate the and “Yankee imperialism”. Sent by Cuba’s know how to shoot,” Che wrote. Yet he was To supporters Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, is a wily to make a noticeable difference or be fired. “He north-south rivalry that divided Jonathan’s out- communist leader-and Washington’s arch- growing disillusioned, finding that Simba political operator with a passion for getting the likes to say ‘I promised I would do this, and I going party.—Reuters enemy-Fidel Castro, the expeditionary force forces lacked revolutionary fervor and disembarked in the east after crossing Lake practiced magic rituals they thought Tanganyika from Tanzania, then moved would make them invulnerable. onto the lakeside town of Baraka. They were also prone to flee heavy EU under pressure as horror “He came as a friend and a lover of revo- fighting. Their camps were full of women lution,” recalled Andre Shibunda, local and children and incongruous loud music branch leader of the main party behind in the jungle, where they drank, danced of migrant disaster emerges current President Joseph Kabila, son of a and sought food. Conditions were difficult. former rebel chief in the eastern moun- “In the camp, we’d share an ear of corn tains. The Argentine-born guerilla “spent a among 10 people,” former resistance mem- ROME: European governments were under mounting while with us in the forest, but he found ber Tabu Azizu said. “They told us the white pressure yesterday to act decisively on the Mediterranean that our leaders lacked political maturity man (Che) was going to help us and bring migrant crisis as harrowing details emerged of the fate of and he preferred to go,” Shibunda said of us more weapons,” said former rebel those who died in the worst tragedy to date. With the crisis Che’s seven-month adventure with the Floribert Milimba, an evangelical pastor set to be discussed at an emergency summit today, allega- Simba (“Lion” in Swahili) rebels in South who said Che’s arrival brought “much tions of callous disregard for Arab and African lives are Kivu province. hope”. Che “travelled round all the posi- pushing EU leaders to respond to a disaster in which 800 In “The African Dream: The Diaries of the tions” of Kabila’s resistance over a wide people are feared to have died in appalling circumstances Revolutionary War in the Congo”, Che area “to teach politics and army tactics,” off the coast of Libya on Sunday. The vast majority of those wrote that Baraka had “displayed traces of Shibunda recalled. on board were locked in the hold or the middle deck of the its former relative prosperity, including a 20-metre boat when it capsized following a collision with a cotton-baling machine, but everyone had ‘Revolutionary ideals’ Portuguese cargo ship responding to its distress signal. been ruined by the war and the little facto- “I was a simple soldier” in 1965, General Only 28, including two crew members who have been Lwendema Dunia, now in his 80s, says in a arrested, survived and 24 bodies have been recovered. ry was bombed out.” In five years after rushed independence from Belgium in hut in South Kivu’s capital Bukavu, recalling Pure terror 1960, the Congo endured successive con- how Che “taught us how to make a revolu- A Bangladeshi teenager who was among the survivors flicts, including a secession bid by the min- tion. He gave us military training and revealed there had been three classes of passengers on eral-rich southeastern province of Katanga. taught us politics.” But “once we started to board the perilously overcrowded vessel. “Those who had Independence leader and first elected take from the people and trample on revo- the least money were stuffed into the hold at the bottom, prime minister Patrice Lumumba sought lutionary ideals... they left,” he said. Castro and locked inside,” the teen, identified by his first name help from the United States, but tarnished had reinforced the Cuban contingent to Abdirizzak, told Corriere della Sera. “We were on the mid- his image in Washington’s eyes during a around 100 men, helping to win a few dle level and only those who paid more were above.” When disastrous visit. He then turned to the clashes, but Shibunda said government the first collision happened in pitch darkness, scenes of Soviet Union, making him a prime Cold soldiers were advancing. By October 1965, Che wrote to Castro: “It’s not really pure terror ensued, he said. “Everyone was screaming, AUGUSTA: Rescued migrants walk along the quayside after disembarking from the War target and though still held in high regard by many in his divided country-was weapons that are lacking here... Indeed, pushing, punching, elbowing-terrified. From below we Italian Navy vessel Bettica in the Sicilian harbor of Augusta yesterday. —AFP could hear those who were locked in shouting ‘Help, Help!’ assassinated in January 1961. The question there are too many armed men and what is “I don’t know how but somehow we managed to swim ‘Slave traders’ services of a Royal Navy warship for rescue efforts, accord- of direct US involvement is still being lacking are soldiers.” “When Che Guevara outside just in time before the boat went down.” Another The UN Security Council called overnight for a ing to a report in The Times. EU governments have already debated today. left, there was a great battle,” Shibunda Bangladeshi survivor told Britain’s Daily Telegraph the strengthened global response to migration and human agreed to double the resources available to a maritime adds. “We were almost routed.” migrant boat had hit the Portuguese container ship three trafficking, and the 15-member council voiced support for border patrol mission, but that has been attacked as too ‘Organised chaos’ Rebel positions fell one after another in the times. “People panicked-they all ran to the other side of the southern European countries struggling with the refugee little, too late by refugee and rights groups. Sunday’s disas- Washington needed the Congo. The face of a ground offensive and air raids by deck. That’s what tipped us over,” 17-year-old Riajul was influx. After a one-minute silence in parliament in memory ter was the worst in a series of migrant shipwrecks that uranium for the atomic bomb the US planes flown by Western mercenaries. Che quoted as saying. of the victims, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called on have claimed more than 1,750 lives this year - 30 times dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had come and his men finally left the eastern Congo on “Most of the other migrants were African and they did- his country’s European partners to help stabilize the coun- higher than the same period in 2014 - and nearly 5,000 from its mines. It was also a vital source of November 21. Three days later, General n’t know how to swim. I did and that’s why I survived. tries sending the flood of migrants into lawless Libya and since the start of last year. cobalt used in the weapons industry, since Joseph Mobutu seized power, to enjoy US Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Catania said Tuesday they onto boats for Europe. “Fighting people trafficking means If current trends continue, there could be 30,000 most of the rest of global resources lay backing even as he became a nepotistic believed the boat’s Tunisian captain was responsible for fighting the slave traders of the 21st century. It is not only a deaths at sea this year and Italy will have to process under Soviet soil. When Che arrived, the authoritarian steeped in corruption. He ruled steering mistakes and the reckless overcrowding which led question of security and terrorism-it is about human digni- 200,000 migrants landing on its soil, according to projec- young republic was still in upheaval. for nearly 32 years. Che was killed in Bolivia in to disaster. Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, will appear before a ty,” Renzi told deputies. European Commission president tions by aid workers. Italian officials believe there could be Katanga province was back in the fold but 1967. For his part, Kabila bided his time until judge on Friday along with crew member and Syrian Jean-Claude Juncker said Italy and other southern up to one million refugees from Syria, Eritrea and sub- the rebellion by the Simbas, who com- he ousted Mobutu in May 1997 in a rebellion national Mahmud Bikhit, 25, who was also arrested follow- European countries in the frontline of the crisis needed Saharan Africa already in Libya hoping to board boats. bined Lumumbists with Maoists, had bro- backed by neighboring Rwanda before they ing the catastrophe. more financial support. Australia has urged the EU to follow its example and send ken out the previous year. The rebels had fell out, starting a new war. Poverty and unrest Most of the survivors and the victims appear to have Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said the EU naval boats to turn the traffickers back. EU leaders will gained control of almost a third of the still dog the region. “Bring back Che Guevara been young men but the exact breakdown of the human should be looking at building massive refugee camps in today discuss ideas including trying to capture or destroy country, only to lose it by April 1965 — the and we’ll follow his ideas until Congo’s on its cargo may never be known as the wreck has sunk in one of North Africa to shelter would-be migrants and refugees. people-smuggling boats and a pilot scheme for the fast- month of Che’s arrival-when they were feet again and we have peace here,” former the deepest parts of the Mediterranean. British Prime Minister David Cameron is ready to offer the track return of migrants to their home countries. —AFP confined to two pockets in the centre and rebel Anna Binti Shabani said.—AFP INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Radioactive drone found on Japan PM office roof

TOKYO: A small drone bearing traces of appeared to be a camera and a plastic persed into the environment at radioactivity was found on the roof of the container attached, the spokesman said. Fukushima after nuclear reactors went Japanese prime minister’s office yesterday, Investigators detected very low levels of into meltdown in the aftermath of the apparently having been flown there, accord- radiation from the container, which was March 2011 tsunami. Aerial footage ing to police and the media. Staff at the offi- marked to indicate it contained radioac- showed dozens of police officers swarm- cial residence-known as “the Kantei”-discov- tive substances, Jiji Press and the ing over the roof and helipad of the mod- ered the 50-centimetre craft on top of the Mainichi Shimbun said. The radioactivity, ern, glass-facade Kantei, with the drone five-storey structure in central Tokyo mid- possibly from cesium, was too low to covered by a blue tarpaulin. The drone morning, according to a spokesman at the pose any risk to human health, said was later removed in a large plastic case. Tokyo Metropolitan Police. national broadcasater NHK. Investigators earlier suspected the The four-propeller drone had what Cesium was among the materials dis- machine was carrying a flare, but it later transpired this was a battery pack, reports said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is in Indonesia, works at the building during the day, and commutes from his own pri- vate home roughly 15 minutes away. The use of drones is becoming more common in Japan, particularly for aerial surveying, photography and video shoots. There are currently no legal restrictions on the use of drones, although chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said yesterday the gov- ernment was actively examining the issue. In January, a hobby drone crashed into the White House gardens, sparking a Secret Service investigation. The oper- ator was an intelligence agency employ- ee who lost control of his friend’s device. US prosecutors said they would not pur- sue criminal charges, while the Federal TOKYO: Investigators gather around a small drone covered with blue Aviation Administration has begun a sheets on the roof of Prime Minister Shizo Abe’s official residence in Tokyo review of the mishap for possible admin- yesterday. — AP istrative action. — AFP HK protest camp grows; political battle heats up

HONG KONG: With the battle over how several main roads were cleared away, his name as Kit, said: “I still don’t have Hong Kong chooses its next leader heat- but a handful remained on a street next peace of mind. I want to be here to help.” ing up once more, a protest tent village to the government complex. There are Protest leaders have warned of more next to government headquarters is now a growing number, with one pro- civil disobedience if the reform package is slowly growing. It is a small-scale echo democracy “tent census” Facebook page passed by Hong Kong’s legislature in the of the sprawling tent camps that para- giving the total as 140 compared to coming months. Hong said he was willing lyzed parts of the city towards the end dozens in December. to take to the streets again-he was a regu- of last year, with some protesters keen They are equipped with bookshelves, lar at the main Admiralty camp during to make their voices heard again before a water fountain and even a television the mass protests-but was worried future a key vote on the city’s political reform powered by a solar panel-reminiscent of demonstrations might take a more radi- package. The government yesterday the infrastructure of the major protest cal turn. “The peaceful rational ones are announced its roadmap for leadership camps which had everything from feeling powerless now-I worry future elections in 2017, sticking to restrictions showers and a gym to art installations. protests may be smaller but more vio- laid down by Beijing which rule that “It’s not over. Not at all. People are still lent,” he said. Others were reluctant to candidates must be vetted before a angry,” said protester Thomas Hong, 57, take part in another street occupation. public vote. who volunteers at the camp each day to “The government was not moved at all That decision by China’s National bring supplies. “We must do something despite such a large-scale campaign,” said People’s Congress last August sparked even though we are not sure what we student Ray So, 20, who was spending an 79 days of mass rallies and street block- can achieve,” he said, standing near a afternoon in a study area at the camp. “I ades which ended in December. poster which read: “Don’t forget the orig- am not sure if I will participate (in another Thousands of tents which had blocked inal purpose.” A 23-year-old, who gave round of Occupy).” — AFP

NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

A migrant Indian construction worker’s family rides in the bucket of an excavator on Earth Day in New Delhi yesterday. The world marks Earth Day on April 22 to increase awareness and to promote practices for the sustainability and protection of the Earth’s natural environment. —AP International drug gangs prey... Peace elusive for Yemen Continued from Page 1 that, unlike in Veloso’s case, many mules did indeed know they were carrying the drugs. “(But) they are forced to do overseas - many as maids, labourers and in other lowly it, otherwise they or their families in the Philippines will paid professions - because there are so few job opportu- be killed,” Martinez said. Coalition jets return to hit Houthis nities at home. With many coming from poor farming He cited the example of one man Migrante tried to areas and lacking in street smarts, they are easy pickings help after he travelled to Thailand for what he thought RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has declared nearly a month of Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” air strikes on Yemeni rebels a success, but at the cost of The Saudi defence ministry said Operation Decisive for international crime gangs on the hunt for drug mules, was legitimate work. “When he arrived in Thailand, he a resurgent Al-Qaeda and with no sign of peace yet. Storm had managed to “successfully remove threats to was offered money to bring drugs into China,” Martinez Martinez told AFP at a recent rally. “The ones who are vic- “Mission accomplished,” a Saudi newspaper proclaimed Saudi Arabia’s security and that of neighbouring coun- timised by the drug syndicates overseas are already often said. “When he refused, the syndicate called his family yesterday, echoing a banner on a US warship where tries” by destroying heavy weaponry and ballistic mis- the victims of illegal recruitment or maltreatment,” he back in the Philippines and he spoke to them. He was then-president George W. Bush infamously declared an siles seized by the Houthi Shiite rebels. Saudi-led war- said. “They are already vulnerable.” then asked: ‘Which one of them do you want to be killed end to major combat operations in Iraq in 2003. But, planes returned to action yesterday, in line with the The drug syndicates are generally run by Africans, first?’” like in Iraq, fighting raged on between rebels and forces coalition’s vow to carry out targeted strikes on Houthi according to Migrante and the Philippine Drug Cesar Veloso said the family, fearing retribution from loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who “movements and military operations” when necessary. Enforcement Agency. Five Filipinos have been executed his daughter’s recruiters, remained silent for many years, remains in exile in Riyadh, a day after the Saudi-led The goals of the campaign were not very clearly in China since 2011 for drug trafficking, foreign affairs but recently began its high-profile campaign in a last- coalition announced a halt to its air war. defined from the start, according to a diplomatic source spokesman Charles Jose told AFP. There are another 41 ditch bid to save her. The grandparents and young sons, “The air campaign had exhausted its potential,” and who did not want to be named. “I think they’ve set the currently on death row overseas, almost all in China and aged 12 and six, spend their days attending the rallies in with Riyadh’s allies like Pakistan unwilling or unable to bar pretty low with what they sort of wanted to Malaysia, and more than 800 others in jails abroad serv- Manila, hoping that publicising Veloso’s story may save provide ground forces, there were “few good options,” achieve” in the air campaign, the source said. “They ing lesser sentences for drug offences, he said. Jose said her from the firing squad. At the rallies, Veloso’s younger said the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy. It said want to end it now before they get too bogged down.” the government and police worked hard to educate son, Mark Darren, sings his mother’s favourite song, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Eight Saudi armed forces personnel were killed in skir- Filipinos heading overseas about the dangers of drug which they sang together when the family last saw her in Vladimir Putin had also “made clear that they favoured mishes along the Yemen border during Decisive Storm, gangs, and there were warnings at Philippine airports. prison in February. “Don’t lose hope. Happiness will a political solution” to the conflict. “All sides will have while the World Health Organization has said at least But the quick cash on offer is too tempting for some, come. Remember that there is always tomorrow,” he qui- been very conscious that the greatest beneficiary of the 944 people have died from fighting inside Yemen since according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. etly sang into a microphone. But with Indonesian chaos in Yemen was the more immediate enemy: Al- March 19.— AFP The gangs typically offer between $3,000 and $15,000 for President Joko Widodo seemingly determined to execute carrying drugs between countries aboard an airline, it Veloso and the other foreigners under his war on drugs, said in a factsheet sent to AFP. Martinez acknowledged happiness may not be what tomorrow brings. —AFP Assembly passes reforms to sports law Continued from Page 1 and electronic means. The law aims to resolve a major problem for notifying Top brass move towards joint force Liberal MP Faisal Al-Shaye said a majority of those who defendants about court hearings which is still being done Continued from Page 1 said there was a need to “fight terrorism,” adding that the manage sports in the country are not specialists and serve manually by employees. MPs said that in many cases, these force might intervene in internal conflicts. their own selfish interests. He held the government respon- employees don’t leave their offices and write that a certain Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has been “We cannot ignore internal conflicts and the growth sible over sports failures in the past few years. person’s address could not be located, which leads to pushing for the creation of the force since February, after of terrorist organizations in an Arab country, and it is MP Mohammad Tana said that “about 40 coaches have delaying settlement of important cases. been changed” of Kuwait’s national football team over the MPs described the amendment as highly important as it a video emerged showing IS executing a group of Coptic wrong to think that these conflicts have no direct or past several years, but the results remained well below will help resolve massive overload in notifications, as the Christians in neighboring Libya, prompting retaliatory indirect repercussions in other Arab countries,” he said. ambitions. The reason is that the officials have not been government said that employees are assigned 100,000 air strikes by Cairo. Egypt, the most populous Arab country, appears set to changed, he said. MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji charged that notifications ever month. MPs also approved an amend- The idea gained momentum after Saudi Arabia and become the backbone of the force. Cairo sees it as external interference takes place in the sports election to ment to the social security law to resolve problems faced its Arab allies launched air strikes on Iran-backed Shiite imperative to intervene in Libya against the local branch ensure no change is done. The Assembly however returned by employees who are sent into retirement and later win a Houthi rebels in Yemen. “The creation of a joint Arab of IS that is gaining ground in the country. IS has carried the part in the law that calls to implement the single-vote court order to reinstate them. The amendment resolves the force in no way aims to form a new alliance or army hos- out widespread atrocities in the region and won the sup- system in elections to the committee to rectify a procedur- salary and pension payments for such employees. In the tile to any country, but a force to fight terrorism and port of several other jihadist organizations. On Sunday it al flaw. The Assembly also voted to pass the so-called court past few months, a number of senior employees were rein- maintain security, peace and stability in the region,” released a video purportedly showing the execution of electronic notification under which court hearings’ dates stated by courts even after the government forced their Arabi said at the start of yesterday’s meeting. Hegazy about 30 Ethiopian Christians captured in Libya. — AFP and times and verdicts are informed through the Internet retirement. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 ANALYSIS

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Issues Tough Iran talk, but chances for nuke deal

By George Jahn

s Iran nuclear talks go into the home stretch, top officials in Tehran are digging in on posi- Ations that appear set to doom the negotia- tions to failure. But Iran seems ready to blink when it serves its negotiating strategy, which may bode well for a deal. The sides yesterday began negotiat- ing the last phases of a deal that would lift sanc- tions on Iran if it agrees to long-term curbs on its nuclear program. They wouldn’t have gotten there without compromises by both Washington and Tehran. For Iran, that has meant climbing down from Progress made by S African govt to end attacks positions it initially described as not negotiable. That strategy of tough talk first and concessions he following is a briefing to provide an message of peace and to ask their followers not to between two aggressive groupings at the on the people to refrain from any activities that later could be revived as negotiators work toward a update on the work that government is take part in violence. Durban CBD. We believe that their commitment may undermine peace, security and stability of June deadline. For now, the Iranians are insisting Tdoing to bring an end to violence, looting The Ministers also participated in the peace to duty has prevented injuries and even deaths our country. South Africa remains committed to on immediate sanctions relief while rejecting US and displacement directed at people from other march led by Premier Senzo Mchunu where thou- that could have happened if they security forces address some of the issues that have been raised demands for deeply intrusive monitoring to make countries who live in South Africa. sands of people marched to demonstrate their had not acted. by communities. sure Tehran hews to its obligations. opposition to the violence. Engagements are on- Our law enforcement officers on the ground South Africa is amongst one of the most Both demands go against commitments Government continues to going with religious leaders, cultural organisations are working very hard to ensure that those who diverse countries in the world, culturally and eco- Washington says Tehran has already made in the condemn the violence as well as civic structures to build a society-wide are involved in acts of violence are arrested, nomically. We celebrate our diversity. framework deal agreed to earlier this month - and We would like to start by reiterating the South front against the violence. charged and convicted. So far, 307 suspects have As the team of Ministers appointed by the both are potential deal breakers for a comprehen- African government’s condemnation of the callous been arrested in connections with attacks on for- President, the priority is to restore peace and acts of violent attacks and looting that have been Meeting with diplomats from eigners and public violence across the country. order within the country. Additionally, as Justice sive accord. But that doesn’t seem to impress the witnessed in the past week, particularly in KZN and other African countries Crime Prevention Security Cluster Ministers sup- Iranians. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali recently in Gauteng. The Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, Government condemns fear mongering ported by Minister of Small Business Khamenei, says all sanctions must be “lifted com- We once again unequivocally condemn the met with the representatives of the African coun- In the past few days, we have noted a new Development, Social Development as well as pletely, on the very first day of the deal” and has maiming and killing of our brothers and sisters tries. This was followed up by Minister of phenomenon of people who make use of social Trade and Industry, we have been tasked to declared that military sites are off limits “to foreign- from other parts of the continent. No amount of International Relations, Nkoana Maite Mashabane, media to instill fear in different parts of the coun- address the issues that seem to have caused ten- ers ... under the pretext of inspections”. Brig Gen frustration or anger can justify these attacks and meeting the members of the African diplomatic try. They have been sending out fictitious SMS sions within the community. South Africa Hossein Salami of the Revolutionary Guards warns looting of shops. South Africa fought against colo- community. This was to assure them of our com- and WhatsApp messages with fictitious and pho- remains a country that welcomes foreign nation- that anyone setting foot into an Iranian military nialism and Apartheid system alongside with our mitment to ensure peaceful co-existence between to-shopped images warning people of eminent als who contribute to the economic growth of the facility will be met with “hot lead” - a hail of bullets. fellow Africans from the continent and the world at South African citizens and people from other attacks. We would like to thank media who have country and the Continent. large. As a nation let us not forget the hospitality African nations who live in South Africa. During the been responsible in reporting the matter accu- To the countries that continue to invest in that was bestowed on us. The law enforcement Apartheid many South Africans fled persecution rately without sensationalism. South Africa, we want to re-assure them that Negotiating Tactic agencies will do whatever it takes to restore law and death at the hands of the Apartheid govern- These messages appear to be orchestrated by South Africa is a constitutional democracy gov- In fact, Iran must know that both positions are and order within our communities. Our actions ment. Africa opened its doors and became a home elements bent on taking advantage of the unease erned by laws. Investors are welcome to do busi- untenable, suggesting it is again pushing the enve- have gone beyond condemnations. We have taken away from home for many South Africans. The in communities and instil fear amongst the peo- ness in South Africa. Everything is being done to lope as a negotiating tactic. US President Barack critical interventions which we will share with you. Diplomatic Community has been assured of our ple. Government re-iterates its resolve to stamp restore peace and order. Government will Obama can lift sanctions imposed through execu- commitment to resolve the tensions and to contin- all acts that seek to plunge our country into anar- enforce the laws of the country and will not hesi- tive orders but cannot instantly end others passed President Zuma hands-on ue to build our relations with Africa. chy. tate to act speedily and decisively on any criminal by Congress, let alone foreign countries. There’s in dealing with attacks The misinformation that has been happening activity committed by or against a foreign nation- also an apparent disconnect between the limits President Zuma appointed the Ministers of Social Development, Reintegration, in the social media should be condemned by all al or citizen of South Africa or those found to laid down by Khamenei and Salami on verification State Security, Home Affairs and Police to spear- Health and Humanitarian Services peace loving South Africans and foreign nationals incite violence. of Iran’s commitments and what the Iranians have head the government response to the violence. The Department of Social Development has living in our country. Government calls on those The team was further strengthened when the provided food, shelter and other necessities to at who are involved in such acts to stop it. Everyone Stern warning to instigators and those who previously said they would allow. President tasked the whole JCPS Cluster as well as least 1026 displaced persons in shelters in both should exercise their right to enjoy their normal, participate A fact sheet published by Tehran earlier this the Ministers of DIRCO, Small Businesses, Trade and Gauteng and KZN. Trauma counselling and debrief- everyday freedoms. Our security agencies are on We also want to issue a stern warning to those month has it agreeing to implement the Additional Industry and Social Development. ing services are being provided to individuals on the ground and there will be no bus or train of who lend themselves to acts of public violence. Protocol, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s To demonstrate the serious nature with which site at the shelters. Specialised services to children any kind coming to attack them. We will find you and you will be dealt with to the most potent monitoring instrument. Such an our government views the violence against foreign in need of care and protection, including Early As the government, we remain alert. Any full might of the law. You will be arrested and sen- agreement would give that UN agency the right to nationals, President Jacob Zuma has cancelled his Childhood Development Programmes are being credible information that suggests an eminent tenced accordingly. We warn especially young push hard to probe any sites it suspects may be visit to Indonesia. Yesterday the president visited provided in Isipingo and Chatsworth. threat against any community, South Africans will people as having a criminal record can disrupt hiding nuclear activity - military installations displaced foreign nationals in Chatsworth to assure Government is working closely with civil socie- be officially advised by the relevant authorities. their lives. included. All of which leaves Tehran with two them of our support as government of South ty to provide all possible support to the displaced We would not communicate through WhatsApp We urge people with information on plans to options - tone down expectations or walk away Africa. The President also engaged with the Umlazi as they await reintegration back into their commu- messages and anonymous SMSs. cause violence or those who have witnessed acts community to spread the message of peace and nities. Social Development, COGTA and of violence, to contact one of the operational cen- from the table. But abandoning the talks is unlikely, tolerance. He will, in the next week, lead a stake- Community Safety are facilitating Community Security agencies up to the task tres, either in the relevant province or at national even if Iran dismisses as a bluff the latent threat of holder outreach program around the country to Dialogues in areas such as Umlazi and Chatsworth The National Joint Operational Centre level. US or Israeli military strikes should negotiations fail. engage communities to start a conversation within to ensure a smooth reintegration process. (NATJOC) continues to operate on a 24-hour basis Finally, we would like the overwhelming sup- The current leadership needs an end to sanc- our society. We would like to thank the non-governmental to coordinate the government-wide response to port of South Africans who have stood as true tions. Mass outbreaks of public joy greeted nego- organisations who continue to provide food to the this situation. Provincial Joint Operational South African ambassadors and reflected the tiators as they returned home with the framework On-going engagements to end violence displaced persons in areas like Isipingo, Chatsworth Structures (PROVJOCS) have also been activated South African spirit of Ubuntu. In various parts of agreement in their pockets earlier this month. Government re-iterates that attacks on any fel- and Greenwood Park. Government continues to to monitor and curb any potential threats across the country, community members have stood in Failure now would lead to economic gloom and low human beings and destruction of property as work closely with foreign missions in South Africa the 9 provinces of the country. We are constantly defence of foreign nationals living amongst them. the possible threat of social instability. Iran instead well as looting are criminal offences and will not be to ensure that displaced persons receive all possi- reviewing our security arrangements, assessing We have also noted messages of support, con- is likely to return to the script it used to reach the tolerated. As a team of Ministers assigned by ble support. the current environment and determining what demnation and solidarity on social media. This President Zuma we have been working closely additional measures may be required. At this provides testimony that the overwhelming major- framework agreement that opened the way to the with the KZN Provincial Government to arrest the Perpetrators are being arrested, point, we are satisfied that the security measures ity of South Africans are against the violent present talks. Iranian officials initially pledged that violence. We have in the past week been involved charged and prosecuted that are currently in place are sufficient to bring attacks against our brother and sisters from other not a single piece of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in numerous stakeholder engagements in the We would to take this opportunity to com- the situation under control. African countries. would be dismantled - but then agreed to halve communities affected. Meetings have been held mend members of the law enforcement agencies Government appeals to the leaders of various NOTE: This report was provided by the South the number of machines that could be turned to with church leaders to appeal to them to preach a who acted decisively to prevent bloodshed sectors of our society to echo government’s call African Embassy in Kuwait making nuclear arms. They also committed to restrictions not for the few years they originally demanded but for over a decade. Afghans deported to home they barely know In the end, Iran met the Americans in the mid- dle, and that is increasing hopes even among skep- By Lynne O’Donnell President Hassan Rouhani told him that the issue of Afghans in Iran Graydon, said up to 10 percent of the returnees from Iran are vulnera- tics that it will do so again now. Former US negotia- “must be settled.” Rouhani said Afghans living in Iran would be regis- ble minors, girls and boys between 13 and 17 years old who could fall tor Gary Samore says he thought Khamenei “was ajigul Haidary had overstayed her residents’ visa in Iran and was tered “so that the government can make appropriate decisions about prey to traffickers, as well as mentally and physically disabled people, serious about his red lines”. Now, he says, “I see he’s expecting just a hefty fine when she went to renew it, she said. them”. “Individuals who want to carry out business activities or study women traveling alone or single mothers. But neither IOM nor the not. “The Iranian incentive to get sanctions relief is TInstead, she was arrested as an illegal immigrant, imprisoned, need to do so under legal requirements of obtaining visas,” Rouhani Afghan authorities can offer help to all those who need it. held in a transit center with hundreds of other Afghans and, early this told journalists after the talks. Millions fled from Afghanistan to its He said there has to be a concerted effort from humanitarian agen- so strong that he is prepared to sacrifice or accept week, deported at a dusty border point back to Afghanistan. It’s a neighbors Iran and Pakistan during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation cies and the Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani governments to find a long- limits on his nuclear program.” —AP homeland that she hardly knows. Her family took her to Iran when she of Afghanistan or after the Taleban came to power in 1996 - creating term solution to their situation “so people won’t get caught in the was nine years old. Now 26 years old, she is married to another Afghan one of the world’s largest and longest refugee situations. Both Iran and cycle of deportation, exploitation and issues such as that.” Traffic at in Iran, has a 4-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter and is five Pakistan have been pressing for them to leave, and in the past 12 Zero Point, 115 km west of the provincial capital of Herat, is mostly one months pregnant. When she was deported, she was wrested away years, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has helped repatriate some 5.8 way - people coming out of Iran, willingly or not, along with trucks All articles appearing on these from them. million Afghans who voluntarily agreed to return home. loaded with concrete, steel and fuel being imported. The trucks mostly “My husband tried his best to get me out but they wouldn’t listen return to Iran empty since Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest pages are the personal opinion of to him. My children cried, but it made no difference. I don’t know what Willing Returnees countries, offers little to export besides its desperate people. the writers. Kuwait Times takes no to do. I have to get back,” she said, tugging at the voluminous black But the number of willing returnees is dwindling. At the same time, responsibility for views expressed chador warn by many Iranian women, as she sat on a plastic chair in a Afghans slip constantly into Iran looking for work in their better-off Understaffed shed at the Islam Qala border crossing. Around 25,000 Afghans a neighbor. Throughout Iran, Afghans fill menial jobs like construction “At 2 o’clock every afternoon, about 30 buses arrive carrying about therein. Kuwait Times invites read- month are deported from Iran at Islam Qala - nicknamed “Zero Point” - and some have lived in the country for years. As a result, there are not 500 returnees. We do a random sampling, checking that they are who ers to voice their opinions. Please along with another 30,000 a month who cross returning home volun- only around 950,000 registered Afghan refugees in Iran with legal sta- they say they are, and record their biometric details,” Maj. Abdul Rafah send submissions via email to: opin- tarily - a sign of Tehran’s efforts to control the huge numbers of tus but 1 million to 1.4 million undocumented Afghans, according to Watander, head of the Afghan border police at Islam Qala, told AP. Afghans who flock to their neighbor. Iran has long been an outlet for estimates by the International Organization for Migration. In Pakistan, Among those being deported are sometimes Afghans who had legiti- [email protected] or via snail Afghans, either searching for work to escape poverty or seeking refuge there are some 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees and an estimat- mate visas in Iran but were arrested and expelled for no apparent rea- mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. from their country’s chronic wars and instability. ed 1.5 million undocumented ones. son, he said. The border guards try to sift out criminals or people with The editor reserves the right to edit Many Afghans are concerned that Iran is looking to shut off that Iran appears to be taking whatever chance it can to deport special needs who need care among the crowds, but with limited staff any submission as necessary. outlet by clamping down even more on illegal migrants. During a visit Afghans without documented status or unregistered as refugees with they can only check about 100 people a day, while the others just go by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Tehran on Sunday, Iranian the UNHCR. IOM’s communications director in Afghanistan, Matthew through, Watander said. —AP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 SPORTS

Referee misses handball, Dennis rejects offer to Finch sidelined for three Scottish FA ban player join exodus to Europe months after surgery LONDON: A Scottish FA ruling that is likely to see a player banned from the SYDNEY: New South Wales Waratahs captain Dave Dennis has reject- SYDNEY: Australia’s World Cup winning batsman Aaron Finch has had sur- Scottish Cup final for a handball the referee missed is wrong and could set a ed offers to join the exodus to Europe next season and signed up for gery on his left hamstring and will be sidelined for up to three months, dangerous precedent, FIFA’s referee chief Jim Boyce told Reuters yesterday. two more years in Australian rugby. Cricket Australia said yesterday. Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender Josh Meekings handled the ball The versatile forward, who has played 18 times for the Wallabies, The pugnacious opener, captain of Australia’s Twenty20 team, sustained with the score at 1-0 during Sunday’s semi-final against Celtic which will remain at the Waratahs until the end of the 2017 season, the team the injury playing in India and returned to Melbourne to have the operation confirmed yesterday. Inverness won 3-2 to reach the final for the first time. on Tuesday. “Aaron had scans that confirmed a high grade ham- Referee Steven McLean and his assistants all missed the The 29-year-old, a blindside flanker who can provide cover across the back five of the scrum, missed the Waratahs’ Super Rugby triumph string injury,” team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a incident, but the Scottish FA’s compliance officer Tony news release. McGlennan issued a “notice of complaint” following an last year because of injury. He is hoping to lead the side to a successful title defence this sea- “As such, Aaron was assessed by a surgeon who felt that he appeal by Celtic on Monday. The Scottish FA offered would have a better outcome with surgery. Aaron subsequent- Meekings and Inverness a one match ban to be served son and his retention is a major boost to Daryl Gibson, who will ly had surgery yesterday that has gone well. in the final, which the club have rejected. replace Michael Cheika when the Wallabies coach gives up his dual They have appealed against the notice and a hearing role at the end of the year. Dennis might consider he has every chance “Aaron will now commence his rehabilitation and we expect has been convened for today. of reviving his test career given the amount of talent heading north that rehabilitation to take up to 12 weeks.” Finch has never However, Boyce, Britain’s FIFA vice-presi- after the Sept. 18-Oct. 31 World Cup. played test cricket and was not included in the dent and the head of FIFA’s refereeing Australian rugby will lose Wallabies Will Genia, Adam Ashley- Australia squad for June’s series in West Indies or committee, said he was totally Cooper, Nic White, Peter Betham, Sekope Kepu and James Horwill to the Ashes tour which follows. The 28-year-old was opposed to the intervention by the European clubs and Quade Cooper is reported to be on the verge of scheduled to join English county Yorkshire at the compliance officer. —Reuters signing for French club Toulon. —Reuters end of May. — Reuters Blackhawks defeat Predators

CHICAGO: Brent Seabrook scored on a postseason shutout, and Pavel Datsyuk, Riley booming slap shot 1 minute into the third Sheahan and Luke Glendening scored for overtime, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit in a victory over Tampa Bay that gave the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Tuesday night the Red Wings a 2-1 lead in their playoff in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. series. The 23-year-old Mrazek was coach Seabrook’s long drive beat a screened Pekka Mike Babcock’s choice to start in this series Rinne on the 100th shot of the longest game instead of Jimmy Howard, and the youngster in Nashville history. Rookie Scott Darling has acquitted himself well in his postseason made 50 saves for Chicago. debut. He made 44 saves in a 3-2 victory in The Blackhawks grabbed a 3-1 series lead the opener, and although he was pulled after and can close out the Predators with a win in two periods in a 5-1 loss the following game, Nashville tonight. Colin Wilson and James Mrazek bounced back nicely at home. Neal scored for Nashville, which carried a 2-1 After being outshot badly in the first two lead into the third period. Rinne finished with games at Tampa Bay, the Red Wings were able 45 stops. The first overtime featured a memo- to contain the high-scoring Lightning on rable duel between Rinne, who found some Tuesday in a tightly contested matchup. of the magic he had during Nashville’s strong start to the season, and Darling, who was FLAMES 3, CANUCKS 1 making his second career postseason start. Jiri Hudler had a goal and an assist and Calgary earned a win over Vancouver. CAPITALS 2, ISLANDERS 1 Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau scored his first Nicklas Backstrom scored 11:09 into over- playoff goal and 18-year-old rookie Sam time to lift Washington to victory, and even Bennett had his second in as many games. its first-round playoff series against the New Dennis Wideman had a pair of assists for the York Islanders. Flames, who split the first two games of the Alex Ovechkin also scored and assisted on series in Vancouver before back-to-back wins the decisive goal, which came off a faceoff to at home. Goaltender Jonas Hiller made 28 the right of the Islanders net. Backstrom dug saves for the win. Captain Henrik Sedin the puck out in the right corner and worked scored for the Canucks. Starter Eddie Lack his way up the boards. He snapped a shot was pulled after giving up three goals on sev- near the blue line that went through a crowd en shots in the first period. Ryan Miller turned and sneaked inside the far post. Casey Cizikas away the 15 he faced in relief. Calgary leads scored for the Islanders as the series shifts to the Western Conference series 3-1. Washington for Game 5 today. The Flames head to Vancouver with the chance to win the series in today’s Game 5 RED WINGS 3, LIGHTNING 0 and move past the first round for the first Petr Mrazek made 22 saves for his first time since 2004. — AP

