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MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 RAJAB 20, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net JACC concerts Court acquits N Korea Revenge for for the richest? US-Egyptian missile test Mourinho as Scalpers triple woman over fails before Man Utd ticket prices3 charity 8abuse Pence12 visit stun20 Chelsea MPs Adasani, Muwaizri file Min 23º Max 29º second grilling against PM High Tide 04:16 & 22:08 Low Tide Rampant corruption, squandering of public funds alleged 09:16 & 22:08 40 PAGES NO: 17201 150 FILS

conspiracy theories By B Izzak ‘Yes’ wins knife-edge Turkey vote KUWAIT: Opposition MPs Riyadh Al-Adasani and Shuaib Al- It’s up to us Muwaizri yesterday filed the second grilling against the prime minister over allegations of failure to check rampant corruption and stop squandering of public funds. The two lawmakers also accused HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Sabah of failing to rectify the imbalance in the demo- graphic structure, providing billions of dollars in grants and loans to foreign countries while reducing public subsi- dies at home, and failing to diversify the economy to find By Badrya Darwish other sources of income. The new grilling is the second against the prime minis- ter, who has been in power since 2011, and comes amid a looming political crisis in the country just under five [email protected] months since November’s snap polls in which the opposi- tion won around half of the 50 seats. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said the new grilling will be ocial media has overtaken our lives. It’s hijacking listed on the agenda of the April 25 Assembly session to our privacies. Now it’s the fashion or the norm, discuss setting a date for its debate. Syou could say, for people not to listen to the news The first grilling was filed on Wednesday by MPs Waleed on the radio or to read it from official sources or Al-Tabtabaei, Mohammad Al-Mutair and Marzouq Al-Khalifa, respected publications. Instead, what we are paying and charged the government of the prime minister of being attention to is social media with all its forms and plat- responsible for widespread corruption, imposing charges on forms - be it Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, public services and petrol and for punishing opponents by Snapchat, etc. I don’t know what they will invent next. revoking their nationality. The two grillings will be debated The problem is that how true and reliable is the separately, but not before the Assembly holds an intensive information barraging us on these media? You don’t debate on a number of question marks raised about a even have to carry a computer - the smartphone in my number of points in the first grilling. So far, there has been hand has it all 24/7 wherever you are - be it in the sky or no comment from the prime minister or the government. on the ground, in Britain or South Africa. But it’s littered Opposition MPs have strongly rejected any attempt to with fake news, with malicious gossip and stories that delay the debate or refer the grillings to the Assembly’s aren’t sourced or credited - without respect for humani- legal and legislative committee to study if the grillings are ty, justice, individual rights or people’s reputations. ISTANBUL: Supporters of the Justice and Development (AK) party wave Turkish flags and hold a poster of in line with the constitution. Continued on Page 13 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan outside its offices yesterday. — AP (See Page 13) Continued on Page 13 MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah accompanied by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Hamad Al-Sabah meets with Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa. Amir meets with Bahraini Foreign Minister

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah also attended the Khaled Ahmad Jaber Al-Sabah, and Kuwait Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled and Deputy Ali Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah accompa- meeting. Later, His Highness the Prime Ambassador to Bahrain Sheikh Azzam Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh In other news, His Highness the Amir sent nied by His Highness the Crown Prince Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Hamad Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah. Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah. a cable of condolences to Iranian President Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sabah accompanied by Sheikh Sabah Al- Earlier yesterday, His Highness the Amir His Highness Sheikh Nawaf also received Hassan Rouhani over flood victims. In the received yesterday at Bayan Palace the First Khaled received the visiting Bahraini Foreign received His Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister cable, His Highness the Amir expressed sin- Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Minister and his accompanying delegation. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al- Anas Al-Saleh and Minister of State for cere sympathies over the victims of the Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, along with The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Ghanem, and His Highness the Prime Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of floods that hit different parts of Iran earlier Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Minister. Meanwhile, His Highness the Crown Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah on Saturday. His Highness the Crown Prince Ahmad Al-Khalifa and his accompanying del- Mohammad Khaled Hamad Al-Sabah, the Prince received Ghanem, His Highness Sheikh Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. Furthermore, His and His Highness the Prime Minister sent the egation. Amiri Diwan Affairs Deputy Minister Chief of Prime Minister Diwan Sheikha Itimad Jaber Al-Mubarak, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, Highness the Crown Prince received Sheikh Iranian president similar cables.—KUNA

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa co-chair the 9th meet- ing of the Joint Kuwaiti-Bahraini Committee. Foreign Minister reiterates Kuwait’s support to Bahrain against terrorism

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s First Deputy Premier and tion in electricity and central and popular arts and preservation of the environment. Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- markets. They also inked three executive pro- Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled held a banquet lunch Hamad Al-Sabah yesterday reaffirmed the grams for cooperation in education, culture, for the Bahraini delegation. — KUNA country’s support to Bahrain’s efforts to counter terrorism. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled co-chaired the 9th meeting of the Joint Kuwaiti-Bahraini Committee, together with the visiting Bahraini counterpart Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa. The official talks, held at the Foreign Ministry, reviewed cooperation among the various sector sin both countries. Addressing the meeting, he emphasized the deep-rooted bilateral relations, lauding the positive outcome of the 9th session that translated into reality the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. The 9th session of the com- mittee comes amid very complicated region- al and international developments, which prompt the Gulf, the Arab and the world’s joint efforts to overcome them. Meanwhile, the Bahraini foreign minister stressed the substantial support to the bilat- eral historical ties on all levels by the wise leadership in both countries. He also highly appreciated Kuwait’s backing to the Kingdom. Up to 51 bodies representing the official and private sectors in both countries took part in the meeting that assessed the progress achieved since the 8th session, together with means of boosting coopera- tion in all fields. Concluding the meeting, the two sides KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and his Bahraini counter- signed three memorandums of understand- part Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa pose for a picture after signing an agreement in ing on legislative coordination and coopera- Kuwait City yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa jointly attended the opening ceremony of the new Bahraini embassy in Kuwait yesterday.—KUNA Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa speaks Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah speaks during the 9th meeting of the Joint Kuwaiti-Bahraini Committee. during the 9th meeting of the Joint Kuwaiti-Bahraini Committee. LOCAL MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

Legalese Govt employees, company reps arrested on visa trafficking charges Absconding Association urges more incentives to Kuwaiti nurses

By Attorney Fajer Ahmed By A Saleh covered to be involved in visa trafficking. Those efforts Projects’ requirements have been recognized internationally but they still fall Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s (KPC) Managing bsconding by definition, according to KUWAIT: Ten public servants and 30 company represen- short of being considered effective in limiting this illegal Director for Human Resources Bader Al-Sharad submitted Merriam-Webster, is to depart secretly and tatives were arrested and referred to public prosecution practice. “The Government of Kuwait does not fully meet the corporation’s future projects’ requirements of land and hide oneself. The word absconding is a harsh in 2016 on charges of receiving huge bribes to add more the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking industrial sites to Kuwait Municipality. In a letter sent to the Aword and is usually used for someone that is run- laborers on fake companies’ files and aid visa trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so,” reads the US municipality, Sharad explained that as part of KPC’s keen- ning away from something or even escaping from according to a document issued from the office of Department of State’s 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, ness on executing its strategic plan to help boost the jail, but the general public seems to use the word in Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State which ranks Kuwait in Tier 2 (Watch List). national economy, Kuwait National Petroleum Company’s Kuwait to describe an offense of leaving an employ- for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh. In other news, minister Sabeeh reportedly gave new (KNPC) wishes to conduct feasibility studies for projects ment contract without agreeing with the employer Every private company in Kuwait has a file in the instructions to make it mandatory for a person to have a such as expanding refineries’ capacity and future petro- on the termination methods. This can be very mis- Public Authority for Manpower’s database which stipu- bachelor’s degree or diploma in mechanics in order to be chemical projects. Sharad explained that land was needed leading. Also, from experience, I have seen employ- lates the number of employ- eligible to open a tire repair shop at any co-op society in for expanding refining capacity by 1.7 million bpd by 2025, ers misuse their power to file absconding cases ees a company can hire. Kuwait. Furthermore, the guidelines also stipulate that provided that the sites overlook the sea. against their employees unrightfully. Today, I will be Based on that number, a cor- only a pharmacist who has a practicing license in Kuwait talking about my experience handling legal cases responding number of work is granted a license to open a pharmacy. 2,700 megawatts related to absconding. visas is issued to serve the The Ministry of Electricity and Water’s (MEW) Assistant For lawyers, dealing with absconding cases is a company’s labor recruitment Kuwaiti nurses Undersecretary for Electricity Projects and Power Plants nightmare. Many also say that the procedures and needs. But there has been Kuwait Nursing Association’s (KNA) Chairman Bandar Operation and Maintenance Fouad Al-Oun said the ministry consequences for absconding cases in Kuwait are many cases in the past in Nashmi Al-Enezi urged the Cabinet to pass a special has so far accomplished over 80 percent of the mainte- inhumane. Recently, the Kuwait Social Work Society which some companies man- payroll cadre for nurses, which was already approved by nance operations at various power and water desalination spoke about absconding, and I hope to see more aged to bribe people working the Civil Services Commission (CSC) three years ago. He plants, and expected producing 2,700 megawatts more organizations and public figures speak about what is in the authority and who also stressed that nurses in Kuwait had the worst than the predicted maximum power consumption during right for the people who live in Kuwait and make have access to the system in salaries in all GCC states. “Approving the new payroll the summer. Assistant undersecretary for electricity distri- Kuwait a better place. Social Affairs order to illegally increase the system will help encourage more Kuwaitis to join nurs- bution grids Jassem Allengawi stressed that his sector is Minister Hind number of allowed employ- ing, because there is already a paucity of 1,600 nurses well-prepared for the summer and that maintenance opera- Power abuse Al-Sabeeh ees; which is normally given from the entire nursing community of 24,000 from vari- tions had been already done on over 20 percent of the sec- Question: I did not abscond from work - I was after an evaluation study for a ous nationalities,” he explained, noting that the nursing ondary power transforming units. actually terminated verbally. I was told that I was company’s needs. Visas generated by the extra slots in field needs around 22,000 Kuwaitis to cover the short- not needed anymore and that I should just not this case are often sold to laborers looking for a job in age. Enezi said the profession annually needs 300 new Rotten fruits come to work anymore. I have read your posts pre- oil-rich Gulf countries - a practice commonly known as nurses, who unlike other professions, can be directly The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) commer- viously and I knew I needed a termination letter in ‘visa trafficking.’ recruited by CSC after graduation. He also noted that cial control and consumer protection sector raided a factory writing. So I went back to my work and asked them Local authorities have taken efforts to tackle this some Kuwaiti nurses have already completed postgrad- producing fresh juices, said assistant undersecretary Eid Al- for a written letter stating that I was terminated, but problem over the past few years, as hundreds of people uate studies and specialized in certain areas such as Rasheedi, noting that the factory was using rotten oranges they refused to give it to me. They removed my desk were arrested and companies closed after they were dis- pediatrics, maternity and surgical nursing. and a large quantity of inedible fruits in the process. and did not even give me a place to sit in, so I stopped going to work, and now I have an abscond- ing case against me. What does this mean? Does it mean deportation? Fajer: It is so unfortunate that this actually hap- pens and it happens more often than you think. Some wicked employers have found a way against the system using legal loopholes to abuse their pow- er. It is a sick power game that continues to happen. With this said, there are strict punishments for employers who abuse their power. Also, an abscond- ing case can only be filed after three different inspectors are sent to your workplace and see that you are not there for seven consecutive days. Unfortunately, absconding can very easily end with deportation. A very smart way of avoiding absconding when you are in this situation is to go The Internationally-renowned artist Yanni. and file a complaint at the Shuoon (Manpower Authority) when you are told that you are terminat- JACC concerts for the ed. Going to a lawyer is important here, in order for you to avoid such issues. I know this means you have richest? Ticket prices to bear costs, so I offer the following advice to those tripled by scalpers who are in such a situation: 1. If your salary is less than KD 150, you can call 1802-234. By Athoob Al-Shuaibi 2. If you cannot afford a lawyer for the case but can spare a consultation fee, then ask your KUWAIT: Internationally-renowned artist Yanni, lawyer how much the consultation fee is, and who is famous for his modern classical music, will through the consultation they can guide you Smuggled orangutan repatriated be performing in his first concerts in Kuwait at the through the process. Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center (JACC) this week- I highly suggest that you continue going to work end. The musician has a large fanbase in the Gulf (even if it is difficult) until you file a complaint at the KUWAIT: An orangutan that had been region, but his fans were let down after tickets for Shuoon about the situation. smuggled into Kuwait has been repa- his two concerts were all sold out within an hour For any legal questions or queries, email triated to Indonesia this week through of their release. Fans expressed their displeasure [email protected]. the efforts of the Embassy of the and suspected a mass ticket purchase by scalpers Republic of Indonesia in Kuwait in in order to sell them at sky-high prices. A recent cooperation with the Kuwait Zoo and report by Al-Rai newspaper said prices of tickets Directorate of Biodiversity had reached KD 1,000. Conservation Ministry of Environment So I decided to investigate by pretending to be and Forestry of the Republic of willing to buy a ticket only a few days before the Indonesia as well as BOS Foundation. The two-year-old male orangutan, event. I tweeted my request with the hashtag named Taymur, was rescued in June Kuwait. In less than 30 minutes, private offers 2016, after his owner was arrested. began to pour in by scalpers. It is clear that they The animal was found to be in a very keep a watchful eye on social media. Two of them bad state, intoxicated and uncared for. were using bogus names - one of them had three He was transferred to the Kuwait Zoo VIP tickets, while the other offered me two. where he has been cared for ever Meanwhile, a third was using both Twitter and since. Taymur is the third orangutan Instagram to sell the tickets publicly under an found to be illegally brought to authorized website’s name. However, if you want Kuwait within the last two years. The to make a purchase, you must do it through them orangutan is an endangered species. privately. The account owner sent me a ticket price Keeping exotic animals as pets has list ranging from KD 200 to KD 550. They also men- become a popular trend in the Gulf tioned that VIP Premium/Premium Plus tickets are Motorist killed, three states, though several have outlawed available on request and all prices are negotiable. injured in accident the practice. In January, the United Later, another man sent me a direct message, Arab Emirates warned owners of exot- offering one ticket, but with his name on it. He ic or dangerous pets that they have a wanted KD 400, because, as he described himself: By Hanan Al-Saadoun six month amnesty to hand them over “I am not one those scalpers.” But the next day, he or face fines and jail time. Reports of tried to remind me that I would miss the chance An Egyptian man died and three others were KUWAIT: individually-owned lion cubs, tigers of getting the ticket at the same price, and that I injured when their vehicle flipped over and caught fire on and cheetahs roaming city streets or have less than 24 hours before he raises the price! King Fahd Road near Hadiya. Firefighters rushed to the attacking their handlers are common. scene in response to an emergency call, then worked on The JACC ticket black market is not an illu- In 2014, a Filipina domestic worker sion or a rumor spread by a bunch of people tackling the flames while helping the victims out of the died in Kuwait after being attacked by burning vehicle. Paramedics pronounced one of the vic- who could not afford them. It is a real crisis that her employer’s pet lion. Nearly two must be addressed in respect for the status and tims dead on the scene and left his body to be taken to years later, in 2016, a young Kuwaiti the forensic department, then transported the injured the name of the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al- man died in Saudi Arabia after being Ahmad Al-Sabah. people to hospital. A case was filed to investigate the attacked by a pet lion he was attempt- causes of the accident. ing to train.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Al- Khader meets with Commander of the Iraqi Naval forces Major General Ahmed Jasim Maarij. —KUNA Kuwaiti Army Chief meets Iraqi Navy commander

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Army Chief of Staff issues of mutual concern, mainly in the Lieutenant General Mohammed Al- military field, the Defense Ministry’s Khader met yesterday with the visiting Moral Guidance and Public Relations said Commander of the Iraqi Naval forces in a statement. The meeting was attend- KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Services Safety and Vocational Health Supervisor Lt Col Fayez Al-Nasser visited the Acting Chairperson of Major General Ahmed Jasim Maarij and ed by Commander of the Kuwaiti Naval the Medical Council Fatima Al-Najjar to thank the council for its important role in dealing with all government ministries and his accompanying delegation. During Forces Major General Khaled Ahmad Al- authorities. the meeting, they discussed several Kandari. —KUNA MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 LOCAL

KUWAIT: Kuwaitis write in the condolences book at the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church in Kuwait City yesterday, as people gathered to offer their respects to the victims of the twin blasts which hit two churches in Egypt last week. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Dr Mohammad Al-Khashti poses for a group photo with the participants in the conference. — KUNA photos Investing in human base of modern health care: Minister

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Health Minister Dr Jamal Al-Harbi yesterday empha- the medical profession. He noted biomedical laboratory professions are sized the significance of investing in the human element as the base of among “the biggest groups in the field of health care.” modern health systems. This was the essence of a statement delivered Meanwhile, the head of the ministry’s Directorate of Medical on behalf of the minister by the ministry’s Acting Undersecretary Dr Laboratories Services Dr Doaa Al-Khaldi addressed the event saying it was Mohammad Al-Khashti, also Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and part of the efforts to keep pace with the latest scientific techniques in the Quality Affairs to a conference held on the occasion of the 2nd field. The conference seeks through lectures and workshops to highlight Biomedical Laboratory Science Day. the crucial role played by the laboratories professions, she added. Khaldi He added that the conference reflects the ministry’s keenness on sci- noted that the total 145 laboratories in the Kuwaiti hospitals are provided entific and medical events to promote the performance of all staffs of with the latest advanced equipment in the world. — KUNA

Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Dr Mohammad Al- Head of health ministry’s Directorate of Medical Laboratories Khashti speaks during the 2nd Biomedical Laboratory Science Day Services Dr Doaa Al-Khaldi speaks during the event. conference.

A general view of the audience. MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 LOCAL

In Brief PAAET honors Sheikh Nasser 1,500 suffer from US Dollar exchange rate Parkinson’s in Kuwait stable against Kuwaiti Dinar KUWAIT: A delegation from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) led by KUWAIT: Some 1,500 people suffer from KUWAIT: The US Dollar’s exchange rate was General Director Dr Ahmad Al-Athari visited His Parkinson’s disease in Kuwait, says Dr Jassem stable against KD 0.304, but it went down Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Jaber Al- Al-Hashel, neurologist at Ibn Sina Hospital. In against the Euro to reach 0.323, when com- Sabah at his residence in Shuwaikh yesterday. The a statement on the occasion of the World pared to prices of last Thursday, the Central team offered Sheikh Nasser a memento in apprecia- Parkinson’s Disease Day, Dr Hashel indicated Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said yesterday. The CBK tion for his continued support to PAAET activities. The that his department has contributed to cut- noted that the Sterling Pound was down to delegation also comprised Dean of Students Affairs Dr ting number of patients who seek treatment KD 0.381, the same case with the Swiss Franc, Hussein Al-Mekaimi, Assistant Dean of Students abroad. The department staff have succeed- which went up to KD 0.303. The Japanese Yen Affairs Adel Al-Buraiki, Public Relations and Media ed in programming and changing many sim- stood firm at KD 0.002, CBK bulletin added. In Director Fatima Al-Azmi and Mohammad Al-Othman ulation batteries for patients, without any for- the US, the Dollar went up against all major from the General Director’s office. eign aid, he said. — KUNA currencies in last Friday’s trading. — KUNA

Photo of the day

KUWAIT: Volunteers repair a traditional Kuwaiti pearl diving boat before it sets sail as part of a heritage-themed activity. — KUNA photo Kuwait’s participation in Irbil Int’l Book Fair ‘a great success’

IRBIL: Kuwait’s partake in Irbil’s 12th interna- the success of Kuwait’s participation in this exhibition. Beside the distinctive participation tional book fair was a great success, a National exhibition at all levels. There are efforts to of NCCAL, there was a remarkable presence Council for Culture Arts and Letters (NCCAL) coordinate with Kuwait’s Consul General in for the Kuwaiti writers Saud Al-Sanousi and senior official said yesterday. The Kuwaiti Irbil for a wider Kuwaiti participation in future Bothayna Al-Essa who have a large audience pavilion at the book fair, which lasted for ten exhibitions including different cultural and art at the book fair, she said. The book fair acti- days at Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, witnessed a activities, he said. vates kicked off on April 5 with a participation large turnout by visitors of all ages. In a state- In a similar statement, Chairman of Al-Mada from 310 publishing house from 18 different ment, head of book fairs’ department at the Group and the exhibition organizing commit- countries around the world, where Kuwait’s National Council for Culture Arts and Letters tee Ghada Alamily praised the Kuwaiti partici- first participation was in the exhibition eighth (NCCAL) Saad Al-Enezi stressed importance on pation, which considered the second at this season in 2013. — KUNA

IRBIL: The National Council for Culture Arts and Letters’ booth at Irbil’s 12th international book fair. — KUNA photos

KRCS distributes more than 3,500 food parcels in Mosul

IRBIL: Kuwait Red Crescent Society 3,500 food parcels in Mosul city, point- (KRCS) distributed yesterday 3,500 ing out that most residents have just food parcels in several liberated parts returned from refugees camps and of Iraq’s Mosul as part of ‘Kuwait is by they are in dire need of relief aid. KRCS Your Side’ campaign and was carried had recently distributed more than out in coordination with Al-Barzani 1,500 food parcels in Mosul. Moreover, Charity. Mohammad Bahaa-Eddine, KRCS has launched its humanitarian who is in charge of supply distribution campaign ‘Kuwait is by Your Side’ in at the Kurdish charitable association, the Iraqi city of Mosul since the begin- said that they have delivered over ning of this year. — KUNA MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 From the Arabic press

Al-Jarida Terrorism Kick Kuwaitis financing out of Kuwait!

By Dr Humoud Al-Enezi

know, dear readers, that this article’s title might be shocking, but what is happening nowadays by Iadvocates of racism begets such a call. The best proof of this is what happened in Souq Mubarakiya a few days ago, right in front of Mubarak Kiosk, the his- toric and cultural landmark of Kuwait. We unfortunate- ly watched how the symbolism of such a historic edi- fice was utilized, when according to her sick, racist and most ugly description, a woman described Kuwaitis protesting there as ‘lafo’ (newcomers). She even repeated this hateful description more than once on various occasions and on various media outlets. This woman acted very snobbishly without any considera- tion for Kuwaiti norms or traditions that have been known for generations. The funny yet baffling thing is how official govern- ment bodies have been keeping silent about such an act that is incriminated by the national unity law num- ber 19/2012, which includes “criminalizing any form of agitation and incitement of public through any means, instigating hatred and disdain towards any sect, initi- Al-Jarida ating sectarian or tribal crises, and publishing ideolo- gies to encourage racial, class or group discrimination or the superiority of a certain race, group, color, origin, doctrine or lineage to others.” The law also penalizes whoever commits such a crime by “a maximum of sev- Woman attempts suicide en years in prison and/or a KD 10,000-100,000 fine.” Well, it has been the fact that this law has not been to escape marital problems imposed for years on any of the racist people that founded the ‘Juwaihelish’ ideology (named after hawk- KUWAIT: A citizen who wanted to put an end to her mari- the roof of his house in Farwaniya. A security source said ish former MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel) based on tal problems threw herself out of her boyfriend’s balcony in doctors tried to save him at Farwaniya Hospital, but he undermining social security through classifications Shaab, and was taken in critical condition to Mubarak Al- succumbed to his injuries. such as within and outside the Kuwait wall, Bedouin Kabeer Hospital. Separately, policemen had suspicions about two per- and urban, authentic (genuine) and newcomers, all KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality workers removed 85 unli- Her boyfriend said that she was complaining about sons trying to open a car in a parking lot, so they were censed billboards during recent crackdowns in the way to Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti. family problems before surprising him by jumping. Police stopped and questioned. Illicit tablets were found on Things have become so bad that large segments of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate. They also issued tick- will question her when her condition improves. them, which they claimed were for their personal use. They Kuwaitis are starting to feel a sense of estrangement in ets concerning construction-related violations. Meanwhile, a citizen committed suicide by jumping from were sent to concerned authorities. — Al-Rai their home country because of such a sectarian-based exclusionary approach. It is also not strange, in view of ABK sponsors ‘Against the Odds’ first the government’s silence and lack of accountability, that we might someday hear a call to ‘kick Kuwaitis out KIMUN 2017 educational conference of Kuwait’, just the way some people called for kicking expats out. The shameful thing is that the majority Reinforcing its efforts towards supporting Kuwait’s youth who make such a call are those who claim to be the KUWAIT: Building on its support for Kuwait’s tribute to the development of Kuwait’s ‘Kuwaiti educated elite’ - what kind of elite are we talk- youth, Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) recently youth, specifically through new initiatives ing about, gentlemen?! announced its platinum sponsorship of the that expose students to a diverse range of Finally, I urge the Interior Ministry to firmly stop first Kuwait International Model United subjects that depict the issues and chal- such atypical calls that are trying to tear the Kuwaiti Nations (KIMUN) 2017 conference entitled lenges in today’s world. society apart by foolish actions, threatening our unity ‘Against the Odds.’ The conference was held The conference focused on promoting and coherence at a time when we are going through at the Gulf University for Science and education of youth in the fields of political regional and international challenges that call for Technology (GUST) over three days, from 13 science and international relations and more consolidation and unity! - 15 April, 2017. enlightening individuals of their roles on —Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Jarida KIMUN is a completely student-run non- the developing world. profit organization that aims to foster glob- ABK’s efforts were recognized dur- al leaders and to create an environment for ing the closing ceremony, which was international students from around the held on the last day of the conference. globe to interact and share ideas on the Sahar Al-Therban, Senior Manager Al-Jarida world’s pressing problems. Corporate Communications, attended ABK’s sponsorship of the KIMUN confer- the ceremony and was honored on I love Shadi Al-Khaleej! ence reinforces the Bank’s keenness to con- behalf of the Bank. By Dr Najem Abdul Kareem

eorge Bernard Shaw once wrote a book titled ‘I love Wagner’, which was translated into Arabic Gby Tharwat Okasha, to express his admiration of the music virtuoso Wagner, who lived over a century before his time. So what about someone I have accom- panied in most stages of his career and even years ear- lier, as his late brother Yousef use to be my friend in the late 1950s? By the beginning of the 1960s, Kuwait saw its breakthrough art period - the era was marked by Shadi Al-Khaleej songs, Ahmad Al-Adwani’s lyrics and Ahmad Baqer’s tunes, who were all patronized by the head of the social affairs department at the time, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his undersec- retary Hamad Al-Rujaib. So, how can I not love Shadi Zain hosts Al-Asmaa High School Al-Khaleej?! students at its main headquarters He was an example of KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunica- Zain’s leading experience in customer serv- tions company in Kuwait, recently hosted ice by participating in a tour at the compa- students from Al-Asmaa Bint Al-Harith High ny’s contact center (107) and main Kuwait’s new artists School at its main headquarters in Shuwaikh branch, where they listened to Shuwaikh. The visit came in line with Zain’s live customer calls and learned about the strategy towards supporting the education different services and solutions offered following the traditional sector in the country. within the branch and how to respond to The visit came as part of Zain’s strategy customers’ needs. to support the youth and develop the edu- Zain hosts seminars and student field from of using some cational process. Through this strategy, the trips regularly in line with its active company is keen on actively developing Corporate Sustainability and Social the skills of high school and college stu- Responsibility strategy that caters to the simple drums, an oud dents by conducting field visits, informa- youth and education sectors. Such initia- tive seminars, workshops, and more all year tives focus on the development of school round and in collaboration with the various and university students’ skills through a and a single violin public and private educational institutions. series of workshops, development pro- Zain took this opportunity to present grams, and informative seminars. Zain the visiting students with a detailed coordinates similar activities all year-round I once wrote an article about Shadi Al-Khaleej and explanatory session about its leading expe- with students of various age groups to fur- how he managed to make a substantial shift in riences and strategies in the fields of Public ther increase their knowledge of the tele- Kuwait’s arts history when he used theatrical lyrics for Relations, Editorial and Media Relations, com industry in Kuwait. the first time in the region, singing the ‘Sinbad Story’ of Social Media, and Corporate Sustainability The company is committed to offering a mariner’s diary, which was written by poet and Social Responsibility. Zain also show- school and university students with similar Mohammed Al-Fayez and was warmly accepted in the cased its leading experience in the telecom opportunities on an annual basis. Such Arab world. Shadi Al-Khaleej’s singing Al-Fayez’s words field by taking the students on a visit to the programs are targeted at students in col- gave them life. Networks Operations Center (NOC) to learn laboration with public and private educa- I witnessed Shadi Al-Khaleej’s years of studying about the nature of work behind network tional institutions in Kuwait, reflecting music in Cairo in the 1960s. He was an example of operations, network infrastructure, as well Zain’s ongoing efforts in promoting the Kuwait’s new artists following the traditional from of as other technical areas. education and development of the coun- using some simple drums, an oud and a single violin. The students were also introduced to try’s youth. This turned into a complete orchestra, with Shadi including scores of academic players and they all mar- veled in playing and singing songs like ‘Holo,’ ‘Ya Sidrat Al-Oshaq,’ ‘Hai Hal’ and many others. Personally speaking, I witnessed Shadi Al- Khaleej’s first true love in Cairo and then his mar- riage to his classmate, who still has a wonderful smile on her face and a kind heart like all Kuwaiti mothers. Um Ali was his supporter all his life. We used to meet with some friends, including his life- long friend Mohammad Al-Sanoussi, once or twice a week. I wish Shadi was also an actor, because he has a great sense of humor and one would be damned if he decides making fun of him. I was moved to tears by the devotion and dedica- tion of His Highness the Amir and the people of Kuwait on welcoming back Shadi Al-Khaleej. Dear Abu Ali, you have given so much to your country, and please accept this humble greeting from your brother Najem. — Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Jarida MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

Pope urges an end French presidential hopefuls battle it out with a week to go to Syria ‘horror’ in Easter address Page 10 Page 9

JIDDAH: In this Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2007 file photo, a Saudi veiled woman enjoys a swing in a park during holiday. — AP Saudi woman’s plea exposes risks runaways face

DUBAI: A young Saudi woman’s plea for help after she was to social pressure. Saudi Arabia has created an angry, rebellious person inside of Lasloom was barred from her Australian-bound flight by stopped in an airport in the Philippines en route to Australia “I am kept here as a criminal. I can’t do anything,” Lasloom me that I don’t want to be silent anymore,” she said. “What Saudi Embassy officials in Manila who asked airport officials where she planned to seek asylum has triggered a firestorm says in the video. The Associated Press could not independ- happened to me in Saudi Arabia created a person who just to stop her. The Saudi Embassy in the Philippines wrote on on social media and drawn attention to the plight of female ently verify the video’s authenticity. Women’s rights advocates wants to speak out.” Twitter that what occurred was “a family matter in which a girl runaways. For runaway Saudi women, fleeing can be a matter in Saudi Arabia say Lasloom was ultimately forced to board a For the past 15 years, four of the late King Abdullah’s was returned with her family to the homeland.” When asked of life and death, and they are almost always doing so to plane to the kingdom with two of her uncles, who flew from daughters, Princesses Jawaher, Sahar, Hala and Maha - all in by The Associated Press whether Saudi diplomats in the escape male relatives. Riyadh. They said authorities then took her to a women’s shel- their 40s - have allegedly been held in a royal compound in Philippines had requested that authorities in Manila stop Under Saudi Arabia’s conservative interpretation of Islamic ter because of the attention around her case. She cannot Saudi Arabia. Their mother, who lives in London, has spoken Lasloom from boarding a flight to Australia, Foreign Ministry law, a male guardianship system bars women from traveling leave, however, without a male guardian’s permission. out in the British press to try and bring attention to their official Osama Nugali said: “Saudi embassies abroad respect abroad, obtaining a passport, marrying or even leaving prison Activists say only officials and relatives can contact her there. plight. Two of the princesses managed to release videos in the institutions and laws of host countries and do not inter- without the consent of a male relative. Most Muslim-majority Although there are no official statistics, anecdotal evi- recent years pleading for help. Saudi courts have heard fere in their affairs.” countries do not have similarly restrictive guardianship laws. dence from cases reported in Saudi media and from human numerous cases of women asking for a transfer of their Manila Airport General Manager Eddie Monreal told the The mystery around what triggered Dina Ali Lasloom’s cry for rights advocates suggest dozens of Saudi women - some with guardianship to more sympathetic male relatives - in some AP he had no knowledge about the case. An immigration offi- help has only added to concerns for her safety. their children- have attempted to flee abroad in recent years. cases to their own sons. cial reached by the AP said the airport’s immigration officers In a video that appears to be shot with a mobile phone, the These publicized cases have brought increased attention to A Saudi women’s rights activist reached by phone in neither detained nor held any passenger under that name. In 24-year-old says her passport was taken from her at Manila’s what activists say has become a “trend”. This is despite gains Riyadh said Lasloom was apparently trying to flee relatives in Saudi Arabia, activists tracking her plea for help attempted to international airport in the Philippines on Monday on her way made in recent years for Saudi women, including the right to Kuwait who threatened to send her to live in Saudi Arabia. meet Lasloom at Riyadh airport overnight Wednesday. They to Australia. She alleges that Philippine airport officials confis- run in, and vote in, local elections in 2015, and a government “There have been a lot of Saudi girls who sought asylum say instead, another activist, Alaa al-Anazi was detained by cated her passport at the request of Saudi diplomats until her effort to increase women’s participation in the workforce. abroad, but now it’s a trend. A lot of younger girls in their 20s security officials at the airport and transferred to a girl’s deten- relatives could arrive to take her to Saudi Arabia. Women who have managed to flee abroad say they were are seeking asylum,” she said, speaking on condition of tion center in the capital. The Interior Ministry did not immedi- barred from marrying or forced into marriages. Others have anonymity for fear of reprisal. “When they say honor killings ately respond to requests for comment. ‘Please help me’ told rights groups that male relatives were abusive and confis- do not exist, it’s not true. It’s just invisible,” she said, referring to A Human Rights Watch report released last year on “If my family come, they will kill me. If I go back to Saudi cated their salaries. “Many of them, they just want to be free,” the killing of daughters in the name of family honor. guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia found that even with Arabia, I will be dead. Please help me,” she pleads in the video. said Moudi Aljohani, who says she spoke with Lasloom when greater opportunities for women in the kingdom, a woman’s Lasloom says she is recording the video at the airport so the she was at Manila airport. Aljohani herself fled the kingdom ‘Honor Violence’ life rests largely on “the good will” of her male guardian. public “know that I’m real and here.” Wearing a beige coat, the last year and is seeking asylum in the US. Sara Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Powerful clerics in the kingdom support male guardianship woman does not show her face in the video. Most women in Aljohani, 26, says her family felt she’d become “too Rights Watch, says Saudi women fleeing their family can based on a verse in the Quran that says men are the protec- Saudi Arabia cover their face with a veil known as a niqab. Americanized” after a year of study in Miami. What was sup- face so-called “honor” violence if returned against their will. tors and maintainers of women. Other Islamic scholars argue Many do so believing it is a religious obligation, in addition to posed to be a weeklong visit home turned into months of She called on Saudi authorities to protect Lasloom from her this misinterprets fundamental Quranic concepts like equality covering their hair and body. Some also cover their faces due confinement, she says. “The eight months of being locked in family. According to the Philippines’ Inquirer news website, and respect between the sexes. — AP Mass evacuation to proceed after blast kill 68 kids in Syria BEIRUT: More than 3,000 Syrians were expected to be Madaya. Abdurrahman said Saturday’s blast -which “horrified” by the deadly bombing, and that while evacuated yesterday from four areas as part of a pop- hit an area where thousands of pro-government the UN was not involved in the transfer it was ready ulation transfer that was briefly stalled a day earlier by evacuees had been waiting for hours - killed 126. He to “scale up our support to evacuees.” He called on all a deadly blast that killed more than 120 people, many said the dead included 109 people from Foua and parties to uphold their obligations under internation- of them government supporters. Kfarya, among them 80 children and 13 women. al humanitarian and human rights law, and to “facili- As the evacuations were expected to begin yester- No one has claimed the attack, but both the tate safe and unimpeded access for the UN and its day, shells fired by the Islamic State group on govern- Islamic State group and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Fatah partners to bring life-saving help to those in need.” ment-held parts of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour al-Sham Front have targeted civilians in government Residents of Madaya and Zabadani, formerly sum- wounded two members of a Russian media delega- areas in the past. A wounded girl, who said she lost her mer resorts, joined the 2011 uprising against tion visiting the area, according to state-run Syrian siblings in the blast, told Al-Manar TV from her hospi- President Bashar Assad. Both came under govern- news agency SANA. Russia is a main backer of Syrian tal bed that children who had been deprived of food ment siege in the ensuing civil war. Residents of Foua President Bashar Assad and Russian journalists enjoy for years in the two villages were approached by a and Kfraya, besieged by the rebels, have lived under a wide access in government-held parts of the country. man in the car who told them to come and eat potato steady hail of rockets and mortars for years, but were The United Nations is not overseeing the transfer chips. She said once many had gathered, there was an supplied with food and medicine through military air- deal, which involves residents of the pro-government explosion that tore some of the children to pieces. drops. Critics say the string of evacuations, which villages of Foua and Kfarya and the opposition-held After the blast, some 60 buses carrying 2,200 could see some 30,000 people moved across battle towns of Madaya and Zabadani. All four have been people, including 400 opposition fighters, entered lines over the next 60 days, amounts to forced dis- under siege for years, their fate linked through a areas held by rebels in the northern province of placement along political and sectarian lines. series of reciprocal agreements that the U.N. says Aleppo, Abdurrahman said. More than 50 buses In eastern Syria, an airstrike by the US-led coali- have hindered aid deliveries. and 20 ambulances carrying some 5,000 Foua and tion on the village of Sukkarieh near the border Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Kfarya residents entered the government-held with Iraq killed eight civilians who had earlier fled Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and Hezbollah’s city of Aleppo, Syrian state TV said, with some of violence in the northern province of Aleppo, Al-Manar TV said 3,000 people will be evacuated from them later reaching a shelter in the village of according to Deir Ezzor 24, an activist collective, Foua and Kfarya, while 200, the vast majority of them Jibreen to the south. and Sound and Picture Organization, which docu- Syrians, evacuated from the besieged government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, cry fighters, will be evacuated from Zabadani and UN relief coordinator Stephen O’Brien said he was ments IS violations. — AP upon their arrival in Jibrin on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo. — AFP INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 Assad is an arch-terrorist: British FM

LONDON: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is an able thirst for revenge that he can never hope to the West’s stance on Syria. “The UK, the US and all “on the verge of a grim consensus”, which had now “arch-terrorist” and it is time Russia realized he is govern his population again. our key allies are of one mind: We believe that changed, said Johnson. The consensus had been “literally and metaphorically toxic”, British Foreign “He is literally and metaphorically toxic, and it is this was highly likely to be an attack by Assad, on that it would be more sensible to concentrate on Secretary Boris Johnson said yesterday. Johnson time Russia awoke to that fact. They still have time his own people, using poison gas weapons that the fight against Islamic State jihadists and to said Assad’s ally Moscow still had time to be on to be on the right side of the argument.” Johnson were banned almost 100 years ago,” he wrote. accept reluctantly that removing Assad, “though the “right side of the argument”, in a Sunday was widely criticised for failing to get the G7 to “Let us face the truth: Assad has been clinging on. ultimately essential-should await a drawn out polit- Telegraph newspaper article. “Assad uses chemi- back his bid for new sanctions against senior With the help of Russians and Iranians, and by ical solution”. A suicide car bomb attack on buses cal weapons because they are not only horrible Russian and Syrian figures following the chemical dint of unrelenting savagery, he has not only carrying Syrians evacuated from two besieged gov- and indiscriminate. They are also terrifying,” weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province that killed recaptured Aleppo. He has won back most of ernment-held towns killed 43 people on Saturday, Johnson wrote. “In that sense he is himself an dozens and caused an international outcry. ‘operational’ Syria.” as US-backed fighters advanced in their push arch-terrorist, who has caused such an unquench- But he said the chemical assault had changed Before the April 4 chemical attack, the West was towards the IS group’s Raqa stronghold. —AFP Iraq forces make Mosul gains, but war with IS far from over Final neighborhoods will be most difficult to capture

BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces made But “the final neighborhoods will earlier this year. Two special forces ties in Mosul, while residents have major gains in the six months since be the most difficult to recapture, units-the Counter-Terrorism Service been caught up in fighting launching the operation to retake especially the Old City and the and the Rapid Response Division- between Iraqi forces and IS, and the Mosul, but the battle for Iraq’s sec- remaining neighborhoods in north- have spearheaded the fighting jihadists are intentionally attacking ond city and the war against the western Mosul,” Martin said. inside Mosul, while soldiers and civilians in the city. Losing Mosul Islamic State group are far from Progress in the Old City-a warren of police have also taken part. would be a major blow to IS, but over. Tough close-quarters fighting closely-spaced buildings and narrow would not mark the end of the war in heavily-populated areas of Mosul streets where hundreds of thou- Lasting IS threat against the jihadists. “Just because is still ahead, and IS also holds terri- sands of civilians are thought to Iraqi Kurdish forces were we’re done in Mosul doesn’t mean tory in other parts of Iraq, as well as reside-has been difficult and slow. involved in the initial days of the that Daesh is done in Iraq,” Uribe in neighboring Syria. “You cannot get vehicles in operation but stopped short of the said, using an Arabic acronym for The jihadists will still be able to there, so it’s gotta be a dismounted city, while pro-government paramil- IS. “There’s still another significant carry out attacks in Iraq even if they operation,” Brigadier General Rick itary forces were tasked with mov- number of areas within Iraq that will... need to be cleared of Daesh, and... the Iraqi security forces are CAIRO: Aya Hijazi, center, a dual US-Egyptian citizen, is acquitted by an getting themselves ready for that Egyptian court after nearly three years of detention over accusations relat- eventuality-they know that it’s ed to running a foundation dedicated to helping street children. —AP coming,” he said. “We will not leave any area under the control of the Egypt acquits American terrorist organization,” Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for Iraq’s Joint detained for three years Operations Command, said at a recent news conference. CAIRO: An Egyptian court yesterday Hijazi’s lawyer, Taher Abol Nasr, said she acquitted Aya Hijazi, a dual US-Egyptian would likely remain in detention another Thousands displaced citizen who has been held in detention for two to three days while her acquittal is IS holds territory in Iraq’s Kirkuk nearly three years over accusations related processed. He expects all the defendants province, as well as areas west of to a non-governmental organization she to walk free by the end of the week. It was Mosul, and in western Anbar founded to aid street children. Authorities not immediately clear if Hijazi would province, and also controls territory arrested Hijazi, her husband and six others remain in Egypt. including the city of Raqa in Syria. in May 2014 on charges of abusing chil- Hijazi, 30, grew up in Falls Church, Losing these areas would still not dren that were widely dismissed as bogus Virginia. She received a degree in con- eliminate the threat of bombings by human rights groups and senior US offi- flict resolution from George Mason and hit-and-run attacks by the cials, who called for her release. University in 2009, and then returned to jihadists. Iraqi “successes in Mosul The arrests came as part of a wider her native Egypt. obscure how (IS) has successfully clampdown on civil society especially fol- Along with her husband, Hijazi estab- been resurging in other provinces lowing the military overthrow of an elect- lished a foundation by the name Belady, in Iraq,” Martin said. ed Islamist president in 2013. Prosecutors Arabic for “our nation,” in 2013 with the aim The jihadists have “reconstituted provided little if any evidence to support of providing shelter for street children. A attack capabilities in Diyala and the allegations. Several US congressmen few months later, authorities raided the central Salaheddin,” he said, refer- have called on Egypt to release Hijazi, and foundation’s office after a man alleged that ring to provinces where Iraqi forces Hillary Clinton reiterated the demand in a his son was missing and blamed it on MOSUL: A picture taken through broken glass on April 16, 2017 shows Iraqi forces preparing as had largely reasserted control after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel- Belady. Egyptian authorities have clamped they advance in the old city of Mosul during an offensive to recapture the city from Islamic State heavy fighting earlier in the war Fattah el-Sissi last September, when down on civil society, particularly human (IS) group fighters. —AFP against IS. The end of the battle for she was the Democratic presidential rights groups and other organizations that Mosul will also leave Iraq struggling candidate. receive foreign funding. Such groups no longer control significant terri- Uribe, a senior coalition command- ing on the IS-held town of Tal Afar, with thorny political issues includ- US President Donald Trump did not played a central role in the 2011 uprising tory, while the impact of the war- er, said of the Old City. That “makes west of Mosul. After retaking east ing control of recaptured territory publicly mention the case when he wel- that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni widespread displacement of civil- it very difficult for any offensive Mosul, Iraqi forces set their sights in the north that is claimed by both comed el-Sissi to the White House earlier Mubarak, and pro-government media ians, cities and towns devastated manoeuvre in there, but it makes it on the far side of the Tigris River, the country’s autonomous Kurdish this month, but a senior White House offi- often present them as part of a conspiracy by the fighting, countless lives dis- very easy to defend,” Uribe said. which divides the city. The battle for region and its federal government. cial had said ahead of the meeting that the to undermine the state. The authorities rupted-will last long after the fight- “Sometimes, 50 metres (yards) is a west Mosul-which was launched in And Iraq will still be contending case would be addressed. The court’s deci- also arrested thousands of people in the ing ends. Iraqi forces and the US- great day,” he said of the Iraqi mid-February-has taken a heavy toll with the effects of the war-citizens sion to acquit surprised Hijazi’s mother, months following the 2013 overthrow of led coalition supporting them “are advance. Iraqi forces launched the on civilians, with hundreds killed or killed, wounded or missing, hun- Naglaa Hosny, who told The Associated President Mohammed Morsi, mainly his nearing the end of the operation to Mosul operation in October, mov- wounded in the fighting, and more dreds of thousands displaced, Press “we were expecting the worst and Islamist supporters but also a number of recapture Mosul,” said Patrick ing toward the city from the south, than 200,000 displaced. houses, shops and infrastructure hoping for the best.” secular and liberal activists. —AP Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute west and north before assaulting its The coalition has said it “proba- wrecked, children years behind in for the Study of War. eastern side, which was recaptured bly” played a role in civilian casual- school-for years to come. —AFP Serial executions take toll on Border wall could leave few executioners too, critics say MIAMI: Putting a prisoner to death “stays cution team, fiercely protecting the identi- with you for a long time,” says Ron ties of those involved. “I can say that they McAndrew. The former warden of Florida are well-trained and qualified to carry out Americans on ‘Mexican side’ State Prison says his own mental health had their respective responsibilities,” said begun to deteriorate by the time he left his Solomon Graves, a spokesman for the BROWNSVILLE: The last time US officials built a barri- have lived next to the river for generations, and resi- ‘Just compensation’ position in 1998 after taking part in eight Arkansas Department of Correction. In the er along the border with Mexico, they left an opening dents of both sides cross bridges to work or shop daily. With court fights also expected over Trump’s wall, executions. Now, McAndrew is fighting view of anti-death penalty activists, every- at the small road leading south to Pamela Taylor’s Taylor and others who live closest to the river routinely the Texas Civil Rights Project has begun signing up against the death penalty. one involved pays a price. home on the banks of the Rio Grande. Taylor hadn’t see border crossers walking up to their homes. landowners and identifying people who might be He is particularly concerned about the “We are concerned for the welfare of been told where the fence would be built, and she Many people living in the valley say the fence affected. Under the US Constitution, the government psychological well-being of the handful of the prisoners, we are concerned for the doesn’t know now whether officials are coming back doesn’t work, and there’s widespread opposition must prove it wants to seize land for public use and officials who would be involved if Arkansas victims’ families, we are concerned for the to complete it. “How would we get out?” asked Taylor, there to a bigger wall. While the region is one of the must offer a landowner “just compensation.” While were to proceed with the rapid-fire execu- welfare of the prison workers that have to 88, sitting in the living room of the home she built Texas Democratic Party’s few strongholds in a challenging the wall’s “public use” would be difficult, tions of several condemned men, originally do this,” said Abraham Bonowitz, director with her husband half a century ago. “Do they realize deeply conservative state, many people here resent those who believe they’re not getting the full value of set for April 17 to 27. Courts in that south- of the New York-based Death Penalty that they’re penalizing people that live along this river outsiders and politicians of both parties for using their land could take the case to court, setting up trials ern state have blocked those executions for Action group. “There’s a broader range of on the American side?” the border as a talking point. The 2006 law authoriz- that could take years. Antonio Reyes said he’s seen now, as legal appeals continue. collateral damage than simply the prisoner Taylor’s experience illustrates some of the effects ing a fence passed with support from many people scale the border fence that bisects his back- “We wanted the governor (of Arkansas) and the victim.” that the border wall President Donald Trump has Democrats, including then-Sen Hillary Clinton, who yard and jump down in seconds. Sometimes they car- to understand that he’s sitting in his office imagined could have on residents in the Rio Grande lost to Trump in November. ry bales of what appear to be drugs. A higher wall is very comfortable. And these men are going Risk of error Valley, the sunny expanse of bilingual towns and farm- When the US government built the fence, it had to “still not going to stop them,” he said. “They’ll shotput to be partaking in a killing of another Arkansas’s original packed schedule land that form the southernmost point of the US- take hundreds of landowners to court to use its power it or whatever they have to do.” In Roma, a town of human being,” McAndrew told AFP. He would place added pressure on the execu- Mexico border. The wall could seal some Americans on of eminent domain. That’s because unlike in other 10,000 people, a visitor standing on the bluffs over- doesn’t use the word “execution,” which he tion team, increasing the risk of error, critics the “Mexican side” - technically on US soil, but outside southern border states, most Texas border land is pri- looking the Rio Grande can see traffic moving across a considers a euphemism. “These officers, say. And no one wants to see a repeat of the of a barrier built north of the river separating the two vately owned, and tough terrain and water use agree- tiny bridge and hear chickens clucking on the Mexican they get to know these inmates,” he agony Clayton Lockett suffered during his countries. Landowners could lose property, and those ments with Mexico meant some fence was built a mile side. The Border Patrol occasionally uses blimps to explained. “Twenty-four hours a day they botched execution in Oklahoma in 2014. that already lost some for the existing fence are or more north of the river. monitor traffic, with agents stationed nearby. —AP work with these inmates. They feed them. “The rapid schedule will put an extraor- already preparing for a new battle. They take them to get their showers, they dinary burden on the men and women take them for exercise. They stand in front required by the state to carry out this most ‘Ready to fight’ of their cells and they talk to them when solemn act, and it will increase the risk of Even if they don’t win, lawyers hope to tie up the they feel lonely,” McAndrew said. “The only mistakes in the execution chamber-which wall in court long enough that politics could effec- persons that the inmates know are the offi- could haunt them for the rest of their lives,” tively stop it, either in Congress or after another cers. Suddenly it’s the same officer who’s said Allen Ault, Georgia’s former commis- election. “That’s a fight that we’ve been ready to taking them to another room to kill them.” sioner of corrections who has overseen five fight,” said Efren Olivares, a lawyer with the Texas “The experience is something that will stay executions, writing in Time magazine’s Civil Rights Project. The US government will select with you for a long time; I don’t think it ever March 28 edition. finalists to build pieces of wall in San Diego, then goes away.” A group of former officials from all over choose a company to complete the rest. the United States, including McAndrew and Ron Vitiello, chief of the US Border Patrol, told Five-person execution team Ault, have written to Governor Asa The Associated Press on Wednesday that a new bar- McAndrew, who took part in the deaths Hutchinson of Arkansas urging him not to rier will eventually be built in the Rio Grande Valley, of eight convicts-three in Florida, and five in impose such a burden on prison staff. “Even where sections of rust-colored poles 18 feet (5.5 Texas as training-says that the executions in under less demanding circumstances, carry- meters) high already run through neighborhoods in Arkansas will undoubtedly be carried out by ing out an execution can take a severe toll Brownsville and nearby towns. Vitiello told an audi- the same five people. “You can’t change the on corrections officers’ well-being,” the letter ence in San Antonio that the government plans to team,” he said. “The officers that will carry said. “We are gravely concerned that by complete a wall or fence in towns that have long out the executions, they have practiced the rushing to complete these executions in been under consideration. executions several hundred times. They do April, the state of Arkansas is needlessly “There will likely be (barriers) there if all of the plans it over and over and over again,” he said. An exacerbating the strain and stress placed on come together, but I can’t tell you where,” he said. officer volunteers to play the part of an these officers,” increasing the chance of Trump said he would build the wall to stop migrants inmate, he said. error. Arkansas’s original plan to execute entering illegally and what he described as a flow of “They take him from the cell, they put eight men in 10 days this month would drugs and crime. The Border Patrol makes more them on the gurney, they strap him down, have set a rate never seen since the United apprehensions along the more than 300 miles (483 they put them on the IVs,” or intravenous States resumed the death penalty in 1977, kilometers) of border in the Rio Grande Valley than lines. Arkansas prison authorities have the nonprofit Death Penalty Information In this March 22, 2017, file photo, Antonio Reyes of Brownsville, Texas, stands by the refused to divulge the makeup of their exe- Center has reported. —AFP anywhere else. In and around Brownsville, people US-Mexico border fence near his home. —AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 INTERNATIONAL Easter celebrated across conflict-torn Middle East

JERUSALEM: Christians celebrated Nativity, the place where Christian tradi- fleeing IS and the ongoing operation to Easter yesterday across the Middle East, tion says Jesus was born. Egypt’s Coptic drive the militants from Mosul, the coun- where many are struggling to maintain Christians meanwhile marked a somber try’s second largest city. A number of their embattled communities in the Easter a week after twin bombings by Christian villages around Mosul have face of war, religious violence and dis- the Islamic State group killed dozens of been retaken from the extremists since crimination. Thousands of worshippers worshippers at churches in two sepa- US-backed Iraqi forces launched the flocked to Jerusalem’s Church of the rate cities. Coptic Christian Pope operation in October, but few residents Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Tawadros II presided over Easter Mass have returned. Pakistan’s tiny Christian Christians believe Jesus was crucified late Saturday at St Mark’s Cathedral in minority celebrated Easter amid high and resurrected. This year the holiday Cairo, with several government minis- security after last year’s celebrations was celebrated on the same day by ters in attendance. were marred by a suicide bombing that both Roman Catholic and Eastern killed more than 70 people. Orthodox worshippers. The denomina- Heightened security The bomber had struck in a public tions, which jealously guard different Tawadros had earlier announced dur- park in Lahore that was packed with sections of the church, held separate ing his Good Friday sermon that, as Christians as well as Muslims. The services one after another. mourning for the attack victims was attack was claimed by a breakaway The church is located in Jerusalem’s ongoing, the celebratory aspects of Taleban faction. Pakistani security Old City. Worshippers lined up to admire Easter would be canceled this year, forces said Saturday that they had the edicule, the chamber that tradition including the Easter morning reception. foiled a “major terror attack” against says marks Jesus’ tomb. A Greek restora- Last Sunday, a suicide bomber was able Christians when they killed a militant tion team recently completed a historic to make his way to the front rows of a and detained another in Lahore hours renovation of the spot. The limestone church in the Nile Delta City of Tanta after Christians marked Good Friday. and marble structure stands at the cen- before blowing himself up. In the Zubaida Amanat, who lost her 21-year- ter of the church - a 12th-century build- Mediterranean city of Alexandria, anoth- old son in last year’s bombing, said the ing standing on 4th-century remains. er attacker detonated his suicide vest at violence had transformed what should The shrine needed urgent attention the church gate’s metal detector after have been a joyous holiday into an after years of exposure to water, humidi- being stopped by guards. The Islamic annual reminder of her grief. “I just ty and candle smoke. State group claimed the bombings. want this terrorism to end,” she said. “All A service was also held in West Bank Many of Iraq’s Christians observed the I can hope is that no other mothers go BAGHDAD: Iraqi Christians celebrate Easter at Mar Youssif Chaldean city of Bethlehem, in the Church of holiday in camps for the displaced after through the pain I did.” —AP Church. —AP Pope urges an end to Syria ‘horror’ in Easter address Mass held within tight, heavy security

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis urged Bloody start to Holy Week Coptic churches in Egypt which day,” former Vatican spokesman an end to “horror and death” in Syria Turning his attention to eastern were claimed by the Islamic Father Federico Lombardi told and implored God to bring peace to Europe, he asked that “the Good State group. reporters last week. Benedict’s the Middle East as he delivered the Shepherd come to the aid of The entire area around St brother will join a small group of old traditional Easter Day mass in Rome Ukraine, still beset by conflict and Peter’s Basilica was blocked off, friends on Monday for a birthday yesterday. The Easter mass, the bloodshed.” Of the social and with only several access points for party at which they will celebrate highlight of the Christian calendar political upheaval in Europe, those admitted after having their with a few “Bavarian songs,” began under a cloudy sky where Francis prayed for God’s blessing bags inspected. Access to St Benedict’s personal secretary worshippers had gathered since the on “those experiencing moments Peter’s Square itself was only pos- Georg Gaenswein told Italian early hours to gain access amid of crisis and difficulty, especially sible after security checks similar media. “He will see his brother tight security. due to high unemployment, par- to those at airports. Hundreds of Georg, which will be the best pres- After a short bout of heavy rain, ticularly among young people.” police and security forces stood ent for him,” he said. To mark the the pontiff gave his traditional Urbi The mass followed his Good guard. Yesterday also saw Francis’ occasion, the Vatican stamp and MOSCOW: Russian believers hold candles as they wait to take part in a reli- et Orbi blessing, to the city and the Friday prayer in which he deplored retired predecessor Pope coin office has released a series of gion procession during the Easter service at the Church of the Holy Martyr world, in which he prayed for those the suffering of migrants, the vic- Benedict XVI turn 90, marked by a stamps marking important events Tatiana just next to the Kremlin Wall. —AP suffering from war, famine and tims of racism and the persecution quiet celebration at the restored in the two millennia history of the political unrest, highlighting Syria, of Christians around the world. convent where he lives within the church. Benedict stepped down in Million Orthodox Christians but also Ukraine and conflict zones Easter week got off to a bloody Vatican grounds. 2013 citing his increased frailty. in Africa. He expressed hope that start last Sunday when 45 peo- “There will doubtless be some- He was the first pontiff to do so in Celebrate a somber Easter Jesus’ own sacrifice might “sustain ple were killed in attacks on two thing on the menu to mark his birth- 600 years. —AFP the efforts of all those actively BUCHAREST: Millions of Orthodox Late Saturday, Orthodox clerics trans- engaged in bringing comfort and Christians around the world have celebrat- ported the holy flame from Jerusalem by relief to the civil population in Syria, ed Easter in overnight services and with plane and it was then flown to other prey to a war that continues to sow “holy fire” from Jerusalem, commemorating churches around the country. According to horror and death.” the day followers believe that Jesus was res- tradition the flame appears each year at the And he prayed for peace “begin- urrected nearly 2,000 years ago. This year Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and is taken to ning with the Holy Land, as well as the Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on other Orthodox countries. In Russia, where in Iraq and Yemen.” He also spoke the same Sunday that Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christianity is the dominant reli- out against the hostilities and Protestants mark the holy festival. The gion, President Vladimir Putin along with famine in Africa, notably in South Western Christian church follows the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern wife Svetlana attended midnight Mass at Democratic Republic of Congo Orthodox uses the older Julian calendar Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. “who endure continuing hostilities, and the two Easters are often weeks apart. The cathedral is a potent symbol of the aggravated by the grave famine Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, revival of observant Christianity in Russia affecting” parts of Africa. He further who is the spiritual leader of the world’s after the fall of the officially atheist Soviet urged world leaders to hear the Orthodox Christian faithful, delivered a Union. It is a reconstruction of the cathe- message of peace as they contend message of peace during the midnight dral that was destroyed by explosion under with “the complex and often dra- service at the Patriarchate in Istanbul. “Our dictator Josef Stalin. In Serbia, the head of matic situations of today’s world,” faith is alive, because it is based on the the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch and to work “to prevent the spread event of the resurrection of Christ,” Irinej, held a liturgy in Belgrade’s St Sava of conflicts and to put a halt to the Bartholomew said. In his official Easter mes- Temple which outgoing president Tomislav arms trade.” sage issued earlier in the week, Nikolic attended. Without mentioning Venezuela Bartholomew urged strong faith in the face Irinej said in his Easter message that by name, Pope Francis also alluded of the world’s tribulations. “with great sadness and pain in our hearts, to political and social tensions in “This message - of the victory of life over we must note that today’s world is not fol- Latin America, expressing the hope death, of the triumph of the joyful light of lowing the path of resurrection but the road that the “common good of societies” the (Easter) candle over the darkness of dis- of death and hopelessness.” He also lament- would prevail. “May it be possible order and dissolution - is announced to the ed the falling birth rate in Serbia as “a rea- for bridges of dialogue to be built, whole world from the Ecumenical son to cry and weep, but also an alarm.” by continuing to fight the scourge Patriarchate with the invitation to experi- Irinej evoked Kosovo, Serbia’s former of corruption and to seek viable and ence the unwaning light of the resurrec- province which declared independence in peaceful solutions to disputes, for tion,” his message said. In predominantly 2008. Hundreds of medieval Orthodox progress and the strengthening of VATICAN: This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis during Orthodox Romania, Patriarch Daniel urged churches and monasteries are located democratic institutions in complete the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing for Rome and the world from the central loggia of St Peters’ basilica Christians to bring joy to “orphans, the sick, there. Orthodoxy is also predominant in respect for the rule of law,” he said. following the Easter Sunday mass. —AFP the elderly the poor ... and the lonely.” Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova. —AP Both Trump supporters and Veteran event planner opponents clash in Berkeley BERKELEY: A melee erupted on included self-described “patriots” and is force behind Egg Roll Saturday in a Berkeley, California park “nationalists”, Trump supporters, free where supporters and opponents of speech advocates, and other groups. President Donald Trump were holding Daryl Tempesta, 52, who said he served WASHINGTON: Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd audi- Master of events cool; Rickie is like that,” Berman said. “She’s unflap- competing rallies, resulting in at least 20 in the US Air Force near the end of the tioned for the job of White House social secre- For Niceta Lloyd, who goes by “Rickie,” the job has pable. Just what you’d hope for in a White House arrests as police struggled to keep the Cold War, went to the rally to show his tary and may not have known it. The veteran the added challenge of collaborating with a first lady social secretary.” two camps apart. As fist fights broke out support for Trump. event planner’s creativity and handicraft were who is not yet living at the White House full time. In Niceta Lloyd’s appointment to a job that paid her between the two sides and people “As a veteran, I like the track America prominently on display at President Donald announcing the appointment, Mrs. Trump highlight- immediate predecessor $119,000 closes the loop on a threw bottles and cans over a barricade is on, and that Trump is willing to stand Trump’s inaugural luncheon at the Capitol, the ed that Niceta Lloyd has more than two decades of chapter in White House history, and her family’s history, separating them, police resorted to and say we are still America and we are fifth one she has worked on. Maine lobster and experience in diplomatic, political and social enter- too. Her husband is Thomas Lloyd, a grandson of the late using to an explosive device at one not going to be globalist, we’re not Gulf shrimp, grilled Angus beef, and chocolate taining in Washington. The first lady, who was a mod- Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, an arts patron and political finan- point in a bid to restore order. going to be a communist country,” souffle with cherry vanilla ice cream were on the el, said she looked forward to “sharing my ideas and cier who was a confidante to Jacqueline Kennedy. Several people were observed by a Tempesta said. “That’s a message I can menu. Sprays of roses in shades of pink, cream traditions of entertaining and social hospitality” with Mellon helped Mrs. Kennedy redesign the White House Reuters reporter with bloodied faces get behind.” A weekly farmers market and melon spruced up Statuary Hall, the other- her new aide. She is mostly living at the family’s Rose Garden. “Having that kind of background, it just and minor injuries, but there was no was canceled ahead of the rally due to wise drab venue. Trump Tower penthouse in midtown Manhattan with made it like things had come full circle,” said Bryan official word on casualties from author- concerns about violence. Even so, a stall Among the roughly 200 guests taking it all in the couple’s 11-year-old son until school lets out. Huffman, a North Carolina-based interior designer who ities. Media, citing police, reported that selling fresh vegetables was open for was Melania Trump. Less than a month after the Niceta Lloyd was in her 20s when she was hired by knew Mellon and knows Niceta Lloyd. A former social at least 11 people were injured. Police business amid the fist fighting, explo- Jan. 20 luncheon, the first lady announced she Design Cuisine, an Arlington, Virginia-based special secretary recommended her to Mrs. Trump. The first lady said more arrests could follow after sions from firecrackers and smoke waft- had hired Niceta Lloyd to fill one of the most cov- event caterer whose clients include the White House, had also attended events Niceta Lloyd had organized, video shot during the melee was ing through the air. eted behind-the-scenes roles at the White House: State Department and several embassies. She also including the inaugural luncheon, and is said to have reviewed. The trouble unfolded when “We decided to show up anyway social secretary. The post makes Niceta Lloyd the worked on the past five inaugurations of Republican come away impressed. “Sometimes, seeing is believing hundreds of Trump opponents staged because this is our livelihood,” said Tim creative curator behind near-daily events for the and Democratic presidents. Now 46, the mother of and seeing what she pulled off that day ... that might a counter-rally alongside an event Mueller, a farmer who owns the stall, president and first lady. It meant deciding what two left the company after the White House made an have definitely contributed to the decision,” said Anita billed as a “Patriots Day” free-speech surrounded by protesters on both sides. to serve at the recent get-to-know-you dinner offer she couldn’t refuse. Bill Homan, a founder of McBride, who was first lady Laura Bush’s chief of staff. rally and picnic, organized by mostly At least 100 people from both camps between a new president and his Chinese coun- Design Cuisine, praised his former employee’s intelli- Mrs Trump’s decision to hire Niceta Lloyd also Trump supporters. eventually moved out of the park and terpart. (Pan-seared Dover sole and New York gence, creativity and organizational skill, as well as shows that the first lady, a New Yorker who is slowly Between 500 and 1,000 people were into one of the city’s main intersections, strip steak were served, and Trump praised the her sensitivity and discretion. “These are certainly very building her White House team, recognizes that she’s in the park as the rallies peaked, accord- where they continued to fist fight, hurl “beautiful” chocolate cake they ate while dis- important in our business,” he said. unfamiliar with Washington’s customs and needs ing to an estimate by a Reuters reporter. insults and chant at each other. The cussing the US cruise missile strike on Syria.) And Lea Berman, a social secretary during George W experienced hands to help guide her. Lack of staff Among the Trump opponents were police presence was light there, and on Monday, it involves hosting no fewer than Bush’s administration who for many years relied on has already hampered some operations, such as the some counter-protesters dressed in only two or three officers were seen 21,000 children and adults for the annual Easter Niceta Lloyd to plan her private parties, said she is a White House Visitors Office, which stayed closed for black and wearing masks. The other side near the crossroads. —Reuters Egg Roll, a 139-year-old tradition and the Super “joyful person to work with” despite the stress that’s several weeks longer than usual following a change Bowl of White House social events. built into event planning. “The best never lose their in presidents. —AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 INTERNATIONAL Le Pen: The Far-right heir aiming to take down EU PARIS: Marine Le Pen was a daddy’s girl six people but sparing the Le Pens. Eight growing up, and she wept for joy when her years later Marine’s mother Pierrette father-the bogeyman of French politics- walked out on her husband and three beat his Socialist rival for a spot in the final daughters, sensationally resurfacing shortly of the 2002 presidential election. But while afterwards in Playboy magazine for which Jean-Marie Le Pen never seemed to truly she posed nude. covet the top job, his charismatic daughter “It was a huge shock,” Le Pen, who did is convinced that, come May 7, France will not see her mother for 15 years after the have its first woman president. split, told an M6 television interviewer last Over the past six years her rebranded year. Now herself a twice-divorced moth- “party of patriots” from both left and the er-of-three, she keeps her private life out right has gone from strength to strength, of the spotlight, appearing rarely as a cou- propelled by the kind of anti-globalisa- ple with her partner, FN vice-president tion, anti-establishment fury that drove Louis Aliot. Britain’s vote to leave the EU and Donald Le Pen, who has her father’s gravelly Trump’s election in the United States. voice and flair for sharp putdowns, started “Against the moneyed right and the mon- out as a lawyer defending illegal immi- eyed left I am the candidate of the French grants facing deportation as a state- people,” Le Pen declared in a TV debate appointed attorney. with four rivals last month. Despite that experience she blames Since taking over the leadership of the migration-and the European Union, which far-right National Front (FN) in 2011 from she has predicted “will die”-for France’s eco- her father, the telegenic 48-year-old former nomic woes. “We are not going to welcome lawyer has promoted her efforts to purge any more people. Stop. We are full up,” she the party of the anti-Semitism and overt insists. The FN has come a long way since it racism that were its hallmarks. But her was launched in 1972 as a refuge for para- TOULOUSE: Supporters of French presidential election candidate for the far-left coalition La France insoumise hold placards during a campaign recent remarks about the roundup and militaries who opposed France granting rally at the Prairie de Filtres park. — AFP deportation of around 13,000 French Jews independence to Algeria. It also drew apol- during World War II may have set back ogists for the wartime Vichy regime’s col- those efforts. laboration with Nazi Germany and ultra- French presidential hopefuls Le Pen was criticised for declaring that conservative Catholics. France was “not responsible” for the Under Le Pen junior, the party has roundup carried out by French police act- shown a more progressive face by pro- battle it out with week to go ing on orders from the collaborationist moting openly gay politicians to its upper Vichy regime-despite three former presi- echelons and showing racists and anti- dents admitting France’s guilt. Le Pen said Semites the door. Critics, however, point Most unpredictable vote in the country’s post-war history she was thinking of France’s youth. “I want to the role of several hard-right Le Pen PARIS: A week before France’s high-stakes presi- and a tactical vote for whichever candidate they revealed high levels of angst over a perceived them to be proud of being French,” she aides who were once part of violent stu- dential election, the four top candidates began a see as best placed to keep Le Pen or Melenchon erosion of French identity, which Le Pen has said. But her remarks inevitably drew com- dent groups-and the recurring chant of final push yesterday to woo undecided voters out of power. Le Pen, whom polls show leading pinned on immigration, particularly from parisons with the revisionism of her father, “This is our land” at FN rallies-as evidence who will determine the outcome of the tight the first round with centrist Emmanuel Macron on Muslim North Africa. whom she booted out of the party for that it still attracts hardliners. race between the hard left, centre, right and far around 22-24 percent each, returned to her par- In an Ifop-Fiducial poll for Le Journal du describing the Holocaust as “a detail of his- Like Trump, Le Pen is proposing to pull right. On April 23, the French go to the polls in ty’s core themes of immigration and Islam Dimanche (JDD) newspaper 86 percent of FN tory”. Le Pen suspended her father in 2015 up the drawbridge and restore French glo- the most unpredictable vote in the country’s Saturday to try to mobilize her base. The opinion voters said they “no longer feel at home” in from the party he co-founded for down- ry with a policy of “economic patriotism” post-war history to choose two candidates from polls had shown her virtually assured of a place in France and 73 percent considered Islam incom- playing the Nazi gas chambers. A wounded that most economists see as a recipe for a field of 11 who will go through to a run-off two the May 7 runoff but Melenchon and the conser- patible with the French Republic. But the poll Jean-Marie refused to go quietly, dragging ruin. Her plans to ditch the euro and hold a weeks later. vative Francois Fillon have narrowed the gap with also showed Le Pen, who has spent years trying the FN before the courts. “Frexit” referendum have caused particular With a duel between far-right leader Marine her and Macron to about three points, blowing to detoxify the FN’s image, still struggling to win alarm. Le Pen also wants to pull out of Le Pen and Communist-backed radical Jean-Luc the race wide open. over the absolute majority of voters needed for French first Europe’s Schengen border-free area, adopt Melenchon, both eurosceptics, among one of six victory in a run-off. Three-quarters of non-FN The split marked a turning point in the a French-first policy on jobs and public possible outcomes the election is being closely Identity angst voters said the party as “dangerous for democra- career of Le Pen junior, a politician who housing and tax products from French watched in Brussels and around the world. In a speech in the southern city of cy” and four out of five found it “racist”. Fillon, developed a tough shell after a tumultuous companies that offshore factory jobs by 35 Opinion polls show one in three voters still unde- Perpignan the 48-year-old National Front (FN) who is on the rebound from a damaging childhood. When she was eight, a bomb percent. In the last presidential election in cided about who to back after a campaign char- leader lashed out at Macron and Fillon, accusing expenses scandal that had caused some of his ripped through the Paris apartment build- 2012 she finished third on just under 18 acterized by scandals and upsets. In an interview them of being soft on radical Islam. “With Mr voters to switch to Le Pen or Macron, used Easter ing where the family lived, slightly injuring percent. — AFP in Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday, 65-year-old Macron, it would be Islamism on the move,” Le to mobilise his traditionalist Catholic base. Melenchon, who is threatening to quit the euro Pen said, in a play on the name of Macron’s En “Patriotism is not a dirty word,” he told sup- and massively increase public spending, vowed Marche (On the Move) party, calling the 39-year- porters in the cathedral town of Puy-en-Velay on he would be a safe pair of hands on the euro- old champion of diversity “unscrupulous”. Saturday-borrowing from the songbook of Le zone’s second-largest economy. Casting herself as the best defender against Pen who styles the FN the “party of patriots”. In “I am not from the far left,” the leader of the La the jihadists who have killed over 230 people in an interview published yesterday, the 63-year- France Insoumise (Unbowed France) movement France since 2015, Le Pen also tore into Fillon, old former prime minister, who refused to bow said, insisting he was “ready to govern”. accusing him of letting ultraconservative Islam out despite being charged with misusing public Melenchon’s surge has shaken up the race, with gain ground when he was prime minister money over payments to his wife, said he was many hesitating between voting with their hearts between 2007 and 2012. The election has convinced the scandal was behind him. — AFP Melenchon: France’s hard left candidate PARIS: Jean-Luc Melenchon, a fiery Communist-backed eurosceptic vowing to return “power to the people” as France’s next president, says he has mellowed after years spent giving the establishment a tongue-lashing. “I’m less of a hothead,” said the bespectacled 65-year- old in a recent interview. “I’m becoming a reassuring figure.” In an election season marked by widespread LYON: In this Feb 5, 2017 file photo, French far-right leader presidential candidate disillusionment with the political class, the head of La Marine Le Pen acknowledges applause. — AP France Insoumise (France Unbowed) is now among the top four candidates in the April 23 first round of the two-stage vote. Observers say strong debate performances show- Fillon: Bowed not casing a milder but still quick-witted Melenchon helped propel him into joint third place with the scan- dal-hit conservative candidate, Francois Fillon. broken in election Suddenly part of a close-fought four-way affair, they are nipping at the heels of joint frontrunners Marine Le PARIS: French conservative candidate the scandal surrounding Fillon, “it is not Pen of the far-right National Front (FN) and centrist for- Francois Fillon has seen his hopes of impossible that part of this electorate mer Socialist Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders of the becoming president severely dented by a returns to his camp at the last moment”. first round will go through to a runoff on May 7. fake jobs scandal, yet he has clung on in Melenchon “invented political stand-up. He’s the race and could still spring a surprise. Cuts and competitiveness become a showman,” said former Socialist Party col- Fillon was charged in March with misuse of Fillon’s policies are based on deep cuts PARIS: In this July 12, 2016 file photo, French presidential candidate Emmanuel league Julien Dray. “This style keeps him from being public money and corporate assets, mainly in public spending and slashing hundreds Macron attends a rally for his movement, En Marche! (In Motion!). — AP too harsh. He’s in teaching mode, the old professor giv- over the employment of his British-born of thousands of jobs from what conserva- ing lessons about the world and how to change it.” wife Penelope as a parliamentary assistant tives believe is a bloated civil service. He Melenchon also has an internet edge, boasting more for 15 years. also wants to attack one of the sacred cows Macron: 39-year-old French It was a severe blow to the 63-year-old of the French left, the 35-hour working than a million followers on Twitter and his own former prime minister, who clinched the week, raising it to 39 hours. A leaner, mean- YouTube channel-a way to circumvent the traditional prodigy eyeing a presidency nomination for the Republicans party in er France could, he claims, rival Germany as media, which he accuses of bias. November by claiming he was unsullied by the foremost economy in the eurozone And he has turned heads with simultaneous appear- PARIS: “Neither of the right, nor the left” ENA, which serves as a finishing school for the scandals that surrounded his rival and within a decade. ances at campaign rallies using holograms, a techno- in his own words, Emmanuel Macron is a top civil servants and future leaders. After former boss, ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy. logical first for a French presidential campaign and a 39-year-old former banker hoping to con- going into banking, where he earned near- The allegations that Penelope had done lit- sign of renewed vigor. With the Socialist Party split vince the French to take a chance on his ly 2.4 million euros ($2.6 million) from tle work to earn 680,000 euros ($725,000) between leftist and reformist camps under President brand of youthful optimism. He has never 2011-2012 at Rothschild, Macron became were first reported by Le Canard Enchaine Francois Hollande, its 49-year-old candidate Benoit been elected and only launched his party an economic advisor to Hollande in 2012 newspaper in January. last April, but polls currently show Macron and then economy minister two years later. Hamon is languishing at distant fifth place in the polls. Fillon’s reaction to the accusations has as one of the frontrunners for the two- During his time in government, he is For many, Melenchon, after emphatically refusing to been to deny that either he or his wife have stage election next Sunday and on May 7. best known for a free-market law that ally himself with Hamon, has emerged as the main voice done anything wrong and to claim his left- After quitting his job as economy minis- bears his name which liberalised the bus on the left. Often appearing at rallies wearing a Mao jack- wing rivals are operating a “secret cell” to ter under unpopular President Francois sector, allowed large stores to open at et, Melenchon speaks without notes as he rails against the blacken his name. It is a line of attack that Hollande in August, he has concentrated weekends and offered investment incen- “neoliberal” European Union and stumps for his tax-and- has drawn scorn from Socialist President on building up his own centrist political tives to farmers. The legislation was strong- spend agenda. But while he shares Le Pen’s animosity Francois Hollande and surprised even some movement called “En Marche” (“On the ly contested by France’s powerful trade toward the EU-they are both currently MEPs-Melenchon is of Fillon’s own allies. Move”). The accomplished pianist and lover unions and had to be rammed through her polar opposite when it comes to immigration. Having backtracked on an early promise of poetry was initially dismissed by sceptics parliament using executive powers, but it “Today as yesterday, I am delighted that France is a to withdraw his candidacy if he was as appealing to a narrow group of young, helped cement his image as an economic mix of races and all the children are our children,” he charged, the erstwhile arch-conservative urban professionals but his packed rallies reformer. “I want us to be able to start a has said. An admirer of late Venezuelan president Hugo has found himself in the unlikely position and voter surveys show otherwise. “We business more easily, to innovate more Chavez as well as Bolivian leader Evo Morales, he advo- MONTPELLIER: French conservative of running as an anti-establishment rebel presidential candidate Francois Fillon can’t respond with the same men and the easily” is one of his mantras, repeated at cates a policy of non-alignment and wants France to determined to defy the media, the govern- same ideas,” Macron said as he launched his rallies and explained in his pre-election withdraw from NATO. — AFP reacts after his speech during a cam- ment and magistrates he says are working paign meeting. — AP presidential bid in November at a jobs book “Revolution”. against him. Subsequent revelations that a training centre in a gritty Parisian suburb. As well as wanting to improve the busi- wealthy Franco-Lebanese lawyer bought In TV debates, Fillon has stressed that only With frustration at France’s political ness environment, he stresses the need to handmade suits for Fillon worth 13,000 he among the candidates has experience of class running high, Macron has tapped improve education in deprived areas and euros each have drawn further ire from his running a country. Supporters have also into a desire for wholesale change that has has spoken out against stigmatizing opponents. The charges have caused Fillon cheered his hardline stance on immigration. also propelled far-right candidate Marine Muslims with France’s strict rules on secu- to slip from the position of clear frontrun- Fillon raised eyebrows when he told immi- Le Pen and leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon. “I’m larism. His championing of tech firms and ner he occupied early this year. grants in a TV debate that “when you enter here because he’s young, he’s dynamic. It’s the “Uber-isation” of the economy, in which Yet despite the charges, support for him someone else’s house, you do not take over.” like a breath of fresh air,” 23-year-old shop people increasingly work as independents is still hovering at around 19 percent, put- His outspokenness stood in contrast to his worker Marine Gonidou told AFP at a rally rather than as employees, has helped bur- ting him tied for third in the race with the image as prime minister, of a quiet and in Brittany in January. At 39, Macron would nish his image as a modernizer. After look- hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon but behind urbane man whose steady temperament be the youngest French leader in modern ing the most likely next president for the co-leaders Marine Le Pen of the far-right contrasted with the impulsive Sarkozy who history, upending tradition that has seen last few months, polls have shown support and centrist Emmanuel Macron. Some once dismissed him as “Mr Nobody”. Once voters tend to favour experience in their for him falling slightly in recent weeks. The observers believe Fillon is under-estimated the youngest member of parliament at age powerful presidents. outcome of the election will be the ulti- in opinion polls and might perform far 27, Fillon is a devout Catholic who voted mate test of his claim that France is “con- more strongly in the first round on April 23 against gay marriage when it was legalised ‘Uber-isation’ trarian”-ready to elect a pro-EU, pro-glob- than they show. in 2013. The self-declared “Gaullist”-a form of MARSEILLE: In this April 9 2017 file photo, French Although positioned as an outsider, the alization liberal at a time when rightwing One of France’s top pollsters, Jerome nationalism that proposes an independent hard-left presidential candidate, Jean-Luc brilliant student followed a well-worn path nationalists are making electoral gains Fourquet of IFOP, said while many right- and strong France-also has a close bond with Melenchon, speaks in Marseille. — AP through elite French universities including across the world. — AFP wing voters were “highly disappointed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. — AFP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 INTERNATIONAL Philippines says Islamists beheaded Filipino captive

MANILA: The Philippine army said Islamic State- The army said on Wednesday that an Abu Sayyaf linked Abu Sayyaf militants have beheaded one of leader who was directly involved in the kidnap and four Filipino fishermen they took captive in execution of the Canadian and German nationals December. Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, mili- was among those killed by Philippine troops in a tary commander on the southern island of Jolo clash on a resort island last week. island said the boat’s captain had been executed in the jungle near the town of Patikul on Thursday but Philippines, US to hold military drills his remains have yet to be recovered. Meanwhile, the Philippine military said yesterday Noel Besconde was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf it would hold annual exercises with US troops next group, along with three crewmen in December, while month, reaffirming its commitment to the alliance on board a fishing vessel in the Celebes Sea. Abu despite cooling relations under President Rodrigo Sayyaf is a small but brutal militant group known for Duterte. The 10-day exercises will be the first held beheading, kidnapping, bombing and extortion in under Duterte, who has suggested cancelling the the south of the mainly Catholic country. Sobejana drills and called for the withdrawal of American said it was likely the abductors beheaded Besconde troops, putting into question Manila’s 70-year-old because he was sick and had become a liability. alliance with Washington as he looks instead to “The reason why he was beheaded is that he was court China. The outspoken Filipino leader, who has delaying their movement,” Sobejana told reporters. earned international censure for a war on drugs that “They (Abu Sayyaf) are highly-mobile and we are has seen thousands killed, has since softened his pursuing them.” Sobejana said the group had stance on working with the US military. The annual demanded 3 million pesos ($60,648.94) ransom for military exercises, known as Balikatan (Shoulder-to- Besconde but the government maintains its policy Shoulder), will now go ahead in May, focusing on of refusing to pay ransom. The army has declared counter-terrorism and disaster response as the all-out war with Abu Sayyaf on the islands of Jolo Philippines battles Islamic militants in their lawless and Basilan, but is hamstrung by its presence southern strongholds. among large civilian communities. “It will be scenario-based like (preparing for) a big Abu Sayyaf has its roots in separatism but its storm hitting the Philippines or the possibility of ter- activities are mostly banditry and piracy and it has rorism,” Balikatan spokesman Major Celeste Frank CAPAS TOWN: This file photo taken on April 14, 2016 shows US marines walking next to their trans- invested the profits of its business in modern Sayson told AFP. “We are safe to say there will be no port and amphibious vehicles at a temporary camp for the “Balikatan” joint US-Philippine military weapons and fast boats. Sobejana said the Abu more live-fire exercises. We (will) focus on humanitari- exercise at Crow Valley. — AFP Sayyaf group is still holding Besconde’s crew, along an and civil assistance.” In previous years Balikatan had improved relations with China and has set aside the in the conflict-torn south, where several groups have with more than a dozen foreign nationals in Jolo. evolved from counter-terrorism maneuvers against maritime row in favor of economic concessions. pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Iraq and The militant group last year beheaded Canadians Islamic militants to simulations of protecting or retak- Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had said the exer- Syria. Security forces in the past week clashed with John Ridsdel and Robert Hall. An elderly German, ing territory, as a dispute with Beijing over islands in cises would refocus on fighting terrorism, which he the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group on a popu- Jurgen Kantner, suffered the same fate in February the South China Sea escalated. described as the Philippines’ top security problem. lar resort island, the first attack on a key Philippine when a $600,000 ransom demand was not paid. But Duterte, who took office last year, has sought The Philippines is battling Islamic militants and pirates tourist destination in recent years. — Agencies

Jakarta election exposes nations Terrorism jokes no joking deep political and religious divide matter for Spain’s judges MADRID: When she posted jokes on however regrettable it may be, can lead Twitter about a 1973 assassination com- to jail sentences.” Poll seen also as referendum on secularism mitted by Spain’s Basque separatist group JAKARTA: Jakarta voters head to the polls on ETA, Cassandra Vera never for one ‘Cult of hate’ Wednesday to elect a governor for Indonesia’s moment thought they would land her a Luis Conde, a historian of comic books, teeming capital after a campaign that incited one-year jail sentence. But last month, told AFP he remembered more lenient political and religious tensions in the world’s one of Spain’s top criminal courts found times, even under Franco’s dictatorship when people would sing a song that fea- most-populous Muslim country. Surveys have the 21-year-old guilty of “justifying terror- tured the lyrics “Carrero flew,” in reference shown the race tightening to a statistical dead ism” and humiliating its victims-the latest to the attack. “And now, we can’t say it any- heat, with incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja in a series of such convictions for social more?” he asked. But Consuelo Ordonez, Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, closing media pranks that has the country divid- head of the Covite association for victims in on rival Anies Baswedan, a former educa- ed, and partisans of free speech worried. of terrorism, said laughing at the expense tion minister. “They ruined my life,” Vera tweeted of Carrero Blanco-a man associated with Purnama is standing trial on blasphemy about the 13 posts about the 1973 mur- Franco’s iron-fist rule that ended after he charges stemming from the divisive campaign der of Luis Carrero Blanco, the prime min- died in 1975 — was a big mistake. “If we that also featured mass rallies led by Islamist ister and heir-apparent of dictator had been serious about that fact that hardliners and alleged plots to overthrow Francisco Franco who was killed in an nothing justifies violence, we wouldn’t be President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known ETA bomb attack that sent his car talking about more than 800 ETA deaths,” as Jokowi. The Jakarta election is viewed as a hurtling into the air. “ETA combined a she told AFP, referring to the 829 people larger choice ahead of a 2019 presidential poll policy against the use of official vehicles between the secular policies Indonesia has prac- killed during the group’s four-decade cam- with a space program,” read one of her paign for Basque independence. “The cult ticed since its post-World War Two independ- posts. Another said: “Did Carrero Blanco ence and a hardline political Islam that has of hate that always moved terrorists has also go back to the future with his car?” not been defeated,” she warned. strengthened in recent years. Vera is unlikely to spend time behind “This is a test case for Indonesian pluralism, if bars, as offenders of non-violent crimes ‘Sensitive issue’ it can withstand the pressure of the religious with a sentence of under two years do groups, the populists,” said Wimar Witoelar, a The number of court rulings involving not serve time in jail. But she now has a alleged acts of “justifying terrorism” has political analyst and an adviser to former criminal record that will prevent her from Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid. risen from a dozen a year to 26 in 2015, 37 getting a scholarship for her studies. The in 2016 and 12 for the first quarter of this “Indonesia is at a crossroads, and I mean National Court that sentenced her, which year, according to judicial authorities. Indonesia, not just Jakarta.” A survey conducted specialises in terrorism cases, ruled that Most of them are linked to organizations April 12-14 by polling firm Indikator showed BANDA ACEH: A Hindu man (C) gets his cheeks pierced by a skewer during the annual her jokes did not form part of a “healthy that are now inactive, such as ETA, which Anies with 48.2 percent support versus 47.4 per- Thaipusam festival at the Palani Andawer temple. — AFP humoristic environment” and that her declared a permanent ceasefire in 2011. In cent for Purnama, with 4.4 percent undecided. verse in the Quran used by his opponents to argue paign of a pending invasion of Chinese workers attitude was “disrespectful” and “humili- January, for instance, Spain’s Supreme ating.” But Carrero Blanco’s own grand- Court sentenced rocker Cesar Strawberry Worries about backlash Muslims should not vote for a person holding dif- and Chinese plots to decimate Indonesia’s crops daughter, Lucia, said in a letter sent to to a year in prison for tweets, including The business community is worried about a ferent religious beliefs. Amid two rallies last year with contaminated chili. The FPI has vowed to the El Pais daily that she was “scared of a one that joked about the 1996-7 ETA kid- possible violent backlash from the losing side in that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters, stage further protests and a “revolution” if society in which freedom of expression, napping of a right-wing politician. — AFP the election, which could affect the investment Purnama was charged with blasphemy, forcing Purnama wins, according to flyers circulated by climate and endanger Widodo’s fit-and-start him to make regular appearances in court during the group. A senior government official said a economic reforms. Southeast Asia’s biggest the campaign. victory for Purnama could reignite religious ten- economy grew 5.2 percent in 2016 and the gov- The hardline Islamists behind the rallies - led sions and China-baiting at a time when the gov- ernment expects a repeat of that this year. by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a group ernment is chasing Chinese investment for Senior Trump aide Indonesian stocks are up 12.6 percent on the known for attacks on religious minorities and much-needed infrastructure. year, making the Jakarta market one of Asia’s extorting money from nightclubs - were cultivat- “I worry that if a sizeable portion of the elec- best performers. ed by Purnama’s rivals. Baswedan was accused of torate feels cheated there could be a very seri- visits Afghanistan Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, chief executive officer of betraying his moderate Islamic roots when he ous backlash,” said the official, who asked for KABUL: US President Donald Trump’s Ghani that the United States would contin- the country’s largest state bank, Bank Mandiri, said met and sang with FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who anonymity to speak freely about the political cli- national security adviser met Afghan offi- ue to support and cooperate with in an interview that whoever won “we (should) was twice imprisoned for inciting violence in mate in Indonesia. However, political analyst cials in Kabul yesterday, amid questions Afghanistan on a number of issues, accord- make sure it doesn’t affect any of the long-term 2003 and 2008. Purnama recovered to win the Tobias Basuki also saw risks for the national gov- over the new administration’s plans for the ing to the palace. policies, especially on the openness and ... ease of first round on Feb. 15 with 43 percent of the ernment and its reform agenda if Baswedan military mission in Afghanistan after Ghani told McMaster that “terrorism is a doing business and attracting investment.” vote, compared to 40 percent for Baswedan and won, given plans by his political patron Prabowo American forces unleashed a huge bomb serious issue for the security of the world Purnama, who replaced Widodo in 2014 as Jakarta 17 percent for Agus Yudhoyono, son of former Subianto to challenge Widodo in the 2019 presi- there on militants. The visit by HR and the region” and if serious steps are not governor after serving as his deputy, saw his pop- president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who dential poll. Baswedan was Widodo’s campaign McMaster, the first high-level visit by a taken it would affect “generations” of peo- ularity soar as he tackled decrepit infrastructure, drew support from conservative Muslims. manager in the 2014 presidential election, when Trump official, came just days after the US ple, according to the statement. Illicit drugs chronic flooding and endemic corruption in the he beat Subianto. But Widodo sacked him as military sparked controversy by dropping a and corruption also top the list of threats to traffic-clogged city of over 10 million. His support Chinese plots education minister last year. “Anies and Prabowo GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, Afghanistan’s security, Ghani told the visit- plunged after an edited video circulated last The FPI was among groups circulating hoax controlling Jakarta would impede Jokowi every one of the largest conventional weapons ing officials. The Afghan government refers September suggesting Purnama had mocked a news stories on social media during the cam- step of the way,” Basuki said. — Reuters ever used in combat, during an operation to both the Taliban and Islamic State as ter- on Thursday against Islamic State militants rorists. Afghan forces have struggled to in eastern Afghanistan. contain Taliban insurgents since most inter- Germany’s forgotten ‘guest workers’ from Africa While military officials said the strike national troops were withdrawn in 2014, was based solely on tactical needs, it led to leaving them to fight largely alone. DRESDEN: Long overshadowed by the 1960s and 1970s, Mozambicans housing. The majority said they ‘Do everything you can’ speculation that Trump’s defense advisers At the peak in 2011, the United States the more numerous and vocal often accepted jobs East Germans never received full wages for work Recalling those dispiriting are planning to escalate the war against had more than 100,000 troops stationed in years, they recounted the jeers and Turkish “guest worker” community, were unwilling to do. But it hasn’t performed under difficult condi- militants in Afghanistan. The strike was esti- Afghanistan. Nearly 9,000 US troops remain racist monkey noises, the fear of Mozambicans who arrived in been easy and they have faced tions and many were summarily mated to have killed nearly 100 militants there to train and advise Afghan forces, pro- walking home, the desire to safe- Germany decades ago still struggle repeated bouts of xenophobia and sent home to a nation that had and no civilians, according to Afghan offi- vide close air support to soldiers on the to assert their rights in their adopt- brutality. long been a Cold War proxy battle- guard their children. But they also remembered with pride their cials, although this has not been independ- ground and form a separate counter-terror- ed homeland. Faced with huge field. In the tumult, racism reared ently verified. ism unit that targets Islamic State, al Qaeda industrial production problems, ‘Foreigners out!’ its head-particularly in the disaf- patient claiming of a stake in a country devoid of a multicultural McMaster met President Ashraf Ghani and other militant networks. The top US pre-unification East Germany relied Chaimite has worked since his fected states of the east. and other senior Afghan officials to discuss commander in Afghanistan has said he heavily on labor from communist arrival in Germany in 1986 to fight “The young guys we used to tradition. The Mozambicans’ lesser- known story even drew the atten- bilateral ties, security, counter-terrorism, needs “several thousand” more troops to “brother states” such as Cuba, racism, but laments an anti-immi- play football with started saying reforms, and development, according to a help the Afghans take on a resurgent Taliban Hungary, Vietnam and Angola. But grant mood that has taken hold of ‘Foreigners out! Go to Auschwitz!’ tion of graphic novelist Birgit Weyhe, who last year published statement from the palace. McMaster and battle other insurgents, but no official the first from Africa were the late. He cites in particular the and colleagues would cross to the praised anti-corruption efforts and assured plan has been announced. — Reuters Mozambicans, with around 15,000 Islamophobic movement Pegida, other side of the street,” Chaimite “Madgermanes”, named after a eventually arriving in a deeply for- which has been holding weekly said, contrasting attitudes with the somewhat pejorative term used back home for the emigrants. eign, sometimes bitterly cold and marches in Dresden’s city centre warm welcome he said he first Chaimite, who tried in vain to often hostile new place. since October 2014. “After all the received in the German Democratic open up a dialogue with Pegida, After independence in 1975, work we did before the arrival of Republic after experiencing colo- blamed the view-long mainstream their homeland plunged into civil Pegida to sensitise people, we feel nial-era racism at home. in politics-that “Germany is not a war between Marxists who set up a like we’ve been sent back to square A wave of violence culminated country of immigration”. The United one-party state after fighting one,” said Chaimite, who started off on April 6, 1991 when Jorge Nations in February condemned the Portuguese colonial forces and in a foundry and now works as a Gomondai, 28, a neighbor and col- “structural racism” faced by blacks in rebels backed by white Rhodesia nurse. “If you look at the situation league of Muxlhanga’s, was thrown Germany “at school, at work and in and apartheid South Africa. Many on the streets, it reminds you of the on to the tracks of a streetcar in the public sphere”. Mozambicans sought to flee the 1990s,” agreed Morgado Vasco Dresden after being attacked by 14 However many in the Mozambican deeply poor, troubled nation to Muxlhanga, 56. He was just 19 skinheads. His death is considered community say they have found it seek gainful employment in East when he came to East Germany in the first racist murder of the post- possible to make inroads, even if it’s Germany’s steel, construction, man- 1980 to labour in a slaughterhouse. reunification era and led to a legal been a struggle. On the advice of a ufacturing and textiles industries. Both he and Chaimite worked hard fiasco for lack of a serious investiga- pastor, Chaimite began studying nurs- “We were also escaping the civil to learn German early on and end- tion. “It was horrible. We got ing and in 2003 founded an “African- war,” which engulfed Mozambique ed up marrying local women. together in small groups in Berlin European” club. And Muxlhanga even- for 15 years until 1990, said 50- But when the Berlin Wall fell in asking ‘Do we really want to stay tually became a computer program- year-old Emiliano Chaimite, who 1989 and the two Germanys here?’” recalled former metal work- mer and wrote a book, “My Life In lives in the eastern city of Dresden. became one less than a year later, er Augusto Vinheque, who was Three Countries”. “You have to do KABUL: Men from the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan wear masks of President Like the Turks who spurred West most Mozambicans found them- himself attacked in the German everything you can to improve the sit- Trump, President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah, carrying a hand made model of the Germany’s “economic miracle” in selves stripped of their jobs and capital in 2001. uation,” he said. — AFP “Mother of all bombs” during a demonstration, against the US government. — AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 INTERNATIONAL After North Korea’s big parade, what’s next?

