Down on the MPs debate Kuwait hosts dairy farm blackout as the 4th edition probe ordered of Concours 4 9 d’Elegance23

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See Page 7 Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Local Spotlight Want to lure women? Obesity drugs and online advertising in Kuwait ‘Ask’ for love potion

By Muna Al-Fuzai Illegal aphrodisiac drink locally available By Sunil Cherian Kuwait, the business thrives,” said a Jahra resident. “I’ve known this for a while but trust me, I haven’t consumed any such n the old souk of Jahra, the women sitting behind stalls sell- drink,” she said. [email protected] ing herbal and natural beauty products chatter all the time, The “love potion”, said another lady familiar with the trade, Imaking you wonder about the source behind their energy. is made up mainly of dried jasmine flowers and rose petals, You pass by these beauty vendors in veils and they don’t vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks and other secret ingredients. It ast year several social media companies includ- attract your attention by calling out the benefits of their cos- is advised by the vendors to sip the drink adding a lot of cold ing Facebook and Instgram took the decision to metics and face creams like other salespersons elsewhere. water to have an attractive aura around you - so that your Ldelete all posts from users selling illegal Even if you ask them for a small bottle of love potion, they spouse will never leave you. If you want a person to be attract- weapons, drugs, tobacco products and prescription deny any knowledge of it. But if you convince them that you ed to you, you will have to make him/her drink the potion mediciations. The companies noted that these items are a potential customer of the ‘amorous drink’, they change either secretly pouring it in his/her tea or even water, the violated their terms of use and also warned that they their tone, comfort you and even laugh with you as you bar- source said. gain with them. And you come away with a bottle - the size “This is ridiculous,” said a counselor, who did not want to would remove advertising that is false and deceptive depending on your desperation - of love potion, a ‘medicinal’ be named. “These sorts of things appear in the black market or violates its policies. drink that has found its way to Kuwait’s market illegally, claim- whenever there is emotional poverty in the society, where It is a responsible step, especially for the protection ing that it can cure your love problems. feelings are suppressed. It’s not the men or women who lure of children and adolescents who may be involved in The alleged aphrodisiac that is available in the Jahra souk each other but a consumer product is luring both men and problems due to ignorance and lack of knowledge costs from KD 50 to KD 500. Many cosmetics shops across the women who are ignorant,” the counselor said. about the laws. Criminals will exploit any opportunity country sell a tube cream named love potion for KD 4. But the Another source discussing the potion said that it can be to ply their trade and hook young, unsuspecting potion available in Jahra is a drink sold secretly to people who found among some Indian ladies’ groups in Kuwait, especially would-be buyers. But despite their best efforts, pre- want to attract members of the opposite sex or spouses who at local churches. No one wanted to go on the record dis- do not want to lose their partners. “It’s like a spell on some- cussing the issue, however, as the potion is not licensed and vent can’t be effective all the time, all around the body - one is infatuated, and though it’s strictly prohibited in few women would admit to taking it. world. Local authorities must follow-up and monitor such activity in order to prevent illicit trade happening in their own countries. Glimpse of Kuwait’s work visa process In Kuwait, I am more concerned with what seems to be a growing popularity of the sale of illicit drugs and By Aakash Bakaya work visa medicals and it is located next to Al-Sabah Hospital, prescription medications online. There seems to be but not directly attached to it. The building is called ‘Ports and more and more ads for drugs that fight obesity, a seri- f you have family members or friends wanting to work in Borders Health Division Expatriates Investigation Center’, and ous health problem in Kuwait. Indeed the large num- Kuwait and were wondering what the procedure for complet- once you enter through the gate, take a right towards the bigger ber of these advertising campaigns on private TV Iing the work visa process would be like, then look no further. building and not towards the actual clinic. There you will be channels and the Internet is really worrying. These ads Having just completed my visa process this week, I can tell you greeted by an even bigger crowd, but a crowd which thins out at never mention the harmful side effects or the poten- that once you get the bulk of the work done in your own coun- a much faster pace. Be sure to carry KD 10 on you as you will tial dangers of such drugs. Many of them should not try, the procedure in Kuwait is quite straightforward if you have need to buy a revenue stamp for the test. There will be around a be taken unless under the specific guidance and the patience and the time. dozen different-looking stamp machines at the entrance, but don’t get confused as I did. All the machines give out the same observation of a doctor. These types of ads should be First Things First required stamp, so deposit your cash in any of them. restricted and monitored by the government. If you are entering Kuwait on a work or commercial visa, you From there, staple your photos to your medical slip (which More importantly, there needs to be serious efforts must have already got your police and medical clearance done. the company provides) and go up to the reception desk to get by schools, society and parents to tackle the growing Take these papers to your company’s human resource manager your token number. The number you receive might be a long problem of obesity among school students. The or any other staff responsible for employee recruitment. They way ahead but you shouldn’t have to wait for more than 30-45 results of an Education Ministry study on the issue was will get all the necessary papers, but do try to ask them if they minutes as the process is much quicker here. Once your number really frightening. It found that 44% of students can get the permission slip that does not require you to take the arrives, wait in line for your blood test. A small point to note is between the intermediate and secondary stages and company’s ‘mandoub’ (representative) along with you. Now this that there are two different lines for Indian Subcontinent expatri- might not be possible with everyone, but getting this slip helps ates and Egyptian expatriates, so be sure you are in the correct 15% of primary school students suffer from being you get the work done on your own time. Before you venture one. Again, once this is done, don’t worry about getting any new overweight to the point of obesity. Overall, Kuwait’s out, make sure you have the following items - your passport, papers - everything is done on the computer and your data is obesity rate is around 70%!!! That is shocking and your original work visa, copies of your medical and police clear- again automatically updated. should be a wakeup call to us all. ances and 4 passport-size photos with a blue background. The causes are clear: poor diet including too much There are only three places you have to go to complete your The Home Stretch soft drinks, junk food as well as little to no physical work process. The first is the fingerprint office of your gover- You’ve got your medical slip signed and now you’re only one activity and movement. The MoE study suggested that norate. There are two such offices in Kuwait - one is in Sharq on step away from completion. You won’t need any of your papers Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Street amidst the toy shops - go here if you for the next step - only your signed medical slip. The TB x-ray the government needs to develop a strategy to com- live anywhere expect Jahra, Ahmadi or Farwaniya. For those gov- ward is a few minutes’ drive from the clinic and you’ll find it bat obesity in schools in Kuwait. But as usual, nothing ernorates, the fingerprint office is located on Al-Ghazali Street in across Al-Sabah Hospital’s Maternity Hospital (the only stand- has happened since then. Meanwhile more kids grow Farwaniya. Finding the offices is never a worry as every taxi driv- alone maternity ward in Kuwait surprisingly). Once at the TB con- bigger and bigger. Some of them may wish to lose er in Kuwait has to go through the same procedures. trol unit, things get a little unsystematic again. You wait in line at weight and end up thinking that buying obesity drugs The office opens at 6am and I highly recommend you go as the entrance and get a sticker on your medical slip. From there, online is a solution. early as possible. Give your papers to the reception desk and go towards the long hall and then take the first left where you’ll Last year, the World Health Organization warned of wait for your name to be called out. This is the longest part of the see a waiting area with no one waiting in it. That’s because e-marketing and estimated that about 40% of the procedure and without any proper token system inside, it might everyone is already in line for the radiology room and most have seem like your name is never going to be called out. But hang in already begun taking off their upper garments for the x-ray. marketing of counterfeit and fake drugs happens there and don’t be afraid to ask any questions you might have to The line is usually crowded and people will try to cut ahead online. The WHO reported that around 10% of the the ladies on duty - they might seem intimidating, but they were and company mandoubs will try to use their leeway to get their total counterfeit drugs sold in the West are sold via quite nice from my experience. work done faster. Ignore all of them and keep your position in online and the proportion went up to 30% in develop- After your name gets called, the police officers working there line - eventually your turn will come and you will get your x-ray ing countries. Kuwait is a small market but almost will take a scan of your fingerprints and stamp your work visa. done. Leave your medical slip with the doctor in charge and everyone is online and thus exposed to the rampant From there, everything gets done digitally as your fingerprints breathe a sigh of relief. You’re done! ads on for prescription drugs. Therefore we must not are immediately stored in the database, so don’t worry about The ministry work will take 8-10 days and you can check on it disregard the possible threat. In Kuwait a lengthy jail getting any new papers. The stamp the officer puts on your visa by calling the PACI office (Public Authority of Civil Information) is all you need to continue to the next step. and providing them your visa number, which is an 8-digit code term and fine awaits anyone who sells fake drugs via indicated on the top right corner of your work visa. It is an auto- the Internet. But that may be too little, too late to save It’s Time for Your Checkup mated service, so you can call the number at any time to see someone harmed by a drug they bought online. Far from a thorough checkup, the medical in Kuwait is almost how far along your visa process is done. Once the visa work is Never trust drugs you buy online, you can never identical to the one you did in your home country - the only dif- completed, inform your company’s HR department to get your know what they will do to you and they can lead to ference is that your blood test and your x-rays are done in two civil ID process started. Hopefully, this quick walkthrough will real harm, even death. different locations. Ideally, go straight for your medicals after help you or your family get their visa work done faster and as your fingerprints. There’s only one clinic in Kuwait that does the hassle-free as possible. By Nawara Fattahova fied. Instead they are derived from breeding red toma- toes with purple (blue) tomato varieties. “A professor lack tomatoes will soon be available in commer- in Oregon paired the blue wild tomato with regular cial quantities in Kuwait, if Kuwaiti farmer Yousef tomatoes, which produced the black tomato,” he said. BAl-Kraibani has his way. Many people are not Kraibani plants his tomatoes in greenhouses in aware of the great benefits of black tomatoes, which Wafra. “I have to keep my crops in a protective envi- according to various studies conducted in the United ronment due to the severe weather conditions, espe- States, are necessary for one’s daily supply of antioxi- cially black tomatoes. I’m also planning to switch to dants. Kraibani first planted them in 2014 in his farm in organic farming. This also includes the water I use for Wafra, but yielded only 5 percent of the crop. irrigation. I use water from the public pump and add Kraibani expects his second crop to be successful. “I 100,000 gallons from my private pump daily. I regulate avoided the mistakes I made in the first sowing, from the sodium in the water as well. The Kuwaiti agricul- which I only got about 10 pieces out of 200 planted tural production is one of the best in the world,” he tomatoes. The saplings of these tomatoes are very sen- stated. sitive and can easily die. Simple things can kill it, such After graduating from the United States as an engi- as a gust of wind, high humidity, insects or cold weath- neer and working for some time in an oil company, er. Also, overwatering can kill this plant. This is why Kraibani preferred to work with his father, who is a European and America farmers abandoned planting farmer as well. Besides black tomatoes, he has many black tomatoes, as it needs special care and is very deli- other strange kinds of tomatoes that people haven’t cate,” Kraibani told Kuwait Times. even heard about, such as zebra, tiger, grape, pear and “We need about three years to develop black toma- the well-known cherry tomato. “I also have tomatoes toes and get stronger saplings, so we can get a higher Nutritious of various colors and sizes including yellow, orange, production. I planted the first crop in Oct 2014, which Black tomatoes are packed with nutrients, accord- red, white (which in fact is light yellow) and black. I’m was risky and not successful. I planted this lot in ing to Kraibani. “These tomatoes contain the quantity also planting the smallest tomato in the world, of January, so I will get the output by the end of March or of antioxidants that are available only in black fruits which about 8 to 10 can fit in a spoon. There are many beginning of April, depending on the weather,” he such as blackberries,” he said. Black tomatoes, known kinds of tomatoes that people here in Kuwait don’t added. also as indigo rose tomatoes, aren’t genetically modi- know about,” concluded Kraibani. thet dairyddaiaiiiryry ffarfarmarmrmm

By Fateny FB en Omar Ota mar

ouou wake wake up up inin thethe morning and and pr probablyobably star start your your dat yday with with a a glass of milk or pour milk in your kidsÆ bowls of cerealer . glass of milk or pour milk in your kids’ bowls of cereal. Whether you like it hot or cold you migh, t wonder about the YWhether you like it hot or cold, you might wonder about the Ycopr ess tc o get the milk t your bro eakfast table. process to get the milk to your breakfast table. Cut to Sulaibiy where aa, t 5 am, wor at Unitkers Dairy FFed arm, CutuwKuw aitÆsto Sulaibiya, biggest where star, t at 5 am, datheir y workers by y ffeeeding at United milkand Dairying Farm, cthe Kuwait’sswoc . biggest,Mahmoud start Hassan their dayMahmoud by feeding, in char andge milkingof milking the the cows. c swo Mahmoud, told HassanKuwuwK Mahmoud, Tait imes about in charge the pr of milkingessoc . ôH thegy iene cows, is the told most Kuwait impor Timestan aboutt thething process. in our “Hygiene far F is the wm. e mostwirst ash important the cow and thing clean in our it w farm.ell, then First we washattach the thecow milk anding clean machine it well, t othen it,ö attachhe said the. milking machine to it,” he said. P ecotr ting and feeding the animals is a parbig t of symbiotthe -symbiot icProtecting relationship and bet feedingween the animals andis a bigthe partw kersor of the T. he symbiotic milking rela- tionshipand pr betweenocessing thetake animals place close and thetogether workers. at theThe dairmilkingy far andm. ôW process-e ingfeed take the place c wo closes alfalfa, together corn atand the bar dairyley asfarm. per “Wea specific feed the timetable cows alfalfa,. cornWhen and thebarley c wo as arpere rs aeady specificy,, we milk timetable. them evWhenery 8 the hours cows. Each are cready,ow we milk oducoducpr themes every t10 o 8 hours. k18 ilos Eachof milk cow ev erproducesy time,ö 10 said to M18ahmoud kilos of, whilemilk every time,”a milch said c Mahmoud,w can proa pr whilee upa milch toduc to 40 cowkg of can milk produce ev y 8 up hourser hours to 40.y kg of milk os bPhot y Joseph S ahagr every 8 hours. 5

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Disease-freeDisease-free Recently,Recently, SaudiSaudi Arabia banned the import ofof cattlecattle fromfrom KuwaitKuwait because because of lumpy ofskin lumpy disease skin found disease in dairy found cows in dairy in Sulaibiya. cows in KuwaitSulaibiya. Times Kuwait sought Times to findsought the truth to toreassure find the citizens truth andto reassure residents citizens that the and milk residents in markets that is the free milkof diseases. in markets is freeAbdel of diseases. Moati Kaadan, manager of the United Farm, assured that lumpy skin disease is notAbdel a dangerous Moati Kaadan, disease. manager “The headlines of the United in the Farm, newspaper assured shockedthat lumpy me, skin because it’s diseasenot true is that not athis dangerous disease disease.is dangerous. ôThe headlinesHumans cannot in the newspaper be affected shocked by this disease, mebecause , because the virus itÆs thatnot trueinfects that animals this disease does notis dangerous. affect humans,” Humans he cannot said. “The be only risk affectedhere is that by youthis willdisease, have becausea dead animal,the virus which that infectsis a loss animals of livestock. does Thenot diseaseaffect is like humans,öan ulcer or hechicken said. poxôThe that only you risk can here notice is that without you willa veterinary,” have a dead he added. animal, which“I’m a working loss of livestock. on the farm The sincedisease 1971 is like and an this ulcer is theor chicken first time pox I thathave you heard about canlumpy notice skin without disease. a veterinary,öI cannot tell he where added. it came from. Only the owners of infected farmsôIÆm will working know.” on Kaadan the farm noted since it 1971is the and “right” this isof the Saudi first Arabia time I tohave ban heard cattle from about lumpy skin disease. I cannot tell where it came from. Only the owners Kuwait because of the disease, fearing for their animal wealth estimated at roughly a of infected farms will know.ö Kaadan noted it is the ôrightö of Saudi Arabia to million heads of cows. “Usually, there is no exchange of cows between Kuwait and ban cattle from Kuwait because of the disease, fearing for their animal wealth Saudi Arabia,” he said. estimated at roughly a million heads of cows. ôUsually, there is no exchange of cows between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,ö he said. Safety Agronomist Ezzat Sweilem has spentSafety 35 years working at United Farm. “We sell raw milkAgronomist to factories, Ezzat but thereSweilem are basichas spent measures 35 years carried working out by atthe United factories. Farm. Samples of ôWemilk sellare rawtested, milk and to factories,a private butveterinary there are clinic basic in measures Sulaibiya carriedmakes outsure by that the the cows factories.are free of Samples disease,” of he milk said. are tested, and a private veterinary clinic in Sulaibi- ya makesThe United sure thatFarm the began cows operations are free of in disease,ö 1961. It hehas said. about 2,500 heads of cattle, and 1,100The of United them areFarm milk began cows. operations The farm producesin 1961. It 25 has tons about of concentrated 2,500 heads milk of in win- cattle,ter. The and farm 1,100 has of52 them dairy areworkers milk cows.and 8 Thein the farm management. produces 25 The tons farm of con-send the raw centratedmilk to its milk main in factory, winter. TheKuwaiti farm United has 52 Dairy,dairy workersto pasteurize and 8 inthe the milk, manage- a process that ment.heats Themilk farm then send quickly the coolsraw milk it to to ensure its main the factory, elimination Kuwaiti of United harmful Dairy, bacteria, to while pasteurizeretaining good the milk, bacteria. a process that heats milk then quickly cools it to ensure theThe elimination farm imports of harmful cows bacteria,from Germany. while retaining Calves born good at bacteria. the farm are delivered by professionalThe farm importsveterinarians, cows fromwho takeGermany. care ofCalves their bornhealth at by the maintaining farm are deliv- a special file eredfor every by professional cow since birth.veterinarians, Calves are who placed take withcare oftheir their mothers health byin speciallymaintain- equipped ingcages, a special and male file forcalves every are cow sold since during birth. the Calves first aretwo placed weeks withof theirbirth. Themoth- milking is erscompletely in specially computerized equipped cages, according and maleto the calves latest arefarm sold technologies, during the firstand thetwo cows are weeksfed by ofautomatic birth. The foragers milking that is completely feed them withincomputerized 5 minutes. according to the lat- est farm technologies, and the cows are fed by automatic foragers that feed them within 5 minutes.

Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

KUWAIT: Vehicles move bumper-to-bumper in poor visibility on a busy motorway after a severe dust storm lashed Kuwait yester- day. Despite the hostile weather, people ventured out to go to offices and meet their daily needs. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Dust storm disrupts Kuwait oil exports Temperature to drop further over weekend

KUWAIT: A dust storm has disrupted oil exports from Kuwait forc- ing weather conditions, namely the blowing gale winds and the ing it to halt both its crude and oil products exports yesterday, a dust, have prompted the authorities to halt marine navigation to spokesman for state-run Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said. and from the three key harbors. Winds soared to 32-35 nautical Export operations in Saudi Arabia were not affected by similar knots and visibility has ebbed, he confirmed, noting keenness on weather conditions. At the top oil exporter’s main crude export ter- safety of personnel, ships and piers. Navigation at ports, according minal in Ras Tanura, export flow was uninterrupted, shipping to international rules, must stop when visibility drops below three sources said. nautical miles. The suspension in Kuwait will remain until weather conditions The prevailing dust would subside gradually as temperature improve, KNPC spokesman Khalid al-Asousi said. Kuwait produces would drop by evening, said a meteorologist yesterday. around 3 million barrels of crude per day. The Gulf OPEC member Director of Kuwait Meteorology Department Mohammad Karam has three refineries, Shuaiba, Mina Abdullah and Mina al-Ahmadi, told the press yesterday that the weather was still unstable with with a total refining capacity of around 930,000 bpd. Bad weather north westerly wind exceeding 70 km/h, allowing it to pick up dust, and sandstorms in the Gulf occasionally cause brief interruptions in hence, lowering horizontal visibility to less than 500 meters. Over oil exports. Meanwhile Captain Marzouq Al-Qahtani, in charge of the weekend, the weather will remain unstable and temperature marine operations at Shuwaikh Port, said in a statement the prevail- will drop at night to single digits, he added. — Agencies Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Ranking of best and worst countries for press freedom: RSF World Press Freedom Index Kuwait inches up in

PARIS: Here is a ranking of 180 countries and territo- ries evaluated by the Paris-based media watchdog Press Freedom Index group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for press free- dom in its latest annual report, from best to worst: By Sara Ahmed ly respect their god or prophet. 1. Finland 91. Greece 2. Norway 92. Peru 3. Denmark 93. Fiji KUWAIT: Kuwait moved up one notch in the latest Reporters Among the worst 4. Netherlands 94. Bolivia Without Borders 2015 World Press Freedom Index. According to RSF’s ranking put Iran, China, Syria and North Korea among 5. Sweden 95. Gabon the report published yesterday, there was an eight percent the countries with the very worst levels of press freedom out of 6. New Zealand 96. Seychelles increase in the violations of freedom of information in 180 coun- the 180 evaluated. Repression of journalists in Ukraine during its 7. Austria 97. Uganda tries around the world in 2014 compared to 2013. early-2014 uprising against its pro-Kremlin president, and in 8. Canada 98. Lebanon Kuwait -which ranked 91 in 2013 now ranks 90 in the latest Turkey during anti-government demonstrations earned both 9. Jamaica 99. Brazil report. Several activists and journalists were given lengthy jail spots in the bottom quarter of the table. “Police misconduct” dur- 10. Estonia 100. Kenya 11. Ireland 101. Israel terms for insulting His Highness the Amir, which is a crime in ing the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong earned that territo- 12. Germany 102. Guinea Kuwait. Some eventually received royal pardons but the laws pro- ry a slide to 70th position. 13. Czech Republic 103. East Timor tecting the Amir from criticism remain. Changes to the press law The best-rated nations were northern European states such as 14. Slovakia 104. Bhutan have also expanded fines and jail terms for journalists or those Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, with 15. Belgium 105. Nepal posting comments on news websites and other social media. New Zealand, Canada and Jamaica also making the top 10. But 16. Costa Rica 106. Bulgaria Kuwait has yoyo’d up and down in terms of media freedom in some other European countries did not do so well. Italy, for 17. Namibia 107. Republic of the Congo recent years. It achieved a high ranking of 60 (out of 170 coun- instance, fell 24 spots to 73rd position because of mafia threats 18. Poland 108. Ecuador tries) in 2009 but has seen its ranking sink lower and lower as and “unjustified defamation suits”. Overall, “the EU appears to be 19. Luxembourg 109. Paraguay 20. Switzerland 110. Central African Republic political disruptions in the country triggered a tighter govern- swamped by a certain desire on the part of some members states 21. Iceland 111. Nigeria ment crackdown on press freedoms. to compromise on freedom of information,” the report said. 22. Ghana 112. Maldives Kuwait fell below impoverished west African states like Liberia The United States ranked 49, three spots lower than in the pre- 23. Uruguay 113. Zambia (89) and Ivory Coast (86) but ranked as the most free of all the vious report, in part because of what RSF said was the US govern- 24. Cyprus 114. Montenegro Middle East countries. Lebanon (98), Israel (101), Qatar (115), UAE ment’s “war on information” against WikiLeaks and others. In 25. Australia 115. Qatar (120), Oman (127) and Egypt (158) all ranked lower in terms of South America, Venezuela stood out with a 20-notch fall to a 26. Portugal 116. Tajikistan freedom of the press and the protections afforded journalists. ranking of 137 due to the National Bolivarian Guard opening fire 27. Liechtenstein 117. Macedonia Meanwhile, North Africa and the Middle East contained on clearly identified journalists during demonstrations. Libya 28. Latvia 118. Mali 29. Suriname 119. Algeria notable “black holes” in which “entire regions are controlled by dropped 17 places to 154 because of the national chaos that has 30. Belize 120. United Arab Emirates non-state groups [like Islamic State and Al Nusra Front] in which seen seven journalists murdered and 37 kidnapped. Russia 31. Lithuania 121. Brunei independent information simply does not exist,” Reporters slipped to the 152nd spot after introducing “another string of dra- 32. Andorra 122. Afghanistan Without Borders said. “The criminalization of blasphemy endan- conian laws,” website blocking and the extinction of independent 33. Spain 123. Angola gers freedom of information in around half of the world’s coun- media. “Press freedom... is in retreat on all five continents,” RSF 34. United Kingdom 124. Guatemala tries,” the report said, noting that religious extremists sometimes declared, claiming its indicators were “incontestable”. - Material 35. Slovenia 125. South Sudan also go after journalists or bloggers they believe do not sufficient- from wires also included. 36. Cape Verde 126. Tunisia 37. Organization of Eastern 127. Oman Caribbean States 128. Colombia 38. France 129. Ukraine 39. South Africa 130. Morocco Palestinian dupes Egyptian 40. Samoa 131. Zimbabwe 41. Trinidad and Tobago 132. Honduras 42. Botswana 133. Cameroon 43. Chile 134. Thailand with work permit offer 44. Tonga 135. Chad 45. El Salvador 136. India 46. Burkina Faso 137. Venezuela Indian killed in accident at Sabriya oilfield 47. Niger 138. Indonesia 48. Malta 139. Cambodia 49. United States 140. Palestinian Territories KUWAIT: An Egyptian accused a Palestinian of making him 50. Comoros 141. Philippines believe that he can get a work permit for his relative in diesel. A security source said while the driver was leaving 51. Taiwan 142. Ethiopia exchange of KD1,000. The Palestinian allegedly received the security area, he entered the off-limits area to unload 52. Romania 143. Jordan KD380 as down payment. According to the Egyptian, the the quantity about 5500 liters of diesel. When he was 53. Haiti 144. Myanmar questioned he admitted that that he was able to distrib- 54. Mongolia 145. Burundi Palestinian claimed that he worked for a company and he 55. Mauritania 146. Bangladesh could help the Egyptian bring the relative on a government ute 1,000 liters to various companies in the area. He said 56. Papua New Guinea 147. Malaysia contract. However, after receiving the money, the Palestinian that he left 4,500 liters in the tank to attempt to smuggle 57. Argentina 148. Mexico behaved indifferently. When asked the Palestinian to pay back it later to sell it in the black market. 58. Croatia 149. Turkey the money, he refused. The Egyptian went to police station 59. Malawi 150. Democratic Republic of and lodged a complaint. 60. South Korea Congo 61. Japan 151. Gambia Girl missing 62. Guyana 152. Russia Indian dies 63. Dominican Republic 153. Singapore A girl disappeared from her grandmother’s home and 64. Madagascar 154. Libya An Indian was killed during his work at a Sabriya oilfield. school and there was no trace of her since last Friday. A securi- 65. Hungary 155. Swaziland A security source said the victim, who was installing an ty source said a citizen in her seventies, went to Riqqa police 66. Bosnia and Herzegovina 156. Iraq equipment, the rope holding the equipment snapped station and told them her 14-year-old granddaughter left 67. Serbia 157. Belarus and fell on him fatally injuring him. He succumbed to his home on Friday and did not return. The girl’s mother said she 68. Mauritius 158. Egypt injuries on way to the oil company’s polyclinic. The body did see her and the school said the girl did not attend her 69. Georgia 159. Pakistan was recovered by the coroner as investigations are classes. An absconding case was registered against the girl, 70. Hong Kong 160. Kazakhstan underway. 71. Senegal 161. Rwanda and detectives are working on the case. 72. Moldova 162. Azerbaijan 73. Italy 163. Bahrain 74. Nicaragua 164. Saudi Arabia Policeman punished 75. Tanzania 165. Sri Lanka Supervision and Inspection Department at the Interior Minor fire at 76. Northern Cyprus 166. Uzbekistan Ministry punished a policeman by deducting his salary and 77. Lesotho 167. Equatorial Guinea warning him because of abuse of power and threatening a Zour power plant 78. Armenia 168. Yemen juvenile by saying “I will place a piece of drug on you and you 79. Sierra Leone 169. Cuba will be wasted.” A security source said a citizen who does a 80. Togo 170. Djibouti KUWAIT: A minor fire broke out at the south Az-Zour civilian job at the Interior Ministry told the department about 81. Guinea-Bissau 171. Laos power plant, causing small damage to gas turbines, an the policeman who threatened him when he stopped him 82. Albania 172. Somalia official at the Ministry of Electricity and water while walking at night. When asked for the ID, he told him he 83. Panama 173. Iran announced yesterday. The Ministry’s Assistant under- forgot to bring it. He then threatened him. 84. Benin 174. Sudan secretary for power and water distillation plants opera- 85. Mozambique 175. Vietnam 86. Ivory Coast 176. China tion and maintenance engineer Fuad Al-Oun told the press that the fire was brought under control immedi- 87. Kosovo 177. Syria Truck driver arrested ately thanks to the swift response of firefighting teams. 88. Kyrgyzstan 178. Turkmenistan Security men in Rawdhatain area arrested a tanker He added that no casualties resulted from the accident. 89. Liberia 179. North Korea truck driver for attempting to smuggle 4,500 liters of 90. Kuwait 180. Eritrea Local FRIDAY, FEBRUARAY 13, 2015

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity, Water and Public Works, Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim (right) speaks next to Awqaf Minister and Islamic Affairs Yaqoup Al-Sanea (left), and MP Mubarak Al-Khuraineg and Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for KUWAIT: MPs during the session in the National Assembly. Development and Planning Affairs, Hind Al-Sabeeh (right) yesterday during a session at the National Assembly in Kuwait.— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat MPs debate blackout as govt orders probe Assembly empowers Audit Bureau to deal with violators

By B Izzak Audit Bureau towards which ministries and government depart- debate, MPs called for strong actions and for penalties against offi- ments normally take no action. cials who fail to implement the Bureau’s recommendations and do KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity has formed an investigation Since its establishment decades ago, the Audit Bureau has nothing towards cited violations. committee to probe the massive blackout that engulfed the coun- been preparing reports every year on the final financial statements try Wednesday night following a technical problem at Subbiya by ministries and government departments and in which it cites a power plant, the electricity and water minister said yesterday. large number of violations. The reports were being sent to the Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim told the Assembly during a special debate government and the National Assembly which used to debate News over the blackout that the power cut was not caused by the them but without any action. This time, the assembly invited top in brief Subbiya power plant but by the transmission network. officials of the Audit Bureau to a debate on the main violations to He said the ministry swiftly acted to restore power to many see how the two bodies can minimize wrongdoings that cost pub- areas and succeeded in restoring 80 percent after just two hours of lic funds billions of dinars. Minister receives the cut and completely restored the current three hours after the Deputy chairman of the Bureau, former MP Adel Al-Saraawi Chinese delegation incident. The minister said that Kuwait made use of the Gulf called on ministries to apply the recommendations provided by KUWAIT: Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Cooperation Council (GCC) unified power grid system in restoring the Bureau reports including taking actions against those respon- Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received yesterday China’s electricity, adding that the six-nation GCC have used the grid 1,200 sible for the violations. Ambassador Cui Jianchun and a visiting delegation from times during last year. Head of the National Assembly budgets committee MP Adnan China’s National Development and Reform Commission Ibrahim said after the incident that the blackout happened Abdulsamad told the Assembly that based on the Audit Bureau (NDRC). The meeting tackled bilateral relations and when a number of units with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW reports, the government is owed a total of KD1.84 billion but means to expand cooperation in various domains. It was went off at Subbiya power plant which has a total capacity of authorities have failed to collect the huge funds. also attended by senior officials from the Kuwaiti 5,700 MW, leading to a huge pressure on other units triggering the He said that government ministries and agencies have lost a Supreme Council of Planning and Development and min- automatic system to shut off the plant. A number of MPs who total of 85,000 court cases costing public funds KD692 million and istries of foreign affairs, finance and public works. spoke during the debate praised the swift reaction of the ministry the government won just 60 cases involving KD. 170 million. but called for thoroughly studying the causes of the blackout. Abdulsamad said the Audit Bureau has listed 16 government entities as not cooperating with it and 24 entities have been Violations blamed of weak internal monitoring. Of the violations cited by the Foreign minister receives The National Assembly also voted yesterday to amend the law Bureau on the implementation of projects, Abdulsamad said that dean of Lebanese journalists to provide additional powers to the Audit Bureau to conduct disci- violations were cited in 735 projects. He said the original cost of KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign plinary actions against government officials responsible for finan- those projects was KD10 billion but after amendments the cost Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah cial and administrative violations that cost losses to public funds. soared to KD23 billion. received yesterday with attendance of Minister of The amendment came following an unprecedented debate The original cost of 60 oil projects was KD11 billion but jumped Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs called by the National Assembly to discuss violations cited by the to KD19.8 billion after amendments, the lawmaker said. During the Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, the vis- iting dean of Lebanese journalists, Awni Al-Kaki, along with a delegation accompanying him. Historical exhibition UK Ambassador opens in Jahra applauds Kuwait’s KD 30.2m total payments KUWAIT: The Jahra governorate’s historical exhibition by e-service in 2014 opened yesterday at the diwan of the red fort monument in humanitarian role KUWAIT: Central Agency for Information Technology Jarha, documenting the area’s most important historical (CAIT) announced yesterday that the total amount of mon- events. At the opening event, Jahra Governor Fahad Al-Amir KUWAIT: The United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Kuwait ey paid by electronic payment services via (Kuwait govern- said the location was to honor the history of the governorate, Matthew Lodge hailed here yesterday the distinguished ment online) website was about KD 30.2 million, through adding that coinciding the opening with Kuwait’s celebra- 503,262 payment processes during the past year. The CAIT tions of its 54th national day, 24th anniversary of independ- role Kuwait plays in the humanitarian field and the support said in its annual report for the website statistics published ence, and the ninth anniversary of His Highness the Amir and aid it offers to people suffering from disasters and by KUNA that the amounts collected in 2014 increased by Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was a befitting political conflicts all over the world. He added in remarks 79 percent from those collected in 2013, and the payment gesture. following a meeting he held with Kuwait Red Crescent operations increased by 65 percent. Four government The exhibition is a great cultural accomplishment that will Society (KRCS) Chairman Hilal Al-Sayer that Kuwait repre- agencies acquired the highest number of total electronic help to inform people about the history of the area and sig- sents a model example for charity and humanitarian work payment operations on the website-Interior, Justice, elec- nificant events, said Al-Amir. The exhibition consists of picto- regarding the generous aid it offers for countries in need. tricity and water and transportation ministries, the report rial and audio documents as well as miniatures showcasing added. Number of electronic information services on the the history of Jahra governorate. It is held at the famed He shed light on the efforts exerted by the KRCS in the website is about 1,096 services, provided by 54 govern- Kuwaiti monument the red fort, a significant location that Arab and international arenas at this level. They two sides mental entities, 878 information services and 218 electron- played an integral role during the Kuwaitis’ victory against discussed means of boosting humanitarian and coopera- ic services, where it witnessed in 2014 up 264 new elec- the Ikhwan forces at the battle of Jahra in the 1920s. — KUNA tion between both countries. — KUNA tronic and information services. — KUNA FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Little noticed, new ‘Glimmer of hope’ Australia to tighten Saudi king shapes for Ukraine after migrant screening contours12 of power Minsk16 peace deal after18 terror scare

CAIRO: Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy holds up an Egyptian flag after a retrial a courthouse near Tora prison yesterday. — AP Egypt court frees two Jazeera journalists Fahmy renounces his Egyptian citizenship CAIRO: An Egyptian court ordered the sition. Fahmy had renounced his Egyptian cit- year allowing foreigners to be deported to Nations. The retrial was ordered after Egypt’s release of two jailed Al-Jazeera journalists izenship to benefit from a law that allows the their home countries to stand trial or serve Court of Cassation ruled in January that the yesterday pending retrial, after they spent deportation of foreign defendants and which out their sentences. Canada last week said lower court “lacked evidence to support its more than 400 days in prison in a case that led to Greste’s release. Fahmy’s release was “imminent”, but voiced ruling” in the original verdict. The journalists sparked worldwide outrage. Yesterday’s first session of their retrial, concern that he had not been freed upon were among 20 defendants initially tried by Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian and Fahmy’s defense asked the court to free him. renouncing his nationality. “We are in shock the lower court. Of the rest, 12 were whose family hoped he would be deported, Fahmy himself was then allowed out of the and we feel that the Canadian government Egyptians found guilty of belonging to a “ter- must pay 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($33,000) caged dock to address the judge. “I didn’t ask has failed in getting Mohamed out,” Omara rorist organization”. bail while his colleague, Egyptian Baher to drop my (Egyptian) nationality,” he said, said. The Canadian ambassador was inside Two defendants were acquitted, while the Mohamed, was freed on his own recogni- his arm in a blue sling from an accident he the courtroom before the start of the trial. other three-also foreigners-were convicted in zance along with other defendants. The case had suffered before his arrest in December absentia. The journalists’ initial trial came was adjourned until February 23, the court 2013. “A security official visited me and asked ‘Huge step forward’ against the backdrop of strained ties said. I drop my citizenship because the state want- Greste congratulated his two colleagues between Egypt and Qatar, which supported Fahmy and Mohamed appeared in white ed to get this case done with, it had become after their release was announced. “This is a ousted president Mohamed Morsi. The prison uniforms before the Cairo court, after a nightmare,” Fahmy said before pulling out huge step forward. Not time to declare it Islamist leader was toppled by then army Australian colleague Peter Greste was a large Egyptian flag. Greste was on the over, but at least you get to go home!” the chief Sisi in July 2013, before Sisi was himself deported home earlier this month. The three judge’s roll call of defendants at the start of Australian wrote on Twitter. The three jour- elected president. While Fahmy may still be were accused of supporting the blacklisted the trial. “He’s not here sir,” responded a nalists of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera English deported-although that appears less likely Muslim Brotherhood and originally jailed for police officer when the judge called out his were arrested in December 2013 and charged once the trial starts-Mohamed’s only hope is between seven and 10 years each. The case name. with spreading false news about Egypt and for an acquittal. Sisi’s office has said the presi- has been a major source of embarrassment The three journalists had spend more than supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Their dent will not consider a pardon before the for President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as he seeks a year in jail before an appeals court ordered arrests and continued detentions sparked courts have finished their work. Mohamed’s to shore up international support following a a retrial saying the prosecution had failed to widespread condemnation and calls for their wife Jihan Rashid said the family is “paying widely condemned crackdown on the oppo- prove its case. Sisi passed a law by decree last release led by Washington and the United the price for being Egyptian”. — AFP

International FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 12 Turkey warns TV over ‘God instead of Allah’ dubbing Erdogan proposes building mosque in Cuba

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s television watchdog has Although it can be used to denote a monothe- said on Wednesday he had sought approval for Erdogan had received to the proposal from the warned a national private channel over the istic God such as in Islam it also has pre-Islamic Turkey to build the place of worship in Havana authorities in secular Cuba, a Communist-ruled dubbing of a French show where the word for and even pagan connotations. The French that would be based on the model of a nation whose population of 11 million people “God” was dubbed with a traditional Turkic show had already aroused the ire of RTUK mosque in the Ortakoy district on the is predominantly Catholic with only a few word rather than the Islamic “Allah”, media which had fined it over a segment where the European shore of the Bosphorus strait in thousand Muslims. said yesterday. Turkey’s Radio and Television characters discussed the merits of strawberry- Istanbul. Last November, Erdogan told a con- The largest mosque in Latin America is the Supreme Council (RTUK) issued a formal warn- flavored condoms. The RTUK has been accused ference of Muslim leaders from Latin America King Fahd Islamic Cultural Center in Buenos ing to TV 2 over the dubbing of the French- in recent months of imposing moral censor- in Istanbul that Muslims had reached the Aires, Argentina. Closer to Cuba, the Caribbean produced comedy sketch show “Vous Les ship in a number of stern rulings. The RTUK in Americas in the 12th century, before the nations of Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname Femmes”, which in Turkish is broadcast as “Ah November rebuked one of the country’s most European explorer Christopher Columbus did have significant Muslim populations. Erdogan’s Biz Kadinlar” and in English-speaking countries popular soap operas “Kara Para Ask” (Black so in 1492. assertion that Muslims reached pre-Columbian as “Women!” It said that the dubbing could Money Love) — for a passionate kissing scene “I presented all the information, project Americas was based on a reference to a have an “unfavorable impact on the percep- deemed excessively erotic. work and visuals regarding the Ortakoy mosque-like formation at the top of a moun- tion of Allah by children” adding it had “insult- mosque. ‘We will do this ourselves. We don’t tain in Columbus’ diary of his voyages. He told ed the national and sentimental values of Building mosque in Cuba want a partner. If you find it appropriate we the conference in November “a mosque today Turks”. During a dialogue in the series the In another development, Turkish President want to do this’,” Erdogan’s presidential web- would suit the top of that mountain.” Most French “Dieu” (God) was dubbed into Turkish Tayyip Erdogan has proposed to Cuba the con- site quoted him as saying of his talks with scholars believe that reference was to a natural as “Tanri” rather than the Islamic, Arabic-origin, struction of a mosque on the Caribbean island Castro. Erdogan also told reporters the Cuban mountain feature rather than an actual “Allah”. during a visit to Havana, pushing ahead with a government had agreed with Saudi Arabia on mosque. Mostly Muslim Turkey has only slight Tanri comes from an old Turkic word for plan apparently inspired by his belief that a similar project some time ago. In light of this, trade ties with Cuba and Erdogan’s visit is part god or the sky, whose origins date to well Muslims discovered the Americas. After talks his planned mosque could be built elsewhere of a Latin American tour also taking in visits to before the adoption of Islam by Turkic peoples. with Cuban President Raul Castro, Erdogan in Cuba, he said. It was not clear what response Colombia and Mexico.—Agencies