CHICAGO: Nashville Predators center Colin Wilson (33) watches his deflection of a shot by teammate Ryan Ellis, score past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling, as Johnny Oduya (27) watches during the first period in Game 4 of an NHL Western Conference hockey playoff series. — AP Olympic sports leaders praise Rio for getting back on track SOCHI: A year after blasting organizers for are very, very happy to come back in 2016 for delays, leaders of summer Olympic sports the Olympics, thank you,” he said. praised Brazil yesterday for getting prepara- Earlier this week, International Fencing tions back on track for next year’s games in Federation president Alisher Usmanov told Rio de Janeiro. The Associated Press that “everything is going Rio organizers were sharply criticized for according to plan” in Rio. severe construction holdups and political “There are no incidents or issues that you wrangling when they appeared before the have to worry about,” he said. Addressing TORONTO: Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) makes a jump shot over Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) during the second half in Association of Summer Olympic International ASOIF, Rio’s organizers said that they had Game 2 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs. — AP Federations at their meeting in Turkey in April received 2 million ticket requests from the 2015. On Wednesday, the reception at ASOIF’s Brazilian public with 16 months to go until the general assembly in Sochi was markedly dif- games. They also said the Olympic golf course ferent as president Francesco Ricci Bitti said was now back on track to host a key test Wizards lead Raptors “the situation is totally changed,” with venue event and would be completed in November. plans back on schedule. However, other problems remain, most “Not everything will be perfect, but it is notably polluted outdoor venues. So far this TORONTO: John Wall had 26 points and 17 Patterson had 15 and Amir Johnson added 10 bench outscored Cleveland’s 51-7. Game 3 is always like that,” the Italian said. “I think the year, there have been mass fish die-offs at the assists, Bradley Beal scored 28 points and for Toronto, which has won just one playoff tonight in Boston. games is a huge effort. The progress is signifi- bay to be used for sailing and at the rowing Washington beat Toronto 117-106 on Tuesday series in six previous postseason appearances. cant. I am very optimistic about these games. lake, where more than 37 tons of dead fish night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round play- ROCKETS 111, MAVERICKS 99 It will be a special games.” were removed last week. off series. CAVALIERS 99, CELTICS 91 Dwight Howard scored 28 points and James Ricci Bitti, who heads the International Separately yesterday, ASOIF passed a Marcin Gortat scored 16 points, Otto Porter LeBron James scored 30 points, Kyrie Irving Harden added 24 to help Houston coast to a 2-0 Tennis Federation, said organizers had majority vote agreeing with the revenue dis- had 15 and Paul Pierce added 10 for the Wizards, added 26 and Cleveland finally shook off Boston lead in the Western Conference playoff series. “worked very hard” to rectify problems. tribution plans for the Rio Games, which has who host Game 3 tomorrow night. in the fourth quarter to take a 2-0 lead in their Howard and Josh Smith dominated early in ASOIF’s criticism last year pushed the Brazilian track and field’s IAAF joined in the top rev- Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 10 opening-round series. the fourth quarter to help the Rockets pull away. government to offer more help to Olympic enue group for the first time by gymnastics rebounds and Sixth Man Award winner Lou James scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, The Mavericks scored the first four points of the organizers after providing only “light support” and swimming. The sports split hundreds of Williams scored 20 points for the Raptors, who moved past Hall of Famer Jerry West on the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead. But previously, Ricci Bitti said. millions of dollars generated from television have lost four straight playoff games over the career playoff scoring list and made sure the with Harden on the bench, Houston scored the His comments were echoed by Walter rights and other deals. The federations voted past two seasons. Cavs didn’t slip up at home. He and Irving com- next 11 points, powered by three alley-oop pass- Gagg of FIFA, standing in for the absent presi- 23-1 in favor of the split, with handball the Washington lost 15 of its final 19 regular sea- bined for all of Cleveland’s 24 points in the final es from Smith to Howard, to take a 92-84 lead dent Sepp Blatter. Gagg said last year’s World only one to oppose. Four federations son road games, but has won seven of eight period. with about 8 minutes left. Smith finished with 15 Cup in Brazil, another event which was abstained, including the IAAF. ASOIF also vot- dogged by delays but passed off relatively ed 26-1 not to review the revenue groups away from home in the playoffs over the past Timofey Mozgov added 16 points and Tristan points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Monta successfully, had increased confidence. “We after the Rio Olympics. — AP two years. Thompson had 11 rebounds for Cleveland. Isaiah Ellis had 24 points for Dallas, which hosts Game DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points, Patrick Thomas scored 22 points for the Celtics, whose 3 on Friday night. — AP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 SPORTS

Kuwait trounce Malaysia in Challenge Cup

By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Kuwait ice hockey team snatched a tough 1-0 win against its Malaysian coun- terpart in its third match of the Asian Ice Hockey Challenge Cup being held at the skating rink. Kuwait continued to lead the tournament after three rounds. The valuable winning goal was scored by Ahmad Al-Ajmi in the middle of the third round following a long shot as Kuwait players previously wasted many scoring

chances, as the Malaysian team gave its He said following Kuwait’s encounter best performance especially in defence with Malaysia, Kuwait can win the tourna- and relied on counter attacking and was ment following its performance in the close to scoring. matches it played so far, despite the tough In the second match Singapore defeat- win against Malaysia. He said that the ed India 13-0, as they controlled the entire improvement of Kuwait’s level is evidence match with their experience. Kyrgyzstan on the distinguished work of the club in had its second win against Oman with the preparing the team for the tournament by score of 7-3 in a strong performance by the holding long training camps. Kyrgyz team handing Oman its first loss. Meanwhile player Ahmad Al-Ajmi said Honorary president of KWGC Sheikh he was very happy for scoring the winning Bandar Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that the organiz- goal for Kuwait which enabled the team to ing committee succeeded in organizing all go past a big hurdle towards the title. He aspects of the game as officials of the said the Malaysian team played a very Asian and international federations have good defence. Al-Ajmi was selected as the testified. best player of the match.

Preview Bournemouth’s top-flight dream close to reality Sevilla’s road to Warsaw LONDON: There is an old joke in from the first day to this,” he said after their Bournemouth that when the local council 2-2 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday offered free bus passes to residents under on Saturday. must go through Russia 21 only seven people applied-everyone “They’ve given everything. They are the else who lives in the English south-coast most professional side I’ve worked with resort is too old. and the most talented. The boys have done PARIS: Sevilla put their Europa Sevilla and the Sevilla fans like a lot.” For much of their 116-year existence, us proud so far and they’ve just got two League crown on the line today Fiorentina, the 1990 finalists, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, still more games to finish it off. with a treacherous trip to Zenit St picked up a priceless injury-time their official title under the trading name “We can only look forward with real Petersburg, while two of the other equaliser in their first-leg tie to earn AFC Bournemouth, have reflected the per- excitement and enthusiasm for what are quarter-finals remain on a knife- a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kiev. ception of the town as a nice place for a going to be two massive games for this edge but Napoli are all but qualified The Italians, sixth in Serie A, will quiet retirement or a weekend beside the football club, the biggest in the club’s histo- after routing Wolfsburg last week. be hoping the match doesn’t go to sea. One statistic which perfectly sums up ry. “We’ve been involved in this titanic bat- Sevilla often save their best foot- penalities after they missed their their sleepy image is that from 1923, the tle at the top of the division all season. ball for Europe’s second-tier compe- fourth straight spot-kick of the sea- year they they were elected to the Football Everyone is fighting for the same prize and tition, having lifted the trophy in son on Monday in the 1-0 home League as a Third Division club, until 1970, we hope we can win promotion again.” 2006 and 2007, as well as last year defeat to Verona. when they finally went down, they were when they defeated Benfica on No team in the top five European neither promoted nor relegated. Until the BIG WINS penalities. leagues (England, Spain, Italy, last two seasons, any impact they have had In October, Bournemouth set their They carry a 2-1 first leg lead into Germany, France) have ever set on the English game has largely been con- record league victory when they won 8-0 at their 4,500km trek to the Baltic after such an unwanted record. fined to the FA Cup. In 1971 Ted Birmingham City and they have also late goals from Carlos Bacca and Rafa Benitez’s Napoli are firmly MacDougall scored nine goals in an 11-0 thrashed Blackpool 6-1 and Fulham 5-1 Denis Suarez overturned a first-half on track for the semi-finals after a win over Margate-still a record individual away and Cardiff City 5-3 at home in the opener from Zenit’s Alexander brace from captain Marek Hamsik tally for the competition. Championship and beat Rotherham 5-1 Ryazantsev.But coach Andre Villas- paved the way for a surprise 4-1 win Then in January 1984 their young man- away in the FA Cup. The goals have flowed Boas expects the home crowd and over Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in ager Harry Redknapp guided Bournmeouth from strikers Callum Wilson (22), Yann his league leaders to make it a diffi- Germany. Benitez is chasing a third to a 2-0 win over the holders Manchester Kermorgant (17) and Brett Pitman (14) cult night for their visitors. “What trophy in the competition, with his United, still their most famous victory. while the midfield has contributed 44 can really help us is the support of third different club, after guiding But this season they have been making goals, including 12 from Matt Ritchie. the stadium,” said the former Valencia (2004) and Chelsea (2013) headlines almost every week as they race Redknapp, who led the Cherries to pro- Tottenham handler. to victory. towards a place in the Premier League. motion from the third tier in 1987 before “The atmosphere that the fans The latter, clinched with a 2-1 embarking on an illustrious career that saw are going to create can really win over Benfica in the final in FIRST TIME him take charge of London clubs West Ham encourage the team.” added the 37- Amsterdam, was one of his final Under another young manager, Eddie United and Tottenham Hotspur among oth- year-old Portuguese coach, who matches in charge of the Howe, a former player, in his second spell in ers, still lives in the area and is delighted. won the competition with Porto, Londoners, and he faces a similar charge at Dean Court, the Cherries are Redknapp, now 68, made Howe his first when they beat Braga 1-0 in 2011. scenario this season with expecta- pushing for promotion to the top flight for signing for Portsmouth when he was man- Zenit, who became the first Russian tions high that he will leave in the the first time. If they make it, as seems like- ager at Fratton Park in 2002, and he told team to win the competition when summer even if Napoli lift the tro- ly, it will complete one of the most remark- the BBC: “I had 10 years at Bournemouth they defeated Rangers 2-0 in 2008, phy. Belgian outsiders Club Brugge, able transformations by any club in recent and was the most successful manager in will be boosted by the return of seeking their first European trophy, times. Seven years ago their very existence their 100-year history. captain Miguel Danny, star striker forced a 0-0 draw at home to was in doubt. “Eddie Howe has come along and blown Hulk as well as defenders Domenico Dnipro of Ukraine in their first leg. Mired in debt, they were placed in me out of the water. He is fantastic-I love Criscito and Igor Smolnikov, who all Brugge are the only unbeaten administration and going nowhere in watching them play. If I wasn’t involved sat out the match in Spain through team left in the tournament, having League Two, the English game’s bottom next year, I’d buy a couple of season tickets suspension. won 11 and drawn four, while tier. They are within touching distance of a and watch them every week.” On the down side, Ryazantsev is Dnipro have tasted defeat four third promotion in six seasons with their He told Talksport: “I’ve been going along now suspended as is Argentine times, although they have won their success built on a flowing attacking game to watch them with my grandchildren and I defender Ezequiel Garay after both last three home matches without UKRAINE: Club Brugge’s Belgian defender Laurens De Bock Sutter that has produced a club record 109 goals love the football they’ve been playing. I picked up first-leg bookings. “We conceding a goal. takes part in a training session in Kiev on the eve of the UEFA Europa in all competitions, with Howe, architect of hope they go up.” have to score,” said Ryazantsev. Dnipro have never gone past League second leg quarter-final football match against Dnipro these achievements, still only Bournemouth, who are second in the “Sevilla showed that they’re really the quarter-finals of a European Dnipropetrovsk. — AFP He first took over as player-coach when Championship standings a point behind dangerous on the counter-attacks competition while Brugge’s best he was 29 before becoming the club’s per- Watford, will do that if they beat Bolton but I think that in St Petersburg they important equaliser in the first times, there is a lot of excitement continental showing was reaching manent manager in 2009. After moving to Wanderers next Monday and Charlton will play a little bit different football. match, feels Sevilla’s love for the about playing in this tournament,” the 1992 Cup Winners’ Cup semi- Burnley in January 2011 Howe returned as Athletic in their last match on May 2. If they “Zenit will also change their style. competition could have a bearing he told Uefa.com. finals when they went out at the boss in October 2012 and neither he nor are promoted the party that follows is likely We will have to attack but we can’t on the outcome. “But we don’t want to just play in hands of Werder Bremen. The semi- Bournemouth have looked back since. to keep the whole town up all night and forget about defending. We have to it - we want to become champions. final draw takes place on Friday “The players have been magnificent not just the youngsters. — Reuters be very careful.” PRICELESS It’s not easy, we know that, but the with the final scheduled for Bacca, who grabbed the all- “With Sevilla having won it three Europa League is a competition that Warsaw on May 27. — AFP Montreal seek history in CONCACAF Champions League

MEXICO: Major League Soccer’s Montreal A crowd of about 100,000 is expected at “But you just have to have fun with it. It is a Monterrey in 2011. Every other final has been San Lorenzo team who won the Copa Impact are seeking to end Mexico’s strangle- the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and the once in a lifetime thing and we know we have an all-Mexican affair with Cruz Azul beating Libertadores last year. hold on the CONCACAF Champions League home side start as clear favorites. But in a good team. We can’t be afraid of them.” Toluca in last year’s final, marking the ninth America have been inconsistent of late and when they take on Club America in the first defeating Mexicans Pachuca in the quarter- The L.A. Galaxy (2000) and D.C United consecutive success for a Mexican club. on Saturday suffered a 4-0 home defeat in Liga leg of the tournament’s final late yesterday. finals and surviving a hostile atmosphere on (1998) are the only MLS teams have ever America possess a dangerous strike pairing MX by Ronaldinho’s Queretaro. Victory over the current Mexican champi- the road in Costa Rica against Alajuelense in become CONCACAF champions, and that was of Mexican international Oribe Peralta and “Defeats are always painful but this came at ons and five-times CONCACAF champions the semi-final, Montreal have shown they can back when the tournament was the knockout Argentine Dario Benedetto, who scored four a good time,” said coach Gustavo Matosas. “We would make Montreal the first Canadian team handle pressure. CONCACAF Champions Cup. times in the 6-0 crushing of Costa Rica’s can avenge this loss on Wednesday but we to win the competition and the first team from “We know the crowd will be amazing and Since the switch to the Champions League Herediano in the semi-final second leg. must lift ourselves quickly to get ready for an MLS to raise the trophy since the current for- the atmosphere will be epic,” said Montreal’s structure only one MLS team has reached the Montreal have a little Argentine flair of their important final,” he added. The return leg will mat was introduced in 2008. Ghanian midfielder Dominic Oduro. final with Real Salt Lake losing to Mexico’s own in midfielder Ignacio Piatti, part of the be played in Montreal on April 29. — Reuters THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 SPORTS Mets pound Braves, Royals roll

NEW YORK: Catcher Kevin Plawecki made an Iglesias for his fifth save. Kyle Lobstein (1-1) yielded impressive big league debut, contributing with his one run and three hits in six innings. Four Tigers bat and glove as the banged-up New York Mets relievers combined to allow three runs in the sev- won their ninth straight by beating the Atlanta enth, letting the Yankees pull away. Braves 7-1 Tuesday night. The Mets extended their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2008. GIANTS 6, DODGERS 2 The team record is 11 in a row, last done in 1990. Tim Lincecum shut down the first-place Dodgers Curtis Granderson drove in four runs and with some sparkling double-play defense behind Jonathon Niese (2-0) pitched shutout ball into the him, and the San Francisco Giants came out of their seventh inning, helping the Mets stretch the best first day off seemingly refreshed. home start in club history to 8-0 at Citi Field. Justin Maxwell hit a two-run homer in the A highly regarded prospect, Plawecki got two eighth inning and San Francisco won for just the hits, scored twice and threw out a runner trying to second time in 11 games behind Lincecum’s first advance on a ball in the dirt. victory in three starts, snapping the defending divi- Plawecki was promoted from Triple-A earlier in sion champion Dodgers’ seven-game winning the day to replace catcher Travis d’Arnaud, out for at streak. Nori Aoki, Brandon Crawford and Buster least three weeks after breaking a finger when he Posey hit RBI singles for the Giants, who turned four was hit by a pitch Sunday. double plays for Lincecum (1-1) including in the first two innings. The two-time NL Cy Young Award win- ROYALS 6, TWINS 5 ner struck out five in six innings, allowing five hits Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer, then drove and one run with three walks. in the go-ahead run with a single in the eighth inning, as the Kansas City Royals rallied over the CUBS 9, PIRATES 8 Minnesota Twins. The Royals trailed 5-3 in the sixth Starlin Castro went 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs, including when Christian Colon started their comeback with a game-tying two-run single in the ninth, and the an RBI double. Colon added a run-scoring ground- Chicago Cubs rallied for the win. out off Casey Fien (0-1) in the eighth to knot the Wellington Castillo followed Castro’s big hit with game, and Moustakas fileted a single to left off Glen an RBI groundout off Pittsburgh closer Mark LOS ANGELES: Angels’ CJ Cron (left) looks to home plate umpire Marty Foster (center) for the call after sliding in safely at home under the Perkins to take the lead. Melancon (0-1) as Chicago overcame a late three- tag of Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley on a single by Johnny Giavotella during the sixth inning. — AP Chris Young (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings run deficit to win for the third time in four games. in four innings for Milwaukee, which lost its seventh earned - and eight hits, striking out six in six PADRES 7, ROCKIES 6 in relief of struggling starter Jason Vargas, and Wade Edwin Jackson (1-0) picked up the victory in relief. straight. The Brewers have the worst record in the innings. The slumping Marlins lost their fifth Derek Norris hit a tiebreaking, two-run double Davis breezed through the ninth for his third save of Hector Rondon worked a perfect ninth for his majors at 2-12. For a change, the offense wasn’t the straight game, falling to 3-11. Manager Mike in the eighth inning and the San Diego Padres ral- the season. third save. Chicago rookie Addison Russell went 0 main problem for the Brewers. Elian Herrera hit a Redmond didn’t get an endorsement from owner lied. Clint Barmes homered and Wil Myers had for 5 with three strikeouts in his major league grand slam in the sixth to get the Brewers to 13-10. Jeffrey Loria after meeting with him and general three hits for San Diego, which has won three RED SOX 1, RAYS 0 debut. Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang went 2 for 4 with The Reds had more punch. Cozart led off the top of manager Dan Jennings before the game. straight and six of seven. Nick Hundley hit his first Wade Miley and four relievers combined on a a bases-clearing double in the seventh for the first the seventh with a solo shot. Miami starter Dan Haren (1-1) gave up four runs homer as a Rockie and also tripled. Colorado has four-hitter and the Boston Red Sox took advantage RBIs of his career. and four hits in six innings. Giancarlo Stanton hit a lost five straight after starting the season 7-2. of an error to beat Chris Archer. BLUE JAYS 13, ORIOLES 6 453-foot homer for the Marlins. The struggling Rockies used a three-run fifth to Miley (1-1) gave up three hits, four walks and NATIONALS 2, CARDINALS 1 Edwin Encarnacion smashed a pair of home runs Coming off a 1-6 road trip, the Phillies showed take a 5-2 lead but the bullpen couldn’t hold it. The had three strikeouts over 5 2-3 innings. Alexi Yunel Escobar homered to left with two outs in and Jose Bautista added another to power the some rare pop at the plate. They’ve hit just eight Padres got one in the seventh and then went up in Ogando, Robbie Ross Jr., and Junichi Tazawa com- the bottom of the 10th inning, then celebrated with Toronto Blue Jays. Encarnacion’s first was a leadoff homers in 14 games. the eighth. bined to retire seven straight batters. Koji Uehara a head-first slide into home plate, lifting the shot that landed on the batter’s eye beyond center allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before finishing Washington Nationals to a victory. field and sparked a six-run second inning. The sec- RANGERS 7, DIAMONBACKS 1 ASTROS 6, MARINERS 3 ond for his fourth of the season was a left-field blast Prince Fielder homered and drove in three runs Jose Altuve helped Collin McHugh win his 10th into the top deck of Rogers Centre. It was just the to lead the Texas Rangers. Fielder, who had an RBI straight decision with a go-ahead three-run double 18th home run to climb that high in the 26-year his- double in the first inning, took reliever Daniel in the eighth inning. tory of the stadium. Bautista’s two-run homer in the Hudson (0-1) deep into the seats in right field in the Down 3-1 entering the eighth, the Astros scored bottom of the seventh off reliever Jason Garcia was eighth after a pair of errors allowed the Rangers to five times against the Mariners bullpen, capped by his fourth of the year and the 250th of his career. break a 1-1 tie. Altuve’s bases-clearing liner into the left-field cor- Mark Buehrle (3-0) went six innings to get his sec- Jake Smolinski reached base with one out on a ner for their fourth straight victory. ond win against the Orioles this year. fielding error by third baseman Cliff Pennington Altuve had been hitless in his previous eight at- and scored on a single by Elvis Andrus. Andrus had bats. The rally made a surprise winner out of INDIANS 6, WHITE SOX 2 been 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position prior McHugh (3-0) and continued the longest winning Carlos Carrasco struck out eight in five innings in to that at-bat. The Rangers then tried a double steal streak by a Houston pitcher since Wade Miller won his first start since being hit in the face by a line with Fielder at the plate, and Arizona catcher Tuffy 12 straight decisions during the 2002 season. drive and Carlos Santana and David Murphy Gosewich threw the ball into left field for an error, McHugh gave up three runs, but pitched through smacked solo home runs. allowing Leonys Martin to score to make it 3-1. the seventh and stayed in the game long enough The victory snapped a two-game losing streak Fielder followed with his home run. for the Astros to rally. — AP on a cold night at Chicago’s US Cellular Field. Temperatures slipped into the lower 40s with wind chills in the 30s. Carrasco (2-1) allowed one earned MLB results/standings run on four hits and no walks, looking strong a week after White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera’s lin- Washington 2, St. Louis 1 (10 Innings); Philadelphia 7, Miami 3; Chicago Cubs 9, Pittsburgh 8; er struck him in the first inning of a 4-1 loss last Toronto 13, Baltimore 6; NY Yankees 5, Detroit 2; NY Mets 7, Atlanta 1; Boston 1, Tampa Bay 0; Tuesday. The right hander improved to 1-1 against Cincinnati 16, Milwaukee 10; Cleveland 6, Chicago White Sox 2; Kansas City 6, Minnesota 5; Chicago this season. White Sox starter Hector Noesi (0-2) lasted 5 2-3 innings. San Diego 7, Colorado 6; Texas 7, Arizona 1; LA Angels 14, Oakland 1; Houston 6, Seattle 3; San Francisco 6, LA Dodgers 2. ANGELS 14, A’S 1 American League National League SEATTLE: Mariners shortstop Brad Miller takes a sharply hit ball from Houston Astros’ Jake Johnny Giavotella hit a three-run shot for his first Eastern Division Eastern Division Marisnick to the chest in the sixth inning of a baseball game. — AP homer with the Angels after the inning was extend- W L PCT GB NY Mets 11 3 .786 - ed by a replay and the defending AL West champi- Boston 9 5 .643 - Atlanta 8 5 .615 2.5 for his second save. It was the second homer of the season for ons so thoroughly roughed up the Athletics that Baltimore 7 7 .500 2 Washington 7 7 .500 4 Archer (2-2) allowed one unearned run and sev- Escobar, who was supposed to be Washington’s sec- Oakland first baseman Ike Davis pitched. NY Yankees 7 7 .500 2 Philadelphia 5 9 .357 6 en hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Rays, who have lost ond baseman but is filling in at third while Anthony Kole Calhoun tied a career-best with four hits, Toronto 7 7 .500 2 Miami 3 11 .214 8 the first four games of a nine-game homestand. He Rendon is on the disabled list. Escobar connected including a three-run homer for the Angels. Tampa Bay 6 8 .429 3 Central Division struck out nine and walked one. with the first pitch he saw from Carlos Villanueva (1- Giavotella had a career-high four RBIs. He was Central Division St. Louis 8 4 .667 - 1), the seventh pitcher for the Cardinals, who had acquired in a trade from Kansas City in December. Detroit 11 3 .786 - Chicago Cubs 8 5 .615 0.5 YANKEES 5, TIGERS 2 won five consecutive games. Aaron Barrett (2-0) Davis had a 2.25 ERA at Arizona State, and he Kansas City 11 3 .786 - Cincinnati 7 7 .500 2 Chris Young and Stephen Drew homered in a earned the win by pitching the 10th. impressed in the eighth Tuesday. The lefty, son of Chicago WSox 5 8 .385 5.5 three-run seventh and Nathan Eovaldi earned his reliever Ron Davis, retired Collin Cowgill, C.J. Cron Cleveland 5 8 .385 5.5 Pittsburgh 6 8 .429 3 first win with the New York Yankees. REDS 16, BREWERS 10 and Chris Iannetta with groundballs, tossing only Minnesota 5 9 .357 6 Milwaukee 2 12 .143 7 Eovaldi (1-0) gave up a run on eight hits and a Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier each hit two-out nine pitches. Hector Santiago (2-1) allowed a run Western Division Western Division walk in seven-plus innings. Eovaldi started the grand slams, powering the Cincinnati Reds. Zack and three hits in six innings and struck out eight. Houston 8 6 .571 - LA Dodgers 9 4 .692 - eighth, but was removed after allowing a leadoff Cozart hit two homers for the Reds, whose offense San Diego 10 5 .667 - double to Alex Avila. Eovaldi wasn’t dominant, but has reawakened for 22 runs in two games in Oakland 7 8 .467 1.5 PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 3 Arizona 7 7 .500 2.5 got four double plays. The Tigers scored in the ninth Milwaukee after manager Bryan Price went on a Ryan Howard hit a go-ahead two-run homer and LA Angels 6 8 .429 2 when Andrew Miller walked Nick Castellanos and profanity-laced tirade in his pregame media session Freddy Galvis also connected to back Jerome Texas 6 8 .429 2 Colorado 7 7 .500 2.5 Rajai Davis to force in a run. He then struck out Jose Monday. Mike Fiers (0-3) was shelled for eight runs Williams. Williams (1-1) allowed three runs - two Seattle 5 9 .357 3 San Francisco 5 10 .333 5 Furyk is short on power, Creamer calls for women’s long on determination Masters at Augusta National NEW YORK: Power was evident from every van- the 1996 U.S. Open. Over the last 19 years, he has tage point at the year-end charity event hosted been out of the top 50 for only 13 weeks, and DALY CITY: Paula Creamer is calling for a women’s Masters by Tiger Woods. Rory McIlroy was there after never lower than No. 61. at Augusta National. Creamer would love for organizers to at completing his rookie season on the PGA Tour. So His victory at Hilton Head moved him up to least listen to the idea of women playing a Masters in con- was Dustin Johnson, who already had won four No. 5 - the same spot he was four years ago when secutive weeks with the men’s tournament. She reiterated times and messed up in two majors. Bubba his name was mentioned as a guy who might her thoughts Tuesday at Lake Merced Golf Club, where the Watson was just getting warmed up - at that have a hard time hanging on. Bay Area native is preparing for this week’s Swinging Skirts time, only the shaft in his driver was pink. There is still room at the highest level for play- LPGA Classic. And that’s when Jim Furyk’s name was men- ers like Furyk. Power is a big advantage in golf, as On April 14, Creamer posted on Twitter: “I hope The tioned.The consensus was that Furyk wouldn’t be it is in most sports, which makes Furyk and those Masters will consider a Women’s Masters soon. They do so able to hang on much longer as 300-yard drives like him all the more remarkable. They are were becoming the norm. Sure, he was coming equipped with muzzleloaders when it seems much to grow the game. Fastest area of golf growth is off a three-win season, the best of his career. He everyone around them is firing howitzers. women! #6Majors?” won the FedEx Cup mainly on the strength of his Luke Donald reached No. 1 in the world and “I’ve been there, I’ve played there, stayed in Butler’s one-shot victory in the Tour Championship. But became the first player to win the money title on Cabin,” said Creamer, the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champi- he already was 40, and Furyk wasn’t getting any both sides of the Atlantic. Donald was at No. 1 for on. “I had an awesome time. I think the patrons and every- longer. Or younger. Players can rely only so much 56 weeks. Woods, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Seve body would love to have two weeks there, two tournaments. on grit and a great short game. That conversation Ballesteros and McIlroy are the only players who Why wouldn’t you? Hopefully, we will see something took place more than four years ago. From then have been at the top longer. change and happen.” While she hasn’t heard from anyone until now, the 44-year-old Furyk has earned just Long before Donald was Justin Leonard, who official at Augusta, there has been plenty of positive feed- short of $16 million, along with seven runner-up earned his PGA Tour card without ever going to back since she made the comments. She wants to be part of finishes and - finally - another PGA Tour victory. Q-school. With a huge disadvantage off the tee, golf taking steps to recruit the next generation of young He ended the longest drought of his career Leonard still piled up 12 victories, including the players. Sunday at the RBC Heritage with a performance British Open and The Players Championship. “It’s 2015. I think Augusta and the Masters and everybody built on determination, the hallmark of his career. The next Jim Furyk might be 39-year-old Zach with that event, they want to grow the game so badly,” Not only did he close with a 63, he had to make Johnson, another pea shooter who already has 11 Creamer said. “That’s what it is, about growing the game and an 8-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff against victories and a green jacket. Of the current giving people opportunities. The Chip and Putt, all of that Kevin Kisner, and then make another birdie to American players with at least four Ryder Cup for the kids to be able to come out there. There’s no reason win. appearances, he is the only one without a losing why we can’t do that in women’s golf. We’re just as much a The reaction was predictable. Furyk dropped record (6-6-2). Furyk played the final round at part of growing the game.” his putter and yelled louder than a foghorn at Hilton Head with Spieth, who was coming off a Calibogue Sound.”A lot of pent-up frustration,” he record-setting win at the Masters that was more When reminded that Augusta National Golf Club said. That should give way to celebration for a about his short game than how far he smashes it Chairman Billy Payne has referenced scheduling issues when player whose game is working as well now as it off the tee. Spieth is plenty long - he certainly has it comes to adding an event such as a women’s tournament, did as a PGA Tour rookie in 1994. more power than Furyk and Zach Johnson, for Creamer noted she believes it wouldn’t be that hard and “I Furyk won for the 17th time, which along with example - though he will never be classified as a think they could handle two weeks a year.” a US Open title in 2003 figures to make him a power player, at least not by today’s standards. “You could have two major tournaments back-to-back,” shoo-in for the World Golf Hall of Fame. Only five He won his PGA Tour event at 19 by holing a she said. Payne has said he doesn’t envision a women’s active players have won more on the PGA Tour - bunker shot to get into a playoff. He won the Masters. “We have a very short member season at Augusta Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III Valspar Championship last month by saving par National. It’s seven months only,” he said. “The time that we and Ernie Els. Look beyond the wins, however. from tough spots on the final two holes to get dedicate to the preparation and conduct of the tournament Furyk played on 15 consecutive U.S. teams for into a playoff. His most important shot at Augusta is already extensive. I don’t think that we would ever host the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, a streak that National was a full flop off a tight lie on the 18th another tournament.” ended in 2013 when Presidents Cup captain Fred hole in the third round that turned bogey or Creamer is open to participating in further discussion. Couples left him off the team in favor of 20-year- worse into a par that gave him a four-shot cush- “There’s no reason why you can’t revisit things. I think some- old Jordan Spieth. The next year, Furyk finished ion going into Sunday. body’s got to speak up and somebody’s got to say some- No. 3 in qualifying for the Ryder Cup. For all the power in golf, a good short game thing,” Creamer said. “It’s an idea, I don’t think that people Another measure of his high level of play can never goes out of style. It’s what has kept Furyk should be ashamed to talk about it. I’d like to know truthfully be found in the world ranking. Furyk cracked the among the best for so long, and no telling for why we wouldn’t be able to have a tournament there. top 50 for the first time when he finished fifth at how much longer. — AP CARLSBAD: Paula Creamer hits her tee shot in this file photo. — AP Definitely women’s golf deserves something like that.” — AP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 SPORTS Sheikh Salman lauds GCC golf tourney

— Photos by KUNA

KUWAIT: The 19th GCC Golf Tournament for sports in general. so far and this will contribute to spreading the men, 8th for Youth and 1st for ladies, organ- He said PAYS give special support to golf so game in Kuwait and the Gulf. ized by Kuwait Golf Committee, continues at it can expand further and efforts of the com- He said individual games are less costly the Sahara playgrounds mittee should come together with golf lovers than the group games, though the achieve- The tournament being held under the to meet legal requirements to create a legal ments of the individual games is much more patronage of Information Minister, State entity for the game. be it at the international level or the Minister For Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman He said “I confirmed to them that we are Olympics. Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah with proud to organize the Gulf tournament that He thanked all those who supported the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and gathers players in the GCC in their second tournament who worked hard to remove all Kuwait are participating. country, Kuwait”. Sheikh Salman said Kuwait is obstacles in its way in order to ensure its suc- The opening ceremony took place Tuesday a pioneering country and unique in support- cess. Secretary General of UAE federation at Sahara grounds in the presence of ing sports entities, and the state provides all Khalid Al-Shamsi said Kuwait is a pioneering Information Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud, facilities since a long time ago and there is country in organization, and it is only normal President of Arab and UAE Golf Association continued keenness on developing the mech- to organize the golf tournament in this pro- Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Alqasimi, Qatar’s anism of these entities. fessional fashion which impressed all those Ambassador to Kuwait Hamad bin Ali Al Chairman of the Organizing Committee present. He said the Sahara resort play Hinzab along with several officials. Abdelaziz Al-Mulla said the goal behind grounds are among the best in the Gulf and Sheikh Salman thanked the KGC and tour- organizing Gulf tournaments is to bring play- Arab world. nament sponsors and all those who con- ers in the GCC countries together which Meanwhile Qatar’s head of delegation tributed to the success of this tournament. He makes easier for the committee to function. Mohammad Al-Naaimee said his country is said that he conveyed the keenness of HH the He said the tournament enjoyed the patron- happy to participate in the tournament and Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- age of Sheikh Salman, which will be an incen- be present in the land of friendship and peace Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- tive for KGC. Al-Mulla said the participation of Al-Mulla added that the political leader- for golf in Kuwait Head of the Tournament’s which gathered the Arabian Gulf golf commu- Ahmad and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh women for the first time is the pride of KGC ship strongly supports the sports entities and Information Committee Wael Al-Welayati nity and thanked KGC and the higher organiz- Jaber Al-Mubarak on supporting youth and and the organizing committee. there is a commitment to build a special club lauded the coverage the tournament enjoyed ing committee.