PYONGYANG: North Korea’s big day, the Pence began his visit to Seoul yesterday, day of the year in North Korea, the height- canisters are used for “cold launches,” mean- the current analysis,” he added. Moreover, anniversary of the birth of its founding Pyongyang fired off a ballistic missile - but it ened rhetoric and saber-rattling on both ing they protect the mobile launch vehicle Albright said, continued underground test- leader, Kim Il Sung, came and went with no appears to have exploded seconds after it sides could begin to cool down - a pattern when the missiles are deployed. But they also ing will provide the North with opportunities underground nuclear test by the North, and got off the ground. So, all clear? that has been common in recent years, espe- hide what’s inside, so more analysis and to significantly improve its ability to make no pre-emptive strikes off the deck of the Well, yes and no. Though tensions had cially in the spring, when the U.S. and South guesswork from the parade display and weapons that require less fissile, are more USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier sent to waters been rising dangerously between Korea stage their huge annual war games. future test launches will be required before compact and have higher explosive yields. off the Korean Peninsula by President Donald Washington and Pyongyang in the lead-up But this year, there is a new issue. In an conclusions are made about where North Developing a thermonuclear weapon - an H- Trump. Just hours before Vice President Mike to the April 15 anniversary, the biggest holi- interview with The Associated Press, a senior Korea’s ICBM development really stands. bomb - is a declared priority of North Korea. North Korean official said Friday that Clearly, however, the focus on missiles large According to Albright, it appears capable of Pyongyang has determined that Trump is and small at the parade was meant to send a doing so. And, at the current pace, that could “more vicious and aggressive” than his prede- signal that the North is able to project its be on Trump’s watch. cessor, Barack Obama. And Pyongyang is power well beyond its own borders. At the vowing it won’t back down. A look at why very least, to US military bases in Japan. At the Another anniversary coming up Trump’s North Korea problem isn’t likely to most, to the mainland United States itself. April 15 isn’t the only big anniversary in go away anytime soon: North Korea this month. The country’s mili- More, better nukes tary marks the anniversary of its founding on Missiles on parade Physicist and North Korea nuclear April 25, and some experts believe the Though North Korea didn’t launch any watcher David Albright, of the Institute for chances of a nuclear test or missile launch missiles to mark the anniversary day, it did Science and International Security, estimat- around that date may be higher than they show them off in a military parade - and in a ed in a report last week provided to The were on Kim Il Sung’s birth anniversary. There surprising number and variety. Experts Associated Press that through 2020, North are two reasons for that. April 15 is intended believe the arsenal displayed in Saturday’s Korea will have enough plutonium and to be focused completely on honoring Kim Il parade included a new kind of short-range weapon-grade uranium for about 25-50 Sung and by extension his son, Kim Jong Il, cruise missile, probably for shoreline defens- nuclear weapons. But he also noted that and grandson, current leader Kim Jong Un. A es. North Korea unveiled its latest submarine- the North has several options to diversify test or launch on that day could distract from launched ballistic missile and a version of the and expand its capabilities. that focus, especially if it were to fail. same missile that can be launched from land- It could, for example, use its experimental The second reason is that the April 25 based launchers - both of which use solid light water reactor to have enough plutoni- anniversary is explicitly a military observa- fuel and present a far greater challenge to um and weapon-grade uranium “for up to 60 tion. While a failure would still be embar- PYONGYANG: In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, file photo, a soldiers find and destroy before they’re fired off. And nuclear weapons by the end of 2020,” rassing, it wouldn’t be quite as bad. More march across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in it showed off canisters that seemed in line Albright said. “Significantly higher estimates likely, if there is still going to be a test or Pyongyang, North Korea to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of with what would be required for an intercon- are possible if North Korea significantly launch designed to make a political state- Kim Il Sung, the country’s late founder and grandfather of current ruler tinental ballistic missile, which is expands its gas centrifuge program and dra- ment, it could be timed just before or after Washington’s greatest concern. matically boosts its production and separa- April 25 to further dilute the potential PR Kim Jong Un. —AP That’s a kind of two-fer for the North. The tion of plutonium over what is assumed in impact of a failure. —AP North Korea missile test fails before Pence visit ‘The missile blew up almost immediately’

SEOUL: Visiting US Vice President siles-including a suspected new assure you that under President will prevent Pyongyang from devel- Mike Pence described North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile. Trump’s leadership our resolve has oping a nuclear-tipped ballistic failed missile test yesterday as a “The missile blew up almost never been stronger, our commit- missile capable of reaching the “provocation” and assured South immediately,” the US Defense ment to this historic alliance with mainland United States. With spec- Korea of Washington’s full support Department said of yesterday’s the courageous people of South ulation mounting that the North is against the threat from its volatile early-morning launch from near Korea has never been stronger and preparing to conduct a sixth neighbor. Pyongyang launched the Sinpo on the North’s east coast. with your help and God’s help free- nuclear test, he sent an aircraft car- missile hours before Pence arrived in The type of missile was not clear. dom will ever prevail on this penin- rier-led strike group to the Korean Seoul for talks on curbing the North’s The North has a habit of test-firing sula,” he said. peninsula. But a White House for- weapons programs as fears grow missiles to mark major dates such eign policy adviser travelling with that it is planning another nuclear as Saturday’s 105th anniversary of Tough stance Pence played down Sunday’s test, test. But US officials said the missile the birth of the nation’s founder Last August a submarine- saying the missile-probably a medi- exploded seconds after it was fired. Kim Il-Sung, or as gestures of defi- launched ballistic missile tested um-range one-failed after about four to five seconds. While Washington had a “wide array of tools” at the president’s dis- posal, “for this particular case, if they (North Korea) took the time COLOMBO: Sri Lankan men walk back after erecting a white flag on top of a and energy to launch a missile that garbage mound following the garbage dump collapse in Meetotamulla, on failed, we don’t need to expend any the outskirts of Colombo. —AP resources against that.” The North has reiterated its constant refrain Hope fades for Sri Lanka that it is ready for war with the US, and its army Friday vowed a “merci- less” response to any US provoca- missing, death toll at 23 tion. Recent satellite images sug- gest its main nuclear site is “primed COLOMBO: Hopes of finding anyone of troops to search for survivors and bol- and ready,” according to specialist alive under a collapsed mountain of ster rescue efforts of the fire depart- US website 38North. garbage in Sri Lanka’s capital faded yes- ment. Prime Minister Ranil China, the North’s sole major terday as the death toll reached 23 with Wickremesinghe, who is visiting Japan, ally, and Russia have both urged restraint. China’s most senior diplo- another six reported missing, police said. said arrangements had been made to mat Yang Jiechi and US Secretary Hundreds of soldiers, backed by heavy remove the garbage dump, but it came of State Rex Tillerson exchanged earth moving equipment were digging crashing down before relocation work views on the situation on the through the rubbish and the wreckage could begin. Wickremesinghe said Korean peninsula by phone on of some 145 homes that were destroyed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Sunday, Beijing’s official Xinhua when a side of the 300-foot high dump offered help with the recovery effort and news agency said. The White crashed on Friday. a technical team would be sent to Sri House adviser said Trump and “The rescue is fast becoming a recov- Lanka to evaluate the situation. China’s President Xi Jinping had ery operation,” a senior police official at About 800 tons of solid waste is discussed a number of steps at the site said. “It is difficult to imagine added per day to the open dump. Police their summit this month and anyone could survive under these toxic said a total of 145 homes, mostly shacks, SEOUL: US Vice President Mike Pence (C) and his wife Karen Pence (in white jacket) inspect the “we’ve seen the Chinese already conditions.” He said six people were were destroyed when the garbage honour guard upon their arrival at the National Cemetery. —AFP take some initial steps towards reported missing after Friday’s disaster mountain came crashing down follow- that”-citing the turning back of at Kolonnawa on the northeastern edge ing heavy rain the previous day and a “This morning’s provocation ance when top US officials visit from Sinpo flew 500 kilometers coal ships from North Korea. of the capital. The Colombo National fire hours earlier. More than 600 people from the North is just the latest the region. towards Japan. North Korean The UN Security Council has hospital said four children aged have been given temporary shelter at a reminder of the risks each one of South Korea’s foreign ministry leader Kim Jong-Un hailed that test imposed six sets of sanctions between 11 and 15 were among the 23 government-run school in the area as you face each and every day in the said that by conducting the latest as the “greatest success” and said it against the North since 2006, when people killed. Hospital spokeswoman authorities looked for alternative accom- defense of the freedom of the peo- test just a day after displaying a brought the US mainland within it staged the first of its five nuclear Pushpa Soysa said a man and a woman modation for those living near the ple of South Korea and the defense series of missiles, “North Korea has range of a mobile delivery system. tests. All have failed to halt its drive pulled out of the dump on Friday were dump. Many residents had evacuated of America in this part of the world,” threatened the whole world”. US Pyongyang’s rogue atomic ambi- for what it insists are defensive Pence told US military families at an Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said tions have come into sharp focus in weapons. On Monday Pence is in intensive care while another 11 were their homes before the disaster because Easter dinner. Some 28,500 US President Donald Trump had been recent weeks, with Trump vowing a scheduled to meet Acting President also still in hospital. of the heavy rain. Sri Lanka’s parliament troops are stationed in the South. briefed on the latest test but had tough stance against the North and Hwang Kyo-Ahn for talks expected Police have stepped up security in the was warned recently that the 23 million The latest launch came a day after “no further comment”, while at the threatening unilateral action if to focus on the North’s weapons area following reports of looting and tonnes of garbage rotting at Kolonnawa the North held a defiant massive Easter dinner at Yongsan military China failed to help curb its neigh- programs and a controversial US said they arrested 18 men suspected of was a serious health hazard. Efforts are military parade in Pyongyang base, Pence brought greetings for bor’s nuclear program. missile defense system known as stealing victims’ belongings. President under way to generate electricity using which showcased nearly 60 mis- the troops from Trump. “Let me Trump has repeatedly said he THAAD. —AFP Maithripala Sirisena ordered hundreds solid waste as fuel. —AFP Pakistan probes clerics after Indian metro probes porn student killed for blasphemy screened at busy station NEW DELHI: Hardcore pornography DMRC said the offending screen that flashed onto a giant screen at one was operated by a private company PESHAWAR: Pakistani police opened a for Research and Security Studies report student and his family and ... created hur- of Delhi’s busiest metro stations has and had an unsecure WiFi network, hate speech investigation involving two and local media. dles for the people and another cleric to prompted red-faced rail authorities to leaving it accessible to others. Muslim clerics yesterday after the killing participate in the funeral,” a senior Swabi launch an investigation, an official said “As per CCTV footage, three men of a university student over allegations ‘Shocked and saddened’ police official told Reuters. He spoke on yesterday, after footage of the incident have run (the) porn clip through their he committed blasphemy. The clerics are In a statement released to the press on condition of anonymity for fear of being was shared widely online. Commuters mobile on this TV,” the DMRC said in a accused of attempting to disrupt the Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said targeted by religious hardliners. were stopped in their tracks at the sta- statement late Saturday, adding that funeral of student Mashal Khan, who was he was “shocked and saddened by the A local imam had refused to lead the tion in the Indian capital’s central busi- the contractor in charge of the beaten to death by fellow students after a senseless display of mob justice that result- funeral prayers at Khan’s funeral on Friday, ness district of Connaught Place last screen would be required to have dormitory debate was followed by accu- ed in the murder of a young student, according to Swabi resident Salman weekend when the x-rated footage password protection from now on. sations of blasphemy being spread across Mashal Khan, at Wali Khan University”. Ahmed. A technician who was asked to do began playing on a large screen that The incident made headlines in a a university campus in the northern city Mardan police chief Alam Shinwari said 20 so in the cleric’s place was confronted by normally broadcasts advertisements country where talk about sex or even of Maradan. people had been identified as culpable in several people afterwards. In his press for luxury property or credit card public displays of affection are seen University officials had issued a public the killing on the basis of videos taken dur- release, the prime minister said the perpe- schemes. by many as taboo. notification hours before the murder nam- ing the attack, and 15 had been arrested. trators of the attack would be brought to Scores of people captured the Mainstream cinema is stripped of ing three students being investigated for He said they would be tried by anti-terror- justice. “The nation should stand united to moment on their mobile phones and raunchiness by India’s socially-conserv- “blasphemous activities”. Blasphemy is an ism courts. Police say they are also investi- condemn this crime and to promote toler- the images have since gone viral on ative censor board, which muted the extremely sensitive topic in Muslim majori- gating the clerics in Khan’s hometown of ance and rule of law in society,” Sharif said. social media. Delhi Metro Rail word “lesbian” from a Hindi-language ty Pakistan, where penalties range from Swabi, some 60 kilometers south of However, Pakistan’s government has been Corporation (DMRC) spokesman film, blocked the release of a toned- small fines to the death sentence, and Mardan, for attempting to disrupt funeral vocal about blasphemy in recent months, Mohinder Yadav told AFP Sunday that down version of the erotic movie “Fifty dozens of people are on death row in the proceedings and instigate hatred against with Sharif issuing an order in March for the authorities were trying to identify Shades of Grey” in 2015, and deemed country’s jails. There have been at least 65 the dead student’s family. removal of content deemed blasphemous three suspects believed to be behind two James Bond kissing scenes unsuit- recorded cases of vigilante murders since “The two clerics ... the mosque loud- online and threatening “strict punishment” the incident last Sunday. able for an Indian audience. —AFP 1990, according to figures from a Center speaker for hate speech against the slain for those violating the law. —Reuters NEWS MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 Fireworks in Istanbul as ‘Yes’ side claims victory

ISTANBUL: With 97 percent of the ballots counted in granting sweeping executive powers to the president. Turkey’s historic referendum, those who back constitutional Erdogan and his supporters say the “Turkish-style” presi- changes greatly expanding President Recep Tayyip dential system would bring stability and prosperity in a Erdogan’s powers had a narrow lead yesterday night, the country rattled by last year’s coup attempt and a series of official Anadolu news agency said. The results from yester- devastating attacks by the Islamic State group and Kurdish day’s vote are expected to have a huge effect on Turkey’s militants. But opponents fear the changes will lead to auto- long-term political future and on its relations with the cratic one-man rule, ensuring that the 63-year-old Erdogan, European Union and the world. who has been accused of repressing rights and freedoms, Anadolu said 51.4 percent voted “yes” and backed the could govern until 2029 with few checks and balances. constitutional changes to replace Turkey’s parliamentary Erdogan described the referendum as an opportunity for system with a presidential vote, with 48.6 percent voting “change and transformation” as he voted yesterday in “no” against them. More than 55 million people in this coun- Istanbul, where black-clad bodyguards with automatic try of about 80 million were registered to vote and more weapons stood guard outside the polling station. “We need than 1.3 million Turkish voters cast their ballots abroad. to make a decision that is beyond the ordinary,” Erdogan Officials said Erdogan was already thanking allies and said. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposi- supporters for the passage of the constitutional changes as tion party and top “no” campaigner, called the referendum a the vote neared its end. Erdogan supporters were celebrat- vote on Turkey’s future. “We hope the results will be good ing with fireworks in Istanbul as the president said he is and together we can have the opportunity to discuss “grateful” to the people who “reflected their will’. However, Turkey’s other fundamental problems,” he said. the vice-chairman of Turkey’s main opposition party said the The ballots themselves did not include the referendum party will contest 37 percent of the votes counted. question - it was assumed to be understood. Voters used an ISTANBUL: Supporters of the “Yes” vote in Turkey’s historic referendum wave flags during celebrations yesterday. — AP The opposition criticized the decision of the country’s official stamp to select between “yes” and “no”. At one elections board to accept as valid ballot papers that don’t Istanbul polling station, eager voters lined up outside before Anadolu reported that military helicopters flew ballots been highly divisive and heavily one-sided, with the “yes” have its official stamp. Republican People’s Party deputy it opened at 8 am. “We are here early to say ‘no’ for our coun- and elections officers to some districts of the southeastern side dominating the airwaves and billboards across the chairman Bulent Tezcan told reporters Sunday that the deci- try, for our children and grandchildren,” said retired tax offi- predominantly Kurdish region of Diyarbakir due to security country. Supporters of the “no” vote have complained of sion leaves the results of the constitutional referendum cer Murtaza Ali Turgut. His wife Zeynep agreed, saying: “I reasons. The proposed changes would grant the president intimidation, recording more than 100 incidents of “faced with a serious legitimacy problem.” was going to come sleep here last night to vote at first light.” powers to appoint ministers, senior government officials obstruction to its campaign efforts, including beatings, Turkey’s Supreme Election Board announced the Istanbul resident Husnu Yahsi, 61, also said he was voting and half the members of Turkey’s highest judicial body, as detentions and threats. unprecedented move after many voters casting their votes “no”. “I don’t want to get on a bus with no brake system. A well as issue decrees and declare states of emergency. It The vote comes as Turkey has been buffeted by prob- in the country’s historic referendum complained that they one-man system is like that,” he said. In another Istanbul sets a limit of two five-year terms for presidents and also lems. Erdogan survived a coup attempt last July, which he were given ballot papers without the official stamp. If the neighborhood, a “yes” voter expressed full support for allows the president to remain at the helm of a political has blamed on his former ally and current nemesis “yes” vote prevails, the 18 constitutional changes will replace Erdogan. “Yes, yes, yes! Our leader is the gift of God to us,” party. The changes would come into effect with the next Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric living in the United Turkey’s parliamentary system of government with a presi- said Mualla Sengul. “We will always support him. He’s gov- general election, scheduled for 2019. States. Gulen has denied knowledge of the coup attempt. dential one, abolishing the office of the prime minister and erning so well.” Erdogan first came to power in 2003 as prime minister Still, a widespread government crackdown has targeted and served in that role until becoming Turkey’s first direct- followers of Gulen and other government opponents, ly elected president in 2014. He has long sought to branding them terrorists and a state of emergency It’s up to us expand the powers of the president. The campaign has imposed after the coup attempt remains in effect. — AP Continued from Page 1 through tweets or Insta posts. Instead, file real cases with documentation and enough evidence before the Yesterday I saw on social media that someone bombed authorities. Many of them are people who are highly MPs Adasani, Muwaizri file second grilling... the North Korean capital’s airport. I rushed to check this ranked and their conscience cannot support what they information and confirm it, only find it’s a hoax - another know to be wrong. Continued from Page 1 huge arms purchases. They also criticized the government for fake news report spreading across social media. At least in This is based on malicious, individual grudges and wars resorting to foreign borrowing through a bond sale, while sev- the North Korean hoax, it was not a matter of destroying a of interests. I know it’s difficult to control. But we can start The two grillings have been submitted after the govern- eral state-owned firms like Kuwait Petroleum Corp are holding family’s or some individual’s reputation. But in other cases, with ourselves. Don’t spread, share or forward gossip and ment and its supporters rejected last Tuesday amendments to assets worth KD 20 billion, which should have been sent to the rumors and gossip are spread as if they are fact and can rumors. Maybe we cannot bring to justice those who start the administrative court law that would have allowed those state treasury. The grilling said that had these establishments ruin people’s lives for years. Not only the individual’s malicious rumors, because it’s very difficult to know the who have their citizenships revoked to go to court. At present, handed over the funds to the government, there would have alone, but that of his family, his wife, his sons, his daugh- source. But we can stop social media from overtaking our courts are not allowed to hear citizenship cases because they been no need to borrow to finance the budget deficit. ters, his tribe. How fair and just is this? Would any of us society by refusing to play their game. Social media is a are a sovereign matter. Under Kuwaiti law, MPs can file a non-cooperation motion want this to happen to us? double-edged sword - it can be a force for good but also a In their grilling yesterday, MPs Adasani and Muwaizri against the prime minister following the debate of the Don’t get me wrong. There are instances where the force of evil. And usually in human affairs, the force of evil charged that the government has failed to safeguard public grilling. If the motion gets the required votes, it will be sent nation should know hidden information and sometimes is stronger. But the human being is very intelligent and funds, citing a number of issues like the payment of the huge to HH the Amir, who will decide whether to dismiss the pre- whistleblowers save the nation. But these instances are he/she can choose to make that sword a force for good. It’s fine to Dow Chemical, losses at Kuwait Investment Authority mier and appoint another one or dissolve the Assembly and typically not malicious and they do not spread rumors up to us. and the social security establishment and suspicions around call for early elections. MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 ANALYSIS

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Focus Voters undecided, disappointed days before French vote

rench far-right leader Marine Le Pen is too extreme, but centrist Emmanuel Macron is too Fyoung. Conservative Francois Fillon cannot be trusted, Socialist Benoit Hamon is the establish- ment, and Communist-backed radical Jean-Luc Melenchon, too risky. Just a week before the French cast their first votes for the next president, this is how the many undecided voters view this year’s cast of candidates: with abject disappointment. Marc Jaurena lives in the northeastern city of Metz but drives nearly an hour to work in Luxembourg, 63 km away. “For me, working in Luxembourg, my job will be directly impacted by a Marine Le Pen election,” Jaurena said, as the far- right leader has pledged that, if elected, she will pull France out of the euro currency and hold a ref- erendum on whether the country should leave the EU. The 34-year-old Jaurena said he has also been Refugees bring Italy village back to life scandalized by the fake jobs scandals that have embroiled not only Le Pen, but also Fillon. Fillon’s campaign has been rocked by multiple n the foothills of the Aspromonte thing,” said Stefano Calabro, a 43-year-old cil has been able to open a small gym open ous, overcrowded Mineo camp, just small scandals over expenses and conflicts of interest, mountains in southern Italy, the silence police officer who has been mayor of to all residents and upkeep a lush sports things like quick doctor appointments here including allegations that he gave his wife suspect- Iof a once-dying village is broken by the Sant’Alessio since 2009. “But there is a sig- field overlooking the valley, where seem a luxury. ed fake jobs as a parliamentary assistant, for which laughter of a small group of refugees. Tiny nificant economic benefit too.” The state migrants regularly challenge the team from she was paid a total of Ä680,000 ($725,000). As for Sant’Alessio has been welcoming families allocates up to Ä45 ($47) a day for each a nearby drug rehabilitation center. After Vast areas depopulated Le Pen, the European Parliament has accused her and vulnerable migrants here for three migrant, most of which goes to the organ- six months to a year here, some of the Sitting in the sunshine and watching the izers to cover costs. The project has creat- refugees managed to find work in the world go by from his front garden, 89-year far-right National Front (FN) of using funds allotted years in a project which not only provides humanitarian assistance but brings with it ed full or part-time jobs in Sant’Alessio for region, others headed elsewhere. old Antonio Sacca - who spent 54 years for parliamentary assistants to pay staff for party invaluable economic and social benefits. 16 people including seven locals - from Ghanaian Salifu, 23, decided to stay on working in a Turin factory before returning work in France. She has dismissed the investigation Over the years the village has dwindled to social workers to Italian teachers and cul- and has been living off odd jobs like help- home - says he likes his new neighbors. into FN’s expenses, saying it is a plot to derail her only 330 inhabitants, many of them elder- tural mediators. ing with manual work in the fields. “They behave well. They live independent campaign bid. Jaurena is also unmoved by the ly. The steep cobbled streets are deserted And it has prevented the closure of the Sant’Alessio may not offer bright lights or lives but often lend a helping hand,” he ethos of the Communist-backed eurosceptic and most windows are shuttered, resi- village’s basic services - a bar, small super- much in the way of career opportunities, said. Bar owner and widow Celestina Melenchon, and by what he called Macron’s “brain- dents having left over the years for better market, doctor’s surgery and pharmacy. but a cheerful Salifu says “we’re not going Borrello, 73, whose son left years ago to washing”. “I know who I won’t vote for, but I don’t work opportunities in Turin, Milan or as far With funds to spend on services, the coun- anywhere”. After months in Sicily’s notori- find work in Belgium, says “the village was know who I’ll vote for,” he said. away as Australia. emptying, so if there’s a little movement In an attempt to reverse the trend, how- now, it’s a good thing”. “We know what it ‘Rocked by scandals’ ever, since 2014 the council has been rent- means to leave our land,” she adds. He is among the nearly 40 percent of voters who ing eight of these empty flats to house up to The project has been such a success that have yet to decide which way they’ll vote - or even 35 migrants at a time as part of the national Coopisa, the association behind it, is open- if they’ll show up at on election day next Sunday. SPRAR network (Protection System for ing others in four villages nearby. And “This election is unusual. The campaign is rocked by Asylum Seekers and Refugees). Everything is there is another benefit: those that join the scandals,” political scientist Richard Kleinschmager done to help the newcomers get back on SPRAR network and take in small numbers told AFP. “The situation has become too complex to their feet, from Italian lessons to legal, med- of refugees are guaranteed not to have to get people engaged”. Voters’ indecision has rein- ical and psychological assistance, vocational host an emergency reception center, such forced the uncertainty of this year’s two-round training and social activities such as garden- as the one in the nearby ski-town of presidential election, in which four candidates - Le ing, cooking and dancing classes. Gambarie, where 120 migrants are massed Pen, Macron, Melenchon and Fillon - are neck-and- The village is currently home to an Iraqi in a hotel. With just 26,000 places available, neck for the first round of voting on April 23. Polls Kurdish family, a Gambian couple with a the network is only a small part of Italy’s give each between 19 and 23 percent of votes. The baby and young people from Ghana, reception system, which hosts more than top two candidates from that vote will go forward Nigeria, Mali and Senegal. There is a special 176,000 people. to the second-round run-off on May 7. project for the most vulnerable, including While most are housed in large groups, “For me, it’s unclear,” said 41-year-old Fabrice HIV-positive people, diabetics, victims of often angering or frustrating local commu- Blanchard, a commercial agent in Lorraine. “Macron, prostitution networks, a deaf and dumb nities, this dusty village is seen as a quiet we don’t know if he is of the right or the left”. As for couple, and a young woman whose toddler triumph. “Sant’Alessio has been our proto- Hamon, “he is from the outgoing government,” son was shot dead in Libya and husband is type,” said Coopisa head Luigi De Filippis, which has been marked by high unemployment feared drowned. who points out there is scope for the proj- and low growth. Only 17 percent of voters ques- ect to go across Italy and beyond. “There tioned in an Ipsos poll in February gave high marks ‘Humane and humanitarian’ A resident looks at a group of migrants walking in a street of Sant’ Alessio in are vast areas affected by the same depop- to France’s democratic system. “Our mission is both humane and Aspromonte, a small village of 330 inhabitants in Calabria, southern Italy, on April 6, ulation in northern Italy and elsewhere in humanitarian, that’s the most important 2017. — AFP Europe.” — AFP ‘Outraged by scandals’ In the western city of Rennes, Pierre, 28, voted for the then president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012, but he is leaning towards Macron this time around, ‘Islamic’ kindergartens cause stir in Austria “because he’s young”. But for retired teacher Jeannette, 77, who is among the undecided voters, debate is raging in Austria after a study suggested vately run, stretching the ability of the authorities to keep the polls. Surveys suggest that public attitudes to Muslims said Macron is “too young”. “Undecided voters are a that Islamic kindergartens in Vienna were helping to tabs and allowing some to operate under the radar. have hardened. Attacks on migrant shelters soared last feature of this election,” Kleinschmager said. “Voters Acreate “parallel societies” or even produce the dan- year. The ruling centrist coalition has moved to the right from the two major parties have been thoroughly gerous homegrown radicals of the future. According to its City of immigrants with plans to ban full-face veils in public and oblige weakened. Francoise, the daughter of a former may- author, Ednan Aslan, a Turkish-born Austrian professor at Vienna is home to 1.8 million people, half of whom have migrants to sign an “integration contract”. or in the eastern province of Franche-Comte, said Vienna University, some 10,000 children aged two to six a parent born abroad or who were born abroad them- Organizations representing Austria’s 700,000-strong she would have voted for Fillon “if there hadn’t attend around 150 Muslim preschools, teaching the Holy selves. Ever since it was the capital of a vast empire, it has Muslim population say that in this context, Aslan’s flawed been the scandals”. Quran much like Christian ones do with Bible studies. been a magnet for outsiders, not all of them always wel- report has only fanned the flames. “This study feeds pop- “Honesty in life and in politics, it’s essential,” the At least a quarter are backed by groups propagating come. “But what is new in recent years has been the reli- ulism and forces Muslims to justify themselves constantly,” 54-year-old pharmaceutical worker said. “My father archconservative strains of Islam like Salafism, or organiza- gious aspect of the debate about integration,” said Thomas said Murat Gurol from newly created pressure group the Schmidinger, political scientist and Islam specialist at Muslim Civil Society Network. The 45-year-old IT worker was mayor of a town, and when I made copies at tions that see religion not just as a private matter but inte- Vienna University. said he sent his own son to a Muslim kindergarten in order city hall, he took out money to pay for them. So gral to politics and society, Aslan believes. “Parents are Austria, a nation of 8.7 million people, has received to learn “the values of solidarity, humanity and responsibili- then when we see the Fillon family... I am outraged sending their kids to establishments that ensure they are in more than 130,000 asylum applications since 2015 follow- ty”. As a child he went to a Christian preschool, and “I don’t by the scandals”. a Muslim setting and learn a few suras (chapters from the ing the onset of the European Union’s biggest migration see why that should be allowed for one religion and not for There is a danger in having so many undecided Quran),” Aslan, a respected researcher into Islamic educa- crisis since World War II. The Freedom Party is riding high in another”, he said. — AFP voters at this late stage, said Kleinschmager. “The tion, told AFP. “But they are unaware that they are shutting danger is when we don’t know what to hold on to,” them off from a multicultural society,” he said. he said. “So we grab a lottery ticket while telling The study, published last year, has been jumped on by ourselves ‘why not’. That lottery ticket is Marine Le critics of immigration - not least the far-right Freedom Pen”. An Ipsos poll for the daily Le Monde out Friday Party - in the wake of attacks such as Paris and Brussels per- showed Macron and Le Pen - who have been neck- petrated by Muslims who grew up in Europe. and-neck for weeks at the head of the pack - on 22 percent for the first round. — AFP Undercover But many reject Aslan’s findings, questioning its methodology. The magazine Biber, which writes for and about minorities, sent a veiled Muslim reporter undercover posing as a mother looking for a place for her son at 14 All articles appearing on these pages Muslim kindergartens. She found no evidence to back up are the personal opinion of the writers. Aslan’s suggestions that they were churning out “little Salafists” or that things like the children singing - frowned Kuwait Times takes no responsibility upon by ultra-strict Muslims - were banned. But around a for views expressed therein. Kuwait third were according to the magazine “problematic”, “cut- ting off or isolating children” from mainstream society. It Times invites readers to voice their also voiced concerns about the “openness” of some staff opinions. Please send submissions via and the level of German spoken. Vienna City Hall has since sought to calm the situation email to: [email protected] or by commissioning an in-depth study involving a six-strong via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, research team which will be published later this year. But the first problem is establishing how many Islamic kinder- Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to gartens there are. Vienna has 842 registered kindergartens, edit any submission as necessary. 100 of them Catholic-run and 13 Protestant, but the num- ber of Muslim ones is not known. Part of the reason is that there has been an explosion in the number that are pri- A family relaxes near the Islam Centre of Vienna on April 14, 2017 in Vienna. —AFP p15_Layout 1 4/16/17 9:28 PM Page 1

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 SPORTS

‘Japanese Messi’ breaks Yan’s milestone marred Atletico’s Gameiro fit J-League goal record at 15 by Crucible struggles for Leicester return

TOKYO: Japanese media hailed wonderkid Takefusa Kubo yesterday SHEFFIELD: Yan Bingtao became the first player born this century to MADRID: French international Kevin Gameiro boosted Atletico Madrid’s after he became the youngest scorer in the J-League at 15 with a super play in the World Championship, but the Chinese teenager’s Crucible chances of reaching a third Champions League semi-final in four years as strike for FC Tokyo’s under-23 side. At 15 years, 10 months and 11 days, debut didn’t go as he would have hoped yesterday. Yan, born in February he was included in Diego Simeone’s squad for tomorrow’s quarter-final, Kubo fired the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Cerezo Osaka’s under-23s 2000, arrived in Sheffield hailed as one of the brightest young stars in a second leg at Leicester City Gameiro hasn’t featured in Atletico’s last five in a J-League third division game to beat the previous mark. That was growing band of Chinese players making an impact on the sport. The 17- games, including their 1-0 first-leg win over the English champions, due held by Takayuki Morimoto, who scored for Tokyo Verdy year-old showed glimpses of the talent that many expect will bring him a to a groin injury. However, he and reserve goalkeeper Miguel two days shy of his 16th birthday in 2004 before going on host of trophies over the course of his career, making a fine 109 break in Angel Moya have both been given the all clear to return to to play in Italy. Kubo, a former YouTube sensation the second frame of his first-round tie against Shaun Murphy. But Yan still action, Atletico confirmed yesterday. Simeone was dubbed the ‘Japanese Messi’ during his time as a pint- ended up trailing 6-3 at the end of the first session as Murphy’s extra afforded the luxury of resting a host of his first-team sized member of Barcelona’s youth set-up, broke the experience on the big stage proved crucial. Murphy, the 2005 world regulars for Saturday’s routine 3-0 win over Osasuna. record in style, dribbling past two defenders before champion, has twice lost to Yan in three previous meetings but their first Top scorer Antoine Griezmann, captain Gabi, Koke, Saul smashing the ball home from a tight angle. “I’m just really Crucible encounter presented a different challenge to the teenager. Niguez and Stefan Savic are all expected to return at happy-hopefully I can continue helping the team Although based in Sheffield, Yan had never played at the venue previous- the King Power Stadium. Whether Gameiro is fit win like this,” Kubo told local media, with the ly while Murphy has abundant experience of the famous theatre. Murphy enough to start in place of Fernando Torres up front is popular Nikkan Sports daily likening the for- rattled in 112 and 118 to surge 4-1 ahead, before shaking off the setback the only doubt in the Atletico side with Simeone other- ward to Argentine and Barca wizard Lionel wise expected to name the same team that started the Messi in its match report. —AFP of losing the next two frames by taking control come the session’s end. They play to a finish in the best-of-19-frame match today. —AFP first leg. — AFP

Kuwait Tennis U-18 junior tournament

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Tennis U18 Junior Treasurer Faleh Al-Otaibi, Assistant Treasurer from Yarmouk Sports Club was in first place, Hallaq and Hussein Dashti took first place, The final results for clubs: Kuwait in first Tournament concluded in the presence of Ahmad Al-Qallaf, and Technicla Director Essa Qabazard in second while Tameem Al- while Yarmouk’s Ahmad Khamees and Essa place with 276, followed by Yarmouk with Kuwait Tennis Federation Deputy Chairman Abbas Al-Busairi. Hallaq from Kuwait Club was third. Qabazard second, and Kuwait’s Ali Sadeq 252, Salmiya in third with 149 and Kheitan of the Board Abdelsamad Al-Aryan, The final results were Ahmad Khamees In the doubles Kuwait’s Club Tameem Al- and Hussein Ali were in third. in fourth with 16 points. NSH holds cricket tournament for NSH empower trophy

KUWAIT: Knowing the passion for the driver’s seat. Though the Mahbulla cricket, NSH top management headed Lions gave a tough fight, could not by Sabu decided to host the cricket reach the target. Vidaya Sagar’s tournament in Kuwait for the NSH Roaring Lions found chasing away the Empower Trophy - 2017. Several Jackals that witnessed the growing teams, irrespective of age and grade enthusiasm. The joy had no limits registered from different locations, when Surendra, a worker declared the Fahaheel, Mahboulla, Mangaf, Abu senior managers ‘out’. It is our social Halifa, Wafra, etc. responsibility that leads NSH in bring- The surprising performance of cap- ing out numerous talents in sports tain Vivek led the Fahaheel team to and arts, said veteran Sabu.