Widow of Paris gunman in Islamic State territory

BEIRUT: A magazine run by the Islamic State militant organization has published an interview with the French widow of a Paris hostage taker, its first official claim that Hayat Boumeddiene is in their territory, which spans parts of Syria and Iraq. France launched a search for the 26-year-old after police stormed a Jewish supermarket where her partner Amedy Coulibaly had taken hostages, four of whom were killed along with Coulibaly. Authorities described her as armed and dangerous. Turkish officials said last month that Boumedienne had been in Turkey five days before the shootout, and crossed into Syria on Jan 8. Wednesday’s edition of Islamic State’s online French-language magazine, Dar al-Islam, ran an edi- tion on the attacks in Paris and included an interview with a woman who it said was Coulibaly’s wife, although her name was not given. Reuters could not immediately verify the authen- ticity of the interview, which provided no photos or videos of Boumeddiene. Asked how she felt when she entered the ‘caliphate’, the term Islamic State RIYADH: Dust covers the Abdullah Finance Center in the Saudi capital Riyadh during a sandstorm yesterday. — AFP uses for the territory it controls, she was quoted as saying: “I did not encounter any difficulties (getting here), it is good to live in the land that is governed by Little noticed, new Saudi king the laws of God.” She also said her husband had been an Islamic State supporter; Coulibaly himself shapes the contours of power had said he was carrying out the attack in the name of Islamic State. Seventeen people, including journal- RIYADH: By rapidly appointing two heirs, held by the same handful of people, these mittee on economic and development ists and police officers, were killed in three days of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has pressed appointments appear to set in place a new policy that makes his voice the most violence that began with the storming of the satirical pause on “succession Sudoku”, as one ruling team to dominate Saudi politics at a important on big long term issues con- newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, Jan 7, and leading local journalist calls speculation time of unprecedented regional turmoil fronting the kingdom. “Aside from those ended with the hostage-taking at a kosher supermar- over whose star is rising and whose wan- and long-term challenges. who are close to the prince, people don’t ket. ing in the large and secretive Al Saud rul- The most important change appears to know that much about Mohammed bin ing family. The choice of 69-year-old be the creation of two new super-commit- Salman, but he is coming very strong. He Two other gunmen were killed. An official French Muqrin for crown prince and 55-year-old tees that give Mohammed bin Nayef and is in effect the prime minister because he police photograph shows Boumeddiene as a young Mohammed bin Nayef for deputy crown the king’s own son Mohammed bin has so much power in his hands,” said woman with long dark hair hitched back over her prince resolved the most important dilem- Salman extensive control over most Saudi political scientist Khaled Al-Dakhil. ears. French media released photos purporting to be ma in the dynasty’s recent history - how to aspects of Saudi policy making. of a fully-veiled Boumeddiene, posing with a cross- jump from sons of its founder, King Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also Interior Sudairi sunset bow, in what they said was a training session in 2010 Abdulaziz, to his grandsons. Minister, now heads a committee on poli- To some Western analysts, Salman’s in the mountainous Cantal region. French media Yet while much attention has focused tics and security that will develop Saudi moves also appeared to stress a pendulum described her as one of seven children whose moth- on the naming of Muqrin and bin Nayef, strategy on how to tackle Iran, Islamic swing to the so-called Sudairi block of the er had died when she was young, and whose deliv- less noticed moves have indicated broader State, wars in Iraq and Syria, the crisis in Al Saud, the seven brothers born to ery-man father had struggled to keep working while changes in the contours of how the Al Yemen and treatment of domestic dissi- Abdulaziz by his favorite wife, from a looking after the family. As an adult, she lost her job Saud manage their power and which dents. group of princes long led by the late as a cashier when she converted to Islam and started young princes might rule the world’s top Mohammed bin Salman, who at age 35 Abdullah. The new king is one of those wearing the niqab, the Muslim facial veil.—Reuters oil exporter and key Western ally in future. has also been named Defense Minister brothers, and Mohammed bin Nayef is the After decades during which top jobs were and head of the Royal Court, heads a com- son of another.— Reuters International FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

EU patrol ‘woefully inadequate’ for saving migrants

GENEVA: The UN refugee agency yesterday urged the European Union to do far more to save migrant lives in the Mediterranean after the latest high seas tragedy, saying its maritime border patrol is “woeful- ly inadequate.” The UNHCR issued its strongly-word- ed statement after more than 300 migrants were feared drowned this week when their overcrowded dinghies sank on the perilous crossing from north Africa to Europe. It joins rights group Amnesty International and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in pushing for greater EU action to save migrants. “UNCHR is today calling on the European Union to urgently change its approach to dealing with sea crossings with a view to ensuring that saving lives is the top-most priority,” the Geneva-based agency said. The latest deaths have highlighted the limited means and scope of Triton, an EU-run mission which took over in November from the Italian navy’s Mare Nostrum search and rescue operation. Italy decided to scale back the mission after its EU partners refused to share running costs of around nine million euros SICILY: The coffin with one of the 29 migrants who died from hypothermia during the voyage that began over the week- ($10 million) a month. Triton, which comes under the end in Libya (where most smuggling operations originate) to Europe, is loaded onto a car in Porto Empedocle in Sicily, authority of the EU borders agency Frontex, has a Italy. Some 300 migrants who tried to cross the frigid Mediterranean in open, rubber boats, were reported missing monthly budget of 2.9 million euros ($3.3 million) Wednesday by survivors as the UN refugee agency and other aid groups sharply criticized the new EU rescue operation and its patrols are generally restricted to the territori- as insufficient and costing lives. — AP al waters of EU member states. “There can be no doubt left after this week’s events that Europe’s Operation Triton is a woefully inadequate replacement for Italy’s Mare Nostrum,” Obama’s successor could said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.”The focus has to be about saving lives. We need a robust search and rescue operation in the inherit Mideast conflict Central Mediterranean, not only a border patrol.” Guterres said he is concerned that Europe is planning WASHINGTON: Seeking war power authori- to phase out rather than step up its rescue efforts in ty for three years, President Barack Obama is response to the growing boat disasters. Amnesty setting up the prospect that his successor International slammed EU countries Wednesday for will become the third American president in “burying their heads in the sand while hundreds keep a row overseeing US military forces grappling dying at sea”. with turmoil in the Middle East. Passing on an active military mission in the region would ‘Europe has to commit more’ be an unexpected and unwanted legacy for IOM spokesman Joel Millman told AFP his organi- Obama, a president who once appeared poised to fulfill his campaign pledge to end zation does not “think it’s wrong for countries and for US-led conflicts in the region. Europe as a group to enforce border security”. But he “It’s conceivable that the mission is said that Triton needs to devote more resources to its completed earlier,” Obama said Wednesday search and rescue operations and broaden their as he urged Congress to pass a force scope. “We just think that Europe has to commit authorization against the Islamic State more not just in what they’re doing in the seas but group that would extend into 2018. “It’s what they’re doing to prevent people from having to conceivable that after deliberation, debate migrate,” Millman said. and evaluation, that there are additional “There should be much more emphasis on legal tasks to be carried out in this area.” “The migration.” The European Commission, the EU exec- people’s representatives, with a new presi- WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama (center) deliver remarks, on legis- utive, acknowledged more needed to be done. dent, should be able to have that discus- lation he sent to the US Congress to authorize the use of military force against “Tackling this common challenge has to be a joint sion,” he added. the Islamic State, at the White House in Washington, with US Vice President effort of the commission and the member states The president has long said the cam- Joe Biden (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry.— AFP working together,” Commission spokeswoman paign against the Islamic State militants would be lengthy, suggesting it could a presidential request for military action vote. Obama’s proposed legislation would Natasha Bertaud told reporters Wednesday. extend beyond his presidency. But his since 2002, when George W Bush asked law- repeal the 2002 Bush authorization. He has Survivors of the latest disaster who spoke with authorization request to Congress makes makers to give him authority to set the Iraq said that while he does not believe he legally IOM staff after being taken to the Italian island of that implication a reality and injects a com- war in motion. Obama ended that long, needs new authorities for the military cam- Lampedusa on Wednesday described how ruthless plex foreign policy matter into the early expensive and unpopular war in 2011. But paign already underway, having Congress smugglers had forced them to board inflatable rafts stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. he turned to that same 2002 authority last pass a new measure would send an impor- and set out in raging seas. Under Obama’s proposal, the use of mili- year, when he sought a legal justification for tant message about American unity and “They forced us to climb aboard the ship with tary force against Islamic State fighters sending a small number of troops back to more accurately define the current mission. guns and sticks, robbing us of all our belongings,” would be authorized for three years, Iraq to protect American interests and work Clinton, who is expected to seek the one survivor was quoted as saying. UNHCR said at unbounded by national borders. The fight with local forces fighting the violent and Democratic nomination is 2016, has not least 3,500 people lost their lives last year out of could be extended to any “closely related fast-growing Islamic State group. weighed in on the draft Obama sent more than 218,000 migrants who crossed the successor entity” to the Islamic State By late summer, the US was launching Congress Wednesday, nor did most of the Mediterranean, making it the most deadly route in extremists, but the measure does not airstrikes against the militants in Iraq, as well likely Republican candidates. Among the the world. Mare Nostrum was launched after two authorize large-scale ground operations. as Syria. As a presidential candidate, Obama potential GOP candidates who did comment October 2013 sinkings off the Italian island of said he would have voted against the author- was Florida Sen Marco Rubio, who said it was Authorize military action ization Bush sought in 2002, a position that “good news” that Obama submitted the Lampedusa left more than 400 dead. The surge in The very act of Obama asking Congress helped him distinguish himself from request to Congress but faulted the presi- migrants is a result of wars, conflicts and poverty in to authorize military action in the volatile Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, dent for putting limits on the tactics the mili- Syria, the Horn of Africa and other parts of sub- Middle East marks an extraordinary moment who voted for the measure while in the tary could use to fight the Islamic State Saharan Africa. — AFP in his presidency. Congress hasn’t approved Senate. Clinton later said she regretted that group. —AP International14 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Fear and shame: Prostitutes face uphill struggle to testify in court

PARIS: She was sold off 12 times in 10 years by pimps, but when a young Serbian sex worker testified in a French court, defense lawyers told her not to “exaggerate”. Her case, cited by an anti-prostitution activist, is just one example of why so few sex workers dare speak out at pimping trials in France for fear of stigma, reprisal, pressure or just because they want to draw a line under their traumatic past. This, experts say, makes the “aggravated pimping” trial involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn all the more unusual, as ex-prostitutes have dared to take the stand with graphic descriptions of their orgies with the former International Monetary Fund chief, who denies knowing they were sex workers. But while this trial is taking place under the media spot- light due to the presence of Strauss-Kahn as one of the 14 accused, it is but one of around 400 aggravated pimping court cases in France every year, says Yves Charpenel, a magis- trate at France’s highest appeals court and head of an anti- prostitution foundation. “In these cases, only one victim in 100 will come testify in court.” Those who accept to take the stand “are those who have turned the corner, ‘survivors’ who say ‘I have nothing to lose anymore’,” he says, lauding the bravery of those testifying in the northern city of Lille.

‘My mum reads it’ SANAA: Yemeni supporters of the Shiite Houthi movement take part in a rally to commemorate the fourth anniversary Prostitution in itself is legal in France but procuring-the of the start of the uprising that forced out president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa. — AFP legal term for pimping which includes encouraging, benefit- ing from or organizing prostitution-is a crime. And when it comes to pimping trials, many of those who could testify just Yemen on the brink of civil war want to draw a line under their difficult past. “We’re talking about sexual violence, the victims are ashamed, they want to turn the page, forget what they experienced,” says Gregoire Qaeda linked group seizes army base Thery of the Mouvement du Nid group that acts for those who are involved in prostitution. Along with another association, CAIRO: The United Nations’ special group have taken control of an army Houthis continued to push into south the group is currently supporting the prostitutes who are envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has base in southern Yemen and are holding Yemen where tribes have vowed to fight both witnesses and seeking compensation in the Lille trial warned that the country is on the brink of soldiers prisoner, the group said on its them. The south is also where involving Strauss-Kahn. The women often fear that their civil war and accused all sides of con- Twitter account yesterday. Yemen is edg- Washington has been waging its drone friends and family will find out what they do, as the court cas- tributing to the political and economic ing closer towards civil war as the war on Al Qaeda in the Arabian es are usually public and can reveal a part of their lives they turmoil. Yemen is slipping further into Houthis, an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim Peninsula, an aggressive branch of the had painstakingly covered up. chaos as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia from the north, consolidate their global network. That’s the case for Jade, one of the former prostitutes testi- Shi’ite Muslim militia from the north, con- grip on power after seizing the capital by The group said on its Twitter account fying in the Lille trial, whose family was not aware of what she solidate their grip on power after seizing force and sidelining the central govern- that the attack on the base near the once did. Weeping, she told the court that “the difficulty is the capital in September and sidelining ment. town of Beyhan began with a dawn sui- that everything I say is transcribed in the press, and my mum the central government. The fighters There was no comment from the gov- cide car bombing by the entrance, after reads it.” Thery says it is also hard for those who appear in have been advancing into southern terri- ernment or the military on Ansar al- which the militants managed to take court to apply for a job when they are plagued with the spec- tories, confronting Sunni Muslim tribes- Sharia seizing the army base. Residents control of three guard towers and a tank. tre of their former activities. “They are scared that their testi- men, other groups and the local branch and local news sites reported that the “By approximately eight o’clock in the mony will harm them for the rest of their life.” Charpenel adds of Al-Qaeda. “We believe the situation is base in the southern province of morning, the mujahideen had impris- that they must also be supported psychologically and finan- very dangerous. Yemen is on the brink of Shabwa, housing a brigade of 1,200- oned most of the soldiers inside (the cially during the trial, and often years before. Many also need civil war,” Benomar said in an interview 2,000 soldiers, fell in heavy clashes last- base),” the group said. Shabwa is a administrative help, and particularly those who are foreign, with television channels al Arabiya and ing several hours. Citing growing insecu- stronghold of Al-Qaeda and like-minded often have no ID and represent the majority of victims of Al-Hadath late on Wednesday. rity following the Houthi takeover, the militants. Ansar Al-Sharia in previous procuring in France.—AFP United States, Britain and France closed years took advantage of Yemen’s politi- Arch enemies their embassies in the capital Sanaa this cal chaos and unrest to seize entire dis- Meanwhile, fighters from the Al- week, further pushing Yemen towards tricts and towns before being pushed Qaeda affiliated Ansar Al-Sharia militant international isolation. Meanwhile the back by the army. — Agencies DSK pimping trial hones in on ‘bachelor pad’, text messages

LILLE: Dominique Strauss-Kahn was While prostitution in itself is legal in turned to Strauss-Kahn’s intercepted text grilled Thursday in a French court on the France, encouraging and organizing its messages in a bid to show he played a use of his “bachelor pad” for orgies, and practice is considered to be procuring role in organizing for prostitutes to text messages in which the former IMF and is punishable by up to 10 years in attend. “Who do you have in your bag- boss asked for women to be brought to prison. Strauss-Kahn, 65, was questioned gage?” he asked his friend and co- sex parties. The former head of the as to why he hid the fact that he rented accused Fabrice Paszkowski in one mes- International Monetary Fund, on trial for the apartment from investigating judges. sage, while in others he referred to a pimping in the northern city of Lille “I was married at the time,” said Strauss- woman as “equipment” or “gifts”. Strauss- denied that either proved he was an insti- Kahn, who explained he needed a “dis- Kahn maintains he was referring to gator of prostitution. Strauss-Kahn has creet” place to meet political friends and women being brought to Washington for insisted he had no idea the women women, which is why the apartment was libertine parties, admitting that the lan- attending what he described as “classic” rented in the name of a friend. He again guage used was “barracks talk” employed orgies in Paris, Brussels and Washington denied knowing the women brought by between men. He said some exchanges were paid to be there. The use of his pri- his friends to sex parties at the apartment with Paszkowski-who has admitted to vate apartment in a chic Parisian neigh- were prostitutes. organizing and financing the parties-in LILLE: A Femen activist is led away by police officers as she borhood to host the parties is considered which he turned down invitations, protests in front of Lille courthouse in Lille, northern supporting prostitution in the eyes of the ‘Barracks talk’ proved “these parties were suggested to France, where Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes on trial for law, and is one of the key reasons investi- After sifting through the details of the me” and he was not an instigator of sex charges in France. — AP gating judges ordered him to stand trial. sex parties for two days, the court then them.—AFP International FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 15 Hate crime probed in murder of US Muslim students

WASHINGTON: Police probing the murder of three Muslim students by a North Carolina man said Wednesday they were studying whether the slayings were racially motivated, as thousands gathered to mourn the killings and denounce intolerance. Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after Tuesday’s shootings in the university town of Chapel Hill which sparked outrage amongst Muslims worldwide. Police emphasized that initial investigations indicated a dispute between Hicks and his victims over parking spaces may have been the catalyst for a shooting spree which claimed the lives of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” Chapel Hill police said in a statement, adding that Hicks was cooperating with investigators. “Our investigators are explor- ing what could have motivated Mr Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act. “We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case,” Police Chief Chris Blue said. Meanwhile, thousand gathered in Chapel Hill to mourn the killings, with Barakat’s brother urging calm in the shaken uni- versity town. “Do not fight fire with fire... it is quite possible that this was an act based off of evil and a scared ignorant man. Do not let ignorance propagate in your life, do not reply ignorance with ignorance,” Farris Barakat said at the candle- light vigil. He remembered his brother’s passion for sports, community work and the odd Chris Rock joke and said all three had an impact. “We lost three great citizens of this world and of this country. But I think they’ve inspired thou- sands.”