O’Sullivan socks it to Steadman at Snooker World Championship LONDON: Ronnie O’Sullivan completed a routine World Professional Billiards and Snooker On borrowing Ganley’s shoes, O’Sullivan added: after the Welshman saw off compatriot Mark Williams 10-3 victory over debutant Craig Steadman at the Association’s dress code, but he laughed off the mat- “He said, ‘You can’t play in your socks,’ but I didn’t 10-2. Stevens, who lost to his friend Williams in the World Championship yesterday, having played part ter after sinking Steadman. “I’ve got no fashion sense want to play in my shoes either. “I got a pair of Mike 2000 World Championship final, was surprised by the of the first-round match in his socks. at all,” O’Sullivan told the BBC. “I had the last ones for Ganley’s stinky old shoes, and you know what, they ease of his victory over the two-time former champi- O’Sullivan took off his shoes during play on 10 years. I didn’t want to get rid of them and then I felt great.” Breaks of 104, 61, 59, 54 and 75 helped on. “It was most unexpected really-I don’t think I’ve Tuesday after complaining that they were uncom- left them in a hotel and I lost them. O’Sullivan establish a 7-2 overnight lead at beaten him since 2003,” Stevens said.”But I didn’t say fortable, briefly playing in his socks before being “I had this old battered pair, and I thought, ‘I’ve Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in northern England and that to him, I was just trying to keep it out of my loaned new footwear by tournament director Mike got to buy a new pair,’ and I just bought the wrong despite struggling for rhythm in Wednesday’s morn- head. I felt comfortable out there, to beat Mark even Ganley. The five-time world champion could face a pair, basically. They were bashing my feet and I had ing session, the Essex cueman sewed up the win. 10-9 would be difficult. So to win 10-2 is beyond my £250 ($377, 350 euros) fine for contravening the to take them off. I couldn’t wear them.” He will face Matthew Stevens in the second round wildest dreams really.” — AFP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 SPORTS Bangladesh rout Pakistan Sweep ODI series 3-0

DHAKA: Opening batsman Soumya Sarkar hit a maiden one-day century as Bangladesh thrashed woeful Pakistan by eight wickets in Dhaka yesterday to sweep the one-day series 3- 0. The 22-year-old left-hander smashed an unbeaten 127 as the fired-up hosts surpassed Pakistan’s modest 250 all out in the 40th over at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. Pakistan captain Azhar Ali’s 100 made no dif- ference to his team’s fortunes after Bangladesh BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal of Spain keeps an eye on the ball during the match against had won the first match by 79 runs and the sec- Nicolas Almagro, at the Barcelona Open tennis tournament. —AP ond by seven wickets. It was the first series whitewash by the Tigers against an Asian Test-playing nation, and fol- Nadal gains revenge lowed their appearance in the quarter-finals of the recent World Cup in Australia and New over Almagro in Spain Zealand. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said he was delighted at the way the team had BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal avenged his shock number eight was too strong for Alberto shaped up in the past few months and hoped to defeat to Nicolas Almagro at last year’s Montanes 6-2, 6-3. continue the good work in future. Barcelona Open to move into the third round Victory also ended an unwanted losing “This is a good team we have and I am really in the Catalan capital with a 6-3, 6-1 win yes- run for Ferrer in Barcelona after crashing out happy the way we are playing,” he said. “Soumya terday. in his first match in the past two years. (Sarkar) was brilliant today but our work is not Almagro’s sole victory in 13 meetings with “After losing two years in a row in the first done yet. We will now focus on the remaining DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Soumya Sarkar acknowledges the crowd after scoring a hundred during the 14-time Grand Slam champion in last round I had to play my best tennis. I am hap- matches.” The two teams will play a Twenty20 the third one-day international cricket match against Pakistan. — AP year’s quarter-final ended Nadal’s incredible py about my debut, about the way I played international on Friday before starting a two-Test 41-match winning streak in Barcelona. from the baseline.” However, US Open cham- series from April 28. However, the out of form Almagro, who pion Marin Cilic’s disappointing season con- SCOREBOARD has slipped to 123 in the world, was swept tinued as he was dumped out by 34-year-old DRAMATIC COLLAPSE aside as Nadal won 10 of the last 11 games to Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos 6-4, 6-4. The win was never in doubt after Sarkar, who DHAKA: Full scoreboard of the third and final one-day international between Bangladesh and comfortably book his place in the next round. Cilic’s start to the year was hampered by hit 13 boundaries and six sixes in his 110-ball Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka yesterday: “Nico is a danger because of the potential injury as he missed the Australian Open, but innings, put on 145 for the first wicket with Tamim Iqbal. he has. At the start he served very well and he has won just two matches in three tourna- Pakistan: Bowling: Mashrafe 10-0-44-2 (2w), Taskin 2-0- Tamim, who had slammed centuries in the won a lot of points on the second stroke,” said ments since his return in Indian Wells last Azhar Ali b Shakib 101 22-0 (2w), Nasir 7-0-37-1, Rubel 6-0-43-2 (1w), first two matches, missed a third consecutive Nadal, who was cheered on by Barcelona month. Sami Aslam c Rahim b Nasir 45 Sunny 10-0-43-2, Shakib 10-0-34-2, Sabbir 2- hundred when he was leg-before to Junaid Khan striker Neymar fresh after his two goals The Croatian’s normally reliant serve let Mohammad Hafeez b Sunny 4 0-17-0, Mahmudullah 2-0-9-0 for 64. The left-arm seamer also bowled against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. “It him down as the world number 53 broke four Haris Sohail c Rahim b Mashrafe 52 Bangladesh: Mohammad Mahmudullah in his next over, but was difficult, so I decided to step back a metre times in 10 Cilic service games to seal a place Mohammad Rizwan c and b Shakib 4 Tamim Iqbal lbw b Junaid 64 Mushfiqur Rahim (49 not out) ensured victory and put more balls in play and, bar the final in the last 16 against Martin Klizan. Fawad Alam c Nasir b Mashrafe 4 Soumya Sarkar not out 127 with an unbroken stand of 97 for the third wick- game, I controlled the match. “I committed Australia’s Nick Kyrgios’s poor record out- Saad Nasim c Taskin b Rubel 22 Mohammad Mahmudullah b Junaid 4 et with Sarkar. very few errors and I hadn’t forgotten that he side the Grand Slams continued as the Wahab Riaz c Mashrafe b Rubel 7 Mushfiqur Rahim not out 49 Pakistan were left to rue a dramatic collapse beat me last year.” Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter- Umar Gul run out 0 Extras (lb1, w4, nb2) 7 when they lost eight wickets for 47 runs after Nadal will face 17-year-old Russian Andrey finalist lost against fellow 19-year-old Elias Zulfiqar Babar not out 1 Total (two wickets, 39.3 overs) 251 Azhar’s century had lifted them to a comfortable Rublev or Fabio Fognini, who has already Ymer of Sweden 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7). Junaid Khan b Sunny 4 Fall of wickets: 1-145 (Tamim), 2-154 203 for two in the 39th over. beaten Nadal on clay this year in Rio de Santiago Giraldo set up a third-round Extras (lb1, w5) 6 (Mahmudullah). Shakib Al Hasan, Mortaza, Arafat Sunny and Janeiro, in the last 16 on Thursday. David meeting with top seed and defending cham- Total (all out, 49 overs) 250 Bowling: Hafeez 8-1-37-0, Gul 7-0-53-0 (3w), Rubel Hossain claimed two wickets each as Ferrer remained on course for a potential pion Kei Nishikori with a 6-3 3-6, 6-1 win over Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Sami), 2-105 (Hafeez), 3- Wahab 6-0-30-0 (1w), Junaid 7.3-0-67-2 (2nb), Bangladesh clawed their way back after way- semi-final meeting with Nadal as the world Portugal’s Joao Sousa. — AFP 203 (Azhar), 4-207 (Haris), 5-213 (Rizwan), 6- Zulfiqar 10-0-56-0, Azhar 1-0-7-0. ward bowling earlier in the innings. 224 (Fawad), 7-243 (Wahab), 8-244 (Gul), 9- Bangladesh won by eight wickets, sweep Azhar led from the front to become the first 245 (Nasim), 10-250 (Junaid) series 3-0. Pakistani captain in five years to score an one- Afghanistan seek home day century following Shahid Afridi’s 124 against Bangladesh in 2010. He heaped praise on Bangladesh for outplay- stand up and we have to pull our heads togeth- Mohammad Hafeez was bowled by Sunny for ground in India ing his young team that included just four play- er. “Hopefully we do well in the Twenty20 and four to extend his batting misery in a series in ers from the World Cup. “I would like to congrat- the Test series.” Having won the toss and elected which he compiled just eight runs in three NEW DELHI: War-ravaged Afghanistan is on and off the field. “I hope our national to bat, Azhar shared an opening stand of 91 with matches. seeking a home ground for its fledgling team can play in India soon. It will also be a ulate Bangladesh because they played very good cricket,” he said. “We played well in patches debutant Sami Aslam, who made 45. Haris Sohail (52) added 98 with Azhar for the national cricket team in neighboring India, great help to get some expertise in coaches Nasir Hossain provided the breakthrough third wicket before the rot set in. Azhar was powerhouse of the sport, a top official said and infrastructure,” Danish said. “We would but we could not put it together. “As everybody knows, our senior players have when he had the left-handed Aslam caught by bowled by Shakib and Mortaza dismissed Haris yesterday. like to play our home matches against oth- wicket-keeper Rahim. Senior all-rounder to launch Bangladesh’s comeback. —AFP President Ashraf Ghani has been asked er teams in India. We don’t want to play all left the one-day scene. The youngsters have to to push for assistance for his side during an the time in either the United Arab Emirates official visit to India next week, his first or Pakistan, we want to play in India.” since winning elections last year, said Afghanistan, who have been taking part Afghanistan Cricket Board president in major tournaments since 2010, recorded Nasimullah Danish. “Unfortunately, we have their first World Cup win in February when not got as much assistance from India as they defeated Scotland by one wicket in we should have,” Danish told AFP by phone Dunedin. Afghanistan have faced India from Kabul. “I don’t know why, but maybe thrice so far, twice during the World the BCCI has got other things on its mind,” Twenty20 in the Caribbean in 2010 and Sri he said, referring to the powerful Board of Lanka in 2012, and once at the Asia Cup Control for Cricket in India. one-day tournament in Bangladesh last “That is why we have requested our year. India are due to host the World president to discuss how we can cooperate Twenty20 next year and Afghanistan are with the Indian cricket establishment both expected to qualify. — AFP Klitschko loves ‘beating up people’ for a living

NEW YORK: Wladimir Klitschko will match in Klitschko’s favor, Jennings enjoys the Joe Louis in boxing’s record books with his same edge in reach, which could help him 27th heavyweight title fight on Saturday keep the champion at bay with jabs. and could set more marks since he has no Youthful exuberance may go only so far plans to retire anytime soon. The 39-year- against Klitschko, who has shown himself a old Ukrainian, speaking to reporters ahead master technician during his long run. of Saturday’s fight against American Bryant Klitschko, who would also move within Jennings at New York’s Madison Square one of Larry Holmes’s 19 consecutive title Garden, has dominated the heavyweight defenses with a win-second to the mark of division for nearly a decade and shown no 25 held by Joe Louis-said he was “allergic” signs of slowing down. to comparisons with other greats. “How “As long as I have motivation and health, long I’ve been champion, how many title I’ll do it. I don’t feel old, or bad, or slow,” said defenses I’ve made ... I don’t want to com- Klitschko, who has 17 successful defenses pare myself with any of the great heavy- in a row since winning the crown for the weights,” Klitschko, the 1996 Olympic second time in 2006. champion, said. “What could be cooler, or better, than to “I’m still looking up to those guys. They GRENADA: West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels (center) celebrates after scoring his century as team captain/wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin be the best man on the planet and beating are still icons to me.” Should Klitschko con- (left) looks on during the second Test match against England. — AFP up people for a living?” The 6-foot-6 quer Jennings, other up-and-comers await Ukrainian boasts a 63-3-0 record heading including Britain’s Tyson Fury and Deontay into the bout against Jennings, who is 19-0 Wilder, who holds the WBC belt, the only Samuels rescues Windies since taking up boxing six years ago. one to elude the Ukrainian. But the 30-year-old challenger from “I see the change of the generations is Philadelphia is not impressed by Klitschko’s slowly coming, because I had all of those GRENADA: A patient 94 not out from Marlon stump and was adjudged to have edged it to keep- left hander guiding the ball to Moeen Ali at point as accomplishments and plans on starting a guys in my training camp coming up,” Samuels helped West Indies recover against England er Jos Buttler. the hosts fell to 74 for four. Jamaican Jermaine new reign. “My first edge is youth. Youth is Klitschko said. to end the first day of the second Test on 188 for five Smith paused for a moment and considered Blackwood again showed promise by making 26 always an edge that you can’t deny. Speed. “They are very competitive, very young, in Grenada on Tuesday. appealing to the video review but opted against before, after review, he was ruled to have been Speed is an edge. These are things that are very ambitious, very strong fighters that While the tourists will be frustrated at not having turning to technology. He will have regretted that trapped leg before off Jordan. obvious,” said Jennings. definitely are going to bring a lot of excite- made more inroads in the final session before bad decision after replays showed he hit the ground The ball continued to swing into the final session Despite a three-inch height advantage ment in the ring.” — Reuters light stopped play, West Indies again showed signs with his bat and the ball was well clear of his out- but skipper Denesh Ramdin provided the support of a new-found resilience. side edge. After lunch, Bravo, who had batted well to Samuels, who batted with disciplined circum- New coach Phil Simmons will be pleased to have for his 35, edged broad to Cook at slip. Cook waited spection. seen the spirit and focus that helped the hosts battle before bringing Ben Stokes into the attack but he With Samuels able to start again in the morning, for a draw on the final of the first test in Antigua evi- provided an instant impact, removing Shivnarine England will regret their captain dropping the stroke dent again as they clawed away from trouble in Chanderpaul for one with his second delivery-the player off Jordan when he was on 33. — Reuters tricky batting conditions. After overnight and early morning rain, England skipper Alastair Cook won the toss and put the hosts in to bat, hoping that his bowlers could exploit the SCOREBOARD overcast weather. James Anderson, now England’s highest wicket- ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada: Scoreboard at stumps on the opening day of the first Test between taker in test cricket, not surprisingly managed to find the West Indies and England at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada on Tuesday: some swing and removed Kraigg Brathwaite with a superb inswinger for one. Darren Bravo joined local West Indies 1st Innings 65 (Bravo), 4-73 (Chanderpaul), 5-129 favorite Smith and the pair batted well with England, K. Brathwaite b Anderson 1 (Blackwood). and particularly seamer Stuart Broad, failing to take D. Smith c Buttler b Jordan 15 To bat: Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Devendra full advantage of the favourable bowling conditions. D. Bravo c Cook b Broad 35 Bishoo, Shannon Gabriel. England’s Chris Jordan should have had Smith M. Samuels not out 94 Bowling: Anderson 15-8-18-1, Broad 16-5-42-1, caught when the batsman turned the ball to Gary S. Chanderpaul c Ali b Stokes 1 Jordan 16-3-40-2 (1w, 1nb), Ali 12-1-45-0, Ballance at leg-slip but he failed to hold on to the J. Blackwood lbw Jordan 26 Stokes 10-4-33-1, Trott 1-0-2-0. chance. D. Ramdin not out 6 England: Alastair Cook (capt) Jonathan Trott, Extras: (b-5, lb-3, w-1, nb-1) 10 Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, BAD DECISION Total (5 wickets, 70 overs) 188 Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wkt), Stuart Broad, Three balls later, though, Smith was on his way Fall of wicket: 1-2 (Brathwaite), 2-28 (Smith), 3- Chris Jordan, James Anderson. Wladimir Klitschko after he went to drive a full delivery wide outside off Sevilla’s road to Bangladesh Warsaw must go rout Pakistan through16 Russia 19 THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Nadal gains revenge over Almagro in Spain Page 19

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Chicharito celebrates scoring his side’s goal during the second leg quarter-final Champions League soccer match against Atletico Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu stadium. — AP Chicharito shatters Atletico dreams

MADRID: Javier Hernandez scored the said Hernandez. “It is a derby which hasn’t the coach of these guys who gave what ing from Juanfran denied Hernandez at the Griezmann. winner two minutes from time as Real brought good memories since winning the they gave today.” Madrid came into the back post before Jan Oblak did well to par- However the visitors soon had their Madrid once again shattered Atletico 10th European Cup. I was the one who game ravaged by injuries and suspensions ry Ronaldo’s dipping free-kick to safety. clearest opening of the night when Gabi’s Madrid’s Champions League dreams with a scored, but it belongs to everyone. The as Marcelo, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and The best chance of the half fell to the dinked cross picked out the run of Koke 1-0 win on aggregate to progress to the people who believed in me, my teammates Karim Benzema missed out forcing coach World Player of the Year when Ronaldo was from midfield, only to see his header easily semi-finals. The tie was a repeat of last sea- and my family.” Despite being dealt anoth- Carlo Ancelotti to deploy Sergio Ramos in fed by James Rodriguez, but Oblak scam- clutched by Casillas. son’s final, won by Real 4-1 after extra-time, er bitter blow by their city rivals, Atletico an unusual midfield position. pered from his goal to block in a similar Arguably the decisive moment in the tie but Atletico had gone unbeaten in seven boss Diego Simeone hailed his players The hosts still had by far the better of the manner to his vital save from Bale at the came 14 minutes from time when Turan previous meetings against their city rivals efforts as they once again made a side with first 45 minutes with Benzema’s replace- beginning of the first-leg. was shown a second yellow for a high chal- this season. However, the visitors had to five times Atletico’s budget sweat. ment Hernandez smashing into the side- It was the hosts who again started on lenge on Ramos. play the final 14 minutes with 10 men as “I go away proud of my team. Once more netting with the first opening of the game. the front foot at the start of the second Moments later Oblak came to his side’s Arda Turan was shown a second yellow we competed very well in a very difficult Ronaldo then pulled a shot wide from 20 period as a sensational through ball from rescue again when he turned Hernandez’s card and Hernandez finally broke the dead- competition like the Champions League,” yards on his weaker left foot, but Atletico Isco played Hernandez in behind the effort wide after he spun away from Diego lock over the two legs when he slotted into said the Argentine. grew into the game as the half went on and Atletico defence, but the Manchester Godin. Hernandez finally got the all-impor- an empty net from Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Competing as we did today, I have sure Turan tested Iker Casillas with a long-range United loanee again failed to hit the target tant goal after brilliant work from pass. I have a team of men, a team that work effort that the Spanish captain comfortably as his shot squirmed just wide of the far Rodriguez and Ronaldo left the Mexican “Obviously it is my most important goal hard. At times we can play better or worse, handled. However, it was Real who ended post. Atletico boss Diego Simeone then sur- with the simplest of finishes from close because the present is what is important,” but I am so proud of the players and to be the half the stronger as only great defend- prisingly withdrew top scorer Antoine range. — AFP Rock solid Juventus Qatar reveals design for through to last four fifth World Cup stadium MONACO: Juventus are through to the Anthony Martial preferred to Dimitar last four of the Champions League for the Berbatov up front and veteran defender DOHA: Officials in Qatar yesterday will be reduced to 21,000 after the first time since 2003 after a goalless draw Ricardo Carvalho missing altogether, it unveiled the design for the fifth stadi- tournament with the upper tier of in their quarter-final, second leg with was a youthful Monaco side that took to um to host matches during the foot- seats being sent to developing Monaco yesterday saw them progress 1-0 the field at the Stade Louis II, which for ball World Cup in 2022. The 40,000- nations. on aggregate. A controversial Arturo once was packed for the occasion. seater Al Rayyan Stadium will host Officials added that stadium con- Vidal penalty in the first leg in Turin last Unsurprisingly, a Juve team with a matches up until the quarter-final struction would comply with workers’ week ultimately proved enough for the lead to defend and packed full of wily stage of the competition in seven welfare standards. A final decision will Serie A leaders, who relied on their defen- campaigners was happy to soak up the years’ time. be taken later this year on how many sive strength to see off opponents again pressure. The stadium is expected to be com- stadiums Qatar will use for the tourna- let down by their lack of quality in the They invited the hosts on to them, but pleted three years before the tourna- ment, which is uniquely taking place in final third. Monaco were largely restricted to ment begins. In a ceremony at the Ali the months of November and A Monaco side full of youthful enthu- attempts from long range, including two bin Abdullah Fort on the western December, following a decision by siasm pushed forward for long spells, but from the impressive Geoffrey Kondogbia, fringes of the capital Doha, Qatar’s FIFA. Juventus-who had let in just one goal in a thunderous volley that flew wide and World Cup head, Hassan Al Thawadi, As few as eight stadiums might be their previous nine matches-always another shot that was straight at Buffon. looked in control and veteran ‘keeper When they did make it into the box, said revealing the design was the lat- used for the first World Cup ever to be Gianluigi Buffon was never seriously the breaks did not go their way, with est important benchmark in the coun- held in the Middle East. Earlier this threatened. Andrea Barzagli almost turning a Silva try’s preparations for football’s biggest year, it was announced that renowned The Italian giants came closest to cutback into his own net before tournament. British architects Foster and Partners scoring from a 90th-minute Andrea Pirlo Kondogbia had a strong penalty appeal “Unveiling the design of Al Rayyan would design the stadium that will free-kick that clipped the bar and can waved away after Vidal clattered into him stadium is another important step for- host the final of the tournament in now look forward to Friday’s semi-final in the area without appearing to touch ward in our preparations to host the 2022. draw, where they will not mind being the ball. 2022 FIFA World Cup,” he said. “We will The 80,000 seater stadium will be considered the underdogs alongside Scottish referee Willie Collum waved continue to work tirelessly as our built in the purpose-built city of Lusail, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real play on and did so again when Fabinho vision for the tournament takes shape some 15 kilometres (10 miles) north of Madrid. upended Alvaro Morata just before the on the ground.” Doha. Qatar is expected to receive Monaco, meanwhile, bow out with interval, allowing the advantage as Carlos Sheikh Saud bin Khalid bin Hamad fresh criticism over its controversial their heads held high, but it was easy to Tevez smashed a shot just past the post. Al Thani, chairman of Al Rayyan Sports and successful World Cup bid over the see why they had found the net just That was a reminder of Juve’s threat, but Club, said he hoped the stadium next few days. three times in four previous home games such forages forward from the Italians would help Qatar deliver the best A new book, “The Ugly Game”, in the Champions League this season and became even more rare in the second World Cup there has ever been. detailing allegations of corruption had won only two of their last nine half, as they dug in and repelled wave The stadium, which is “focused on against Qatar’s bid is set for publica- matches at the Stade Louis II. after wave of attack from the hosts. Qatari tradition”, is the latest to be tion today. Also today, the parliamen- Aware of the need to find a creative Monaco were set up for a more direct rebuilt or revamped as the country tary assembly of the Council of spark, Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim approach after Berbatov replaced Jeremy prepares for 2022. Europe meets, and is predicted to try gave a start to Portuguese dynamo Toulalan at the start of the second period, It will include cooling technology, and urge FIFA to run a re-vote on who Bernardo Silva, who had scored the prin- but while they frequently got into dan- MONACO: Monaco’s Layvin Kurzawa is in the air above cipality club’s last three goals domestical- gerous positions, the quality of their final to help with Qatar’s fierce tempera- should the host the tournament in Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner during the Champions League tures even in winter, and the capacity 2022. —AFP ly. With him in the team, teenager ball was dreadful. — AFP quarterfinal second leg soccer match. — AP Kuwait BEP may range around $49 in 2015, 2016: IMF Page 22 Business UK watchdog fines BoA’s Merrill Lynch $20 million THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Page 23 Mobiles at the Gulf stock markets face key test at 200-day averages ready: BMW Mobi launches in Kuwait Page 25 Page 26

JAKARTA: This presidential palace handout photo released and taken yesterday shows (from left) China’s President Xi Jinping, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as they attend the opening ceremony of the Asian African Conference in Jakarta. — AFP Indonesia calls for new financial order Support for AIIB grows; global growth outlook steady

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president yesterday called for a new Also at the gathering, which commemorates a key confer- The biggest policy change, sovereign bond buying by the of the collapse in oil prices that was meant to give a boost to global financial order to replace “obsolete” institutions at a ence 60 years ago that forged a common identity for states European Central Bank that started in March, has lit a fire consumer spending even while hurting major oil exporters. summit of Asian and African leaders, as support grows for a emerging from colonial rule, was Japanese Prime Minister under European stock markets and government bonds but The outlook for 2016 has only risen by 0.2 percentage new Beijing-backed regional development bank. Shinzo Abe-key US ally Tokyo has not signed up for the bank. has boosted the economic growth outlook only a little. points over the same roughly nine-month period to 3.7 per- “The view which says that global economic problems can Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, has signed Germany’s DAX index has rallied more than 20 percent since cent. In the meantime, the dollar has soared over 20 percent only be solved by the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB, is an up as one of the founding members of the $50 billion, Beijing- the start of the year alongside a plummeting euro that has against a basket of currencies. Economists singled it out as the obsolete view that needs discarding,” Joko Widodo told dele- backed AIIB. China has scored a coup by enticing scores of given way to an ascendant dollar. Most of Germany’s sover- biggest threat to growth this year in the United States, which gates, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the start of countries to join despite Washington initially opposing its eign bonds are so expensive they are now paying a negative has been leading the global expansion. the two-day summit in Jakarta. allies becoming members. yield. And yet the expected quarterly growth rate for the The Federal Reserve appears strongly inclined to raise The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are The two-day summit in Jakarta is commemorating a 1955 euro-zone has only moved up to a modest 0.4 percent pace rates from the zero bound this year, but the latest poll shows part of the Bretton Woods system, established during World conference in the city of Bandung on Java island that laid the across the forecast horizon - certainly better than prospects that the expected start date keeps slipping as does how high War II, while the Asian Development Bank is a Japan-led insti- foundations for the Cold War-era Non-Aligned Movement. for no growth but not enough to make sizeable reductions in rates are likely to climb over the coming year. That is based on tution modelled on the World Bank. high unemployment. a series of disappointing data since the start of the year, a pat- He did not mention the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Global growth view The outlook for inflation, which the ECB wants to get tern that has repeated itself several times in the long recovery Investment Bank (AIIB) by name, but called for “reform of the A collapse in oil prices that gave a windfall to the world’s back from near zero to its target of just below 2 percent, is back from the financial crisis and has left many analysts and global financial architecture to get rid of the domination of a energy consumers and a flurry of policy easing from central more benign for 2015 than it was at the start of the year investors skeptical. group of countries over other countries”. banks might have been expected to brighten the outlook for before QE even began. And the spectre of Greece leaving the “While the commitment to keep the monetary sluice During a visit to China last month, Widodo said he firmly global economic growth. But Reuters polls of more than 250 euro zone is hovering. “The world economy is looking increas- gates open is alive and well in many parts of both the devel- supported the bank. Robert Mugabe, the controversial economists across Europe and North America show only mod- ingly surreal, so much so that policymakers are really strug- oped and the emerging world, the Federal Reserve is, in effect, Zimbabwean president, echoed his call: “African and Asian est upgrades to growth forecasts and a reluctance to relin- gling to deliver the economic outcomes they’d ideally like to the elephant in the room,” wrote King. “Even though global countries are a formidable force... yet that numerical strength quish a depressed inflation view, despite the rush of rate cuts see,” noted Stephen King, chief global economist at HSBC. growth is weak, world trade growth is slow and deflationary counts for little when it comes to the running and control of and central bank cash that most respondents believe is far The consensus for global growth this year has fallen to 3.4 pressures abound, the Fed is much more focused on domestic the multilateral system.” from over. percent from 3.7 percent polled back in July, around the start US economic developments.” — Agencies

Markets edge up as Yemen air strikes end British ‘Flash Crash’ trader to fight US extradition MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS LONDON: A British man accused of contributing when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by DUBAI: Most major stock markets in the percent. But telecommunications operator announcement and after its competitor Abu to a US stock crash and making millions in high- about 600 points in a five-minute span after a Middle East rose modestly yesterday after Mobily, which posted a surprise first-quarter Dhabi Commercial Bank beat estimates with a frequency trading fraud from his modest big drop in the price of E-Minis. Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region decid- loss on Tuesday and tumbled 6.8 percent on 31 percent increase in first-quarter net profit. London home told a court yesterday that he The US authorities are requesting Sarao’s ed to end a campaign of air strikes against that day, retreated 2.2 percent further. A But FGB’s first-quarter profit, announced would oppose extradition to the United States. extradition from Britain to face one charge of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Riyadh announced number of other stocks also declined on after the close, was 1.42 billion dirhams Navinder Singh Sarao, 36, was arrested in the wire fraud, 10 counts of commodities fraud, 10 late on Tuesday that it was ending a month- profit-taking after rising sharply this week on ($386.7 million), falling short of analysts’ aver- British capital on Tuesday at the request of US counts of commodities manipulation, and one long offensive against the Houthis, who news that the kingdom would open the mar- age forecast of 1.51 billion dirhams. Qatar’s authorities, which accuse him of an elaborate count of “spoofing.” seized large areas of Yemen, and said it ket to direct foreign investment from June bourse inched up 0.1 percent as Qatar scheme to manipulate the futures market using “Sarao’s alleged manipulation earned him would back a political solution to bring 15. Electricity and Water Co, the country’s automated software. significant profits and contributed to a major peace to its war-ravaged neighbor. The monopoly utility, jumped 3.6 percent. The US justice officials allege that his trades con- drop in the US stock market on May 6, 2010, that Yemen fighting was never a big concern for UAE, EGYPT firm reported a 15.7 percent rise in first-quar- tributed to the May 2010 “Flash Crash,” when US came to be known as the ‘Flash Crash’,” the US financial markets, which believed the Gulf Dubai’s index climbed 0.3 percent to 4,133 ter net profit to 346 million riyals ($95.1 mil- stocks plunged 600 points in five minutes, and Department of Justice said in a statement. states could prevent the conflict from points as most stocks gained. Property devel- lion). Two analysts polled by Reuters had over five years earned him and his company $40 Sarao was challenged by US and European spreading beyond Yemen’s borders; bond oper DAMAC initially surged after saying it forecast QEWC would make a profit of 303.8 million (37 million euros). At a hearing at authorities in 2009 and 2010 over what the yields and credit default swaps barely moved would pay at least 25 percent of its capital in million and 308.8 million riyals. Egypt’s index Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Sarao’s lawyer charge sheet said was his “suspicious activity.” in response to the violence. cash dividends in 2015 and the same ratio in climbed 0.6 percent, after declining for five Joel Smith said the allegations had come “as In various responses cited by the US authori- Nevertheless, the fighting did unsettle 2016. But it closed only 0.3 percent higher. sessions in a row. Cairo had joined the Saudi- something of a bolt from the blue.” ties, he acknowledged that he frequently can- some retail investors in the Gulf and Egypt, The company, which only offered a 10 led coalition against Yemen’s Houthis so the Sarao, who appeared in the dock wearing a celled large orders but denied he was using and stock markets across the region fell by percent bonus share issue for 2014, also end of the air strikes was also positive for the yellow sweatshirt and white tracksuit trousers, automated trading software. The Chicago several percent in the days after the military reported a 38 percent fall in first-quarter net Egyptian market, said Harshjit Oza, an analyst was asked if he consented to his extradition, to Mercantile Exchange (CME), through which he campaign began. profit because of a large one-off gain a year at Cairo-based Naeem brokerage. which he replied: “No.” His opposition paves the did most of his trading, contacted him with con- Saudi Arabia’s index inched up 0.1 percent earlier. It later clarified that the profit of its But the market may remain soft until the way for a protracted legal battle, which could cerns in 2009 and 2010. yesterday to 9,572 points, although it closed property unit, DAMAC Real Estate release of first-quarter earnings, which are last years. Sarao’s company, Nav Sarao Futures In one response Sarao told his commodity well off its intra-day highs, struggling for a Development Ltd, rose 3 percent in the same due by mid-May, he added. One negative fac- Ltd, is headquartered in a suburban house in broker, who acted as an intermediary, that he fourth day in a row to break through major period. Another real estate firm, Union tor is the adoption early this month of bylaws Hounslow, west London, which is reportedly had called the exchange “and told ‘em to kiss my technical resistance in the 9,572-9,745 point Properties, jumped 3.5 percent to 1.50 covering new taxes on capital gains and divi- also his family’s home. Between June 2009 and a**.” In another, he claimed that he “was just area, where the 200-day average roughly dirhams, a five-month closing high. The stock dends which, according to some market April 2014, he is accused of placing orders for showing a friend of mine what occurs on the bid coincides with the March peak. has attracted increasing volumes after break- players, are making Cairo less appealing to futures contracts-agreements to buy or sell a side of the market almost 24 hours a day, by the Telecommunications operator Zain Saudi ing this week through technical resistance at investors compared with other bourses in the specific product or financial instrument in the high frequency geeks.” surged 4.8 percent after announcing its first- 1.34-1.35 dirhams, its peaks in late December region. future-before cancelling them abruptly. His trading activity was also challenged by quarter loss had narrowed to 257 million and January. “That’s a concern and we can see that in The goal of the practice-known as “spoof- Eurex, a German derivatives exchange, and riyals ($68.5 million) from 318 million riyals a Dubai’s benchmark is approaching major the volumes,” Oza said. Several Egyptian ing”-is to manipulate the market price, which the Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, but each year earlier. Two analysts surveyed by Reuters chart resistance on its 200-day average, now media, including the Youm Al Sabeh newspa- trader can then exploit by simultaneously exe- time he denied using automated software. had forecast losses of 270.1 million and 289.4 at 4,259 points. It has not traded above that per, on Tuesday quoted Egyptian stock cuting other, real trades using automated trad- Sarao’s father, Nachhattar Singh Sarao, was quot- million riyals. Blue-chip petrochemical firm level on a sustained basis since last October. exchange chairman Mohammed Omran as ing software. Sarao was trading on a leading ed in The Times newspaper as saying that he Saudi Basic Industries rose 0.9 percent and Abu Dhabi’s index rose 0.6 percent and First saying that he himself did not understand futures market, the E-Mini Standard & Poor’s 500 knew nothing of the allegations against his son. property developer Jabal Omar , another Gulf Bank (FGB) was the main support, jump- some of the new regulations because of their futures contracts, which is linked to the Standard “All this is news to me. What you’re telling me is & Poor’s 500 index of leading shares. as much a surprise to me,” he said. Asked about main support for the benchmark, climbed 1.1 ing 2.3 percent ahead of an earnings complexity. — Reuters He was allegedly highly active in the period the nature of his son’s work, he said: “I don’t leading up to the “Flash Crash” on May 6, 2010, know about computers.” — AFP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 BUSINESS Kuwait BEP may range around News in brief

$49 in 2015, 2016: IMF Kuwaiti oil drops 66 cents, reaches $57.35 pb KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil barrel dropped 66 Marmore MENA Intelligence Report cents on Tuesday, reaching $57.35 compared to $58.01 per barrel on Monday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. Prices of crude oil had KUWAIT: Marmore MENA Intelligence, a research sub- shocks by analysts. GCC governments are better placed, to The fiscal oil breakeven is an important metric. But, it dropped in international oil markets, after seeing con- sidiary of Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”, recently pub- weather a sustained period of lower oil prices, than most should not be taken at face value. The metric can fluctuate tinuous rise in global markets last week. Moreover, the lished its report on the fiscal breakeven oil price (BEP). It is other exporters due to their robust reserve levels; greatly on the basis of assumptions. rates of oil reserves in the US, the largest power con- the oil price that balances an oil exporting country’s budg- The metric of non-oil fiscal balance can be used to Established in 2010, Marmore is a research subsidiary of sumer in the world, are expected to rise which will in et. The report delves into the fact that different institutions gauge the level of diversification. Analysis of the metric of Markaz, an investment bank and asset management firm turn lead to a drop in oil prices. Meanwhile, the price of and assessors provide varying estimates of the BEP, leading non-oil fiscal balance reveals that growth of non-oil sectors that celebrated 40 years of business in 2014. Marmore US crude oil contracts for June delivery were recorded to confusion in the minds of many who track the metric. is heavily dependent on government spending for Kuwait caters to the growing research and information needs of at $56.03pb in New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) The metric, at its core, is simple in terms of calculation. and Oman; while the vice-versa is true in the case of UAE organizations in the MENA region. The company publishes yesterday, while Brent crude oil contracts for June deliv- Why, then, the plethora of estimates? The report uncovers and Qatar. reports and conducts research on demand. ery reached $61.70pb. some insights through estimation of the BEP on its own for three GCC countries, including Kuwait, providing clues as to how inclusion or exclusion of certain items, like invest- US dollar down to KD 0.301, ment income, can alter the BEP figures. euro up to 0.324 There are some straightforward reasons as to why the estimations of break-even prices can vary. For instance, his- KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the US dollar against the torical numbers that are used to calculate break-even Kuwaiti dinar was down yesterday exchanging at KD 0.301 prices may differ from year to year. Or, estimates can differ while the euro went up to KD 0.324 compared to Tuesday’s with respect to forecasts of oil production volumes, export exchange rates, said the daily bulletin of the Central Bank volumes and the global oil prices. Also, differences in esti- of Kuwait (CBK). The sterling pound exchange also went up mates with respect to future government spending or dif- to reach KD 0.451, the Swiss franc to KD 0.316 and the ferences with respect to inclusion or exclusion of some rev- Japanese yen remained unchanged at KD 0.002. enue items can create variances. BEP can be calculated using techniques like taking a Commercial Bank of Qatar government’s expenditure plans for a given year plus an estimated level of production/exports, and then calculat- net profit falls 15.3% ing the price level required to match the expenditure while DUBAI: Commercial Bank of Qatar , the Gulf Arab state’s taking into account of other revenues (like tax) from non- second-largest lender by assets, posted a 15.3 percent oil sources. Or, there are more sophisticated and propri- drop in first-quarter profit yesterday as the bank set etary methods available like that of the International aside more cash to cover bad loans. The bank earned a Monetary Fund or the Institute of International Finance net attributable profit of 452.3 million riyals ($127.1 mil- (IIF). lion) for the three months to March 31, it said in a bourse filing. That compares with a profit of 533.9 mil- Investment income lion riyals in the corresponding period of 2014. Six ana- The International Monetary Fund provides BEP esti- lysts had forecast an average quarterly profit of 546.9 mates for Kuwait until 2016. According to IMF, the BEP for million riyals, according to a Reuters poll. Net provisions Kuwait in 2015 and 2016 is expected to range around $49 for loans in the first quarter reached 170.2 million riyals, (with investment income). Our estimates show that for rising from 50.8 million riyals in the same period of last 2015 and 2016, the values be $51.2 and $50.2, respectively. year, according to a separate statement from the bank. For 2020, we expect the value to go up to $54.1. However, estimates will differ with respect to how investment income is treated. UAE lender FGB Q1 Some of the key findings from the study are that for net profit rises 7% Kuwait, the addition or removal of the nation’s sovereign ABU DHABI: First Gulf Bank (FGB), the third-largest lender wealth fund’s income plays a significant role in the esti- by assets in the United Arab Emirates, yesterday posted a 7 mates of BEP. However, in the case of the KSA, the invest- percent rise in first-quarter net profit but missed estimates. ment income does not play a major role.. FGB made a net profit of 1.42 billion dirhams ($386.7 mil- Without investment income, UAE’s BEP can increase lion) for the three months ending March 31, compared to from anywhere between 25 percent to about 50 percent, 1.33 billion dirhams in the same period a year ago, it said in which signifies the budgetary importance of investment an emailed statement. Five analysts polled by Reuters fore- income to the UAE. In other words, if investment income is cast an average net profit of 1.51 billion dirhams for the considered as part of the non-oil revenues, then the BEP quarter. comes down to a large degree for both Kuwait and the UAE. Broadening the general discussion to the GCC level, it is notable that oil exporting countries have to keep a care- Emirates NBD forecasts ful watch over their breakeven prices. For instance, Oman 5% loan growth for 2015 and Bahrain, which have the highest breakeven prices in the GCC region, were characterized as vulnerable to oil DUBAI: Emirates NBD (ENBD), Dubai’s largest lender, expects loan growth to be around 5 percent in 2015, it told Reuters yesterday. Loan growth climbed by 4 per- Ex-BP chief sees oil bull market sooner than many expect cent in the first quarter of the year, up from the same LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Low crude chain in the US has been decimated ... It much as in other places. We may be active working and that the producer group, period of last year, the bank said in its first-quarter prices will trigger consolidation in the oil will take several years to take activity back,” in consolidating and we may be consolidat- which at its last meeting in November earnings statement, released earlier in the day. In an industry but a new bull market might arrive Hayward said. He compared current devel- ed. We can play both ways,” he said. decided against cutting output despite a emailed response to questions, a spokeswoman for much sooner than expected given the opments to the situation at the end of the He said that although the oil industry sharp drop in oil prices, would ultimately ENBD said it forecast 2015 loan growth to be “in the 5 huge scale of capital and workforce with- 1990s when oil companies slashed invest- would see a wave of consolidation, major regain market share. He added that even if percent area.” The bank expected loan growth to be drawal in the sector, a former boss of oil ments, which ultimately sparked an oil deals like the $70 billion acquisition by Iran and the West agreed a deal curbing between 5 and 7 percent in 2015, chief executive major BP said. “The actions the industry is price rally to record highs in 2003-2007. Royal Dutch/Shell of BG would be difficult Tehran’s nuclear program, it would take Shayne Nelson told reporters in February. ENBD post- taking to withdraw capital are laying the Hayward now serves as chairman of to repeat. several years for oil firms to agree contracts ed a 60 percent rise in first-quarter net profit yester- seeds for the next bull market,” Tony commodities giant Glencore and chief “There are relatively few easy targets ... It and start investing in Iran’s sanctions-hit oil day, beating analysts’ forecasts as income from lend- Hayward told the FT Commodities Summit. executive of mid-sized oil producer Genel , doesn’t appear to me that BP is a willing industry - meaning the country would be ing, fees and other products increased and provisions “The peak of US shale supply has arrived which is active in Iraqi Kurdistan. “Certainly target.” unable to ramp up exports steeply in the dropped. - earlier than anticipated ... The supply there will be consolidation in Kurdistan as He said he believed OPEC’s strategy was next couple of years. —Reuters Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan narrows fifth month