Andy Murray

TENNIS Plenty on the line in Monte Carlo for Murray, Djokovic

MONTE CARLO: The top two players in the is the place to have a new start to the season.” to be ready. I’m excited to be here.” world, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, both Federer is the in-form man on tour at the Nadal, 30, won his ninth title a year ago after have something to prove as the pair return to moment, but the winner of three titles already a three-year gap, beating Gael Monfils in the the tour from injury to play this week’s Monte this season is skipping the clay-court season cur- final after dispatching Murray in the semis. Carlo Masters. tain-raiser. The prestige event in the Monfils will be missing as he continues treat- Both have been struggling with elbow Mediterranean principality could be another ment on a knee injury which has bothered him injuries, but world number one Murray proved showpiece for Rafael Nadal, who will kick into for months. Also missing is the injured Canadian his fitness during a recent exhibition with Roger gear on his favourite surface as he bids for an Milos Raonic, Japan’s Kei Nishikori and charis- Federer in the Swiss city of Zurich. unprecedented 10th title at the Country Club matic Australian bad boy Nick Kyrgios, who is Meanwhile, Djokovic showed good form in overlooking the sea. delaying the start of his clay campaign after a Davis Cup action last weekend, leading Serbia The fifth-ranked Spaniard has been pipped at strenuous Davis Cup effort in Brisbane. into the semi-finals. the post so far in 2017 at the important France’s Richard Gasquet is still recovering “I feel great,” the 29-year-old Serb said on moments, losing finals to revitalised rival Federer after appendix surgery. Federer has said he will Sunday’s opening day. “It’s nice to be in a place at the Australian Open and Miami while missing not play on clay until the French Open at Roland where I spend a lot of time training. It’s home out on a title in Acapulco at the hands of Garros in well over a month, taking advantage of here. I spend a lot of time on these courts. American journeyman Sam Querrey. his ATP privilege at age 35 to pick and choose his “It’s normal for an athlete to go through schedule with extra flexibility. (injury) ups and downs. I trust myself and the HISTORIC EVENT Murray and Djokovic take the top two seed- effort I put into my game. I have to believe I’ll “Monte Carlo is unique for me, I’m here to ings, with the tournament’s top eight receiving get the results I’m hoping for,” added Djokovic, a adjust my game and be ready to play,” Nadal byes into the second round. two-time former winner of the event. said. “The season has started well for me. I’m The third seed is treble grand slam champion “All of my thoughts next week will be on this happy with how I’m playing. Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, the 2014 winner, event, I won it in 2013 and 2015. I’m hoping this “This is an historic event for me, I’m working with Nadal seeded four.—AFP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 SPORTS

MANAMA: Drivers take the start of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit in Manama yesterday. — AFP

MOTOR RACING Vettel holds off late Hamilton charge to win Bahrain GP

SAKHIR: Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel held off a victory of the season and 44th of his career puts race for driving too slowly in the pit lane and without a point from two races and hampered by sticking. It happened (three) times here, which is tremendous late charge from Mercedes rival him in command. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas holding up Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was woeful reliability and a lack of power from their very unfortunate,” he told reporters. Lewis Hamilton to win the Bahrain Grand Prix finished third after starting from pole position for fifth. Earlier, Stoffel Vandoorne failed to start the Honda engine. Alonso, asked about the driveability of the yesterday and take the overall lead in the the first time in his career. It was his 11th podi- Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday, a year on from his Double world champion Fernando Alonso, engine, was withering in response: “I don’t care Formula One title race. um. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was fourth. Bottas Formula One debut at the desert track, as engine who also had an engine failure in qualifying, too much about the driveability if I can’t finish a Hamilton was catching Vettel on every lap but made a clean start but Hamilton was beaten for woes continued to plague former champions started 15th but with little optimism. race or a lap in qualifying now.” ultimately ran out of time and finished about pace by Vettel, who overtook him heading into McLaren. McLaren said the Belgian rookie, who Honda’s motorsport head Yusuke Hasegawa Vandoorne finished 10th on his debut in seven seconds behind. the first corner. had qualified 17th, had been ruled out by a pow- said on Saturday that the Japanese manufacturer Bahrain last year as a one-off replacement for Vettel and Hamilton were level with a win Hamilton’s hopes were also hit when he was er unit problem similar to those he suffered in was not sure of the exact cause of the failures. Alonso, who had been ruled out by a big acci- each heading into this race, but Vettel’s second given a five-second time penalty early into the Friday practice. McLaren are last in the standings, “It is something around the bearings, it was dent in the opening race in Australia.—Agencies

Baseball results/standings

LA Dodgers 8, Arizona 4; Seattle 5, Texas 0; Kansas City 3, LA Angels 2; Miami 5, NY Mets 4; Atlanta 4, San Diego 2; Cleveland 13, Detroit 6; Colorado 5, San Francisco 0; Houston 10, Oakland 6; Boston 2, Tampa Bay 1; Pittsburgh 8, Chicago Cubs 7; Minnesota 6, Chicago White Sox 0; Cincinnati 7, Milwaukee 5; Toronto 2, Baltimore 1; Philadelphia 4, Washington 2; NY Yankees 3, St. Louis 2. American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division W L PCT GB NY Mets 7 5 .583 - Baltimore 7 3 .700 - Miami 6 5 .545 0.5 NY Yankees 7 4 .636 0.5 Washington 6 5 .545 0.5 Boston 6 5 .545 1.5 Atlanta 4 6 .400 2 Tampa Bay 6 6 .500 2 Philadelphia 4 7 .364 2.5 Toronto 2 9 .182 5.5 Central Division Central Division Cincinnati 8 4 .667 - Detroit 7 4 .636 - Chicago Cubs 6 5 .545 1.5 Minnesota 7 4 .636 - Milwaukee 6 6 .500 2 Chicago White Sox 5 5 .500 1.5 Cleveland 5 6 .455 2 Pittsburgh 5 6 .455 2.5 Kansas City 5 6 .455 2 St. Louis 3 8 .273 4.5 Western Division Western Division Houston 8 4 .667 - Colorado 8 5 .615 - LA Angels 6 6 .500 2 Arizona 7 5 .583 0.5 Oakland 5 7 .417 3 LA Dodgers 7 5 .583 0.5 Texas 4 7 .364 3.5 San Diego 5 7 .417 2.5 Seattle 4 8 .333 4 San Francisco 5 8 .385 3

Taiwan’s Tai beats Marin to win Singapore Open

SINGAPORE: Tai Tzu Ying cemented her dictated the pace and saw out the game status as the world’s top female shuttler as comfortably. LOS ANGELES: Nick Ahmed #13 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits an RBI single in the fourth inning during the MLB game against the Los she beat reigning Olympic champion and Tai said she was pleased with her per- Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in Los Angeles, California. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. — AFP world number two Carolina Marin in formance but unfazed by her Super Series straight games at the Singapore Open yes- streak. “I know I wouldn’t be able to beat BASEBALL terday. World number one Tai took just 38 Marin easily, so I was very patient when minutes to seal a clinical 21-15, 21-15 victo- playing with her. I felt that I played quite ry at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. well today,” she told reporters. It was Tai’s fifth consecutive Super Series “I think everyone around me is more Verlander gives up 9 runs title and her second victory over Marin in concerned about these five titles. But for less than two weeks, having already tri- me, I just want to play well in every tourna- ment.” It was Tai’s first title in the city-state and she did not drop a game all tourna- as Tigers lose to Indians ment. In the men’s singles title, India’s B. Sai Praneeth beat compatriot Srikanth Kidambi 17-21, 21-17, 21-12 for the first Super Series CLEVELAND: Jose Ramirez was 4 for 4 with a pair 2) struggled in his six innings, giving up five runs - loaded ground out pushed across the tiebreaking title of his career. of three-run homers for Cleveland, and Detroit three earned - and nine hits with three walks. run in the seventh. The Red Sox loaded the bases Praneeth, the world number 30, said he Tigers ace Justin Verlander matched a career high on two singles and a walk against Tommy Hunter was pegged back by a slow start but by allowing nine runs Saturday in a 13-6 loss to the YANKEES 3, CARDINALS 2 (0-1). Mitch Moreland homered for Boston. refused to give up. “When I got my strokes Indians. Ramirez had a career-high six RBIs with St. Louis ace Carlos Martinez (0-2) put on a his- going good and I got some rhythm, I home runs in the first off Verlander (1-1) and in the torically uneven performance, walking a career- ASTROS 10, ATHLETICS 6 thought ‘OK, the game is still on.’” eighth against Anibal Sanchez. Verlander (1-1) gave high eight while striking out 11 in 5 1/3 innings in George Springer hit a two-run homer in the “This is the best feeling: I had been wait- up 11 hits in four-plus innings, including home the Cardinals’ loss to New York. Martinez was the eighth as Houston rallied from a 5-0 deficit. Sean ing for a long, long time,” he added. runs by Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall. first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 1993 with at Manaea and Ryan Dull combined to pitch six hit- In the opening mixed doubles match, Santana had three of Cleveland’s 19 hits and four least eight walks and 11 strikeouts in a game. The less innings for Oakland. Carlos Correa left after China’s Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong beat RBIs,Corey Kluber (1-1) struck out eight in 6 1/3 Yankees won their sixth straight despite tying a being hit by a pitch on his right hand in the ninth, Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and innings, allowing six runs and eight hits. team record by fanning 17 times. They got plenty and Astros said an X-ray was negative. Will Harris Sapsiree Taerattanachai 19-21, 21-16, 21- of help from sloppy St. Louis, which at 3-8 is off to (1-0) struck out two in a scoreless seventh, and MARINERS 5, RANGERS 0 its worst start in 20 years and has the poorest Santiago Casilla (0-1) was the loser. 11. There was double joy for Denmark as James Paxton extended his season-opening record in the National League.CC Sabathia (2-0) they claimed both the men’s and women’s scoreless streak to 21 innings and Taylor Motter hit took a shutout into the eighth. PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 2 doubles. Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla a three-run homer as Seattle beat Texas. Paxton (2- Cesar Hernandez hit a tiebreaking, two-run Rytter Juhl beat Misaki Matsutomo and 0) threw eight innings of two-hit ball, walking one BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1 homer off Joe Blanton (0-2) in the eighth to lead Ayaka Takahashi of Japan 21-18, 14-21, 21- and striking out nine. He hasn’t allowed a run yet Kendrys Morales homered off Tyler Wilson (1-1) Philadelphia past Washington. Jeremy Hellickson 15, while Mathias Boe and Carsten in three starts this year, and his scoreless stretch is leading off the bottom of the ninth, and Toronto (2-0) allowed two runs and four hits in seven Mogensen beat Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of a team record to open a season. He’s the 10th (2-9) stopped a seven-game losing streak. Roberto innings. Hector Neris pitched a perfect eighth, and SINGAPORE: Sai Praneeth of India poses China 21-13, 21-14. pitcher in the majors ever to start a year with three Osuna (1-0) had allowed Jonathan Schoop’s sacri- Joaquin Benoit a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save since after beating compatriot Srikanth The tournament saw its fair share of Kidambi to win the men’s singles finals scoreless starts of at least six innings. Andrew fice fly in the top half. signing with the Phillies as a free agent during the upsets early on, with defending men’s and Cashner (0-1) lost in his first start since signing offseason. of the Singapore Open badminton tour- women’s singles champions Sony Dwi nament in Singapore yesterday. — AFP with Texas as a free agent. REDS 7, BREWERS 5 Kuncoro of Indonesia and Ratchanok Jesse Winker doubled home the go-ahead run MARLINS 5, METS 4 Intanon of Thailand dumped out on TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 0 in the sixth off Carlos Torres (0-1) with his first MLB Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton hit back- umphed at the Malaysian Open final. Wednesday. Ervin Santana (3-0) pitched a one-hitter for the hit, and Cincinnati overcame two more homers by to-back homers against Fernando Salas (0-1) to The usually unflappable Marin had no Kuncoro succumbed to South Korea’s first complete-game victory by a pitcher in MLB Eric Thames and stopped Milwaukee’s four-game cap a three-run eighth as Miami rallied from a 4-2 answers to Tai’s excellent defensive work Lee Dong-Keun while world number eight this season, stopping Chicago’s three-game win- winning streak. Reds left-hander Brandon deficit. Justin Bour and Marcell Ozuna hit consecu- and quick smashes as the diminutive 22- Ratchanok was beaten by Japan’s Sayaka ning streak. Santana’s (3-0) struck out eight, Finnegan came out of the game after the first tive homers for Miami in the second off Jacob year-old edged ahead at 13-10 and eventu- Sato. Olympic bronze medallist Viktor walked one and retired his final 18 batters. inning because of a strained muscle in the back of deGrom, who tied a career high with 13 strikeouts ally took the first game. Axelsen of Denmark was shown the door Chicago had just two runners: Omar Narvaez sin- his left side. The Reds already have three starters in seven innings. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a solo The Spaniard still failed to find her on the same day, falling in three sets to gled with one out in the third and Avisail Garcia on the disabled list. Raisel Iglesias (1-0) allowed homer in the eighth against Junichi Tazawa (1-0) rhythm in the second, as a composed Tai Hong Kong’s Vincent Wong. — AFP walked leading off the fourth. Jose Quintana (0-3) one run in two innings as manager Bryan Price to put the Mets ahead 4-2. A.J. Ramos pitched a gave up hits to six of his first seven batters in a 39- used five relievers after Finnegan’s early departure. perfect ninth for his second save. pitch first inning, including Max Kepler’s two-run Michael Lorenzen walked a batter in the ninth triple. while getting his first career save. BRAVES 4, PADRES 2 R.A. Dickey got a victory in his first appearance ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 0 PIRATES 8, CUBS 7 in Atlanta’s SunTrust Park, giving up seven hits and Tyler Chatwood (1-2) pitched 5 2/3 perfect Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead, three-run striking out six against San Diego. Atlanta has won innings before Chris Marrero’s single and finished homer of Pedro Strop (0-1) in a five-run seventh as three straight following a five-game losing streak, with a two-hitter for his first MLB shutout in Pittsburgh topped Chicago. Pittsburgh has won including the first two games at its new ballpark. Colorado’s win over San Francisco. Nolan Arenado two straight against the Cubs after going 4-14 Dickey (1-1) allowed consecutive home runs in the had three hits, including a home run off Matt against Chicago last season, including 1-8 at second to Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges. The Moore (1-2), who allowed five runs, 10 hits and Wrigley Field. Francisco Cervelli and Starling Marte 42-year-old knuckleballer was pitching in his third three walks in 5 2/3 innings. also homered for Pittsburgh. Chicago led 6-2 Atlanta ballpark. before Marte’s solo drive in the sixth inning off DODGERS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 4 starter Jake Arrieta. Trevor Williams (1-0) pitched a ROYALS 3, ANGELS 2 Yasiel Puig hit a three-run homer in the eighth one-hit seventh. Mike Moustakas’ fifth home run this season, a inning and Los Angeles overcame a sloppy defen- drive off off Jose Alvarez (0-1), broke an eighth- sive game to beat Arizona. Alex Wood (1-0) RED SOX 2, RAYS 1 inning tie. Ben Revere had knotted the score in the SINGAPORE: Winner Tai Tzu-Ying of Taiwan (R) poses on the podium with second- pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the Chris Sale (1-1) struck out 12 over seven innings seventh with a two-out RBI single against Joakim placed Carolina Marin of Spain after their women’s singles final of the Singapore win and Kenley Jansen got the last four outs for his for his first victory with Boston, allowing one run Soria (1-0). Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect ninth Open badminton tournament in Singapore yesterday. — AFP third save. Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin (1- and three hits. Sandy Leon’s broken-bat, bases- for his second save. —AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 SPORTS

GOLF Cristie Kerr wins LPGA Lotte in Hawaii for 19th tour title

KAPOLEI: Cristie Kerr won the LPGA fell in the hole. “People think that I do it The American overcame sponsor Lewis (6) were 14 under. swing feel it was an unbelievable run.” Lotte Championship on Saturday for her intentionally,” she said. “It never happens invite Su-Yeon Jang, the South Korean Ko was too far back to really chal- She has four Top 10s at Lotte, and is 19th tour title, closing with a 6-under 66 when I try to do it intentionally. It’s just player who led after the second and lenge Kerr. “Going into the day eight the second American to win in the tour- for a three-stroke victory. that once I know it’s in, I walk after it.” third rounds and was five ahead of Kerr shots behind there is a huge difference nament’s six years here, after Hawaii’s The 39-year-old Kerr broke the tour- Kerr called it “epic” and began to after three holes Saturday. between eight shots and five shots,” Ko Michelle Wie. Kerr also is the second nament record at 20-under 268, a day count the ways. She had complications Jang had a 70 to drop into a tie for said. “I knew that it would take the round American to win on the LPGA Tour this after shooting 62 at Ko Olina to match with knee surgery in November, keeping second with top-ranked Lydia Ko (64) of my life versus a mediocre round by year. “Experience is huge,” Kerr said. “Very the event mark. She earned $300,000 to her from hitting a shot for eight weeks, and In Gee Chun (67). Jang’s first bogey everybody else. With how the girls are few players are lucky enough like I am to top $18 million in her career. Kerr hadn’t and from playing the first tournament of of the week came at No. 6 and she suf- playing, it’s just really hard to mend the have a career as long as I’ve had and be won in 30 starts since the season-ending the year. “It feels so good to have over- fered double-bogey two holes later, gap. Considering where I was after the competitive as long as I’ve been com- CME Group Tour Championship in 2015. come so many things to be sitting here,” falling into a tie for first with Kerr. first day (73), I’m pleased with where I petitive. Having that experience and She was a pedestrian 4 under halfway Kerr said. “I played great the last couple Canadian Alena Sharp, looking for her finished.” Kerr, who was a rookie the year being competitive, it’s an advantage. through Lotte, then made a made a big weeks coming into here, and I just have first LPGA Tour win in her 241st start, Ko was born, has Top 10s in her last “I felt like I didn’t have it on the first move. She birdied seven of the last eight a different perspective on life now. I felt bogeyed the final hole for a 70 to finish three starts. “I can’t remember in 2 1/2 four or five holes, I didn’t worry, I didn’t holes Friday, soaring into contention it on the golf course today. I was able to alone in fifth at 16 under, a shot ahead of days that I had made so many birdies in rush, and soon as I made my first birdie it with the 62 and growing comfortable keep going forward because I didn’t put second-ranked So Yeon Ryu (67). Third- my life,” she said. “That (first) day and a was kind of like off to the races. So expe- walking in her birdie putts before they that extra pressure on myself.” ranked Ariya Jutanugarn (69) and Stacy half that I had struggled a little with my rience definitely helps.” — AP

NHL Maple Leafs beat Capitals for first playoff win since 2013 WASHINGTON: Kasperi Kapanen scored span of 2:20 to tie the game. his second goal of the game 11:53 into the second overtime and Frederik Andersen PREDATORS 5, BLACKHAWKS 0 made 47 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs Pekka Rinne made 30 saves in his sec- beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 Saturday ond straight shutout and picked up two in Game 2 to even the first-round NHL play- assists, helping Nashville pound Chicago off series. for a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff Kapanen also scored in regulation for series. Ryan Johansen had a goal and two Toronto along with James van Riemsdyk assists as Nashville added a dominant per- and Morgan Rielly, and Andersen made formance to its taut 1-0 victory in Game 1 several big stops to keep the Maple Leafs on Thursday. alive. Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson and Chicago coach Joel Quenneville shuffled Nicklas Backstrom scored for the top-seed- his lineup, inserting rookie Vinnie ed Capitals, who are now feeling the heat Hinostroza and Dennis Rasmussen and going into Game 3 Monday in Toronto. benching veteran Jordin Tootoo and John Braden Holtby made 48 saves before being Hayden. But it was more of the same for the beaten on the overtime winner. Blackhawks, who once again looked out of Not unraveling in a tough atmosphere, sync against the Predators’ active defense. the young Maple Leafs showed they Ryan Ellis, Harry Zolnierczyk, Colton Sissons belonged on the same ice with the Capitals and Kevin Fiala each scored their first after losing Game 1 in OT. Brian Boyle made career playoff goal. Game 3 is Monday a slick backhanded pass to Kapanen, who night in Nashville. put the puck into a wide-open net to give Toronto its first playoff victory since 2013. DUCKS 3, FLAMES 2 Ryan Getzlaf scored the tiebreaking SENATORS 4, BRUINS 3, OT power-play goal with 4:46 to play on a Dion Phaneuf scored at 1:59 of overtime bizarre deflection off Lance Bouma’s skate, and Ottawa rallied for a victory over and Anaheim took a 2-0 lead in their first- Boston. The Senators rallied from a 3-1 round playoff series. deficit with a two-goal third period to force Getzlaf’s attempted pass across the high overtime. The Eastern Conference series is slot banked off Bouma’s foot and somehow tied 1-1 and Game 3 is Monday night in arched through the air and past Calgary’s Boston. Clarke MacArthur, Chris Wideman Brian Elliott for the Anaheim captain’s sec- HONG KONG: Britain’s Elinor Barker celebrates winning gold in the Women’s Points Race Final on the fifth day of the 2017 Track yclingC World and Derick Brassard also scored for the ond goal of the series. Jakob Silfverberg Championships in Hong Kong yesterday. — AFP Senators and Craig Anderson made 26 and Rickard Rakell scored first-period goals saves. Drew Stafford, Tim Schaller and and John Gibson made 35 saves in the Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins. Ducks’ 29th consecutive victory over the CYCLING Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots. Flames at Honda Center since April 25, The Senators started the overtime with 2006, extending the longest such streak in the man advantage as the Bruins took a NHL history. Mikael Backlund scored a delay of game penalty with 12.5 seconds short-handed goal and Sean Monahan had Golden Barker hails remaining in regulation. Trailing 3-1 to start a power-play goal for the Flames. Game 3 is the third, the Senators scored twice in a Monday in Calgary. —AP embattled British team

HONG KONG: Elinor Barker praised the support can do it’. They gave me the space and the focus rider Tomas Babek, who shared silver after a rare she had received from her embattled British I needed.” dead heat. Thomas, who brilliantly won the four- team after she won a morale-boosting gold A leaked draft of the review reportedly event omnium on the last lap of the last race on medal at the Track Cycling World Championships described a “culture of fear and bullying” at Saturday, also crossed the line on the 200-lap yesterday. British Cycling but Barker, 22, said many people madison to clinch his second gold in two days. Barker’s victory in the points race was among had a false perception of the team. “I’ve been “It’s not easy to stand on my legs,” an exhaust- the highlights on the final day as France cele- going on Twitter and been going ‘Oh, really? Is ed Kneisky said, adding: “Everyone was motivat- brated two wins and Australia finished top of the that the case?’ ed to give everything at the end of the week. medals table. Britain’s second gold in Hong Kong Because I think if I didn’t have Twitter I would- “Today was so incredible for us-now we’ll be came as they await an independent review into n’t know about it,” she said. Barker looked like focused for the future.” allegations of sexism and bullying levelled at she would have to settle for her third silver But the championships didn’t end happily for team leadership last year. medal in Hong Kong before she pipped Hong Kong’s former Olympic bronze-medallist But Barker, an Olympic gold-medallist and Hammer, an eight-time world champion, with a Sarah Lee, who bombed out of the women’s two-time world champion in the team pursuit, strong finish. The Briton crucially picked up 20 keirin in spectacular style. Lee finished fifth in said she couldn’t have had better support in her points for gaining a lap with just four of the 100 her second-round heat but not before, in her successful bid for a maiden individual rainbow laps to go, winning the first individual world title haste to place among the leaders, she appeared jersey. “I’ve been unbelievably supported in of her career. to send South Korea’s Lee Hye-Jin crashing on order to try to win this,” she said at the Hong the last lap. German great Kristina Vogel eventu- WASHINGTON: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals and Jake Gardiner #51 and Kong Velodrome, after securing a thrilling win ‘TODAY WAS SO INCREDIBLE’ ally took gold in the keirin, picking up her ninth Martin Marincin #52 of the Toronto Maple Leafs go after the puck in overtime of over American great Sarah Hammer. France also enjoyed a late rally as they won world title and her second in Hong Kong after Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup “After the Olympics I had a meeting with their second and third gold medals through the women’s sprint. Australia were the most suc- Playoffsat Verizon Center on Saturday in Washington, DC. —AFP about four of the coaches and staff members Francois Pervis in the time trial, and Morgan cessful country, winning three gold medals and said ‘I have a new goal, I want to win the Kneisky and Benjamin Thomas in the madison. alongside Russia and France but collecting five points race at the worlds’.” Pervis won the 1km time trial by 0.334sec silvers and three bronzes for 11 podium places RUGBY “Instantly they were like ‘Yeah, we think you from compatriot Quentin Lafargue and Czech overall. — AFP Canada wins Singapore Sevens all-American final SINGAPORE: Canada beat the United States rugby’s established giants by beating 26-19 to win their maiden World Series Olympic champions Fiji 24-19 in the quarters Sevens title yesterday and cap a day of then Australia 40-7 in the semis but their slow extraordinary upsets that culminated in the start cost them dearly. Canada scored three first ever all-American final. The Canadians tries inside the first five minutes through Matt regained their composure after squandering Mullins, Harry Jones and Mike Fuailefau but a a 19-0 lead as their North American neigh- lapse in concentration let the US back in. bours levelled the final at 19-19 to score the Perry Baker, the leading tryscorer for the winning try through Lucas Hammond less series, scored a brilliant solo try to ignite the than two minutes from the end, denying the US comeback and then Stephen Tomasin US their second tournament success after dived over in the corner to cut the margin to winning at London in 2015. “We made a cou- 19-12 at halftime. ple of mistakes but the character of the team “We had more chances but we needed to came through,” Canadian coach Damian execute and we just didn’t do it.” Baker scored McGrath told AFP. again shortly after the re-start to tie the “This is huge for Canadian rugby. We’ve scores as the US seized the momentum but lost $1 million in funding, our 15s results have Canada re-settled and got the winner been poor, so this just gives us a shot in the through Hammond to seal the victory. arm. It’s a big deal for us.” For the US, it was a “It’s awesome,” Hammond told AFP. “It’s bittersweet moment. The Eagles made the pretty emotional for all of us because it’s final after losing in the semis at each of the been a long time coming. “It shows how far last three World Series tournaments but the sport has come, not just in Canada but coach Mike Friday told AFP the Americans also the States and it’s only going to get bet- lost the final because they gave Canada too ter from here.” South Africa extended their big a start. “The long and short of it is this, lead in the championship standings to 25 you can’t gift anyone 19 points and expect to points with two rounds to go despite finish- win a cup final,” Friday said. “They were always ing sixth, the first time this season they have going to get another chance and even not made the final. “We were very fortunate though we got back to 19-all, the game was to extend our lead,” South Africa coach Neil really lost by us in that first five minutes.” Powell told AFP. “If you had said to me coming Canada had never won a World Series title into Singapore that we’d extend our lead by before and earned their way into the final the another two points we’d have gladly taken it hard way, beating traditional powerhouses but we’re not happy with our performances. HONG KONG: Gold medallists Benjamin Thomas (3rd L) and Morgan Kneisky (3rd R) of France pose with silver medallists Cameron Meyer (L) and New Zealand 26-14 in the quarter-finals then We made a lot of mistakes and we were own Callum Scotson (2nd L) of Australia and bronze medallists Kenny De Ketele (2nd R) and Moreno de Pauw of Belgium on the podium after the England 17-5 in the semis. The US also upset worst enemies.” —AFP men’s madison final at the Hong Kong Velodrome during the Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong yesterday. — AFP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 SPORTS Champion Thompson enjoys fast start to season

KINGSTON: Double Olympic sprint summer, comfortably pulled away to surprise myself,” she told Reuters. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes took full Schippers. Williams shaved 27 hun- champion Elaine Thompson cruised to cross the line ahead of Jura Levy “Honestly there was no plan com- advantage, coming home in a wind- dredths of a second offer her previous a wind-assisted 10.75 seconds to win (11.19) and Olympic finalist Christania ing in, I just wanted to work on the aided personal best 10.08. Olympic best. Miguel Francis, who has the 100 metres at Jamaica’s UTECH Williams (11.30). Thompson said she first 30 metres of my race because that and world championship 400m bronze switched allegiance to Britain from Classic on Saturday. was surprised to run the time so early is kind of my weak area. So I just want- medallist Shericka Jackson clocked a Antigua, won the men’s race in 20.44 Thompson, who became the first in the season. “Actually when I heard ed to execute.” In the men’s 100m, personal best of 22.57 to win the 200, ahead of Jamaica’s Commonwealth Caribbean woman to win the Olympic the time announced I was shocked 2011 world champion Yohan Blake the second fastest time in the world Games champion Rasheed Dwyer 100m and 200m double in Rio last but as I say, each time I race I always stumbled from the starting block and behind the 22.29 run by Dafne (20.45). — Reuters

SOCCER Brown off as Celtic held in controversial finish

GLASGOW: Celtic captain Scott Brown The breakthrough in Dingwall came picked up a costly late red card when tem- from an unlikely source in the 34th minute. pers flared as the Scottish champions were Australian international Tom Rogic squared held to a 2-2 draw at Ross County yester- the ball across the edge of the box for day. Goals from Kieran Tierney and substi- Tierney who took a touch before rifling a tute Patrick Roberts, either side of a low shot into the bottom corner. Michael Gardyne effort for the hosts, had County had hardly been in the game Celtic on course for all three points in but a stunning header from Gardyne, once Dingwall. But Liam Boyce scored a contro- of Celtic, had them on level terms five min- versial last-minute penalty to make it 2-2 utes after the break. Ryan Dow delivered a before Brown saw red for a lunge on the fantastic ball from the left and Gardyne got Northern Irishman in stoppage time. The in between two Celtic defenders to meet it sending-off rules Brown out of next week’s near the penalty spot and bullet a header Scottish Cup semi-final with fierce rivals over Craig Gordon and into the net off the Rangers as the Hoops chase down a underside of the bar. However, a moment domestic treble. “It’s a very disappointing of magic from substitute Roberts saw the end to a game we dominated throughout,” Hoops regain the lead in the 78th minute. fumed Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. The on-loan Manchester City winger “We had good control and then the played the ball through the legs of Kenny points are taken from us by a horrendous van der Weg to cut into the box, then sent a decision. I’ve seen some bad decisions up low shot through the legs of Marcus Fraser here but that’s one of the worst.” Despite and under Scott Fox to beat the goalkeeper being denied the victory, the result main- at his near post. But there was controversy tains Celtic’s unbeaten record in domestic when Dutchman Alex Schalk threw himself competition this season, while County are to the floor in the box, with no contact eighth, three points clear of the relegation from the nearby Erik Sviatchenko, and ref- play-off place with five games left. “It’s not eree Don Robertson pointed to the spot. a penalty and I can fully understand Celtic’s Boyce sent Gordon the wrong way from anger and disappointment,” admitted the spot and Brown then let his anger at County boss Jim McIntyre. “I thought we the decision get the better of him as he were better in the second half and we’ve chopped down Boyce to earn himself a picked up a great point.” sending-off. — AFP

ATHLETICS

Ethiopia’s Hayle targets CLEVELAND: Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) drives around Indiana Pacers’ Thaddeus Young (21) in the second half in Game 1 of a first- Boston Marathon repeat round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 109-108. — AP BASKETBALL NEW YORK: Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu Hayle and Abdi Abdirahman. and Atsede Baysa face daunting challenges Rupp earned Olympic bronze in Rio last today as they seek repeat titles in the year in just his second career marathon. Cavs escape Pacers, Spurs put Boston Marathon. Baysa, who won last year in 2:29:19, will Hayle, defending the men’s crown he face a field that includes three women who won last year in a time of 2hr 12min 45sec, have run under 2:20 in Gladys Cherono, will have to contend with eight other men Edna Kiplagat and fellow Ethiopian boot to Grizzlies in openers who hold lifetime bests under 2:07. Buzunesh Deba, who set the Boston course That incudes the Kenyan duo of record when she won in 2014. Baysa won Emmanuel Mutai, who owns a personal in dramatic fashion 12 months ago, coming LOS ANGELES: The NBA champion Cleveland The Raptors’ first-game woes continued as at Staples Center. Jazz star centre Rudy best of 2:03:13, and Sammy Kitwara. from behind to overtake the leaders in the Cavaliers escaped with a 109-108 victory over they fell to 0-9 in openers of first round play- Gobert went down clutching his left knee less The Kenyan challenge also includes final five kilometers. Two of those she the Indiana Pacers on Saturday in the opening off series. They are a dismal 1-10 overall in than 20 seconds into the contest after bump- three-time Amsterdam champion Wilson passed will start on Monday: Valentine game of the 2017 playoffs. Indiana’s C.J. Miles game ones. ing knees with Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Chebet, 2012 Boston winner Wesley Korir, Kipketer, who finished fifth last year, and missed a wide-open jump shot at the buzzer Moute. Gobert, who had to be helped off the and Geoffrey Kirui, who was third in Joyce Chepkirui, who finished third. after the Cavaliers, as they often did in the JOHNSON STRIKES FINAL BLOW court and carried into the locker room, is Rotterdam last year. Three fellow Caroline Rotich, the 2015 Boston winner, waning stages of the regular-season, let the In Los Angeles, Joe Johnson hit the clutch expected to undergo a magnetic resonance Ethiopians will also challenge Hayle as he is also in the field, while home hopes rest game get complicated toward the end. “It winner as time expired, lifting the Utah Jazz to imaging (MRI) scan Saturday night to deter- bids to become the first men’s repeat win- with Desiree Linden, who finished seventh doesn’t matter how you get a win in the play- a 97-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers mine the severity of the injury.—AFP ner since 2008, when Robert Kipkoech in the Rio Olympic marathon last year. offs. We’re one-up,” said Cavs superstar LeBron Cheruiyot of Kenya completed a treble. The race will be the fourth Boston James, who led all scorers with 32 points and Yemane Tsegay was third in Boston last Marathon contested since two pressure- also handed out 13 assists and pulled down year behind Hayle and compatriot Lelila cooker bombs planted near the finish line six rebounds. Desisa, who is absent this time around. of the race killed three people and injured Dino Sefir won last year in Barcelona 264 others in 2013. Elsewhere on Saturday, Kawhi Leonard and Ottawa and Sisay Lemma has the 2015 Two brothers of Chechen descent, equalled his career playoff high with 32 points Frankfurt title on his resume. Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev were as the San Antonio Spurs seized control in the The United States have high hopes of a tracked down by authorities. Tamerlan was third quarter en route to a 111-82 victory over home runner on the podium with a strong killed trying to escape capture while the Memphis Grizzlies in game one of their contingent led by Galen Rupp and featur- Dzokhar was apprehended and convicted first-round Western Conference series. James ing 2014 Boston champion Meb Keflezighi of the attack. —AFP has now won 18 playoff openers, but he and the Cavs cut it close in this one. James missed a three-pointer with 20 seconds left and the Pacers had the ball coming out of a timeout. Miles got loose, but his effort bounced off the rim. Pacers star Paul George finished with 29 points. His three-pointer with four seconds left had cut the Cavs’ lead to one point, set- ting the stage for Miles’s attempt at a game- winner. George complained after the game that he should have been the one to attempt the game winner. “Situations like that, I gotta get the last shot,” George said. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and Kevin Love added 17, 15 of them in the first half for Cleveland, who led by 12 points late in the third quarter and were up by 10 with 9:04 remaining before the Pacers rallied. Jeff Teague’s three-pointer with 3:31 to play put the Pacers up by two-after six straight empty possessions for the Cavs. But James immediately responded with a driving dunk and the Pacers wouldn’t get ahead again. In San Antonio, the Spurs led 74-64 with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter but closed the quarter on a 10-0 run. The Spurs added the first nine points of the fourth quarter to compile 93-64 lead. Leonard seized control in the third quarter, pumping in 15 points-the same amount as the entire Memphis team-before sitting out the fourth with the game already in hand. DAKAR: (From L) Second placed Naomi Tuei, third placed Kenyan Jacqueline Nyetipei The Spurs are making their 20th straight and first placed Kenyan Zeddy Limo compete during the Dakar Marathon, yesterday, in Dakar. — AFP post-season appearance, tied for third all- time. Game two of the best-of-seven series is Monday in San Antonio. In Toronto, Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied Bastia fans attack players 28 points and eight rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks manhandled the Toronto Raptors 97-83 to open their Eastern BASTIA: Dozens of Bastia fans invaded the a few minutes there was chaos and scuffles pitch at their Armand Cesari stadium and until the playing surface was cleared. Conference series. attacked Lyon players as they warmed up Visiting Lyon initially refused to leave the Malcolm Brogdon delivered 16 points for for a French Ligue 1 game yesterday. Lyon changing rooms again, but eventually did the Bucks, Greg Monroe finished with 14 players fled to the dressing rooms and the so to warm up for a second time and the points and 15 rebounds, Tony Snell and 1500 GMT kick-off between the two sides game kicked off soon after with stewards Matthew Dellavedova added 11 points each was consequently delayed by more than 50 lined up on the edge of the pitch. Bastia for the Bucks. minutes. Lyon’s players were finishing their were bottom of Ligue 1 going into DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 27 pre-game warm-up when about 50 Bastia Sunday’s match against a Lyon side who points and grabbed nine rebounds, Serge fans targeted them, an AFP reporter at the are in the European places. It is the second Ibaka added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, below, shoots as Utah Jazz for- scene said. Stewards and Lyon security staff time in a week that Lyon have been caught Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and nine ward Derrick Favors defends during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round rushed onto the pitch to intervene and for up in football violence. rebounds. playoff series, Saturday, in Los Angeles. The Jazz won 97-95. — AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 SPORTS

PREVIEW Wenger confident Arsenal ready for Boro battle LONDON: Arsene Wenger has insisted Premier League title. Theo Walcott’s around. “When things don’t go your allowed to hold the north London club against his parent club, but midfielder his Arsenal players have the character admission after that loss at Selhurst way you are tested on the mental front to ransom. “Some people tell me ‘just Gaston Ramirez is available after an to halt a run of four successive away Park that Palace “wanted it more” more than on technical quality,” he said. give him what he wants’, but then you ankle problem, and full-back George defeats when they visit Middlesbrough reflected badly on a group of players “Our test at the moment is there-can we cannot respect anymore any wage Friend is set to make his first appear- as they look to revive their bid to finish who have lost their way and strength- be united and not divided? structure and you put the club in trou- ance for six weeks after recovering from in the Premier League’s top four. ened the belief of all those who believe “Top level sport is about character. I ble as well,” said the Arsenal manager. an calf injury. Wenger’s team could be at 10 points veteran French manager Wenger should can find you hundreds of players with Meanwhile Steve Agnew said sec- Boro have taken six points from the off a place among the leading quartet leave Arsenal when his contract expires technical ability at the same level as our ond-bottom Middlesbrough could yet last 42 to put them in grave danger of an by the time they kick-off at strugglers art the end of the season. players, “What makes the results is the avoid relegation, despite not having immediate return to the Championship, Middlesbrough today. But whatever Jack Wilshere, the Arsenal midfielder character. These players are at this level won in the Premier League for four but Agnew feels his side can earn a the outcome of that match, Arsenal currently on a season-long loan to because they have the character.” months, a run spanning 14 games. much needed victory, with Arsenal con- know they need a dramatic improve- Bournemouth, offered his view that the The top flight’s lowest scorers with ceding three goals in each of their last ment if they are to qualify for the players must take their share of respon- ARSENAL BANK 22 goals still have to face Chelsea, four consecutive away league defeats. Champions League for a 21st successive sibility for the club’s current problems. The manager has remained tight- Liverpool and Manchester City in the He added: “It’s massive to have George season. “Sometimes a manager can only do lipped about his future although he did remaining six games after hosting the back, he brings great energy and ability The dismal 3-0 defeat at Crystal so much, as in prepare a team and then comment on speculation Alexis Gunners, and the caretaker manager to the side. He’s a solid performer and an Palace last time out highlighted how far the team have to go out there and per- Sanchez could be offered a new said: “We’re still confident we can stay infectious character around the dressing the team has fallen since the period form,” Wilshere told Sky Sports. But £300,000 ($375,630; 353,958 euros) per up, we will keep believing we can get room who we have certainly missed so before Christmas when they were despite the recent setbacks, Wenger has week contract to remain at Arsenal by out of the bottom three.” Arsenal loan his return helps us go into the game in viewed as genuine challengers for the backed his players to turn the situation insisting the Chile forward would not be defender Calum Chambers is ineligible positive mood.” — AFP

Spanish La Liga Table

Spanish La Liga table after yesterday’s early matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

Real Madrid 31 23 6 2 82 33 75 Valencia 32 11 7 14 47 54 40 Barcelona 32 22 6 4 91 30 72 Alaves 31 10 10 11 29 38 40 Atletico Madrid 32 19 8 5 59 24 65 Las Palmas 32 10 8 14 51 57 38 Sevilla 32 18 8 6 56 39 62 Malaga 32 8 9 15 36 49 33 Villarreal 31 15 9 7 45 24 54 Real Betis 31 8 7 16 33 51 31 Athletic Bilbao 32 16 5 11 45 37 53 Deportivo La Coruna32 7 10 15 35 50 31 Real Sociedad 32 16 4 12 48 45 52 Leganes 32 6 9 17 26 49 27 Eibar 31 14 8 9 52 42 50 Sporting Gijon 32 5 7 20 34 64 22 Espanyol 32 13 10 9 44 42 49 Granada 31 4 8 19 27 65 20 Celta Vigo 30 12 5 13 45 51 41 Osasuna 32 3 8 21 32 73 17 Messi keeps Barca alive ahead of El Clasico

MADRID: Lionel Messi kept Barcelona’s The Spanish international is yet to agree title hopes alive with two goals and an a new contract with his current deal expir- assist to see off Real Sociedad 3-2 as Spain’s ing at the end of next season. top two edged five-goal thrillers ahead of And Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane next weekend’s El Clasico. Earlier on insists he wants Isco to stay despite his lack Saturday, Isco struck at the death to keep of starts and interest from Barcelona. Real Madrid three points clear and with a “You know what I think of Isco, he is a game in hand at the top of the table after player I like a lot and his place is here.” twice coming from behind to beat Sporting Isco’s late intervention bailed out his VALENCIA: Sevilla’s Italian midfielder Franco vazquez (L) vies with Valencia’s Argentinian defender Ezequiel Garay during the Spanish league Gijon 3-2. coach after Zidane made nine changes football match Valencia CF vs Sevilla FC at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia yesterday. — AFP Barcelona will need Messi on this form if from the side that beat Bayern Munich in they are to produce another miracle the first leg of their Champions League Champions League fightback against quarter-final in midweek. SOCCER Juventus on Wednesday from a 3-0 first leg Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema defeat suffered in midweek. were left out of the squad entirely along- “I am more than happy with the per- side the injured Gareth Bale, while Toni Sevilla stumbles again formance of the players and their ability to Kroos, Luka Modric and Marcelo had to set- manage the frustration after what we expe- tle for a place on the bench. rienced in the Champions League this “I feel like I am unfair with those that week,” Barca boss Luis Enrique told Spanish don’t play,” added Zidane. “There are 24 with 0-0 draw at Valencia TV station Movistar. The Argentine is now players that can play in all positions. It is just two off his 500th Barca goal as he the difficult part of this job.” smashed home an effort from 25 yards to Atletico Madrid warmed up for the sec- BARCELONA: Sevilla drew 0-0 at Valencia yester- linked to the newly vacated job in charge of the Salvador “Voro” Gonzalez. open the scoring. ond leg of their Champions League quar- day as it continues to fade in its bid for an automat- Argentine national team. The closest Sevilla went The top three finishers in la Liga go directly to Messi then took his tally to 45 goals in ter-final against Leicester City with a com- ic Champions League berth. to scoring at Mestalla Stadium was when substitute the next season’s Champions League, while the 44 games this season with a far less spec- fortable 3-0 win over rock bottom Osasuna Sevilla was mounting an outside challenge for Stevan Jovetic hit the post in the 17th minute, fourth-placed team faces a playoff to join the tacular finish as he bundled home from despite missing two penalties in the same the Spanish title through the first seven months of shortly after he replaced injured Victor “Vitolo” group phase close range after Geronimo Rulli had saved game for the second time this season. the season, but its goal now is just to secure a place Machin. from Luis Suarez. Coach Diego Simeone also left out a in Europe’s top competition for next season. Valencia likewise mustered very little beyond a LEGANES 0, ESPANYOL 1 However, Barca passed up the chance to number of his first-team regulars with top The draw meant fourth-placed Sevilla fell three header by Munir El Haddadi that Sevilla back Substitute Leo Baptistao scored a stoppage- enjoy a comfortable evening in a three- scorer Antoine Griezmann on the bench for points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid, which Mariano cleared from his goal line before half an time goal to keep Espanyol in the running for a goal spell in as many minutes just before the full 90 minutes. Yannick Carrasco’s low beat Osasuna 3-0 on Saturday. Sevilla has only one hour was up. Nani returned to the pitch for Europa League berth. The Brazilian forward half-time. Firstly, Samuel Umtiti turned strike and back-post header put Atletico win in its last seven league matches, a slump that Valencia as a late substitute in his first match since returned in the last round after a heel injury had Inigo Martinez’s driven effort into his own comfortably ahead either side of half-time. overlapped with its elimination by Leicester from recovering from a muscle injury that had sidelined sidelined him for four months. Baptistao scored the net. Paco Alcacer, deputising for the sus- Left-back Filipe Luis then added his third the Champions League Round of 16. him for almost two months. winner by starting a counterattack with Gerard pended Neymar, briefly restored Barca’s goal in five games. However, Atletico’s The decline has also coincided with rumors The draw ended Valencia’s streak of three con- Moreno before chipping Leganes goalkeeper Iago two-goal lead with a composed finish from problems from the spot continued as they regarding the future of coach Jorge Sampaoli, who secutive victories, but extended its unbeaten run at Herrerin. Leganes was left clinging to the last spot Messi’s pass. Yet, Sociedad scored again have now failed to score any of their last six tried to quash speculation this week that he was home to seven matches under caretaker coach above the relegation zone. — AP almost straight from kick-off as Xabi Prieto penalties in La Liga. Carrasco was denied cushioned William Jose’s cross into the bot- his hat-trick by a fine save from Salvatore tom corner. Sirigu before the Italian ‘keeper made an even better stop to deny Thomas Partey FIRST LEAGUE TITLE seconds later. Relief for Man City goalscorer Madrid can all but secure a first league Victory takes Atletico four points clear of title in five years with victory when they Sevilla in third.—AFP host Barca next weekend. Kompany after injury nightmare But not for the first time this season they needed a late show after Duje Cop and Matches on TV told the BBC. “Finally, in recent games he has is a real, real central defender.” After a run of four Mikel Vesga put Sporting in front early in played he has delivered performances and hope- league games without a win City have registered both halves. Isco’s fine individual effort and (Local Timings) Southampton 0 fully he can stay fit. I want him fit enough to play back-to-back league victories and face Arsenal in a towering header from Alvaro Morata every week-he has suffered for long periods but he the FA Cup semi-final next week. — Reuters ensured neither lead lasted more than a ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE few minutes. And Isco sealed the come- Middlesbrough v Arsenal 22:00 back when he drilled home from the edge Man City 3 EPL results/standings of the box. beIN SPORTS HD 2 “This is the spirit of Real Madrid,” said Manchester United 2, Chelsea 0; West Bromwich Albion 0, Liverpool 1; Crystal Palace 2, Leicester City 2; Everton 3, Isco. “It is in the DNA of this shirt and this SPANISH LEAGUE Burnley 1; Southampton 0, Manchester City 3; Stoke City 3, Hull City 1; Sunderland 2, West Ham United 2; Tottenham LONDON: Vincent Kompany’s first Premier League badge, we have shown it so many times Hotspur 4, Bournemouth 0; Watford 1, Swansea City 0. Deportivo v Villarreal 21:45 goal for 20 months prompted an outpouring of and again today. Until the referee blows beIN SPORTS relief and frustration after two injury-ravaged sea- PW D L FAPts Stoke City 33 10 9 14 37 48 39 the full-time whistle it is not over.” sons for the Manchester City defender. The 31- Chelsea 32 24 3 5 65 27 75 Leicester City 32 10 7 15 41 53 37 Tottenham Hotspur 32 21 8 3 68 22 71 year-old’s 55th-minute header in a 3-0 victory at West Ham United 33 10 7 16 44 59 37 Liverpool 33 19 9 5 69 40 66 Burnley 33 10 6 17 33 47 36 Southampton, in front of adoring City fans, sparked Manchester City 32 19 7 6 63 35 64 Crystal Palace 32 10 5 17 44 52 35 an emotional celebration from Kompany, who has Manchester United 31 16 12 3 48 24 60 Bournemouth 33 9 8 16 45 63 35 started just 21 of City’s last 102 games. Everton 3316 9 8603757 “For me it’s always a long journey back,” Arsenal 30 16 6 8 61 39 54 Hull City 33 8 6 19 34 67 30 Kompany told BT Sport. “I would’ve liked to be West Bromwich Albion 33 12 8 13 39 42 44 Swansea City 33 8 4 21 37 68 28 injured less in my career but every single time I’ve Southampton 31 11 7 13 37 40 40 Middlesbrough 31 4 12 15 22 37 24 put in the hard work (to get back). Watford 32 11 7 14 37 52 40 Sunderland 32 5 6 21 26 58 21 “When this happens I feel I’m giving something back to the fans. I’m finally giving something back to the team and that’s what you see in that moment... “It’s ups and downs in football, but ultimately what gets you up is you keep looking towards your objective. If I had to work 15 years to have just one moment like this I would do. “I scored in front of the away fans and for me it was a great feeling. I feel like I want to give so much but I am restrained at times, but I keep positive and keep going no matter what.” Kompany will have garnered many headlines for his goal but it was his calming, impe- rious and faultless defensive display that will have been most pleasing for City manager Pep Guardiola. Despite spending heavily in recent sea- sons, City’s title aspirations have been hampered by an inability to build a consistent, reliable central defensive partnership in Kompany’s absence. John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have arrived and, though each has shown glimpses of their undoubted quality, both are susceptible to the BARCELONA: FC Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, left, duels for the ball against Real kind of mistake that was so rare from City when Sociedad’s goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, center, during the Spanish La Liga soccer Kompany was at the peak of his powers. “Every SOUTHAMPTON: Manchester City’s Yaya Toure, left, and Southampton’s Dusan Tadic battle for match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in manager Vincent Kompany has played under the ball during the English Premier League soccer match at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, Barcelona, Spain, Saturday. — AP knows what an important player he is,” Guardiola England, Saturday. — AP Vettel holds off Golden Barker late Hamilton charge hails embattled to win Bahrain GP British team

MONDAY, APRIL 17,16 2017 17 Sevilla stumbles again with 0-0 draw at Valencia Page 19