‘This was a hate crime’ The cautious wording of the police statement contrasted sharply with the anguished reaction amongst many Muslims, however, and the father of two of the students demanding investigators treat the killing as a “hate crime.” “This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime,” said Mohammad Abu-Salha, the psychiatrist father of the two NORTH CAROLINA: People listen during a vigil at the University of North Carolina following the murders of three Muslim women shot dead. “This man had picked on my daughter and students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. —AFP her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt.” Abu-Salha told the local News & Observer newspaper his daughter had voiced fears about Hicks last week. “Honest to UN Security Council seeks to God, she said, ‘He hates us for what we are and how we look,’” Abu-Salha was quoted as saying. Muslims across the globe choke off Islamic State funds meanwhile were quick to latch onto a viral campaign which asserted that the tragic killings had been under-reported by the US mainstream media because of the ethnicity of the victims. Obama seeks more war powers against IS

Twitter storm UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security release of captive nationals. The reso- obliges all countries to report on the The hashtags #ChapelHillShooting and #MuslimLivesMatter Council is set to adopt a resolution lution builds on other measures measures they are taking within 120 were both trending on Twitter, with many claiming the crimes aimed at choking off millions of dol- adopted by the council to clamp days. A report by the UN’s Al-Qaeda would have garnered more attention had the gunman been a lars in earnings from oil sales, antiqui- down on IS revenue streams and com- monitoring team released in Muslim and the victims white. “Muslims only newsworthy ties trafficking and ransom payments bines them into a single effort to hit at November estimated that the jihadists when behind a gun. Not in front (of) it,” read one post which to the self-described Islamic State jihadist financing. Drafted under earn $850,000 to $1.65 million per day reflected the sentiments of many writing on Twitter. By early group. Russia drafted the first outline chapter seven of the UN charter, the from oil sales. US officials however Wednesday, however, the story was among the top headlines of the measure, which reaffirms the resolution can be enforced through now say that oil is no longer the main on national news networks in the United States, with lengthy council’s resolve to confront the sanctions or use of force, even though source of revenue for IS. The resolu- reports also featuring prominently on the websites of major threat posed by the jihadists who it does not authorize military force. tion would put fresh pressure on newspapers including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. overran parts of Syria and Iraq nearly a Turkey, seen as a transit point for oil Investigators were piecing together a picture of the year ago. The resolution calls for sanc- Plundering antiquities deliveries, with trucks often returning alleged gunman, who turned himself into police shortly after tions against individuals and entities Iraq’s ambassador to the United to Iraq or Syria with refined products. the shooting on Tuesday. A Facebook page believed to that trade in oil with IS and Al-Qaeda Nations, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, said The council in August adopted a belong to Hicks showed dozens of anti-religious posts, includ- affiliates such as the Al-Nusra Front in the fall of Mosul to IS fighters last year resolution to cut off sources of financ- ing one calling himself an “anti-theist,” saying he has a “con- Syria. The measure urges all 193 coun- had generated a revenue boon for the ing and the flow of foreign fighters to scientious objection to religion,” and other memes denounc- tries of the United Nations to take Islamists from the looting of art and Iraq and Syria, warning countries that ing Christianity, Mormonism and Islam. His page also showed “appropriate steps” to prevent the archeological treasures. “Mosul is a do trade in oil with the Islamists they a photo of a loaded revolver, alongside a video of a puppy trade in cultural property from Iraq historic city, the University of Mosul is could face sanctions. Since then, the and a promotional clip for Air New Zealand. and Syria and directs the UN cultural one of the oldest. It has art and treas- flow of foreign jihadists has increased One post read: “I’m not an atheist because I’m ignorant of agency UNESCO to help put in place a ures and these were all stolen,” said with more than 20,000 volunteers the reality of religious scripture. I’m an atheist because reli- ban. Alhakim. “They are not only looting, from all over the world joining IS and gious scripture is ignorant of reality.” “Given the enormous It also reminds governments world- they are chopping down walls” of other extremist groups, US officials harm that your religion has done in this world, I’d say that I wide that they must “prevent terror- ancient buildings, he said. said this week. The resolution comes have not only a right, but a duty, to insult it.” Photos of the ists from benefiting directly or indi- The UN measure has the potential before the council after President three victims circulated on social media, including recent rectly from ransom payments or politi- to upset links between the jihadists Barak Obama asked Congress to grant wedding pictures of Barakat and his wife. Barakat was a sec- cal concessions” to secure the release and organized crime rings operating him war powers against IS and after ond-year student in dentistry at the University of North of hostages. That provision was direct- in eastern Europe, Turkey and Jordan, Jordan stepped up its role in the US- Carolina while Mohammad was planning to begin her dental ed at European governments which he said. The Iraqi envoy said the reso- led coalition in response to the grue- studies in August. The son of Syrian immigrants, he had have found ways to circumvent the lution spells out measures to combat some murder of one of its pilots at the launched a fundraising campaign to pay for a trip to Turkey this year to provide free dental care to Syrian refugees. —AFP ban on paying ransoms to win the IS financing on several fronts and hands of the jihadists. —AFP International16 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Hospital under fire in rebel-held Ukraine

DOKUCHAEVSK: “I couldn’t care less metals industry, about 40 kilometers south being shelled and whether rebels were face scored with cuts. Her leg and left hand whether we’re under the Ukrainians or the of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. The returning fire from the town. There are cur- were swollen. Unable to walk and confined separatists. I just want peace,” Irina, a war- town was taken over by pro-Russian sepa- rently around 60 patients in the hospital, to her bed by her injuries, Zhdanova was weary doctor in rebel-controlled eastern ratists ahead of the Minsk peace talks in while previously there were up to 200.The hard of hearing, meaning she could not hear Ukraine, said as shelling boomed close to September that set a demarcation line. facility receives medicine as humanitarian the thud of rocket fire. her hospital. Irina, who declined to give her Rebels are positioned in the town, but AFP aid, relying mainly on international organiza- surname, said she had backed the pro- reporters did not hear them shooting. The tions such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) ‘They fire at us every day’ Western government that came to power hospital had to close its maternity ward and and the International Red Cross. The surgery Not far from the hospital, close to a mar- after the ouster of pro-Russian president evacuate the patients after Grad rockets ward also has two generators which it relies ket, Vladimir Ivanovich, aged 47, was hang- Viktor Yanukovych a year ago. But these landed in the courtyard on Saturday, blow- on during power cuts caused by shelling. ing plastic sheeting over his windows. “Here days, the 40-something year old resident of ing the glass out of all the windows, the staff On Tuesday, AFP journalists heard a bar- they fire at us every day. When we can, we the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk said. The windows are now covered in plas- rage of incoming rocket fire but it was not go and shelter in the cellar, but we don’t People’s Republic simply wants the fighting tic sheeting. clear where it landed. “We do have a large always have time,” he said. All the windows to end. “I did support pro-European ideas The 10-month war between government cellar that could be used as a shelter, but we of the four-storey building where he lives in during the protests in Kiev (against forces and the pro-Russian rebels has crept never know when the shells are going to fall. the centre of Dokuchaevsk were shattered, Yanukovych) and I’ve always been a up to Dokuchaevsk in recent weeks, with the So what can we do?” Petrovich said with a but luckily no one had died. Ivanovich said Ukrainian patriot. But today, it’s not impor- nearest government positions just 10 kilo- helpless air. Nadezhda Zhdanova, 76, is one that was because many residents had fled tant to me any more,” she said. “I don’t care meters away as the crow flies. Since January of the patients still at the hospital. She was the town in late January after several people if I become Russian or stay Ukrainian, as long the shelling has become more intense, hos- brought in on February 5 after suffering were killed in the attempt by government as the war ends.” pital officials said. “This is the third time that shrapnel wounds. “My house was totally forces to wrest the town from the rebels. Irina works in Dokuchaevsk, a small town our hospital has come under shellfire,” said destroyed, I heard a huge noise and then Irina, the doctor, estimated that “only of 24,000 residents based around a mine chief doctor Sergei Petrovich. It was not after that I don’t remember anything,” she around a third of the population are left in extracting dolomite, a mineral used in the clear why the area around the hospital was said, her head swathed in bandages and her Dokuchaevsk. The others have fled.”— AFP

Spat highlights jockeying among Clinton’s campaign surrogates NEW YORK: The ugly public spat was, perhaps, inevitable. With Hillary Rodham Clinton more or less the only game in town for Democratic talent seeking a piece of the 2016 presidential race, the independent, campaign-like apparatus that has sprung up around her has become an uneasy grouping of longtime loyalists and former rivals. All are looking for a share of the money and prestige that comes as part of working on a presidential election. That jockeying for position burst into public view this week when David Brock, a Clinton critic-turned-defender, dramatically resigned from the board of a Democratic super PAC following a newspaper report that he said rivals helped engineer to make him look like an inefficient manager of donors’ dollars. Just a few hours later, and after the intervention of two longtime Clinton allies, Brock issued a statement saying he’d consider coming back. The spectacle was the sort of politics-as-blood-sport relished by some in Washington, but one with the potential for real con- sequences for the former secretary of state. If she becomes the Democratic nominee, Clinton will need a unified network of such outside groups that can help her official campaign compete with the collection of Republican-aligned outfits poised to spend hun- dreds of millions of dollars to keep her out of the White House. MINSK: (Right to left) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Francois Hollande and Who runs them, and who personally profits from doing so, Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting in Minsk aimed at halting a 10-month war in Ukraine. — AFP needs to come second, said John Morgan, a Florida attorney and a top campaign donor for former President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. “This can’t be about the consultants ‘Glimmer of hope’ for Ukraine making money,” he said. “This has to be about Hillary Clinton being president.” Clinton, who has kept a low profile in recent weeks, is being advised by several longtime aides and veterans of Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine seal deal Obama’s two winning campaigns. Without much apparent com- petition for the party’s nomination, the former first lady and New MINSK: Germany, France, Russia and tional reform to give eastern Ukraine more militarily and economically. As the deal York senator has signaled that she may wait until the summer to Ukraine agreed a deal that offers a “glim- autonomy. “The main thing which has was reached, Ukraine was offered a $40- fully launch her bid. mer of hope” for an end to fighting in east- been achieved is that from Saturday into billion lifeline by the International In that vacuum, Democrats involved with super PACs and oth- ern Ukraine after marathon overnight Sunday there should be declared without Monetary Fund to stave off financial col- er such outside groups are taking on a larger role, already helping talks. But big hurdles remained on the any conditions at all, a general ceasefire,” lapse. defend Clinton against Republicans and actively preparing for path to peace and German Chancellor Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the campaign. While outside groups, a catch-all term for any Angela Merkel, one of the sponsors of the journalists. Putin blamed Kiev for the Compromise political organization that isn’t Clinton’s yet-to-launch official talks, differed with Russian President length of the talks, the culmination of a The agreement addressed some of the campaign, cannot coordinate activities with that eventual cam- Vladimir Putin over the reasons the deal dramatic diplomatic initiative by France main stumbling points, including a paign, they will be crucial to providing technical know-how and took more than 16 hours of overnight talks and Germany following an upsurge in “demarcation line” separating the sepa- deep pockets, while also conducting research, running TV ads to reach. In a further sign of its fragility, a fighting in which the separatists tore ratists from Ukrainian forces, which the and cultivating rank-and-file activists on Clinton’s behalf. Ukrainian military spokesman said around through an earlier ceasefire line. rebels wanted to reflect gains from a 50 tanks, 40 missile systems and 40 Merkel on the other hand, said recent offensive which shredded an earlier Jockeying for position inside the unofficial apparatus is under- armored vehicles had crossed overnight Poroshenko “did everything to achieve the ceasefire deal. The compromise was that way, and with it comes tensions. The latest rift emerged after The into eastern Ukraine from Russia. It was possibility of an end to the bloodshed”, the rebels will withdraw weapons from a New York Times reported that two firms led by Brock, a powerful not immediately possible to verify the while she said Putin put pressure on the line set by the earlier Minsk agreement in Democratic operative, had paid a fundraiser a 12.5 percent com- statement. Moscow dismisses such allega- separatists to agree to the ceasefire September, while the Ukrainians will with- mission on large donations to his groups. The commissions led to tions as groundless. “towards the end” of the talks. Tensions draw from the current frontline. Ukraine more than $6 million in fees for the fundraiser and her staff dur- The agreement envisages a ceasefire between Putin and the other leaders were will also get control of its border with ing the past several years, the newspaper reported. While not ille- between Ukrainian forces and Russian- evident at the meeting in Minsk, capital of Russia, but in consultation with the rebels gal, that high commission was cash that went to a fundraising backed separatists starting on Sunday, fol- Russian ally Belarus, and they did not and only after the regions gain more consultant - not to the groups’ stated mission - and it ran counter lowed by the withdrawal of heavy appear together to announce the result. autonomy under constitutional reform by to the typical practice of paying a monthly retainer.—AP weapons from the front line and constitu- The fighting has destabilized Ukraine both the end 2015.— Reuters International FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 17

Improve everything! N Korea unveils new slogans

SEOUL: North Korea yesterday unveiled an aroma fill the air on the sea of apple trees at selves. The slogans shore up the internally “Though the road ahead may be perilous, let’s exclamation mark peppered list of 310 new the foot of Chol Pass!” was one agriculture- propagandized image of the North as a racial- travel it laughing!” was changed to “Let them political slogans covering every conceivable themed offering, followed by: “Let us turn ly pure nation that must make every effort to laugh as they go, why are they making us topic, from the glories of the ruling Kim ours into a country of mushrooms!” and protect itself from scheming enemies-led by come too?” dynasty and mushroom cultivation to the “Grow vegetables extensively in greenhous- the United States-who are bent on invasion But the slogans do offer some insights into importance of dependable wives and “offen- es!” Prominence was given to a long section and enslavement. the thinking and priorities of the North sive” sports. Oh, and the perennial need to of slogans hailing the legacy of late leaders “We were permanently buried by an ava- Korean regime, and a few ground realities are wipe out US imperialist scum. Political slo- Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, and urging loyal- lanche of slogans,” said defector Lee Min-Bok recognized. One of those published yester- gans are an intrinsic part of the relentless, dai- ty to the third generation Kim ruler, Kim Jong- who fled North Korea 14 years ago and now day, stressed the urgent need to increase ly propaganda formula that North Koreans Un. Others covered military strength, the lives in the South. “We had to memorize a lot food production, in order to “resolve the food are weaned on almost from birth. Those pub- economy, farming, science and technology, of them to show our loyalty, but they slowly problem of the people and improve their lished by the official KCNA news agency yes- education, the arts and sports. Some like “Play lost any meaning for anyone, especially after dietary life.” There was a special section terday were drafted by the ruling Worker’s sports games in an offensive way!” under- the famine in the 90s,” said Lee, 57. “That devoted to the evil misdeeds of the US “war- Party of Korea (WKP) to mark the 70th lined the potential pitfalls of translating pithy greenhouse one has been around for mongers” and another underlining the anniversaries its founding and of the libera- ideology. decades. The problem is nobody had any absolute necessity of maintaining a powerful tion of the Korean peninsula from Japanese plastic sheets of glass to build them, or fuel to military. “Should the enemy dare to invade rule. Their tone was by turns aggressive, Proof of loyalty heat them,” he added. Some defector-run our country, annihilate them to the last man!” encouraging, comforting and threatening, While much North Korean propaganda websites have run reports of how slogans read one slogan in the military section, that and the style ranged equally widely from the seems trapped in an echo chamber of rhetori- have become the butt of private jokes among also exhorted the wives of officers to oddly poetic to the laboriously clunky. cal overkill and hyperbole, it’s tone is perfect- ordinary North Koreans who often amend “become dependable assistants to their hus- “Make fruits cascade down and their sweet ly familiar and normal to North Koreans them- them to reflect reality. The 1998 slogan bands!”— AFP Myanmar marks unity day, but peace remains elusive

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s government yesterday held a somber ceremony marking the nation’s symbolic unification after the colonial era, but a coveted ceasefire with ethnic rebel groups remained out of reach as conflict sweeps across northern border- lands. The quasi-civilian regime says peace in the ethnically diverse but conflict-prone nation is pivotal to the success of reforms and Myanmar’s development. It had hoped to reach a breakthrough in the protracted negotiations in time for the Union Day celebration, which saw starched-uniformed soldiers parade in front of civil servants and ethnic minority leaders, many proudly wearing their traditional clothes. But hours of talks Thursday between President Thein Sein and around a dozen ethnic minority armed groups in the capital Naypyidaw produced only a lacklustre commitment to work towards peace that was signed by just four rebel groups. The dis- cussions come amid deadly unrest in the northern states of Kachin and Shan. Talks have also been hampered by distrust between rebel groups and the Myanmar military, as well as issues such as disarmament and the concept of federal armies. “People worry what would happen if there is no ceasefire. That’s why we are trying everything possible. Fighting is easy. Trying to get peace is more difficult,” said Phado Saw Kwe Htoo Win, of the Karen National Union who is also part of the negotiat- ing team for the ethnic groups. In an ominous development, clashes earlier this week between Myanmar’s army and rebels in KASHMIR: Kashmiri boatmen extract sand from the Jhelum river on the outskirts of Srinagar yesterday. —AFP the largely ethnic Chinese Kokang area of Shan reopened a con- flict that had been largely dormant for nearly six years. Information minister Ye Htut said the military was “striving to Deserted New Delhi hospitals restore safety and security” in the area, after state-backed media reported that government forces had used airstrikes in their sour India’s healthcare dream efforts to flush out the rebels. Beijing said the conflict had caused a flood of people to cross the border, without giving specific numbers. Choosing between expensive private care, or no care at all

United we stand? NEW DELHI: Two state-of-the-art public floored corridors disappear into dark wings, political wrangling and bureaucratic incom- Union Day marks the signing of a deal in the run up to inde- hospitals in New Delhi are barely opera- thick chains locking the doors to most of petence. pendence from British colonial rule that agreed an element of tional years after they officially opened - the five-storey building. Wards lie empty, Janakpuri hospital Director MM autonomy for major ethnic minority areas, but stipulated the not for lack of funding but because officials without beds. It officially opened in 2008. Mehndiratta said he waited 15 months for regions would stay within Myanmar. But civil war sparked soon did not spend the millions of dollars allocat- In another part of the city of 16 million approval to hire more doctors, with the after independence in 1948 and eruptions of violence have ed to treat heart and kidney patients. The people, the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality request travelling to Delhi’s top health offi- blighted different parts of the nation since. Myanmar’s army, empty hospitals in the heart of the Indian Hospital sits in a landscaped 13-acre com- cials before getting stuck for months in the which seized power in 1962, used the unrest as a justification for capital are emblematic of the paralysis grip- plex. It started outpatient services in 2003 administrative and finance departments. its iron-fisted rule and has been accused of a litany of humanitari- ping a public health system that is respon- but more than a decade later only six beds - “There have been times when I have felt like an abuses in border areas, where tussles over abundant resources sible for some of the world’s worst health of the 650 the hospital was built for - going to my old job or shifting to the pri- have also added fuel to the fighting. Myanmar has more than 130 indicators. Many of the country’s 1.2 billion receive overnight patients. The hospitals vate sector,” Mehndiratta said with a laugh. recognized ethnic groups, but peace talks are with 16 major people have a choice between expensive were allocated $48 million in the current He was earlier a doctor at the G.B. Pant armed groups, most of whom have put down their guns private care, or no care at all. financial year but still lack basic equipment Hospital, one of the biggest in Delhi. India although several remain engaged in fighting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces and, crucially, doctors. They will only spend records the world’s highest number of Conflict between the army and rebels in northern Kachin State many challenges to his stated goal of pro- a fraction of the amount by year-end: under deaths during pregnancy and high rates of has raged since 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire shattered, driving viding universal public health coverage, but 20 percent in the case of Janakpuri hospital. child mortality from diarrhoea, pneumonia some 100,000 people from their homes. The unrest has increasingly one of the most daunting is ending the log- A Reuters investigation found no evidence and measles. Inadequate health infrastruc- spread to various parts of northern Shan state, where last week the jams that mean officials consistently fail to that corruption was responsible for the situ- ture and a scarcity of doctors mean people Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) also accused Myanmar’s use their budgets. At the 300-bed Janakpuri ation. Instead, officials and health experts in small towns and villages end up travelling army of using helicopter gunships to attack its positions.—AFP Super Speciality Hospital, gleaming marble- blamed a tortuous procurement process, long distances to get basic care.—Reuters International18 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Korean Air chief’s daughter jailed in ‘nut rage’ case Heather Cho found guilty of breaking aviation law SEOUL: A South Korean court sentenced the daughter of Korean Air Lines’ chairman to one year in prison after find- ing her guilty over an on-board incident in New York con- cerning the way she was served nuts in first class. Heather Cho, daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho and the former head of in-flight service, violated the law by ordering the plane to return to the gate after it started to taxi on Dec 5. Cho had demanded the flight crew chief be expelled from the flight after a first class stewardess served her macadamia nuts in a bag and not on a dish. The plane, which had started to move away from the gate, had to return, an episode that provoked both scorn and outrage. “This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon,” Judge Oh Sung-woo said yesterday. Cho’s defense lawyer Suh Chang-hee said he would discuss whether to appeal the ruling but added: “It’s my understanding that she is repenting.” Cho said she was “truly sorry to those who were hurt,” in a letter to the court read out by the judge. Prosecutors sought a three-year jail term if she was convicted of break- ing aviation law and another charge of using her position for obstruction of due process. The court found her not guilty on the second charge. It convicted another execu- tive charged with trying to interfere in the government investigation and sentenced him to eight months in prison. The crew chief testified in court this month that Cho behaved “like a beast” and treated the crew “like slaves,” as she became abusive towards them in the inci- dent. — Reuters SYDNEY: A general view shows a converted garage at the rear of the property in the Fairfield district of Sydney, where Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25, were arrested. — AFP Australia to tighten migrant screening after terror scare