TOKYO: Kuwait’s trade surplus cent year-on-year to JPY 69.3 bil- refined products, liquefied natural the first time in nearly three years vehicles and semiconductors, and currency weakened against the US with Japan narrowed 59.0 percent lion ($580 million) for the fifth gas (LNG) and other natural in March as import bills shrank the effect of a weaker yen. Imports dollar by 17.2 percent from the year in March to JPY 49.7 billion (USD straight monthly fall, while imports resources, which accounted for amid tumbling energy prices and dropped 14.5 percent to JPY 6.698 before to an average of JPY 119.86 417 million) from a year earlier, from Japan grew 30.1 percent to 96.0 percent of the region’s total an increase in exports. The trade trillion ($56.1 billion), down for the in March, according to the ministry. shrinking for the fifth month due to JPY 19.5 billion ($163 million), up exports to Japan last month, balance last month stood at JPY third straight month, chiefly due to The yen’s depreciation supports a sharp drop in exports, the for the first time in two months. declined 43.5 percent. 229.3 billion ($1.9 billion) in sur- a continued decline in crude oil exports by making Japanese prod- Finance Ministry said yesterday. Middle East’s trade surplus with The region’s overall imports plus, the first black ink since June and LNG prices. ucts more competitive overseas and But Kuwait maintained black ink Japan also fell 54.3 percent to JPY from Japan expanded 15.4 percent, 2012. The value of shipments to the US, increase the value of repatriated with Japan for the 86th consecu- 610.4 billion ($5.1 billion) last buoyed by robust shipments of Overall exports increased 8.5 Japan’s biggest export market last overseas earning. The trade data are tive month, the ministry said in a month, with Japan-bound exports automobile and machinery. The percent to JPY 6.927 trillion ($58.0 month, saw a 21.3 percent rise on measured on a customs-cleared preliminary report. Kuwaiti overall from the region tumbling 42.6 per- world’s third-biggest economy billion), up for the seventh straight the back of the weak yen and the basis before adjustment for season- exports to Japan plunged 49.2 per- cent from a year earlier. Crude oil, logged a global trade surplus for month, on strong shipments of recovery in the US economy. Japan’s al factors. —KUNA

EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. GOLD Saudi Riyals 80.803 US Dollars Mint 0.299200 0.303400 20 gram 243.470 Jordanian Dinar 426.763 10 gram 124.430 Asia ASIAN COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound 39.550 5 gram 62.900 Bangladesh Taka 0.003548 0.004148 Japanese Yen 2.533 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.264 Chinese Yuan 0.047423 0.050923 Indian Rupees 4.831 Indian Rupees 4.845 Hong Kong Dollar 0.036980 0.039730 Pakistani Rupees 2.981 UAE Exchange Centre WLL Pakistani Rupees 2.978 Srilankan Rupees 2.264 Bangladesh Taka 3.885 Indian Rupee 0.004662 0.005063 Philippines Pesso 6.822 Nepali Rupees 3.019 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025 Cyprus pound 742.159 Singapore Dollar 225.210 COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Japanese Yen 0.002448 0.002628 Japanese Yen 3.539 Hongkong Dollar 39.071 Australian Dollar 237.10 Kenyan Shilling 0.003221 0.003221 Canadian Dollar 250.71 Syrian Pound 2.599 Bangladesh Taka 3.019 Korean Won 0.000270 0.000285 Swiss Franc 321.80 Nepalese Rupees 4.028 Philippine Peso 6.852 Malaysian Ringgit 0.079917 0.085917 Euro 328.14 Malaysian Ringgit 84.045 Thai Baht 9.369 Nepalese Rupee 0.003067 0.003237 US Dollar 303.00 Chinese Yuan Renminbi 49.187 Pakistan Rupee 0.002821 0.003101 Sterling Pound 455.35 Thai Bhat 10.329 Philippine Peso 0.006733 0.007013 GCC COUNTRIES Japanese Yen 2.57 Turkish Lira 113.136 Saudi Riyal 80.779 Sierra Leone 0.000066 0.000072 Bangladesh Taka 3.890 Singapore Dollar 0.221293 0.227293 Qatari Riyal 83.221 Indian Rupee 4.816 South African Rand 0.018985 0.027485 Omani Riyal 787.000 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.265 Bahrain Exchange Company Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001879 0.002459 Bahraini Dinar 804.570 Nepali Rupee 3.012 Taiwan 0.009629 0.009809 UAE Dirham 82.484 Pakistani Rupee 2.983 COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFT UAE Dirhams 82.37 Thai Baht 0.009010 0.0009560 Europe ARAB COUNTRIES Bahraini Dinar 804.24 Belgian Franc 0.007899 0.008899 Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.850 Egyptian Pound 39.60 Arab British Pound 0.445549 0.454549 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.611 Jordanian Dinar 430.52 Bahraini Dinar 0.796720 0.804720 Czech Korune 0.003831 0.015831 Omani Riyal 785.82 Egyptian Pound 0.039340 0.042440 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.414 Danish Krone 0.039510 0.044510 Tunisian Dinar 155.280 Qatari Riyal 83.44 Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085 Saudi Riyal 80.72 Euro 0.319697 0.327697 Iraqi Dinar 0.000192 0.000252 Jordanian Dinar 427.440 Norwegian Krone 0.034414 0.039614 Jordanian Dinar 0.423076 0.430576 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.032 Romanian Leu 0.073194 0.073194 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Syrian Lira 2.159 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Slovakia 0.009025 0.019025 Lebanese Pound 0.000150 0.000250 Morocco Dirham 30.741 Swedish Krona 0.030924 0.035924 Moroccan Dirhams 0.021754 0.045754 Swiss Franc 0.310633 0.320833 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Turkish Lira 0.114820 0.121820 Nigerian Naira 0.001249 0.001884 US Dollar Transfer 302.800 US Dollar 302.350 Omani Riyal 0.780481 0.786161 Canadian Dollar 247.406 Euro 327.480 Australasia Qatar Riyal 0.082460 0.083673 Sterling Pound 454.200 Sterling Pound 451.816 Australian Dollar 0.227004 0.238504 Saudi Riyal 0.080110 0.080810 Canadian dollar 247.990 Euro 326.933 New Zealand Dollar 0.226406 0.235906 Syrian Pound 0.001283 0.001503 Turkish lira 112.880 Swiss Frank 288.209 Tunisian Dinar 0.151935 0.159935 Swiss Franc 318.400 Bahrain Dinar 801.346 America Turkish Lira 0.114820 0.121820 Australian Dollar 236.180 UAE Dirhams 82.645 Canadian Dollar 0.241552 0.250052 UAE Dirhams 0.081460 0.082609 US Dollar Buying 301.600 Qatari Riyals 83.875 US Dollars 0.298700 0.303400 Yemeni Riyal 0.001368 0.001448 BUSINESS THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 UK watchdog fines BoA’s Merrill Lynch $20 million

Bank failed to report transactions properly over seven years

LONDON: Britain’s markets regulator has fined The fine follows a private warning to the bank impacted as a result,” the bank said. Bank of America Merrill Lynch a record 13.2 mil- in 2002 and a fine of 150,000 pounds in 2006. The FCA said the fine equated to 1.5 pounds lion pounds ($20 million) for failing to report “Proper transaction reporting really matters. per incorrect or non-reported data for the first transactions properly over seven years. Merrill Lynch International has failed to get this time, up from a pound per line in the three most The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said right again, despite a private warning, a previous recent transaction reporting cases because yesterday that Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch fine, and extensive FCA guidance and enforce- those fines have not been high enough to International arm incorrectly reported 35 million ment action in this area,” said Georgina achieve “credible deterrence”. transactions and failed to report another Philippou, acting head of enforcement at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch would have 121,387 transactions between November 2007 FCA. “The size of the fine sends a clear message been fined 19 million pounds had it not settled and November 2014. Accurate and timely that we expect to be heard and understood at an early stage to obtain a 30 percent dis- reporting of transactions was crucial for spotting across the industry.” Bank of America Merrill count. insider trading and market manipulation, the Lynch said it was wholly committed to comply- The watchdog has, to date, fined 11 other FCA said. ing with all FCA requirements and continuously firms for transaction reporting breaches: ULAN BATOR: Mongolian shamans in fur and feather headdresses protesting against The record fine for reporting failures reflected sought to improve all necessary aspects of Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Instinet, a Canadian mining project they claim threatens ancient grave sites in Ulan Bator, the severity of the misconduct and a failure to reporting. Getco, Commerzbank, Societe Generale, City capital of Mongolia. Beneath Mongolia’s endless steppes lie an estimated more than adequately address the root causes over several “While regrettable, today’s decision principal- Index, James Sharp & Co, Plus500UK, and Royal $1 trillion worth of coal, copper gold, iron ore and other minerals, wealth that could years despite substantial guidance from the reg- ly refers to self identified issues which we have Bank of Scotland. The previous record fine for transform the lives of its three million inhabitants. — AFP ulator and a poor history of transaction report- sought to remediate as quickly as possible. We reporting breaches was 5.6 million pounds for Mineral-rich Mongolia ing compliance, it added. can confirm that no clients were financially RBS in 2013. — Reuters battles ‘resource curse’

ULAN BATOR: Chanting prayers to Tenger, way in the capricious world of international the all-knowing holy sky, Mongolian shamans finance and was simultaneously “the object of in fur and feather headdresses protested desire and scorn for global capitalism”. against a Canadian mining project they say Now authorities are trying to break the threatens ancient grave sites. “It’s for our love logjam. In February, Mongolia’s president for Mongolia, to protect our resources and pardoned three foreign former mining execu- territory,” said Tseyen-Oidoviin Sarantuya, tives who had been jailed for tax evasion in a who travelled more than 1,000 kilometers case that spooked investors. Earlier this (620 miles) to demonstrate in Ulan Bator’s month, Prime Minister Chimediin main square against the venture. Saikhanbileg-who can reportedly bench- “I want people to know that Mongolia press 175 kilograms-announced the govern- should remain Mongolian,” she said. Beneath ment and Rio Tinto had agreed “in principle” Mongolia’s expansive, largely empty steppes to go ahead with Oyu Tolgoi’s stalled second lie coal, copper, gold, iron ore and other min- phase, saying that making “historic decisions” erals whose worth is estimated at more than was his duty. Sam Walsh, Rio Tinto chief exec- $1 trillion wealth that could transform the utive, told the company’s annual meeting last lives of its three million inhabitants. week discussions were continuing. But efforts to extract it have tottered in the face of incessant internal fighting over ‘Earth spirits’ how much control and profit foreign compa- Ulan Bator has a national dilemma to con- nies should be allowed, and deep-rooted sus- tend with. The proud homeland of pan-Asian picions of outsiders. conqueror Genghis Khan, in more recent cen- Several naturally endowed countries-such turies Mongolia has frequently been a geopo- as Venezuela, Myanmar and Nigeria-are litical pawn in the power plays of huge neigh- regarded as having failed through corruption, bors China and Russia, both of which have bad governance or economic mismanage- dominated it in turn. ment to fully realise or effectively distribute Sodnomiin Tsetsgee, a kindergarten the benefits of their bounties. teacher expecting her first child, was among And Gantumuriin Uyanga, a member of the many who boycotted a controversial text the Great Hural parliament, warned AFP: message referendum that backed stalled for- “Mongolia already faces the resource curse. It eign resources investment ahead of the prime is reality now.” Her Mongolian National minister’s Oyu Tolgoi announcement. TOKYO: General view of a container wharf in Tokyo port yesterday. Japan posted its first trade surplus in almost three years as exports to North Democratic Party is part of the ruling coali- “We should use our resources for our- America soared and energy bills fell, giving an important psychological boost to Tokyo’s bid to revive the flagging economy. — AFP tion, but she said spiritual appeals illustrated selves,” she said. “It’s not good that only for- authorities’ failure to spread the wealth. eigners benefit from them.” Mongolia’s “It seems to me truly unfortunate that nomadic heritage, traditional animistic beliefs Japan logs first monthly people are asking help from the sky because and nearly seven decades of communism of the poor governance in Mongolia,” she have given it an enduring sense of the land as said. Four years ago the country led the common wealth-private land ownership was world in economic growth at 17.5 percent only constitutionally recognized after the trade surplus in 3 years thanks to a minerals boom exemplified by the country’s 1990 democratization. vast Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in the Myagmarjaviin Enkhzaya, vice president of TOKYO: Japan posted its first monthly trade sur- Japan has seen its whopping energy import bills the yen to weaken further in coming months, Gobi desert, controlled by Anglo-Australian the Institute of Mongol National Shamans, plus in almost three years yesterday as North decline in line with a dramatic slump in world oil which should lift the cost of imports by more resources giant Rio Tinto. But rising resource took part in the Ulan Bator protest and says American exports soared and energy bills fell, prices. But liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports than the yen-value of exports,” Marcel Thieliant nationalism and an increasingly stringent Toronto-based Centerra Gold’s plan would giving a psychological boost to Tokyo’s bid to remained high, with utilities forced into thermal at Capital Economics wrote in a commentary. business environment have dampened harm culturally important graves. revive the flagging economy. power generation due to the country’s entire fleet “The trade balance is unlikely to remain in investor enthusiasm, while the global com- The company says the burial sites’ loca- Finance ministry data showed exports rose of nuclear reactors still being offline, more than surplus for long.” Japan’s premier launched a modity bust makes exploiting them less prof- tions are known and it will not interfere with 8.5 percent while imports fell 14.5 percent, leav- four years after the disaster at Fukushima, the high-profile policy blitz in early 2013, dubbed itable. them. But Enkhzaya said: “We want people to ing a surplus of 229.3 billion yen ($1.9 billion), worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986. Abenomics, in a bid to end years of deflation In 2014 foreign direct investment into the understand that while you sleep greedy peo- the first time Japan’s trade balance has been in A weak yen has supported exports, with the and tepid growth. The plan initially showed landlocked country plummeted 74 percent, ple will be exploiting Mongolian natural the black since June 2012. value of shipments to North America jumping signs of working, with a falling yen sparking a Mongolian central bank data shows, and eco- resources as well as the mountains we wor- The stronger-than-expected figures come 22.1 percent last month, while goods bound for stock market rally while growth in the wider nomic growth dropped to 7.8 percent. ship. “There will be no land to inherit in future after a string of weak data raised doubts about the European Union climbed 9.1 percent. economy picked up. The Asian Development Bank forecasts because corrupt politicians are selling it the health of the world’s number-three econo- Exports to key trade partner China rose 3.9 per- But the campaign faltered after the govern- expansion will plunge by more than half this away.” At the same time Mongolia’s $1.3 tril- my, and as Tokyo and Washington emerged on cent-reversing a month-earlier drop. Shipments ment raised Japan’s sales tax last year to help year, to just 3.0 percent. Julian Dierkes, an lion in mineral riches are a treasure trove in a Tuesday from marathon talks on a Pacific-wide “strengthened largely on solid exports of cars to pay down an enormous national debt. expert on Mongolia at the University of British country with a gross domestic product of just free trade area saying they were close to a deal. the United States, the European Union and Asia That hammered consumer spending and led Columbia, said the country was still finding its $12 billion. — AFP Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hop- excluding China, and those of semiconductors to a brief recession, while falling oil prices hurt ing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — which and metal working machinery to ASEAN the Bank of Japan’s goal of reaching a 2.0 per- includes a dozen nations accounting for 40 per- (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) mar- cent inflation rate, a cornerstone of Abe’s plan. Australia inflation cent of the global economy-will help him push kets”, said Harumi Taguchi, principal economist Japan limped out of recession in the last through reforms to a protected agricultural sec- at IHS Global Insight. “The weak yen continued quarter of 2014 with an unimpressive 0.4 per- tor, a key element in his wider bid to stimulate to support export growth.” cent growth rate. Business confidence has fal- remains soft, keeping growth. tered as output at Japanese factories shrank in Yesterday’s trade data-which helped drive Weaker yen February, while inflation stalled as a key measure rate cut door open Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index to its first But Japan’s trade balance was not likely to of prices was flat for the first time in nearly two close above 20,000 in 15 years-underscored how stay in the black, economists said. “We expect years. — AFP SYDNEY: Australian consumer prices contained,” St George Bank senior econo- rose 0.2 percent in the three months to mist Jo Horton told AFP. “It does give the March, data showed yesterday, with the RBA room to cut interest rates again in annual headline inflation rate softening May, which is what we think will happen.” EU charges Gazprom gas to give the central bank room to cut The core inflation figures boosted the interest rates. The slight rise in the Australian dollar, which rose almost half a Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the first- US cent to 77.60 US cents. quarter of 2015 took the annual rate of giant with market abuse inflation to 1.3 percent, according to the Easing bias Australian Bureau of Statistics-in line with The Reserve Bank has maintained an BRUSSELS: The European Union yester- fought the Kiev government. The EU analysts’ expectations. easing bias since it cut the cash rate for day charged Russia’s state-controlled has long claimed Putin has been stok- Headline inflation also grew 0.2 per- the first time in 18 months two months Gazprom energy giant of abusing its ing the conflict for Russia’s gain. cent in the previous September- ago. The Australian economy is facing a dominant position in central and east- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei December period. But the annual rate of rocky path ahead, with non-mining sec- ern EU nations in an antitrust case that Lavrov stuck to legal, economic argu- growth slowed from 1.7 percent for the tors yet to fill the gap left by a fall-off in will further test tense relations between ments Wednesday, saying that all of three months to December. resources investment after an unprece- Brussels and Moscow. EU Competition Gazprom’s current EU contracts “were The softer inflation figures were driv- dented boom. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said signed in strict compliance with the en by a 12.2 percent drop in fuel prices Some analysts expect another rate Gazprom is strong-arming customer legal regime that was in force in the EU and a 8.0 percent dip in the prices of cut in May and said the latest inflation nations ranging from Estonia to at the time.” If some might consider yes- fruit. Moving in the opposite direction data had not changed their forecasts. Bulgaria, where it sometimes almost terday’s decision politically motivated, were seasonal lifts in the cost of tertiary “We retain the view that the RBA will cut fully controls the gas market, by setting Vestager can note the EU took similar education, which increased by 5.7 per- the cash rate further in May on the basis unfair pricing and contract restrictions. action just last week against Google, cent, and medical and hospital services, of weak outlook for domestic demand, Vestager said she was investigating alleging the American Internet giant is which rose by 2.2 percent. particularly non-mining business invest- Gazprom’s sales policies throughout also abusing its dominant position. Underlying or core inflation, which ment,” ANZ bank’s co-head of Australian most of the EU’s eastern rim and was The standoff over Ukraine has strips out volatile items and is more economics Riki Polygenis said in a note, focused on three key issues: whether forced the 28-nation EU into a sudden the company is preventing cross-bor- closely watched by the Reserve Bank of although she added it would be a close rethink of its energy policies to make it der flows of gas to other EU nations, less reliant on Russia and Gazprom. Australia, came in at 0.6 percent and took call. Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s chief charging unfairly high prices and The Kremlin has often been seen as the year-on-year rate to 2.35 percent. economist Saul Eslake told AFP the demanding to keep control of the using its dominance in gas supplies to Annual core inflation for the previous prospect of lower interest rates was not pipelines in return for gas. “It all ends Europe for political gains, never more period was marginally weaker at 2.3 per- an open-and-shut case following unem- up in one - abuse of dominant position,” so than when it stopped delivering gas BRUSSELS: European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe cent. While the latest annual core infla- ployment data released last week that she said. Gazprom immediately dis- into and through Ukraine twice over tion rate was stronger than the headline showed the jobless rate had fallen to 6.1 missed the accusations as “unfounded.” Vestager speaks to the press at the European Commission headquar- the past decade. Europe imports some figure, it was near the bottom end of the percent in March from 6.2 percent in The company said in a statement it ters in Brussels yesterday. EU regulators formally charged Russian gas 40 percent of its gas from Russia, half of Reserve Bank of Australia’s two to three February. Reserve Bank governor Glenn “strictly adheres to all the norms of the giant Gazprom with abusing its dominant market position in Europe, that via pipelines that run through percent inflation target band. It kept the Stevens said in a speech in New York on international law and legislation in the a move that risks inflaming tensions with the Kremlin. — AFP Ukraine. By hindering gas trade among door open for the central bank to ease Tuesday that his board remained open countries where Gazprom operates.” after the company with strong links to #Gazprom,” adding there was “no future 8 nations in the EU’s eastern rim, it the cash rate again after slashing it to a to lower rates. “The board has... clearly The move comes at a time when the President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin. for #Kremlin political& energy black- could enforce a “divide-and-rule” policy new record low of 2.25 percent in signalled a willingness to lower it even EU has already imposed economic and Others disagreed. Almost immediately, mail.” The decision to send an official that gives it excessive power, the EU February. “We did see underlying CPI further, should that be helpful in secur- political sanctions on Russia for its Lithuanian President Dalia statement of objections comes after said. Gazprom has a lot at stake, too - edging up in annual terms, but if we look ing sustainable economic growth,” involvement in the violence in eastern Grybauskaite, a staunch opponent of its some EU leaders and Moscow reached the 28-nation EU is its most lucrative at it, it indicates that inflation remains Stevens said. — AFP Ukraine. Vestager insisted politics neighbor Russia, tweeted that “Finally a peace deal that calmed the conflict in market. The company has 12 weeks to played no role in her decision to go @EU —Commission took on eastern Ukraine, where rebels have respond to the EU allegations. - AP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 BUSINESS European stocks rally fizzles out on earnings

LONDON: European stocks fell yesterday, with shares was down 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX down 2 percent, a roller coaster ride after the and Japan’s Nikkei closed above the In core bond markets, Germany’s a series of weak company earnings reports was down 0.8 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 company announced a record 6.4 billion 20,000 point level for the first time in 15 benchmark 10-year yield was unchanged reversing a rally seen earlier in the week and down a half of one percent. pound loss. Despite this, Germany’s DAX years. at 10 basis points, and the 10-year US halting the positive momentum overnight that US futures pointed to a lower open on Wall remains near record highs and the FTSEurofirst Asian stocks continued to draw sup- yield held steady at 1.91 percent. lifted some of Asia’s biggest markets to multi- Street of about a third of one percent. 300 is near its highest level in more than 14 port from Chinese measures to spur lend- Spanish, French and Italian yields fell, year highs. Greece’s debt crisis remained at the Richemont warned its net profit for the year years. ing and combat a slowing economy. On with investor cash to be ploughed back forefront of investors’ minds. But a gathering of would drop by 36 percent and Kering’s Gucci “Flows are starting to wobble a bit but this Sunday, China’s central bank cut the into these countries’ bonds between now European finance ministers this week won’t be posted a bigger-than-expected drop in sales, is more of a pause for breath in the middle of reserve requirement ratio for the coun- and the end of the month reaching as the crunch meeting it had been billed as, giv- and both luxury groups were among the worst earnings season,” said Francois Chaulet, fund try’s lenders for the second time in two much as 65 billion euros, according to Citi ing Greek markets, euro zone bonds and the performers. manager at Montsegur Finance in Paris. “The months. analysts’ estimates. euro some breathing space. Shares in Britain’s largest retailer Tesco ini- rally is not yet in doubt.” In Asia, China’s leading The Shanghai Composite Index was The euro rose a third of a percent to Europe’s FTSE EuroFirst 300 index of leading tially rose more than 2 percent but were last index rose 2.4 percent to a seven-year high also spurred by comments from state $1.0770. “At the margin, the commentary media which declared the bull market from the EU/Greek talks was hopeful, “has just begun.” though not hopeful of any resolution this week,” said SocGen’s currency analysts, Greek woes noting that as long as $1.0850 resistance The Greek government’s looming cash held the trend could still be lower. crunch initially weighed on local markets The Australian dollar was the biggest as Greek stocks hit a three-year low and currency mover. It gained 1 percent to the two-year bond yield hovered around $0.7790 after core inflation rose 0.6 per- 30 percent. But by midday both stocks cent in the first quarter, higher than a and bonds were higher. European forecast of 0.5 percent and possibly tak- finance ministers meet in Riga to discuss ing a rate cut next month off the table. Greece this week. The deadline for agree- In commodities, crude oil extended ment will be pushed back, however, and losses as Middle East tensions eased after the market remained cautious after Greek Saudi Arabia announced an end to air finance minister Yanis Varoufakis cited strikes against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in signs of convergence on Tuesday. Yemen, though residents reported a fur- European Central Bank board member ther strike today. Brent crude was down Benoit Coeure said the ECB will continue 0.5 percent at $61.73 a barrel after tum- to fund Greek banks as long as they were bling more than 2 percent overnight, and solvent and dismissed the growing talk US crude futures were down 0.9 percent that Greece might ditch the euro. at $56.13 a barrel. —Reuters BUSINESS THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Gulf stock markets face key test at 200-day averages Long-term uptrends could continue

DUBAI: Major Gulf stock indexes are nearing tech- straight daily closes above the average, now at the highest since last May, while on Tuesday Dubai nical resistance on their 200-day averages and 9,572 points, would be needed to confirm a clean posted its strongest volume in 14 months. strong trading volume suggests they may break break. Another is an improving outlook for oil prices; above those levels, paving the way for long-term The 200-day average roughly coincides with Brent crude has rebounded in recent days to 2015 uptrends to resume. the 61.8 percent retracement of the drop from the highs near $65 a barrel, and some analysts are now The Gulf markets tumbled below their 200-day index’s multi-year peak of 11,160 points, hit last talking of substantial further gains. averages in the final months of last year as the September. A break would point back up to that But in any case, the Gulf Arab economies have plunge in oil prices shattered retail investors’ confi- peak; the slope of the uptrend line from the shown in recent months that they are more dence. The indexes’ technical breakdowns sig- December low suggests it would be hit by the end resilient to cheap oil than some economists had nalled the end of bull runs that had lasted a cou- of this year. feared. They have had the fiscal reserves to contin- Al-Waab Real Estate takes part ple of years. The Dubai index, last at 4,168 points, is ue heavy state spending, while private sectors In the last few days, however, the indexes have approaching its 200-day average, now at 4,259 have continued to grow healthily. shown signs of rising sustainably above the aver- points; any break would leave no significant resist- This can be seen in declining correlations in Bahrain’s quarry market ages one again. If that happens, it would indicate ance before the 4,700-point area, where it peaked between stock indexes and the oil price. While the that the panic over oil had ended, and would be in the last quarter of 2014. Abu Dhabi is also near- 25-day correlation between the Saudi index and KUWAIT: Oryx Industries, the leading Gulf ment, Oryx Industries sets itself to be a lead- seen by many technical analysts as a positive shift ing its 200-day average. It is by no means certain Brent was very high at above 0.9 for most of the producer of construction materials based in ing supplier to the Bahrain market providing in the long-term outlook for the markets. that the indexes will break above their averages in period between October and February, it has now Fujairah, secured a new agreement with 20% of Bahrain’s needs of quarry products. The Saudi stock index, last at 9,559 points, test- coming days or weeks, but there are several rea- dropped back below 0.6. Bahrain-based Eastern Asphalt and Mixed In a statement regarding the latest ed and failed to break above its 200-day average sons to think they might. The planned opening of the Saudi Arabian Concrete Co, (EAMCO) to supply 2.0 million announcement, Majdi Khalaf, Deputy in mid-March, subsequently pulling back sharply. stock market to direct foreign investment on June tons of quarry products over one year at a Chairman and Group CEO of Oryx Industries, This week it has begun testing that level again, Heavy trading 15 is another long-term positive for that bourse, signing ceremony that took place on Sunday said; “Today’s agreement signals another key closing above it on Sunday before falling back. One is heavy trading volumes, a positive tech- although fund inflows may initially be slow April 19, 2015. Al-Waab Real Estate, based in milestone in our group as we stretch our Classic technical analysis suggests at least two nical sign; Saudi Arabia’s volume on Sunday was because of cautious regulation. — Reuters Kuwait, is an active player in the GCC invest- capacities to supply renowned clients across ment domain. The primary focus of Al-Waab the GCC. This agreement is a clear sign of the is real estate development projects. The cur- construction progress currently underway in rent portfolio of Al-Waab consists mainly of Bahrain. Our research shows that demand for real estate assets in Kuwait and Qatar. quarry products in Bahrain is expected to hit The important announcement comes as 10mn tons by 2017, with continuous demand Turkish CB favorable market conditions in Bahrain are from the market, internal supply has become expected to witness $22 billion of spending limited and forced contractors for external on new infrastructure projects in the coming sources”“ He continued;”The strategic expan- leaves rates 3 years, including expansion of the Bahrain sion of Oryx Industries throughout the GCC international Airport, development plans at region continues to progress according to our on hold Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA)and enhancement company’s vision and we are very pleased to to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) be contributing to the growth and success of refinery. EAMCO.” ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank left key interest Demand for quarry products in Bahrain is Muneer Al-A’ali, Group General Manager rates unchanged yesterday, holding fire ahead of forecasted to continue rising over the coming of Eastern Asphalt, commented on the sign- a June parliamentary election, even as the lira’s 2 to 3 years with an expected 40,000 new res- ing by saying; “Our long term vision received slide to record lows risks fuelling inflation. idential units to be developed by the govern- a significant boost with the signing of this lat- However the bank took steps on liquidity ment to supply the increasing demand wit- est agreement with Oryx Industries”. He later management, making a “measured cut” in its nessed lately driven by strong population commended Oryx on their successful propos- growth. Fujairah’s quarry industry is posi- al stating; “Competition in the region is very ARLINGTON: An American Airlines Boeing 737 airplane as it takes off from a runway at forex depo lending rate, the rate at which banks can borrow emergency dollar funds, and hiking tioned to supply this demandas the emirate is strong, the decision to sign our latest agree- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. US aerospace the supplier to over 50% of the shortage in ment with Oryx Industries was based upon the amount it pays banks on lira reserves. The giant Boeing reported April 22, 2015 first-quarter net profit soared 38 percent from a importing markets within the GCC (mainly their admirable capabilities and vast experi- year ago and reaffirmed its 2015 forecasts for financial results and deliveries. — AFP moves aim to ease some of the pressure on Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain). With this agree- ence in the field.” Turkey’s currency by encouraging lenders to Boeing tops Q1 hold more lira with the central bank, while boosting dollar liquidity. President Tayyip Erdogan, a vociferous advo- profit forecasts cate of lower rates, has halted public criticism of the bank in recent weeks after his comments NEW YORK: Boeing Co delivered more air- adjusted profit was $1.97 per share - beat- sparked concern about political meddling in liners in the first quarter, offsetting sluggish ing the $1.81 per share forecast by analysts monetary policy and a sell-off in the lira. results in the defense side of its business surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. A The bank left the one-week repo rate at 7.50 and pushing its first-quarter earnings up 38 year earlier, adjusted profit was $1.76 per percent and the overnight borrowing rate at 7.25 percent. The profit topped Wall Street share. percent. The overnight lending rate remained at expectations, but revenue was below fore- Revenue rose 8 percent to $22.15 billion. 10.75 percent and the primary dealers’ overnight casts. Boeing’s commercial-planes business However, six analysts surveyed by Zacks is soaring as airlines use some of their expected $22.63 billion. The company reaf- borrowing rate at 10.25 percent. All 16 econo- record profits to buy new, more fuel-effi- firmed its forecast for full-year earnings in mists in a Reuters poll expected the bank to cient jets. Company executives have the range of $8.20 to $8.40 per share and leave rates on hold. recently brushed aside concern that falling revenue between $94.5 billion and $96.5 “A measured cut in the forex deposit lending oil prices could undercut demand for new billion. rates and a measured hike in the partial remu- jets from Boeing and European rival Airbus Like recent quarters, it was a tale of neration rate on Turkish lira required reserves Group NV. Boeing’s two very different business seg- will support financial stability,” the central bank Boeing delivered 184 airliners in the ments: Earnings from commercial airplanes said in a statement. The lira, which has slid as quarter, up from 161 in the same period rose 8 percent on a 21 percent jump in rev- much as 14 percent against the dollar this year last year, with two-thirds of them for the enue. That segment accounted for two- to a record low of 2.7305 last week, weakened venerable 737 jet, a workhorse on short thirds of profit and sales. The defense and and mid-range routes around the world. space business declined, with earnings slightly to 2.6975 after the decision. Meanwhile, orders minus cancelations down 4 percent and revenue off by 12 per- The currency’s weakness has been exacerbat- rose by a net of 110 in the quarter, and cent, as tight defense budgets cut into ed by uncertainty over the election outcome and Boeing now has 5,700 orders on its books. sales. whether the polls will result in a coalition gov- About half are for an upcoming version of In trading ahead of the opening bell, ernment or enable Erdogan to fulfill his goal of the 737. The backlog is valued at $495 bil- Boeing shares were down $1.05 to $152.28. creating an executive presidency. lion. The Chicago-based company said yes- At the end of trading on Tuesday, they were The central bank has also been reluctant to KIEV: An employee walks next to a gas installation during a training exercise for han- terday that net income rose to $1.34 billion, up 18 percent so far in 2015, compared defend the lira by selling dollars and eating into dling emergencies at a gas-pumping station on the gas pipeline in the small town or $1.87 per share. Excluding $113 million with about a 2 percent gain in the Standard its $35 billion net forex reserves. — Reuters Boyarka yesterday in the Kiev region. The oil and gas market of Ukraine has about in pension expenses, the company said & Poor’s 500 index. — AP 500 companies and enterprises of different ownership. — AFP Volvo ousts CEO, turns to Heartbreak, tears as Russians Scania for replacement unable to repay dollar loans MOSCOW: Yekaterina Kolotovkina choked back tears as she call-in last week, refused to bail them out, saying they had vol- STOCKHOLM: Swedish truckmaker Volvo named Martin unlikely in the short term. Volvo shares have gained rough- told how her world collapsed within a few short months. In untarily taken on additional risks by borrowing in dollars, Lundstedt, the head of rival Volkswagen-owned Scania as its ly half as much as the STOXX Europe 600 Industrial Goods March, her husband died and she and her three-year-old son euros and the Japanese yen. Larisa Rublyova, another hunger chief executive yesterday, replacing embattled Olof Persson & Services Index over the past five years and underper- now risk being evicted from their Moscow apartment as she striker, said this was a major blow for them. “Of course we’d who has led a sweeping efficiency drive. formed the stocks of competitors such as Daimler and US struggles to make payments. In 2008, the 40-year-old took expected a different reaction,” she told AFP, adding that they Volvo, vying for dominance of the truck market with Paccar Inc. out a mortgage worth nearly $180,000 to buy a small apart- would keep refusing food. Germany’s Daimler and VW, also released better than ment on the outskirts of the Russian capital. The monthly pay- “What else is there for us?,” Rublyova said softly after sever- expected quarterly earnings two days ahead of schedule SCANIA SYSTEM ments were fixed in US dollars. al days of fasting. With the ruble having bounced back partial- and said it would seek an external partner for parts of its IT Lundstedt is a 25-year veteran at Scania, whose flexible Kolotovkina is one of tens of thousands of Russians who ly, Putin said the worst of the crisis had passed, but with bor- business. production system modelled on the ground-breaking tech- took out mortgages denominated in foreign currencies, lured rowers still facing payments about 50 percent higher they fail While Persson’s nearly four-year restructuring program niques of Toyota in the 1990s has helped it outpace Volvo in by lower interest rates, in the years before the fallout of the to see any light at the end of the tunnel. This month, mort- has contributed to some of the strongest earnings of his terms of profitability over the past decade. Ukraine crisis and low oil prices ravaged the Russian econo- gage holders appealed to Putin in an open letter accusing tenure, Lundstedt is considered one of the most respected Scania’s fine-tuned manufacturing, which uses a modular my. As the value of the Russian ruble collapsed under the Russian banks of routinely mis-selling the mortgages. “Most of executives in the trucking industry and shareholders hope system that is the back bone of car making across the globe, pressure of falling oil prices and Western sanctions last year, the borrowers have reached their physical and psychological he will improve the company’s global position. has long been the envy of the trucking world and under- her $2,000 monthly installments doubled in ruble terms. limit,” said the letter, their third appeal to Putin. Shares in Volvo, which have underperformed competi- pinned VW’s decision to buy out Scania last year. Kolotovkina’s 52-year-old husband had been sick with “Many families who had taken out mortgages planning to tors’ during what Sweden’s shareholders association has Owners will be looking to Lundstedt to find similar worry that the family would no longer be able to make mort- have kids are now on the brink of divorce,” it said, adding that called “four lost years” under Persson, shot up 12.4 percent answers for the sprawling production base of Volvo that has gage payments. “He was very distressed. His blood pressure some were contemplating selling their organs. Hundreds of to 113.7 crowns by 0847 GMT, higher than any time during historically struggled to adapt to rapid swings in the highly was going up and down,” Kolotovkina told AFP. “He died of a families have already been taken to court over arrears and his helm. “The action program that Persson initiated seems cyclical demand for commercial vehicles. stroke.” The economic crisis in Russia has spared few people, may face eviction. Three families have already been ordered to be biting and he should get credibility for that,” Christer “Their (Scania’s) success story was that they could contin- but foreign currency mortgage holders have been among to vacate their apartments. Irina Safyanova, a spokeswoman Gardell, managing partner at Cevian, Volvo’s second-biggest ue being the small company, only with a lof of sales,” those who have suffered most. In recent months, they have for the group of hard-currency mortgage holders, said the owner by votes, told Reuters. Hampus Engellau, analyst at Handelsbanken, said. “And struggled to keep up with payments that often exceed their pressure on borrowers had been so intense that three men- “But at the same time we support the board’s decision to Volvo probably lost that along the road-side in its empire families’ monthly income. Kolotovkina’s husband included-had died recently of strokes. appoint Martin Lundstedt, who is widely recognised as one building, building huge walls of white-collar workers.” They have slashed their spending, borrowed from friends “They worked a lot and worried,” she told AFP. “One of them and in some cases taken out additional bank loans. Many feel died during a business trip.” Borrowers, some of whom of the best leaders in the trucking world. Now he has the Lundstedt, whose easy-going manner endeared him to trapped as selling is not even an option as they would still acknowledge their poor judgement, are growing increasingly assignment to make Volvo the world’s best trucks company.” Scania staff and helped smooth its integration into VW, will end up owing money to the bank. They have also staged a desperate. On Sunday, one man chained himself to the fence Persson’s plan aimed to cut 10 billion Swedish crowns assume his role in October, with CFO Jan Gurander serving number of pickets and flash mobs in Moscow and Saint of a foreign embassy in Moscow. This month a 89-year-old ($1.2 billion) in costs and boost profitability to the level of as acting CEO in the interim. Persson meantime delivered Petersburg and bombarded their banks, officials and MPs wheelchair-bound WWII veteran picketed the seat of the some of the strongest earnings of his tenure. Sweden’s more nimble rivals such as Scania, a task it has yet to achieve with requests to recalculate their loans in rubles using the for- Russian government building in support of her granddaugh- and so pressure from shareholders has been building. biggest listed company by sales and top private sector eign currencies’ pre-crisis exchange rate. An Orthodox church ter who had taken out a hard-currency mortgage. Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, who as recently as April 1 employer said adjusted operating profit rose to 4.60 billion in Moscow has held prayers in their support. had said he was confident in the work Persson was doing crowns from a year-ago 2.59 billion, topping a mean forecast ‘Inhumane banking system’ amid reports he would get the axe, told a news conference of 3.47 billion in Reuters poll of analysts. Hunger strike Igor Nikolayev, director of the FBK Grant Thornton Institute Lundstedt was being brought in to lead a new chapter for Volvo also kept unchanged its outlook for growing Last week several mortgage holders went on hunger strike of Strategic Analysis, said the mortgage-holders’ demands for Volvo. heavy-duty truck markets in both Europe and North in a last-ditch attempt to get lenders and the government to government intervention were justified. “The hard currency “We are now entering into a new phase. You can’t reach America this year, but further lowered its expectations for a offer them an acceptable solution. “This is the only way to mortgage holders have justified grievances against the world leadership through just cost savings,” Svanberg said. decline in Brazil and a sharp fall for construction equipment change anything,” said Larisa Morozovich, adding her bank authorities,” Nikolayev told AFP, arguing that the government The choice of a new CEO with such strong truck-making cre- in key market China. had offered to extend the loan period and pass over the guarantees the ruble’s stability and should share responsibili- dentials is likely to lead to expectations for a further stream- To placate investors Volvo has touted the possible sale of mortgage to her daughter when she grows old. ty for their plight with the banks. Banks say they have tried to lining of a group that still generates nearly a third of rev- parts of its large IT unit while selling a stake in Indian partner “I understand that this is very dangerous,” the 38-year-old reach a compromise with their clients. The target of many enues from other businesses so that he can focus on trucks. Eicher Motors. Volvo, which also makes buses, construction said of the hunger strike, breaking into tears in front of complaints, Delta Credit, which is part of France’s Societe Investors like Gardell have made no secret further spin- equipment and boat engines, said it was looking to bring in reporters. Borrowers had hoped that President Vladimir Putin Generale, said it had already come up with “individual solu- offs in the wake of the 2012 sale of Volvo’s aero operation a partner for parts of its IT business, with annual sales would take their side in their dispute with banks. tions” for more than 1,000 families who have taken out dollar- would be welcome, though a downturn for construction totalling about 1.5 billion crowns, opening the door to a But the Russian strongman, speaking during a televised denominated mortgages.—AFP gear makes a deal for the biggest unit outside trucks deal. — Reuters BUSINESS THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Strong non-oil sector growth in UAE a strong buffer