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo (L) vies with Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, yesterday.— AFP Man United beat Chelsea to open up EPL title race

them only four points ahead of Tottenham with ification intriguingly poised. United moved up to and Pedro, respectively. And United center the first half, and they did so again after he made six games left. fifth place, four points behind fourth-placed backs Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly succeeded in it 2-0 with a shot that clipped off the heel of Kurt Man Utd 2 Marcus Rashford - Ibrahimovic’s replacement Manchester City with a game in hand, and is six riling the combustible Diego Costa, who was Zouma and span beyond an unsighted Begovic. up front - ran onto Herrera’s through-ball to points behind third-placed Liverpool having booked in the first half and played on the edge Chelsea produced possibly its sloppiest dis- give United a seventh-minute lead. A constant played two fewer games. throughout. play of the past seven months, with the leaders menace for Chelsea’s defense all game, United had conceded five goals and failed to As good a tactical masterclass as it was from not helped by left wing-back Marcos Alonso Chelsea 0 Rashford ensured Ibrahimovic wasn’t missed at score in its two losses to Chelsea this season - Mourinho, there was a touch of fortune about pulling out of the match during the warm-up to Old Trafford. one in the league and one in the FA Cup - but both goals. In the build-up to Rashford’s goal, be replaced by a center back in Zouma. That suc- Herrera shadowed Hazard in a tactical plan by Mourinho got his tactics spot on against his for- Herrera blocked with his hand a pass from ceeded in unbalancing the team. MANCHESTER: Ander Herrera scored one goal, United manager Jose Mourinho that limited the mer team this time. Nemanja Matic but the infringement wasn’t Chelsea is still the favorite for the title, with set up another and executed the perfect man- effectiveness of Chelsea’s main attacking threat. Rashford excelled, stretching Chelsea’s center picked up. The United midfield anchorman ran the only obvious stumbling block in its run-in marking job on Eden Hazard to set up On a rare occasion he left Hazard’s side, Herrera backs with the kind of movement and pace that forward and split the defense with his through- being a trip to Everton on April 30. Its last four Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Chelsea that popped up in Chelsea’s area in the 49th minute Ibrahimovic would not be able to offer. Winger ball to Rashford, who got in behind David Luiz games are against Middlesbrough, West opened up the Premier League title race yester- to smash a deflected shot high into the net from Jesse Lingard was played out of position in and bobbled a finish past Asmir Begovic - start- Bromwich Albion, Watford and Sunderland. day. United didn’t even need rested top scorer 18 meters. attack and added more mobility alongside ing in place of the injured Thibaut Courtois. Tottenham doesn’t look like letting up, Zlatan Ibrahimovic to consign the leaders to The result didn’t just blow open the title race, Rashford. Herrera and Matteo Darmian did bril- Fans in the Stretford End chanted Herrera’s though, after winning its last seven games and their fifth league loss of the season, which left it also left the battle for Champions League qual- liant stifling jobs in man-marking Eden Hazard name as he frustrated Hazard time and again in scoring 22 goals in the process.—AP Firmino lifts Liverpool back to third place

but the Wales forward could not react quickly STUBBORN enough to turn it home. Chris Brunt was penalised for a foul on Divock West Brom 0 Liverpool began to dominate possession but Origi, and from James Milner’s free-kick the visitors Phillips tried his luck again with an ambitious effort took the lead. It was flicked on by Lucas to Firmino, from distance that went high and wide. However, who nodded home after reacting quicker than Liverpool should have led on 15 minutes when Craig Dawson. Origi could have doubled the visi- Liverpool 1 they pounced on a hesitation from Claudio Yacob tors’ lead early in the second half when he cut in in the West Brom midfield, stole possession and from the left and curled a right-footed shot just broke with pace. beyond the far post. WEST BROMWICH: Roberto Firmino fired Lucas fed Philippe Coutinho, who burst into the Milner should have scored moments later when Liverpool to a 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion area and hit a cross-shot that flew narrowly wide of he arrived late to meet a cross by Firmino, only to yesterday that moved Jurgen Klopp’s men back Ben Foster’s goal. side-foot a volley over the crossbar. West Brom into third place in the Premier League. Firmino set- West Brom then missed a glorious chance from introduced three substitutes in an effort to change tled a scrappy game with a close-range header in a well-worked free-kick that saw Phillips volley a the pattern of the game but they were met with first half stoppage-time to condemn Albion boss cross towards Nacer Chadli at the far post. The stubborn resistance from the visitors. In fact they Tony Pulis to his first ever home league defeat Belgian was distracted by the slightest of touches almost fell further behind when a Coutinho free- against the Reds. by Emre Can, but Chadli should still have gobbled kick took a double deflection on its way for a The Brazilian converted a flick-on from Lucas up the chance. Liverpool corner. A rare chance for Pulis’s side Leiva to seal a fifth win in their last seven games for Instead he missed his kick and Liverpool almost came with 12 minutes remaining as Jake Livermore Liverpool. broke away and scored. Firmino crossed for dragged a shot well wide of Mignolet’s goal. But They are unbeaten since losing at Leicester in Coutinho, who sent a difficult shot wide at the far- two minutes later they should have been level after late February and now lead fourth-placed post. Coutinho then tried another long-range shot Liverpool gifted possession to Salomon Rondon, Manchester City by two points, although Pep but it never troubled Foster. who moved towards goal before feeding Phillips. Guardiola’s team have a game in hand in the race And Liverpool’s defensive vulnerability was The winger connected well with his shot but it was for an automatic spot in the Champions League exposed again when Robson-Kanu raced onto a smothered low down by Mignolet. Liverpool sub- group stage. simple ball over the top but he snatched at his shot stitute Alberto Moreno angered Klopp in stop- WEST BROMWICH: West Bromwich Albion’s English goalkeeper Jack Rose (L) chases back West Brom had the first opening when and Simon Mignolet made a comfortable save. page-time when, with Foster forward for a corner, to tackle Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (R) after going up to attack a Liverpool failed to clear their lines and Matt Phillips After struggling to break down West Brom’s he led a Liverpool counter-attack but opted to corner kick in the dying minutes of the English Premier League football match between picked up possession on the edge of the area. He resistance, Liverpool went ahead through a set- shoot from distance at an open goal and missed, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool at The Hawthorns stadium in West Bromwich,cen- struck a shot that deflected to Hal Robson-Kanu piece on the stroke of half-time. with team-mates screaming for a pass. —AFP tral England, yesterday. —AFP Why should you add gold to your investment portfolio Page 22 Markets digest another Business Trump volte-face MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 Page 25 Al-Mazaya Holding, Boubyan Bank sign Amazon, Flipkart battle for e-commerce’s ‘last frontier’ in India partnership deal Page 27 26 NBK reports net profits of KD 85.4m for Q1 2017 Net profit growth of 8.1% year-on-year

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait nomic activity similar to regional to fully support Boubyan to incre- During 2016, NBK increased its (NBK) reported net profits of KD 85.4 economies due to the large drop in oil ment and strengthen market posi- capital base through a 6.5 percent Highlights million ($280.1 million) for the first prices. The need for infrastructure tion while preserving the independ- rights issue. The issuance is in line quarter of 2017 compared with KD projects led to accelerated capital ence of both banks.” with the bank’s plans to maintain l Al-Sayer: NBK continued delivering solid per- 78.9 million ($259.0 million) for the spending activity and strong macro- Al-Sager also added that our non- healthy capitalization ratios following formance reflecting its strong financial position same period in 2016. Net operating economic outlook backed by ample Kuwait business delivered solid and the implementation of Basel III and income grew at 9.0 percent year on buffers and liquidity in the system sound financial performance and the regulations of the Central Bank of and successful strategy year to reach KD 195.4 million which filtered down directly to creat- increased its contribution to NBK Kuwait (CBK) in this regards. Also, this ($641.1 million). ing business opportunities for banks.” Group’s total profits. Our increase will allow the bank to con- Total assets as of end of March International asset push was focused tinue capturing growth opportuni- l Q1 2017 solid results are primarily driven by 2017 reached KD 24.8 billion ($81.4 Competitive advantage on profitable and stable markets with ties, especially in Kuwait as the gov- billion) up 0.6 percent compared to Isam Al-Sager, NBK’s Group Chief most of our operations creating ernment’s capital spending plan core banking activity and strong business vol- end of March 2016, while total share- Executive Officer said, “A competitive added value to the Group. remains intact and as NBK continues ume trends holders’ equity increased by 6.8 per- advantage that NBK embraces is hav- Contribution from outside Kuwait to be the market leader in the project cent to KD 2.8 billion ($9.3 billion). finance segment. Customer loans and advances As of end-March 2017, NBK’s capi- l The impact of lower oil prices on the Kuwaiti reached KD 14.0 billion ($46.1 billion) tal adequacy ratio (CAR) reached 17.8 as of end of March 2017, growing at percent comfortably exceeding regu- economy has been limited compared to peers in 3.6 percent year-on-year, while cus- latory requirements. NBK continues to the region tomer deposits grew by 7.2 percent enjoy collectively one of the highest for the same period to reach KD 13.2 ratings among all banks in the Middle billion ($43.2 billion). East from the three international rat- l Al-Sager: NBK continues to seek selective oppor- NBK asset quality remained excep- ing agencies Moody’s, Fitch Ratings tionally strong with NPLs/Gross loans and Standard and Poor’s. The Bank’s tunities in all the markets where it operates, in at 1.27 percent as of end of March ratings are supported by its high capi- line with the Bank’s diversification strategy 2017 compared to 1.32 percent a year talization, prudent lending policies, ago, and NPL coverage increasing to and its disciplined approach to risk 348 percent from 335 percent in management, in addition to its highly l Total assets grew by 0.6% YoY to KD 24.8 bil- March 2016. recognized and very stable manage- Nasser Al-Sayer, NBK’s Chairman, ment team. NBK was also named lion and shareholders’ equity by 6.8% to KD said “NBK’s first quarter profits reflects Nasser Musaed Al-Sayer Isam Al-Sager among Global Finance’s list of the 50 2.8 billion the continuation of the improving safest banks in the world for the operating environment along with ing access to conventional banking reached 28.4 percent of total Group eleventh consecutive time and was NBK’s strong financial position, con- in addition to Islamic banking in profits in 1Q 2017 affirming the awarded as the Best Bank in Kuwait in l Customer loans and advances reached KD 14.0 servative management and clear mar- Kuwait since turning Boubyan bank Banks’ successful strategy of regional 2016 by the Banker, Euromoney and ket dominance.” into a fully consolidated subsidiary of and international diversification. Global Finance. billion , up 3.6% YoY and customer deposits Al-Sayer affirmed that the strong NBK Group in 2012 with a 58.4 per- “We continue to see selective NBK enjoys the widest banking reached KD 13.2 billion, up 7.2% YoY set of results in 1Q 2017 are driven cent ownership. Boubyan Bank is a opportunities in some of the markets presence with a local and internation- mainly by operating and fundamental key element of the Group’s strategy we operate in and continue to al network reaching 4 continents. banking revenue, confirming the going forward as we focus on diversi- strengthen our position in those mar- NBK’s international presence spans l Bank’s strong position to seize growth fying income sources and expanding kets focusing on promising growth many of the world’s leading financial NPLs/Gross loans at 1.27% and coverage ratio opportunities locally and regionally. market share. Boubyan Bank will opportunities to achieve complemen- centers including New York, Europe, at 348% Al-Sayer also added that “Kuwait has continue to focus on implementing tarity and integration across interna- GCC, Middle East, Singapore as well as not suffered from a slowdown in eco- NBK’s culture whereas NBK commits tional operations” Al-Sager added. China (Shanghai). MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 BUSINESS

Why should you add gold to your investment portfolio By Dr Wafaa Sbeiti Here are some reasons, why gold is an attractive interest rate policies of any government and has been Gold is stored energy asset. First of all, we know that gold is rare. If you traditionally used as a hedge against inflation. So Gold is really valued by the amount of energy nvestment demand took all the gold in the world today and put it moving to gold make you take advantage of the that is put into finding, the mining and refining of it. for gold is expanding together, that cube would have 65-foot size and fit potential inflation that may occur as a result. It is concentrated labor and energy. Given that we Iworldwide, according under the Eiffel tower. Today, there’s an estimated “Gold is money. Everything else is credit” is the are coming close to the end of an era of relative to statistics from both 171,000 to 180,000 tons of gold that’s ever been well-known statement by J.P. Morgan who was one peace and abundantly cheap energy, it obviously World Gold Council and mined. The world’s biggest gold holder is the US, of the most powerful bankers in the world. Gold is makes sense to own some gold knowing that IMF data. Total world with 8,000 tons, more than four times as much as the purest form of money because everything else is resources are declining and life will get more expen- gold holdings in 2015 China’s 1,800 tons, more than five times Russia’s credit. Literally, everything else you are taught to sive and more dangerous. increased by 702.5 tons, 1,500 tons followed by Germany with 3,400 tons, invest in is simply a paper asset with counter party compared with 176.7 Italy with 2,452 tons and France with 2,436 tons. risks. Stocks, bonds, derivatives and insurance poli- Gold cannot be printed tons in 2014, reaching cies and other paper assets, all at someone else’s The finding, mining and refining of gold is an incredibly difficult process. The bankers can create 32,733 tons in Universally accepted promises to pay. billions of dollars out of thin air to pay off their bud- December, their highest Gold is universally accepted as money. You can The dollar and all other currencies in the world dies but they cannot do that with gold. level since 2002. As stat- sell a bar of gold anywhere in the world, in the are debt-based currencies that only come into exis- ed, much of the increase is due to China’s upgrade cov- United States, in Japan, Australia or Europe. Gold is tence when debt is created. The real scary thing is Gold can be hidden. erage of its gold standard. Between January and April universally recognized as real wealth. You can trade that if all of the money in the world comes into exis- Unlike all your paper assets, gold can be hidden 2016, China bought monthly around 11 tons of gold. gold without worrying about counter party risks. tence like this where then do we get the money to for centuries if necessary. Having an ounce of gold in Buying in 2016 was led by Russia, China and You can go to any civilization around the world with pay the interest? It is a generational debt based, your hand is a very powerful way of taking back your Kazakhstan. Together they accounted for around 80 a few ounces of gold and not even knowing the lan- Ponzi scheme. sovereignty. More importantly it can be used to cre- percent of the full year purchases (383.6 tons). guage you would be able to buy everything you The only way this system functions is that more ate generational wealth. Gold investments are The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions need. You cannot say that about any of the paper debt must be created every year in excess of the extremely portable liquid and easy to store in one’s Forum’s Global Public Investor 2016 report, states that currencies or assets that people use today. debt and the interest created the year before. Every home. So, gold is something that everybody should “Gold has become increasingly attractive as an alter- generation ends up paying the debts the previous put some of their money in. If you got money in a native to reserve currencies, with the euro, yen, Swiss Gold is safe haven buying generation incurred. And obviously this can only property, some money in a bank, just put a little of franc, all weakening against the dollar while emerg- Gold is considered a safe-haven asset throughout lead to disaster as there always comes a point when your money maybe five or ten percent in gold. ing market economies have also been keen to diversi- history as it has been viewed as a store of value. It is the accumulated debt becomes so large that it Note: Dr Wafaa Sbeiti is an Associate Professor, fy away from US assets.” essentially a currency that cannot be manipulated by becomes impossible to even pay the interest. Department Chair at the American University of Kuwait

SHANGHAI: A Tesla Model S P85d car displayed at the 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai.

SHANGHAI: People walk through an auto exhibition in Nanjing, in China’s Jiangsu province. Global carmakers converge on China for the Shanghai auto show this week with the industry bracing for a sharp sales slowdown and potential price war as competition stiffens in the world’s biggest car market. —AFP Photos Global carmakers converge on China as slowdown looms Shanghai international auto show NANJING: People walk through an auto exhibition in Nanjing, in China’s Jiangsu SHANGHAI: Global carmakers converge on China is still El Dorado for carmakers. Last year’s utility vehicles and “new energy” cars. Chinese province. China for the Shanghai auto show this week, sales set a 26th straight annual high-water mark, drivers have latched on to both domestic and with the industry bracing for a sharp sales slow- handily beating the record 17.55 million cars foreign-made SUVs as leisure interests grow and down and potential price war as competition sold in the United States, which China zoomed rising incomes put a second family car in reach. stiffens in the world’s biggest car market. past eight years ago to become the planet’s top SUV sales are expected to surpass sedans as ear- Iran opens new South Pars Manufacturers have reaped a windfall as the market. But sales were boosted by the govern- ly as this year. fast-expanding Chinese middle class hits the ment’s halving of a 10-percent purchase tax on Electric vehicle sales have been government- gas field phases worth $20bn road, but clouds loom as Volkswagen, Toyota, small-engine cars in late 2015. That tax has been subsidized partly to help reduce China’s notori- TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani an estimated $4.8 billion (4.5 billion GM, and other top nameplates pitch their latest raised to 7.5 percent this year and will be ous air pollution, and the Chinese market is now inaugurated five new phases of the South euros) to help develop phase 11 of models starting this Wednesday at China’s restored to 10 percent in 2018, with an expected the world’s biggest and growing quickly. Pars gas field yesterday, the result of South Pars, but has since said it will wait biggest auto showcase. dampening effect on sales. China market leader Volkswagen, along some $20 billion in investment, local for signals from Washington before Passenger-vehicle sales have nearly quintu- with giants GM, Ford and a host of electric-car media reported. finalizing the deal. pled over the past decade and logged another Death by suffocation upstarts, all have plans to ramp up their China The ribbon-cutting of phases 17-21 Although many sanctions, including stellar performance in 2016, surging 14.9 per- More broadly, analysts say China’s automotive offerings. Ford will even try to sell its pave the way for Iran to surpass the pro- on Iran’s energy industry, were lifted cent to a record 24.38 million, according to the landscape is rapidly maturing as consumer American-icon pickup trucks, while expanding duction levels of neighboring Qatar, under a nuclear deal with world powers China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. tastes evolve, and success will depend on manu- its electric offerings. “We think it’s a huge which shares half the offshore gas field, in 2015, the US has maintained a raft of But volume was skewed upward in 2016 by a facturers’ capabilities in meeting those tastes. opportunity for us to continue to build the Iranian officials said. “Our production has its own sanctions that continue to ham- government purchase incentive. As China’s China now has a crowded field of mostly domes- Ford brand here in China and continue to grow reached 575 million cubic metres per per investment and cause concern decades-long economic boom loses lift, sales tic carmakers, many of which won’t survive, said our business in China,” Ford CEO Mark Fields day,” said Rouhani. Iran’s total gas produc- among foreign businesses. Since the growth will essentially be flat this year and could Johan Karlberg, a Shanghai-based partner with told Bloomberg News. tion is 885 million cubic metres per day. nuclear deal came into effect in January even shrink in 2018 for the first time in memory, global consultancy Roland Berger. Analysts say other future drivers lie in China’s “At the height of sanctions, with the help 2016, Iran has increased oil production consultancy IHS Markit said last week. “There’s just not room enough for that seemingly never-ending stock of newly-minted of Iranian engineers and workers, we suc- from 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) to In a boon for consumers, IHS Markit said many players any more. Many of the smaller middle-class consumers, particularly in popu- ceeded in developing 11 phases of South 3.9 million, while more than doubling there is already “a major price war descending ones will simply die a slow, suffocating lous and fast-growing lower-tier cities, plus the Pars,” added Oil Minister Bijan Namadar its oil exports. on the market” as manufacturers and dealers death,” Karlberg said. Major carmakers remain rapid growth in car-hailing and vehicle-sharing Zanganeh. In January, Tehran approved 29 inter- slash prices to move growing stock. bullish, but are scrambling to introduce a services. South Pars is the largest known gas national companies to bid for oil and gas “The threat now for international automakers slew of new models aimed at Chinese con- “We still have a pretty good period of growth reservoir in the world. Iran has the sec- projects. However, it is still finalizing a is that if local players begin cutting prices ... sumers during the Shanghai show, which IHS ahead in the Chinese market. It is THE strategic ond-largest gas reserves in the world new contract for foreign investors-a there will be a rampant price war across the mar- said has taken on “major importance” as the market for global carmakers,” said Marc Mechai, after Russia, and the fourth-largest oil process that has proved controversial in a ket as automakers compete to attract new car dynamics evolve. an automotive analyst with Accenture in Paris. reserves. In November, French firm country with strong memories of past buyers,” it said. Manufacturers are rushing in particular to “But now, it remains to be seen with which vehi- Total signed a preliminary accord worth exploitation by global oil firms. — AFP Such troubles must be kept in perspective: capitalize on still fast-growing demand for sport- cles, and how.” — AFP EXCHANGE RATES

Chinese Yuan Renminbi 44.740 Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Swiss Franc 307.090 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024 Australian Dollar 234.510 Thai Bhat 9.855 Japanese Yen 0.002729 0.002909 US Dollar Buying 304.350 Turkish Lira 83.330 ASIAN COUNTRIES Kenyan Shilling 0.003042 0.003042 Japanese Yen 2.812 GOLD Korean Won 0.000259 0.000274 Indian Rupees 4.751 20 Gram 262.570 BAHRAIN EXCHANGE COMPANY WLL Malaysian Ringgit 0.065600 0.071600 Pkistani Rupees 2.915 10 Gram 134.200 Nepalese Rupee 0.002958 0.003128 Srilankan Rupees 2.008 5 Gram 67.950 CURRENCY BUY SELL Pakistan Rupee 0.002727 0.003017 Nepali Rupees 2.973 Philippine Peso 0.006088 0.006388 Singapore Dollar 220.220 Europe Hongkong Dollar 39.309 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd British Pound 0.376892 0.386892 Sierra Leone 0.000068 0.000074 Bangladesh Taka 3.781 Czech Korune 0.004159 0.016159 Singapore Dollar 0.213390 0.223390 Philippine Peso 6.185 Danish Krone 0.039567 0.044567 South African Rand 0.016767 0.025267 Rate for Transfr Selling Rate Thai Baht 8.910 Euro 0. 319513 0.328513 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001639 0.002219 US Dollar 305.200 Norwegian Krone 0.031589 0.036789 Taiwan 0.009782 0.009962 GCC COUNTRIES Canadian Dolla 229.720 Romanian Leu 0.084681 0.084681 Thai Baht 0.008532 0.009082 Saudi Riyal 81.534 Sterling Pound 383.610 Slovakia 0.009153 0.019153 Qatari Riyal 83.977 Euro 325.475 Swedish Krona 0.029799 0.034799 Arab Omani Riyal 794.049 Swiss Frank 308.465 Bahraini Dinar 811.880 Swiss Franc 0.297938 0.308938 Bahraini Dinar 0.803908 0.812406 Bahrain Dinar 809.490 UAE Dirham 83.245 Turkish Lira 0.077721 0.088021 Egyptian Pound 0.014683 0.020591 UAE Dirhams 83.490 Iranian Riyal 0.000085 0.000086 ARAB COUNTRIES Qatari Riyals 84.715 Australasia Iraqi Dinar 0.000195 0.000255 Egyptian Pound - Cash 19.500 Saudi Riyals 82.280 Australian Dollar 0.223838 0.235838 Jordanian Dinar 0.425601 0.434601 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 16.845 Jordanian Dinar 430.367 New Zealand Dollar 0.208005 0.217505 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.227 Egyptian Pound 17.001 Tunisian Dinar 133.720 Lebanese Pound 0.000157 0.00257 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.009 America Jordanian Dinar 430.900 Moroccan Dirhams 0.020089 0.044089 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.037 Indian Rupees 4.738 Canadian Dollar 0.224038 0.233038 Nigerian Naira 0.001266 0.001901 Syrian Lira 2.179 Pakistani Rupees 2.910 Georgina Lari 0.138004 0.138004 Omani Riyal 0.787215 0.792895 Morocco Dirham 30.739 Bangladesh Taka 3.807 US Dollars 0.301450 0.305850 Qatar Riyal 0.083116 0.084566 Philippines Pesso 6.156 US Dollars Mint 0.301950 0.305850 Saudi Riyal 0.080393 0.081693 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Cyprus pound 168.425 Syrian Pound 0.001296 0.001516 US Dollar Transfer 305.550 Asia Japanese Yen 3.810 Tunisian Dinar 0.129147 0.137147 Euro 327.700 Bangladesh Taka 0.003425 0.004009 Syrian Pound 2.425 Turkish Lira 0.077721 0.088021 Sterling Pound 385.910 Chinese Yuan 0.042906 0.046406 Canadian dollar 231.040 Nepalese Rupees 3.960 UAE Dirhams 0.081765 0.083465 Hong Kong Dollar 0.037310 0.040060 Turkish lira 83.260 Malaysian Ringgit 70.275 Yemeni Riyal 0.000993 0.001073 Indian Rupee 0.004249 0.004937 MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 BUSINESS

Senior Chinese banking Saudi to shelve, reform billions regulator under probe of dollars of unfinished projects BEIJING: A senior official at the China His name and profile were still accessi- Banking Regulatory Commission ble on the CBRC website yesterday. Government compiling list of unfinished projects (CBRC) is under investigation for sus- Caixin reported last Friday that pected links to a loan scandal, the Yang had been relieved of his duties, RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s government is ordering indefinitely or try to improve how they are con- year. Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan financial magazine Caixin reported, citing people with knowledge of the its ministries and agencies to review billions of ducted. “Some projects could be retendered so said in February this year that the efficiency citing sources close to the matter. matter. CBRC did not respond to a dollars’ worth of unfinished infrastructure and they can be executed in partnership with the bureau had so far saved the kingdom 80 billion Yang Jiacai, assistant chairman of faxed request for comment on Friday economic development projects with a view to private sector, possibly through build-operate- riyals ($21.33 billion). CBRC, has been under investigation or to a second fax yesterday about shelving or restructuring them, government transfer (BOT) contracts,” said one source familiar The plan to review unfinished projects sug- since April 9 in connection with the the investigation. Yang’s last public sources said. with the plan, declining to be named as the mat- gests the government is looking for large addi- scandal in Hubei province, Caixin said appearance was on April 7 speaking Riyadh’s Bureau of Capital and Operational ter is not yet public. tional savings this year. In a report at the end of late on Saturday, following days of at a news conference about new risk Spending Rationalization, set up last year to Under BOT contracts, private investors last year, it estimated the cost of completing all rumors circulating online that Yang control guidelines for lenders as part make the government more efficient, is compil- finance and build projects and operate them for capital spending projects currently underway at had gone missing. of efforts to contain risks from a rap- ing a list of projects that are under 25 percent a period of time to earn a profit before eventual- about 1.4 trillion riyals. In a January report, con- complete, the sources told Reuters. Many of ly transferring ownership to the government. sultants Faithful+Gould estimated at least $13.3 China’s graft watchdog on April 9 id build-up in debt. China’s top lead- these projects are relics of a decade-long boom Riyadh has said it is keen to begin bringing the billion of government projects were at risk of also announced an investigation into ers have pledged this year to of high oil prices and lavish state spending, private sector into projects to ease pressure on being cancelled in Saudi Arabia this year address financial risks and asset the chairman of the country’s insur- which ended when oil began sliding in mid- state finances. because of fiscal pressures and changing gov- ance regulator, Xiang Junbo, the most bubbles. President Xi Jinping has 2014, making it increasingly difficult for Riyadh “Other projects could be suspended if they ernment priorities. The government is likely to senior financial regulator to be investi- pledged to wage war on deep seat- to find the money needed to complete their do not meet the current economic objectives,” prioritize projects with strong social welfare and gated as part of a government fight ed graft in the ruling Communist construction. the source said. Recommendations for some business justifications such as power and water against graft. Yang could not be party until officials at all levels dare Officials will study the feasibility of the proj- projects may be made within days, he added. generation, while less essential “vanity projects” reached for comment. not be corrupt, warning that a fail- ects in light of the government’s reform drive, Seeking to close a huge budget deficit such as sports infrastructure, some transport No official announcement of an ure to check the rot could threaten which aims to diversify the economy beyond oil caused by low oil prices, the government systems and perhaps nuclear energy could be investigation into him has been made. the party’s existence. — Reuters exports, and decide whether to suspend them clamped down on infrastructure spending last cut back, it said. — Reuters Tears and cheers greet China’s economic zone

XIONGAN: Business owner Hu Weibing weeps to be out of his reach. “To build another facto- metres away, but declined an offer to buy at a at the prospect of losing everything, including ry or another villa like ours will be impossible. rate higher than the average cost of a home in his home, after China’s surprise announce- It’s a terrible shame,” he said quietly, unable to the bustling port city of Tianjin. “I could’ve ment to transform a rural spot outside Beijing stop tears sliding down his face after devoting accepted some 13 or 14,000 yuan ($2,000) per into a modern metropolis nearly three times decades of his life to the business. square metre, but 30,000 is simply too much the size of New York City. “There will be no way to ever compensate for an investment of at least ten years where Hu’s family run-clothing factory in the us, but this is a huge national issue, so whatev- you don’t even know how things will turn out northern province of Hebei could close at the er comes we must support it.” in the end,” he said. “It’s crazy-they’re still expense of a new special economic zone simi- planting crops here! What if Old Xi steps down lar to those in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The ‘It’s crazy’ and they never build anything here at all?” planned Xiongan New Area currently meas- There are some 19 national-level “New ures 2,000 square kilometres (772 square Areas” scattered across China, 13 of which ‘Life-changing’ miles) and has less than one percent of have been established since 2014. But Currently, the flat fields of the three coun- Beijing’s economic output, but last weekend’s Xiongan stands out: President Xi Jinping per- ties that make up the proposed Xiongan New announcement sparked a real estate specula- sonally designated its location during a Area are speckled with traditional tombs- tion frenzy as out-of-town home buyers from February trip to the fields just outside Hu’s vil- waist-high mounds of dirt topped with flutter- across the country descended on the previ- lage of Dawang, according to Xinhua News. ing paper offerings. ously unknown area. Following the announcement, housing The two-lane roads that traverse them are “It’s certainly good for Hebei and the prices doubled in a single day, as speculators lined with cement producers, factories noisily regional economy, but it’s a disaster for mid- queued outside real estate offices, clogging churning cobs into cornmeal and, thanks to a and small-sized business like ours,” said Hu, the streets with luxury vehicles as they battled robust commercial network with Russia, shops staring at the bare concrete walls of the four- to snap up properties for cash. selling mink and raccoon furs dyed garish storey dream home he began building last Shocked by the chaos, local authorities shades of blue and pink. Yet authorities hope year but will never be able to finish. Though quickly imposed strict bans on home the area will flourish into a new centre for This file photo taken on April 3, 2017 shows a closed real estate agency in Rongcheng authorities have not yet told him what is next, sales and ordered brokers to close up shop. growth in the world’s second-largest econo- county in China’s Hebei province. —AFP he is bracing for things to progress in the fash- By mid-week, offices across the area were my, which last year expanded at its slowest ion that has become typical for government closed, their metal grates pulled down and rate in a quarter of a century. Analysts, howev- “The project is still effectively just a major ment is guaranteed to be “life-changing”, said mega-projects: forced relocation and modest crosses of white tape over them for good er, predict its overall economic punch will be push to improve the infrastructure and inte- a resident surnamed Zhang, 63, who recalled monetary compensation. The changes will measure. But individuals with properties for “limited”, as the venture lacks measures to gration of the Hebei region, rather than a test the extraordinary hardships of his childhood scatter his 40 local employees, each painstak- sale were still willing to approach potential spur the types of exciting new financial bed for deeper market reforms that could in the early 1960s. “It’s such good luck-living ingly trained for two years to produce the win- buyers with prices that had gone up 300 per- reforms that were the real drivers of growth have a much wider economic impact,” said here is better even than in Xiamen,” he said, ter jackets that Hu’s Yuhua Clothing cent in three days, they told AFP. for the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. referring to a warm southern Chinese port city Manufacturing sells to clients in Moscow. An investor surnamed Wang had come to established in the 1980s, and Shanghai’s But for many who’ve toiled in the fields popular with retirees. “Now we’re all special And land prices elsewhere are guaranteed check out opportunities from Beijing, 100 kilo- Pudong New Area, set up in the 1990s. around Xiongan for generations, the develop- economic zone residents!” — AFP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 BUSINESS Seafood joins fair trade revolution, one scallop at a time

PORTLAND: Fair trade coffee, bananas and ... harvested from US waters will have scallops on to submit to an audit and interviews to make before that, a 2014 study by a pair of humans rights impacts of fair trade labels scallops? Yes, very soon. Fair trade certification the market this month. sure the food is produced with fair working economists from the University of are the subjects of debate and academic status, which is conferred by independent The company, Bristol Seafood of Portland, conditions and environmental stewardship Kentucky said more than 80 percent of study. A 2014 study published in the groups to denote environmental sustainability Maine, is looking to capitalize on the growing along the supply chain. Packaged products consumers were at least somewhat influ- Journal of Economic Perspectives stated and fair working conditions, has been around interest in authenticity of seafood, said its pres- can then bear a “Fair Trade Certified” seal, enced by labels that tell the story of that “there is overwhelming evidence that for years. But it’s just now on the rise among ident, Peter Handy. “There’s a certain sanctity which carries a price premium. seafood. Fair Trade-certified producers do receive seafood products in the US, where consumer to food when it comes to the story about it,” he Fair Trade USA currently certifies shrimp “It was the right place and right time to higher prices than conventional farmers interest in the story behind the fish and shell- said. “It tastes better the more you know.” from Mexico, yellowfin tuna from Indonesia, show that the seafood industry needs a for their products.” The evidence for envi- fish they eat is growing. Independent groups, including Fair Trade and skipjack and yellowfin tuna from Maldives. fair trade certification,” Apel said. The ronmental protection and economic Certification of seafood products, including USA, provide certifications to a host of prod- It is the only group currently certifying seafood standards for achieving the certification security of workers was more mixed, but tuna and shrimp, began in 2014, and the vol- ucts that people buy in stores, ranging from as fair trade, representatives for the nonprofit for seafood products focus on manage- benefits to both were observed, the same ume of imports of such products grew more fruit and nuts to home goods. The certifica- said. Interest in the seafood supply chain has ment of fish stocks and fishing habitat, as study said. Jason Potts, a senior associate than 350 percent last year to more than 1.2 tion is most commonly associated with cof- grown since an Associated Press investigation well as the wages and working conditions with the International Institute for million pounds (500,000 kilograms), said Fair fee, which launched the fair trade movement of slave labor conditions in Thailand’s shrimp of the fishermen and others in the supply Sustainable Development located in Trade USA, a California-based nonprofit group. in the 1990s. fishery, said Ashley Apel, senior manager of the chain. Steps must be taken to eliminate Montreal, said the question of “are these The first company to offer fair trade seafood To achieve certification, companies need seafood program for Fair Trade USA. Even forced labor and human trafficking, and things actually working?” remains a diffi- workers must have the freedom to organ- cult one to answer. ize. At the same time, there must be doc- “We’re attempting to answer this ques- umentation of things like proper waste tion. My message to the world is we need management and protection of ecosys- more impact research, and more data. tems, Fair Trade USA’s materials state. Better data,” he said. One of the big incen- tives for fishermen to participate in fair Food products trade certification, Apel said, is that sales Fair Trade USA is one of a handful of generate “fair trade premiums,” which are major groups involved in certifying food used for community development proj- products, with another prominent one ects where harvesters live. The nonprofit other being Germany-based Fairtrade delivered more than $200,000 of these International. premiums to fishermen last year. They’re banking on chefs and restau- Erik Orman, who owns a pair of New rants getting excited about the products. Bedford scallop boats that harvest shell- Barton Seaver, a chef and author in fish that will be certified fair trade, said he Freeport, Maine, said fair trade seafood is envisions the premium money being rein- too new to be familiar to many restaura- vested in fisheries science programs. The teurs but is part of seafood’s future. certification, he said, will also give the “It’s currently in its infancy, but I think scallops an edge in the marketplace. the products they are working with will “For the consumer, they are socially quickly prove the model, and the value conscious and able to choose the food that it can offer,” he said. they eat based on the criteria that are The economic, environmental and important to them,” he said. — AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 business

Al-Sayer partners for efforts to address air pollution Scientific workshop and conference to raise environment awareness

KUWAIT: Al-Sayer Group Holding Company Corporate diseases that will affect also the human productivity”. sustainable society.” As of January 31, 2017, Toyota esti- formance has resulted in approximately 77 million fewer Excellence Occupational Health Safety and Environment The workshop benefitted the participants to gather in- mates that the use of Toyota’s HVs in lieu of conventional tons of CO2 emissions and has saved approximately 29 mil- (OHSE) in cooperation with Rental Cars Division, Group depth knowledge about different kinds of pollutants such gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving per- lion kiloliters of gasoline. Marketing & Sales have sponsored the Indoor Air Quality as SO2, NOx, O3, CO, CO2, all particulate matters such as Workshop & Conference at KISR (Kuwait Institute of PM1, PM25, PM10 and TSP) and their characteristics and Scientific Research). effects on the indoor air quality. The event was attended by Director General of KISR Al-Sayer Group exhibited an exclusive Prius display Dr Samira Omar, Eng Ibrahim Al-Fouzan Business stand along with a test drive session to-and-from KISR loca- Director Group Service Division Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer tion offering visitors a spectacular opportunity to experi- & Sons with the presence of a delegation of researchers ence the revolutionary technology of Prius - world’s first and scientists from several countries who presented 35 mass-produced hybrid. scientific papers related to latest scientific research on According to Eng. Ibrahim Al-Fouzan “We highly internal air quality. appreciate the initiative of KISR in conducting this event The main objective of the workshop was to support and to raise awareness about air pollution on the environ- enhance cooperation and exchange of experience among ment. Toyota, the pioneers of hybrid revolution in its scientific institutions in all parts of the world and to show Environmental Challenge 2050 also has adopted a long the results of scientific research on indoor air pollution. On term strategic approach in this regard setting challenges this occasion Dr. Samira Omar said “Any imbalance in the that it will undertake to help reduce the negative impacts standards of internal air clarity and humidity will cause of automobiles on the global environment to as close to unhealthy conditions leading to permanent or temporary zero as possible, and to contribute to the creation of a

Markets digest another Trump volte-face NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT KUWAIT: If markets learnt anything new this drag EUR/USD below parity very quickly. Any much that we are pressing down hard on the however, were up 5.4 percent from the same BoE in a dilemma week, it is that US President Trump does not other result is likely to support the currency. As accelerator”. Yellen’s comments did not offer period a year ago. UK labor market continue to demonstrate a favor a strong dollar, high interest rates, and may we mentioned in the past, the ECB seems to be details on the timing of the rate hikes, or of the Consumer Prices also took a dive this month strong employment picture, however a weak actually offer Janet Yellen a second term. He also in a wait and see mode following the French Fed’s eventual reduction of its $4.5 trillion bal- and unexpectedly dropped 0.3 percent in pay growth. Although the unemployment rate recognized that China wasn’t a currency manip- elections results. ance sheet. “We think a gradual path of increas- March after months of progress. The biggest was unchanged at 4.7 percent, yet total and ulator, and last but not least has been struggling The Sterling Pound continues to defy gravity es in short-term interest rates can get us to driver for the headline plunge was energy, regular pay only just matched inflation in to enact policies that will boost US growth. on the back of resilient economic data, even as where we need to be, but we don’t want to wait which declined 3.2 percent, with the gasoline February rising 2.3 percent on a quarterly basis The failure of the healthcare bill along the Brexit negotiations get under way. So far, the too long to have that happen,” she said. index falling 6.2 percent, and other major ener- and 2.2 percent on a yearly basis against infla- mixed economic data and the latest geopoliti- Bank of England seems to be concerned about gy component indexes decreasing as well. tion of 2.3 percent in February. cal rising risks have done most of the damage the soft wage growth, however upbeat over the Wages need to rise Excluding food and energy, the Core index was As unemployment was unchanged at 4.7 since Trump’s inauguration despite global equi- resilience of consumer spending and further The unemployment rate continues to drift expected to increase 0.2 percent however, that percent, employment growth remained strong ty markets continuing their march into new employment gains. In summary, the Pound ral- lower, however wage pressures remain low, too saw a drop of 0.1 percent. at 1.0 percent year on year, although this rate of record highs. Another key change this week lied this week on the back of the US dollar’s mainly a function of weak productivity growth. growth has slowed from its peak in 2014. came after the meeting with Chinese President weakness. The positive inflation and labor fig- For wages to rise more meaningfully, the labor It is all about the French election According to the latest report from the BoE, Xi Jinping on Wednesday. In addition to all the ures, while marginal, also aided on the rise. The market needs to tighten further, and productiv- Less than two weeks to the first round of equilibrium unemployment now stands at 4.5 praises for the Chinese President, Trump went GBP/USD managed to rally over 1.25% starting ity growth needs to pick up. Without these two the French elections, the dovish ECB rhetoric percent. Although the current rate is almost at on saying they had “very good chemistry” and the week of at 1.2379 and closing at 1.2523. factors, wage growth is unlikely to expand at a and increased anxiety around the election full employment, there seems little sign of that that China was sincere in helping defuse the US The Japanese yen was one of the biggest significantly faster pace. Over the last five years, are the two main drivers of European price translating into stronger pay growth. In order to showdown with North Korea. movers this week in currency markets as nonfarm business productivity has expanded at action this week. move to a more neutral stance over the mone- As US yields have continued to slide since investors fled to the safe haven as geopolitical just a 0.7 percent annualized rate, the slowest Although a market friendly outcome for the tary policy, the BoE has stated it would need to the peak achieved in the beginning of 2017, tensions were on the rise. Furthermore, speak- pace of growth since the five years ending in election could result in the currency moving see pay growth picking up further. investors have received ample support to shift ing to parliament, Bank of Japan Governor 1982, a period which coincided with near dou- back higher, the medium term will depend As inflation increased to 2.3 percent in to higher-yielding currencies and to seek more Haruhiko Kuroda offered reassurance as to ble-digit annualized inflation gains. largely on the ECB. For now, the elections polls March on food prices rising at the fastest pace risk despite global political risks on the rise. what the bank will do with the government during the past three years, rising food and Add on this market expectations of a third Fed debt on its balance sheet when it has to exit clothing prices are likely to start putting house- hike this year fading significantly this week, its ultra-easy policy. “We have a lot of meas- hold budgets under pressure. investors had sufficient reasons to push the US ures at our disposal” Kuroda said, and the BOJ dollar down in search of higher yielding assets. would be able to manage its exit smoothly, Australia employment There are signs however that the reflation including reducing the size of its holdings of Employment in Australia greatly exceeded trade that was attributed to Trump have started bonds purchased in recent years to stimulate estimates in March increasing by 60,900. to fade. As expectations had lifted major assets economic growth. The USD/JPY opened the Economists expected a 20,000 increase only. classes higher, the biggest beneficiaries have week at 111.09 and closed at a five-month The lift in employment was the largest since been emerging markets, commodities, and low of 108.64. September 2015, and the sixth consecutive mainly banks assets prices. The biggest losers In the commodity markets, oil’s longest rally increase. From a year earlier, employment from the reflation trade have been US bond this year stalled after government data grew by 146,000, or 1.22 percent. Despite the yields which have seen some of the sharpest Wednesday showed US output expanded to increase in employment, the unemployment increases in percentage terms in history. the highest level in more than a year, counter- rate held steady at 5.9 percent due to a rise Historically, when yields have risen in percent- ing a decline in stockpiles from last week. While in the participation rate. Total employment age terms as fast as they have this time, that last week’s drop in stockpiles was the biggest now stands at 12.06 million, the highest level rise was typically followed by a recession. this year, and there’s increasing confidence that on record. In summary, markets were dominated this global producers are likely to extend their out- week by geopolitical risks on the rise as well as put-cut deal beyond June, the increase in US China trade surplus new contradictions from President Trump rela- production rapidly replacing those cuts. China’s March trade data came above expec- tive to his own campaign rhetoric. Moreover, OPEC surprised markets earlier in tations and reversed last month’s deficit, as The US dollar started the week at the highs the week as it revealed producers cut produc- exports rose 16.4 percent y/y and imports were after last week’s FOMC minutes revealed the tion in March more than pledged under their On the consumer front, US sentiment will be the key driver of the actions over the up 20.3 percent y/y, both in USD terms. China Fed’s plan to reduce its balance sheet. After supply curb agreement. Brent and West Texas advanced to a three-month high in April as short term. Macron and Le Pen remain neck recorded a trade surplus of $65.6 billion. numerous campaign promises to remove Janet both gained around 1.25 percent to close the Americans’ optimism about their current finan- and neck at about 24 each for the first round, In details, Chinese trade surplus with the US Yellen from the helm of the Fed, Trump men- week at $55.89 and $53.18 respectively. Gold cial situation and the economy reached the and the most recent poll showed a win of rose in March to $17.7bn and almost reached tioned this week that the dollar was too strong prices on the other hand, surged 2.64 percent strongest point since 2000. 52 percent of Macron in the second round. However with $50 billion for the first quarter as a whole. and that he would like to see interest rates on the back of heightened geopolitical tensions respondents to the University of Michigan sur- polls this close, markets are likely to remain on President Trump has backtracked recently over remain low to support the economy. He even to close the week at $1,285. vey reported that their finances had recently the edge for the next three weeks. his criticism of China’s trade issues and said this went on and said he was open to re-nominat- improved and 82 percent showed favorable week the US would not be labelling China as a ing Yellen for another term as Chair of the Yellen view home buying attitudes. Perceptions of favorable Eurozone industrial production currency manipulator. On a different front, Federal Reserve. According to the Fed Chair Yellen, the conditions for purchases of durable goods and Industrial production in the euro zone fell Chinese consumer prices weakened in March, These changes in rhetoric, combined with plans to raise US interest rates gradually are homes are signs of an improving labor market. back in February on the back of lower output although little changed compared to a year ago, the recent failure in health care and the internal aimed at sustaining full employment and than the start of the year. Indeed, industrial rising by 0.9 percent year on year while produc- struggles within his administration, have led near 2 percent inflation without letting the Retail sales fall again output fell by 0.3 percent in February, missing er prices rose at a steady pace. Producer prices markets to question whether Trump would still economy overheat. Unemployment, at 4.5 Last but not least, sales at US retailers expectations of a 0.1 percent increase. Revised on the other hand had their biggest expansion be able to deliver on many of his promises. percent, is little bit below the rate that most declined in March for a second month with data also showed production grew by only 0.3 since the financial crisis surging 7.8 percent. On another incendiary front, and less than Fed officials think signals full employment, sales declining in six of 13 major retail cate- percent in January, in comparison to earlier Producer prices have risen last seven months, two weeks to the first round of the French elec- and inflation is “reasonably close” to the Fed’s gories. The decline was led by softening auto- estimates of 0.9 percent expansion. On a year- overcoming more than four years of deflation. tions, the dovish ECB rhetoric and the increased 2 percent goal, she said. mobile sales which fell 1.2 percent. Excluding ly basis, the data was 1.2 percent than last anxiety around the election remain the two With the economy expected to continue to automobiles, gasoline, building materials and year, an improvement on January’s 0.6 percent Kuwait drivers of European economics this week. grow at a moderate pace, she said, the Fed is food services, retail sales rebounded 0.5 per- expansion. The monthly decline was driven by Kuwaiti dinar at 0.30485 As it is universally agreed, a Marine Le Pen now shifting its focus to allow the economy to cent after falling 0.2 percent in February. Total falling energy and non-durable consumer The USDKWD opened at 0.30485 yesterday win would be bad for the euro, and is likely to “kind of coast to give it some gas but not so sales from January 2017 through March 2017 goods production. morning. MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 business KIB’s head of Information Security wins two MESA awards

KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank cialists and experts from renowned policies to ensure the utmost privacy (KIB) announced that Basil Al- banks, private and public organizations and confidentiality in all our banking Suwaidan, Head of Information from across the Middle East. process, as well as to ensure the safety Security at the Bank, recently picked up This is the second consecutive year and security of KIB’s alternate banking two awards at the Middle East Security that Al-Suwaidan has been honored channels.” Awards (MESA) 2017. Al-Suwaidan was by MESA, once again demonstrating Al-Suwaidan added that KIB contin- named Information Security Executive KIB’s commitment towards employing uously seeks to uphold the highest of the Year in the Banking & Financial secure, high-quality Information levels of banking security by imple- Services Sector by (ISC)2, a leading Security Management Systems. menting the best practices in informa- non-profit organization which special- On this occasion, Al-Suwaidan stat- tion security; ensuring that KIB’s bank- izes in information security education ed, “It is a great honor to be receiving ing services remain safe and secure for and certifications and also won the these prestigious awards, Information all customers. Most Recognized 100 — Chief Security Executive of the Year 2017 With this recognition, KIB adds Information Security Officer Award and CISO 100 for the second time. I am another achievement to its outstand- (CISO 100). - an award recognizing the proud to say that the management at ing track record, underscoring its com- top 100 heads of information security KIB constantly strives to maintain the mitment to implement the best and across the Middle East. Al-Suwaidan highest security standards to safe- most innovative banking solutions received his awards at a ceremony held guard customer data. Our team works that meet the highest international in Dubai, which was attended by a to develop and maintain robust infor- standards, especially with regards to number of information security spe- mation security methodologies and reducing information security threats. Al-Mazaya Holding, Boubyan Bank sign partnership deal Partnership ensures affordable ownership with easy credit

KUWAIT: Al-Mazaya Holding and will provide up to KD 70,000 and market over the past few years by outside Kuwait has been taken fol- Boubyan Bank have signed a part- free debt insurance with no salary providing different investment solu- lowing well-calculated, thought- nership agreement whereby the transfer required. This means that tions. This is especially evident in the out studies on the supply and Kuwaiti bank will provide credit the credit is available to all, includ- countries where Kuwaitis are partic- demand mechanism compared facilities of up to KD 70,000 for ing those who do not have ularly top performers like the GCC with obstacles and challenges property ownership solutions accounts at Boubyan, explained Al- states and Turkey,” Al-Tuwaijri noted. faced by clients. across Oman, Dubai and Istanbul. Tuwaijri. “Al- Mazaya Holding has a track “We have identified the con- The agreement is the first such “This type of credit is subject to record that includes significant sumer need for a reliable real alliance between a real estate all standard loan-agreement terms real estate enterprises and boasts estate product outside of Kuwait AUB holds event at The Gate developer and a Kuwaiti Islamic and conditions, including minimum an enviable brand recognition,” with easy, fast and long-term bank to provide affordable proper- wage requirements. The repayment said Ibrahim Al-Saq’abi, Al-Mazaya Sharia-compliant financing pat- Mall on Al-Hassad account terns,” noted the CEO of Al-Mazaya. Boubyan’s clients and clients of KUWAIT: As part of the new marketing This activity comes after the success of other banks will be able to buy campaign organized by Ahli United Bank a similar activity by the Bank in Avenues distinguished properties in Dubai, across various commercial centers in Mall, which was held twice during March. Istanbul and across Oman, which Kuwait to showcase the Al-Hassad The participants expressed their satisfac- are all markets that have been account, the Bank announced a new activ- tion with the competition, prizes and sur- carefully selected by us, following ity at The Gate Mall between 13th and prises they received. comprehensive feasibility studies. 15th April 2017. “This activity raises awareness about Al This partnership with one of the The activity, which focuses on the defi- Hassad Islamic Saving Account, which is major local banks in Kuwait, pro- nition of the Al-Hassad account, the Islamic considered the first reward program in vides Al-Mazaya untapped mar- accountant Program, features interactive Kuwait in line with Islamic Sharia law and keting opportunities and offer competitions for all age groups, in which which offers annual cash prizes worth KD their clients better investment cash prizes, instant coupons and iPhones 3.4 million. The prizes include, the grand prospects with distinctive financ- will be distributed. The competitions are quarterly prizes of KD 250,000, plus weekly ing options, enabling them to designed to be easy and simple, so that prizes worth KD 50,000. Al-Hassad cus- own different types of property, the largest number of participants have a tomers in Kuwait and Bahrain are eligible said Al-Saq’abi. “Boubyan is a pio- chance to win any of the valuable prizes to participate in Al-Hassad draws under neering bank in Kuwait, boasting depending on their answers, which are general terms and conditions.” the Bank highly-qualified human resources related to the Al-Hassad account. said in a press release. and integrated management capabilities that have gained the trust of partners and clients alike,” Gulf Bank bags coveted he added. Al-Saq’abi concluded that the real estate products planned Global Finance award under the agreement include flats Gulf Bank is proud to be named ‘Best with different spaces in Dubai, KUWAIT: Treasury and Cash Management Bank 2017 - Istanbul and Oman starting from Kuwait’ from Global Finance, one of the world’s ties with easy and swift financing. It options are flexible and range from CEO. The company has successfully KD 29,000. “The client can choose leading monthly financial magazines. This was signed on April 15th at the 12 months to a maximum of 15 constructed 1,000 residential between completed flats, readily award recognizes providers who offer sophisti- bank’s premises in the presence of years,” he said. Such a partnership properties which has earned the available for immediate delivery cated solutions with an innovative technology market funds. Global Finance uses a multi-tiered Boubyan CEO, Adel Al-Majid; will provide clients with valuable leading developer a highly- and others which are still under backbone that is also client friendly. assessment process which includes a readers’ Deputy Chief Executive Officer, investment opportunities in areas acclaimed reputation for premium construction and scheduled to be Commenting on this international recogni- poll, input from industry analysts, corporate Abdulla Al-Najran Al-Tuwaijri; Al- of real estate, considered now to be property handovers. delivered in one or two years. tion, Laila Al-Qatami, Assistant General executives, technology experts and independ- Mazaya Holding Board Chairman, the best kind of business invest- “Current market conditions Therefore, we are providing Manager-Corporate Communications at Gulf ent research in order to select the best providers Rashid Al-Nafisi; and Group CEO of ment as well as an opportunity to require reliable, stable, trustwor- opportunities for different seg- Bank said: “As technology continues to trans- of treasury and cash management services. A Al-Mazaya Holding, Eng. Ibrahim own property outside of their thy credit facilities for both devel- ments of clients in accordance form the treasury and cash management land- variety of subjective and objective stringent cri- Al-Saq’abi as well as the executive country of origin, he added. opers and end-users,” added Al- with their financial capabilities scape, Gulf Bank has worked to improve its teria were considered, including: profitability, teams of the two parties. “Al-Mazaya Holding has proved Saq’abi. The decision to provide and readiness for immediate or services and offerings to clients for cash man- market share and reach, customer service, com- Under the agreement, the bank its worth and value in the Kuwait financing for property ownership future investment.” agement. We are pleased to be recognized petitive pricing, product innovation and the from among our peers as the ‘Best Treasury extent to which treasury and cash management and Cash Management Bank in Kuwait’ from providers have successfully differentiated them- Burgan Bank Global Finance.” selves from their competitors around core serv- In its 17th annual world’s best cash manage- ice provision. ment and provider awards, Global Finance Global Finance, founded in 1987, is a announces selected an overall global winner and a global monthly magazine that has a circulation in 192 winner in seven key sectors. It also selected win- countries. ners in 55 countries and regional winners in It offers analysis and articles that are the her- winners of North America, Western Europe, Central and itage of 30 years of experience in international Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, financial markets. Global Finance is headquar- Middle East, Africa and the Nordic region. tered in New York, with offices around the Yawmi draw Additionally, in each region, winning banks world. Global Finance awards and recognition KUWAIT: Burgan Bank, the second largest in terms of have been selected across five categories programs are backed by a 30-year legacy of edi- assets, announced yesterday the names of the daily encompassing cash management, payments torial integrity. Corporate and financial readers draw winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking and collections, liquidity, working capital opti- rely on them as the trusted standard of excel- home a cash-prize of KD 5,000. mization and short-term investments/ money lence for the financial industry. The lucky winners are: 1. Kaleef Mahloot Drakh 2. Suhad Warsam Qaleenlah 3. Anaam Abdullah Al-Mutawaa 4. Ahmad Adel Al-Dulaimi 5. Abdullateef Mohammad Al-Hamad In addition to the daily draw, Burgan Bank also offers a Quarterly Draw with more chances to win higher rewards, offering the chance to one lucky customer to win KD 125,000 every three months. The Yawmi Account offers Daily and Quarterly Draws, wherein the Quarterly Draw requires customers to maintain a minimum amount of KD 2017 Nissan Altima 06 loaded 500 in their account for two months prior to the draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 in the account will entitle with features for just KD 5,999 customers to one chance of winning. If the account bal- ance is KD 500 and above, the account holder will be qual- KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al- includes, the most dramatic change ified for both the quarterly and daily draws. Al Tijari announces winners Babtain Co (AABC), the authorized with its energetic flow design, a 2.5L - Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi dealer of Nissan vehicles in the State of 182Hp engine, a new 17-inch machine- account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their of Al-Najma account draw Kuwait, offers customers for a limited finish aluminum-alloy wheel design, chances of becoming a winner. The higher the level of the period of time the 2017 Nissan Altima owners of this Nissan Altima can enjoy deposit, the higher the likelihood to win. KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al- Quarterly draws to win great prizes that would the comfort of front & rear parking sen- with exceptional features for just KD Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest Najma Account daily draw yesterday. The draw start from KD 100,000 to KD 250,000 5,999, to break all norms. sor to always assist, remote engine commercial Bank and second largest by assets in Kuwait, was held under the supervision of the Ministry of 1st quarter —KD 100 000, Nissan Al-Babtain presents cus- starter, colored monitor with rear view with a significant focus on the corporate and financial Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz 2nd quarter— KD 150 000, tomers with a chance to purchase the camera and most importantly cus- Ashkanani. 3rd quarter— KD 200 000, new 2017 Nissan Altima with an excep- tomers driving the Nissan Altima 2017 institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail, and private bank customer base. Burgan Bank has major- The winners of the Al Najma daily draw are: 4th quarter— KD 250 000. With Al-Najma you tional price for a vehicle that surpasses have the privilege to enjoy their ride Mahdi Yahya Shaker— KD 7000, Hassan have more chances to win greater prizes ity owned subsidiaries in the MENAT region supported others with a variety of valuable fea- with audio system & cruise control Ahmed Mohammed Hassan— KD 7000, Wajdy * Each KD 25 kept in your account gives you by one of the largest regional branch networks. tures and much more for a special price. steering wheel switches with Jaballah Jers Botros — KD 7000, Yacoub Nawaf Al- one chance to win The 2017 Nissan Altima was Bluetooth. The Bank has continuously improved its performance Enezi — KD 7000, Ahmed Mousa Ahmed Hefni — * Each KD 25 kept in your account for one week debuted in Nissan Al-Babtain show- Nissan Al-Babtain is known for over the years through an expanded revenue structure, KD 7000, will give you a chance to enter the daily draw. room, with its fresh new appearance always providing customers with diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The Al-Najma awards are now brighter and bigger * Each KD 25 kept in your account for 3 the “Energetic Flow” exterior styling exceptional offers and its surprises adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has than ever. months will give you chance to enter the quarter- theme and “Gliding Wing” interior lay- throughout the year; customers are positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and With the revamped Al-Najma account, all your ly draw. out, “Class Leading Fuel Economy” and “ welcome now to take advantage of this within the MENA region. Burgan Bank’s brand has been dreams will be turned to reality. On top of offering Additional features Improved Driving Dynamics and Safety special price available for a limited time created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commit- the highest daily prize in Kuwait for KD 7,000, now * ATM card Technology” in mid-2016. at all Nissan Al-Babtain’s showrooms ment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the our Mega prize draws got bigger to reach KD * Issue a credit card against your account The KD 5,999 exceptional price for located in Al-Rai and Al-Ahmadi area high standards to which we aspire. ‘People come first’ is 250,000. * Obtain all CBK banking services the 2017 Nissan Altima vehicle and enjoy all these valuable features. the foundation on which its products and services are The new prizes scheme for Al-Najma account You deserve to win! Open an account now developed. Daily draw to win KD 7000. with just KD 500 and you will enter all draws. technology MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 Digital connectivity can lead to new world order

By Ziad Salameh Countries and regions that were left behind in the Middle East and Africa still have some way to go. lems are not insurmountable, and one way to Information Age will have the ability to move for- Only 1 percent of the broadband connections will move forward is to connect social mindsets of echnology and digital economies can help ward. They will have data and knowledge to make have a speed in excess of 100Mbps by 2020. young workers to power of technology. humanity emerge from many of its present- the right decisions helping their lives to change for All these changes have brought the world to a Never before have people and companies Tday challenges but partnership with govern- the better. Standards of healthcare, education, and tipping point. We are now in the process of transi- been so motivated to help the world. A growing ment, business, citizens, consumer is crucial. transportation will improve in these countries, that tioning into the Fourth Industrial revolution that is number of today’s new workers believe that work Countries, regions, and the were once left behind. being built on digital economies and technology and social responsibility go hand in hand. A large world at large faces a growing As an example, across Middle East and Africa infrastructures. In this world, growth rates can be majority believe that business has at least as list of challenges. Food, water, where we are looking at the highest growth rate in exponential and the way we live, work and relate to much potential as government to solve society’s job creation, and widening gap the world, 2.4 billion new devices and connections each other are going to change fundamentally. problems. between rich and poor appear and 445 million new Internet users will be added by Cisco has developed a Country Digitisation A new economy is taking shape, that requires insufficient, driving social and 2020. However, all these changes cannot occur Acceleration strategy. Connecting the unconnect- innovation in governance and regulation. political instability. However, without the network. Digital networks have the ed, accelerating GDP growth, creating new jobs, Offering it the right conditions will be crucial to there appear to be solutions to capacity to connect every person, every country, and building a sustainable innovation ecosystem ensuring sustainability. If we want people-cen- tackle these insurmountable and every connected device. are core principles that define digitisation. Country tered, inclusive and development-oriented infor- challenges. Digitisation Acceleration is a long-term commit- mation societies, where all have access to digital One of the most significant changes in the com- Fourth Industrial Revolution ment with national leadership, industry and acade- technologies, legal frameworks need to be put in ing years will be the dramatic increase in global Those countries that foster digital activity will mia to deliver outcomes faster and effectively. place. connectivity via the Internet. Internet of Things and see new industries emerge, and experience acceler- By accelerating the national digitisation agen- All stakeholders including governments, busi- related technologies will help to connect people, ated development of traditional markets. This is da, Cisco can help countries grow, create new nesses, technical community, citizens, and con- data and devices in all countries. Put together, the why Broadband Internet has been categorized as jobs, provide innovation, and invest in a sustain- sumers play a role in building trust and confidence potential for countries to prosper in the coming one of the world’s most important general-purpose able innovation ecosystem. in global networks. The global Internet must be decade is significant. technologies, with the capability to dramatically The challenges confronting the world are com- allowed to further develop without obstacles. In this Digital Age that we have entered, 500 bil- impact social structures and economies. plex and cannot be solved by any single govern- — Ziad Salameh, Managing Director and General lion people and things will be connected by 2030. But even with Broadband Internet, regions like ment, industry or organization. But these prob- Manager, West Region, Cisco Middle East.

Hydrogen fuel cell Amazon, Flipkart battle in India cars face obstacle for e-commerce’s ‘last frontier’

DETROIT: Hydrogen fuel cell cars could one millions of garages where owners can plug India market size seen between $50bn and $120bn by 2020 day challenge electric cars in the race for pol- their cars in overnight. As a result, US con- lution-free roads - but only if more stations sumers bought nearly 80,000 electric cars last are built to fuel them. Honda, Toyota and year, but just 1,082 fuel cell vehicles, according NEW DELHI: With 100 million new internet users E-retailers in India typically adopt a “market- Hyundai have leased a few hundred fuel cell to WardsAuto. That’s why automakers will keep every year, Amazon is betting big on India, but a place” structure, acting as platforms that connect vehicles over the past three years, and hedging their bets and offer electric vehicles major new investment in homegrown rival buyers and sellers rather than stocking their own expect to lease well over 1,000 this year. But alongside hydrogen ones. Honda began leas- Flipkart means the battle to dominate the fast- products. Amazon marketed its services aggres- for now, those leases are limited to California, ing the 2017 Clarity fuel cell sedan earlier this growing e-commerce market is set to heat up. sively, touring markets around the country with which is home to most of the 34 public hydro- year; about 100 are already on the road. At this Flipkart announced this week that top interna- its “chai carts” to sell the idea of e-commerce to gen fueling stations in the US. Undaunted, week’s New York Auto Show, the company also tional companies including Microsoft, eBay and small traders over a cup of tea. Under another ini- automakers are investing heavily in the tech- introduced electric and plug-in hybrid versions China’s Tencent had pledged investments tiative dubbed “Feet-on-Street”, an Amazon nology. General Motors recently supplied the of the Clarity. The plug-in hybrid can go 42 totalling $1.4 billion, among the largest sums ever employee would be sent to photograph their US Army with a fuel cell pickup, and GM and miles in electric mode before a small gas raised by an Indian start-up. The 10-year-old e- products and help them to sign up online. Honda are collaborating on a fuel cell system engine kicks in, Honda says. The all-electric commerce company needs all the help it can get due out by 2020. Hyundai will introduce a Clarity can go 111 miles on a charge. Both will to compete with Amazon after the Seattle-based Alibaba ambush longer-range fuel cell SUV next year. “We’ve go on sale later this year. giant made India’s 1.25 billion inhabitants a glob- Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are now clearly left the science project stage and the al strategic priority, earmarking $5 billion in engaged in a price war, with each Indian festival technology is viable,” said Charles Freese, who Diverse market investment funds. an occasion for aggressive cuts. “At some point, heads GM’s fuel cell business. “We think going forward the powertrain “They need to have a substantial amount of they will have to make money,” said Mehta- Like pure electric cars, fuel cell cars run market is going to be very diverse,” said Steve cash in order to fight in the market with Amazon,” something experts say will necessitate consoli- quietly and emission-free. But they have Center, vice president of the environmental busi- said Jaideep Mehta, South Asia director at the dation of the sector. some big advantages. Fuel cell cars can be ness development office at American Honda. International Data Corporation. Every three sec- That process has already begun, with Flipkart refueled as quickly as gasoline-powered cars. Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand also blended onds, an Indian connects to the internet for the absorbing two rival portals, Myntra and Jabong. By contrast, it takes nine hours to fully technology with its GV80 SUV prototype, which first time, according to Google. One in three According to Indian media, a deal for Flipkart to recharge an all-electric Chevrolet Bolt using a was revealed in New York. The GV80 is a plug-in Indians currently uses the internet, but the num- buy Snapdeal is next. India also represents a 240-volt home charger. Fuel cells cars can fuel cell vehicle, which means it would get pow- ber is forecast to swell by 300 million by 2020, chance for a rematch after Amazon lost out to also travel further between fill-ups. er from stored electricity as well as hydrogen. It’s mainly due to growing smartphone use. Alibaba in China. Although currently more But getting those fill-ups presents the not clear when - or if - the GV80 will go on sale. McKinsey analyst Ashish Tuteja said 70 percent of focused on Southeast Asia, billionaire Jack Ma’s biggest obstacle. Fueling stations cost up to $2 Fuel cell cars create electricity to power online sales in India were done on a smartphone. group has made no secret of its interest in India. million to build, so companies have been the battery and motor by mixing hydrogen “It’s very much a mobile-first market,” he said. The Chinese giant has taken a stake in Indian reluctant to build them unless more fuel cell and oxygen in the specially treated plates Projections for the size of the market by 2020 dif- online payments company Paytm cars are on the road. But automakers don’t that combine to form the fuel cell stack.The fer wildly, ranging from $50 billion to $120 billion. This file photo taken on October 30, and has ambitions to develop as an online But all agree that it will be worth considerably sales platform in its own right. For Amazon, India want to build cars that consumers can’t fuel. technology isn’t new. GM introduced the first 2015 shows Chief Operating Officer and The US Department of Energy lists just 34 fuel cell vehicle, the Electrovan, in 1966. It more than the current $15 billion, thanks to an is the “last big frontier”, said Mehta. “Amazon is a expanding middle class and rapidly growing Co-Founder of Flipkart Binny Bansal 100-billion-dollars-plus retailer. To keep driving public hydrogen fueling stations in the coun- only seated two; the back of the van housed speaking during the launch of Flipkart’s try; all but three are in California. By compari- large steel tanks of hydrogen and oxygen. It internet use. Amazon only opened its doors in growth, they need to keep leadership positions in son, the US has 15,703 public electric charging went about 150 miles between refuelings, India in 2013, but quickly overtook local start-up Largest Fulfillment Centre on the out- large markets outside the US,” he said. “They will stations, which can be installed for a fraction of and its hydrogen tank exploded on at least Snapdeal to become the second-biggest player. skirts of Hyderabad. —AFP continue to be very committed.” —AFP the cost of hydrogen stations. There are also one occasion. —AP Financial firms hit with ‘Skinny bundles’ step up million dollar losses per challenge to US Big Cable Cybersecurity Incident WASHINGTON: For years, US cable operators got instead of giving consumers the flexibility they want, shape despite these challenges. Some like AT&T DUBAI: The costs associated with cyberattacks industry-specific threats.” The study shows that rich by offering fat “bundles” of hundreds of chan- Greenfield wrote this month. already have a “skinny” offering, and others such as on the financial sector are rising as organizations financial firms seek to address security chal- nels and raising prices regularly for television con- Leichtman Research Group found that the top US Comcast and Verizon are expected to enter the market face increasingly sophisticated threats. New lenges by getting more threat intelligence and sumers. Now the “skinny bundle” is disrupting that cable companies lost 277,000 subscribers in 2016, to give consumers a choice. research by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International conducting security audits, with 73 percent con- model with internet-delivered packages offering live while internet-delivered services like Sling TV and Wolk said consumers don’t appear to be flocking reveals the scale and impact of attacks, with sidering this measure effective. However, organi- and on-demand programs. DirecTV Now added about 845,000. to skinny bundles because “they pay 30 percent less financial firms facing losses of nearly a million zations from the financial sector are less inclined Google’s YouTube TV is the latest to enter this mar- These shifts could lead to a huge upheaval in dollars but get 70 percent less content.” dollars ($926,000) on average for each cyberse- to use third-party security services with only 53 ket with its bundle of around 40 channels for $35 the television ecosystem, allowing more choices He added that “a lot of people think they want to curity incident they face. percent of those surveyed perceiving it as an monthly, challenging slim packages from Sony’s and lower costs for consumers in many cases, while cut back but when you ask them which channels they The staggering fig- effective approach. PlayStation Vue, Dish Network’s Sling TV and AT&T’s leaving smaller, independent cable channels out in want to eliminate they have trouble cutting back to ure is revealed as part Kaspersky Lab’s experts recommend five key DirecTV Now. More entrants are expected including the cold. The skinny bundles “have made inroads in the bare minimum.” of Financial Institutions considerations for security strategies adopted by one from streaming service Hulu. the past year,” said Leichtman Research president Security Risks 2016, a financial organizations in 2017. These services offer easy interfaces like those of Bruce Leichtman. Striking back survey of finance pro- 1. Beware of the targeted attacks on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Wolk noted that the large pay TV operators have an fessionals highlighting Targeted attacks on financial organizations are Prime, let viewers digitally store programs in the inter- Digital platforms rise advantage because they offer broadband internet, and the main security chal- likely to be conducted through using third net “cloud,” and toss in a limited selection of live chan- Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said in some cases are the dominant provider in a region. lenges for banks and parties, or contractors. These companies can nels to sate news and sports or other interests. Skinny Google’s entry into the business is significant because This allows them to offer incentives which bundle financial institutions often have weaker or no protection at all and offerings are aimed at young viewers and “cord cut- “for the first time, the broadcasters are letting a pow- internet and television. The large operators can also around the world and can be used as an entry point for malware or ters” loath to pay $100 or more to be force-fed hun- erful digital platform have the keys to its treasure squeeze out rivals by using data caps or other means the financial costs of a phishing attempt. dreds of channels in hefty bundles and accustomed to room: live, first-run TV shows.” to favor their own streaming service, and will not likely specific cyberattacks. 2. Do not underestimate less sophisticated streaming shows they want, when they desire. He noted that major tech firms like Amazon, face regulatory impediments from doing so in the cur- Veniamin Levtsov The most-costly type of threats A Parks Associates survey last month found 20 per- Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft “have tried rent political environment, he said. Operators are also incident for financial Fraudsters can strike at mass and benefit cent of American consumers dissatisfied with their to cozy up to TV for many years now, and all of them keeping customers with “TV everywhere” which organizations are threats that exploit vulnerabili- from the scale using simplest tools. Social pay TV service, leaving the market ripe for change. have been rebuffed” until now. “The digital platforms allows subscribers to watch the same content on ties in point-of-sale (POS) systems, in which an engineering might contribute to 75 percent Analyst Glenn Hower at Parks said the market is in are indeed taking over the world, this time with per- mobile devices or while traveling, he noted. organization typically loses $2,086,000. Attacks of fraudulent incidents while only 17 percent flux, with some consumers taking advantage of the mission from their former adversaries,” he said in a One impact from the shift to streaming is that on mobile devices are the second most costly could be caused by malware. easy sign-up for skinny packages, even though some blog post. While many consumers use on-demand providers will know more about customer habits, ($1,641,000), followed by targeted attacks 3. Do not pick compliance over protection cancel just as quickly. options like Amazon and Netflix, they often keep to be able to deliver advertising targeted to each ($1,305,000). Budgets are usually allocated in favor of In addition to lower prices, he said, “you don’t cable or satellite subscriptions for live sports and user. That’s positive for marketing, but could be a Compliance is the main driver for increasing compliance, but strengthening security and have to worry about sending out a technician, you local news. But live channels will make streaming privacy worry as tech firms build up detailed pro- investment in IT security in banks and financial introducing new protection technologies don’t have to worry about getting the equipment options more attractive. files on consumers. institutions. However, the study found that 63% requires a more balanced approach to the back.” BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield, in a At the same time, popular channels such as HBO Google in particular can refine its ad model by of organizations believe that being compliant is allocation of resources. research note titled “the big bundle is doomed,” says and sports programmer ESPN have been offering using data on viewing habits, analysts note. not enough to be secure. Another significant 4. Do regular penetration testing: he expects skinny bundles to eat away at the estab- standalone subscriptions to allow consumers to watch With streaming, Wolk said, Google and others “get reason for spending more on security is growing Unseen vulnerabilities are real nevertheless. lished pay-TV providers. without a bundle from cable or satellite. a ton of data about users and what they are up to, and infrastructure complexity. For example, an aver- With implementation of sophisticated detec- Established media companies are focusing too But independent television analyst Alan Wolk they can cross-reference that with your browsing age financial firm adopts virtual desktop infra- tion tools and penetration testing, vulnera- hard on “protecting their legacy business model” argues that the major pay TV firms remain in good habits.” —AFP structure (VDI) and manages approximately bilities and incidents will emerge. Ensure 10,000 end user devices with roughly a half of your eyes are open to all weaknesses and them being mobile smartphones and tablets. threats - before it’s too late. Small Iowa school district embraces Insufficient internal expertise, top manage- 5. Pay attention to insider threats ment directives and business expansion are also Employees can be exploited by cybercrimi- among the top reasons for a budget increase. In nals - or decide to become ones. Effective securi- big changes for collaboration general, investing more in security appears to be ty strategies should go beyond perimeter pro- inevitable to a clear majority of financial firms as tection to include techniques that can detect ELDON: Just miles from the simple farm house The “21st Century Classroom” in the district’s “That is the shift - when teachers and educa- 83 percent of them expect an increase in their IT suspicious activity within organizations. that inspired Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” a shared middle and high school building has tors talk about ‘the shift,’ it’s that student-cen- security budgets. To learn more about financial organizations’ small school district has outfitted itself with whiteboard walls and desktops for students to tered model,” Wood said. “I think it’s just a matter Veniamin Levtsov, Vice President, Enterprise losses from security incidents and effective secu- state-of-the-art technology and a forward- scribble on, wheeled desks and chairs they can of time before we move from small pockets of Business at Kaspersky Lab commented: “Given rity strategies to fight them, along with some thinking curriculum. rearrange and multiple TVs that can display class things happening to (having them) scaled and the substantial monetary losses from cyberat- other findings from the report by Kaspersky Lab, Visitors to the rural, 800-student Cardinal assignments. The space, paid for with funds from happening all over.” tacks, it is not surprising that financial organiza- read the blogpost. Community School District don’t expect its high- the state’s penny sales tax, is meant to promote Similar student-centered spaces have popped tions are looking to increase spending on securi- i Kaspersky Lab, together with B2B tech classroom or lounge area, Superintendent student collaboration, administrators said. up in Cedar Rapids, Waukee, Mount Pleasant and ty. We believe successful security strategies for International, conducted the worldwide survey Joel Pedersen said. More and more of those types of spaces - Hamburg, she said. “I think if we promote student financial organizations lie in a more balanced of more than 800 representatives from financial “They oftentimes think it looks like a col- known to educators as “student-centered” agency,” Wood said, “then I think you’re going to approach to allocating resources - not just organizations in 15 countries. Respondents, lege classroom or like a Fortune 500 (compa- classrooms - are being built in Iowa schools. see more of those open floor plans happening.” spending on compliance, but also investing including 492 senior IT and business profession- ny’s) room,” Pedersen said. “ ... They’re really Laura Wood, a 21st Century Learning specialist While students can collaborate in traditional more in protection from advanced targeted als from banks, were asked about their percep- shocked when they walk in - how nice and for the area education agencies that oversee classrooms, 21st century spaces treat group work attacks, paying more attention to personal secu- tion of cybersecurity matters and how they pro- inviting it is and how much technology is much of southern Iowa, has helped advocate as the default, said Cindy Green, Cardinal’s direc- rity awareness and getting better insights on the tect themselves from threats. infused in our buildings.” for those spaces. tor of curriculum and instruction. —AP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 HEALTH & SCIENCE Indian green watchdog: Festival massively damaged river bank NEW DELHI: An expert panel appointed by struction began, but much of the damage India’s top environmental watchdog has was already done and the tribunal allowed said that damage caused by a cultural festi- the organizers to go ahead with the event. val held on the banks of the Yamuna River a It did issue an immediate fine of 50 million year ago would need at least a decade to rupees ($740,000). be fixed. The panel set up by the National Afterward, the watchdog set up the Green Tribunal after the Art of Living panel comprising environmental engineers Foundation’s World Culture Festival said and biodiversity experts to assess the Wednesday that restoring the river banks impact that the festival had. In their report, would cost around 420 million rupees ($6.5 the experts said that an area comprising million). It said construction of roads, around 170 hectares (420 acres) had been ramps and a massive stage for the three- “completely” destroyed and not simply day spectacle damaged vast tracts of the damaged. “The ground is now totally lev- river’s flood plains. eled, compacted and hardened and is total- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top ly devoid of water bodies or depressions Delhi government officials attended the and almost completely devoid of any vege- festival hosted by Hindu spiritual leader Sri tation,” the panel said. Sri Ravi Shankar despite criticism from envi- The Yamuna is one of the main tributar- MOSCOW: A picture shows Viktor Karachun, one of the coordinators of the campaign at his house in the village of Vostochnaya Perlovka outside ronmental activists about damage to the ies of the Ganges River. Art of Living Moscow.—AFP photos river banks. The festival to mark the 35th Foundation has dismissed the findings of anniversary of the Art of Living Foundation the panel as biased. The foundation was a drew some 3.5 million visitors who came to “responsible and environment-sensitive As Moscow expands, property see thousands of singers, dancers and oth- NGO” that has consistently worked to pre- er performers. People filed complaints to serve and revive the environment, Kedar boom sparks local ire the tribunal almost immediately after con- Desai, a spokesman said. —AP ‘Soon people won’t have anywhere to go for a walk or fresh air to breathe’ MYTISHCHI, Russia: Property developers are pany Zemelniye Resursy which has gained 2,000 to us,” said one resident, Maria Tyabut. The racing to build up prime land in Moscow’s leafy signatures. But neither the petition nor dozens destruction of natural areas for construction is outskirts with plans that involve razing entire of letters and protests made any difference, forc- becoming increasingly common in Russia, said villages and felling acres of forest. Now deter- ing residents to go to courts. In December, the Mikhail Kreindlin of Greenpeace-Russia, since mined locals are fighting back to stop the Supreme Court responded by reducing the scale “property developers benefit from loopholes in developers in their tracks and preserve the of the project-banning the developers from the law”. environment, local heritage and their homes. building 20-storey blocks and massive shopping “Housing construction is a sector that gives And with some success, such as in the village centers and reducing the number of residents to good returns, not just for the investors, but also of Vostochnaya Perlovka, a settlement ranging 10,000 — something the locals view as a consid- for the local authorities,” Kreindlin said. “Even if from simple wooden cottages to roomy brick erable victory. you rule out corruption-which is frequent-these family homes with some 4,000 residents, projects fill up the coffers of the local authorities northeast of the capital. Local authorities Disappearing forests with taxes.” But the problem is that “soon people announced a plan to demolish all of its 600 With an already bulging population of at least won’t have anywhere to go for a walk or fresh air houses to allow a property developer to build 12 million, Moscow is a magnet for the upwardly to breathe,” he warned. high-rise blocks there, increasing the popula- mobile from all over Russia and the former tion to 25,000 people. Soviet Union. But commuting to central Moscow expands Horrified at the prospect of losing their Moscow for work while living in the surrounding However officials and property developers beloved homes, the residents immediately region is a more affordable option for most. Just argue that such construction projects are essen- NEW DELHI: In this file photo, workers dismantle stadia temporarily erected for a teamed up to campaign against the demolition. six kilometers (4 miles) from Vostochnaya tial. “There is practically no free land left in massive three-day cultural festival organized by the Art of Living Foundation on the “If the project goes through, the population Perlovka, residents of another small settlement Moscow,” said Vladimir Voronin, who heads a banks of the river Yamuna in New Delhi, India.—AP density of this area will be more than 13,000 called Stroitel, or Builder, are fighting the felling large Russian property developer, FSK Lider. people per square kilometer-more than twice of 255 acres (103 hectares) of forest, known as “Moscow region attracts people from other that of Hong Kong,” which has close to 6,800 Chelyuskinsky Wood, for house building. regions who want to earn money and make Health workers end people per square kilometer, said lawyer Andrei Residents accuse the local authorities of illegally careers in the capital,” said Voronin, adding that Yumashev, who represents the residents. He selling the forest to a Moscow property develop- the economic crisis prompted by falling oil month-long strike in Mali urged the property company, at the very least, er called Novaya Zemlya, which wants to build a prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine had to discuss the details of its plans for Vostochnaya new district with 20,000 inhabitants. not stopped them coming. Last year, 8.8 million BAMAKOL: Health workers in Mali called unions, adding that eight of nine demands Perlovka with locals. “I couldn’t live in a concrete In December, after MPs supported the resi- square meters of housing was built in the off a month-long strike yesterday that par- had been met. building,” said Viktor Karachun, one of the coor- dents’ complaints, local prosecutors launched a Moscow region, including 5.5 million square alyzed hospitals after reaching an agree- Government spokesman and commerce dinators of the campaign, who works as a com- probe and determined that the construction meters of high-rise blocks, according to the ment with the government. The stoppage minister Abdel Karim Konate confirmed to pany’s commercial director. plan was against the law. But the developers Moscow region’s construction ministry, the high- was called by the country’s two main AFP the strike was over. “The strikers and “Here, I have a large wooden house and an have not given up their plans and are continuing est rate in the country. In 2011 the municipal health unions, demanding raises for staff the government have reached agreement,” apple orchard. I have no problem parking and to destroy the forest, say residents, who have government massively expanded the area that is and jobs for contract workers, though a he said. The strike was the longest ever to my children can spend the whole day outside.” seen trees felled in recent months. “We moved part of the capital by extending the limits of skeleton emergency service was main- hit hospitals in Mali’s history and badly He published an online petition in July 2016 here (from Moscow) so our children could “Greater Moscow” by 1,500 square kilometers to tained. “The demand for strike action is lift- affected the majority of patients who could against the planned development by local com- breathe fresh air. In this forest, every tree is dear the city’s southwest.—AFP ed because we are satisfied,” said Yossouf not afford private care, pushing them to Maiga, a senior official with one the seek help from traditional healers.—AFP

Insider Q&A: Public health system CEO sweats out ACA debate CHICAGO: Cook County Health & Q: Emergency departments are usu- Hospitals System, which handles more ally a main source of care for the unin- than 1 million patient visits in the sured. Have your emergency depart- Chicago area every year, has seen a sig- ment visits changed since the law? nificant financial boost from the A: Actually, our volumes, our registra- Affordable Care Act. The federal law - tions, have not gone down. whose future is up in the air - expanded Q: Has the nature of those visits the Medicaid program for the poor, giv- changed? ing most of the system’s patients cover- A: We’re seeing a decrease in what age for the first time in its 180-year histo- some health care researchers refer to as ry. As one of the nation’s largest public ambulatory sensitive conditions. That is, health systems, it runs more than a those things that ought to ... have been dozen community health centers and cared for if your primary care home was two hospitals, including one on which open and you could reach them. A sore the TV drama “ER” was loosely based. throat, I’ve got a fever, I’ve got symptoms About 70 percent of the system’s of a bladder infection, those kinds of patients were uninsured before the things. Affordable Care Act expanded coverage Q: You run a safety net hospital that in 2014. Now, nearly the same percent- treats people with little or no income, age has coverage, and the system relies less on local tax dollars for support. The and you have clinics around the city. law’s future is unclear as Republicans in What is your top public health con- KATHMANDU, Madhyamanchal : In this photograph vehicles and motorbike riders travel on a dusty road in Kathmandu.—AFP photos Congress consider another push to cern? replace it after failing last month. A: Repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Hospital system CEO Dr Jay Shannon, absolutely, because that has been such a The bus mafia controlling who has followed the debate closely, leg up for so many adults who previously spoke recently with The Associated Press. weren’t able to get insurance. For us, the Questions and answers have been edited growth in the proportion of people who for clarity and length. have insurance post-ACA is almost exclu- Nepal’s smog-choked capital Q: What are the biggest ways the sively because of growth in Medicaid ACA has affected your hospitals and expansion in Illinois and in Cook County, so clinics? that is the biggest concern that we have. KATHMANDU: Nepal’s government is trying to war in 2006 and seen the country cycle scopic particles harmful to human health-regu- A: Most important is the impact for Q: Insurers have been pushing tackle rising pollution levels in the smog-choked through nine governments since then. The larly surpass 150. That is far above the maximum the patient. (They) now have access to Kathmandu Valley, but standing in the way is a impoverished Himalayan nation is currently threshold of 25 recommended by the World patients for years to seek care at less care coordination, they have access to expensive locations outside hospitals. powerful bus mafia that controls the capital’s ranked 131 out of 168 countries in watchdog Health Organization (WHO) for a 24-hour expo- community mental health and substance roads. The rulers of Kathmandu’s streets are a Transparency International’s global corruption sure. But Dharman Rijal of the National How is your business evolving to use services if they need it, and ... we can address that? web of transport syndicates made up of private perception index. Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs-an give them preventive services including bus owners who have repeatedly blocked official umbrella group for the bus operators-said the A: We actually embrace that. We have things like vaccinations. passed a strategic plan that marks an attempts to modernize the highly inefficient bus Genie out of the bottle modernization plans amounted to “bullying Q: How has the influx of patients intentional pivot to moving ... to commu- network. Critics say these associations have Experts say the ADB plan would significantly small investors”. “I stopped going to these fruit- covered by Medicaid affected your nity-based ambulatory services. That’s managed to win control over the roads and reduce congestion and emissions in gridlocked less meetings,” he said. “We have urged the gov- bottom line? ensure laws stay favorable to them by making Kathmandu where levels of PM 2.5 — micro- ernment and KSUTP to enter open competition A: The health system has been able to comprehensive services ideally, includ- payments masked as political donations to key with us, but replacing our buses with their new break even for the first time in our histo- ing primary care, specialty care, behav- political figures. “There is no regulatory mecha- buses is injustice.” ry. We always operated at a gigantic loss. ioral health, dental services. We want to nism that is strong enough to control them,” said Bus routes are allocated by the Department It has been an increase in revenue to the make it ambulatory care if at all possible Kanak Dixit, chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a cooper- of Transport Management, but only on the rec- system of somewhere between $200 mil- and reserve the expensive, higher-risk, ative bus company trying to break the hold of ommendation of an association, and competi- lion and $300 million a year for the past (hospital) setting only for those people the transport mafia. “This sector has so much tion between operators over fiercely guarded three years. who absolutely need it.—AP cash liquidity that they are able to influence the routes has on occasion turned violent. Under politicians and therefore they get their way.” pressure to be seen to be acting on pollution, A $30 million six-year program mostly funded which regularly makes the headlines of local by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aimed at newspapers, the government introduced a ban cleaning up the system, by introducing larger on public vehicles older than 20 years in buses in busy areas and redrawing overlapping February. So far the government says only four routes, is gathering dust. Meanwhile more than minibuses and one bus of an estimated 2,500 10,000 buses and minibuses in varying states of that fail to meet the new age requirements have disrepair ply the streets of Kathmandu, Patan been taken off the road. and Bhaktapur-three cities that bleed into each Most bus owners have refused to retire their other, making up the largest urban area in the country. “We prepared a very excellent report old vehicles without compensation, accusing with the help of donors, but when it came to the the government of bringing in the ban at the implementation phase we failed to materialize behest of the new vehicle lobby. The deeply it,” Bimal Prasad Subedi, deputy director of the entrenched political patronage system that has Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport Project been allowed to thrive will make it difficult for (KSUTP), told AFP. the government to now bring the bus mafia to “They (the bus syndicates) protested against heel, observers warn. “If you allow private sector our plans... They are private entities and don’t to go unregulated on something that is sup- KATHMANDU, Madhyamanchal: In this photo- posed to be a public service then they will run want to lose their profit.” Corruption in Nepal CHICAGO: This undated photo provided by Cook County Health & Hospitals graph scooter riders wear masks as they ride amok for sure,” Dixit said. “There is no way to put has flourished during the political instability System shows Dr Jay Shannon.—AP that followed the end of the decade-long civil along a dusty road in Kathmandu. that genie back in the bottle.”—AFP MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 HEALTH & SCIENCE

AFAR IRDOOD, Ethiopia: A man mines blocks of salt from the Danakil Depression.