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Tony need to be conscious of our border secu- went on to say ... ‘I swear to almighty Abbott yesterday urged tighter screening rity, what it says is that we need to be Allah, blonde people, there is no room for of migrants after police thwarted an much more careful about giving people blame between you and us. We only are alleged terror attack, while vowing that the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “If you you, stabbing the kidneys and striking “ugly fanaticism” will be defeated. Two look at the Martin Place murderer the necks’.” men were arrested on Tuesday after (Monis), he had been given the benefit of The prime minister said it was not pos- police seized an Islamic State flag, a the doubt at every stage by our system. I sible to “witness uglier fanaticism”. machete and an Arabic-language video suspect the same will turn out to be the “Under current conditions, under the detailing the apparent plot during a raid case with these people.” influence of the Islamist death cult, all in Sydney. Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and you need to be a terrorist is a knife, a flag, Mohammad Kiad, 25, were charged with Violent acts a camera phone and a victim,” he said. making preparations for a terrorist act. Al-Kutobi was Iraqi-born while Kiad “That’s all you need. But we can defeat Their case was briefly mentioned in court came from Kuwait, local reports said. this threat. We will defeat this threat. We Thursday and adjourned until March 16. They were arrested just hours before must defeat this threat.” Australia in One of the men is suspected of entering allegedly carrying out an attack, which September raised its terror threat level Australia with fake documents in 2009, New South Wales Deputy Police and carried out extensive raids in Sydney with the immigration department order- Commissioner Catherine Burn described and Brisbane to disrupt an alleged plot ing an urgent review. as “consistent with the messaging com- by IS supporters to abduct and behead a The revelation comes after it emerged ing out of IS”. Abbott told parliament that random member of the public. In that the Iranian-born man who carried the video seized allegedly showed one December Monis took 17 people hostage out a cafe siege in Sydney in December, suspect kneeling in front of an IS flag, for some 16 hours at a cafe on Sydney. self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis, was with a knife and machete, threatening to The stand-off ended after he shot dead granted a visa in 1996 despite Tehran’s undertake violent acts. “I swear to cafe manager Tori Johnson, prompting warnings about his criminal past. Abbott almighty Allah we will carry out the first police to storm the building and kill him. said authorities must be extra careful in operation for the soldiers of the caliphate Another hostage was killed by a stray Cho Hyun-Ah, the daughter of Korean Air’s chief executive. screening those seeking residency. “We in Australia,” he said, Abbott claimed. “He police bullet.—AFP Six inmates commit suicide after failed prison breakout

TAIPEI: Six inmates led by a mob boss committed ical paroles. Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming- hostages except the warden. They then shot 63 and were serving sentences for homicide, bur- suicide at a prison in Taiwan yesterday after a tang said officials rejected the group’s demands themselves, and the warden was able to walk glary and drug crimes. The ringleader, Cheng Li- failed breakout attempt in which they seized for safe passage out of the prison and had tried to free, Chen said. The ministry did not offer any te, was known as head of the Kaohsiung branch weapons and held a warden and guards hostage, convince them to surrender peacefully during video or other evidence of the suicides, but there of the notorious mafia-type organization Bamboo officials said. All the hostages were safe. The hours of negotiations. was no sign during the standoff of a raid by Union and was serving a 28 1/2-year sentence for inmates started their attempt Wednesday after- “We tried to give them assurances so they police who ringed the Kaohsiung Prison in scenes homicide, the ministry said. The other five noon in the southern port city of Kaohsiung. In a wouldn’t do something stupid and to reconsider, that were broadcast by Taiwan stations. inmates were serving sentences ranging from 25 telephone interview with a newspaper during the but sadly they committed suicide and we feel Chen said four of the inmates shot themselves years to life. According to a timeline given by the overnight standoff, the 46-year-old ringleader deep regret,” Chen told a news conference in first and that the remaining two had fired addi- Justice Ministry, the incident began at about 3:10 said the six had long planned the move and were Taipei. Chen said five prison staff were slightly tional shots at them to make sure they were dead pm Wednesday when the six attacked staff at the prepared to die. He also complained about long injured in the standoff, but did not elaborate. By before shooting themselves, at about 5:30 am prison infirmary and stole a prison skeleton key in sentences and unfairness in the granting of med- the pre-dawn hours, the inmates had released all yesterday. The inmates ranged in age from 37 to an attempt to escape.—AP www.kuwaittimes.net

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

A model walks the runway during Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015 at The Pavilion at Lincoln Center in New York City. New York’s biannual Fashion Week opened yesterday bring- ing hundreds of millions of dollars to the city and outweighing the economic benefits of even the US Open, the Super Bowl and the New York City Marathon. — AF P

Page 23 Lifestyle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Legendary ‘60 Minutes’ anchor Bob Simon dies ‘Kingsman’

ongtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, who covered riots, Academy Award-nominated movies and shakes up the genre Lwars and was held captive for more than a month in Iraq two decades ago, died in a car crash on Wednesday. He was 73. “CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley, his eyes red, announced the death in a special report.”We have some sad news from within our CBS News family,” Pelley said. “Our colleague Bob Simon was killed this evening.” “Vietnam is where he first began covering warfare, and he gave his first- hand reporting from virtually every major battlefield around the world since,” Pelley said. A town car in which Simon was a passenger hit another car stopped at a Manhattan traffic light and then slammed into metal barriers separating traffic lanes, police said. Simon and the town car’s driver were taken to a hospital, where Simon was pronounced dead. The town car driver suffered injuries to his legs and arms. The driver of the other car was unin- jured. No arrests were made, said police, who continued to investi- gate the deadly accident. Simon was among a handful of elite journalists to cover most major overseas conflicts and news sto- ries since the late 1960s, CBS said. He covered stories includ- ing the Vietnam War and the Oscar-nominated movie “Selma” in a career spanning five decades. He had been contributing to “60 Minutes” on a regular basis since 1996. He also was a correspondent for “60 Minutes II.”

Gulf war hostage He was preparing a report on the Ebola virus and the search for a cure for this Sunday’s “60 Minutes” broadcast. He had been working on the project with his daughter, Tanya Simon, a producer with whom he collaborated on several stories. Anderson Cooper, who does occasional sto- ries for “60 Minutes,” was near tears talking about Simon’s death. He said that when Simon presented a story “you In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Colin Firt hand Taron Egerton appear in a scene from “Kingsman: The Secret knew it was going to be something special.” Service.” — AP “I dreamed of being, and still hope to be, a quarter of the writer that Bob Simon is and has been,” the CNN anchor n his earlier ‘Kick-Ass,’ British writer- And you will, possibly, lose any remain- though he later, just before executing said. “... Bob Simon was a legend, in my opinion.” Simon director Matthew Vaughn famously ing faith by the time Firth’s agent someone, announces: “This ain’t that joined CBS News in 1967 as a reporter and assignment edi- Icast an 11-year-old Chloe Grace slaughters a congregation full of fren- kind of movie.” Vaughn, working from tor, covering campus unrest and inner-city riots, CBS said. Moretz as a young killing machine in the zied churchgoers to the tune of Lynyrd the script he co-wrote with his frequent He also worked in CBS’ Tel Aviv bureau from 1977 to 1981 stylishly brutal superhero film. In his lat- Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” collaborator Jane Goldman, emphasizes and in Washington, DC, as its Department of State corre- est, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” By the time the film settles on one of this again and again, with a look-at-me spondent. Simon’s career in war reporting began in Vaughn has again married innocence its final images - a woman’s naked rear, brashness meant to please snickering Vietnam, and he was on one of the last helicopters out of and mayhem, this time updating the offered to the hero she has just met - fanboys and perhaps nobody else. Saigon when the US withdrew in 1975. At the outset of the tame, traditional spy movie with his par- any spryness in “Kingsman” has emphat- “Kingsman,” based on the comic book Gulf War in January 1991, Simon was captured by Iraqi ticular brand of contemporary ically left the building, leaving a sexist by “Kick-Ass” makers Mark Millar and forces near the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. CBS said he and three moviemaking, which is to say, crassness. stink behind it. The Kingsmen are an John Romita Jr, is less about the con- other members of CBS News’ coverage team spent 40 days “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a international spy agency based in frontation between Galahad (with Eggsy in Iraqi prisons, an experience Simon wrote about in his blithe James Bond rip-off that gleefully London. With their headquarters hidden eventually roped in) and Valentine book “Forty Days.” Simon returned to Baghdad in January celebrates, parodies and self-conscious- behind a Savile Row tailor, they’re hand- (flanked by a henchwoman with Oscar 1993 to cover the American bombing of Iraq. ly modernizes the mossy spy thriller. somely dressed in bespoke suits, oxford Pistorius-like prosthetic legs, played by Simon won numerous awards, including his fourth And with Colin Firth in tow, as well as shoes with poisonous tips and umbrel- Sofia Boutella), than between new and Peabody and an Emmy for his story from Central Africa on the winning newcomer Taron Egerton, las that shoot bullets. Their names come old, seeking a blend between the two. the world’s only all-black symphony in 2012. Another story “Kingsman” occasionally manages to do from the Knights of the Round Table: In the corner of old, we get spy about an orchestra in all three of these things simultaneously Galahad (Firth), Lancelot (Jack movie standards, gentlemanly manners, Paraguay, one whose poor members constructed their with a genuine zest for the genre trap- Davenport) and the head, Arthur aristocratic pomposity and Colin Firth. In instruments from trash, won him his 27th Emmy, perhaps pings: the gadgets, the megalomaniacal (Michael Caine). Galahad encourages the corner of new, there’s mean-spirited the most held by a journalist for field reporting, CBS said. He villains, the sardonic wit. But if ever the teen son of a fallen comrade, Eggsy smugness and brainless deployments of also captured electronic journalism’s highest honor, the there was a semi-entertaining movie (Egerton), to try out for the agency. A violence - the type “Kick-Ass 2” star Jim Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, for “Shame of that sabotages itself with tastelessness proudly working-class Londoner, he’s Carrey sensibly walked away from. It’s Srebrenica,” a “60 Minutes II” report on genocide during the and misogyny, this is it. quickly hazed by the more posh, well- not that the old was so much better (the Bosnian War. Where might “Kingsman” lose you? educated applicants. But under the old Bond movies ‘Kingsman’ is styled Former CBS News executive Paul Friedman, who teaches You may get twinges of doubt when watchful eye of their instructor (Mark after have their own issues), but the sup- broadcast writing at Quinnipiac University, said Simon was debris from a missile explosion (set Strong), he rises from their ranks in a posedly contemporary elements “one of the finest reporters and writers in the business.” “He, specifically in “the Middle East”) series of death-defying exercises. Vaughn’s movie puts forth are just as better than most, knew how to make pictures and words bounces off the ground to form the ‘Kingsman’ is a movie continually in out of touch. “Kingsman: The Secret work together to tell a story, which is television news at its opening credits. The concern may grow conversation with itself. “Give me a far- Service,” a 20th Century Fox release, is best,” Friedman said. Simon was born May 29, 1941, in the as bodies accumulate with the scantest fetched theatrical plot,” says Jackson’s rated R for “sequences of strong vio- Bronx. He graduated from Brandeis University in 1962 with a notice or reflection or when the African lisping super villain, a tech billionaire lence, language and some sexual con- degree in history. He is survived by his wife, his daughter American villain (Samuel L Jackson) who wants to radically depopulate the tent.” Running time: 129 minutes. One and his grandson. — AP serves McDonalds at an opulent dinner. world. He’s waxing about older movies, star out of four. — AP Lifestyle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Students Art Competition ‘KUWAIT BEAUTIFUL AND GREEN’ Under the Patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Hmoud Al Sabah Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman will attend the closing ceremony of Students Art Competition

he student environment art competition is the classroom. Through their drawings, our held under the sponsorship of Chevron, young participants are given opportunities to TZain and Gust University. Adnan Saad, think out-of-the-box, exercise their imagination, Kuwait Times deputy general Manager and and translate creative ideas into paper. organizer of the competition said that the com- Saad added, “I also see this competition as petition aimed to give students a chance to another platform for like-minded youths who learn more about the nature of Kuwait. The are interested in art to mingle and share ideas. competition was held for the first time in 1994. Their coming together generates synergy and More than 80 schools representing almost 8,000 dynamism, and can spur them to achieve students participated in the competition this greater peaks of excellence.” year. Such competitions are a lot more than The process of selecting outstanding works great prizes and having fun; they allow partici- of art out of nearly 8,000 participants was not an pants to learn, show their skills, compare their easy one. The selection will be eventually made results and share their talents with others. by the judging panel, to whom we express deep Art is the melody of life, the reflection of soci- gratitude for their decisions that were based on ety and an important element for academic suc- artistic and creative principles. “In my opinion, cess. A drawing competition such as this is everyone is a winner because they let out hon- another avenue where our primary school par- est expression of a beautiful and green Kuwait,” ticipants can express their creativity outside of Saad concluded. Lifestyle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Former US Marine Joe Bonfiglio, 24, and his pit bull assistance dog Zen, sit in a classroom at his college campus.— AP Photos Rescued pit bulls helping vets cope hen former Marine Joe Bonfiglio placed five dogs that require two years to son get through life with disabilities or starts thrashing in his sleep, his pit socialize, train and acquaint with handlers. injuries. “My job is not just to train the dog but Wbull service dog jumps on the bed, to help the handler be a good trainer, too,” she climbs on top of him and wakes him up to end Pits for Patriots said. But the program faces pushback. the flashback. The dog named Zen has A smaller group, Pits for Patriots, trains res- “There are over 100 dog breeds that are far allowed Bonfiglio, 24, who was diagnosed with cued pit bulls as comfort, therapy and support more suitable to perform tasks for persons post-traumatic stress disorder after returning dogs for veterans, police officers and firefight- with disabilities than pit bulls, especially res- from a five-month tour in Afghanistan, to get ers but has yet to place any service dogs. cued pit bulls with unknown backgrounds,” back to everyday activities. He can now do Comfort dogs are pets that get a few weeks of said Colleen Lynn, founder and president of things such as shop at malls in Poughkeepsie, training, while therapy animals receive at least DogsBite.org, a national group that tracks New York, because Zen helps calm Bonfiglio six months of training to help calm people bites and works to reduce attacks through when crowds trigger a panic attack. who haven’t received a diagnosis as severe as bans and other laws. Pit bulls can be unpre- “I used to go to bars with my friends. And PTSD.”Veterans and first responders can iden- dictable and kill or maim when they attack, war movies. I am not going to see ‘American tify with pit bulls because they either have she said. Sniper,’” he said. “It would bring me back to a seen a lot of trauma or been through a lot of From 2005 to 2014, dog attacks killed 326 place I don’t want to be.” Pit bulls aren’t the trauma,” said Kelly Yearwood, co-founder Pits people in the United States, according to data typical choice for a service dog. for Patriots in Chicago, whose group started compiled by DogsBite.org, which blames pit They are feared, banned in hundreds of the same year as the Animal Farm bull breeds for 62 percent of the deaths. cities and blamed for sometimes deadly Foundation’s program, in 2011. “There is simply no need for pit bulls, rescued attacks. The Animal Farm Foundation in The handful of major training schools and a or otherwise, to be utilized as service dogs for Dutchess County, New York, wants to change few smaller ones all typically breed German people with disabilities,” Lynn said. Pit bulls that stigma through a program that trains and shepherds, Labradors and golden retrievers for have helped people like Bonfiglio get back to donates rescued pit bulls to push wheelchairs the lengthy, costly process to become a serv- their normal lives. The former Marine has or help people regain their mobility and avoid ice dog. Shelters nationwide watch for canine made such progress with Zen that he’s now falls. candidates for the foundation’s program, taking cyber security classes at Mercy College The effort faces opposition from those who which trains dogs based on Americans with in New York. “Zen is a fantastic dog; the best believe the breed is dangerous. The Assistance Disabilities Act guidelines, Lea said. With pit thing that’s happened to me since I’ve been Dog Training Program is believed to be the bull breeds making up a huge percentage of home,” said Bonfiglio, whose other family only US training school exclusively for service dogs in shelters, she has to carefully decide dogs also provide comfort. “They are all great dogs that uses pit bulls from shelters, said which dogs are accepted. They must have the supporters. They don’t talk back, just put a Apryl Lea, the foundation’s certified trainer. It’s right build, aptitude and focus to help a per- smile on your face.” — AP Kanye West calls Grammys a joke

anye West says he has nothing 2009 VMAs. During an after show on E!, didn’t mention other nominees as wor- but respect for Beck. The West ranted that Beck should “respect thy in the category during his speech. KGrammys? Not so much. West artistry” and turn over his statue to fel- “Beck is one of the nicest guys and one paid a visit on Ryan Seacrest and his low nominee Beyonce. West told of the most respected musicians in the “On Air” radio show Wednesday to Seacrest of his stair-climbing antics: “It game, so it’s nothing that I would want expound on his post-Grammy diss of was kind of a joke like the Grammys to do as a fellow musician, to disre- the surprise Album of the Year winner. themselves.”And the post-show tirade? spect him in any way,” he said. The rapper walked up the steps at “This is our Super Bowl, you know, “That was a miswording on my the Staples Center in Los Angeles as and someone’s gotta be mad that part.” West went on to describe the Beck was accepting his award Sunday Marshawn didn’t get the ball,” he said. Grammys thusly: “They’re like a broke night but retreated before re-enacting As for “respecting artistry,” West clock. They’re right only, like, twice a his interruption of Taylor Swift at the explained he was upset that Beck day.” — AP Lifestyle FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah inaugurates the 4th Concours d’Elegance in Marina Crescent. — Photos by Yasser Al - Zayyat Kuwait hosts 4th edition of Concours d’Elegance By Faten Omar Plymouth. Class B is for cars built between 1930 and 1945 and covers entries such as the he fourth Concours d’Elegance 2015 1933 Invicta S-Type 4.5 and the 1935 Bugatti opened its doors on Wednesday at Type 57 Aerolithe Electron. Cars built TMarina Crescent under the patronage between 1946 and 1960 are entered in Class C and attendance of His Highness Sheikh Nasser and includes the 1958 Austin Healey 100-Six Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah. Kuwait’s and the 1953 Bentley R-Type saloon. Class D Historical, Vintage and Classic Car Museum is covers cars manufactured between 1961 and hosting the exhibition from 11-18 February. 1975 where the 1971 Lamborghini Miura This year’s event is dedicated to the P4000S and the Bizzarrini Spyder Targa are set extraordinary cars manufactured between to feature. 1900 and 1975. The vehicles will be entered in The Middle East Dodge Challenge Hill cars, four age classes and there will be separate which are considered to be the most powerful judging sections for the likes of Hollywood vehicles ever build by Dodge, will also be on movie cars, American muscle cars and gas display. Attendees will also get a first-hand money garage cars. “We acknowledge the look at the first Camaro COPO base No 001 support of our sponsoring partner Trafalgar and 002. The Concourse has attracted numer- Company - Chopard Kuwait, and everyone ous enthusiasts from all over the world, along else who has made the Kuwait Concours with an illustrious panel of judges led by D’Elegance 2015 possible,” said Zakaria opened its doors in 2010 and is the perma- cles built pre-1900 to 1930 and includes price- Leonardo Fioravanti, Chris Bangle, Dr Andrea Dashti, consultant to the Kuwait Historical, nent home to over 35 historic and classic less showpieces such as the 1924 Bamford & Zagato, Stephan Winkelmann, Alfieri Maserati Vintage and Classic Car Museum, which motor vehicles. Class A is specifically for vehi- Martin Side-Valve team car and the 1930 and Marella Rivolta-Zagato. Food FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Recipe for Creamy cauliflower soup with tamari pepitas

By JM Hirsch

t’s easy to overthink things in the kitchen. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that flavor needs a whole lot of labor. Or Iat least a long ingredient list. I certainly was of that misguided mindset when I recently prepared dinner for friends. As I consid- ered and discarded one dish after another, I ended up settling on a rather elaborate braised lamb shoulder. It was, of course, deli- cious. But that wasn’t the dish people commented on. On a whim at the last minute I decided to make a soup, some- thing robust enough to stand up to the rest of the meal, but nothing particularly heavy. This soup is what got the raves. And it couldn’t have been easier. A simple 8-ingredient creamy soup that actually contained no cream. Or any dairy product. Yet it was thick, rich, savory and just a little sweet. It cooked in less than 30 minutes and took only about 10 minutes prep time. For a salty, crunchy contrast, I topped the soup with tamarai-toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds). You could buy them, but they take only a cou- ple minutes to make. I was so smitten with this soup, the next day I tried a variation on it. I followed the same recipe, but substituted an equal amount of broccoli florets. It was just as delicious The only unusu- al ingredient here is the miso, but it’s widely available at most grocers (usually in the refrigerated section alongside the Asian produce, but sometimes in the international aisle). Miso varies in flavor intensity; the lighter the color, the milder and sweeter the flavor. For this recipe, you want a light miso (sometimes labeled sweet or yellow). Don’t be intimidated by the inclusion of hot sauce. You’re adding just a splash to give the soup a bit of vibrancy. At that amount, it acts more like salt, highlighting the other flavors, but not adding any heat.