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Oil GDP growth is expected to remain constrained tourism and real estate sectors. in the near-to-medium term by weak global oil market con- The recent Iran-West nuclear framework, if it leads to an ditions. Oil GDP is forecast to contract in 2015 before recov- actual agreement and to the removal of sanctions, could be ering slightly in 2016. Non-oil sector growth is projected to a boon for UAE trade, particularly in the non-oil sector. The remain resilient at rates of 5-6 percent y/yin 2015 and 2016. UAE is Iran’s biggest non-oil trading partner and Iran’s This sector will continue to be led by the booming tourism, biggest source of imported goods. real estate and construction (particularly in transport and hospitality) sectors, especially as the Dubai Expo 2020 Bank credit growth draws closer. Loans & advances and personal loans, two key gauges of The Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell for the bank lending, remain on an upward trend. Growth in ‘loans second consecutive month in March to 56.3, on the back of & advances’ averaged 7.2 percent in 2014, higher than the a moderation in all of the sub-components, with the excep- 5.5 percent seen in 2013. ‘Personal loans’ growth climbed tion of new export orders. Some of the moderation is likely from an annual average of 5.6 percent to8.9 percent in related to the stronger US dollar (and thereby Dirham), 2014. In February 2015, ‘loans & advances’ and ‘personal affecting Dubai’s relatively open economy. The outlook on loans’ logged in growth rates of 8.7 percent y/y and 7.6 per- both domestic and external demand however, remains cent y/y respectively. Credit grow this expected to continue strong. property sector to prevent “bubbly” conditions. Additional inflation is expected to average 3.0 percent in 2015 and 3.5 to gradually trend upwards in 2015, especially on buoyant The corporate sector is forecast to strongly benefit from housing stock, together with the strict vigilance exercised percent in 2016. levels of economic activity in the non-oil sector. the long-awaited changes in the companies’ law. One of the by the local authorities, should help prevent a repeat of the In 2014, the loan-to-deposit ratio, at 89.6 percent, was lit- changes includes lowering the minimum percentage of exuberant price behavior witnessed in 2013.According to Small fiscal deficit expected tle changed from 2013. As of February 2015 it stands at 90.8 equity that a company needs to float, from 55 percent to 30 Asteco, another major real estate services company, 12,000 The UAE’s 2015 fiscal balance (assuming a breakeven oil percent. Annual growth in the broad M2 money supply percent. This should lead to an increase in initial public apartment units and 2,000 villa units are expected to be price of $70/b) is forecast to dip into a slight deficit amidst measure rose further; it averaged 18.5 percent in 2014, offering (IPO) activity, as the 55 percent requirement was delivered in 2015, almost double the estimated number of higher spending levels and lower oil revenues. The fiscal much higher than the annual average of 11.8 percent in deemed too high by entrepreneurs reluctant to divest too units that were delivered in 2014. balance is projected to slip from around a surplus of 3 per- 2013. Monetary policy has been rather accommodative: much from their own businesses. Furthermore, the UAE is The appreciation in asset prices, real estate and equity, cent of GDP in 2014,to a deficit of approximately 1.3 per- the UAE’s three-month and one-month interbank rates also in the final stages of drafting a foreign investment law has helped indebted companies (government-related enti- cent in 2015. However, with abundant financial reserves, have remained low and below 1 percent in 2014 and early that would allow 100 percent foreign ownership of busi- ties in particular)to repay some debt ahead of schedule, which make up a staggering 200 percent of GDP, it is unlike- 2015. nesses in certain sectors. meet their repayment deadlines and/or renegotiate better ly that the UAE economy will engage in significant fiscal terms. Debt rollovers have made it easier for some compa- consolidation at least in the medium-term. Both Dubai and Market performances remain solid Concerns about a real estate bubble nies to activate and re-activate new projects. Abu Dhabi are scheduled to maintain their high levels of The main Abu Dhabi index and main Dubai index were The rate of appreciation in residential property prices in public spending. Public spending in Dubai is expected to up 10 percent and 19 percent respectively in 2014. Dubai eased throughout 2014, coming off alarming highs Consumer price inflation rise even further in the run-up to the Expo 2020 event and Although they both have come off their 2014 highs on low- seen at the end of 2013. The slowdown in residential prices Headline inflation maintained its upward trend in 2014 as a large portion of its maturing debt becomes due around er oil prices and a softening property sector, the main stock was more pronounced in the second half of and into early 2015. In February CPI inflation pencilled in 3.6 the same period. market indexes continue to hover at high levels thanks to 2014.Highertransaction fees, the imposition of mortgage percent y/y, its second highest reading since March 2009, Should the UAE be pressured to do some fiscal consoli- strong investor confidence. The new companies’ law passed caps and greater housing supply have helped tame price following a sharp acceleration in housing costs (primarily dation or budget cuts, then we may see reductions in the by the UAE government in early April, a potential Iran rises. In that environment, sellers became more willing to housing rents).Housing inflation was at 7.4 percent y/y in subsidy levels (5 percent of GDP in 2013) and Abu Dhabi nuclear deal and possible increase in the foreign ownership lower prices to meet buyers’ expectations. According to February. It has been on an upward trend since the end of federal services (7 percent of GDP in 2013). limit, further underscored that confidence. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a major real estate services compa- 2013 on the back of a recovering residential property sec- The UAE’s safe haven status, improving corporate debt ny, prices of apartments and villas in Dubai rose by23 per- tor. Upcoming new supply should lead to some correction Current account surplus environment and robust economy, have all helped keep cent y/y and 12 percent y/y, respectively, in the fourth quar- in housing rent inflation in the medium term and allay The current account surplus is expected to hover around investor sentiment afloat. The main credit default swaps, ter of 2014. upward pressures on the inflation rate. A stronger US dollar 15 percent of GDP in 2015 and 2016.Lower oil export earn- good indications of the level of risk within an economy, Local authorities have reiterated time and again, that and lower commodity prices are also expected to apply ings and higher imports are projected to be offset by have remained relatively low. they will continue to closely monitor developments in the some downward pressure on the headline inflation rate.CPI stronger non-oil export earnings, especially from the

Gulf Air transfers Madinah Operations to New Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport

MANAMA: The Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carri- er Gulf Air, has officially transferred its operations to the new Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Al Madinah Al Munawarah, coinciding with the start of the airport’s test run operations and in the lead up to its formal inaugu- ration. “Gulf Air was established in 1950 specifically to facilitate movement between the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Since then, we have maintained strong relations with the Saudi market: continuing to study potential routes and strategi- cally expanding and strengthening our offering to cater to passenger demand and connect travelers from the far corners of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mobiles at the ready: BMW to regional and international destinations through our network. We have been operating to Al Mobi launches in Kuwait Madinah Al Munawarah since June 2010 and we are and, most recently, the airline’s 4 weekly service to the peak travel periods of Ramadan and Haj while delighted to welcome this new airport - a timely both Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport - its current annual capacity of 8 million passengers addition that will enhance and facilitate passenger ELQ, Gassim - and Ta’if Regional Airport - TIF, Taif - will increase to 12 million when it is officially inau- KUWAIT: Taking your favorite car brand wher- BMW Middle East’s commitment to localiz- movement,” said Gulf Air A/Chief Executive Officer which were both launched in January 2015. gurated. ever you go, BMW Middle East has introduced ing the brand and improving customer service Maher Salman Al Musallam. Catering to passenger demand the new Prince Gulf Air flights can be booked online at BMW Mobi, an optimized BMW website for continues to be a top priority in the Middle Gulf Air operates a 5 weekly service linking Al Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport, gulfair.com, by calling the airline’s 24 hour mobile devices and desktops, to cater for the East. With Arabic speakers making up 60 per- Madinah Al Munawarah to the airline’s Bahrain hub, occupies an area of 4 million square meters and can Worldwide Contact Centre on (+973) 17373737, or growing number of people using technology cent1 of the population, combined with the supplementing the national carrier’s multiple daily receive up to 160 aircraft daily. The airport has 64 through any Gulf Air sales office and approved trav- to access information. fact that two markets in the Middle East are flights to and from Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh travel desks that will increase by a further 16 during el agencies. A first for the automotive industry in the amongst the top five countries worldwide Middle East, BMW Mobi is available in both when it comes smart phone penetration; the English and Arabic, and features a number of UAE is top with three in four people - 74 per- customer-friendly options. Whether on the cent own a smartphone, while Saudi Arabia is Warba Bank launches ‘Mosawama’ move, at the beach or in your house, customers third with a penetration rate of 73 percent2. First Gulf can access BMW-ME.com or http://www.bmw- The GCC as a whole has a high internet pene- for local, international commodities kuwait.com/. And, with just a couple of clicks, tration with Kuwait number one in the region Bank Q1 profit The first of its kind by an Islamic bank one gets a 360-degree view of any BMW vehi- with 99 percent, Qatar and Bahrain with 97 per- cle or even choose the color and additional cent and UAE with 94 percent3. KUWAIT: Warba Bank strongly believes in the compliant. It covers domestic and international packages of the car that best suits their prefer- Commenting on the launch BMW Mobi, falls short importance of providing innovative banking prod- commodities through and advanced electronic sys- ence. They can also access a preview of how Michael Keller, Marketing Manager for BMW ucts and solutions serving all segments of the soci- tem that records all the transaction phases. It also the car would look via a visualizer function on Group Middle East, said: “Computers and of estimates ety. For continuing its strategy for launching new provides the customer with the necessary data that BMW Mobi that enables them to change the mobile phones have become the main source products satisfy customers’ aspirations and require- enables him/her to dispose the commodity directly cars’ body color, rims and design packages. of information for many people, particularly ABU DHABI: First quarter net profit from ments, Warba Bank has recently introduced the via smart devices at the least effort. Through this For the hardcore car enthusiasts, an here in the Middle East, where mobile advertis- First Gulf Bank (FGB) failed to match ana- new BCT service representing a trading platform service, the transaction will not be carried out overview of all the technical data of any BMW ing currently outpaces online, therefore in lyst estimates yesterday despite rising by for domestic and international commodities. This directly between the Bank and the supplier, but will vehicle, as well as insights about its design, recognition of this change in consumer habits, 7 percent thanks to higher fee income. comes within the framework of the efforts of the be done through an independent party having driving comfort and safety features, is also we have launched BMW Mobi to enable our Defying fears that a lower oil price Retail Banking Group in providing special services direct authority on the commodity thus ensuring available through BMW Mobi. Once users want discerning customers to access information might start to impact the profitability of and products to customers in personal finance in not selling the item for more than one party at a to get a real feel of the BMW car of their choice, and customize their car with a touch of a banks, the earnings of banks from the accordance with the rules of Islamic Sharia and time. In addition to the easy processes in imple- they can book a test drive. Another added fea- screen or a click of a button in their mother United Arab Emirates have been strong so rules of retail finance services. menting transactions through the service, it cuts ture via BMW Mobi for BMW fans is that they tongue, highlighting our continuous efforts to far. This new service provides Warba Bank cus- down the costs borne by the customer when sell- can also download exclusive wallpapers and remain industry leaders.” Illustrating this resilience, the larger tomers as well as customers of other banks with ing or what is called merchant loss. This service will ringtones. Emirates NBD reported a 60 percent year investment opportunities and more options to pur- enable the customer to get the full sale amount in on year profit jump earlier yesterday. FGB, chase goods and products available both locally his/her account directly without any discounts. the third-largest lender by assets in the and internationally without any loss margin. The Warba Bank will bear any costs paid for this transac- KIPCO contributes to global UAE, made a net profit of 1.42 billion service is distinguished by quickly performing the tion for better serving its customers.” dirhams ($386.7 million) for the three transactions where the customer receives the Al-Musallam indicated that Warba Bank is keen vaccination program months ending March 31, up from 1.33 entire commodity without any to be the first in launching initia- billion dirhams in the same period a year additional fees on the transaction, tives that reflect the Bank’s strate- KUWAIT: KIPCO - the Kuwait Projects around the world are more likely to attend ago, it said in an emailed statement. and the sale amount is directly gy represented in encouraging the Company - and its Group companies have school and grow up to become productive However, the increase was below the credited in the customer’s account. customers on future planning for made a contribution to a worldwide vacci- members of their communities. As part of average forecast of five analysts polled by Adnan Al-Salem, Chief Retail the acquisition of new commodi- nation program created by Gavi - a global our approach, KIPCO continues to encour- Reuters, who expected a profit of 1.51 bil- Banking Officer at Warba Bank, ties, and providing appropriate vaccine alliance. This global outreach initia- age its companies to leverage opportuni- lion dirhams. said: “Through this step, Warba solutions through value-added tive seeks to create awareness among ties that demonstrate the breadth of the FGB’s profit growth was driven by Bank seeks to find the most appro- services and without any loss mar- young people on vital vaccination pro- Group’s social responsibility framework. higher non-interest income, which priate mechanism for the com- gin. grams to combat the spread of diseases. Burgan Bank, Gulf Insurance Group, United includes fees from wholesale and con- modity market through executing Warba Bank has recently Gavi’s initiative brings together the pub- Real Estate, KAMCO, Qurain Petrochemical sumer banking, which gained 13 percent installment sale transactions to launched the “Murabaha Express lic and private sectors to create equal Industries, United Networks, Kuwait Hotels over the prior-year period to 735 million serve as an alternative solution for Service”, the first of its kind in the access to vaccines for children across the Company and United Education Company dirhams. The bank also set aside less cash transactions at the Islamic financial retail financing market in Kuwait. world’s poorest countries. Together with are amongst the lead contributors to this for bad loans, with impairments down 15 sector. This new product repre- The Bank reliefs customer stress sents a leap in the financing struc- when the customer desires to sell the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the important initiative.” percent year on year to 372 million Adnan Al-Salem two organizations work to accelerate devel- dirhams. ture adopted at the Bank. Warba the commodities by transferring oping countries’ access to vaccines and These areas helped to offset a 1 per- applies such solutions to be the the sale proceeds from the mer- support research into health solutions that cent decline in net interest income, which pioneer in providing innovate tools for developing chant account to the customer’s account just in few are effective, affordable and sustainable. was constrained by intense competition the Islamic banking sector and contributing in minutes when all sale requirements are met. Young Kuwaitis will work to raise a sum in the UAE’s banking sector. This was enhancing the standard of service provided. The Warba Bank is committed to providing the latest of $250,000 to vaccinate and save more emphasized by a decline in the bank’s net Bank supports the development of this finance banking techniques that enhance customers’ trust than 10,000 children around the world. To interest margin-the amount the bank structuring to accommodate several products that in the Bank while attracting new clients. The launch support this initiative and raise awareness earns from lending against the cost of the can be launched in future.” of new innovative products for the first time in about this crucial matter, an open market original funds-to 3.4 percent in the first Salem went on explaining that despite the very Kuwait will help customers make better financial event will be held on Saturday, April 25, at quarter of 2015 from 3.7 percent a year competitive environment in the Islamic financial decisions and provides them with the necessary SIRBB Circuit in Shuwaikh. ago. Andre Sayegh, chief executive of sector, the process of developing new and innova- solutions in line with the Bank’s goal in leading Eman Al-Awadhi, KIPCO’s Group FGB, said in the statement that competi- tive structures and products must take into consid- Sharia-compliant products and services and Communications Director, said: “We are tion would remain tough. FGB is shifting eration the balance between the customer’s needs enhancing Warba’s position in the local market and delighted to be contributing to one of the its business model away from relying on and mitigating operational risk to the minimum at enabling the Bank to evolve to be a key player in world’s most successful vaccination pro- lending for generating revenue — 32 per- the same time. Islamic Banking in the region For more information grams. Vaccines have proven to be an cent of revenues came from fees in the Waleed Al-Musallam, Head of Personal on this new product, latest offers and services from essential component of the overall health- first quarter, up from 29 percent in the Financing, Retail Banking Group, said: “The new Warba Bank, please contact Customer Service care process in needy countries, and by Eman Al-Awadhi, KIPCO’s Group same three months of 2014. — Reuters BCT service is the first of its kind in the individual Center on 1825555, or visit one of the Bank’s providing the right treatment, children Communications Director finance banking services in Kuwait, which is Sharia- branches. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 technology

Privacy advocates seek more openness on NSA surveillance

WASHINGTON: As Congress considers whether to records is conducted under Section 215 of the USA gaps in the information that privacy advocates say closures, though welcomed by civil liberties groups, extend the life of a program that sweeps up Patriot Act. The extent of its reach remained secret prevents the public from being able to fully judge the also hint at how much might still be unknown. American phone records, privacy advocates and civil until Edward Snowden, a former NSA systems admin- program’s effectiveness, including the extent to The NSA program has also highlighted broader liberties groups say they fear too much about gov- istrator, disclosed details of the surveillance in 2013. which Section 215 has been construed to allow for concerns about what privacy advocates say is the ernment surveillance still remains hidden from view Amid a public backlash, President Barack Obama has other types of bulk collection. Knowing how the gov- federal government’s overreliance on secretive court to allow for a fully comprehensive public understand- proposed that the NSA stop collecting the records in ernment interprets its surveillance authorities, and rulings and classified legal memos. Democratic Sen. ing. bulk and instead request them from phone compa- how broadly they reach, is critical since the plain lan- Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence The disclosure two years ago of the National nies as needed for terrorism investigations. Congress guage of the laws themselves is abstract, advocates Committee who opposes the bulk phone records col- Security Agency’s surveillance efforts prodded the is now deciding whether to renew or modify the say. Last month, a federal judge in New York held in a lection, said while he believed the government had federal government to declassify reams of once- phone records collection when the law authorizing it public records lawsuit that the government could released enough information about the law - albeit secret documents, including opinions from a secre- expires in June. Legislation is expected to be unveiled lawfully withhold any secret ruling regarding the use under pressure - for an informed debate, he was tive intelligence court laying out the program’s ori- Wednesday in the House. of Section 215 to collect records other than bulk nonetheless concerned about the role of secret legal gins and legal underpinnings. But critics say key lan- Intelligence officials say the program - it collects phone records. The judge, William Pauley, said the interpretations. guage from the disclosed documents remains cen- the “to” and “from” information on phone calls but not government had “offered a reasoned and persuasive Though intelligence agencies should be able to sored, the release of information has been selective, their content - is critical to detecting terrorist plots argument for withholding” information that should conduct secret operations, he said, “they shouldn’t be and the ongoing trickle of once-secret memos has and have sought to justify it through the ongoing not be second-guessed. In that same case, the Justice following secret law.” Stephen Vladeck, an American raised concerns about how many other potentially declassification of materials, including from the Department last year released a couple dozen sur- University law professor, said it was possible that the illuminating documents might yet remain outside Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Among doc- veillance court rulings but refused to turn over debate about the phone records program distracts the public’s reach. uments released are court opinions outlining how unspecified others, the exact number of which it said attention from other surveillance efforts that are per- “That means the public lacks information it needs the NSA was first authorized to start collecting bulk was classified. haps more secretive, such as Executive Order 12333, to understand the significance of the powers that phone and Internet records in the hunt for al-Qaida The government continues to pull back the cur- which authorizes foreign intelligence collection over- government already has and the significance of the terrorists, previously classified testimony from intelli- tain with periodic new disclosures, such as the Justice seas without a court order. He also said he thought powers that the government is asking for,” said gence officials and NSA analyst training materials. Department’s release in January of a 5-year-old the government had provided substantial informa- Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American The disclosures far surpass available public infor- memo that said the Commerce Department was not tion about what information it was collecting, but Civil Liberties Union. mation on other secret programs such as targeted obligated under Section 215 to turn over confidential was less forthcoming about how that information The NSA program that collects and stores phone drone strikes against terror suspects. But there are census data to federal law enforcement. But such dis- was used. — AP

Self-driving cars hold key to future highway

DETROIT: Self-driving vehicles hold the key Nissan have set up engineering centers to reducing traffic fatalities and will trans- near Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley form the automobile industry, a top Google to focus on self-driving technologies. executive predicted Tuesday. “People will still buy cars,” Kurzweil said. Ray Kurzweil, a leading expert in artificial “But the Uber model with self-driving intelligence who joined Google in 2012, cars will become very popular. We should told the annual conference of the Society of share our cars. I think that model will grow Automotive Engineers that the rapidly when we have autonomous cars. declining cost of computing power and the “Every company has to reinvent itself. advances in artificial intelligence will make Not everything is predictable.” Kurzweil said autonomous driving a reality. Kurzweil told that until now the transportation industry, the audience that autonomous driving, uti- including the automobile business, has not lizing artificial intelligence, is definitely been considered part of the digital world. coming. “But we see information of every kind com- “The technology works. It’s not far away,” ing into every form of transportation,” he said Kurzweil, though he was not prepared added. to say just when self-driving cars will At the same time, the price of digital become a common sight. “Google advised information is dropping dramatically. me to share with you they don’t know the Kurzweil said disruptive technologies answer... The technology is not going to be become feasible at different times. Search introduced until it’s ready.” The need and engines, such as the one developed by value of autonomous vehicles is clear, he Google, became practical in the late 1990s told hundreds of the industry’s top engi- because of the exponential growth in com- neers. “Google cars have gone close to a puting power. If you tried to build a search million miles without incident,” he said. engine after that you “missed your opportu- “Some day an autonomous car will cause nity,” he said. “But if you are running a busi- an accident and it will be big news. ness you can anticipate when changes will But while we’ve been talking several occur.” people have died from human drivers.” “There is one is one aspect of the future NANJING: The Solar Impulse 2 undergoes maintainance in a hangar in Lukou International Airport in Nanjing yesterday. The pilot set to attempt Autonomous cars “are ultimately going to you can predict reliably,” Kurzweil added. an ambitious crossing of the Pacific Ocean in a solar-powered plane said yesterday that the flight will not only test the aircraft but his own save millions of lives,” he said, noting that “The price performance and the capacity endurance as well. — AFP traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people of information technology follows a very worldwide a year now. “They also provide predictable path and that path is exponen- more efficient use of roads and parking lots. tial, not linear.” As for slower-moving tech- There are a lot of benefits.” nologies like batteries-the key to more elec- Human challenge for solar But he said Google was not going to let tric cars-he predicted longer lasting batter- its self-drive cars into the market “until ies in 10 to 15 years, at a “more mature they’re safe.” phase of nanotechnology where you can plane Pacific-crossing manipulate matter on the atomic level.” Part of sharing culture Other technology, such as solar power, is “They have to be much more reliable developing more quickly than many than the technology they replace.” The experts expected. Attempts to circle world powered only by the sun appearance of the original Google Car pro- “Solar power is growing exponentially. NANJING: The pilot set to attempt an ambitious totype touched off a race among the It’s doubling every two years. In many parts crossing of the Pacific Ocean in a solar-powered world’s automakers. of the world, it’s reached parity with fossil plane said yesterday that the flight will not only Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and fuel,” Kurzweil said. — AFP test the aircraft but his own endurance as well. On its landmark attempt to circumnavigate the globe, the Solar Impulse 2 landed in China’s eastern city of Nanjing late Tuesday after a 17- Google’s Waze app to hour trip from the southwestern megacity of Chongqing. The plane is attempting to circle the alert kidnappings in LA world powered only by the sun with the next and longest leg taking it from China to the US state of Hawaii. Organisers expect that 8,500 kilometre LOS ANGELES: Alerts about hit-and- The agreement to add notifications (5,270 mile) journey to take five to six days non- runs and kidnappings in Los Angeles about hit-and-run and kidnapping stop with only a single pilot. Success will mean will soon pop up on traffic app Waze, alerts was reached Monday “in a very the longest flight ever in a solar-powered plane. along with road closure information, good meeting” between Waze and “Can we make the pilot sustainable as well?” the West Coast city’s mayor said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck,” the mayor Andre Borschberg said by video link from Tuesday. said. In January, it emerged that Beck Switzerland, where he is receiving treatment for The agreement is part of a data- had sent a letter to the tech company’s health problems. “This will be the human chal- sharing partnership between LA and CEO lamenting that the Waze applica- lenge when we tackle the next leg,” he told an the Google-owned tech company tion posed a danger to police because audience of reporters. announced by Mayor Eric Garcetti. of its ability to track their locations. The other of the two pilots, Bertrand Piccard, The app has already begun showing The LAPD chief said at the time guided the plane to Nanjing, located near street closures and will start including that the shooter in a recent double Shanghai along the lower reaches of the Yangtze hit-and-run alerts and so-called Amber murder of two New York police offi- River, to finish the sixth stage of the historic 12- NANJING: A solar-powered plane takes off from Jiangbei International Airport in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. The Solar Impulse 2 departed Chongqing for a 1190-kilometer (642-mile) Alerts sent out for kidnappings in the cers used the application to track leg quest “Finally we made it and the plane is flight to the city of Nanjing in eastern China, the sixth leg of its around-the-world flight. — AP coming months. “This is going to be the location of cops. Waze is a traffic here,” Piccard told the news conference in a hangar at the Nanjing airport with the plane updated in real-time, every two min- and navigation application to which plane now close to the Pacific Ocean and then The plane’s maiden global circumnavigation parked nearby. “Andre (Borschberg) will be ready utes, giving motorists the information users contribute information in afterwards for us to try to do this crossing, which began in Abu Dhabi last month and is scheduled in a couple of weeks to jump in the cockpit and is going to be the next big challenge for the to take in 12 stops, with a total flight time of they need to... get home for dinner in order to share real-time road infor- cross the Pacific to Hawaii,” he said. Solar Impulse time,” said Garcetti. mation. — AFP entire project,” Borschberg said. “I hope that in a around 25 days spread over five months. 2 arrived at Chongqing airport from Myanmar on few days I will be able to come to China again Solar Impulse 2 is powered by more than March 31 and had been due to make only a brief and be ready for the next part,” he said. 17,000 solar cells built into wings that, at 72 stop, but was held up for three weeks by weather He described his recent health issue as “shin- metres, are longer than those of a Boeing 747 and safety concerns. gles” which causes a painful rash. He was also and approach those of an Airbus A380 super- Arrival in Nanjing meant “positioning the air- treated for migraines. jumbo. — AFP Powerful space telescope to launch in 2018

GREENBELT: As the Hubble Space Telescope But NASA has promised to keep the next- ters that can capture extremely faint signals. celebrates 25 years in space this week, NASA and generation telescope on track for its October Infra-red capability will help it observe dis- its international partners are building an even 2018 launch. tant celestial bodies, and its camera shutter will more powerful tool to look deeper into the uni- “What the Webb will really be doing is look- be able to remain open for long periods, verse than ever before. ing at the first galaxies of the universe,” Webb explained Matt Greenhouse, JWST project scien- The James Webb Space Telescope will be 100 telescope observatory project scientist Mark tist for the science instrument payload. times more potent than Hubble, and will launch Clampin told AFP at NASA’s Goddard Space “The Webb will have 70 times the light-gath- in 2018 on a mission to give astronomers an Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. ering capacity of Hubble. So the combination of unprecedented glimpse at the first galaxies that “We will also be able, with these capabilities, the large size and the infra-red capabilities will formed in the early universe. to look in very dark parts of the universe where allow us to observe this epic of the universe “JWST will be able to see back to about 200 stars are being born.” past,” he said in an interview. million years after the Big Bang,” NASA said on its Inside a massive room that is partially closed Hunt for life website. off from view, in clean room where no dust can Even more, the telescope should further the It described the telescope as a “powerful time harm the telescope, a team of engineers dressed search for life elsewhere in the universe by open- machine with infrared vision that will peer back in white, resembling surgeons, work on building ing a new window on planets outside the solar over 13.5 billion years to see the first stars and the JWST. system-known as exoplanets-that might have galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early The space telescope will weigh 6.4 tons. water and orbit their stars at a suitable distance universe.” JWST’s main mirror will be 6.5 meters (yards) in to prevent freezing or boiling. The project has drawn scrutiny from lawmak- diameter, three times as large as Hubble’s. Already, NASA’s Kepler Space telescope, ers for its ballooning costs-now at about $8.8 bil- A joint project of NASA, the European and launched in 2009, has helped astronomers iden- This photo provided by Schlage shows the company’s new keyless lock, Sense. The lion, far higher than the initial estimate of $3.5 canadian space agencies, JWST will carry four tify thousands of exoplanets. JWST is expected lock can be opened from either its touchscreen or a smartphone. — AP billion. instruments, including cameras and spectrome- to propel that research even further. — AFP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE HIV outbreak in Indiana affecting residents’ quality of life

AUSTIN: Main Street in this southern harder in the 4,200-resident community containing the public health emer- Combs, the public health nurse for the using it,” she said. Indiana city is lined with blooming dog- that’s 30 miles north of Louisville, gency, Deputy State Health Scott County Health Department. They Walthall said the current crisis is a wood and redbud trees and punctuated Kentucky. Commissioner Jennifer Walthall said. get a week’s worth of clean syringes in reflection of the drug abuse problems by a short stretch of well-kept store- “A lot of people are scared, scared for Residents say drug use has long a small paper sack that includes pam- that are a scourge in many parts of the fronts. It’s a tidy appearance that masks a their children, scared for their children to plagued the community not far from phlets on drug use, rehabilitation nation. “There’s nothing that makes darker side of the community - the worst be outside because of the carelessness of Interstate 65, where the main employ- options and a small plastic bag with Scott County different than any other HIV outbreak in state history, which the users discarding their needles,” said ers including a large canning factory condoms, bandages and cotton balls. rural county in America. It just hap- health officials warn hasn’t yet peaked. Teresa White, who along with her hus- that opened in the late 19th century Before the program started, Scott pens to be the first that brought out The outbreak is tied to needle-shar- band, John, has found used syringes in the and a Pepsi plant. The outbreak is County had only one pharmacy where attention to this constellation of ing among drug users who are mostly parking lot of their West Side Auto & hurting the city’s image in ways local people could buy syringes, Combs events. There is an opiate epidemic shooting up a liquefied prescription Service Center. officials don’t yet fully appreciate, said, and a requirement to sign a reg- across the United States,” she said. painkiller called Opana. A Scott County Indiana sees about 500 new HIV cases Austin Police Chief Donald Spicer said. istry drove many drug users away out That’s little comfort to residents health department nurse described the each year, state statistics show, so 135 in “It’s done a lot. It’s probably hurt of fear of arrest. Combs said some seeing the outbreak in real time. desperate measures some users took one community is far beyond normal. our economy. It’s hurt the people, users have described re-using and Samantha Collins, who works at one of before the recent emergency needle- State health officials said Tuesday they’ve maybe kept away some people who sharing needles so many times that the town’s only eateries, Marko’s Pizza exchange program, saying they’d told enlisted specialists from Virginia, Colorado, come here and spend money. There’s a dosage numbers were rubbed off the and Subs, said people in adjacent her they used the same needle hundreds Missouri and other states to help track lot of negatives that can come with plastic tube, she said. communities are looking down on of times. down about 130 people who may have something like this,” he said. “It’s been staggering to see the Austin, an attitude that’s surfaced at Austin residents say the last 15 years shared needles or had unprotected sex Gov. Mike Pence approved a number of times that people have school athletic events. have seen a steady growth in drug use, with those who have already tested posi- monthlong needle-exchange program used the same needle - I mean upward “My stepdaughter is in sixth grade prostitution and drug-related crime, par- tive for the virus that causes AIDS. for Scott County on March 26 and of 300 times. They will use the same and different schools come in for ticularly in low-income areas with shabby extended it on Monday for another 30 needle until it literally breaks off in sports, for games, and they’re like, ‘I rental homes. They fear the outbreak, Essential days. their arm. I’ve heard that multiple hope we don’t have to use Austin’s which is up to 135 cases since the begin- Indiana accepted the added help Ninety-five people are participating times. They’ll take a file and they’ll file balls,’ she said. “This has nothing to do ning of the year, will make times even because it “is absolutely essential” in in the program, according to Brittany it to make it sharper so they can keep with our children.” —AP Worried sick over canine flu? Tips to help protect your pup