AFAR IRDOOD, Ethiopia: A camel caravan enters the salt mining area of the Danakil Depression. Modern life intrudes on Ethiopia’s ancient salt trade ‘We hope there will be something like cars’ AFAR IRDOOD, Ethiopia: The salt market in Berhale town in northern Afar, Ethiopia, is LAKE ASALE, Ethiopia: Every morning, hun- plates. The region has also attracted foreign builders connected to Mekele by tarmac about pictured.—AFP photos dreds of men converge on a dry lakebed in a firms that want to mine potash and send it to five years ago. The journey takes only three days, remote corner of Ethiopia, where they cleave the Asia. The presence of salt in the area has not an improvement that some of the camel drivers Pedometers tied to less fatigue ground open with handaxes to extract salt, just escaped the attention of mining companies. and laborers who help offload the salt bricks have as their fathers and grandfathers once did. They A handful of kilometers away from where welcomed, but which others worry is a sign that for rheumatoid arthritis patients toil under the gaze of a caravan of camels who Idris and his colleagues gather, an Ethiopian technology will soon put them all out of business. will carry their salt bricks to market, in a trek that company has built a plant that sucks water from About 5,000 blocks of salt arrive each day at a NEW YORK: Patients with rheumatoid typically getting about 4,891 steps a day, historians estimate has gone on since the 6th the lake into evaporation ponds, creating salt trading post situated on a dry riverbed at the arthritis who receive pedometers may be which researchers classified as sedentary. century. But with the Ethiopian government the miners say is of a better quality but costs edge of Berhale, from which they are loaded more active and feel less fatigued even if Very few of them were getting at least opening the isolated northern region to more than the square blocks they mine from the onto trucks that take them as far away as neigh- they are not told to use the trackers to 8,000 steps a day, which the researchers investors and tourists by cutting new roads lakebed. “The traditional way is quite different boring Kenya, said Ahmed Ali Ahmed, the aim for a specific number of steps, a say is a healthy activity level. Beyond its through surrounding mountains, the laborers, from ours. That one takes more toil and time,” deputy of an association of salt miners. “The small study suggests. All 96 study partici- small size, another limitation of the study traders and caravan drivers that make up the evaporation plant manger Maheri Asgedew said road has brought a lot of change, because we pants had rheumatoid arthritis, an is that researchers lacked data on how industry say their traditional way of life could of the manual way of mining. Asgedew predicts can easily transport salt to Mekele,” Ahmed told immune system disorder that causes often participants wore the devices, soon be lost. that his plant, which only recently went into AFP. Ahmed is hopeful that, someday, they won’t debilitating swelling and pain in the which makes it difficult to get an accu- “If it continues like this, it will stop our work,” operation, would one day be the main supplier need to use camels at all. “We hope there will be joints. Researchers randomly assigned rate daily step count, the authors note in miner Musa Idris said as he stood on the cracked of salt in the area. something like cars,” he said. patients to get a pedometer with or with- Arthritis Care and Research. It’s also pos- earth that fringes Lake Asale, where the miners out a daily step goal, or to get only edu- sible that the pedometer groups might work amid temperatures that can reach 50 From camels to trucks ‘We don’t have anything else’ cational brochures with advice on not have improved as much if they degrees C (122 degrees F), making it one of the Perhaps no development has impacted the The Lake Asale miners like Idris have also becoming more active. hadn’t also been recording their steps in world’s hottest places. Salt mining was once so traditional salt industry like the new roads. grown tired of the industry’s backbreaking labor After 21 weeks, all of people with a daily diary, which increases their vital to the economy of the depression that the Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous coun- and low wages, despite its long history in the pedometers were walking more on aver- engagement with the effort to be more seven-kilogram chunks of salt Idris and his col- try and one of the continent’s best-performing area. “We have no water and sometimes we eat age each day: 1,441 additional steps active, said Dr Mitesh Patel, a researcher leagues hack from the ground were used as cur- economies, with growth reaching nearly 10 per- bad food,” said Musa, whose daily pay of 500 birr without a step goal and 1,656 extra steps at the University of Pennsylvania in rency. While the trade is still important, it is no cent in 2015. The government has made proj- ($22, 21 euros) affords him a house in Hamed with a goal. But the patients who didn’t Philadelphia who wasn’t involved in the longer the only game in town. ects such as dams and road-building a priority as Ela, a ramshackle settlement of huts near the salt get pedometers actually got 747 fewer study. part of its strategy to end the poverty that fields. “If technology comes and changes it, it steps a day on average by the end of the “Research indicates that for most peo- Tourism moves in afflicts around one in three of its citizens. would be better.” But others embrace the tradi- study. Patients with pedometers report- ple, pedometers and wearable devices Restaurants and hotels have sprung up in the Getting the salt-laden camels from Lake Asale to tional way. For them, it’s simply the family busi- ed statistically meaningful declines in are more likely to help change health area, also known as the Danakil depression, to the nearest city Mekele used to be a four-day ness. “We see this as our farmland, so we don’t fatigue during the study, but people who behaviors if they are combined with an cater to tourists who come from across the trek down rock-strewn gullies. have anything else but this,” miner Indris Ibrahim only got education did not. “We found engagement strategy,” Patel said by globe to visit the uniquely desolate landscape Now, the caravans terminate in Berhale, the said. “My children and grandchildren will hope- that increasing activity just through email. Generally, pedometers are most formed by the intersection of three tectonic region’s main salt trading outpost which road fully mine in this area.”—AFP walking decreased fatigue,” said lead useful for people who are sedentary and study author Dr Patricia Katz of the unaware of their own level of inactivity, University of California, San Francisco. said Dr Lucas Carr, a physiology “Most of us probably don’t realize how researcher at the University of Iowa who inactive we are until we start measuring wasn’t involved in the study. “This rela- our daily activity,” Katz said by email. tively simple intervention helped a very “Having a concrete goal, such as the sedentary group of rheumatoid arthritis number of daily steps, seems to help patients increase their activity at a level people become and stay active.” that is considered clinically significant,” Every patient received the same edu- Carr said by email. “The largest health cational brochure at the start. In the two benefits are realized when an individual groups that received pedometers, all of changes from doing nothing to doing the participants were asked to keep a something.” While the study included daily diary to record how many steps only people with rheumatoid arthritis, it’s they logged. For one group with possible pedometers might be useful for pedometers, researchers also assessed people with other chronic medical prob- their activity levels at the start of the lems, said Dr David Geier, an orthopedic study and set goals for them to increase surgeon sports medicine specialist in their average daily steps by 10 percent Charleston, South Carolina who wasn’t every two weeks. involved in the study. “It seems reason- able to think they could help stimulate Simple intervention activity,” Geier said by email. “Physical At the start of the study, participants activity would be helpful for almost were 54 years old on average and were everyone.” —Reuters AFAR IRDOOD, Ethiopia : A man shaves blocks of salt from the Danakil Depression. AFAR IRDOOD, Ethiopia: The landscape of the Danakil Depression is pictured. WHAT’S ON MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 Zafran Turns One Popular Indian Bistro Celebrates with Great Food

hakespeare wrote, if music be the food of love, play on... The music played last night Sat Zafran Indian Bistro, but it was the food that was the real hero. The award-winning con- temporary Indian restaurant celebrated its 1st anniversary by providing guests with a sneak preview of their ‘Regional Flavors of India— regional curries menu’, which will be officially launched in the restaurant this week. From Gosht Vindaloo to Dhaba-style chicken curry and Kerala fish curry inspired by God’s own country, each of the curries is classic and pre- pared individually using only the most authentic ingredients. Once again vegetarians have not Chef Gaurav Singh been forgotten. The menu features dishes such as Rajasthani chakki ki sabzi, a popular gravy curry, Papad Ki Sabzi and Punjabi Baingan Bharta all very local and never been showcased commercially. “Regional Flavors of India has been conceptualized to take diners on a culinary journey through curries. This menu presents the sheer diversity of Indian cuisine. A great representation of the regions they’re from, each recipe has been subtly enhanced to fit Zafran’s distinctive philosophy and palate, celebrating the subtle and complex flavors of Indian cuisine, yet remaining light on the stomach,” said Chef Gaurav Singh, Brand Chef at Zafran. Guests enjoyed trying out these new dishes, all perfectly complimented with freshly baked Indian breads, homemade pickles and preserves and a range of signa- ture drinks and desserts with their own distinctive Zafran flair. Entertainment on the night was provided by a local dance troupe. “From its smooth and inviting ambience and friendly and engaging serv- ice to a menu created using the finest ingredients, Zafran has already become the first choice for Indian cuisine in Kuwait,” said Rakshak Puri, General Manager - Asian Dining at Foodmark. “What better way to celebrate our 1st anniversary than with our new regional curries menu, which delights but doesn’t overwhelm and is a perfect example of our ‘big heart-light touch’ founding principal,” he added. The 150-seat restaurant, which includes Zafran’s signature ‘wow’ kitchen, is open to guests for lunch as well as dinner from 12 pm - 12 am every day. Located in the Lights complex, Zafran has fantastic external seating with ample parking and easy access.

Gosht Vindaloo

Murg Haandi Korma Chakki Ki Subzi

ADAK elects new committee

lappuzha District Association (ADAK-Kuwait) Committee for the socio-cultural carried out last year. elected its new committee for the year 2017- The second round of membership campaign was 2018, in its Annual General Body held on 7th then inaugurated by giving the membership form to March,A 2017 at Poppins Hall, Abbassiya. Prior to the Premsan Kayamkulam along with other 10 new mem- election, General Secretary Vipin Mangattu, in his bers. Thereafter, Chacko George Kutty, being Election Annual Report explained the activities performed last officer conducted the election process democratically year which wholeheartedly approved by the General for the year 2017 - 2018 and the General Body unani- Body, chaired by President B S Pillai. Patron Chacko mously elected new officials. George Kutty in his key note address appreciated the Gosht Aur Kairi Keema WHAT’S ON MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

Al-Mulla Exchange’s Hindi comedy play well received by customers

l-Mulla Exchange Company organized a Hindi Indians who miss their homeland and will serve to comedy play titled ‘Tota Maina Ki Kahani’ on April bring back fond memories. Rakesh Joshi added that 14, 2017, at American International School which the Indian community are an important part of their Awas presented for their loyal Indian customers. This was customer base and “this part of our ongoing efforts to the 144th event by Al-Mulla Exchange. Al-Mulla Exchange give our special guests quality events and programs not only provides instant remittance to the bank that will be remembered.” accounts but also a wide range of entertainment pro- The play, a comedy, tells the story of a young couple grams and promotions to customers as a token of grati- bumbling through their romantic pre-marital relationship tude for their loyalty and support. followed by the usual bitter-sweet tiffs after marriage, The main sponsors of the play were Jet airways, City punctuated by some slapstick rib-ticklers. Add to it a mix Van, German Press Company and Holiday Downtown of troublesome neighbors, the groom’s father, his lawyer Hotel. Rakesh Joshi, General Manager Al-Mulla exchange and the bride’s mother giving you a laugh-out-loud play. thanked the sponsors for their support. “Without them The unstoppable laugh riot is enriched with soothing this would not have been possible,” he noted. Further he music, and a production par excellence. One of the main stated that the idea behind the organizing this play is to highlights of the play is its star cast comprising of well- provide our guests a wonderful time that will help them known faces from movies and television around the relax their minds. Laughter is a good therapy and is very world. The director did a fantastic job to balance all these beneficial to our health, and this play served to be a positives in the right proportion to provide a wholesome health tonic.” family entertainer that’s just perfect for the audience. Moreover, the play will be a nostalgic experience for LOYAC prepares for 15th anniversary

ithin its preparations to cele- arts and volunteering”, she stressed. brate its 15th anniversary and Further, Al-Saqqaf highlighted how LAPA’s 7th anniversary, LOYAC LOYAC’s Academy For Performance Arts recentlyW held a press conference at its (LAPA) has managed to turn youth headquarters at the Qibliya School. anger and mutiny into creation and During which musicians, Abbdullatif moments of peace and love. On his Ghazi and Lolwa Al-Sahmlan were hon- part, clarinet player, Abdullatif Ghazi ored for their achievements in the inter- stressed that music was more like a national and music scene. spiritual journey into a world of cre- Speaking at the conference, LOYAC’s ation that helped him challenge his chairperson, Fareah Al-Saqqaf stressed blindness. “Disabled people are creative that the word ‘Enlightened’ used in in so many fields”, he added urging all LOYAC’s slogan of ‘Enlightened Youth governmental and non-governmental For Peace & Prosperity’ reflects the bodies to support them. In addition, foundation’s vision and differs from the honoree Lolwa Al-Shamlan expressed word ‘educated’ because someone appreciation for LOYAC’s support over might learn both useful and harmful the past seven years, which enabled her things while enlightenment means join London’s oldest music schools, win awareness and having a vision, “Which more than an international competition can be achieved with LOYAC through and hold concerts at USA and Kuwait. Asad Khan takes charge at Indian Frontliners

ndian Frontliners, Kuwait plans to release the IFL-Part 20 book in the The Chief guests Vijaykumar I.P.S. (Senior Security Adviser in Ministry of function scheduled on 5th May 2017. In order to discuss about the pro- Home Affairs (India), Former Director-general of Central Reserve Police gram arrangements, IFL team organized a get-together meeting at Force (CRPF)) and Rangaraj Pandey (Chief Editor, Famous Tamil News IFahaheel. The gathering was graced by many dignified guests and patrons Channel Thanthi TV) coming from India to participate in the annual including Asad Khan of Kuwait Swedish Cleaning Co, Dr Anis Ahmed, Function were discussed. All the team members expressed their happiness Director of Salmiya Indian Model School, AN Natarajan and many more. to work jointly in IFL presided by Asad Khan and the make this year even a Mohandoss welcomed all and gave the brief about the on-going func- mega success. Asad Khan, explained about the forthcoming 20th year tion preparations. Since it is the 20th year of the IFL, by the request of function and the chief Guests Vijayakumar IPS (former CRPF Director) and team members Asad Khan is kind enough to accept and preside the asso- Rangarajan Pande a popular south Indian media news editor. ciation as the President. PEFK celebrates 7th anniversary in speech & creative art competition

akistan Employment Forum Kuwait (PEFK) celebrates Pakistan School Salmiya and Creators Academy participat- achievement, but rather a challenge. The achievement is and Mrs Yasmeen Mozaffar highly appreciated the PEFK seven years of success and community service in ed in speech and creative art competitions. the future that we build for the people of our society; we contribution and services to the community for job search career development. On the occasion of 7th anniver- Responsibility of judges was performed by renowned are employing all resources and capacities at our disposal assistance and career guidance to the students for their Psary of the forum, PEFK team and management organize personalities Shamim Mozaffar and Mrs Mozaffar. All par- to that end, whereby we are assisting & guiding young, higher education. They mentioned that PEFK Team is doing interschool speech and creative art competitions. The chief ticipants delivered excellent speeches and crafted beauti- innovative talent, and providing them with the adequate a great voluntarily job to the society in noble cause of guest of this graceful event was Umer Jawaid, Community ful art models in creative art competitions. National songs environment to excel. career development. Welfare Attache from Embassy of Pakistan in Kuwait. A of Pakistan were presented by Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Ali Dr UmerJawaid, Community Welfare AttachÈ from They announced the result of speech contest and cre- large number of families, students, teachers, principals and Hassan and Famous singer in Kuwait Zagar Hussain. Embassy of Pakistan in Kuwait stated in his key note ative art competition. In speech contest, Muhammad Ali community heads participated in 7th anniversary event. Beautiful tableau performance was presented by students speech that Pakistan Employment Forum Kuwait services Hassan of International School of Pakistan Khaitan secured Event was graced by distinguished guests from all walks of Pakistan Excel School and International school of to the community in career developments are remarkable 1st position, Eman Naeem of New Pakistan International of life. Program commenced with recitation of holy Quran Pakistan Khaitan. Wonderful poetry for Pakistan was pre- and I highly appreciate the efforts has been made by PEFK School Hawally secured 2nd and Tasbeeha Javaid from by Muhammad Rashid followed by Nasheed by sented by famous poet in Kuwait Syed Sadaqat Ali. Event team in the field of career assistance, help and guidance. Pakistan School Mangaf secured 3rd position. In creative Muhammad Ali Hassan and National anthems of Kuwait was sponsored by VIVA telecom. He stated that career development is a very technical and art competition, 1st position obtained by Safa Arshad from and Pakistan. This graceful event was conducted by Ms Anwar Ali, Vice President of PEFK addressed the audi- unique field of service which can be done by only a highly Pakistan School Mangaf, Eisha Irfan of Pakistan Excel Nadiya Muhammad Arshad and Waqas Ahmed. Students ence and stated PEFK services are wonderful and their con- professional and dedicated team. He congratulates PEFK School secured 2nd and Afnan Afzal of Pakistan school from various schools including Pakistan School Mangaf, tributions to society in noble cause of career development Team for successful seven years of community service in Salmiya secured 3rd position. New International school Pakistan Hawally, Pakistan Excel are remarkable. PEFK maintains a realist outlook with career development. School Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, International school of Pakistan, regards to excellence, “which we do not view as an Judges of the speech and creative art contest Mozaffar MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 TV PROGRAMS

08:00 Origins: The Journey Of Humankind 09:00 The Story Of God With Morgan Freeman 11:00 The Story Of God With 00:00 Ice Agent 00:45 Mekong: Soul Of A River 00:00 Rob & Chyna Morgan Freeman 00:00 Binny And The Ghost 02:00 Hitting The Apex 01:40 Mekong: Soul Of A River 00:55 Revenge Body With Khloe 12:00 Mine Kings 00:25 Hank Zipzer 04:30 Apocalypse Pompeii 02:35 Mekong: Soul Of A River Kardashian 13:00 Cosmos: A Spacetime 00:45 The Hive 06:30 Licence To Kill 03:25 Mekong: Soul Of A River 01:50 E! News Odyssey 00:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A 08:45 Bermuda Tentacles 04:15 Running With Wolves 02:50 Celebrity Style Story 14:00 Origins: The Journey Of Teenage Witch 10:45 Hitting The Apex 05:02 Mekong: Soul Of A River 03:20 Celebrity Style Story Humankind 01:40 Hank Zipzer 13:15 Licence To Kill 05:49 Gator Boys 03:50 Botched By Nature 15:00 Inside 02:05 Binny And The Ghost 15:45 Echo Effect 06:36 Swamp Brothers 05:30 Celebrity Style Story 16:00 Riddles Of The Bible 02:55 Hank Zipzer 17:45 Seventh Son 07:00 Swamp Brothers 06:00 Botched By Nature 17:00 Lawless Island 03:15 The Hive 19:45 Golden Eye 07:25 Pit Bulls & Parolees 06:55 E! News 18:00 Primal Survivor 03:20 Sabrina Secrets Of A 22:00 No Tears For The Dead 08:15 Wildest India 07:25 Botched By Nature 19:00 Mega Factories Teenage Witch 09:10 Running With Wolves 08:20 Botched By Nature 20:00 Riddles Of The Bible 04:10 Hank Zipzer 10:05 Tanked 09:15 Botched By Nature 04:35 Binny And The Ghost 11:00 Pit Bulls & Parolees 10:10 E! News 05:25 Hank Zipzer 11:55 Bondi Vet 10:40 Celebrity Style Story 05:45 The Hive 12:50 Wildest India 11:10 Keeping Up With The 05:50 The 7D 00:00 Stung 13:45 Gator Boys Kardashians 06:00 Jessie 00:00 StartUp 02:00 A Merry Christmas Miracle 14:40 Running With Wolves 12:10 Keeping Up With The 06:25 Jessie 01:00 Scandal 04:00 It Boy 15:35 Tanked Kardashians 06:50 Tsum Tsum Shorts 02:00 Feud 06:00 Honeymooners 16:30 Swamp Brothers 13:05 Keeping Up With The 06:55 The Zhuzhus 03:00 Mistresses 08:00 A Merry Christmas Miracle 16:55 Swamp Brothers Kardashians 07:20 Elena Of Avalor 04:00 This Is Us 10:00 It Boy 17:25 Village Vets 14:05 Keeping Up With The 07:45 Bizaardvark 05:00 How To Get Away With 12:00 Honeymooners 17:50 Village Vets Kardashians 08:35 Stuck In The Middle Murder 14:00 Camp Nowhere 18:20 Lone Star Law 15:00 E! News 09:25 Disney The Lodge 06:00 Good Morning America - 16:00 Love, Rosie 19:15 Tanked 15:30 Celebrity Style Story 09:50 Bunkʼd Weekend 18:00 The Final Girls 20:10 North America 16:00 WAGs 10:15 Bunkʼd 07:00 The Chew 20:00 Death At A Funeral 21:05 Village Vets 17:00 WAGs 10:40 How To Build A Better Boy 08:00 The View 22:00 Road Trip 21:30 Village Vets 18:00 WAGs 12:15 Disney Mickey Mouse 09:00 How To Get Away With 22:00 Lone Star Law 19:00 Botched 12:20 Jessie Murder 22:55 Gator Boys 20:00 Botched 12:45 Jessie 10:00 This Is Us 23:50 Swamp Brothers 21:00 Botched 13:10 Austin & Ally 11:00 Bones 22:00 Botched 14:00 Liv And Maddie 12:00 The Chew 23:00 E! News 00:45 Child Of God 14:50 Sunny Bunnies 13:00 The View 02:45 Experimenter 14:55 The Zhuzhus 14:00 Live Good Morning America 04:30 A Perfect Day 15:20 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug 16:00 How To Get Away With 06:15 No God No Master 00:00 The Haunting Of... And Cat Noir Murder 08:00 The Truth About Emanuel 01:00 My Ghost Story: Caught On 15:45 Elena Of Avalor 17:00 This Is Us 10:00 Tracks Camera 16:10 Liv And Maddie 18:00 Bones 12:00 Experimenter 02:00 Crimes That Shook Australia 16:35 Descendants Wicked World 19:00 Rosewood 14:00 Trash 03:00 Fred Dinenage: Murder 00:20 Hoard Hunters 16:40 Girl Meets World 20:00 Criminal Minds 01:10 Pawn Stars 16:00 Grand Central Casebook 17:05 Stuck In The Middle 21:00 American Crime 17:45 Spotlight 04:00 The Haunting Of... 01:35 Pawn Stars South Africa 17:30 Bunkʼd 22:00 Code Black 02:00 Storage Wars: Barryʼs Best 20:00 99 Homes 05:00 My Ghost Story: Caught On 17:55 Bizaardvark 23:00 Mistresses 22:00 Carol Camera Buys 18:20 Disney Mickey Mouse 06:00 The First 48 02:50 Storage Wars 18:25 Alex & Co. 07:00 My Crazy Ex 03:15 American Pickers 18:50 Jessie 08:00 Evil Up Close 04:05 Pawn Stars 19:15 Tsum Tsum Shorts 09:00 It Takes A Killer 04:30 Pawn Stars 19:20 Backstage 00:15 Swordfish 10:00 Crimes That Shook Australia 05:00 Mountain Men 19:45 Austin & Ally 02:30 The Taking Of Pelham 123 11:00 The First 48 06:00 Lost In Transmission 20:10 The Next Step 04:30 Dick Tracy 13:00 My Crazy Ex 06:50 Ice Road Truckers 20:35 Cracke 06:30 The Guardian 14:00 Evil Up Close 07:40 Counting Cars 20:40 Disney The Lodge 00:00 The Simpsons 09:00 Finding Forrester 15:00 Crimes That Shook Australia 08:30 Pawn Stars 21:05 Girl Meets World 00:30 New Girl 11:30 The Taking Of Pelham 123 16:00 It Takes A Killer 09:20 Storage Wars 21:30 Thatʼs So Raven 01:00 New Girl 13:45 S.W.A.T. 17:00 The First 48 09:45 Storage Wars 21:55 Star Darlings 01:30 Saturday Night Live 15:45 The Bucket List 19:00 Evil Up Close 10:10 American Pickers 22:00 Good Luck Charlie 03:00 Scrubs 17:45 Big Fish 20:00 Frankie Fraserʼs Last Stand 11:00 Pirate Treasure Of The 22:25 Sabrina Secrets Of A 03:30 Scrubs 20:00 Amelia 21:00 Crimes That Shook Australia Knights Templar Teenage Witch 04:00 10 Items Or Less 22:00 The Walk 22:00 Homicide Hunter 11:50 Battle 360 22:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 12:40 Swamp People Teenage Witch Jimmy Fallon 13:30 Ax Men 23:10 Hank Zipzer BERMUDA TENTACLES ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD 05:30 Superstore 14:20 Mountain Men 06:00 George Lopez 15:10 Ice Road Truckers 09:30 Beauty Queen Murders 06:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 16:00 Lost In Transmission 10:20 I Almost Got Away With It 07:30 The Last Man On Earth 16:50 Pawn Stars 11:10 Murder Comes To Town 08:00 10 Items Or Less 01:15 Robosapien: Rebooted 00:05 Destroyed In Seconds 17:15 Pawn Stars 12:00 Iʼd Kill For You 08:30 Scrubs 02:45 Ghatothkach - Master Of 00:30 What Could Possibly Go 17:40 Storage Wars: Barryʼs Best 12:50 I Almost Got Away With It 09:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Magic Wrong? Buys 13:40 Over My Dead Body 04:30 Virus Attack The First 00:20 Jobs That Bite! 10:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 01:20 What Could Possibly Go 18:30 Pawn Stars 06:00 Guardians Of The Galaxy 14:30 Beauty Queen Murders 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring Antivirus Wrong? 18:55 Pawn Stars South Africa 06:25 Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man 15:20 I Almost Got Away With It 01:10 Africaʼs Creative Killers 06:00 When Marnie Was There 02:00 Viper Queens Jimmy Fallon 02:10 Dirty Jobs 19:20 Mountain Men vs The Sinister 6 16:10 Nightmare Next Door 12:00 George Lopez 07:45 Ploddy Police Car On The 00:00 Henry Hugglemonster 02:50 Hunter Hunted 03:50 Ultimate Survival 20:10 American Pickers 06:50 Atomic Puppet 17:00 Iʼd Kill For You 12:30 10 Items Or Less Case 00:15 Calimero 03:45 Expedition Wild 06:20 How Itʼs Made 21:00 The Curse Of Oak Island 07:15 Gravity Falls 17:50 I Almost Got Away With It 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 09:00 Blue Elephant 2 00:30 Art Attack 04:40 Extreme Animal Babies 07:00 Doki 21:50 Hunting Hitler 07:40 Supa Strikas 18:40 Secret Lives Of Stepford 14:00 Scrubs 10:45 Robosapien: Rebooted 00:55 Zou 05:35 Viper Queens 07:25 Bear Grylls Survival School 22:40 American Restoration 08:05 Two More Eggs Wives 14:30 The Last Man On Earth 12:15 Ghatothkach - Master Of 01:05 Loopdidoo 06:30 Hunter Hunted 07:50 My Cat From Hell 23:30 American Pickers 08:10 K.C. Undercover 19:05 Secret Lives Of Stepford 15:00 Superstore Magic 01:20 Henry Hugglemonster 07:25 Expedition Wild 08:40 How Itʼs Made 08:35 Milo Murphyʼs Law Wives 15:30 New Girl 14:00 Cher Ami 01:35 Calimero 08:20 Extreme Animal Babies 09:30 What Could Possibly Go 09:00 Walk The Prank 19:30 Love The Way You Lie 16:00 New Girl 16:00 Blue Elephant 2 01:50 Zou 09:15 Strangest Bird Alive Wrong? 09:25 Right Now Kapow 20:20 Evil Stepmothers 16:30 George Lopez 18:00 Harriet The Spy 02:05 Art Attack 10:10 Snakes In The City 10:20 Troy 09:50 Lab Rats 21:10 Tabloid 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 20:00 Memory Loss 02:30 The Hive 11:05 Predator Patrol 11:10 Dynamo: Magician 10:15 Two More Eggs 22:00 Deadline: Crime With Tamron 18:00 Scrubs 21:30 Cher Ami 02:40 Loopdidoo 12:00 I, Predator Impossible 10:20 Star vs The Forces Of Evil Hall 18:30 Scrubs 23:15 Ploddy Police Car On The 02:55 Henry Hugglemonster 12:55 Night Of The Lion 12:00 Troy 00:00 The Great Food Truck Race 10:45 Mighty Med 22:50 In The Name Of Love: 19:00 Dr. Ken Case 03:10 Art Attack 13:50 Hunter Hunted 12:50 Dynamo: Magician 01:00 Tia Mowry At Home 11:10 K.C. Undercover People Magazine Investigates 19:30 The Mindy Project 03:35 Loopdidoo 14:45 Africaʼs Deadliest Impossible 02:00 Dinner At Tiffaniʼs 11:35 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 23:40 Pandoraʼs Box: Unleashing 20:00 The Goldbergs 03:50 Calimero 15:40 Extreme Animal Babies 13:40 Troy 02:30 Dinner At Tiffaniʼs 12:00 Mark And Russellʼs Wild Ride Evil 20:30 The Goldbergs 04:05 Art Attack 13:30 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 16:35 Monster Frog 17:30 David Attenboroughʼs Rise 21:00 Two And A Half Men Of Animals 21:30 Two And A Half Men 00:20 Little Miss Atlanta 18:25 Africaʼs Deadliest 22:00 Baskets 01:10 The Undateables 19:20 Dinofish 02:00 My Big Fat Fabulous Life 20:10 Extreme Animal Babies 02:25 Say Yes To The Dress: 00:10 The Chase 21:00 Monster Frog Bridesmaids 01:00 Emmerdale 21:50 David Attenboroughʼs Rise 02:50 Love At First Swipe 01:30 Emmerdale Of Animals 03:15 Cake Boss 02:00 Coronation Street 22:40 Africaʼs Deadliest 03:35 Save My Style 02:30 Guess This House 00:30 Mars Needs Moms 04:00 Save My Style 03:25 Itʼs Not Rocket Science 02:15 Poohʼs Heffalump Halloween 04:20 Little People, Big World 04:20 Surprise Surprise Movie 04:45 Little People, Big World 05:15 Come Date With Me 03:30 D3: The Mighty Ducks 05:10 Toddlers & Tiaras Australia 05:30 The Parent Trap 06:00 Say Yes To The Dress: The 06:10 The Chase 07:45 Poohʼs Heffalump Halloween Big Day 07:05 Guess This House 00:10 Wicked Tuna Movie 06:50 Little Miss Atlanta 08:00 Itʼs Not Rocket Science 01:00 Ancient X-Files 09:00 Poohʼs Heffalump Movie 07:40 Outdaughtered: Busby 09:00 Ant & Decʼs Saturday Night 02:00 Rebel Pope 10:15 Gnomeo & Juliet Quints Takeaway 03:00 Monster Fish 11:45 The Parent Trap 08:30 Little People, Big World 10:10 Come Date With Me 04:00 Wicked Tuna 14:00 Poohʼs Heffalump Movie 08:55 Little People, Big World Australia 05:00 Mega Breakdown 15:15 Ducktales: The Movie 09:20 Little People, Big World 11:00 The Chase 06:00 Cosmos: A Spacetime 17:00 The Secret Of The Magic 10:10 Love At First Swipe 11:50 Guess This House Odyssey Gourd 10:35 Cake Boss 12:45 Emmerdale 07:00 Secret Service Files: 19:00 Secretariat 11:00 My Big Fat Fabulous Life 13:15 Coronation Street Protecting The President 21:00 Little Women 11:25 Say Yes To The Dress: 13:45 Coronation Street Bridesmaids 14:15 The Chase 15:10 Guess This House 16:00 Vera 17:50 Come Date With Me Australia 18:20 Come Date With Me Australia 18:45 Emmerdale 19:15 Coronation Street 19:45 Coronation Street 20:10 Guess This House 21:00 Vera 22:50 Emmerdale MARS NEEDS MOMS ON OSN MOVIES FAMILY HD 23:15 Coronation Street 23:40 Coronation Street 14:30 Dynamo: Magician 03:00 Chopped 04:30 Henry Hugglemonster 13:45 K.C. Undercover Impossible 04:00 The Great Food Truck Race 04:45 Zou 14:10 Disney Mickey Mouse 15:20 Troy 05:00 Guyʼs Grocery Games 05:00 Art Attack 14:15 K.C. Undercover 16:10 Dynamo A-Z Special 06:00 Barefoot Contessa 05:30 Henry Hugglemonster 14:40 Disney Cookabout 17:00 Kids Do The Craziest Things 07:00 The Kitchen 05:45 Loopdidoo 15:05 Lab Rats 17:50 Pick A Puppy 08:00 The Pioneer Woman 06:00 Zou 15:30 Supa Strikas 00:15 Hotel India 18:40 Destroyed In Seconds 09:00 Cooking For Real 06:15 Calimero 15:55 Supa Strikas 01:05 Lucky Chow 19:30 How Itʼs Made 10:00 Sibaʼs Table 06:30 Loopdidoo 16:25 K.C. Undercover 01:30 Dog Whisperer 20:20 Mythbusters 11:00 The Kitchen 06:45 Henry Hugglemonster 16:50 Walk The Prank 02:20 Food Loverʼs Guide To The 21:10 Kids Do The Craziest Things 12:00 The Pioneer Woman 07:00 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 17:15 Lab Rats: Bionic Island Planet 22:00 Pick A Puppy 13:00 Sibaʼs Table: Fast Feasts 07:25 Sofia The First 17:40 Milo Murphyʼs Law 02:45 A Model Adventure 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 07:50 The Lion Guard 18:05 Disney Mickey Mouse 03:35 The Game Chef 15:00 Chopped 08:20 PJ Masks 18:10 Gravity Falls 04:00 Living Free With Kimi Werner 16:00 The Kitchen 08:30 Winnie The Pooh: Springtime 18:35 Mighty Med 04:50 Street Food Around The 17:00 Cooking For Real With Roo 19:00 Atomic Puppet World 18:00 Chopped 09:40 The Lion Guard 19:25 Gamerʼs Guide To Pretty 05:20 Worldʼs Best Beaches 19:00 Chopped Junior 10:05 Sofia The First Much Everything 06:15 Fearless Chef 00:20 Street Outlaws 20:00 Restaurant: Impossible 10:30 Doc McStuffins 19:55 K.C. Undercover 07:10 Lucky Chow 01:10 Supertruckers 21:00 Mystery Diners 10:55 Miles From Tomorrow 20:20 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 07:35 Dog Whisperer 02:00 Snaketacular 22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 11:20 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 20:45 Mighty Med 08:30 Food Loverʼs Guide To The 02:50 Running Wild With Bear 23:00 Guyʼs Grocery Games 11:50 Sheriff Callieʼs Wild West 21:10 Walk The Prank Planet Grylls 12:15 Gummi Bears 21:40 Disney Mickey Mouse 09:00 A Model Adventure 03:40 Fast Nʼ Loud 12:40 Miles From Tomorrow 21:45 Marvelʼs Avengers Assemble 09:55 The Game Chef 04:30 Storage Hunters 13:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:10 Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man 10:20 Living Free With Kimi Werner 05:00 How Do They Do It? 13:35 PJ Masks vs The Sinister 6 11:15 Street Food Around The 06:00 Outback Truckers 14:00 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 22:35 Boyster World 06:50 Street Outlaws 14:30 The Lion Guard 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am 11:45 Worldʼs Best Beaches 07:40 Fast Nʼ Loud 00:30 Ecopolis 15:00 The Return Of Jafar KSA 12:40 Lucky Chow 08:30 The Island With Bear Grylls 02:10 Mythbusters 16:10 Goldie & Bear 13:05 Dog Whisperer 09:20 Storage Hunters 07:00 How Do They Do It? 16:25 Miles From Tomorrow 14:00 Food Loverʼs Guide To The 09:45 How Do They Do It? 07:26 Prototype This 16:50 PJ Masks Planet 10:35 Wheeler Dealers 08:14 Mythbusters 17:15 Sofia The First 14:30 A Model Adventure 11:25 Diesel Brothers 09:02 Eco-Tech 17:40 Doc McStuffins 15:25 The Game Chef 12:15 Harley And The Davidsons 09:50 How Do They Do It? 18:05 Jake And The Never Land 15:50 Living Free With Kimi Werner 13:05 How Do They Do It? 10:14 Food Factory Pirates 16:45 Street Food Around The 13:30 Storage Hunters 10:38 Mythbusters 18:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 00:30 Ghosts Of Shepherdstown World 14:20 Gold Rush 11:26 Prototype This 19:00 Miles From Tomorrow 01:20 A Haunting 17:15 Worldʼs Best Beaches 15:10 Marooned With Ed Stafford 12:14 Mythbusters 19:25 Miles From Tomorrow 02:10 Dead Silent 18:10 Charlie Luxtonʼs Homes By 16:00 Railroad Australia 13:02 How Do They Do It? 19:50 Doc McStuffins 03:00 Hollywood Horror Story: The Sea 16:50 Fast Nʼ Loud 13:26 Food Factory 20:05 Goldie & Bear People Magazine... 19:05 Raw Travel 17:40 Street Outlaws 13:50 Ecopolis 20:35 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 03:48 Hate In America 19:30 The Game Chef 18:30 How Do They Do It? 14:38 Prototype This 21:00 Gummi Bears 04:36 Pandoraʼs Box: Unleashing 20:00 Living Free With Kimi Werner 19:20 Marooned With Ed Stafford 15:26 Mythbusters 21:30 Miles From Tomorrow Evil 20:55 Street Food Around The 20:10 Storage Hunters 17:02 Ecopolis 22:00 Goldie & Bear 05:24 Murder Book World 20:35 Storage Hunters 17:50 Prototype This 22:25 Goldie & Bear 06:12 Grave Secrets 21:20 Worldʼs Best Beaches 21:00 Gold Rush: Parkerʼs Trail 18:40 Mythbusters 22:55 PJ Masks 07:00 Iʼd Kill For You 22:10 Charlie Luxtonʼs Homes By 21:50 Idris Elba: No Limits 19:30 How The Universe Works 23:20 Henry Hugglemonster 07:50 I Almost Got Away With It The Sea 22:40 Killing Fields B-Story 20:20 How Do They Do It? 23:35 The Hive 08:40 Over My Dead Body 23:00 Lucky Chow 23:30 Fast Nʼ Loud 20:45 Food Factory 23:45 Loopdidoo 09:05 Over My Dead Body 23:25 Dog Whisperer THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 ON OSN MOVIES HD Classifieds

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/04/2017 TO 19/04/2017)

SHARQIA-1 GOING IN STYLE 2:30 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE -3D-4DX 1:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:30 PM FEIN QALBY 12:00 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 4:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8-2D-4DX 3:45 PM FEIN QALBY 2:15 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 6:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8-2D-4DX 6:30 PM AL-KOUT.3 RABBIT SCHOOL 4:30 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 8:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8-2D-4DX 9:15 PM GOING IN STYLE 12:30 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 6:15 PM GOING IN STYLE 10:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8-2D-4DX 12:05 AM GOING IN STYLE 2:30 PM FEIN QALBY 8:15 PM GOING IN STYLE 12:30 AM THE BELKO EXPERIMENT 4:30 PM GOING IN STYLE 10:30 PM AVENUES-3 SAFRA 5 NJOOM 6:30 PM FEIN QALBY 12:30 AM FANAR-3 FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:45 AM SAFRA 5 NJOOM 8:30 PM KONG: SKULL ISLAND 1:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 2:30 PM SAFRA 5 NJOOM 10:30 PM SHARQIA-2 RABBIT SCHOOL 1:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:45 PM THE BELKO EXPERIMENT 12:30 AM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 11:45 AM RABBIT SCHOOL 3:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 1:45 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 5:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:15 PM BAIRAQ-1 FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:30 PM KONG: SKULL ISLAND 7:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 7:15 PM THE BELKO EXPERIMENT 9:30 PM AVENUES-4 FAST & FURIOUS 8 2:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 10:00 PM THE BELKO EXPERIMENT 11:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:45 AM THE BELKO EXPERIMENT 1:00 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 2:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:00 PM SHARQIA-3 FANAR-4 Special Show “SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE” 5:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:45 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 11:45 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:15 PM BAIRAQ-2 GOING IN STYLE 1:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 1:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:30 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 3:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:30 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 3:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 7:15 PM 360º 1 RABBIT SCHOOL 4:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 10:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:30 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:45 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 2:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:05 AM MUHALAB-1 MARINA-1 FAST & FURIOUS 8 7:45 PM FEIN QALBY 11:45 AM FEIN QALBY 12:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 10:30 PM BAIRAQ-3 FEIN QALBY 2:00 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 2:30 PM GET OUT 1:15 AM FEIN QALBY 11:45 AM RABBIT SCHOOL 2:15 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 4:15 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 2:00 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 4:15 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 6:00 PM 360º- 2 SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE- Arabic 4:00 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE- Arabic 6:00 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 8:00 PM AFTERMATH 1:30 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 6:00 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 8:00 PM FEIN QALBY 10:00 PM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 3:45 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 8:00 PM FEIN QALBY 10:00 PM FEIN QALBY 12:15 AM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 6:45 PM FEIN QALBY 10:00 PM FEIN QALBY 12:15 AM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 9:45 PM FEIN QALBY 12:15 AM MARINA-2 THU+FRI+MON MUHALAB-2 FAST & FURIOUS 8 1:00 PM KONG: SKULL ISLAND 9:45 PM PLAZA SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 1:45 PM NO THU+FRI+MON FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 3:45 PM AFTERMATH 12:45 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 3:00 PM NO FRI+SAT+MON FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:45 PM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 3:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:15 PM 360º- 3 Automated enquiry FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:30 PM FRI+SAT+MON SITUATION WANTED FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:05 AM GOING IN STYLE 12:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:15 PM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 6:45 PM about the GOING IN STYLE 2:30 PM Looking for job as procure- FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:45 PM Civil ID card is MUHALAB-3 MARINA-3 GOING IN STYLE 4:45 PM ment/business develop- FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:30 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:00 PM GOING IN STYLE 7:00 PM 1889988 LAILA ment/commercial execu- SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 2:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 2:45 PM AKHER DEEK FE MASR -Arabic 9:15 PM GOING IN STYLE 3:15 PM tive. Experienced in indus- FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:30 PM GOING IN STYLE 11:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 5:15 PM trial and construction FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:00 PM equipment as well as elec- FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:30 PM Special Show “FAST & FURIOUS 8” 8:15 PM AL-KOUT.1 FAST & FURIOUS 8 10:45 PM trical and hand tools. Can FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:15 AM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:00 PM SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 11:30 AM join immediately. Contact: FAST & FURIOUS 8 1:30 PM AJIAL.1 55276407, email: FANAR-1 AVENUES-1 FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:15 PM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 3:30 PM [email protected] FEIN QALBY 12:00 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 12:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 7:00 PM (C 5296) 15-4-2017 FEIN QALBY 2:30 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 2:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:45 PM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 6:30 PM 112 FEIN QALBY 4:45 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 3:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 12:30 AM THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam 9:30 PM FEIN QALBY 7:00 PM RABBIT SCHOOL 5:30 PM Special Show “THE GREAT FATHER- Malayalam” FEIN QALBY 9:15 PM SAFRA 5 NJOOM 7:30 PM AL-KOUT.2 9:30 PM PRAYER TIMINGS FEIN QALBY 11:30 PM SAFRA 5 NJOOM 9:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 11:45 AM SAFRA 5 NJOOM 12:15 AM RABBIT SCHOOL 2:30 PM AJIAL.2 Fajr: 04:59 Asr: 15:22 FANAR-2 RABBIT SCHOOL 4:15 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 4:00 PM GOING IN STYLE 12:30 PM AVENUES-2 FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 6:45 PM Shorook: 05:21 Maghrib: 18:15 SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 2:30 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8-2D-4DX 1:00 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 8:45 PM FAST & FURIOUS 8 9:45 PM Duhr: 11:48 Isha: 19:35

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw) DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Monday 17/4/2017 KAC 618 Doha 14:20 Departure Flights on Monday 17/4/2017 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 Airlines Flt Route Time FDB 059 Dubai 14:20 Airlines Flt Route Time KAC 513 Tehran 14:10 THY 772 Istanbul 00:10 KAC 352 Kochi 14:20 AIC 982 Ahmedabad/Chennai 00:05 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 KLM 447 Bahrain 00:10 KAC 512 Mashhad 14:25 BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10 KNE 382 Taif 15:00 KAC 786 Jeddah 00:30 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:45 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:30 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:00 JZR 267 Beirut 00:35 KNE 529 Jeddah 14:55 FDB 072 Dubai 00:30 KAC 673 Dubai 15:00 KAC 102 London 00:55 KAC 692 Muscat 14:55 PIA 206 Lahore 01:00 FDB 060 Dubai 15:05 DLH 635 Doha 01:00 KAC 788 Jeddah 14:55 KLM 447 Amsterdam 01:20 QTR 1079 Doha 15:15 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:15 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:05 THY 773 Istanbul 01:40 SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45 JZR 539 Cairo 01:25 OMA 645 Muscat 15:10 KAC 363 Colombo 01:55 KNE 530 Jeddah 15:55 UAE 853 Dubai 01:40 KAC 502 Beirut 15:25 DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:00 KAC 661 Abu Dhabi 15:55 RJA 642 Amman 01:45 KAC 562 Amman 15:25 PGT 859 Istanbul 02:35 KAC 619 Doha 16:00 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:50 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:50 KAC 743 Dammam 16:00 KKK 6506 Istanbul 01:55 KAC 118 New York 15:40 THY 765 Istanbul 02:50 OMA 646 Muscat 16:10 QTR 1086 Doha 02:05 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 KKK 6505 Istanbul 02:55 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15 SAW 705 Damascus 15:50 KAC 351 Kochi 03:05 KAC 418 Manila 02:50 RJA 640 Amman 16:00 UAE 854 Dubai 03:30 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20 OMA 643 Muscat 03:05 FDK 801 Damascus 16:00 OMA 644 Muscat 04:05 KAC 563 Amman 16:25 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10 FDB 051 Dubai 16:15 QTR 1087 Doha 04:10 KAC 615 Bahrain 16:30 MSR 612 Cairo 03:15 QTR 1072 Doha 16:15 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:10 SAW 706 Damascus 16:50 FDB 069 Dubai 03:15 JZR 125 Bahrain 16:25 MSR 613 Cairo 04:15 FDK 802 Damascus 16:55 KAC 382 Delhi 03:15 KAC 542 Cairo 17:05 KAC 417 Manila 04:20 RJA 641 Amman 16:55 PGT 860 Istanbul 03:25 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 PGT 861 Istanbul 04:25 KAC 331 Trivandrum 17:00 QTR 1076 Doha 03:40 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 560 Sohag 04:45 FDB 052 Dubai 17:05 CEB 018 Manila 04:00 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:35 CEB 019 Manila 05:30 JZR 266 Beirut 17:15 UAE 873 Dubai 04:15 JZR 177 Dubai 17:45 QTR 1077 Doha 05:35 QTR 1073 Doha 17:25 KAC 346 Ahmedabad 04:15 QTR 1080 Doha 18:05 UAE 874 Dubai 06:15 JZR 240 Amman 17:30 KAC 358 Kochi 04:50 MSR 620 Cairo 18:30 RJA 643 Amman 06:25 UAE 858 Dubai 17:40 KAC 784 Jeddah 05:00 JZR 483 Istanbul 18:30 THY 771 Istanbul 06:25 KAC 357 Kochi 17:40 THY 770 Istanbul 05:05 KAC 514 Tehran 18:35 GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50 KAC 381 Delhi 17:50 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10 UAE 875 Dubai 19:05 FDB 070 Dubai 07:05 KAC 283 Dhaka 18:00 KAC 167 Paris 07:15 KAC 344 Chennai 05:30 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 JZR 529 Asyut 05:35 KAC 744 Dammam 19:05 KAC 167 Paris 07:15 JZR 184 Dubai 18:20 KAC 362 Colombo 05:50 FDB 063 Dubai 19:10 KAC 501 Beirut 07:50 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 BAW 157 London 06:05 ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20 KAC 613 Bahrain 07:55 KAC 204 Lahore 06:20 KAC 154 Istanbul 19:30 BAW 156 London 08:20 JZR 538 Cairo 18:35 KAC 284 Dhaka 06:35 KAC 616 Bahrain 19:40 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 KAC 785 Jeddah 18:45 KAC 206 Islamabad 06:40 KAC 674 Dubai 19:40 KAC 511 Mashhad 08:35 QTR 1081 Doha 19:15 KAC 302 Mumbai 06:55 KAC 620 Doha 19:50 KAC 773 Riyadh 08:35 KAC 345 Ahmedabad 19:20 KAC 156 Istanbul 07:05 FDB 057 Dubai 19:50 KAC 117 New York 09:00 MSR 621 Cairo 19:30 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 OMA 647 Muscat 20:05 KAC 161 Geneva 09:10 GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50 KAC 354 Bangalore 07:50 KNE 381 Taif 20:10 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:15 FDB 064 Dubai 19:50 KAC 384 Delhi 08:00 DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:15 KAC 671 Dubai 09:15 ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00 KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:05 MEA 402 Beirut 20:15 KAC 163 Rome 09:20 FDB 058 Dubai 20:30 UAE 855 Dubai 08:25 KAC 662 Abu Dhabi 20:20 KAC 691 Muscat 09:30 UAE 876 Dubai 20:35 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 08:55 QTR 1088 Doha 20:35 JZR 482 Istanbul 09:35 KAC 353 Bangalore 20:55 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00 KAC 164 Rome 20:55 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40 DLH 634 Doha 21:00 IRA 667 Esfahan 09:15 KAC 168 Paris 21:05 KAC 101 London 09:45 KAC 543 Cairo 21:00 QTR 1070 Doha 09:20 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:10 UAE 856 Dubai 09:50 OMA 648 Muscat 21:05 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 ALK 229 Colombo 21:15 KAC 561 Amman 09:55 KNE 232 Riyadh 21:10 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 KLM 445 Amsterdam 21:15 MEA 403 Beirut 21:15 MEA 404 Beirut 10:55 UAE 859 Dubai 21:15 KAC 541 Cairo 10:00 KAC 301 Mumbai 21:40 AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:05 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:50 KAC 617 Doha 10:15 QTR 1089 Doha 21:45 JZR 561 Sohag 11:10 KAC 564 Amman 21:55 IRA 666 Esfahan 10:15 KAC 614 Bahrain 11:15 QTR 1082 Doha 22:00 KAC 153 Istanbul 10:30 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 JZR 165 Dubai 11:50 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10 QTR 1071 Doha 10:35 KAC 205 Islamabad 21:55 MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30 KAC 162 Geneva 22:25 FDB 056 Dubai 10:35 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:00 UAE 871 Dubai 12:45 AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:25 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35 ALK 230 Colombo 22:20 KAC 774 Riyadh 12:45 BBC 143 Dhaka 22:30 MEA 405 Beirut 11:55 KLM 445 Bahrain 22:25 THY 766 Istanbul 12:50 ETD 919 Abu Dhabi/Bahrain 22:40 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:00 UAE 860 Dubai 22:35 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 JZR 185 Dubai 22:55 AXB 890 Mangalore 12:05 KAC 383 Delhi 22:35 KAC 672 Dubai 13:55 JZR 241 Amman 22:55 KAC 413 Bangkok 13:05 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:50 QTR 1078 Doha 14:05 JAI 574 Mumbai 23:00 JZR 176 Dubai 13:10 ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00 KNE 231 Riyadh 14:10 MSC 405 Sohag 23:30 JZR 124 Bahrain 13:30 KAC 783 Jeddah 23:10 GFA 221 Bahrain 14:15 FDB 071 Dubai 23:35 MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30 QTR 1083 Doha 23:20 KAC 364 Colombo 14:15 THY 764 Istanbul 23:45 THY 767 Istanbul 13:45 KAC 411 Bangkok 23:35 stars34 MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017

CROSSWORD 1581 STAR TRACK

Aries (March 21-April 19) Libra (September 23-October 22) A mate, family or friend has requested you consider several activities today This beautiful day is a wonderful time for making amends or making that might please you. A walk in the park, a movie or a trip to the library may be just how peace with the past. Compassion for all living things is a spirit-evolving place to be, irre- you would like to spend your day. With this knowledge in mind, your family or friends spective of any past or current events. As you can tell, this is a harmonious time. A lunch- can create a day of relaxation or an awe-inspiring time to fill your picture book and eon or health spa may be the place where a group of you and your friends meet, chat remind you of those who enjoy your company and want to please you on your special and spend time together. You will enjoy an intriguing exchange of ideas with these day. Check your camera and make sure you have what is needed to take plenty of pic- friends. New ideas come through the written and spoken word. There is a feeling of free- tures-this is a day to enjoy. If you feel you have too many chores, make a list and tend to dom with regard to your social life. You may find yourself feeling more like involving them later. Birthdays are not only important to you but to others and you will find your- yourself in things you truly enjoy instead of being pushed to socialize in a professional self with plenty of time to tend to your chores later. Smile! light. Your loved one is more affectionate than ever this evening.