Start to finish: 30 minutes (15 minutes active) Servings: 4

Ingredients 1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into chunks 1 yellow onion, quartered 2 cloves garlic 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns (black or mixed) 2 tablespoons yellow (or other light) miso Hot sauce, to taste Nutrition information per Salt serving: 130 calories; 40 1/4 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) calories from fat (31 per 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce) cent of total calories); 4.5 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g Preparation: In a large saucepan or stockpot over medium- trans fats); 0 mg choles- high, combine the cauliflower, onion, garlic, broth and pep- terol; 15 g carbohydrate; 4 percorns. Bring to a simmer, then cover, reduce heat to low g fiber; 5 g sugar; 8 g pro- and cook for 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very ten- tein; 880 mg sodium. der. Working in batches if necessary, carefully transfer the mixture, including all of the broth, to a blender. Make certain the blender cover is secure when working with hot ingredi- ents. Puree until smooth. Add the miso and hot sauce (start with 1/2 teaspoon) to the blender, then puree again to blend. Taste, then season with salt. Return the soup to the pot and keep warm over low heat. In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the pump- kin seeds. Stir the seeds constantly until they all have puffed and barely begun to brown. Add the tamari to the skillet, being careful about splatters. Stir until the tamari has com- pletely evaporated and coated the pepitas. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top each serving with pepitas. — AP Food FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Anyone else Broccolisuffering the blues?

By JM Hirsch

ruth is, it’s such a versatile vegetable seemingly unbound by season, it becomes a go-to vegetable - par- Tticularly in winter - for the North American dinner table. Nothing wrong with that. It tastes great, cooks quickly and is great for you. But it can sometimes feel as though it’s on repeat mode, which is hard to get excited about. Which is why I’ve become a pro at jazzing up my broccoli. Not that I’m will- ing to spend a whole lot of time or energy to do so. It is, after all, usually served as a side. But I’ve found it is easy to transform broccoli into some- thing worth looking forward to, no matter how many nights a week it is served. Peanut broccoli with shaved lemon is one of my favorite variations. It does, however, require a special tool - a mandolin. Shaped like a long, thin board fitted with a partic- ularly sharp blade, mandolins are used to shave produce paper thin. And while you can spend a fortune on a fancy one, I’m a fan of the cheap plastic versions often sold in Asian mar- kets. I use mine to shave garlic for salads (thinly shaved garlic is a great addition to vinaigrette) or onions for a delicate stir-fry. It’s also a great way to prep toppings for pizza. Thinly shaved bell peppers and mushrooms cook up so much better than large slices (which inevitably remain raw). In this recipe, the mandolin is used to shave a lemon - rind and all - into thin rounds which lend a delicious, but not overpowering, hit of bright acid to the otherwise heavy flavors of broccoli sauteed in sesame oil and topped with peanuts. The honey drizzled on at the end ties everything together.

Ingredients Servings: 4 Nutrition information per serving: 220 calories; 140 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided calories from fat (64 per 6 cups chopped broccoli florets and stalks cent of total calories); 16 g 4 cloves garlic, minced fat (2.5 g saturated; 0 g 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes trans fats); 0 mg choles- Salt and ground black pepper terol; 20 g carbohydrate; 5 2 tablespoons honey g fiber; 11 g sugar; 5 g 1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts protein; 190 mg sodium. 1 lemon

Preparations In a large skillet over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the broccoli and saute for 10 minutes, or until just barely starting to brown. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, then saute for another 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is ten- der and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with the honey and remain- ing 1 tablespoons of sesame oil, then sprinkle the peanuts evenly over the broccoli. Using a mandoline, shave thin slices of the lemon over the broccoli, adding as little or as much as desired. — AP Technology FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 26 6 ways your tech is spying on you - and how you can fight back

o, your next generation television might possess the technology to be spy on you. SIt probably just wanted to join in with the rest of the technology in your life, because let’s Smartphone location services face it: if you live in the 21st century you’re If you have an iPhone, try this: click on settings, then priva- probably monitored by half a dozen compa- cy, then location services, system services and frequent loca- nies from the moment you wake up to the tions. You’ll notice a list of all the cities you’re in regularly. moment you go to sleep. (And if you wear a Click on any specific city, and you’ll find that your phone sleep tracker, it doesn’t even stop then.) knows all the locations you frequently visit. For many, that includes their home, local tube station and office, but also the Compared with some of the technology that pub they play Netrunner in, the house of close friends and the keeps a beady eye fixed on you, the news that comics shop they frequent. Don’t feel smug if you use Samsung’s privacy policy warns customers not Android instead - Google keeps just as copious notes on your to discuss sensitive information in front of their location and, unlike Apple, it is stored in the cloud, where it smart TVs is actually fairly tame. The warning can theoretically be subpoenaed by law enforcement or relates to a voice-recognition feature that has accessed by a suspicious partner who happens to know your to be explicitly invoked, and which only begins password. transmitting data when you say the activation How to turn it off: Both companies let you turn off loca- phrase “hi, TV”. tion histories from the same pages you can look at yours. But But other tech that spies on you might not if you do that, they’ll get a lot worse at giving you accurate and useful location suggestions. There’s that pesky trade-off be so courteous. The uncomfortable fact is that again. your personal data is just another way to pay for products and services these days. The adage “if you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold” was coined in 2010, a lifetime ago in web terms, but it’s as true today as it always has been. What’s changed now, though, is the number of ways companies are discovering to make sharing our data with them not some- thing we grudgingly accept, but enthusiastical- ly embrace. Sure, they tell us, you can turn it off. But do you really want to?

Facebook’s ‘like’ button Even if you don’t use Facebook, you will have seen the company’s “like” button springing up in more and more places around the internet, like a nasty case of chicken pox. If you click on it, you can like the page of a company, person or brand, all without leaving the website you’re on. And then there’s Facebook share buttons (like the one at the top of this page) and Facebook comments, both of which hook in to the company’s servers to provide their own fea- tures. But it’s a two-way relationship: the price you pay for being able to interact with Facebook even without going to their website is that they can see the other websites you’re on, following you around the internet and using that information to better target ads and content to you back on the mother- ship. How to stop it: If you log out of Facebook when you’re done, the site’s ability to track your browsing is severely ham- pered. Of course, equally hampered is your ability to like things and comment on posts. Are you happy making that trade-off? Technology 27 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Taxi Service apps But there’s that trade-off again: old-school taxis, whether hailed side. Facebook and Twitter both strip the metadata from images Perhaps it’s no surprise that a company that sells you cheap from the street or called from a dispatch office, are going to end uploaded to the site, causing a headache for users who need the cabs through a slick app keeps data on your journeys. And that up charging you a lot more for your newly anonymous journey. extra information but protecting those who don’t know that data is well-used by companies like Uber to reassure customers they’re uploading potentially sensitive data. that their journey is safe: the company will show you your ride Mobile phone networks history as well as information about your driver which can be cru- Your mobile phone works by sending encrypted communica- Facial recognition cial for solving disputes or, if the worst happens, ensuring justice. tions to and from masts, known as “cells”. Of course, especially in Have you ever used Facebook’s tag suggest feature? The social But Uber hasn’t got the best history of using that data well. a built-up area, there’s likely to be more than one cell in range of network can scan through your uploaded pictures to find ones The company has had to apologize before for accessing a journal- your phone at any given time, and things would get confusing if with friends in who haven’t been tagged, and offer you sugges- ist’s journey details in order to make rhetorical points, as well as they were all trying to run the call at the same time. So your tions for whom to add. It’s a wonderful time-saver over doing it remove a piece of “data journalism” looking at ride histories in phone pairs with one particular cell, and “hands off” to a new one the manual way, even if careless use can lead to some social faux aggregate to find out how many of their customers were using when you move around (the annoying clicks you get if you leave pas (try to avoid tagging someone you don’t like just because the service for one-night stands. They titled the post “rides of glo- a phone next to an unshielded speaker is your phone checking in they’re in the background of another picture). ry”. with a cell, to confirm it’s still alive). But Facebook, and Google - which offers a similar feature - can How to turn it off:The best way would be not to use Uber. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll realize what this means only do that because it’s been running facial-recognition software - your mobile phone network has a record of where you’ve been, on photos uploaded to the site for years. In September 2012, accurate to at least the range of the closest phone tower. In prac- Facebook was even forced to disable the feature after the Irish tice, it’s probably quite a bit more accurate than that, as they can data protection commissioner scolded it for doing so without per- triangulate in using information from other towers in your area. mission. How to turn it off: The only way is to stop using a mobile How to turn it off:Try to avoid being in photos or having phone. Seriously, this one isn’t going away. If you’ve got a remov- friends tag you in photos you’re not comfortable or wish to be able battery, you can try taking that out when you don’t want to associated with. — (www.alternet.com) be tracked, but whenever you turn your phone back on, your mobile phone network is going to know where you are.

Exif data in your pictures Did you know that digital photographs contain information about the picture? Known as Exif data, the standard was created to hold stuff that photographers might find useful to know along- side the image, such as the focal length and aperture they used while taking it. It’s used by professionals to embed contact infor- mation and copyright details, as well. Of course, as with most standards, there’s been a bit of fea- ture-creep, and these days, Exif data can contain a whole lot more information. In fact, if you’ve taken a picture with a smartphone, or even a modern digital camera, there’s a good chance that the picture records where it was taken using the built-in GPS. That’s great for building maps of your holidays, but not so good if you’re trading snaps with strangers. How to turn it off:most cameras let you disable embedding location data in the files, but the good news is that social net- works are one step ahead of you - and this time, they’re on your 28 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Travel 5 free things to do in Spokane, Washington

Photo shows singer and actor Bing Crosby’s childhood home. Travel 29 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Washington

pokane is Washington’s second-largest city, with its 210,000 residents living about 270 miles east of bigger, richer and Sbetter-known Seattle. The Lilac City is the largest communi- ty between Seattle and Minneapolis across the northern tier of the United States. Located in the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains, it has inter- esting architecture, leafy neighborhoods filled with Victorian homes, and an extensive parks system that was partially designed by the Olmsted brothers. It’s also an outdoor paradise, surrounded by ski areas, dozens of lakes, rivers, bike trails, and mountains, and a river with roaring waterfalls raging through the middle of town. These days the city is best-known for the stellar Gonzaga University basketball team. Gonzaga tickets are expen- sive, but here are five free things a person can enjoy in the greater Spokane region.

Photo shows the annual Bloomsday race in Spokane.

Bloomsday and Hoopfest Spokane has a couple of big public events where you pay to participate, but attending as a spectator is free. Every May about 50,000 people run a 12-kilometer course through the streets of downtown Spokane in one of the largest timed road races in the nation. Spectators who line the course are treated to runners in colorful costumes, free concerts and the chance to pick through clothing that runners discard as the temperature rises. The Bloomsday race is named in honor of author James Joyce, whose novel “Ulysses” depicts a day in the life of Leopold Bloom. The next Bloomsday race is May 3, 2015. Each June, the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the nation draws about 28,000 players and more than 200,000 spec- tators to the downtown streets for a weekend of hoops heaven. Teams play on more than 450 temporary courts. The next Hoopfest is June 27-28, 2015.

Riverfront Park The crown jewel of Spokane’s extensive parks system was the site of the 1974 World’s Fair, which focused on the theme of sav- ing the environment. Now it is a heavily-used urban park that is bisected by the Spokane River and the waterfalls that first drew white settlers to the region. The park features walking trails, foot- bridges and cable car rides over the falls. There is a historic carousel, an ice-skating rink and many other attractions.

A Bing Crosby statue near the Crosby Student Center on the Gonzaga University campus. Travel 30 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Washington

The centennial trail The Centennial Trail is a 60-mile paved biking and hiking trail that connects Spokane with Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Lake Coeur d’Alene. Much of the trail is built along the Spokane River, and users are able to enjoy nature without having to worry about getting hit by cars. Trail lovers can also try out the nearby Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, a spectacular 77-mile (124-kilometer) paved railroad bed that runs from Mullan, Idaho, to Plummer, Idaho.

Home of Father’s day Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane conceived the idea of Father’s Day in 1909, and the first celebration of the holiday occurred in the city in 1910. Dodd’s home on Spokane’s lower South Hill remains, and there is a big stone in front telling the story of the so-called “Mother of Father’s Day.” The Craftsman- style house at 603 S Arthur St is privately owned and occu- pied, but the stone can be seen in the front yard.

Bing Crosby Crooner and actor Bing Crosby was raised in Spokane and attended Gonzaga University, which serves as a repository of things associated with Der Bingle. The university owns Crosby’s childhood home, which has some memorabilia and Crosby artifacts, including his Oscar for “Going My Way.” The Craftsman-style home at 508 E. Sharp Ave. is free to visit and open to the public weekdays 9 am - 4:30 pm and Saturdays 1 pm-4 pm. There is also a larger-than-life statue of Crosby out- side the Crosby Student Center.

Bike riders along a section of the Centennial Trail, a 60-mile paved biking and hiking trail.

Riverfront Park, the crown jewel of Spokane, Washington’s extensive parks system. Leisure FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE 82. The seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located adv. CROSSWORD814 DOWN 1. The main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants. 2. Tropical starchy tuberous root. 3. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 4. Italian poet considered the national poet of modern Italy (1835-1907). 5. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 6. A large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet. 7. A mountain in the Andes in Argentina (22,047 feet high). 8. An elaborate song for solo voice. 9. Located on a side. 10. A state in midwestern United States. 11. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. 12. The capital and chief port of Qatar. 13. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology. 14. An informal term for a father. 21. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas. 23. The compass point midway between east and southeast. 25. A master's degree in business. 28. Bound by chains fastened around the ankles. 29. Small genus of erect balsam-scented herbs. 31. A midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region. 33. Acknowledge a new land owner as one's landlord, of tenants. 34. Pot for brewing tea. 35. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike. 36. Incapable of or resistant to bending. 37. (sometimes followed by `of') Having or showing realization or perception. 38. Mild form of diabetes mellitus that develops gradually in adults. 41. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 45. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue. 49. Aromatic gum resin. ACROSS 51. Relating to the Andes and their inhabitants. 1. A zodiacal constellation in northern hemisphere between Cancer and Virgo. 53. A rechargeable battery with a nickel cathode and a cadmium anode. 4. A large region between the Black and Caspian seas. 54. Electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying electrical quan- 12. Having undesirable or negative qualities. tities. 15. Automatic data processing by electronic means without the use of tabulat- 55. A bachelor's degree in theology. ing cards or punched tapes. 58. A native American tent. 16. "an agrarian (or agricultural) society". 60. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. 17. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank. 62. Type genus of the Ariidae. 18. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice. 63. A plain plinth that supports a wall. 19. Used of decomposing oils or fats. 64. Related on the mother's side. 20. Wild sheep of northern Africa. 66. Avatar of Vishnu. 22. Having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number. 67. Oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food. 24. A complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which 69. (Greek mythology) Greek god of war. Yesterday’s Solution oxygen binds. 71. A rapid bustling commotion. 26. The battle in 202 BC in which Scipio decisively defeated Hannibal at the end 72. An informal term for a father. of the second Punic War. 74. The products of human creativity. 27. (Japanese) Rice (with raw fish) wrapped in seaweed. 77. A ductile silvery-white ductile ferromagnetic trivalent metallic element of 30. A former monetary unit in Great Britain. the rare earth group. 32. Extract of the heartwood of Acacia catechu used for dying and tanning and 78. A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium. preserving fishnets and sails. 39. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment. 40. A high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men Yesterday’s Solution in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus. 42. Climbing vine native to China. 43. The branch of mechanics concerned with forces in equilibrium. 44. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect. 46. An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling of light-headedness or irritabili- ty etc that has lasted for more than six months. 47. Piece of solid food for dipping in a liquid. 48. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 50. (Scotland) A landowner. 52. Inflexibly entrenched and unchangeable. 56. Constituting the full quantity or extent. 57. Cut or impressed into a surface. 59. Treat with excessive indulgence. 61. Freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort. 65. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography). 68. On or toward the lee. 70. Capital and largest city of Iraq. 73. The sciences concerned with gathering and manipulating and storing and retrieving and classifying recorded information. 75. A graphical record of electric currents associated with muscle contractions. 76. French inventor of the first practical photographic process, the daguerreo- type (1789-1851). 79. In or of the month preceding the present one. 80. Any of several small ungulate mammals of Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisors and feet with hooflike toes. 81. A motley assortment of things. Challenging Maze Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution TV listings FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