LOS ANGELES: An outbreak of nose, watery eyes, sore throat and HELPING SICK PETS ed. “If he’s mostly resting and seems canine flu has sickened more than loss of appetite. But mostly, he Start by taking its temperature. stable and is breathing comfortably, 1,000 dogs in the Midwest, killing a coughed. You can’t just feel your dog’s fore- then the more sleep, the better,” handful and stirring concern among “He just started coughing really, head to see if it’s running a fever, Collins said. animal lovers nationwide that the really hard, kind of like a smoker’s but digital thermometers can take Gilberg said his sick pup would highly contagious virus will sideline hacking cough, coming from the readings under an armpit or in the lie in bed all day, but it helped to their pets. belly,” Gilberg said. most accurate area - the backside, hold him and then his energy Experts blame the epidemic on a Dr. Brian Collins urges owners to Collins said. returned gradually. strain called H3N2 that is seen in pay attention to changes in behav- Food and fluids are important, so AVOID GERMS Infected dogs can be contagious for two weeks, so keep pets - sick or healthy - away from other pooches and places where they gather, such as doggie day cares, dog parks, groomers and pet stores. Some pet businesses in Illinois closed for a few days to help stop the spread. When Gilberg took Joey to the vet, the receptionist asked CHICAGO: In this undated photo provided by Steve Gilberg, Gilberg and his them to wait out front to avoid get- dog Joey pose for photos in Chicago. The 6-year-old pug-Chihuahua mix ting other dogs sick. came down with canine flu. “It was a Sunday morning and he just started The virus gets passed through coughing really, really hard, kind of like a smoker’s hacking cough, coming the air when dogs sneeze or by from the belly,” said Gilberg. —AP people when germs jump on hands or clothing, where they can live for hours. But the canine flu doesn’t sicken people. US weighs regulating homeopathy

WHEN MEDICINE HELPS WASHINGTON: US regulators assessing homeo- treat conditions with scientifically unproven There is no vaccine for the strain pathic treatments’ safety and efficacy could products, has raised the ire of the medical com- sweeping through Illinois, overhaul rules of the multi-billion-dollar indus- munity. Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. try, they said Tuesday. “I am concerned about the current state of Shots are available for a similar Two days of public hearings wrapped up labeling for homeopathic remedies, particularly strain seen last year, and some vets Tuesday to help determine if current regulations OTC (over the counter) preparations,” said are still relevant for the industry that has seen Adriane Fugh-Berman a professor of pharmacol- CHICAGO: In this April 16, 2015, file photo, a sign warning of canine respiratory illness is posted believe it could help ward off germs. “explosive growth” in the last 25 years, the Food ogy at Georgetown University. at a dog park in Chicago. —AP But there’s no need to vaccinate and Drug Administration said in a statement. “Many consumers have no idea what home- dogs that are already sick, said Dr. The agency says it sent dozens of warning opathy is,” said Fugh-Berman. “Most consumers Asia and leaves pets feeling lousy for ior, such as dwindling interest in keep trying to entice your buddy. Drew Sullivan of the Medical District letters to companies that manufacture homeo- and probably most health professionals are about two weeks. Veterinarians eating, drinking and playing, With a pet that isn’t eating well, offer Veterinary Clinic at Illinois in pathic products since 2009. unaware that FDA does not review homeopath- believe the strain, which doesn’t yet labored or rapid breathing, or fare that’s a bit more tempting, but Chicago.Antibiotics likely would The FDA warned consumers in March against ic drugs for safety or efficacy.” have a vaccine, will likely spread to lethargy. be careful it doesn’t cause a stom- come in if a flu-infected dog con- the risk of using homeopathic products to treat Fugh-Berman said there is no reliable evi- other parts of the country, so they “If he’s always happy to eat and achache. Try some baby food, tracts pneumonia. asthma because their safety and effectiveness dence that homeopathic treatments work to offer ways to keep pets healthy or now he isn’t, that isn’t a good sign. canned meals or dry food softened But doctors warn against treat- have not been determined. treat any condition. help those that are already ill. Are they clingy when they are usu- with water. ing dogs with cough syrup or other Homeopathy involves treating an ailment A recent report from Australia’s National ally close, removed when they are Dogs probably have achy mus- over-the-counter medicine incase it with diluted substances that produce similar Health and Medical Research Council concluded WHAT TO LOOK FOR usually just a bit aloof?” said Collins, cles, a sore throat and stuffy head, counteracts with other medications. symptoms, trying to prompt a protective the same based on 176 studies, echoing a report Steve Gilberg, a digital marketer a companion animal veterinarian at while feeling tired and run down, so “I don’t think it’s going away,” immune response in the user. by the US National Institutes of Health. in Chicago, says his 6-year-old pug- the Cornell University College of don’t discourage long bouts of Sullivan said of the outbreak. “We The treatment assumes that the effect of the “Several key concepts of homeopathy are Chihuahua mix, Joey, had most of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New snoozing as long as they are getting can’t treat the virus, just the symp- drug, often herbal, increases in proportion with inconsistent with fundamental concepts of the symptoms: high fever, runny York. up to go outside and staying hydrat- toms.” —AP the level of dilution. chemistry and physics,” the NIH statement said. US consumers spent some $2.9 billion yearly For their part, supporters of homeopathy on the homeopathic products, the Centers for defend their non-conventional medicines. Control and Prevention of Diseases estimated in Lisa Amerine from the Homeopathic 2007. Academy of Naturopathic Physicians said US could use vaccines to Homeopathic products have not been regu- homeopathic treatments should continue to lated by US authorities since 1972 when the be sold as they are because they are “safe and it agency decided not to approve the products’ is fairly easy for the consumer to understand fight bird flu in poultry placement on store shelves as it does for drugs. what to buy should they have a minor health A lack of regulation, that lets the public self- ailment.” —AFP

CHICAGO: Faced with a deadly bird flu out- Steve Olson, executive director of the facilities through contaminated feces on work- break that has infected millions of chickens and Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, said he ers’ boots and vehicles. turkeys, the US Agriculture Department could would like to see a vaccine available to farmers. turn to what it has always seen as a last resort: Minnesota has been hit hardest by the virus, Suspension readying and deploying a vaccine to fight the with 31 farms infected. “If we’re in a situation Even a gust of wind could potentially infect disease. where that’s what it takes to protect the flocks a flock by blowing a contaminated particle of Up to now, the USDA has said it would pre- and keep them healthy, that’s what we’re going dust or dirt into a barn, Clifford said. Bird flu is fer not to allow farmers to vaccinate their to do,” Olson said about using a vaccine. The not aerosolized. flocks, as doing so could prompt wider import USDA would have to give approval for compa- After Monday’s outbreak in Iowa, the United bans on US poultry and eggs in the $5.7 billion nies to produce the drug once it has been Egg Producers, a trade group, requested that export market. Inoculations produce antibodies proven effective. government agencies suspend regular audits of that would make it difficult to tell if a bird had egg and poultry operations because of the risk actually had the virus or simply been vaccinat- Deadly disease of people transmitting the virus. ed. Harrisvaccines, a privately-held company, is Such on-farm visits would include tax and But the agency’s chief veterinarian, John also developing a vaccine to fight bird flu that payroll audits by the Labor Department, egg Clifford, told Reuters on Tuesday that once a will be tested in four to six weeks in a laborato- safety inspections by the Food and Drug vaccine is ready - something likely to take ry setting, said Joel Harris, head of sales and Administration, annual animal welfare audits months - circumstances might prompt approv- marketing. by the USDA and third-party groups, group ing it for targeted use in areas with a high num- Last year, the company was the first to president Chad Gregory said. AHMEDABAD: Indian children play around ‘Planet Earth Pavilion’ situated in ber of cases. receive a conditional license from the USDA to The suspensions would not stretch to feder- the campus of Gujarat Science City on the outskirts of Ahmedabad yesterday The H5N2 strain first appeared in the United distribute a vaccine for a deadly hog disease ally-required food safety inspections at food on Earth Day. Earth Day is observed each April 22, during which events are States at the start of the year and is now in 12 called porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv. processing plants, he added. held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. —AFP states, making it the most wide-reaching out- Just as hog producers did last year in “For the next couple of months, we’re telling break in over three decades. The USDA has response to the swine virus, poultry farmers our members that every single person who been working to develop a vaccine that would have rushed to bolster biosecurity measures to doesn’t need to be on your farm, shouldn’t be Balding German man protect chickens and turkeys from this highly try to limit contamination on farms. on your farm,” he said. contagious strain of flu. They are requiring employees to shower Clifford, the USDA veterinarian, said he An outbreak on an Iowa egg farm that before - and after - they enter a farm to remove would support suspending audits in areas hit refused free wig housed 3.8 million birds and had a reputation any trace of the virus, sanitizing vehicles more hard by the virus. for tight biosecurity rocked the industry when carefully, tracking the movement of everything Commercial flocks infected with the virus BERLIN: Baldness among older men is not a made him unattractive. it was reported on Monday and triggered from chicks to barn litter, and turning away vis- are destroyed to prevent the spread of the dis- medical condition requiring health insurance “Typical male loss of scalp hair is neither an tougher measures on farms to keep infections iting workers, including electricians and ease and farms quarantined. companies to cover a toupee or wig, a German illness nor a disability... constituting the condi- at bay. plumbers and even postal employees. Turkeys are suffocated with a type of foam federal court ruled yesterday, turning down a 76- tions for state insurance services to supply Three export markets - China, South Korea But it is difficult to completely prevent infec- similar to that used in fighting fires, because it year-old man’s bid for false hair. health aids,” the court said in a statement. “It and South Africa - already have instituted total tions being spread by migratory waterfowl, can easily be sprayed on birds that live on the The man from the western town of Contwig, does not hinder physical activity nor is it disfigur- bans on U.S. poultry costing about $430 million something officials believe is a factor in the cur- floor of barns. who had suffered from a lack of scalp hair as well ing.” a year, said James Sumner, president of the USA rent outbreak. That will not be used in the Iowa egg farm as eyebrows and eyelashes since 1983, appealed The court found, however, that total hair loss Poultry & Egg Export Council. “It’s raining virus in the form of duck and because the hens are kept in cages stacked to his case against his insurance company to the among “youths or young men” that “made them The outbreak has dragged on longer than goose poop,” said John Glisson, vice president the ceiling. Instead, they are likely to be killed Federal Social Court. stand out” could give them a claim to a sub- producers and industry leaders expected, with of research for the US Poultry and Egg in tanks containing carbon dioxide, Clifford His wigs had been paid for until 2006, when sidised wig. The plaintiff had argued that he “suf- the USDA issuing near daily notifications of Association. There are likely several ways the said. the company refused to keep reimbursing him. fered psychologically” from his shiny scalp and new infections in Minnesota, the top turkey virus is moving from waterfowl, who carry it Once they are put into tanks, “the birds just The judges found that the plaintiff, whose that the insurance company’s policy was discrim- producing state. Iowa, the biggest egg produc- but show no symptoms, into the barns of chick- very gradually get sleepy and fall asleep and name was not released, could not claim his inatory because it covered wigs for women who er, has had far fewer cases. ens and turkeys, including being tracked into don’t wake up,” he said. —Reuters baldness was “disfiguring” even if he felt it lost their hair due to illness. —AFP THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 HEALTH & SCIENCE Ivory Coast toxic spill victims hope for reparations

ABIDJAN: Andoudoua Blonde says he will of people hurt. als could have killed or seriously sickened Last hope thieves got 20 years in prison, but have yet have to live forever with blindness in one And many victims like Blonde say they anyone. It is not clear how many people have to be locked up. eye, headaches and skin rashes caused by a have gotten nothing at all. Other funds In fact, the company “strenuously main- received money because the government “Thousands of real victims may never 2006 dumping of toxic waste near his farm ended up in the hands of ruthless scam- tains that it did nothing wrong and its staff stopped making payments in 2009 after receive compensation,” said Drissa Traore, in Ivory Coast. mers who in some cases were aided by the acted in an appropriate manner through- accusations surfaced of identity theft, vice president of the International Like thousands of others, he says he still police, according to humanitarian sources. out,” according to its website. according to a 2012 report from Federation of Human Rights. has not received any compensation for his Now more than 100,000 victims are Trafigura, a Swiss-Dutch company, Greenpeace and Amnesty International. A group of more than 100,000 Ivorian suffering from the European multinational making one last charge for compensation reached out-of-court settlements for 33 Also, scammers sensing a potential jack- victims are making one last effort in the oil trader Trafigura, which offloaded the for their ordeal, but it is unclear how far million euros in 2009 and 152 million euros pot turned to fraud to get at the money. form of a lawsuit against Trafigura in a materials at the port of Abidjan, the west they will get. in 2007 in Britain and the Ivory Coast. Some victims’ associations falsely Dutch court, demanding compensation African nation’s capital. “We warned that these agreements pumped up their numbers or engaged in and a clean-up. “I cannot bear to tell myself that some- ‘Too little’ should never have been signed with identity theft to get more cash, sometimes The suit demands 2,500 euros each-a thing so serious could happen without In August 2006 toxic residue on board Trafigura, it was too little,” said Willy Neth, with the help of police, according to several total of nearly 280 million euros-for 110,937 reparations,” said 42-year-old Blonde, the Panamanian-registered Probo Koala secretary general of the Ivorian League of humanitarian sources. victims. whose manioc field was near a site contam- freighter was sent to Abidjan, where it was Human Rights. “It was at times grotesque, someone The group said it has made an effort to inated by the waste and who remembers later dumped in several sites around the The 152 million euros were paid to the with malaria comes and says he was con- rule out fakers by checking their medical “its incredibly foul stench”. city by a local hauler. government and a quarter of this money taminated (by the waste),” said a medical records. “Giving up now would be too hard,” he The 528 cubic metres (18,600 cubic feet) was to go to the victims. But Neth charges source who requested anonymity. Mariam Bamba, one of the plaintiffs in added. While Trafigura has paid out some of spent caustic soda, oil residues and that the victims did not receive all they the case, said treating her headaches, nose- 185 million euros ($198 million) in settle- water subsequently killed 17 people and were owed. “Some fell through the cracks.” bleeds and vision problems costs her 30 ments-much of it to the government, poisoned tens of thousands, Ivorian judges “The criteria for identifying victims was Four people who claimed to represent a euros per month, about a third of her according to 2007 presidential records-vic- said. inappropriate, less than half of the real vic- group of victims were convicted in January monthly pay. tims’ advocates consider it a ridiculously Trafigura, which declined an interview tims were counted,” asserted Neth, adding of taking seven million euros of the 33-mil- “This proceeding is our last hope,” she small amount given the tens of thousands request from AFP, firmly denies the materi- Blonde’s case went unidentified. lion-euro payment from Trafigura. The said. —AFP

Mexico bans poultry, egg New technology to treat reflux from bird flu-hit Iowa disease without surgery soon MEXICO CITY: Mexico, the biggest buyer of Shares of several leading meat compa- US chicken, has halted imports of live birds nies’ in the United States fell on Tuesday on More than 90% of discovered cases above age of 45 and eggs from the US state of Iowa due to an concerns over the Iowa outbreak. outbreak of deadly bird flu there, the Mexico’s agriculture ministry said it and Mexican government said on Tuesday. animal health body SENASICA had tightened By Abdellatif Sharaa Mexico and other major countries last controls and monitoring of migratory wild month imposed new export restrictions on birds, and it said they were in constant con- KUWAIT: Dr Wafaa Al Hashash consultant in poultry products from various US states, but tact with bird farms in Mexico to detect any Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, a new outbreak has hit top US egg-produc- suspicious cases domestically. Hepatology & Liver Transplant - Head of ing state Iowa. The ministry emphasized that Mexico is Iowa found a lethal strain of bird flu in self sufficient in the production of eggs for Gastroenterology & Hepatology Department millions of hens at an egg-laying facility on consumption, and that Mexican producers at Al Sabah Medical Area said the frequency Monday, the worst case so far in a national import fertilized eggs used for breeding. of colon cancer is on the increase. She said outbreak that prompted Wisconsin to Iowa was already among 12 states that that reaching age of 45 is one of the major declare a state of emergency. have detected bird flu in poultry since the factors to get colon cancer as the possibility Bird flu, also called avian influenza or AI, is beginning of the year. The other states are of getting the disease increases with age, and a viral disease that infects birds. Officials Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, more than 90% of cases occurred after reach- believe wild birds are spreading the virus but Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South ing the age of 45. So, it is really necessary to they do not know how it is entering barns. Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. —Reuters start screening which is the test to do even without having any symptoms once you reach the age of 45. Dr. Al Hashash said there are new technolo- Top experts call for gies that will be recently introduced in Kuwait to treat reflux disease without surgery or zero-carbon world medicine, adding that this technology is con- sidered one of the most advanced treatment means that solve heartburn & reflux disease LONDON: A group of top international before two degrees. According to the and it is FDA approved, especially with the experts yesterday urged governments to group’s calculations, there is a one in 10 Dr Wafaa Al-Hashash with A. Sharaa presence of laxity in the lower esophageal stick to their promises to combat climate chance that temperatures could rise by six ers and those who drink too much tea, coffee change and said the aim should be to cre- degrees by 2100 unless emissions are sphincter or small hiatus hernia. She said that with this technology, the and fatty food. ate a “zero-carbon society” by 2050. reduced. About how the new technology is used Dr. To coincide with Earth Day, research The statement called on world leaders patient can get rid of acidity without surgical institute The Earth League published a to agree a carbon budget-the limit of procedure and is done once in a lifetime in Wafaa Al Hashash said that it is done by statement warning that 2015 would be “a what can still be released into the atmos- most cases with success rate reaching 85 to inserting a flexible tube which is called gas- critical year for humanity” ahead of a global phere-which would be around half of 90 %. She said the technology relies on the troscopy through the mouth into the stom- warming summit in Paris in December. what has already been emitted. release of Radio Frequency in the area sepa- ach, then a special tube is inserted through World leaders will also meet this year to It also called for the complete phasing rating the stomach and esophagus in order to the mouth into the esophagus especially into discuss financing for developing countries out of greenhouse gases by 2050, a wave restore its normal function. the area separating the esophagus and stom- and UN sustainable development goals of climate-led innovation, measures to Dr. Al Hashash said there are no statistics ach opening where radio frequencies are are due to be adopted in September. build up resilience and the safeguarding showing the extent of the spread of heart- released to that area. The patient does not “Our civilisation has never faced such of carbon absorbers such as forests. burn of reflux disease in Kuwait, but accord- need to stay in hospital, though he needs to existential risks as those associated with Rockstrom said carbon dioxide emis- ing to international statistics there are at least be under observation for two to three hours global warming, biodiversity erosion and sions from the world’s major energy pro- 30% of people suffering from heartburn or after the procedure. resource depletion,” said the statement, ducers levelled out in 2014, partly fuelled She said that more than 85% of people unveiled in London by Earth League chair- by the US bonanza in shale gas, which pro- chest pain, that may make people think of stop using medications 6 to 8 weeks after the man Johan Rockstrom and climate scien- duces fewer emissions that coal and oil. heart disease. tist Brian Hoskins. Rich countries would shoulder the bur- The condition can be severe in 1% of the procedure. Rockstrom said the window of oppor- den, the experts said, leading the way in population who will rely on medicine to get Speaking about the cancer awareness tunity for keeping warming below the 2.0 subsidising research of low-emission tech- rid of heartburn or chest pain, adding that campaign that was launched recently in degrees celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) nologies and financing developing coun- $14 billion are being spent annually in Britain which she played a major role, Dr. Al Hashash target agreed by politicians was “still tries in order that they can “leapfrog” the alone for the treatment of these cases. said the campaign was highly successful open, but barely”. carbon-intensive phase of their evolution. She said that most people who are at risk especially in regards to the colon cancer, and He stressed that nature’s capacity to Jeffrey Sachs, US economist and one of of getting acidity or heartburn are those with following the campaign that was organized dampen the warming effects of carbon the authors, called Paris conference “the overweight, obesity and those who went at the Avenues Mall, we started discovering dioxide were unknown, and that “critical moment of truth” and the last chance to stay two or three cases per week in the age group through weight reduction procedures such as Dr Wafaa Al-Hashash thresholds” could be exceeded even within the two degrees upper limit. —AFP sleeve gastrectomy or bypass surgery, smok- between 45 and 75. WHAT’S ON THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

ICSK excels in quran recitation competition he students of the Indian Community School Kuwait per- Tformed commendably in the Holy Quran recitation competition and won many prizes in various categories. The competition was held on 15th, 16th and 17th Feb, 2015 at Oxford Pakistani English School. From ICSK Senior, Mohammed Yaasin of class XI and Raheel Mukadam of class XII won the 1st position, Fatima Parkar Israa Hussain of class XII got the 2nd position and Israa Hussain Dalwi of class XII won the 3rd position. From ICSK Amman Mohammed Shabith of Class I won 2nd position, Abdul Rahman Shuaib of Class II won 3rd position and Shoib Ilyaas of Class IX won 3rd position. Aman Abdul Shaqor Mohammed Darweesh honoured at World Teachers Day of Class VI ICSK Junior won 3rd position. From ICSK Khaitan, Luthfiya Lubna ithin the annual celebration annually held under auspices of HH the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed to commemorate the World Teachers Day, Math teacher at Jaber Al-Ali School, Mohammad of class IX got 1st position, Mohammed Darweesh was recently honored and awarded for his excellent performance. This year’s ceremony was held with the presence of deputy Amir, HH the Crown Prince, Sahar Raoof Parkar of class III got 3rd Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed. Notably, Darweesh is an old hand Math teacher with outstanding managerial skills who is also the head of the school’s students grades control unit. Fatima Parkar position and Ayishah Wafiyath Midhath W of class VIII also bagged 3rd posi- tion. All the winners received certifi- cates and prizes. The ICSK family is proud of their achievements and congratulates them on their suc- Mohammed Yasin cess. Raheel Mukadam AUK holds panel discussion on child abuse he Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at AUK, in collaboration with the TAmerican Business Council of Kuwait, is proud to offer a panel discussion on Child Abuse. The presentation will cover such topics as how to identify and evaluate suspected cases of child abuse; the effects of child abuse on the brain and behavior; and the use of psychotherapy and other treatment options with victims of child abuse. The speakers include Dr. James Rose, Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, AUK; Dr. Nicholas Scull, Assistant Dean, AUK, Dr. Tahira Khokhar, Family Doctor, Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute; and Dr. Sulaiman Al Khadhari, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Kuwait University. The discussion will take place on Monday, April 27th at 6 pm - American University of Kuwait Auditorium. Free medical camp riends Welfare Trust (FWT) plans 12th free medical camp in Salmiya. on Friday, 1st May, F2015 from 1 to 7 pm at Pakistan School & College, Salmiya, Area #10, Essa Alqatami Street. Different specialist doctors will give their expert opinion regarding the problem of the patients. Facilities of ECG, blood sugar screening, blood group and blood pressure monitoring will be avail- able in the camp. All patients are requested to bring their previous report and investigations with them. Nubian Architecture oin us for a fantastic journey through time and place to the cradle of civilization; Egypt. This journey leads Jus South to the Egyptian Jewel known as Nubia. Our spotlight will focus on the unique culture of Nubian archi- tecture & our tour guide is Architect, Salah Abdullah. This event begins on Tuesday, April 28 at 7pm. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

South African Embassy n the occasion of the Freedom Day of the Republic of South Africa, the Embassy will be closed on OMonday, 27 April 2015. The Embassy will resume it normal working hours on Tuesday, 28 April 2015. For emer- gencies please contact: 94924895. EMBASSY OF INDIA he Embassy of India in Sana’a, Yemen has been closed temporarily and relocated to Djibouti with effect from 15 TApril 2015. The Embassy is functioning from Hotel Djibouti Palace Kempinski. Their contact number is Tel: 00253- 325555 Ext-2755. The officers and staff members of the Embassy can be contacted on the following: (1) AmritLugun, Ambassador-00967 736 333 786 (or) 00253- 77199669. (2) T. Rajagopal, SS (PPS) to Ambassador 00967-764 000658 (or) 00 253 77199369. (3) S.L. Vaiphei, GA - 00 253 77196685 (4) Mohd Tariq, Accountant - 00 253 77196875 E-mails [email protected] (or) [email protected], [email protected] (or) [email protected], [email protected]

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All photos submitted for What’s On should be minimum 200dpi. Articles must be in plain text and should include name and phone Movenpick Hotel Kuwait launches numbers. Articles and photos that fail to meet these requirements will new menu at Al Dente Restaurant not be published. ovenpick Hotel Kuwait launched this week a new Italian menu at Al Dente restaurant, prepared by Italian chef, Marcello Vijano. Our menu offers an Please send them to authentic Italian experience for guest, who can select his favourite ingredients to be cooked live by the hotel chefs amid live entertainment. [email protected] MSimultaneously, there will be a lunch event for journalists, who will be welcomed by the hotel general manager and members of the marketing and sales team. This special gathering aims to show appreciation to the media for their continued support. “We changed the menu from appetisers to sweets by adding more items to increase varieties and choices,” General Manager Hassan Hassanein. WHAT’S ON THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

—Photos by Joseph Shagra Azzad Trading Group celebrates 20 years

zzad Trading Group Co celebrated the 20th and continued cooperation” he said. “Over the past twenty years of business, Azzad Trading the hotels, restaurants and catering trade in Kuwait. anniversary since its establishment, on Tuesday at Al-Nafisi said that Azzad Trading Group over the past Group has grown, with diversity of various activities and Established in 1994 by the owners of Kuwait’s five-star Athe Radisson Blue Hotel, Kuwait on the Arabian twenty years through their presence in Kuwait is one of sectors and the most important current company sectors hotels and the Kuwait Aviation Service (KASCO). Azzad Gulf beach. With the participation of a large number of the major suppliers of food to all major hotels and restau- (food industry, travel and tourism sector, sweet Dalia has firmly established itself as one of the premier food senior company clients, where hotel managers and pri- rants in the state of Kuwait, by providing many varieties sweets factory and pastries, Azzad gourmet corner) this is service distributors of high quality international food vate sector companies and institutions participated in the of high quality brands to meet the needs and tastes of all in addition to subsidiaries Al-Mahmood Trading and products in the country. ceremony. customers. Added that some of the main brands that are Contracting Company & Kuwait Tourism Services)” Al- Azzad started its commercial operations with a capital Abdullah Saud Al-Nafisi, Chairman of Azzad Trading supplied by the company are (US CAB meat in different Nafisi said. of 4.95 million Kuwaiti Dinars. In addition to its food dis- Group, welcomed the attendees and thanked all those varieties, Carma Swiss chocolate products, Douwe At the end of the celebration, Azzad Trading Group tribution division, Azzad’s business lines include travel who contributed over the past twenty years to make Egberts coffee products, Ronnefeldt teas, Acqua Panna & honored the shareholders and customers with gifts for and tourism division, a “Centcom” approved bakery and Azzad a leader in the food sector in Kuwait. “Special S.Pellegrino water, Spanish Pons oils, Sonneveld, Ponthier, the support through the twenty years of Azzad. pastry production facility and an upscale food shop fea- thanks to the shareholders and customers for their trust & Beaufor French products). Azzad Trading Group is the largest full line supplier to turing high quality imported gourmet food products.

Bride and groom with family and friends with uncle Rabee’ (far left). Congratulations nglish teacher, Mohammed Eid and Dr Aya Shab’ban Erecently got married in a memorable wedding ceremony held in Egypt with the presence of their families and friends. The bride and groom received spe- cial congratulations from the bride’s uncle, Rabee’ Abdul Hakam, who was in Egypt on a Ms Jennifer Zabala, the first raffle draw winner of ‘The Great Gold Rush’ campaign by Malabar Gold & Diamonds receives the prize special leave to attend the wed- 1 kg of gold from Shamlal Ahamed M P, Managing Director- International Operations, in the presence of Sakkeer P, Regional ding. Congratulations, Head; Ranjith K V, Regional Head and other officials from Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Mohammed, Aya and Rabee’. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 TV PROGRAMS