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

Blocks and frustrations come from allowing too many interruptions into You may see benefits today from your loyalty to a partner, colleague or your personal business. While it is good to broadcast your overall goals, the way you are organization. Keep your priorities intact and do not become involved in other people’s getting to those goals may be best left to you and your loved ones. You yearn to broad- gossip. It is easy for you to accomplish your work and then turn to help others. This is a en your horizons and learn new things. Perhaps religion, politics, education or travel good time to write and communicate with your creative sense. Inventions and break- plays a part in this change. Whatever the case-this is the time to act. A period of intellec- throughs are possible. This is a very lucky day for making plans and following through on tual creativity has dawned in your life and expressing yourself with flair will become an ideas that solve problems, cause creative discussions to happen or stir the pot of interest important part of you. Beating the odds through cleverness is appealing and this may that creates some big transaction. You give good advice to others and when asked, you lead to an interest in all kinds of financial speculation. A lover or child who is bright and can spend a little more time than necessary with the explanation-careful. Close personal articulate plays a bigger role in your life. You may find ways to help this child. ties to other people are a focal point for your feelings this evening.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Cooperation, support and service will bring you to a new level of life expe- You may find yourself guiding a young person in your religious group rience. Be aware of what your motivations are and express yourself with no today. This does not necessarily mean you are guiding them in religious expectations of a return on your time or feelings. This leaves others with a certain free- matters, however. Teaching techniques or information for volunteer workers may take a ACROSS DOWN dom that could work in your favor. This is a time during which you could accomplish a lot great deal of time this day. Your physical appearance seems to glow and your considerate 1. A conspicuous disparity or difference 1. An aggressive remark directed at a per- through the sheer discipline or control of your energy and drive. You may find yourself actions could attract someone of the opposite sex. If you are involved in a love relation- as between two figures. son like a missile and intended to have a working with your feelings a lot. A very strong time-do not push too hard. You may ship, you may want to make your intentions clear. If you are not involved in a love relation- ship you will want to proceed very carefully, especially if you are friendly with someone 4. An African amulet. telling effect. appear very “at ease” today. Everything seems to be working together, and you may find yourself expressive and able to communicate well with others. You enjoy visiting over you teach or mentor. The afternoon calls to you; a bicycle ride, skating in the park or walk- 12. Canadian hockey player (born 1948). 2. Type genus of the Anatidae. ing with family or friends creates a wonderful ending to a very busy weekend. 15. Antibacterial drug (trade name 3. Type genus of the Phocidae. the fence with neighbors or chatting over a nice beverage. Laughter is good. Nydrazid) used to treat tuberculosis. 4. Any of various juicy purple- or green- 16. Worthy of adoration or reverence. skinned fruit of the genus Vitis. 17. Perennial herb of East India to 5. Used by northerners of Confederate Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Polynesia and Australia cultivated for its soldiers. large edible root yielding Otaheite arrow- You are naturally the center of attention today. It seems you have the best Dealings within partnerships are positive now. Working with a team of peo- 6. A unit of energy equal to the work ideas and successful methods of progress in your personal projects. You ple, in order to gain fast results, will be successful. There is a short duration of root starch. done by an electron accelerated through are admired and appreciated for your talents and your insight into creating calm where frustration perhaps, but this is due to the refocusing of your energies into group work 18. African tree having an exceedingly a potential difference of 1 volt. there may be clutter or confusion. Someone may offer you money to do for them what rather than solo work. Later, at home, you may want to involve yourself in some form of thick trunk and fruit that resembles a 7. The fatty flesh of eel. you do for yourself. This may bring attention to your talents and create opportunities to creative work. Any creative subject that you are working on with your artistic eye and gourd and has an edible pulp called 8. The father of your father or mother. branch out and perhaps begin your own business. You may be of tremendous help to an hand will give you a great deal of stress relief. Refinement and relationships are the keys to monkey bread. 9. The act of putting something in work- associate or stranger because of your compassionate nature during this time. Try listen- emotional satisfaction now. Marriage and other partnerships could become enhanced 20. A mistake resulting from inattention. ing to this person’s whole story before deciding how to help-there is a hidden message. through your inner resources. Your inner resources and emotions are accented. Expect a ing order again. You are at your mental best as usual and your sharp thinking wisely guides others. sense of support and good will from those around you. 21. (computer science) A coding system 10. Make certain of. that incorporates extra parity bits in 11. Swelling from excessive accumula- order to detect errors. tion of serous fluid in tissue. Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) 22. Having escaped, especially from con- 12. An organization of countries formed finement. in 1961 to agree on a common policy for This is a Monday for family and a renewal of relationships between family Facts need research and confirmation to avoid misinterpretation. You could be the editor of a newspaper or find yourself proofing a new script, book or play today. 24. A naval spectacle. the sale of petroleum. and friends. Phone calls, letters and all sorts of communication are possible. If you are 26. Administer an oil or ointment to. There are good practical thoughts and ideas. You could be most persuasive with others 13. Possessing material wealth. going to break with tradition, insert a spirit of fun. Be careful that your impulses do not 27. English theoretical physicist who encourage you to purchase large items beyond your means. Your impulses may be and eloquent in speech. Do not be surprised when you are asked to be the speaker in 14. Full of zest or vigor. some gathering this day. You are accommodating and friendly to everyone you meet. applied relativity theory to quantum strong due to an overly confident attitude. Before you make a big purchase, think about 19. (law) The seat for judges in a court- the energy needed to pay the bill. Positive use of your confident attitude is expressed Aggressiveness slams doors in your face, but assertiveness gets the positive results you mechanics and predicted the existence want. Concentrate on the valuable aspects of your current situation; no obsessing about room. through art, music, fun and games. Good-natured, friendly and outgoing ways call for of antimatter and the positron (1902- the past. You seek harmony in your relationships and are strongly sensitive to the attitude 23. A period of 10 years. some social activity this afternoon. Perhaps some work in the yard and then some home- 1984). of others. Always look to the future-it keeps getting brighter. 25. A theatrical performer. made ice cream with friends can bring an end to a full and busy weekend. 28. A unit of information equal to 1024 bytes. 29. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds. 30. Large tropical American tree of the Virgo (August 23-September 22) genus Cordia grown for its abundant 31. A soft silvery metallic element. Pisces (February 19-March 20) creamy white flowers and valuable 33. Lustrous gray. 34. East Indian tart yellow berrylike fruit. Your family needs attention today. You are able to cut through to the There are benefits and progress in some home improvement project today. wood. basics and get at what is most important at this time. Conversations, as well as chores All seems to work together for the positive end result-whether the changes today are 32. A fine grained mineral having a soft 35. Bright and pleasant. around the home, will go smoothly. If you are going to learn about personal growth, technical or physical. If you are working to improve or beautify your home, you will find soapy feel and consisting of hydrated 37. Large swift fly the female of which there is no better place to start than in your own home. This is the perfect time to progress easy. With concentration, a maintenance job will also seem to move along at a magnesium silicate. sucks blood of various animals. express the volunteer attitude. First, volunteer to help with the youngest and then per- steady pace. If there are complaints, resentments or upsets at this time, they will dissipate 36. (used of count nouns) Every one con- 38. A genus of Ploceidae. haps take the family out to a place where they can be helpful to others. You teach or take a holding pattern. This is a great time to form partnerships, marriages and agree- ments. Today is good for any sort of activity that includes teamwork, particularly teams of sidered individually. 39. A narrow headband or strip of ribbon through example and the volunteer attitude is a good start. Interactions with friends and worn as a headband. family are free of complications. This is a great time to reflect and understand your own two-tennis, basketball, painting, etc. Avoid flirtation that somebody might take exception 40. Any of various units of capacity. situation, just how you feel about yourself. This is a good day. to and refrain from offering generous but unwanted advice. 41. An informal term for a father. 42. (Old Testament) Adam's wife in 43. Widely cultivated in tropical and sub- Judeo-Christian mythology. 44. A legally binding command or deci- tropical regions for its fragrant flowers Wordsearch Puzzle Yesterday’s Solution and colorful fruits. sion entered on the court record (as if 45. A young woman making her debut issued by a court or judge). into society. 48. (usually followed by `for') Extremely 46. The compass point midway between desirous. east and southeast. 49. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken 47. Capital and largest city of Iraq. in the Dali region of Yunnan. 52. A republic in southern Europe on the 50. Anticonvulsant drug (trade name Italian Peninsula. Gemonil) used in the treatment of epilep- 55. Conspicuously and tastelessly inde- sy. cent. 51. Agency of the United States govern- 56. Any of various herbaceous plants of ment charged with mediating disputes the genus Atriplex that thrive in deserts between management and labor. and salt marshes. 53. Someone who is not a clergyman or a 59. Discrimination against middle-aged professional person. and elderly people. 54. A class of proteins produced in lymph 61. An event (or course of events) that tissue in vertebrates and that function as will inevitably happen in the future. antibodies in the immune response. 63. Something that wobbles. 57. Tie again or anew. 68. Acute delirium caused by alcohol poi- 58. A useful or valuable quality. soning. 60. The shape of something rotating rap- 69. Shrubby lichens of the family idly. Usneaceae having a flattened thallus. 62. Plant with an elongated head of 72. A loose sleeveless outer garment broad stalked leaves resembling celery. made from aba cloth. 64. A small cake leavened with yeast. 73. A statement that deviates from or 65. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of perverts the truth. Lamaism. 74. A cut of pork ribs with much of the 66. Very dark black. meat trimmed off. 67. Avatar of Vishnu. 75. Informal terms for a mother. 70. The products of human creativity. 76. Up to the present time. 71. Flower arrangement consisting of a 77. Black-headed snakes. circular band of foliage or flowers for 78. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish ornamental purposes. gods.

Yesterday’s Solution

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ohn Boyega says his ‘Star Wars’ self in her, and she’s still trying to character is a “big deal” in ‘Star figure out her place. She’s not a sol- Wars: The Last Jedi’. The 25- dier. She’s not a pilot. She’s trying year-oldJ actor plays Finn in the to figure out what can she impart new trilogy of the popular sci-fi that’s important to the good fight. franchise which started with ‘Star And so they both have to figure Wars: The Force Awakens’ in 2015, that out together.” Meanwhile, and has teased details about his Kelly herself recently gave an character in the upcoming movie insight into her character, and ‘The Last Jedi’, which is the eighth gushed about being given the installment in the saga. He said: chance to work on the popular film “Finn’s a big deal. Hes a big deal in franchise. She said: “[Rose is] part the resistance now. I mean, you’ve of the resistance, she works in got to think about it, between maintenance. Like [director] Rian [episodes] VII and VIII, people have [Johnson] said, she’s kind of pulled now heard about all the amazing into this journey, and someone things that he has done. And now who might not see herself as a he’s, like, waving and saying hi to hero, and that’s kind of how she all the resistance ladies around. It is relates to me. I’m a total nerd. Part that kind of transition, it’s crazy! It’s who will be played by Kelly Marie ested. It takes an interesting turn of me was like, ‘Is this a dream? a fun time.” And John has also Tran. He added to ‘Entertainment though as they get closer. The Pinch myself. Is this a dream?’ teased details of Finn’s relationship That’s kind of been the last two has ended Ed Sheeran’s he could have faced a tight race to the fin- Tonight’: “Kelly’s character is an dynamic between them is very arry Styles with a new character named Rose, years of my life, a dream.” reign at the top of the UK Charts. ish line after a glitch on Spotify’s search absolute fan of Finn. She’s so inter- interesting. Finn sees a lot of him- The former One Direction singer has engine made it impossible for users to Hmanaged to score himself his first number stream his track on the day of its release. A one hit as a solo artist with his debut single source said at the time: “This is a nightmare ‘Sign of the Times’ which was released last start for Harry’s solo career and his record Anne Hathaway week, as it climbed to the top of the UK label won’t be happy. “The Spotify malfunc- Singles Chart on Friday. According to the tion meant many of his fans simply couldn’t Official Charts Company, the 23-year-old find his song to listen to online when they singer’s track managed to rack up 40,000 searched for it. “The potential ramifications baffled by success downloads and 3.5 million streams in the are big and it’s likely he has missed out on week after its release, beating the number hundreds of thousands of streams as a two track - Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ - by result. That could really affect his chart just 3,000 copies. Harry’s chart-topping sin- position come Friday. “He is Number One at gle brings an end to the 13-week run that the moment but that’s only because his 26-year-old Ed has had at the top spot, with streaming stats haven’t been included yet, ‘Shape of You’ slipping down from number and they have more weight. “Harry’s launch one to number two, and pushing next sin- is one of the industry’s biggest this year gle ‘Galway Girl’ down to third. And Harry’s and everyone expected him to hit the victory comes after it was recently reported ground running by topping the charts.”

nne Hathaway is “constantly baffled” by her own success. The Oscar-winning actress enjoyed working on her latest movie ‘Colossal’ Kathleen Kennedy: becauseA she knows the indie comedy isn’t something she would have been able to work on when she was Carrie Fisher will not be just starting out in her career. She said: “The fact I’m, like, a Hollywood actress - I’m like, seriously? Me? OK, I really did not expect any of this. I’m constantly baffled. in Star Wars Episode IX “It’s not like I’ve been trying to avoid making these ucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy has was, like Obi Wan - when the saber cuts movies [like ‘Colossal’], you just wait for the ones that confirmed the late Carrie Fisher will him down he becomes more powerful. I really speak to you. “And I felt very lucky because in my not be appearing in ‘Star Wars feel like that’s what’s happened with early career I couldn’t have gotten a movie like this LEpisode IX’ after her brother Todd Fisher Carrie. I think the legacy should continue ... made.” The 34-year-old beauty - who has 12-month-old hinted she would. The 59-year-old actor To me, ‘Star Wars’ is the holy grail of story- son Jonathan with husband Adam Shulman - always previously claimed the late actress - who telling and lore and you can’t mess with it.” “believes in” the movies she works on but admits she passed away on December 27 - would still Disney and Lucasfilm announced via a has other reasons for taking on a project than simply be making an appearance as Princess Leia statement released in January that they Damon Albarn “artistic purity”. She said: “I’ve yet to make a movie that in the movie using archive footage from had no plans to “digitally recreate” the I didn’t believe in on some level, but somebody asked previous ventures, but studio head character of Princess Leia for the movie. me, ‘Do you do it to advance your career or do you do Kathleen has now dubbed Todd as “con- They said in a statement: “We want to wants to be hologram it for love/’ I can’t claim artistic purity. “I’m very con- fused” as she confirmed Carrie will not be assure our fans that Lucasfilm has no plans scious of making movies that will allow me to keep featured in the final installment of the to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher’s perform- amon Albarn hopes to live on as a rotational crop farmer. I wanted to be a making movies, because I love this and I want to do it hologram after his death. The 49- farmer as a child. “I don’t think you should popular franchise. During an Interview ance as Princess or General Leia Organa. for the rest of my life.” Anne is unsure as yet if being a with ABC News, Kathleen said: “Sadly, “Carrie Fisher was, is, and always will be a year-old singer is fascinated by the push anything unless it’s fertile ground.” parent will change the way she views her work. She Dfact his animated band Gorillaz have Damon - who is joined by the likes of Carrie will not be in nine. But we will see a part of the Lucasfilm family. She was our told Britain’s OK! magazine: “I don’t know. It’s all so recorded with a number of now-deceased Jehnny Beth, Noel Gallagher and De La lot of Carrie in eight.” Previously, Disney princess, our general, and more important- new. I’ve done little pockets of different things, where had confirmed they would not be using ly, our friend. We are still hurting from her stars, including Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Soul on the new Gorillaz album - loves I’ve worked a little bit on this project, or done a quick Ike Turner and Dennis Hopper, but they collaborating with new people and see- CGI to create a likeness of the late star, but loss. We cherish her memory and legacy as photoshoot, “Yesterday was the first day where I was Todd had claimed that reusing old footage Princess Leia, and will always strive to hon- will still be able to appear with his group ing what happens when they get into the gone all day, came home, and spent time with in digital form, and hopes his own virtual studio. He said: “I love that journey of was a possibility. He said: “Both of us were or everything she gave to Star Wars.” Carrie [Jonathan] then had to go out again at night. “And I’m like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ and her alter-ego will still appear in the likeness will be belting out his hits in the meeting someone, playing an idea, talk- not going to lie, it was hard. “I was so happy to be pro- years to come. He said: “We could almost ing around it, and then starting to move And the answer is you don’t. She’s as much upcoming ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’, moting the film and all I wanted to do was stay home a part of it as anything and I think her pres- because her scenes were already finished have a whole evening of people who towards your destination. “You’ve got to with my baby.” aren’t here anymore. “I love the idea that put people at ease. I never say, ‘You’ve got ence now is even more powerful than it before the time of her death. eventually when I am here no longer I’ll to do this’. Maybe that’s the secret, just let be just a hologram. They’ll just press that people be themselves.” Though the likes button and up I pop.” As well as Gorillaz, of Morrissey, Dionne Warwick and Sade Damon works with a string of other acts declined the chance to appear on the Kendall Jenner and projects, including Blur, The Good, new Gorillaz record, Damon didn’t get The Bad and the Queen, and Africa upset. He told Q magazine: “I don’t take Express, and compares his diverse career rejection personally. The more people you worried about Vogue review to being a farmer. He explained: “I’m like a put your arms around, the better it is.”

Lily Cole expected endall Jenner was worried her Pepsi advert, which was about Vogue’s reaction to slammed for undermining the career prejudice her fashion line. The fashion Black Lives Matter movement. The Kbible decided to review the 21- model feared the situation could knew there would be She added: “I stopped modeling years ily Cole year-old model and her 19-year- have tarnished her reputation for- “prejudice” when she moved into ago and I overheard someone this old sister’s designs for their cloth- ever, even though she was not acting. The former model has morning walk by and go, ‘Oh, it’s that ing range Kendall + Kylie, but involved with the message behind for track sampling alwaysL wanted to be an actress but model.’ “That lingers for a long time. “I Kendall admitted she was appre- the commercial. A source said: because of her “accidental” success in reckon one day people will stop refer- hensive about what Vogue’s edi- “This is the first controversial cam- Rat Boy thanks Lamar the fashion industry, she knew there’d ring to me as a model and I’ll proba- tors would say about it. In a clip for paign she has been involved with. be people unwilling to take a chance bly miss it. I’ll be like, damn it.” The an upcoming episode of her reality “Even though she had nothing to has thanked Kendrick Lamar Booth - previously said he would be open to at Boy on her, though she also appreciates ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ star TV show ‘Keeping Up With The do with the production and the for featuring him on his track ‘Lust’. working with former ‘X Factor’ contestant having a famous name has opened won’t do anything to deter her 18- Kardashians’, she said: “Everyone message of the campaign, she will The 21-year-old musician - real name Honey G despite her causing controversy some doors for her. She said:” It’s like a month-old daughter Wylde - who she want an excuse to talk s**t and I be blamed for this since she is the JordanR Cardy - was sampled by the hip-hop with her performances on the ITV talent double-edged sword. “I think the suc- has with partner Kwarme Ferreira - don’t want this to be that. “I face.” The insider also acknowl- artist for the track which appears on his lat- and receiving mixed reviews. Asked if he cess I’ve had in fashion helped me get from following in her footsteps, but worked really hard to be taken edged that the drinks company est album ‘Damn’, and has taken to Twitter would turn down the opportunity to have work in acting. “I’ve wanted to be an won’t encourage it either. She said in seriously and recognized in Vogue had made a mistake in hiring the to say he’s more than thrilled to be appear- Honey G - whose real name is Anna Gilford - actor since I was six, so that was a recent interview: “I’d definitely and in the fashion world. “If this dark-haired beauty in the first ing on the record. ‘Knock Knock Knock’ from feature on a song with him, Jordan exclu- always my first desire. “Then by acci- encourage children to watch the the- doesn’t go as well as we hope, it place. The source explained: “The Rat Boy’s 2015 mixtape ‘Neighborhood sively told BANG Showbiz: “Yeah why not? dentally getting involved in modeling atre, but no, I wouldn’t encourage her might tarnish some things in the original intent of the commercial Watch’ is sampled on the new track by the We would give anything a go. “I heard her in fashion, I think in many ways that to do anything. “I’d just give her the modeling world.” However, Kylie was to mirror all the global 29-year-old rapper. Rat Boy wrote on the on Radio 1 the other day. She was alright. A opened the doors for me to act and freedom to do whatever she wants. “If rushed to reassure Kendall saying protests trying to make this world micro blogging website: “big up @kendrick- lot of people don’t like her do they. I think it made it easier for me to get into that she did want to go into acting, I that they worked so hard on the a more equal place for everyone. lamar for sampling me on lust hit me up in is good.” Meanwhile, Rat Boy has teased that world. At the same time, I was totally would probably give her as much collection that “there’s no way “But they shouldn’t have had a dm xx sounds sick “I’m on the new kendrick his debut album could be out early next aware that there is a prejudice against advice as I could about why I love her they’re not going to love it”. celebrity face tied to it if they album... thats mad one of my favourite year and will feature a lot of “weird stuff”. models who want to act.” And though and why it’s great, what the chal- Meanwhile, Kendall was reported wanted to try and send a strong artists what a compliment damn. (sic)” The Asked what fans can expect from it, Jordan she hasn’t been on the catwalk for lenges are and why I think it sucks to have been “devastated” by the message like this.” — Bang ‘Get Over It’ hitmaker - who is joined by his said: “Lots of songs. Like radio bits and voice years, the 29-year-old beauty still finds sometimes, and let her make an recent controversy surrounding Showbiz band Liam Haygarth, Harry Todd and Noah actors and weird stuff.” it hard to shake off her ‘model’ tag. informed decision.” lifestyle MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 MUSIC & MOVIES

Review Kendrick Lamar Lady Gaga, sensual and acrobatic, is darn good on new album debuts song at Coachella

US pop singer Lady Gaga performs on stage at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 15, 2017 in Indio, California. —AP/AFP photos

This cover image released by Interscope Records shows “Damn” the latest release by Kendrick Lamar. — AP wo years since the release of his Grammy Award- winning “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar is back with an album as bold and declarative as Tits title: “DAMN.” And while Lamar grapples with famil- iar subject matter - God, violence, survival and self- worth among them - the energy has shifted away from the jazz, funk-filled sound of his previous studio set. Sonically, that much is clear with lead single “HUMBLE,” which begs repeat play, thanks in part to an irresistibly dark piano and bass-heavy beat from producer Mike WiLL Made It, who also has a hand in the new album’s “DNA” and U2-assisted “XXX.” The latter is one of the album’s most gripping tracks, and finds Lamar on the receiving end of a call from a friend, whose only son has been shot and killed. “He was lookin’ for some closure/ hopin’ I can bring him closer/ to the spiritual,” Lamar raps. “But I told him I can’t sugarcoat the answer for you . if some- body kill my son/ that mean somebody getting killed.” And, then, like a punch to the gut, Lamar adds: “Ain’t no Black Power when your baby killed by a coward.” The line is unexpected and, overall, “FEAR.” is brave, in that it puts Lamar in a position to be criticized, just as he was for lyrics from 2015’s hope-filled anthem “Alright.” (On “DAMN” track “BLOOD.,” Lamar includes audio from a FOX news segment in which anchor Geraldo Rivera and a colleague take issue with the rapper’s bars about police brutality.) To his credit, Lamar continues to speak his mind, and his rawness is what makes “DAMN” so damn good. When Lamar raps, “I’ll prolly die tryna buy weed at the apartments/ I’ll prolly die tryna diffuse two homies US pop singer Lady Gaga performs on stage. arguin/ I’ll prolly die, ‘cause that’s what you do when ady Gaga debuted a R&B-tinged love song Saturday as per Future, who recently made history with back-to-back ences to numerological riddles from its latest album, “22, A you’re seventeen,” it’s hard not to be moved. “DAMN” she headlined the Coachella festival, where the pop albums debuting at number one on the US chart, drew Million.” Frontman Justin Vernon performed in headphones has the power to resonate, with tracks provoking diva cast herself as sensual rather than sensational. The cheers when he brought to stage Migos, the Atlanta trio at a soundboard but by the end of the set brought the thought without coming across as preachy. The set firstL woman in a decade to top the lineup at the premier behind the hit “Bad and Boujee.” But an even bigger name crowd into a frenzy as he knelt before his sound pedals and has its lighter moments, too. And guests make their music event, Lady Gaga unleashed an action-packed specta- soon came on-rap superstar Drake, a sometime collabora- clamped aggressively onto his electric guitar’s bridge as contributions count, with Rihanna bringing a slinky cle of acrobatic choreography that culminated in confetti, tor with Future, who turned the crowd into a sea of waving abstract images flashed on screen. vibe to the sexy (but not about sex) “LOYALTY.” Up- fireballs and fireworks on her dance anthem “Bad Romance.” arms as he performed his hit “Fake Love.” Migos then While Lady Gaga toned down her outfits, one artist who and-coming singer Zacari also plays his part, tag- Gaga seized upon the spotlight to introduce a new song, crossed the lawn to make a cameo with DJ Snake, the suc- embraced costumes was Roisin Murphy. The Irish trip-hop teaming with Lamar, who sings his way through the “The Cure,” that is built off an unadorned R&B rhythm before cessful but largely behind-the-scenes force behind mega- singer took the stage with her face covered by a mask pillowy soundscape of “LOVE,” produced in part by rising into a pop chorus with the lines, “If I can’t find the cure, hits such as “Lean On.” The French DJ pulled off a second made of interjoined dolls and later carried over her head a longtime collaborators Sounwave and Top Dawg I’ll fix you with my love.” surprise as Lauryn Hill walked on, singing the Fugees faceless, zebra-colored dummy. If Coachella handed out Entertainment label-head Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith. She released the song commercially as she left Coachella emblematic song “Killing Me Softly.” fashion awards, one could also go to frontman Will Toledo Those two are joined by producers DJ Dahi and in the California desert, marking her first new music since her of Car Seat Headrest, the prolific indie rockers with a Bekon for the easygoing groove of “YAH,” in which latest album “Joanne” came out in October. Coachella offered unique talent to work songs down to quiet and back up to Lamar exhibits one of his greatest strengths: the abili- Non-Gaga fashion a preview of the global tour the pop superstar will launch in Bon Iver, once a crowd favorite with indie folk tunes intensity. The 24-year-old Toledo, long pictured as a scrag- ty to speak of higher things in one breath, then August for “Joanne,” an album that brought a more classic such as “Skinny Love,” brought to stage the band’s turn into gly younger, donned a tight, sky-blue suit with a black shirt acknowledge his humanity in the next. (“And pop and even country sound to the 31-year-old artist long deep experimentation in a set of loop effects and refer- and necktie. — AFP Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed/ I know He associated with synthpop. Gaga made clear at Coachella that walks the Earth/ But it’s money to get, b(asterisk)tches her old spirit remained undiminished. On “John Wayne,” one to hit.”) It’s clear that Kendrick Lamar isn’t perfect. But of her most country-driven songs in which she admits an his latest set “DAMN” gets pretty close. — AP attraction to rugged masculinity, Gaga paradoxically sang astride a human pyramid of her sweaty, topless and ethnical- ly diverse crew of male dancers. Sensuality oozed through- out Gaga’s set. She beckoned one dancer by grabbing his ‘Groundhog Day’ jeans in the waist, as both male and female dancers rubbed her leotard-clad body seductively. “Have you all found show will go on, someone you want to sleep with yet?” she teasingly asked the 100,000-strong crowd, most of them young and many of star a question mark them clad only in the bare minimum of clothing after a long day in the sun. Yet for a singer once talked about as much for roducers of the Broadway musical “Groundhog her outrageous outfits as her songs, she stepped back and Day” say it will open as planned, but injured star put the emphasis on her music-giving herself space to show Andy Karl’s status is unclear. Karl hurt himself dur- off her glowing, rich voice on tracks such as “The Edge of Ping a preview performance Friday, forcing the cancella- Glory.” Her biggest fashion message may have come as she tion of Saturday’s matinee. Understudy Andrew Call played piano. She struggled to take off her sweater mid- was to fill in for Karl at the Friday night performance. song, in an endearing display of authenticity. In a statement Saturday, producers said the musical is scheduled to open today, with further performance Surprise guests information to follow. They declined to address the Lady Gaga played her first Coachella after original head- question of whether Karl would appear. On Instagram, liner Beyonce canceled on doctors’ orders as she expects Karl posted that he tweaked his knee after a “poorly twins. One of the most lucrative events on the global cul- landed leap frog” and intended to see a medical spe- tural calendar, Coachella takes place over back-to-back cialist before going back on stage. He finished Friday’s three-day weekends with identical lineups. nIn a Coachella performance despite the injury, with help from a cane hallmark, Saturday saw a slew of surprise performers- and his fellow actors. — AP delighting fans who avidly posted to social media. The rap- Rappers Future (left) and Ty Dolla Sign perform on stage.

hen Barbara Ann Bregoli appeared “Danielle is the first of her kind in that she rode term social media success, she has to evolve on CBS’s “Dr Phil” show in December this singular TV experience and the catch- beyond the controversy, said Sharma. Corinne to get advice about how to control phrase and profiles and memes that ensued Olympios, 24, a contestant who divided opin- herW car-stealing teenage daughter, nobody have built a revenue-generating business,” said ion on the recent season of ABC reality show could have predicted she would be giving Jonathan Davids, chief executive officer at “The Bachelor” for tactics that included going birth to a villainous viral star. influencer marketing platform Influicity. Yet, topless, walked away from the show with In just a few months, daughter Danielle, viral stars who become magnets for brands more than 720,000 Instagram fans. now 14, has garnered 8.8 million Instagram looking to quickly increase eyeballs may find The Miami native is moving on from “The followers. She has racked up brand sponsor- that it is hard to find financial longevity in Bachelor” with a clothing line launched this ships and become regular fodder for the being a villain on social media, said Davids and month and plans to write a book, create a tabloids with provocative poses and viral other experts. So far, Bregoli’s fan base has only beauty line and star in her own reality show. videos, despite her self-confessed penchant grown after a slew of misdeeds, including an “I’m just trying to really build my brand right for stealing cars and using foul language in an undated home video of Bregoli and her moth- now,” she told Reuters. For Bregoli to outpace accent she said she picked up “from the er in a physical altercation, which started circu- her 15 minutes of viral fame, she would have streets.” She even has a catchphrase, “Cash me lating last month and has now caught the to embark on a coming-of-age journey and ousside, how bow dah?” (Catch me outside, attention of her hometown police in Boynton perhaps transition from a rebel without a how about that?) that she regularly includes in Beach, Florida. cause to a rebel with a cause, Sharma said. social media posts after she challenged the Bregoli has endorsed products such as One such cause could be to speak out against audience to fight her while on Dr Phil’s show. clothing company FashionNova, teeth grills cyber bullying, Sharma said. Danielle Bregoli’s infamy, including her and weight loss drink FitTea. Brands could be Last month, Bregoli posted an image of the catchphrase, has drawn endorsements from paying her up to $50,000, said Rishabh Sharma, barrage of negative comments and insults she brands that experts say are likely paying her CEO of Poletus, which provides marketing tools just thought she was funny,” Hwang said of people, and once we work together, we move received on Instagram, captioning it, thousands of dollars to post about their prod- to brands and influencers. Los Angeles-based Bregoli. Most of PizzaSlime’s nine Bregoli items, onto the next thing,” he said. “Everyone want to point the finger at me.” ucts, a personal line of emojis and a deal for a clothing brand PizzaSlime, helmed by creative including t-shirts, blankets and totes bearing “Danielle can still retain the rebel side, but reality TV show. A representative for Bregoli directors Nick Santiago and Matthew Hwang, her face, are sold out online. Hwang said it was The longevity of controversy instead of rebelling against her mother, she declined requests for an interview. Attempts to partnered with Bregoli to create a line of mer- unlikely they would work with Bregoli again. Bregoli is not the only star to cash in on can rebel against some of the social injustice reach her mother by phone were unsuccessful. chandise that featured her catchphrase. “We “We like to work with interesting ideas and being a rebel but if she hopes to achieve long- being done,” Sharma said. — Reuters lifestyle MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 FEATURE

By Hassan Abdel Bari

midst the nerve-wracking tension ruling the world today, the endless flow of news stories about wars, ter- rorism,A killing, displacement and proxy wars tearing the region apart, and the prevalence of the culture of hate and blame, it was an absolutely mind-soothing experience to find a spot for enjoying tranquillity and peace of mind and appreciate some of the aesthetic aspects in this life. This was my experience at the ‘Moonlight’ art exhibition held at Jaber Al-Ali Secondary School in Mubarak Al-Kabeer educational area. Held under auspices of the area’s director Mansour Al-Daihani, and with the presence of the school director Khaled Al-Sager, the area’s senior art education supervisor Fahad Al-Essa and art education supervisor Waleed Al-Taqi, the ‘Moonlight’ art exhibition initial- ly opened for two days, but was extended for a week in view of the unprecedented number of visitors it attracted from various public and private schools and art-lovers around Kuwait. In an exclusive statement to Kuwait Times, the head of the organizing committee and the school’s art education’s head of depart- ment Fahad Al-Najjar explained why the name ‘Moonlight’ was chosen. He said that all the paintings displayed at the exhibition had been painted using special phosphoric colours mixed with regular acrylic ones to glow under ultraviolet light (dark light). lifestyle MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 FEATURE

“This is the same idea of moonlight, as the moon does not shine by itself but its light is only a reflection of sunlight,” Najjar said, adding that the exhibition presented ‘interactive art’, where viewers feel united with the pieces on display. “The exhibition is actually a combination of several art forms - painting, installation art, interactive art, design, spe- cial effects, a mime performance and live background music played by the creative music teacher Nizar Abdul Samee, who enchanted all visitors to the extent that a female visitor told me she could not control her tears in such a magical atmosphere,” he said. Najjar noted that some visitors initially thought the masked performers were actually a painting, before they started miming and shook hands with some of them. Najjar expressed special thanks to his colleagues Ahmed Abdul Mo’ez, Wael Mohammed and Hassan Ghadanfar for their relentless innovative efforts. Also speaking to Kuwait Times, school director Khaled Al- Sager expressed deep appreciation for the efforts exerted by the art education department and its supervision and the cooperation of all school staff to make this unique exhibition one of the most successful ones. “This exhibition managed to attract students and teach- ing staff members from all the area’s schools, as well as from various schools in other areas and non-educational facilities such as PAAET and some private schools,” he underscored, noting that he decided to extend the exhibition’s duration to meet the growing number of visitors. He also said he was considering having the works displayed at a permanent sec- tion within the school. “If you wish to be creative and distinctive, make the deci- sion, select team members, plan, listen, take part and go for it,” said Mubarak Al-Kabeer’s senior art education supervisor Fahd Al-Essa, noting that the exhibition was an integrated, Photo shows Khaled Al-Sager, Fahad Al-Essa and Waleed Al-Taqi honoring Fahad Al-Najjar. creative and educational process involving learners, teach- ers, HoDs, school administration and supervision to achieve ultimate success. Finally, art supervisor Waleed Al-Taqi said several sessions were held with Najjar in the few months’ preparation phase to come up with a genuine idea of holding an exhibition dis- playing all art techniques taught to learners, and at the same time create fascinating art teaching aids that would highly appeal to learners. “We finally decided using phosphoric colours, which are usually used in parties,” he said, expressing his amazement at the cooperation shown by various school departments in achieving the success of the Moonlight art exhibition.

Photo shows art teachers Ahmad Abdul Mo’ez and Wael Mohammed with some of the participating students.

Charming live music by Nizar Abdul Samee. ‘Moonlight’ creative art shines at Jaber Al-Ali

MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017 39

662 people dressed as Charlie Chaplin pose for a group photo in front of the Manoir de Ban during an attempt of the world’s largest gathering of people dressed as The Tramp on the occasion of Charlie Chaplin’s birthday, and to cel- ebrate the first year of the museum “Chaplin’s World by Grevin”, in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, yesterday. — AP photos

Musicians chase fame on Bizarre News Man finds dead mouse in protein powder Man embarrassed A man has found a dead mouse in his with oversized protein powder. Adam Brenton, 25, had boarding pass west Africa’s musical islands been using his chocolate flavored A man was left embarrassed at the MyProtein pack for three weeks before airport when his friends printed his he uncovered the body of the rodent very April, the tiny island capital of Cape Cesaria started,” Lucibela told AFP. “I want to sing French guitarist performing at the Kriol Jazz boarding pass in A1 sized paper. buried inside. In shock, Adam - who is Verde is taken over for a week by musicians Cape Verde’s own musical styles like “morna” and Festival. “But what I see here is a public which is Ryan tried to enter airport security from Manchester = checked the packag- of all stripes, trailing dreams of record “coladeira” all over the world, but I want to be full of life, full of joy, and that’s great,” he said. with his document required to travel. E ing for holes or bite marks but found One of the security staff joined in on deals and sold-out stadiums. known for my own talent.” No style is discounted Local heroes of international renown such as none -suggesting that the unwelcome Two events, the Atlantic Music Expo (AME) at the Atlantic Music Expo, but its African roots Lura and Bulimundo were also present to play the joke and made him attempt to visitor had been inside the pack when it and the more established Kriol Jazz Festival, are proudly out front, with more than 500 music old favorites to the crowds. scan the pass. However, because of was first sealed and had died inside. draw talent from as far away Haiti and Brazil, professionals attending, among them Afrojazz, After giving birth just months ago, traditional the size of the paper he was unable Although he has not suffered any illness, intent on showing what they have to offer to soul, R&B, rap and traditional folk artists. Cape Verdean artist Lura said the crowds and to scan it and the staff member then as a result, Adam claims he couldn’t eat international producers on an archipelago For many, it is a unique opportunity to per- new motherhood had electrified her perform- asked him for his passport, and let his dinner afterwards and his girlfriend is famed for its own rich musical heritage. “During form and network in the beautiful island setting ance. “I have more energy in my body since I Ryan through the gates while saying, still having nightmares about the discov- this fifth edition of the AME, foreign producers of Praia, the ordinarily sleepy capital. “We hope became a mother,” she said following a show “This is fantastic”. His friends filmed ery. A child used YouTube to learn to showed a lot of interest towards Cape Verdian to meet tour organizers, because they are the where the applause barely stopped. “My new the event and laughter was heard drive then took a trip to McDonald’s with artists like Lucibela and Os Tubaroes,” said Jose ones who will allow us to show our music all album will continue my mission-to sing about through the 43-second video, which his toddler sister. da Silva, the festival’s executive director, as the over the world,” said Pamela Byesadjogo, a Cape Verde, everyday life here and its traditions, has gone viral. week drew to a close. Gabonese Afrojazz singer who also made waves blended with sounds from across the world.” Da Silva knows the world music industry bet- at the event. Hybrids come naturally to a nation that has Boy aged 8 drives ter than most, having spotted the talent of historical links to Portugal and Brazil, and has sister to McDonald’s A pastry chef spends Cesaria Evora, Cape Verde’s “barefoot diva”, who ‘Full of joy’ long been a stopping point for traders on their An eight-year-old boy stole his father’s five days creating a 25kg made the island nation’s bittersweet “morna” bal- Singing, drumming and dancing are not limit- passage across the Atlantic. What remains is to car and drove his four-year-old sister to chocolate sculpture lads internationally famous. He describes ed to the performers in a nation that prides itself export more of its artists for audiences who can- the fast food chain for a snack. Police Lucibela, a young artist who has been likened to on producing some of world music’s biggest not make it to see them on the archipelago, said A group of pastry chefs spent five days told The Weirton Daily Times, the creating a 25kg chocolate sculpture. Evora, as the hottest ticket at the festival so far, stars, despite being home to fewer than 500,000 Culture Minister Abraao Vicente. “The intention youngster had taught himself how to along with South Africa’s Tribute “Birdie” people miles off mainland Africa. “Normally I of the government is now to work on ways of Michelin-star culinary masterminds at drive by watching clips on the vide- Bohemia Bar and Restaurant in Jersey Mboweni, whose honeyed tones blend seamless- play behind closed doors because jazz concerts facilitating, in terms of costs, travel for these sharing site and during the road trip ly with a jazz/soul vibe. “I want to continue what are usually intimate affairs,” said Sylvain Luc, a artists abroad,” he told AFP. — AFP have worked solidly for 120 hours to from his home in East Palestine, Ohio perfect an artistic piece made out of County to the fast food restaurant, the tasty treat to celebrate the Easter which was a mile-and-a-half, he obeyed holiday. The design captures an octo- the highway code and stuck to speed pus tentacle wriggling out of a treasure limits. He pulled up at the drive-thru chest filled with golden miniature and ordered a meal and paid for it using Easter eggs. Speaking about the cre- the money from his own piggy bank but ation, Head Pastry Chef Ellen de Jager- staff thought the stunt was a prank. Smith said: “We wanted to create Patrolman Jacob Koehler said: “This kid something a bit different this Easter so learned how to drive on YouTube. I think decided to do the lost treasure of there is a good teaching point here. Easter. We created a treasure chest With the way technology is... kids will with golden mini Easter eggs inside. learn how to do anything and every- Obviously lost treasure needs to be thing. He probably looked it up for five protected so we created the Jersey minutes and then said it was time to go.” Kraken to protect it! The chocolate Whilst the boy had his adventure, his sculpture took five days to make and parents were sleeping peacefully at we used 25kg of chocolate.” The home. Police received several calls from mouth-watering design will be on concerned people who witnessed the show at the venue throughout the boy behind the steering wheel. Easter weekend. The Roberto Fonseca Quartet from Cuba perform during the Kriol Jazz Festival at Praia.