05:25 Food & Drink 16:00 Fast N’ Loud 21:10 Jessie 09:45 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Philadelphia 05:50 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 16:50 How It’s Made 21:35 Jessie Dogs 02:30 South Park 06:15 Sweet Baby James 17:15 How It’s Made 22:00 Suite Life On Deck 10:15 Murdoch Mysteries 03:00 New Girl 06:40 Masterchef: The Professionals 17:40 Dual Survival 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 11:10 Emmerdale 03:30 How I Met Your Mother 07:35 Planet Cake 18:30 Overhaulin’ 22:50 Shake It Up 11:35 Emmerdale 04:00 Men At Work 00:20 Swamp Brothers 08:00 Bargain Hunt 19:20 Kindig Customs 23:10 Wolfblood 12:00 Coronation Street 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 00:50 Mountain Monsters 08:45 Come Dine With Me 20:10 The Liquidator 23:35 Wolfblood 12:30 The Hungry Sailors Jimmy Fallon 01:45 Deadly Islands 09:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 20:35 Auction Hunters 13:25 Please Marry My Boy 05:30 My Boys 02:40 Tanked 09:55 Food & Drink 21:00 Overhaulin’ 14:20 James Nesbitt’s Ireland 06:00 The Goldbergs 03:35 Shamwari: A Wild Life 10:25 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 21:50 Kindig Customs 14:45 Murdoch Mysteries 06:30 Better Off Ted 04:00 Shamwari: A Wild Life Notebook: London 22:40 Fantomworks 15:35 The Jonathan Ross Show 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 04:25 Deadly Islands 10:50 Big Chef Takes On Little Chef 23:30 Dual Survival 16:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes 08:00 Men At Work 05:15 Treehouse Masters: View 11:40 Masterchef: The Professionals 17:25 Sunday Night At The Palladium 08:30 My Boys From Above 12:35 Bargain Hunt 00:00 Fashion Bloggers 18:20 Take On The Twisters 09:00 New Girl 06:02 Call Of The Wildman 13:20 Come Dine With Me 00:30 Christina Milian Turned Up 19:10 Coronation Street 09:30 Black-Ish 06:25 Call Of The Wildman 13:50 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 00:55 Extreme Close-Up 19:35 The Jonathan Ross Show 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 06:49 Shamwari: A Wild Life 14:35 Food & Drink 01:25 Kourtney And Khloe Take The 20:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes 10:30 Better Off Ted 07:12 Shamwari: A Wild Life 15:00 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Hamptons 21:25 Sunday Night At The Palladium 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 07:36 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner Notebook: London 02:20 E! News 22:20 Coronation Street Jimmy Fallon 08:00 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner 15:30 Big Chef Takes On Little Chef 03:15 Giuliana & Bill 22:50 Emmerdale 12:00 The Goldbergs 08:25 Too Cute! 16:20 Masterchef: The Professionals 04:10 Ryan Seacrest With The 23:15 Emmerdale 12:30 Men At Work 00:00 Violetta 09:15 Shamwari: A Wild Life 17:15 Bargain Hunt Kardashians: An E!... 23:45 Murdoch Mysteries 13:00 My Boys 00:45 The Hive 09:40 Shamwari: A Wild Life 18:00 Come Dine With Me 05:05 E!ES 13:30 Better Off Ted 00:50 Art Attack 10:10 Call Of The Wildman 18:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 06:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 01:15 Art Attack 10:35 Call Of The Wildman 19:15 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 06:55 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 14:30 Black-Ish 01:40 Jungle Junction 11:05 Gator Boys 20:00 Come Dine With Me: South 07:50 Style Star 15:00 Hot In Cleveland 02:05 Jungle Junction 12:00 Too Cute! Africa 08:20 E! News 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 02:30 Violetta 12:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life 20:50 A Taste Of Greenland 09:15 Giuliana & Bill Stewart 03:10 The Hive 13:20 Shamwari: A Wild Life 21:45 Masterchef: The Professionals 10:15 Beyond Candid With Giuliana 16:00 Modern Family 03:20 Art Attack 13:50 Treehouse Masters: View 22:35 Bargain Hunt 11:10 E!ES 16:30 The Goldbergs 03:45 Art Attack 00:00 Prehistoric Predators From Above 23:20 Come Dine With Me 12:05 E! News 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 04:10 Jungle Junction 01:00 The Indestructibles 14:45 Deadly Islands 23:45 The Hairy Bikers USA 13:05 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 18:00 New Girl 15:40 Tanked 04:35 Jungle Junction 13:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 01:30 The Indestructibles 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 16:35 Shamwari: A Wild Life 05:00 Art Attack 14:05 Fashion Bloggers 02:00 Animal Autopsy 19:00 Black-Ish 17:00 Shamwari: A Wild Life 05:25 Art Attack 14:30 Fashion Bloggers 03:00 Outback Wrangler 19:30 Hot In Cleveland 17:30 Megalodon: The New 05:50 Mouk 15:00 House Of DVF 04:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring Evidence 06:00 Kim Possible 16:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take The 05:00 Ultimate Airport Dubai Jimmy Fallon 18:25 Treehouse Masters: View 06:25 Austin & Ally Hamptons 06:00 Secrets Of The Great Escape 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon From Above 06:50 Girl Meets World 17:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take The Revealed Stewart 19:20 Wild Things With Dominic 07:15 Liv And Maddie Hamptons 07:00 Caught In The Act 21:30 Modern Family Monaghan 07:40 Jessie 18:00 E! News 08:00 Prehistoric Predators 22:00 Silicon Valley 20:15 Tanked 08:05 Dog With A Blog 19:00 Fashion Police 09:00 The Indestructibles 22:30 It’s Always Sunny In 21:10 Gangland Killers 00:20 Fast N’ Loud 08:30 Good Luck Charlie 19:30 Christina Milian Turned Up 09:30 The Indestructibles Philadelphia 22:05 Treehouse Masters 01:10 Street Outlaws 08:55 Good Luck Charlie 20:00 Giuliana & Bill 10:00 Animal Autopsy 23:00 Wild Things With Dominic 02:00 Street Outlaws 09:20 Sonny With A Chance 21:00 Fashion Bloggers 11:00 Breakout Monaghan 02:50 Hellriders 09:45 Sonny With A Chance 21:30 Fashion Bloggers 12:00 Alaska Wing Men 23:55 Gator Boys 03:40 Auction Hunters 10:10 Suite Life On Deck 22:00 E! News 13:00 Inside Combat Rescue 10:35 Suite Life On Deck 23:00 THS 14:00 World’s Toughest Fixes 04:05 The Liquidator 00:00 Covert Affairs 04:30 Auction Hunters 11:00 That’s So Raven 15:00 Mega Factories: Supercars 11:25 That’s So Raven 16:00 Mega Breakdown 01:00 American Idol 05:00 How It’s Made 02:00 24: Live Another Day 05:30 How It’s Made 11:50 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Live Free Or Die 12:15 A.N.T. Farm 18:00 Hunter Hunted 03:00 Grimm 06:00 Marooned With Ed Stafford 04:00 American Idol 06:50 Philly Throttle 12:40 Hannah Montana 19:00 Mega Factories: Supercars 20:00 Mega Breakdown 05:00 The Flash 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 13:05 Hannah Montana 00:40 The Hungry Sailors 21:00 Live Free Or Die 06:00 Covert Affairs 00:25 Eastenders 08:30 Auction Hunters 13:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 01:30 James Nesbitt’s Ireland 22:00 Hunter Hunted 07:00 Witches Of East End 00:55 Doctors 08:55 The Liquidator 13:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 02:00 Emmerdale 23:00 Breakout 08:00 Parenthood 01:25 Lark Rise To Candleford 09:20 Auction Hunters 14:20 Jessie 02:25 Emmerdale 02:15 Lead Balloon 15:00 Austin & Ally 09:00 American Idol 09:45 How It’s Made 02:55 Coronation Street 10:00 The Flash 02:45 Zen 10:10 How It’s Made 15:20 Austin & Ally 03:25 The Chase: Celebrity Specials 04:15 The Weakest Link 15:45 Liv And Maddie 11:00 Suits 10:35 Street Outlaws 04:10 Get Your Act Together 12:00 Emmerdale 05:00 The Green Balloon Club 11:25 Street Outlaws 16:10 Violetta 05:15 Murdoch Mysteries 05:25 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 17:00 Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:15 Hellriders 06:10 Please Marry My Boy 14:00 Parenthood 05:45 Me Too! 13:05 Auction Hunters 18:40 Austin & Ally 07:05 James Nesbitt’s Ireland 06:05 Garth And Bev 19:05 Austin & Ally 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 15:00 Covert Affairs 13:30 The Liquidator 07:30 The Chase: Celebrity Specials 16:00 Emmerdale 06:15 The Green Balloon Club 13:55 Auction Hunters 19:30 Violetta 08:15 Get Your Act Together Stewart 06:40 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 20:20 Jessie 01:00 Modern Family 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:20 Marooned With Ed Stafford 09:20 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of 18:00 Parenthood 07:00 Gigglebiz 15:10 Bike Battles 20:45 Jessie Dogs 01:30 Family Guy 07:15 The Weakest Link 02:00 It’s Always Sunny In 19:00 Once Upon A Time 08:00 Dad’s Army 20:00 Grey’s Anatomy 08:30 The Omid Djalili Show 21:00 American Idol 09:00 Eastenders 23:00 Grimm 09:30 Doctors 10:00 Lark Rise To Candleford 10:50 The Weakest Link 11:35 Dad’s Army 12:05 The Omid Djalili Show 12:35 2 Point 4 Children 13:05 Eastenders 13:35 Doctors 01:00 Good Morning America 14:05 Lark Rise To Candleford 05:00 Good Morning America 14:55 Lead Balloon 10:00 Emmerdale 15:25 Dad’s Army 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 15:55 The Omid Djalili Show 15:00 Live Good Morning America 16:25 The Weakest Link 19:00 Drop Dead Diva 17:10 My Family 20:00 Chicago Fire 17:40 Doctors 18:10 Casualty 19:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 19:30 Lead Balloon 20:00 Zen 21:30 Ideal 00:00 Ice Soldiers 22:00 Live At The Apollo 02:00 Pawn Shop Chronicles 22:45 Watson & Oliver 04:00 The Sanctuary 23:15 Last Of The Summer Wine 06:00 Appleseed: Alpha 23:45 The Weakest Link 08:00 G.I. Joe: Retaliation 10:00 The Last Stand 12:00 Bad Company 14:00 Maximum Conviction 16:00 G.I. Joe: Retaliation 18:00 Crimson Tide 20:00 The Last Stand 22:00 Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear 00:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 00:55 Food & Drink 01:20 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London 01:45 Sweet Baby James 00:00 Pawn Shop Chronicles-18 02:10 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 02:00 The Sanctuary-PG15 02:35 Masterchef: The Professionals 04:00 Appleseed: Alpha-PG15 03:30 Bargain Hunt 06:00 G.I. Joe: Retaliation-PG15 04:15 Come Dine With Me 08:00 The Last Stand-PG15 04:40 Fantasy Homes By The Sea ZERO DARK THIRTY ON OSN MOVIES FESTIVAL HD 10:00 Bad Company-PG15 TV listings FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

12:00 Maximum Conviction-PG15 14:00 G.I. Joe: Retaliation-PG15 16:00 Crimson Tide-PG15 18:00 The Last Stand-PG15 20:00 Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear-PG15 22:00 Sunshine-18

00:15 Inappropriate Comedy-R 02:00 Standing Ovation-PG15 04:00 The Internship-PG15 06:15 See Spot Run-PG 08:00 Home Alone-PG 10:00 Standing Ovation-PG15 12:00 Teen Wolf Too-PG15 14:00 The Simpsons Movie-PG15 15:45 The Internship-PG15 18:00 A Smile Like Yours-PG15 20:00 Every Day-PG15 22:00 Me, Myself And Irene-18

01:00 All Is Lost-PG15 03:00 The English Teacher-PG15 05:00 Chasing Mavericks-PG15 07:00 How I Live Now-PG15 09:00 Hope Springs-PG15 11:00 Chasing Mavericks-PG15 13:00 Yellow Rock-PG15 15:00 Five Thirteen-PG15 17:00 Hope Springs-PG15 19:00 The Immigrant-PG15 21:00 The Invisible Woman-PG15 23:00 The Place Beyond The Pines