06:50 Kindig Customs 08:55 Austin & Ally 19:00 Chopped 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 09:20 Austin & Ally 20:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 08:30 Storage Hunters 09:45 Gravity Falls 20:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 08:55 Dallas Car Sharks 10:10 Gravity Falls 21:00 Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers 09:20 Storage Wars Canada 10:35 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 21:30 Siba’s Table: Fast Feasts 09:45 How It’s Made Teenage Witch 22:00 Best In Chow 00:20 Doctors 10:10 How It’s Made 00:50 Eastenders 11:00 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 22:30 Best In Chow 10:35 Deadly Dilemmas Teenage Witch 23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:20 Waking The Dead 11:00 Deadly Dilemmas 11:25 Jessie 23:30 Chopped 02:10 Waking The Dead 11:25 What Happened Next? 03:00 Stella 11:50 What Happened Next? 11:50 Jessie 03:45 Cardinal Burns 12:15 Man vs Expert 12:15 Austin & Ally 04:15 The Weakest Link 13:05 Storage Hunters 12:40 Austin & Ally 05:00 Show Me Show Me 13:30 Dallas Car Sharks 13:05 Good Luck Charlie 05:25 Teletubbies 13:55 Storage Wars Canada 13:30 Good Luck Charlie 05:50 Woolly & Tig 14:20 Alaska: The Last Frontier 13:55 Gravity Falls 00:35 Big Star Little Star 05:55 Gigglebiz 15:10 Kindig Customs 14:20 H2O: Just Add Water 01:30 Paul O’Grady: For The 06:10 Boogie Beebies 16:00 Fast N’ Loud 14:50 Evermoor Love Of Dogs 06:25 Show Me Show Me 16:50 How It’s Made 15:20 Spooksville 02:00 Emmerdale 06:50 Teletubbies 17:15 How It’s Made 15:45 Girl Meets World 02:25 Emmerdale 07:15 The Weakest Link 17:40 Close-Up Kings 16:10 Violetta 02:55 Coronation Street 08:00 Cardinal Burns 18:30 Treehouse Masters 03:25 Love And Marriage: A 20th 08:30 My Hero 17:00 Dog With A Blog 19:20 The Pool Master 17:25 Binny And The Ghost Century Romance 09:00 Doctors 20:10 Dallas Car Sharks 09:30 Eastenders 17:50 Hank Zipzer 04:20 Mr Selfridge 20:35 Storage Wars Canada 18:15 Jessie 05:15 The Chase 09:55 New Tricks 21:00 Treehouse Masters 10:50 Stella 18:40 Liv And Maddie 06:10 Big Star Little Star 21:50 The Pool Master 07:05 Paul O’Grady: For The 11:40 The World Of Stonehenge 22:40 Tanked 19:05 H2O: Just Add Water Love Of Dogs 12:30 The Weakest Link 23:30 Close-Up Kings 19:30 Violetta 13:15 My Hero 20:20 Binny And The Ghost 07:30 Love And Marriage: A 20th 13:45 New Tricks 20:45 H2O: Just Add Water Century Romance 14:40 The World Of Stonehenge 21:10 Good Luck Charlie 08:25 Mr Selfridge 15:30 Cardinal Burns 21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 09:15 Eggheads 15:55 Doctors 22:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 09:45 Eggheads 16:25 Eastenders 22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 10:15 May The Best House Win 16:55 The Weakest Link 00:05 How It’s Made Teenage Witch 11:10 Emmerdale 17:40 My Hero 22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 11:35 Emmerdale 18:10 New Tricks 00:30 Space Pioneer Teenage Witch 12:00 Coronation Street 19:00 Doctors 01:20 How Do They Do It? 23:10 Wolfblood 12:30 The Chase 19:30 Eastenders 01:45 How Do They Do It? 13:25 May The Best House Win 20:00 Spooks 02:10 Through The Wormhole With 23:35 Wolfblood 20:50 Starlings Morgan Freeman 14:20 Paul O’Grady: For The 21:35 Blackadder II 03:00 Food Factory Love Of Dogs 22:05 Silent Witness 03:24 Food Factory 14:45 Big Star Little Star 23:45 Doctors 03:48 Strangest Weather On Earth 15:35 Harry’s South Pole Heroes 04:12 Strangest Weather On Earth 16:30 The Chase: Celebrity 04:36 Sport Science 00:00 House Of DVF Specials 05:24 Space Pioneer 00:55 Extreme Close-Up 17:25 Tricked 06:12 How It’s Made 01:25 Keeping Up With The 18:20 The Chase 06:36 How It’s Made Kardashians 19:05 Coronation Street 07:00 Game Changers 02:20 E! News 19:35 Harry’s South Pole Heroes 00:15 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 07:25 Gadget Show - World Tour 03:15 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 20:30 The Chase: Celebrity 00:40 Sweet Baby James 07:50 Superships 03:40 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills Specials 01:05 Masterchef: The 08:40 Food Factory 04:10 E!ES 21:25 Tricked Professionals 09:05 Food Factory 05:05 THS 22:20 Coronation Street 02:00 Bargain Hunt 09:30 Strangest Weather On Earth 06:00 Kourtney And Kim Take 22:50 Emmerdale 02:45 Come Dine With Me 09:55 Strangest Weather On Earth Miami 23:15 Emmerdale 03:10 The Hairy Bikers USA 10:20 Space Pioneer 06:55 Kourtney And Kim Take 23:45 May The Best House Win 03:35 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style Miami 04:25 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic 11:10 How Do They Do It? 11:35 How Do They Do It? 07:50 Style Star Cookery 08:20 E! News 04:50 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 12:00 Game Changers 12:25 Gadget Show - World Tour 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 05:20 Masterchef: The 10:15 Giuliana & Bill Professionals 12:50 Superships 11:10 House Of DVF 06:15 Bargain Hunt 13:40 How It’s Made 00:00 Doomsday Preppers 07:00 Bargain Hunt 14:05 How It’s Made 12:05 E! News 07:50 Come Dine With Me 14:30 Strangest Weather On Earth 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 01:00 Battleground Brothers 08:15 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style 14:55 Strangest Weather On Earth 13:35 Ryan Seacrest With The 02:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 09:05 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic 15:20 Through The Wormhole With Kardashians: An E!... 03:00 Shark Men Cookery Morgan Freeman 14:30 Style Star 04:00 Jurassic C.S.I. 09:30 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 16:10 How Do They Do It? 15:00 Keeping Up With The 05:00 Brain Games 09:55 Extreme Makeover: Home 16:35 How Do They Do It? Kardashians 05:30 Brain Games Edition 17:00 Space Pioneer 16:00 Keeping Up With The 06:00 Years of Living 10:35 Masterchef: The 17:50 Sport Science Kardashians Dangerously Professionals 18:40 Food Factory 17:00 Christina Milian Turned Up 07:00 Amazonia’s Giant Jaws 11:30 Bargain Hunt 18:00 E! News 08:00 Doomsday Preppers 12:15 The Hairy Bikers USA 19:05 Food Factory 19:30 Weird Or What? 19:00 THS 09:00 Battleground Brothers 12:40 Come Dine With Me 20:00 House Of DVF 10:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 13:05 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style 20:20 Alien Encounters 21:10 How Do They Do It? 21:00 House Of DVF 11:00 Great Migrations 13:50 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic 22:00 E! News 12:00 Dogtown Cookery 21:35 How Do They Do It? 23:00 The Soup 13:00 Situation Critical 14:15 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 22:00 Weird Or What? 14:00 Is It Real? 14:45 Extreme Makeover: Home 22:50 Through The Wormhole With 23:30 Who Wore It Better? DARKMAN ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD Edition Morgan Freeman 15:00 The War Generals 16:00 The Border 15:25 Masterchef: The 23:40 How It’s Made 16:00 Police Story 04:30 Cake Boss 17:00 America’s Lost Treasures Professionals 18:00 Judge Dredd 05:00 Little People, Big World 18:00 Years of Living 16:15 Bargain Hunt 20:00 Code Of Silence 05:30 Extreme Couponing Dangerously 17:00 Come Dine With Me 22:00 Red 2 06:00 18 Kids And Counting 17:25 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style 19:00 The War Generals 06:25 Your Style In His Hands 18:15 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 00:30 Guy’s Big Bite 20:00 The Border 01:00 Chopped 01:00 Barbie In The 12 Dancing 07:15 Say Yes To The Dress 19:00 Paul Hollywood’s Bread 21:00 America’s Lost Treasures Princesses 07:40 Something Borrowed, 03:00 Art Attack 19:30 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic 00:00 Violetta 02:00 The Next Iron Chef 22:00 Years of Living 02:45 Barbie Fairytopia Something New 03:25 Julius Jr. Cookery 00:45 The Hive 03:00 Guy’s Big Bite Dangerously 04:15 Titeuf, Le Film 08:05 Kate Plus 8 03:35 Calimero 19:55 Masterchef: The 00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 03:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:50 Henry Hugglemonster 23:00 Great Migrations 06:00 Dudley Do Right 08:55 Say Yes To The Dress: The Professionals Teenage Witch 04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:00 Befriend And Betray-PG15 04:00 Zou 08:00 Tristan And Isolde Big Day 20:25 Masterchef: The 01:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:00 Kill Em All-PG15 04:15 Mouk 10:00 Barbie In The Nutcracker 09:45 Cake Boss Professionals Teenage Witch 05:00 Chopped 04:00 Hunt To Kill-PG15 04:25 Jungle Junction 11:30 The Legend Of Sasquatch 10:10 Little People, Big World 21:20 Bargain Hunt 01:40 Wolfblood 06:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 06:00 Police Story-PG15 04:35 Art Attack 13:00 Barbie Fairytopia 10:35 Extreme Couponing 22:05 Come Dine With Me 02:05 Wolfblood 06:30 Siba’s Table 05:00 Julius Jr. 08:00 Code Of Silence-PG15 14:30 Wheelers 11:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 22:35 Nigel Slater’s Simple 02:30 Violetta 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 05:10 Calimero 10:00 Darkman-PG15 16:00 A Cat In Paris 11:50 Oprah’s Lifeclass Cooking 03:15 The Hive 07:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin Stewart 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster 12:00 Hunt To Kill-PG15 18:00 Barbie In The Nutcracker 12:40 Your Style In His Hands 03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of A 08:00 Chopped 01:00 Hot In Cleveland 05:35 Zou 14:00 Police Story-PG15 20:00 Soccer Dog: European Cup 13:30 Secrets Of The High Street Teenage Witch 09:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back 01:30 Mixology 05:50 Mouk 16:00 Judge Dredd-PG15 22:00 Wheelers 13:55 Secrets Of The High Street 03:45 Sabrina: Secrets Of A To Basics 02:00 Mixology 06:00 Jungle Junction 18:00 Code Of Silence-PG15 23:30 A Cat In Paris 14:20 19 Kids And Counting 06:10 Art Attack Teenage Witch 09:30 Farm Kings 02:30 Friends With Better Lives 20:00 Red 2-PG15 14:45 19 Kids And Counting 06:35 Julius Jr. 04:10 Wolfblood 10:30 The Big Eat... 03:00 Community 22:00 In The Blood-PG15 15:10 Cake Boss 06:45 Calimero 00:20 Fast N’ Loud 04:35 Wolfblood 11:00 Mexican Made Easy 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 15:35 Little People, Big World 07:00 Jungle Junction 01:10 Deadly Dilemmas 05:00 Violetta 11:30 Chopped Jimmy Fallon 01:35 Deadly Dilemmas 16:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 07:15 Zou 05:45 The Hive 12:30 Siba’s Table 07:00 Late Night With Seth 07:30 Calimero 02:00 What Happened Next? 13:00 Guy’s Big Bite 16:50 Say Yes To The Dress 05:50 Mouk Meyers 00:00 Sacrifice-18 17:15 Something Borrowed, 07:45 Loopdidoo 02:25 What Happened Next? 13:30 Guy’s Big Bite 06:00 Dog With A Blog 09:00 Community 02:00 Killer Reality-PG15 Something New 08:00 Limon And Oli 02:50 Man vs Expert 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:00 3 Geezers! 03:40 Storage Hunters 06:25 Binny And The Ghost 09:30 Modern Family 04:00 Rio 2-FAM 17:40 18 Kids And Counting 08:10 Jake And The Never Land 16:00 Chopped 02:00 Se Puder... Dirija! 04:05 Dallas Car Sharks 06:50 Girl Meets World 10:00 Modern Family 06:00 Christmas In Conway-PG15 18:05 Extreme Couponing Pirates 17:00 Guy’s Big Bite 04:00 Every Day 04:30 Storage Wars Canada 07:15 H2O: Just Add Water 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 08:00 Non-Stop-PG15 18:30 What Not To Wear 08:35 Doc McStuffins 17:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 06:00 Struck By Lightning 09:05 Art Attack 05:00 How It’s Made 07:40 Jessie Jimmy Fallon 10:00 Marvel’s Ultimate Avengers 19:20 Oprah’s Next Chapter 18:00 Siba’s Table 08:00 Your Love Never Fails 09:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 05:30 How It’s Made 08:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:30 Modern Family I-PG 20:10 Your Style In His Hands 18:30 The Big Eat... 10:00 Never Been Kissed 10:00 Sofia The First 06:00 Alaska: The Last Frontier 08:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:00 Modern Family 12:00 Peeples-PG15 21:00 90 Days To Wed 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 12:00 Son Of Rambow 13:45 Frozen-PG 10:25 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 14:00 Article 99 21:50 Say Yes To The Dress: The 10:55 Calimero Stewart 15:30 Non-Stop-PG15 Big Day 16:00 Hot In Cleveland 16:00 Your Love Never Fails 17:30 The Great Gatsby-PG15 11:10 Jake And The Never Land 22:40 Long Island Medium Pirates 17:00 Late Night With Seth 18:00 Until She Came Along 20:00 Friends With Kids-PG15 23:05 Breaking Amish 11:35 Limon And Oli Meyers 20:00 Anywhere But Here 22:00 Kick-Ass 2-18 22:00 The Details 23:55 Oprah’s Lifeclass 11:45 Loopdidoo 18:00 Community 12:00 Justin Time 19:00 Black-Ish 12:15 Sofia The First 19:30 Parks And Recreation 12:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 13:10 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West Jimmy Fallon 04:30 Golfing World 13:35 Zou 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 05:30 Live PGA European Tour 13:50 Jake And The Neverland Stewart 01:00 My Last Day Without You- 07:30 Live Volvo China Open Pirates 21:30 Hot In Cleveland PG15 08:00 Golfing World 03:00 Solved 14:15 Doc McStuffins 22:00 Family Guy 03:00 The Letter-PG15 09:30 Live PGA European Tour 03:45 Dates From Hell 14:45 Limon And Oli 22:30 Brickleberry 05:00 Emperor-PG15 12:30 Golfing World 04:07 Dates From Hell 14:55 Loopdidoo 23:00 Friends With Better Lives 07:00 A Secret Promise-PG15 15:00 Live Snooker World 04:30 Deadly Devotion 15:10 Sofia The First 23:30 Late Night With Seth 09:00 Timer-PG15 Championship 05:20 True Crime With 15:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Meyers 11:00 Emperor-PG15 19:00 Golfing World Aphrodite Jones 16:00 Cars Toons 13:00 Christmas Magic-PG15 20:45 European Tour Weekly 06:10 On The Case With Paula 16:05 Lilo & Stitch 15:00 The Sapphires-PG15 21:00 Live Snooker World Zahn 16:30 Adventures Of The 17:00 Timer-PG15 Championship 07:00 Deadly Affairs Gummi Bears 19:00 To The Wonder-PG15 07:50 Fatal Encounters 17:00 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers 08:00 Rake 21:00 Before Midnight-PG15 08:40 Murder Shift 23:00 Generation Um...-18 09:30 Great Crimes And Trials 17:25 Ducktales 12:00 Emmerdale 18:00 Art Attack 12:30 Coronation Street 09:55 Stalked: Someone’s 00:00 NRL Premiership Watching 18:30 Sofia The First 14:00 Rake 18:55 Cars Toons 16:00 Emmerdale 02:00 Golfing World 10:20 Forensic Detectives 03:00 Live NHL 19:00 The Adventures Of Disney 16:30 Coronation Street 11:10 True Crime With Fairies 07:00 Live Asian Tour 18:00 Rake Aphrodite Jones 19:30 Jake And The Never Land 09:30 Gillette World Sport 19:00 Suits 00:30 Network 12:00 Blood Relatives Pirates 20:00 The Flash 02:30 My Piece Of The Pie 15:00 Golfing World 12:50 On The Case With Paula 19:45 Doc McStuffins 04:30 Up Close And Personal 19:00 WWE NXT Zahn 20:00 Adventures Of The 07:00 Hyde Park On Hudson 20:00 WWE Smackdown 13:40 Who On Earth Did I Gummi Bears 09:00 Unstrung Heroes 22:00 Live PGA Tour Marry? 20:30 Sofia The First 10:45 Sense And Sensibility 14:05 Who On Earth Did I 20:55 Cars Toons 13:00 The Armstrong Lie Marry? 15:15 For Greater Glory 14:30 True Crime With 17:45 Unstrung Heroes Aphrodite Jones 01:00 Good Morning America 19:30 One Chance 15:20 Great Crimes And Trials 05:00 Good Morning America 01:30 Indian Premier League 21:30 I Am Sam RPT : RCB v CSK 15:45 Stalked: Someone’s 07:30 Coronation Street Watching 10:30 Coronation Street 17:30 Live Indian Premier League 00:20 Speed Kills : DD v MI 16:10 Murder Shift 12:00 Covert Affairs 01:10 Built For The Kill 21:00 Indian Premier League H/L 17:00 Blood Relatives 14:00 Live Good Morning America 02:00 Animal Fight Club : SH v RR 17:50 Fatal Encounters 17:00 Covert Affairs 02:50 Yukon Vet 22:00 Indian Premier League 18:40 Forensic Detectives 03:45 World’s Deadliest 20:00 State Of Affairs 01:00 I Will Follow You Into The RPT : DD v MI 19:30 On The Case With Paula 04:40 Black Mamba: Kiss Of 22:00 Bates Motel Dark-PG15 03:00 Heaven Is For Real-PG Zahn Death 05:00 The Legend Of Hercules- 20:20 The Will: Family Secrets 05:35 Animal Fight Club PG15 Revealed 06:30 Yukon Vet 07:25 World’s Deadliest 07:00 Dawn Rider-PG15 21:10 Who On Earth Did I 08:20 Unlikely Animal Friends 09:00 Need For Speed-PG15 Marry? 21:35 Who On Earth Did I 09:15 Sumatra’s Last Tiger 11:15 Jack Ryan: Shadow 10:10 Predator CSI 00:00 Blade II Marry? Recruit-PG15 11:05 Caught In The Act 02:00 Befriend And Betray 00:45 Extraordinary Pregnancies 22:00 Deadly Affairs 04:00 Kill Em All 13:15 Tinker Bell And The Pirate 12:00 Shark Men Fairy-FAM 01:35 Long Island Medium 22:50 I Almost Got Away With It 06:00 Hunt To Kill 02:00 Too Ugly For Love? 12:55 Animal Fight Club 14:45 Playing For Keeps-PG15 23:40 Dates From Hell 13:50 Yukon Vet 08:00 Police Story 02:50 Say Yes To The Dress 00:05 Dates From Hell 10:00 Code Of Silence 16:45 Need For Speed-PG15 14:45 World’s Deadliest 19:00 22 Jump Street-PG15 03:15 Something Borrowed, 00:30 Deadly Sins 15:40 Unlikely Animal Friends 12:00 Darkman 21:00 Guardians Of The Galaxy- Something New 01:20 I Almost Got Away With It 16:35 Searching For The Snow 14:00 Hunt To Kill RED 2 ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD PG15 03:40 What Not To Wear 02:10 Deadly Affairs Leopard Classifieds

THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (23/04/2015 TO 29/04/2015)

SHARQIA-1 LAST KNIGHTS 10:30 PM BARELY LETHAL 11:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:00 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:45 AM BARELY LETHAL 1:15 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:15 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 5:45 PM FANAR-3 AVENUES-3 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:00 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 1:00 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 12:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:15 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 3:15 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 3:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 12:30 AM TRACERS 5:30 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 5:30 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 7:30 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 8:00 PM SHARQIA-2 TRACERS 9:45 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 10:30 PM Special Show “BARELY LETHAL” 2:30 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 11:45 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 1:00 AM BARELY LETHAL 11:30 AM Special Show “AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D” 8:00 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 1:30 PM FANAR-4 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D 11:00 PM BARELY LETHAL 3:30 PM THE FORGER 12:00 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 5:30 PM THE FORGER 2:00 PM AVENUES-4 BARELY LETHAL 7:30 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 4:00 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 9:30 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 6:00 PM THE FORGER 2:45 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:05 AM THE FORGER 8:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 5:00 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 9:30 PM THE FORGER 10:15 PM BARELY LETHAL 7:15 PM WED THE FORGER 12:15 AM THE FORGER 9:30 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D 12:15 AM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D 12:15 AM BARELY LETHAL 11:45 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 9:15 PM SHARQIA-3 FANAR-5 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 12:05 AM THE FORGER 12:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 12:15 PM THE FORGER 2:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:00 PM AVENUES-5 TRACERS 4:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 5:15 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:30 AM THE FORGER 6:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 7:30 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 4:00 PM TRACERS 8:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 10:00 PM MATRIMONIAL FOR SALE THE FORGER 10:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 12:30 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 6:15 PM TRACERS 12:45 AM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 10:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:30 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 12:45 AM Special Show “BIG GAME” 8:30 PM Parents invite suitable pro- Mitsubishi 2009 MUHALAB-1 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:45 PM posals for their daughter Registration til Jan 2016 BARELY LETHAL 11:45 AM MARINA-1 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:00 AM (RCSC, 24yrs, 163cms, fair, 103,000km PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 1:45 PM TRACERS 11:30 AM B.Com, MBA) hailing from KD 1300 negotiable THE AGE OF ADALINE 4:00 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:30 PM 360º- 1 ancient family, Call 9694-2874 after 5pm PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 6:15 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:45 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 11:30 AM Changanacherry archdio- PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 1:30 PM 20-4-2015 BARELY LETHAL 8:15 PM TRACERS 6:00 PM cese, and working in Kuwait THE AGE OF ADALINE 10:15 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:00 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 3:45 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:30 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:15 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 6:00 PM - from parents of well set- Cherokee Liberty, 6 cylin- TRACERS 12:30 AM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 8:15 PM tled BE/B.Tech RCSC boys of der, white color, model MUHALAB-2 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 10:30 PM reputed family working in 2003 in good working con- TRACERS 11:30 AM MARINA-2 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 12:45 AM India or abroad. Email: ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:15 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:45 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 8:15 PM dition. KD 850, call [email protected] 60982737. (C 4970) ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:30 PM BARELY LETHAL 2:45 PM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D 11:00 PM Deepika matrimonial.com TRACERS 5:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 4:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 7:45 PM BARELY LETHAL 7:30 PM 360º- 2 ID: DM - 26205 Bethlehem Pajero 2007 for immediate ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 9:30 PM THE FORGER 12:15 PM matrimonial.com ID: sale, V6, metallic gold, good TRACERS 12:15 AM BARELY LETHAL 12:15 AM THE FORGER 2:30 PM BETH53863 condition and well main- AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 12:15 AM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 9:30 PM THE FORGER 4:45 PM (C 4968) tained, expected price KD AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 12:30 AM THE FORGER 7:00 PM MUHALAB-3 THE FORGER 9:15 PM 2,600, please contact: THE FORGER 12:00 PM MARINA-3 THE FORGER 11:30 PM CHANGE OF NAME 66832848. (C 4971) THE FORGER 2:00 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 12:15 PM 19-4-2015 THE FORGER 4:00 PM THE FORGER 2:30 PM 360º- 3 Shaik Abdulla, Passport No. FAST & FURIOUS 7 6:00 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 4:30 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:00 PM F5623066, have changed THE FORGER 8:30 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 6:30 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 3:15 PM my name to Sunkesula ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 5:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 7 10:30 PM THE AGE OF ADALINE 8:30 PM Abdulla, new address: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 10:30 PM THE FORGER 10:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 7:45 PM THE FORGER 1:15 AM THE FORGER 12:45 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:00 PM Gandhi Nagar, Rajampeta, ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 12:15 AM Kadapa (D.T) door 5/64. 112 FANAR-1 AVENUES-1 (C 4972) ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:30 AM TRACERS 12:00 PM AL-KOUT.1 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 1:45 PM TRACERS 2:00 PM THE FORGER 11:45 AM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 4:00 PM TRACERS 4:00 PM THE FORGER 1:45 PM Prayer timings ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 6:15 PM TRACERS 6:00 PM THE FORGER 3:45 PM ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 8:30 PM TRACERS 8:00 PM PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 5:45 PM Fajr: 03:50 ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 10:45 PM TRACERS 10:00 PM THE FORGER 7:45 PM TRACERS 1:00 AM TRACERS 12:05 AM FAST & FURIOUS 7 9:45 PM Shorook 0514 THE FORGER 12:15 AM FANAR-2 AVENUES-2 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 9:45 PM Duhr: 11:47 BARELY LETHAL 11:30 AM BARELY LETHAL 11:45 AM AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -3D 12:15 AM BARELY LETHAL 1:30 PM BARELY LETHAL 2:00 PM Asr: 15:22 BARELY LETHAL 3:45 PM BIG GAME 4:15 PM AL-KOUT.2 LAST KNIGHTS 6:00 PM BARELY LETHAL 6:30 PM BARELY LETHAL 12:45 PM Maghrib: 18:18 BARELY LETHAL 8:30 PM BARELY LETHAL 8:45 PM BARELY LETHAL 2:45 PM Isha: 19:40

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

Arrival Flights on Thursday 23/4/2015 QTR 1078 Doha 14:05 Departure Flights on Thursday 23/4/2015 JZR 124 Bahrain 13:30 Airlines Flt Route Time KNE 460 Riyadh 14:10 Airlines Flt Route Time MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 QTR 1084 Doha 00:05 FDB 057 Dubai 14:20 AIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05 THY 767 Istanbul 14:10 KAC 564 Amman 00:05 GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20 BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 THY 772 Istanbul 00:15 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 JZR 562 Sohag 00:20 QTR 1079 Doha 15:05 JZR 239 Amman 00:20 KAC 538 Sohag 14:55 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:25 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05 JZR 267 Beirut 00:30 KAC 788 Jeddah 14:55 FDB 072 Dubai 00:30 FDB 058 Dubai 15:05 DLH 637 Dammam 00:35 RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 15:00 KLM 411 Amsterdam 00:55 KNE 481 Taif 15:10 FDB 068 Dubai 00:55 OMA 645 Muscat 15:05 JZR 502 Luxor 01:10 KAC 617 Doha 15:15 JAI 574 Mumbai 01:30 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35 DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35 KAC 673 Dubai 15:20 JZR 539 Cairo 01:30 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 THY 773 Istanbul 02:05 JZR 188 Dubai 15:50 SAI 441 Lahore 01:35 RJA 640 Amman 15:55 SAI 442 Lahore 02:35 KAC 741 Dammam 15:55 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40 JZR 535 Cairo 16:05 JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 02:55 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:55 RJA 642 Amman 01:45 FDB 051 Dubai 16:10 PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55 KAC 613 Bahrain 16:00 KKK 6507 Istanbul 02:15 QTR 1072 Doha 16:20 KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:10 SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15 JZR 125 Bahrain 16:25 OMA 644 Muscat 03:35 OMA 646 Muscat 16:05 UAE 853 Dubai 02:25 KAC 118 New York 16:30 UAE 854 Dubai 03:45 RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:10 OMA 643 Muscat 02:35 KNE 476 Jeddah 16:40 FDB 068 Dubai 04:00 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15 QTR 1076 Doha 03:05 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:50 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05 RJA 641 Amman 16:55 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:05 KAC 562 Amman 17:00 QTR 1077 Doha 04:05 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 FDB 067 Dubai 03:15 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 MSR 613 Cairo 04:15 FDB 052 Dubai 17:10 MSR 612 Cairo 03:15 UAL 982 IAD 17:25 KOR 622 Islamabad/FNJ 05:00 JZR 512 Sharm el-Sheikh 17:15 KAC 1544 Cairo 03:35 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 560 Sohag 05:00 QTR 1073 Doha 17:25 MSC 401 Alexandria 04:00 JZR 177 Dubai 17:45 MSC 406 Sohag 05:00 KNE 477 Jeddah 17:30 JZR 555 Alexandria 04:15 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50 THY 765 Istanbul 05:05 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:40 THY 770 Istanbul 04:40 KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:55 QTR 1085 Doha 05:20 UAE 858 Dubai 17:40 QTR 8646 Doha 04:50 FDB 065 Dubai 18:05 GFA 050 Bahrain 06:00 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10 KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 18:20 QTR 8646 Doha 06:20 JZR 184 Dubai 18:20 GFA 050 Istanbul 05:15 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35 RJA 643 Amman 06:35 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15 KAC 502 Beirut 18:35 GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50 KAC 563 Amman 18:30 BAW 157 London 06:35 KAC 542 Cairo 18:55 THY 771 Istanbul 06:50 JZR 538 Cairo 18:40 JZR 563 Sohag 06:45 AXB 393 Kozhikode 18:55 JZR 240 Amman 07:05 UAL 982 Bahrain 18:40 JZR 503 Luxor 07:20 QTR 1080 Doha 18:55 FDB 070 Dubai 07:05 FDB 066 Dubai 18:55 IRA 673 Ahwaz 07:30 JZR 164 Dubai 07:15 JZR 238 Amman 19:15 KAC 618 Doha 18:55 GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50 KAC 382 Delhi 07:30 KAC 104 London 19:00 KAC 537 Sohag 08:20 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:45 JZR 778 Jeddah 08:30 FDB 064 Dubai 19:50 KAC 742 Dammam 19:00 QTR 1081 Doha 19:55 SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05 BAW 156 London 08:30 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 IRA 672 Ahwaz 08:30 AXB 394 Kozhikode 19:55 UAE 875 Dubai 19:05 ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00 KAC 204 Lahore 07:50 FDB 063 Dubai 19:10 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 QTR 1086 Doha 07:55 SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50 KAC 361 Colombo 20:00 KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10 UAE 876 Dubai 20:35 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55 ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20 TAR 327 Dubai/Tunis 08:50 TAR 327 Tunis 08:05 QTR 1087 Doha 08:55 JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35 JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35 FDB 062 Dubai 20:35 KAC 352 Kochi 08:15 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:40 KAC 415D Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 09:00 UAE 855 Dubai 08:25 JZR 534 Cairo 09:15 AGY 681 Alexandria 20:50 KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:30 FDB 061 Dubai 19:50 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:30 KAC 1543 Cairo 20:55 KAC 362 Colombo 08:30 AGY 684 Sohag 19:50 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45 KAC 343 Chennai 20:55 IRA 667 Esfahan 09:00 OMA 647 Muscat 20:00 UAE 856 Dubai 09:50 OMA 648 Muscat 21:00 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05 KAC 674 Dubai 20:00 KAC 101 London/New York 10:00 ABY 122 Sharjah 21:00 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:10 KNE 480 Taif 20:10 IRA 668 Mashhad 10:00 KAC 331 Trivandrum 21:00 KAC 284 Dhaka 09:25 MEA 402 Beirut 20:15 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00 KAC 351 Kochi 21:05 IZG 4161 Mashhad 09:30 ABY 121 Sharjah 20:20 IZG 4162 Mashhad 10:30 KAC 287 Dhaka 21:05 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:20 FDB 056 Dubai 10:40 KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10 JZR 189 Dubai 20:25 JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15 KAC 350 Kochi 09:40 KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50 MEA 403 Beirut 21:15 QTR 1070 Doha 10:00 MSR 618 Alexandria 20:30 KAC 501 Beirut 11:00 KLM 417 Amsterdam 21:05 MSR 619 Alexandria 21:30 SYR 341 Damascus 10:05 QTR 1071 Doha 11:00 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 KNE 470 Jeddah 10:30 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 SYR 342 Damascus 11:05 UAE 859 Dubai 21:15 KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 22:05 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 KNE 471 Jeddah 11:20 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:05 UAE 873 Dubai 10:40 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:15 KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:25 FDB 073 Dubai 21:30 FDB 074 Dubai 22:10 MEA 404 Beirut 10:55 KAC 561 Amman 11:25 KAC 381 Delhi 22:20 MSC 405 Sohag 11:20 QTR 1074 Doha 21:30 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35 ALK 230 Colombo 22:20 JZR 561 Sohag 11:25 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 MEA 405 Beirut 11:55 UAE 860 Dubai 22:25 RBG 553 Alexandria 11:30 THY 764 Istanbul 22:10 KAC 541 Cairo 12:05 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:30 AGY 680 Alexandria 11:40 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10 UAE 874 Dubai 12:10 KAC 349 Kochi 22:30 JZR 165 Dubai 11:50 AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25 RBG 554 Alexandria 12:10 QTR 1075 Doha 22:40 FDB 075 Dubai 12:25 UAL 981 Bahrain 22:40 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45 JZR 241 Amman 12:40 FDB 059 Dubai 22:50 MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20 ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00 UAE 871 Dubai 12:45 JZR 185 Dubai 22:55 AGY 685 Sohag 12:40 KAC 205 Islamabad 23:05 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 23:00 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:25 THY 766 Istanbul 13:10 JZR 513 Sharm el-Sheikh 23:30 JZR 176 Dubai 13:10 KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:50 JZR 779 Jeddah 13:50 FDB 071 Dubai 23:35 FDB 076 Dubai 13:10 FDB 060 Dubai 23:50 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 CROSSWORD 881 STAR TRACK

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

You will prosper by pursuing your ideals and most deep-seated dreams of how A lack of information could hold you back–educate yourself as to what is life could be. Don’t be afraid to project a strong image. Ideas of group cooperation and com- happening around you. You may find yourself feeling blocked and unable to express munion could further your career. Being more practical and conscientious is of special impor- yourself, particularly in a group situation. Getting your point across to others–and under- tance now. Taking care of the necessary ingredients that make life comfortable and interesting– standing what others really mean when they communicate with you–may be a weak link health, work, and such–becomes a greater preoccupation for you now. Stress can take a toll by just now. Take a step back and view yourself as you would a movie–then you will know quitting time so before starting home, take a moment to stretch and plan on just what it would the steps you need to take to clear away any communication problems. Fresh challenges take to help you unwind this evening. Share some time with someone you love–but keep your and initiatives light your fire–away with the old and on to the new–let no one and noth- expectations low. Enjoy what happens when it happens–go with the flow of the evening. ing stand between you and your objective! You have lots of energy, a powerful urge to be first or come out on top. You cook the evening meal.

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

Full speed ahead is your motto today! Your humor and inventiveness pay off Think seriously about your work, and what you have learned. Ask yourself now as you express your ideas in a group setting! Take plenty of breaks and try to concentrate how much further you might want to grow with the company for which you work. If you on the task at hand. There are financial opportunities this afternoon and you may be checking want to stay, do not hesitate to present your ideas to higher-ups. If you want to move for- out the risks with some of your professional friends. As the workday comes to an end you will ward in your profession, write down just where you want to go; begin to plan ahead, for find yourself on the phone setting up appointments with repair people or planning a trip to your eyes only. You may decide it is time to further your education. Whatever you decide the hardware store. There are urges to make your home safe and you will look for ways in at this time, it is time to get down to business with your plans. You have created a new which to repair or secure items around the house. Laughter is the prescription for this recipe, a musical tune, a mathematical puzzle or any number of other, unique items. Get evening. Create a fun evening–perhaps everyone can take a turn to tell about a recently read your work recorded on paper or sound recording. This may open up a new avenue of book or an amusing news story. finance. Others give you lots of attention this evening.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your financial situation is a bit better now–continue to find ways to invest This is a good time, when your efforts really pay off and things seem to run or save for the future. Avoid high risk or frivolous spending. A willingness to smoothly. You may find the need to work continuously but it would be good to exercise from cooperate with higher-ups will have its rewards. You may have been moved to the lime- ACROSS DOWN time to time in order not to build up stress. You may be able to complete some difficult task light, especially with superiors. You may find that you enjoy your job but there are more 1. Make secure by lashing. 1. United States Film actress and daughter that you have put aside and it could be hard to stop working for breaks. Health and work goals responsibilities than usual at this time. Because of your management techniques, you can 5. Slang for `drunk'. of Henry Fonda (born in 1937). take on a greater importance this afternoon. You are interested in increasing your stamina and transform these additional responsibilities before they multiply. Think on this matter 12. (Judaism) Sacred chest where the 2. The basic unit of money in Saudi Arabia. plan to partake in an activity like indoor mountain climbing or long-distance swimming this today but do not act just yet. You have all the drive and energy you could want for what- ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets 3. A character set that includes letters. next weekend. You may be tempted to invite some friends along and this would be a fun way ever you need to accomplish. It should be easy to channel your energy–focus. You may containing the Ten Commandments. 4. 100 pyas equal 1 kyat. to partake in the exercise workout. This evening, you may look forward to some socializing with enjoy a different routine tonight . . . Perhaps a play or standup comic show. 15. Containing an unusual amount of 5. Water at boiling temperature diffused in friends. grease or oil. the atmosphere v 1. 16. A large hemispherical brass or copper 6. A rye bread made with molasses or percussion instrument with a drumhead brown sugar. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) that can be tuned by adjusting the ten- 7. The executive agency that advises the sion on it. President on the federal budget. 17. Flower arrangement consisting of a cir- You could find that you lack the ability to be as expressive as you would like. As You may not appreciate tradition or someone older or in authority today. However, 8. A person's partner in marriage. soon as you can do a little research you will find your confidence returning and you are more able little will come of any complaints and you will eventually have an opportunity to express yourself in cular band of foliage or flowers for orna- 9. Someone who travels about selling his mental purposes. to be a confident contributor to the testing of some equipment or some project. Don’t push your successful ways; patience. Self-awareness can be a very positive attribute, but it can also be a dan- wares (as on the streets or at carnivals). ger. Today is a time to make sure you do not become too self-absorbed. Keep your eye on the goal, 18. Monotypic genus of palms of ideas until you feel ready, particularly if you are with a testy type of individual in the workplace. You 10. The compass point midway between may never repeat this day; make sure you leave positive footprints. There may be a delay in a mon- not whether or not it is achieved your way. Communicating with neighbors and other social con- Australasia. nections this afternoon can be quite enjoyable. Good advice from a guide or older person will be 19. Enclose in a bower. northeast and east. ey matter this afternoon; however, you will find other opportunities to add to your income soon– 11. English theoretical physicist who relax. This afternoon would be a good time to put a little spontaneity in your life. Visiting with beneficial and appreciated. If you are married, you may notice that you and your loved one have 20. An anxiety disorder characterized by friends and laughing over some joke shared at dinner will settle your nerves quite a bit. become close recently. Tonight would be a good time to chat about travel plans. chronic free-floating anxiety and such applied relativity theory to quantum symptoms as tension or sweating or mechanics and predicted the existence trembling of light-headedness or irri- of antimatter and the positron (1902- tability etc that has lasted for more than 1984). Aquarius (January 20- February 18) six months. 12. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly Leo (July 23-August 22) aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking 21. The longer of the two telegraphic sig- You could be most persuasive with others and eloquent in speech and communi- You may be especially assertive just now. You have a desire to get things done quick- nals used in Morse code. true stems and roots and leaves. ly; however, you should not be impulsive or too quick to act, since a project you are attempting today 13. Located in or toward the back or rear. cation. The situation is a natural for self-expression and you are able to get your particular ideas 23. A monarchy in northwestern Europe across to others successfully–at home or in the workplace. You may find yourself in discussions needs your full concentration. There is an opportunity for financial growth now that has not been occupying most of the British Isles. 14. Scottish sea captain who was hired to surrounding technology or find yourself using your expertise to repair equipment. Financial mat- available before. Look at the larger picture where your career efforts are concerned and make sure 24. A grant made by a law court. protect British shipping in the Indian ters may have your attention, but the news is all good and the prospects look good for gain. you are doing a job that you will enjoy long-term. Attempt to feel that sense of higher purpose in your 26. A state in the southeastern United Ocean and then was accused of piracy Obtain suggestions from two other reputable places regarding your finances and you will be career efforts. Be attentive to your responsibilities at this time–since they cannot be ignored just now. States on the Gulf of Mexico. and hanged (1645-1701). pleased with the results. Take time to smell the roses today as there could be pressures in domes- This is a most beneficial time to exchange ideas and seek out new projects or ventures. You will want 28. A wave on the surface of a lake or land- 22. A white metallic element that burns tic, property or community matters. A dialogue with an older person is positive. to catch up on the bill paying this evening. locked bay. with a brilliant light. 30. A nonmetallic largely pentavalent 25. A round shape formed by a series of heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liq- concentric circles. uid element belonging to the halogens. 27. Pertaining to or resembling or function- Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) 34. Any of several shrubs of the genus ing as a bract. Elaeagnus having silver-white twigs and 29. A hotel providing overnight lodging for yellow flowers followed by olivelike You attract warmhearted individuals and are likely to be visited by several kind- Solid, secure and comfortable situations can be expected in most avenues of your travelers. mannered people today. Big ideas and grand visions play a leading role in your life. Mysterious or life. This is a great time to be with others and to work together. Others may require your presence for fruits. 31. Canadian literary critic interested in the 39. Australian clover fern. mystical information fires your imagination. There is a good chance that there is more confusion a particular job–you are productive. There may be some serious decisions made about the future of use of myth and symbolism (1912-1991). than understanding with regard to some professional ideas. New techniques may take a while to a project, investment or term of employment with your business at this time. This change will work 42. A kingbird that breeds in the southeast- 32. An informal conversation. learn. Keep an open mind and learn all you can, but do not take everything for gospel–there may in your favor. Your management and directional abilities are at a high focus. A feeling of being at ern United States and winters in tropical 33. The form of ratbite fever occurring in be more changes. If you can turn off any air conditioning or heating for a while so you can enjoy the peace and stable on the emotional level comes into play this afternoon. You are most successful America. the Far East. fresh air–you will find your spirit lifted. Romance and other things that tug at the heartstrings come with your home life–whether you are single or have a family. You enjoy your friends and may need 44. Being or having light colored skin and 35. A charge imposed and collected. your way as a new cycle begins. This is a creative period for you, a time to take a chance. to plan a regular time when you can interact and visit with these friends. hair and usually blue or gray eyes. 36. The largest city of China. 45. The eleventh month of the civil year. 37. A form of Japanese poetry. 46. Hybrid between grapefruit and man- darin orange. 38. (used as a sentenced connector) 47. An (apparently) flying object whose Therefore or consequently. WORD SEARCH PUZZLE Yesterday’s Solution nature is unknown. 40. The elementary stages of any subject 48. Soviet geneticist whose adherence to (usually plural). Lamarck's theory of evolution was 41. Sorghums of dry regions of Asia and favored by Stalin (1898-1976). North Africa. 50. (informal) Being satisfactory or in satis- 43. Any of several crested Old World birds factory condition. with a slender down-curving bill. 53. Kamarupan languages spoken in north- 49. A silvery malleable metallic element eastern India and western Burma. that resists corrosion. 55. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agri- 51. The capital and largest city of Uganda culture and patron of scribes and on the north shore of Lake Victoria. schools. 52. A gliding joint between the distal ends 56. Being ten more than one hundred forty. of the tibia and fibula and the proximal 58. A gonadotropic hormone that is secret- end of the talus. ed by the anterior pituitary. 54. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of 59. An official prosecutor for a judicial dis- the alkali metal group. trict. 57. Of a pale purple color. 60. A city in the Asian part of Russia. 61. The capital and largest city of Yemen. 62. (informal) Informed about the latest 63. Having nine hinged bands of bony trends. plates. 64. The blood group whose red cells carry 65. Related to or located at the back. both the A and B antigens. 66. The compass point that is one point 70. Resembling or characteristic of or north of northeast. appropriate to an elegy. 67. Expel, as of gases and odors. 73. A deficiency of red blood cells. 68. A title of address formerly used for a 74. A island in the Netherlands Antilles that man of rank and authority. is the top of an extinct volcano. 69. Freedom from difficulty or hardship or 75. An esoteric or occult matter that is tra- effort. ditionally secret. 71. Light informal conversation for social 78. The bureau of the Treasury Department responsible for tax collections. occasions. 79. Someone who works (or provides work- 72. The sound made by corvine birds. ers) during a strike. 76. A soft silvery metallic element of the 80. A festival featuring African-American alkali earth group. culture. 77. The azimuth of a celestial body is the 81. The starting place for each hole on a angle between the vertical plane con- golf course. taining it and the plane of the meridian.

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 information

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Afghanistan 0093 Luxembourg 00352 GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Albania 00355 Macau 00853 Algeria 00213 Macedonia 00389 Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883 Andorra 00376 Madagascar 00261 Sabah Hospital 24812000 Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414 Angola 00244 Majorca 0034 Amiri Hospital 22450005 Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558 Anguilla 001264 Malawi 00265 Maternity Hospital 24843100 Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518 Antiga 001268 Malaysia 0060 Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622 Argentina 0054 Maldives 00960 Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184 Armenia 00374 Mali 00223 Chest Hospital 24849400 Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967 Australia 0061 Malta 00356 Austria 0043 Marshall Islands 00692 Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000 Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201 Bahamas 001242 Martinique 00596 Adan Hospital 23940620 Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638 Bahrain 00973 Mauritania 00222 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Bangladesh 00880 Mauritius 00230 Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265 Barbados 001246 Mayotte 00269 Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075 Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999 Belarus 00375 Mexico 0052 Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549 Belgium 0032 Micronesia 00691 Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559 Belize 00501 Moldova 00373 Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554 Benin 00229 Monaco 00377 Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264 Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581 Bermuda 001441 Mongolia 00976 Kaizen center 25716707 Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241 Bhutan 00975 Montserrat 001664 Rawda 22517733 Bolivia 00591 Morocco 00212 Bosnia 00387 Mozambique 00258 Adaliya 22517144 Botswana 00267 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Khaldiya 24848075 Brazil 0055 Namibia 00264 Brunei 00673 Nepal 00977 Kaifan 24849807 Bulgaria 00359 Netherlands 0031 Shamiya 24848913 Burkina 00226 Netherlands Antilles 00599 Burundi 00257 New Caledonia 00687 Shuwaikh 24814507 Cambodia 00855 New Zealand 0064 Abdullah Salem 22549134 Cameroon 00237 Nicaragua 00505 Canada 001 Nigar 00227 Nuzha 22526804 Cape Verde 00238 Nigeria 00234 Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 Cayman Islands 001345 Niue 00683 Central African 00236 Norfolk Island 00672 Qadsiya 22515088 Chad 00235 N. Ireland (UK) 0044 Dasmah 22532265 Chile 0056 North Korea 00850 Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 China 0086 Norway 0047 Colombia 0057 Oman 00968 Shaab 22518752 Comoros 00269 Pakistan 0092 Qibla 22459381 Congo 00242 Palau 00680 Cook Islands 00682 Panama 00507 Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082 Costa Rica 00506 Papua New Guinea 00675 Mirqab 22456536 Croatia 00385 Paraguay 00595 Cuba 0053 Peru 0051 Sharq 22465401 Cyprus 00357 Philippines 0063 Salmiya 25746401 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Poland 0048 Czech Republic 00420 Portugal 00351 Jabriya 25316254 Denmark 0045 Puerto Rico 001787 Maidan Hawally 25623444 Diego Garcia 00246 Qatar 00974 Djibouti 00253 Romania 0040 Bayan 25388462 Dominica 001767 Russian Federation 007 Mishref 25381200 Dominican Republic 001809 Rwanda 00250 W Hawally 22630786 Ecuador 00593 Saint Helena 00290 Egypt 0020 Saint Kitts 001869 Sabah 24810221 El Salvador 00503 Saint Lucia 001758 Jahra 24770319 England (UK) 0044 Saint Pierre 00508 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Saint Vincent 001784 New Jahra 24575755 Eritrea 00291 Samoa US 00684 West Jahra 24772608 Estonia 00372 Samoa West 00685 Ethiopia 00251 San Marino 00378 South Jahra 24775066 Falkland Islands 00500 Sao Tone 00239 North Jahra 24775992 Faroe Islands 00298 Saudi Arabia 00966 Fiji 00679 Scotland (UK) 0044 North Jleeb 24311795 Finland 00358 Senegal 00221 Ardhiya 24884079 France 0033 Seychelles 00284 Firdous 24892674 French Guiana 00594 Sierra Leone 00232 French Polynesia 00689 Singapore 0065 Omariya 24719048 Gabon 00241 Slovakia 00421 N Khaitan 24710044 Gambia 00220 Slovenia 00386 Georgia 00995 Solomon Islands 00677 Fintas 23900322 Germany 0049 Somalia 00252 Ghana 00233 South Africa 0027 Gibraltar 00350 South Korea 0082 Greece 0030 Spain 0034 Greenland 00299 Sri Lanka 0094 PRIVATE CLINICS Grenada 001473 Sudan 00249 Guadeloupe 00590 Suriname 00597 Guam 001671 Swaziland 00268 Guatemala 00502 Sweden 0046 Ophthalmologists Plastic Surgeons Paediatricians Endocrinologist Guinea 00224 Switzerland 0041 Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898 Guyana 00592 Syria 00963 Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700 Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Haiti 00509 Serbia 00381 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Taiwan 00886 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Family Doctor Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099 Honduras 00504 Tanzania 00255 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581 Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514 Hong Kong 00852 Thailand 0066 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Physiotherapists & VD Hungary 0036 Toga 00228 Psychiatrists Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282 Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Tonga 00676 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Iceland 00354 Tokelau 00690 Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 Dermatology Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288 India 0091 Trinidad 001868 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians Dr. Mohammed Salam Rheumatologists: Indian Ocean 00873 Tunisia 00216 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581 Bern University 23845955 Indonesia 0062 Turkey 0090 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dentists Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Iran 0098 Tuvalu 00688 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290 Iraq 00964 Uganda 00256 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 Ireland 00353 Ukraine 00380 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226 Internist, Chest & Heart General Practitioners Italy 0039 United Arab Emirates 00976 Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444 Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Ivory Coast 00225 United Kingdom 0044 Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557 General Surgeons Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid Jamaica 001876 Uruguay 00598 Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Japan 0081 USA 001 Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148 Assistant Professor Of Medicine Jordan 00962 Uzbekistan 00998 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111 Internists, Chest & Heart Head, Division of Cardiology Kazakhstan 007 Vanuatu 00678 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Neurologists Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667 Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Kenya 00254 Venezuela 00582 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Consultant Cardiologist Kiribati 00686 Vietnam 0084 Urologists Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 Kuwait 00965 Virgin Islands UK 001284 Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Gastrologists MD, PH.D, FACC Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Virgin Islands US 001340 Dr. Sami Aman 22636464 Inaya German Medical Center Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Laos 00856 Wales (UK) 0044 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Te: 2575077 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Latvia 00371 Yemen 00967 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135 Fax: 25723123 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Lebanon 00961 Yugoslavia 00381 Soor Center Liberia 00231 Zambia 00260 Psychologists [email protected] Tel: 2290-1677 Kaizen center Noor Clinic William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Libya 00218 Zimbabwe 00263 /Psychotherapists www.soorcenter.com Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 25716707 23845955 Lithuania 00370 lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

GOSSIP

Haimhave always been ‘big fans’ ofCalvin Harris

aim were big fans of Calvin Harris before they collaborated with him. The three sis- ters, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim and Este Haim, have been lovers of the DJ’s music Hfrom the very start of his career and used to go to “all his shows”. The girls were thrilled when Calvin asked them to appear on his album ‘Motion’ because it was their dream to work with him and they are very pleased with their track ‘Pray to God’. During an interview with Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS FM radio show, Este said: “We’ve known Calvin for a while. He put out a record in like 2008 or 2009 like back in the day, and I used to go to all of his shows and I was a big fan. We just kind of linked up. I think he knows how much of a fan I am.” Out of the three siblings, Alana revealed Este is the “best” at meeting artists and stars she likes and she isn’t afraid to just go and approach people at showbiz events. Alanda said: “Este is also, out of all three Haims, the best at getting what she wants. Like, basically if she wants to meet someone, Este is [the best.] Like me and Danielle are like, ‘We’re scared, we don’t know what to do!’

Leona Lewis won’t ‘censor’ album eona Lewis won’t “censor” her new music. The for- Syco.”Some of the lyrics sound as if she’s talking about mer ‘X Factor’ winner - who quit show boss Simon a break-up from a boyfriend, but they’re actually about LCowell’s Syco record label last year - has admitted leaving Simon. “It had a huge impact on her life and for she felt “taken advantage of” and won’t be holding the first time she’s not scared to say what she thinks back when it comes to slamming her former col- through her music.” The song ‘I AM’ features the lyrics, “I leagues on her new album after signing with rival label am breathing without you, I am somebody without Island Records. In a new video posted online in which you, I am free without you, I am stronger without you” the ‘Bleeding Love’ hitmaker also shared some new while on ‘Fire’ she refers to “drowning in quicksand” material, she said: “I have met people who have come singing, “I’m set free. I begin to spread my wings. I’m in and taken advantage of me.” A lot of people were happy and I’ve earned it.” Leona is said to be much telling me how to be and how to act and what to say. happier at Island Records as she is given more control No one is one-dimensional. “I’m going to say whatever over her own music. An insider said: “Simon and Syco it is I want to say. I’m not going to compromise myself wanted to have full control of her music, but Island any more. I’m not going to censor myself.” It was have let her call the shots.” recently revealed the 30-year-old star has included some powerful tracks on her latest offering after it was claimed she was “driven to despair” being part of the 55-year-old music mogul’s label. A source said: “It’s no exaggeration to say that Leona was driven to the depths of despair by the end of her time signed to

Hawke rules out Bettany Rihanna’s Boyhood sequel loves Marvel’s aggressive album than Hawke doesn’t think there will be a ‘Boyhood’ sequel because the childhood premise of the film is so ‘big bag of cash’ ihanna’s new album is “soulful and aggressive”. The E“unique”. Ethan Hawke has ruled out there being a sequel ‘Diamonds’ hitmaker has been working hard on her to ‘Boyhood’. The 44-year-old actor has dashed hopes sur- aul Bettany loves getting “a big bag of cash” for Reighth studio LP - the follow-up to 2012’s ‘Unapologetic’ rounding the rumour that director Richard Linklater may make starring in Marvel films. The 43-year-old actor, - and is incredibly proud of her efforts so far, in particular the a second movie and insists he has not been part of any alleged Pwho plays J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in ‘The musical interludes. She said: “Dude, I’m in love with my inter- discussions. The director admitted back in February to a Avengers: Age of Ultron’, makes his first on-screen ludes. This one called ‘James,’ joint is on constant repeat. “[The Sundance audience that “the 20s are pretty formative”, spark- appearance in a Marvel film in the new movie and has album is] soulful and aggressive, whether it’s lyrically, musical- ing speculation a follow-up film could potentially be in the revealed it was a “double-edged sword”. Speaking at a ly, or just the tone of my voice.” Despite it being some time pipeline. Ethan, however, told Collider.com: “I feel that press conference at the Corinthia Hotel in London yes- since she released new music, Rihanna insists she has been ‘Boyhood’ was so unique and the reason why it works is terday Paul told BANG Showbiz: “It was lovely to finally busier than ever. Speaking to the new issue of V magazine, she because it actually does have a beginning, middle and end. be on set with a bunch of people that I’d been sup- explained: “I didn’t actually take time off. The past two years “All of us Americans understand the grid of 1st through 12th posedly working with for ten years but never actually are the hardest I’ve ever worked. I’ve been working on two grade. And it’s the one time in our life when we’re all on the met.” It’s a double-edged sword. Initially, my job was albums, an animated film, shooting for multiple magazines, same grid, and then high school ends and we’re shotgun blast turning up at the end of the movie with the superhero designing for Puma and Stance [socks], a new line of fra- into our lives.” Ethan played father, Mason Sr in the 2014 film power of if anything was still unclear I could clarify it grances, a summer tour, I launched my first annual Diamond which focuses on how his son Mason Jr. grows up in Texas with by just talking and they would give me a big bag of Ball at the end of last year, and I’ve also been developing sev- divorced parents between the ages of six to 18. Filming on the cash! I couldn’t imagine that the contract would ever eral projects to be revealed in the near future.” Meanwhile, the unique movie began in 2002 and was only completed 11 years be better than that.” Paul said that despite ‘The 27-year-old singer has been praised by her former collabora- later in 2013. ‘Good Kill’ star Ethan added: “I think Rick is open Avengers: Age of Ultron’ boasting a star-studded cast - tor Calvin Harris. Responding to a tweet which read “Did you to anything, so he’s kind of misleading you to say that. He’d which includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, know that Calvin Harris wrote and produced the #1 hit “We think about doing anything.” Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Found Love” [sung by Rihanna] on his own?(sic)”, Calvin Jeremy Renner - he found everyone to be very friendly replied: “Wouldn’t have been a hit if anyone else had sung it . He said: “It was a dream, honestly. Everyone was so tho.(sic)” welcoming, a bunch of really lovely, happy, well-paid actors.” Scarlett Johansson thinks Carey Mulligan Chris Hemsworth is sexier carlett Johansson thinks Chris to star in her own Marvel movie. She said: “I inspired by Hemsworth is sexier than her on the think one the qualities that I love and I’m Sbig screen. The ‘Avengers: Age of interested in is that she’s able to do some- Ultron’ actress - who plays the Black Widow thing for herself and maybe have a rela- in the franchise - claims her character can’t tionship with somebody [Bruce Banner], compete with her Australian co-star, who and open up in that way. There’s this kind Meryl Streep plays Thor, when it comes to looks and of greater calling that’s pulling her and she brains. Asked what it’s like playing the really selflessly chooses that. She’s a very arey Mulligan finds Meryl Streep “incredibly inspiring”. The 29- smartest and sexiest superhero in the film, slippery fish, for her job. But, when you get year-old actress stars with the 65-year-old screen legend in the 30-year-old star told BANG Showbiz at her, Natasha is in herself, which is kind of Cnew movie ‘Suffragette’ and thinks the older star is a “heroine” a press conference ahead of the film’s cool. And be her sexy self. And yeah, a Black to most women in their profession and uses her power in the right European premiere at the Vue Cinema in Widow movie, that would be cool. I’m way. She said: “Meryl Street is probably most actresses’ heroine but the Westfield, London last night: “Really!? always happy to put the black suit on.” then she is incredibly inspiring. “She’s using her power in the industry Have you seen Chris Hemsworth!?” But in a really positive way. She’s wanted to make a film about women’s Scarlett appreciates that the Black Widow is rights for a long time.” Carey thinks it is disappointing that it has tak- “a very slippery fish” and wouldn’t hesitate en until now for the story of the women’s suffrage movement to Jeremy Renner: make it to the big screen. She said: “The mere fact that it’s taken 100 I don’t years for this story to be told is hugely revealing.”This is the story of equal rights in Britain and it took years of read comic books struggle and women being tortured, abused and persecuted, and it’s never eremy Renner doesn’t read comic books. The 44-year-old actor, who stars been put on screen. “It’s such a reflection as Hawkeye in the Joss Whedon-directed ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’, of our film industry that that story hasn’t Jhas revealed that despite starring as one of the central characters in the been told yet.” But the actress claims it Marvel universe, he doesn’t know much about the origins of the characters. comes as no surprise as the film industry Speaking at a press conference at the Corinthia Hotel in London yesterday, is “massively sexist” and has few good Jeremy was asked whether there were any comic book storylines he’d like to female-focused stories. She added in an expand for his on-screen character, and he told BANG Showbiz: “I don’t really interview with Time Out magazine: “In read comics so I can’t answer that part of it. I let writers who know what terms of the amount of interesting roles they’re doing do that part of it, I try to do what I gotta do.” What’s more, there are for women it’s obviously mas- Jeremy addressed speculation he was unhappy with his character’s role in the sively sexist.”There’s a lack of material 2012 movie ‘The Avengers’, and revealed he spoke to the director and co-stars for women. A lack of great stories for Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. before returning for the follow up. He women.” ‘Suffragette’ is released in shared: “I remember talking about, not the specifics of but the ideas of what the UK on September 11 and inter- happens to Hawkeye in this movie with Downey and Joss and Ruffalo.”There nationally on October 23. were some very cool ideas and we were able to implement them in this film, which was very, very exciting.”— Bang Showbiz lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Features

The joy of giving

very day, we wake up wanting to work harder and go that as lucky as you are. The smallest of donations will do wonders business. These things surely matter, but the more you give the extra mile in order to achieve our goals faster and more for a child who suffers from poverty, families who cant afford to more the universe gives back to you, on your terms. Karma plays Eefficiently. Our lives can go by extremely quickly till the eat, and countries that suffer from corruption and wars. Going a huge role in many people’s happiness, it shouldn’t be taken day comes that it hits you how there are many less fortunate on trips that aim for building schools, giving our medical help or lightly and always remember, what goes around comes around. people living in this world. That is when we start considering donations is an amazing way to see and experience how others doing more good, not only for others, but also for ourselves. are living. It is only when you put yourself in their shoes that you When you give back; in terms of charity, working at a shel- truly understand how life can be difficult. It’s a sense of purpose ter, and so on, you actually feel better about yourself! To and it gives you a whole new perspective about life and how life some people, giving back is what they do in life, it’s their works its weird ways in order for certain things to take place. job, and I’m pretty sure those people are the happiest Of course it’s a blessing to enjoy what we have and what we people around. have worked hard for, but it can also be a curse. Forgetting You can do so much for people living around you, about the rest of the world and the less fortunate can some- and all over the world. What I’ve been doing for a while times derive you from the feeling charity gives, the sense of is, every now and then I put together a few of my clothes, care, love and giving. You reach a point in life where you no shoes, handbags that I’ve either grown out from or don’t longer work for money, you work for the things that matter want anymore and give it to people who are in need. more. Money means power, maybe happiness to a few, howev- Mamas, if your kids are growing out of their clothes, er, money doesn’t last as long as your relationships in this world shoes and toys, this is also a great activity you can will. introduce to the kids. It feels awesome to know that you have con- What goes around comes around tributed in the improvement of someone else’s life You can only love others when you care for them, give more or family. Doing good for others definitely means than you take, and be more willing to be involved in making a that others will do good for you the day you need change. Becoming that person will help you be more in peace it. with yourself. Charity work teaches humility, it also makes you more humble and appreciative of what you already have. Nothing lasts forever Putting smiles on young and hopeless faces will change the way Thinking about how this universe works, nothing you live your life, guaranteed. The world doesn’t only go around lasts forever. Nothing you have will last forever your job and the money you make, because at the end of the being yours, which means, you might as well share day your business is based on the relationships you have built some of what you have with people who are not with others, and the reputation you have made for yourself or

Niki Nakayama takes kaiseki center stage in ‘Chef’s Table’ ehind a set of shades hiding the dining room Japanese. The vegan style is still done today, but female chef doing this Japanese cuisine that’s tradi- from the kitchen, chef Niki Nakayama wraps there’s a different version. It’s representative of a for- tionally male. I feel that people are very supportive of Bher fingers around a giant live scallop and gen- mal banquet where people sit and gather and there’s it and I’ve been very fortunate at this space. In terms tly pries open the shell. She takes a knife and trims a lot of luxury, a lot of food that is very grand. You of sushi, if I were to stand behind a sushi bar at this out the sand-colored flesh inside. Later, she’ll pair it would say that’s the complete opposite of the origi- point, I don’t really know what people would think. with kiwi, dill and a beet and sorrel sauce with a nal kaiseki. But the one thing they maintained in I’m not 100 percent sure just yet. ponzu base. It’s those unexpected, enticing combina- both philosophies is appreciation of nature, of sea- tions that have made Nakayama a standout in the sons. There’s this underlying belief that we should culinary world. And later this month, she’ll stand out protect the ingredient, preserve it’s natural flavors as for yet another reason. She’s one of just six chefs to much as possible. be profiled on Netflix’s first homegrown documen- tary series, “Chef’s Table,” which features some of the AP: What are you trying to express with any most innovative chefs cooking today. given plate? The show takes viewers inside Nakayama’s Los Nakayama: We try to showcase the colors of the Angeles restaurant, n/naka, where she prefers to seasons. For summer there’s a lot of green. For work out of view. That’s symptomatic of many years autumn, a lot more red and gold and brown. Winter working in the world of sushi, where being a female is a lot of darker colors, more subdued. And spring- chef brought unwanted attention. As one of only a time is bright, bright green. There’s a new beginning. handful of female Japanese chefs, she was seen as an When you experience kaiseki, you’re very attuned oddity, even slighted by male patrons, including one with what’s happening all around you. That’s a big who dismissed her work as “cute.” thing about kaiseki. When you eat that meal, you These days, the 40-year-old Los Angeles-born chef automatically know, “This is spring. This is summer. crafts intricate 13-course kaiseki meals, a Japanese Autumn. Winter.” tradition dating back to the 13th century that pres- ents a conversing succession of raw heavy and light AP: Is your take on kaiseki influenced by your One of chef Niki Nakayama’s modern kaiseki plates at dishes, grilled, steamed and fried offerings with an upbringing? her n/naka restaurant in Los Angeles. — AP photos emphasis on local ingredients. Nakayama: Yes, definitely. I think when it’s a Aside from her unusual pairings, she’s also known menu that’s created, it’s very representative of per- AP: You’ve been known to keep a low profile. for her imaginative platings and attention to detail: sonal tastes and experience. When we go to eat at a What was it like being in front of the camera? The restaurant keeps track of everything customers traditional Japanese restaurant, of course, we don’t Nakayama: That was actually not as nerve wrack- eat to make sure they aren’t served the same meal Chef Niki Nakayama wraps her fingers around a expect to eat pasta, but that is one of our more pop- ing as I thought it would be. The director did an twice. “If you come back and experience that same giant live scallop. ular dishes here. It’s just because I personally love amazing job making all of us feel comfortable. And it menu, that experience is going to go down,” pasta and I think it’s wonderful to have the ability to seemed like such a wonderful opportunity to get Nakayama said. “We have to stay above that and inside and there were all these big fish all over. It was put it on the menu. It’s definitely reflective of the what it is we’re doing out there for people to under- keep them wondering.” more scary than appealing. But one of the great things that I eat and I feel is really a good representa- stand better. I feel a little bit disappointed when peo- Nakayama recently spoke with AP about kaiseki, things having grown up in a family that did seafood tion of having this Asian and American culture at the ple come here and they automatically assume the role Los Angeles plays in her cuisine, and step- is we had the opportunity to try so many kinds of same time. they’re at a sushi restaurant. Because what we are is ping in front of the camera. seafood. not a sushi restaurant. It would be amazing for peo- AP: Do you think it has gotten easier to be a ple to understand that with Japanese food, there’s so AP: What was it like growing up as the daugh- AP: How did kaiseki begin? female sushi chef? much more than sushi. — AP ter of Japanese immigrants working in the Los Nakayama: Kaiseki originated from the Buddhist Nakayama: That’s a difficult question. For me per- Angeles seafood industry? monasteries. It was about creating food around the sonally, I feel that I’ve been very fortunate in people’s Nakayama: I started working with them since the tea ceremony. Over time it evolved into two different opinion and people’s acceptance of n/naka. I feel like age of 12 and my feeling was, “I really don’t like sell- kinds of kaiseki. Even the writing of it is different in I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people ing seafood.” It smelled funny and it was so cold and it’s not so much an issue anymore that I’m a

Chef Niki Nakayama cuts Japanese imported fish. Chef Niki Nakayama, left, and assistant chef Carole Lida work on plating their kaiseki Chef Niki Nakayama cuts fish at her n/naka restaurant. menu. lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Music & Movies

US actor Robert Downey Jr poses on the red carpet for the US actress Scarlett Johansson. US actor Chris Evans. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. European premiere of the film ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ in London. — AFP photos ‘The Avengers’ set for blockbuster return

hree years after saving the Earth-and breaking a few box Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johnson). Jarvis/The Vision (played by Paul Bettany) makes his office records-”The Avengers” are back with a power- Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). entry as a counterweight to the power of Ultron, who emerges as Tpacked punch this week with their latest blockbuster There is also more humor to temper filmgoers’ pure adrenalin a kind of ghost in the Stark Industries machine. adventure. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk rush. The main thing was “to make sure that everybody had their “They embody a little bit of him (Tony Stark),” said Whedon. and Hawkeye take on a new baddie who wants to wipe out moment, that it’s all connected to the movie, to the main thing,” “But I do see them as both sides of the same coin, sort of a core Humanity, in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” out from Tuesday in much said the filmmaker, who spent hundreds of hours editing the between the two of them. There’s something beautiful about the of the world. Returning director Joss Whedon pits the superhero movie. The result is two hours of turbo-driven action, superhero fact that they see the same thing and react differently.” The climax gang against their own shortcomings as they take on their ulti- fist-fights and technology at the service of a story full of surprises, of the film closes certain storylines from the first film, and opens mate enemy-but also plays with the chemistry that developed which US critics have already hailed as a huge hit. Industry jour- new horizons for those to come: “The Avengers: Infinity War,” the between them in their first run-out. The original 2012 “The nal Variety called it a “super-sized spandex soap opera that’s third part of the saga that Marvel is dividing into two movies. The Avengers” became the third-highest grossing movie in cinema heavy on catastrophic action but surprisingly light on its feet, and first part is due out on May 4, 2018, followed by the second on history, taking over $1.5 billion at the box office, only beaten by rich in the human-scale emotion that can cut even a raging Hulk May 3, 2019. Both will be directed by filmmaking brothers “Avatar” (2009) and “Titanic” (1997). down to size.” Anthony and Joe Russo. The pressure on Whedon was therefore enormous-but the 50- But it is unknown what role new Marvel characters could play. year-old said he drew the most inspiration from amidst the first New horizons “There are so many different directions to go,” said Johansson. film’s very success, and from the interplay between the main James Spader, known for his roles in TV shows “Boston Legal” “We’ll see.” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” will be released in the United characters. He looked for “what little moments are there between and “The Blacklist,” plays ultimate baddie Ultron, a robotic assas- States on May 1, a week or two after it is out around much of the these characters that I haven’t gotten to do yet, what conversa- sin able to reproduce himself and who is determined to annihi- rest of the planet. — AFP tions they haven’t had yet, what haven’t I shown?” Whedon told late “The Avengers.” He wins the unexpected backing of twins reporters in Los Angeles. Relationships are indeed richer between Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, also known as Scarlett Witch and Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Quicksilver and played by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor- US actor Jeremy Renner.

Brian Wilson happy to have an old friend on new record, tour hile Brian Wilson doesn’t plan to officially reunite with the surviving members of the Beach Boys, Whaving an old friend sing on a new record certain- ly provided a comfort zone. Former bandmate Al Jardine, who sang lead vocals on Wilson’s 1965 chart-topping sin- gle “Help Me, Rhonda,” appears on a few tracks on his This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows a scene from ‘Magic Mike XXL,’ in This photo provided by Disney/Marvel shows, from left, Cobie Smulders, seated, Chris recently released “No Pier Pressure,” and Wilson couldn’t be theaters on July 1. Evans, Don Cheadle, Claudia Kim, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, happier. “He sang my song ‘Sail on, Sailor’ in 1972, then he Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the film, ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron.’ sang ‘Sail Away’ for me on this album,” the 72-year-old singer-songwriter said in a recent interview. “He still sounds as good as he ever did.” Brothers Dennis, Brian and Carl Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love and friend Al They Will Be Back: Sequels multiply Jardine, got together in 1961 to create songs about surfing, fast cars and girls and became a top musical group. Their hits include “Good Vibrations” and “California Girls.” The Beach Boys combined the harmonies of a jazz-vocal in summer movie season group with the energy of a rock ‘n’ roll band. Wilson took it further with unusual musical arrangements, creative studio ’ll be back,” the line Arnold Schwarzenegger first uttered Terminators. “Mad Max: Fury Road” (May 15), is returning decades XXL.” It’s the classic kind of sequel - a road trip - albeit one with an production and a tapestry of sounds that enhanced each more than 30 years ago in that indelible manly monotone, later with its original creator, the Australian director George Miller. especially untraditional destination: a Florida stripper convention song. “We did it mostly with our voices, with harmonies. We “Ibelongs to the Terminator, of course. But it also might as “One of the most jolting experiences of my life was to go to SXSW Tatum attended before his acting career took off. The premise still did the harmonies together; we had five voices recorded well be the official slogan of the summer movie season. It’s the and watch ‘Road Warrior: Mad Max 2’ in a newly minted print for makes director Gregory Jacobs chuckle. four times to make 20 voices,” Wilson said, describing the time of year when Hollywood’s older, reliable brands, with the the first time in 32 years and then showing scenes from ‘Fury Road’ “We started thinking about a sequel, honestly, really early on,” rich vocal arrangements he was able to produce in the stu- tenacity of Schwarzenegger’s lethal cyborg, claw their way back all these years later,” says Miller. “It was a kind of a time travel. It was says Jacobs, a producer and assistant director on the first “Magic dio. Regarded by his peers as a musical genius, the multi- onto the big screen in a popcorn parade of big-budget sequels, a strange but powerful experience.” Mike,” now taking over for director Steven Soderbergh. “We all tasking Wilson’s vision was an important part of the reboots and re-dos. That’s nothing new, but the extent of the There is blunt mathematics behind the proliferating franchises. loved this idea of a road trip with these guys; we just couldn’t fit it California Sound. Initially, his songs were catchy optimistic sequel spinning is. The sequel expansion - as headlong as Tom The top six summer films at the box office in 2013 were sequels. into the first movie.” “Magic Mike XXL” is joined by a handful of tunes, but they became more sophisticated and experi- Cruise in the “Mission: Impossible” movies - runs in all directions, Last summer, all of the top 10 movies were sequels, reboots or sequels that come from fairly recent films: the teen musical “Pitch mental. He wrote the music, performed it and worked his stretching into prequels, second-try reboots, spinoffs and fran- hailed from well-known properties. This summer, the box-office Perfect 2” on May 15; the “Despicable Me” spinoff “Minions” on July magic at the recording console. chises that are less linear, roman-numeral progressions than (as in seems nearly certain to be led by “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (May 10; Seth MacFarlane’s comedy “Ted 2” on June 26. But the bulk of “I love to make people happy, that’s one of my main the brimming Marvel world) whole universes of overlapping char- 1), the sequel to the 2012 superhero team-up original, the highest the summer season will depend on older franchises, some of things,” Wilson said of his distinctly gentle sound. But he acters: fantasy realms to visit, not just stories to follow. grossing-summer movie ever. With $1 billion-plus in box office which are counting on moviegoer amnesia. wouldn’t describe himself as a “musical genius.” “Not a “Jurassic World” (June 12), stuck in development for a decade, is the fourth installment in the franchise that has been dormant genius, but a good producer, not a genius. I’ve been called (but not extinct) since 2001’s “Jurassic Park III.” Its star, Chris Pratt, a genius, but I’m not really a genius.” Then he added: “Well, led last summer’s runaway hit, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” “Fantastic it makes me feel like I have a lot of versatility.” Wilson suf- Four” (Aug 7), starring Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, is an fered a series of nervous breakdowns in the ‘60s and attempt to reboot the Marvel foursome after the little loved stopped touring with the group. “Fantastic Four” gave it a go just 10 years ago, and was followed by After a long recovery, he began recording again. For his a 2007 “Silver Surfer” sequel. eleventh solo album, he was able to attract young record- ing artists like Kasey Musgraves, Nate Ruess of fun. and A massive franchise Zoey Deschanel and M. Ward, known as She & Him. Wilson The futuristic “Tomorrowland” (May 22), directed by Brad Bird will tour this summer with Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, (“Ratatouille,” “The Incredibles”) and co-starring George Clooney, who had a brief stint with the Beach Boys in the early comes from the producers behind “Pirates of the Caribbean” and 1970s. The surviving original members - including Jardine hopes to turn another Disney theme park attraction into a mas- and Love - reunited in 2012 for the band’s 50th anniversary. sive franchise. “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation” (July 31), the When asked if he will ever tour again as a Beach Boy, fifth entry to the Tom Cruise action series, isn’t the only film trad- Wilson replied: “No. Probably not.” Still, Wilson loves per- ing off an old television show. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (Aug. 14) forming, along with the adrenaline rush he gets when he’s is Guy Ritchie’s take on the ‘60s spy series. HBO’s “Entourage” (June onstage. “When the audience claps very loud that makes 5) will also get a big-screen swan song about four years after the me very happy.” — AP show’s finale. This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows a scene from ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ out in theaters on May 15. With so many name-brand films clustered together in the To fuel the proliferation, Hollywood is dipping ever deeper into assured, the financial imperative is, of course, enormous. “Age of summer, box-office analysts like Paul Dergarabedian, senior its vaults: 10 of this summer’s most anticipated blockbusters have Ultron” writer-director Joss Whedon says “making more money media analyst for Rentrak, predicts this season will lead origins dating back more than three decades, including “Fantastic would be swell,” but a creative purpose is still necessary. Hollywood to a record year. That would be welcome news for the Four,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “I wanted to do better,” says Whedon. “I wanted to spend more industry, following a limp 2014 summer. If summer 2015 is to “Terminator: Genisys,” the fifth film in the series created by James time with these guys. I just introduced them, and the movie end- reverse last summer’s downturn, it will need a few of the original Cameron in 1984. Schwarzenegger is back to say that he’s back. ed. I wanted to spend time with them as a team, as comrades, films to pop, too. One thing 2015 has over 2014 is a Pixar movie. Nostalgia and familiarity mingle with updated special effects and with them in conflict and the fun and the humor and the pain that After a year off, Pixar will release “Inside Out,” about the voices new cast members in these films to render something that hope- comes with that. I wanted to go deeper.” While Marvel’s “Avengers” inside the mind of a young girl, on June 19. The comedy options, fully feels fresh to moviegoers. As the “Fast and Furious” series marches forward (a two-part sequel is planned), other franchises too, may be better. “Spy” (June 5) stars Melissa McCarthy in a spoof (more profitable in its seventh installment than ever before) has have progressed less predictably. thriller, and “Trainwreck” (July 17), from director Judd Apatow, proven this spring, the lifespan of the sequels no longer adheres stars Amy Schumer as a monogamy-averse career woman. — AP to the old rules of inevitable decay - at least for now. Classic kind of sequel In this March 30, 2015 file photo, Brian Wilson per- “Magic Mike,” made for just $7 million, opened in June 2012 forms on stage during Brian Fest: A Night To Top six summer films with a remarkable $39.1 million and went on to gross $167 million Celebrate The Music Of Brian Wilson at the Fonda The ever-lengthening life of franchises can make for some worldwide. A male stripper romp that winks to the real past of Theatre in Los Angeles. — AP strange off-screen realities, and not just for 67-year-old producer-star Channing Tatum, it returns July 1 with “Magic Mike lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

Features

This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc shows Flower Cap from the book.—AP photos This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc shows Dinosaur from the book.

t’s not enough to knit sweaters for our children and She’s been crocheting tiny hats for feline companions A patterns book of hats for dogs isn’t out of the ques- grandchildren - no. Dexterous fingers need more. They ever since. In 2012, her biggest hat-selling year, that was tion. And Thomas also would like to rework her grand- Ineed to knit something smaller, faster: They need to 300 kitty chapeaus (the holiday hats sell best). Thomas mother’s vintage patterns for a book: “She was a beautiful knit hats for cats. What started as a lark - and to honor the sometimes crocheted until 4 am to fill the orders. Hannah knitter who grew up in Germany, so I’d want to make the grandmother who taught her to knit - has turned into Milman, editorial director of crafts at Martha Stewart patterns era-appropriate.” But first? She’ll probably embark steady work for Sara Thomas, author of “Cats in Hats: 30 Living, isn’t surprised. “People love their pets - it’s ‘the new on a holiday-themed book that puts more cats in out- Knit and Crochet Patterns for Your Kitty” (Running Press, baby.’ So it’s no wonder people want to create personal- landish hats. She has learned that hats for cats sell. — AP March 2015). Thomas hopes the book, with quick knitting ized, wearable gifts for their pets,” Milman says. “A large and crochet patterns for a dinosaur, chicken, bunny, turkey, part of it is also social media .... Who doesn’t love seeing cupcake, extraterrestrial, banana, Santa, elf, lion, baby bear cats or dogs on Instagram in cute homemade outfits or and more, will free up time so she can knit and crochet accessories?” something else. At least one of the patterns in the book - the Happy “As much as I love the cat hat. I do want to do other Birthday Cat Hat pattern - is free at Thomas’ blog. Her two things,” admits Thomas, of Nashville, Tennessee. In 2009, cats, Dorothy and Sinclair, are first to try out her admittedly Thomas launched her Etsy shop, Scooter Knits, with dis- kitschy creations. Dorothy has proven agreeable, but not parate handmade items, including one hand-knit kitty hat, Sinclair. “Sinclair does not enjoy modeling the hats. in fact, which quickly sold. he likes to attack them,” says Thomas.

This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc shows Unicorn from the book.

This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc shows Bobbie Hat from the book, ‘Cats in Hats,’ published shows I Heart You from the book, ‘Cats in Hats,’ pub- shows Fox from the book, ‘Cats in Hats,’ published by by Running Press. — AP photos lished by Running Press. Running Press.

This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc This photo provided by Running Press and Quarto, Inc shows Extraterrestrial from the book. shows Cowboy Hat from the book. shows Shark Attack from the book. shows Pom Pom Hat from the book. Graffiti Fine Art Biennial International Exhibit

Visitors pose for a picture in front of graffiti art created by Brazilian artist Graffiti art created by Brazilian artist Waleska is displayed. Art work created by Brazilian street artist Rimon Guimaraes is displayed. Vermelho during the 3rd annual Graffiti Fine Art Biennial International exhibit, at the Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday. ó AP photos Just what the 39cat needed: A hat THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015

People participate in the “Color Run 2015” in Paris on April 19, 2015. The Color Run is a five kilometers paint race without winners nor prizes, while runners are showered with colored powder at stations along the run. — AFP