01:00 The French Connection-PG15 02:45 The Words-PG15 04:30 Before And After-PG15 THE LAST STAND ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD 06:15 Unstrung Heroes-PG15 08:00 The French Connection-PG15 09:45 The Words-PG15 10:00 Vantage Point-PG15 07:00 Dubai World Cup Carnival 06:00 17 Kids And Counting 08:00 Weird Connections 10:30 I Was Murdered 11:30 Quiz Show-PG15 12:00 R.I.P.D.-PG15 11:00 WWE NXT 06:25 Cake Boss 08:25 How Tech Works 10:55 Stalked: Someone’s 14:00 Escape From Polygamy-PG15 13:45 Red Tails-PG15 12:00 NHL 06:50 Cake Boss 08:50 Mega Builders Watching 16:00 Unstrung Heroes-PG15 16:00 The Philly Kid-PG15 14:00 WWE Raw 07:15 Cake Boss 09:40 Food Factory 11:20 Forensic Detectives 18:00 Red Lights-PG15 17:45 The Host-PG15 18:00 Bellator MMA 07:40 Cake Boss 10:05 How It’s Made 12:10 Solved 20:00 Gravity-PG15 20:00 Trespass-PG15 20:00 NHL 08:05 Secret Eaters 10:30 Magic Of Science 13:00 Disappeared 22:00 Zero Dark Thirty-18 22:00 The Hangover 3-18 22:00 WWE Bottomline 08:55 Secret Eaters 10:55 Mind Control Freaks 13:50 True Crime With Aphrodite 23:45 Red Tails-PG15 23:00 WWE Superstars 09:45 Hoarding: Buried Alive 11:20 Dynamo: Magician Jones 10:35 Hoarding: Buried Alive Impossible 14:40 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 11:25 Say Yes To The Dress 12:10 Mythbusters 15:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 11:50 Say Yes To The Dress 13:00 Weird Connections 15:30 Solved 12:15 Say Yes To The Dress 13:25 How Tech Works 16:20 I Was Murdered 12:40 Say Yes To The Dress 13:50 Mega Builders 16:45 Stalked: Someone’s 01:00 The Purge-PG15 02:00 Total Rugby 13:05 Say Yes To The Dress 14:40 Food Factory Watching 01:00 ICC Cricket 360 03:00 Man Of Tai Chi-PG15 02:30 Premier League Darts 13:30 Oprah’s Master Class 15:05 How It’s Made 17:10 Murder Shift 01:30 New Zealand v Pakistan ODI 05:00 Quartet-PG15 06:00 Golfing World 14:20 Oprah’s Master Class 15:30 Magic Of Science 18:00 Disappeared H/L 07:00 Madea’s Witness Protection 07:00 NFL Gameday 15:10 Little People, Big World 15:55 Mind Control Freaks 18:50 Fatal Encounters 03:30 Cricket in Color 09:00 Last Passenger-PG15 09:30 Live Super Rugby 15:35 Little People, Big World 16:20 Dynamo: Magician 19:40 Forensic Detectives 05:00 New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI 11:00 Zambezia-PG 11:40 Live Super Rugby 16:00 Little People, Big World Impossible 20:30 True Crime With Aphrodite H/L 13:00 Night At The Museum-PG 14:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 16:25 Little People, Big World 17:10 How Do They Do It? Jones 06:00 Mid-ODI Tri-Series H/L 15:00 Love And Honor-PG15 14:30 Premier League Darts 16:50 Little People, Big World 17:35 How Do They Do It? 21:20 The Will: Family Secrets 07:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:00 Last Passenger-PG15 18:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:15 Brides Of Beverly Hills 18:00 Through The Wormhole Revealed 07:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 19:00 The Internship-PG15 17:40 Brides Of Beverly Hills With Morgan Freeman 22:10 Who On Earth Did I Marry? AUS v IND 21:00 Step Up Revolution-PG15 18:05 Bakery Boss 18:50 How It’s Made 22:35 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 08:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 23:00 Captain America: The Winter 18:55 Cake Boss 19:15 How It’s Made 23:00 Serial Killers ENG v WI Soldier-PG15 19:20 Mormon Half Love 19:40 Food Factory 23:50 Most Evil 09:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 20:10 Leah Remini: It’s All Relative 20:05 Food Factory 01:30 HSBC Sevens World Series IND v AFG 20:35 Leah Remini: It’s All Relative 20:30 Magic Of Science Highlights 10:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 21:00 Leah Remini: It’s All Relative 20:55 Mind Control Freaks 07:00 Live PGA European Tour ENG v PAK 21:25 Leah Remini: It’s All Relative 21:20 Dynamo: Magician 09:00 Golfing World 11:30 ICC Cricket 360 21:50 Sister Wives Impossible 11:00 Live PGA European Tour 12:00 New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI 14:00 Golfing World 22:40 Extreme Couponing 22:10 How Do They Do It? 01:00 Hammer Boy H/L 15:00 Dubai World Cup Carnival 23:05 My 600lb Life 22:35 How Do They Do It? 02:45 Marvel’s Planet Hulk 13:00 Mid-ODI Tri-Series H/L 19:00 WWE Bottomline 23:55 My 600lb Life 23:00 Magic Of Science 04:30 Everyone’s Hero 14:30 ICC Cricket 360 00:10 Zou 20:00 WWE Superstars 23:25 Mind Control Freaks 06:00 Cinderella 15:00 Cricket in Color 00:25 Mouk 21:00 WWE Main Event 23:50 Dynamo: Magician 08:00 Quest For A Heart 17:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 00:35 Jungle Junction 22:00 Golfing World Impossible 10:00 Return To Nim’s Island AUS v IND 00:50 Art Attack 23:00 Live PGA Tour 11:30 Jelly T 18:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 01:15 Julius Jr. 13:00 Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A ENG v WI 01:25 Calimero Who 19:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 01:40 Henry Hugglemonster 14:30 The Happy Cricket IND v AFG 01:50 Zou 16:00 Krazzy Planet 20:30 ICC World Cup Warm-Up H/L: 00:40 How It’s Made 02:05 Mouk 01:00 Golfing World 18:00 Return To Nim’s Island ENG v PAK 01:05 How It’s Made 02:15 Jungle Junction 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 20:00 Barbie In The 12 Dancing 01:30 Last Flight Of The Space 02:25 Art Attack 10:00 Live NRL All Star Match Princesses Shuttle 02:50 Julius Jr. 12:00 World Cup of Pool 22:00 The Happy Cricket 02:20 Through The Wormhole 03:00 Calimero 13:00 World Cup of Pool 23:30 Krazzy Planet With Morgan Freeman 00:40 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion 03:15 Henry Hugglemonster 14:00 World Pool Masters 03:10 How Do They Do It? 01:30 True CSI 03:25 Zou 16:00 Golfing World 03:35 How Do They Do It? 02:20 Deadly Sins 03:40 Mouk 19:30 World Cup of Pool 04:00 Food Factory 03:10 The First Kill 03:50 Jungle Junction 20:30 World Cup of Pool 00:45 Oprah’s Master Class 04:24 Food Factory 04:00 Reel Crime/Real Story 04:00 Art Attack 21:30 World Pool Masters 01:35 Extreme Couponing 04:48 Magic Of Science 04:45 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion 04:25 Julius Jr. 22:30 Total Rugby 00:00 The Music Never Stopped- 02:00 My 600lb Life 05:12 Mind Control Freaks 05:30 True CSI 04:35 Calimero 23:00 Live Super League PG15 02:50 Say Yes To The Dress 05:36 Dynamo: Magician 06:20 Solved 04:50 Henry Hugglemonster 02:00 Someday This Pain Will Be 03:15 Little People, Big World Impossible 07:10 True Crime With Aphrodite 05:00 Zou Useful To You-PG15 03:40 What Not To Wear 06:24 Weird Connections Jones 05:15 Mouk 04:00 R.I.P.D.-PG15 04:30 Cake Boss 06:48 How Tech Works 08:00 Nightmare Next Door 05:25 Jungle Junction 06:00 Magic Journey To Africa-PG15 01:00 NHL 05:00 Sister Wives 07:12 Food Factory 08:50 Fatal Encounters 05:35 Art Attack 08:00 The Philly Kid-PG15 03:00 Bellator MMA 05:30 Sister Wives 07:36 How Do They Do It? 09:40 Murder Shift 06:00 Julius Jr. Stars FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Aries (March 21-April 19) COUNTRY CODES Libra (September 23-October 22) Afghanistan 0093 Lithuania 00370 This day should be abuzz with two-way communication-and Albania 00355 Luxembourg 00352 this is just the way you like it. The more you can keep in touch, the better you Your progress is showing today. Business dealings may be par- Algeria 00213 Macau 00853 feel-others apparently feel the same. The telephone may never stop ringing! ticularly fruitful now, particularly with your positive attitude. Perhaps you Andorra 00376 Macedonia 00389 Small talk is okay, but you can broach serious stuff, too. Also, this is a good day have a higher iq than most-others are wondering about your unique achieve- Angola 00244 Madagascar 00261 for any kind of business transactions or contract negotiations. This is a time ments. You have a tremendous drive to perform whatever job comes near Anguilla 001264 Majorca 0034 when your path of self-development and expression becomes more and more your attention. You feel tremendous possibilities about the future ahead. Your Antiga 001268 Malawi 00265 unusual-setting you apart from the crowd and from all that is traditional. The thirst for freedom and excitement flows over into your personal life this after- Argentina 0054 Malaysia 0060 new and perhaps the unconventional are the hallmarks of your lifestyle now. noon. While it is good to be the creative one in a relationship, it should not Armenia 00374 Maldives 00960 Involvement with ideals and idealistic groups enhance your sense of purpose. completely dominate your time with a loved one. Do not overextend yourself; Australia 0061 Mali 00223 You will also, definitely, feel the power of love today. if you make a promise to a friend, keep it! Mental stimulation from others is Austria 0043 Malta 00356 stimulating and always supplies new energy. You are wise to compromise at Bahamas 001242 Marshall Islands 00692 home. Bahrain 00973 Martinique 00596 Bangladesh 00880 Mauritania 00222 Barbados 001246 Mauritius 00230 Belarus 00375 Mayotte 00269 Belgium 0032 Mexico 0052 Belize 00501 Micronesia 00691 Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Benin 00229 Moldova 00373 Bermuda 001441 Monaco 00377 Intellectual curiosity abounds! Just where do you fit in the big Bhutan 00975 Mongolia 00976 scheme of things, now and in the future introspective thinking could You and your co-worker friends like to be recognized for the Bolivia 00591 Montserrat 001664 increase your self-understanding, or perhaps attract you to philosophical work that is accomplished. As a result, there is a lot of wonderful creativity and Bosnia 00387 Morocco 00212 subjects. This is a good day to begin a journey. Although everyday affairs competition. Competition is something you enjoy and work is achieved quick- Botswana 00267 Mozambique 00258 may take a back seat, your alert mind also makes this an excellent day to ly and more accurately in this approach. There is a possibility that work as a Brazil 0055 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 transact business or deal with people. Travel and mental development at whole will come under scrutiny and you definitely need to feel secure in the Brunei 00673 Namibia 00264 high levels will be major themes in your life soon-you make plans. professional realm of life. Mental stimulation via two-way communication is Bulgaria 00359 Nepal 00977 Burkina 00226 Netherlands 0031 Advertising, education, publishing, broadcasting, legal and political interests the order of the day. Though you might rather be on the receiving end, you tend to enjoy people with a quick wit. You will feel especially close to a loved Burundi 00257 Netherlands Antilles 00599 offer opportunities, if you are looking for them. You should experience all the Cambodia 00855 New Caledonia 00687 benefits of this most powerful planet. Your energy is high-ready to be one, or any other kind of partner. You will find it easy to express yourselves to each other. This is a time that favors all types of relationships. Cameroon 00237 New Zealand 0064 applied to whatever you have planned. Canada 001 Nicaragua 00505 Cape Verde 00238 Nigar 00227 Cayman Islands 001345 Nigeria 00234 Central African 00236 Niue 00683 Chad 00235 Norfolk Island 00672 Chile 0056 N. Ireland (UK) 0044 Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) China 0086 North Korea 00850 Colombia 0057 Norway 0047 You may feel slightly rebellious today and put a high value on You will do well with any kind of work that requires precise Comoros 00269 Oman 00968 thinking and concentration. You have an inner confidence and assertiveness Congo 00242 Pakistan 0092 your personal freedom. You will not take kindly to any restrictions. If a person Cook Islands 00682 Palau 00680 becomes too possessive, you will squirm away. You may really wish to help in approaching and communicating. Your personal magnetism is high. You Costa Rica 00506 Panama 00507 someone, but it must be because you volunteered and not because you were may find yourself giving lectures, teaching or some sort of consulting with Croatia 00385 Papua New Guinea 00675 asked. This slightly strange behavior could be caused by uneasiness from large groups today. You are particularly witty and make stimulating company Cuba 0053 Paraguay 00595 within, such as new doubts about your goals. It may be time to haul them out with all you meet. Engaging in social activities is not the best of ideas at this Cyprus 00357 Peru 0051 again and lay them on the table. Find ways to achieve those goals and per- time. Rather, look to close friends and relatives for emotional support. Your Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Philippines 0063 haps set out some idea of timing. This may be as difficult to gauge as an ele- emotionalism is heightened, making you sympathetic to the feelings of oth- Czech Republic 00420 Poland 0048 vator but you will be pleased with the outcome. Excellent advice from an old- ers. Be careful, though, to get a clear understanding of the way loved ones tru- Denmark 0045 Portugal 00351 er person in your life will be very helpful. Tonight you can relax with a friend ly feel or you may be jumping to unwarranted conclusions. Diego Garcia 00246 Puerto Rico 001787 or mate. Djibouti 00253 Qatar 00974 Dominica 001767 Romania 0040 Dominican Republic 001809 Russian Federation 007 Ecuador 00593 Rwanda 00250 Egypt 0020 Saint Helena 00290 El Salvador 00503 Saint Kitts 001869 Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) England (UK) 0044 Saint Lucia 001758 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Saint Pierre 00508 Eritrea 00291 Saint Vincent 001784 You are able to tackle any problem in the workplace today. You may enjoy and value your own life situation today. Estonia 00372 Samoa US 00684 Ambition and achievement are qualities you hold in special regard. Self-disci- Someone may compliment you on the way you handle difficult tasks. Not that Ethiopia 00251 Samoa West 00685 pline and a sense of self-worth become important issues now. This is the time you move quickly but that you have a special knowledge of just how to help Falkland Islands 00500 San Marino 00378 to use your energy constructively. It would be good to combine business and the customer or client. Taking every opportunity to get outside and enjoy the Faroe Islands 00298 Sao Tone 00239 pleasure; enjoy your career and savor its rewards. You may be asked to coordi- natural world, you will find that your emotions sail on calm seas. Perhaps a lit- Fiji 00679 Saudi Arabia 00966 nate events for your department. The social graces pave your path to success. tle walk and then back inside the building will give you a chance to take in a Finland 00358 Scotland (UK) 0044 You generate a lot of warmth and you enjoy having people around you. Others little fresh air and change of pace. Investments seem secure and insights into France 0033 Senegal 00221 can feel this, so they in turn are drawn to you, making this a successful day for new investments are available. A new piece of equipment that will make your French Guiana 00594 Seychelles 00284 any kind of group endeavor. Best of all, relations with the opposite sex are at a life easier comes to your attention this afternoon. You learn and instruct others French Polynesia 00689 Sierra Leone 00232 peak. This is a super evening to go on a date, or be in love! in the use of this equipment and may be quite pleased at your acquisition. Gabon 00241 Singapore 0065 Gambia 00220 Slovakia 00421 Georgia 00995 Slovenia 00386 Germany 0049 Solomon Islands 00677 Ghana 00233 Somalia 00252 Gibraltar 00350 South Africa 0027 Greece 0030 South Korea 0082 Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Greenland 00299 Spain 0034 Grenada 001473 Sri Lanka 0094 Keeping an action log in the workplace will help you eliminate Guadeloupe 00590 Sudan 00249 This is an easygoing day in the workplace. Your attention to Guam 001671 Suriname 00597 matters related to publishing or education is successful. A popular bulletin most any type of question, should any arise. A log may help your work move Guatemala 00502 Swaziland 00268 board at the water fountain or break room has your attention and you are along more smoothly as well. Because you are so considerate and appreciative Guinea 00224 Sweden 0046 determined to update the activities and make it tempting for all to read. You to a loved one, you will find your relationship has very few of the everyday Guyana 00592 Switzerland 0041 could be teaching a writing course or preparing to publish a book. Your com- problems other couples experience. The questions that you have regarding Haiti 00509 Syria 00963 mon sense, efficiency and practicality serve you well on the job. You are very long-term agreements between people with relationships will be understood Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Serbia 00381 expressive and sociable. Whether at work or home, your artistic activities are soon. There is a time of learning and growing that we all go through and one Honduras 00504 Taiwan 00886 cannot make comparisons; one can only go at one’s own speed. Positive, won- Hong Kong 00852 Tanzania 00255 favored. You show a great deal of interest in all people. You actively seek to Thailand 0066 help others. Volunteering your services to a friend or group can be most derful, miraculous things are happening in your life regarding relationships and Hungary 0036 will continue all year. For now, patience wins. Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Toga 00228 rewarding. Communal activities that take place now should be both well- Tonga 00676 attended. Iceland 00354 India 0091 Tokelau 00690 Trinidad 001868 Indian Ocean 00873 Tunisia 00216 Indonesia 0062 Turkey 0090 Iran 0098 Tuvalu 00688 Iraq 00964 Uganda 00256 Ireland 00353 Ukraine 00380 Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) Italy 0039 United Arab Emirates 00976 Ivory Coast 00225 United Kingdom 0044 Being in the spotlight is fun today-this is also a good time to It may seem that your emotions might take over in your deal- Jamaica 001876 Uruguay 00598 take notice of your surroundings where you work as well as how your talents ings with others today. This can cloud reason, so probably it is not the best day Japan 0081 USA 001 can best help others. You may decide to think more seriously about your for delicate deal making or objective decisions. It also is not a day when you Jordan 00962 Uzbekistan 00998 career or work and take stock of where you are and where you want it to take feel like standing up to the world alone . . . You would appreciate a little Kazakhstan 007 Vanuatu 00678 you. Additionally, you may find it important to voice new ideas to others. You warmth and nurturing from those closest to you. This might be a great day to Kenya 00254 Venezuela 00582 will enjoy engagements with your co-workers apart from work. A wedding be kind to yourself, particularly with good nutrition, soothing teas and pleasant Kiribati 00686 Vietnam 0084 Kuwait 00965 Virgin Islands UK 001284 shower or a popular movie may be experienced or enjoyed by many of you. smells. Any additional pressure at this time is expressed through the body or the mental attitude-relax and seek an opportunity to enjoy a massage before Kyrgyzstan 00996 Virgin Islands US 001340 Rely on your natural abilities to sustain and cement good friendships. You may Laos 00856 Wales (UK) 0044 enjoy some sort of artistic endeavor for self-expression this evening. Consider going home this evening. Do not take on any more stress than you already Latvia 00371 Yemen 00967 accepting a social invitation for this coming weekend. It is fun to meet new have-enjoy lighthearted people tonight. Or-perhaps just a bubble bath! Lebanon 00961 Yugoslavia 00381 people. Liberia 00231 Zambia 00260 Libya 00218 Zimbabwe 00263 Health FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Swiss tourist dies of Swedish kids visit virtual swine flu in India as toll mounts hospital before surgery JAIPUR: A Swiss tourist died yesterday of swine flu while visiting India, a local health official said, STOCKHOLM: Felicia Zander had a brain hemor- as the country grapples with an outbreak that rhage when she was six and spent more than a has killed more than 400 people since the start year in and out of hospital for x-rays, MRIs and of 2015. The 70-year-old woman fell ill while vis- about a dozen operations under general aes- iting the western state of Rajasthan, a popular thetic. Before each visit a group of animated tourist destination that has been particularly characters on the hospital’s website described hard hit by the latest outbreak. “She died in hos- what she would go through and calmed her pital. She tested positive for the H1N1 virus,” the fears. She became an avid follower of the “hospi- chief medical officer for the Rajasthani city of tal adventures” of Pajette, a clown waiting to get Jodhpur YS Rathore told AFP, referring to the his appendix out and Ville, a 10-year-old wild boar about to have a brain scan. “It helped me swine flu virus. understand better, to prepare for it... it calmed The woman, whose full name has not been me,” she said. “Having an anaesthetic is frighten- given, was visiting the state with a large tour ing but it’s not actually dangerous,” she added group when she complained of flu-like symp- with a smile. Anaesthesia Web-created by a toms and was admitted to a private hospital, nurse at Sweden’s largest children’s hospital- where she was placed on a ventilator. The post- uses videos, games and cartoons to walk a child mortem report into her death will be completed through what they will encounter during their later, Jodhpur police commissioner Ashok stay, all the way to the well-earned ice cream in Rathore said. No one at the Swiss embassy could the post-operative room. immediately be reached for comment. India’s health ministry said Wednesday that 407 people Strong impact had died of swine flu since the start of the year, The animated tale of Ville, who banged his STOCKHOLM: A 10-year-old Felicia Zander and her mother, 41-year-old Maria Zander more than half of them in the first 10 days of this head on a rock, explains in simple language how reading some information on the internet website Narkoswebben. — AFP month. his bed will roll towards a “big hole where pho- More than 5,000 cases of the disease have tos will be taken of the inside of his body” and the site-available in 27 languages in text form the time to reassure them. I wanted that to been detected, the ministry said. The govern- that he will have to stay very still. The stories had and interactive for smaller children in Swedish, change,” she said. ment said it was reviewing procedures to pre- a strong impact on Felicia, now aged 10. “For a English, Spanish and Arabic-was approved by a “There is an enormous amount of general vent the disease from spreading further, includ- while she spent almost every waking hour in doctor. When it was started in 2006 it was the information available about hospital stays and ing vaccinating medical staff working with front of the computer on the Anaesthesia Web,” first service of its kind and it remains unmatched, the goal was to bring it all together and present her mother Maria Zander recalled. “Before one attracting 15,000 visitors per month, mainly it in a different way-rather than just running affected patients. Authorities in Rajasthan, where operation she even asked a nurse if she had from Sweden but also from other countries. A through it quickly before a procedure,” she 117 people have died, have cancelled all leave (also) looked at the site and knew what she had similar site was started in Canada and there are added enthusiastically. “And to reach young for doctors, while in neighboring Gujarat state, to do,” she said. Zule Sicardi, an anaesthetist at a plans, according to Loof, to translate it to Dutch. people you have to go to where they are: the panicked patients have been seen queuing out- clinic in central Stockholm, said she had noticed Internet.” According to official figures, virtually side hospitals for screening. The World Health the effect the site has on children arriving for Going online all Swedes aged 13 to 21 are regular Internet Organization declared the swine flu pandemic surgery. The site was the brainchild of Gunilla Loof, an users and the use of smartphones, tablets and over in August 2010, more than a year after the “The children who use it are calmer and con- energetic nurse anaesthetist at Astrid Lindgren computers among small children in the Nordic H1N1 virus that emerged from Mexico sparked fident, the situation is familiar to them,” she said. Children’s Hospital in Stockholm, who saw an country is one of the highest in the world. More panic and killed thousands of people around the “And they get all kinds of information about the urgent need to better prepare sick children and than a half of all Swedish children have access to world. — AFP human body which allows them to talk about it their parents. “It happened too often that I met an iPad or tablet while about 95 percent of those with people around them.” All the material on anxious parents and children and didn’t have aged 12 or more own a smartphone. —AFP FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (12/02/2015 TO 18/02/2015)

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Ukraine, IMF in deal for Oil rebounds; Saudi eyes cooperation with Gazprom $17.5bn bailout: Lagarde

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ATHENS: People shop at Athens central meat market yesterday. Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confronts European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his first summit yesterday, after his anti-austerity government failed to get a deal on renegotiating its huge bailout. — AFP Greek debt deal remains elusive Premier sounds conciliatory tone ahead of summit

BRUSSELS: Greece’s prime minister sounded a conciliatory tone But a group of euro-zone countries, led by Germany, insists that dis- budget austerity measures are eased and Greece implements ahead of his first summit with European leaders yesterday, hours cussions can only proceed if the current bailout program is extend- reforms. after the country’s talks with euro-zone creditors on overhauling its ed. “It comes down to: if you change the terms and conditions of a bailout loans broke down. Without the bailout’s financial support, Greece faces bankruptcy contract, have you created a new contract or do you have the same Though Wednesday’s emergency meeting of the euro-zone’s 19 - and a possible exit from the euro-zone, a development that would contract with minor amendments?” said Gary Jenkins, chief credit finance ministers failed to yield a plan of action or even a state- damage Greece’s economy, at least in the short-term, and throw strategist at LNG Capital. Though Jenkins thinks a deal is “doable,” ment, markets were buoyant on hopes a deal will be reached in global financial markets into turmoil. he cautioned that this could develop into a “case where pride really time for Greece to avoid a potential exit from the euro. “We will could come before a fall.” need to find a solution that respects the positions of all parties, so Reforms Most stock markets were higher Thursday, with Athens’ main this agreement will have to be based on the core values of Europe, Tsipras said his government was willing to launch further struc- index up more than 5 percent. Greece’s finance minister, Yanis democracy and the vote of the people, but also on the necessity to tural reforms “against tax evasion, fighting against corruption, Varoufakis, laid out hope that progress was possible Monday. respect the European rules,” Greek leader Alexis Tsipras said. fighting against a state based on clientelism.” Those ambitions are “We understand each other much, much better now than we Europe has been embroiled in another Greek crisis following the likely to be welcomed by the more skeptical members of the euro- did this morning, so I think this is a major achievement because, election of Tsipras’ radical-left Syriza party last month. The new zone. The question is whether it is enough to ensure a deal. you know, from understanding, the agreement follows,” he said. He government was elected on a mandate to drastically reduce the The European creditors, particularly Germany, are hesitant to stressed that Greece would insist on agreeing on a new bailout pro- burden of the country’s bailout and the associated budget austerity give in to Greece too easily for fear of setting a precedent for coun- gram, rather than extending the current one, which “has been cata- measures, which Tsipras blames in large part for the country’s eco- tries that run up excessive debts. The 240 billion euros (currently strophic.” nomic woes. $272 billion) in rescue loans Greece is getting come from taxpayers Popular support for a change of course is strong in Greece, with Despite a recent modest return to growth, the Greek economy in other countries. thousands taking to the streets across the country Wednesday. is around 25 percent smaller than it was before the crisis and pover- “We have all possible understanding for Greece, but they need Since winning the Greek general election last month, the Greek ty and unemployment have swelled. Greece is lumbered by huge to have all understanding for us too,” said Dutch Prime Minister government has outlined its broad ambitions but it has still to pres- debts, which stand at around 175 percent of GDP, and it has repay- Mark Rutte. Despite the apparent impasse Wednesday, Belgian ent concrete proposals. Besides a new bailout deal, Varoufakis has ments this year that it will have trouble meeting without outside Prime Minister Charles Michel said “Europe’s magic is to always find suggested Greece be granted a “bridging loan” to tide it over for a help. solutions even when everyone believes it’s impossible.” Many ana- few months. In return, Greece would commit to further reforms, Tsipras wants Greecee’s current bailout deal, which runs out at lysts think Europe will once again achieve a deal at the last-minute, particularly on how to deal with the country’s notoriously ineffi- the end of the month, to be scrapped and replaced by a new one. with Greece agreeing to a bailout extension provided the required cient tax system. — AP Business FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Oil rebounds; Saudi eyes News in brief

cooperation with Gazprom OPEC price down to $52.21pb Russia remains oil market player VIENNA: The OPEC daily basket price stood at $52.21 a barrel Wednesday, compared with $53.14 the previous day, the cartel said here yesterday. The average annual rate for the OPEC’s bas- LONDON: Brent oil futures rose to $56 a barrel yesterday, as a weak- from a mid-January low of $45.19 but the benchmark has been ket price was $105.85pb, it said. The new OPEC Reference ened dollar and industry spending cuts offset worries of a supply glut pulling back this week as evidence of a continuing glut mounts. US Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan after US crude inventories increased for a fifth consecutive week. The crude stocks rose to a record weekly high last week, while gasoline Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy dollar fell 0.25 percent against a basket of currencies , making dollar- stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, data from the Energy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export traded commodities such as oil more attractive. “The dollar is weaker Information Administration showed on Wednesday. (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine against all the commodities at the moment,” said Michael Hewson, (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey chief analyst at CMC Markets. Sanctions (Venez). In their annual meeting on November 27, 2014, OPEC “We saw a heavy selloff in commodities yesterday and I think that’s Western sanctions and falling oil prices have delivered a double oil ministers agreed to maintain output ceiling of the crude at a why we’re getting a little bit of a rebound in oil prices on the back of blow to the Russian oil industry, but the producer country remains an level of 30 million barrels a day. that.” March Brent futures were up $1.38 at $56.04 a barrel by 0938 unavoidable force in the energy market. Russia has been damaged by GMT, following a 3 percent loss in the previous session that saw prices the drastic drop in oil prices, which plunged 60 percent between last break below $54 at one point. US March crude futures were trading June and January, according to experts gathered at International US dollar stable up $1.58 at $50.42, after falling more than 2 percent in the previous Petroleum Week in London. Russia, which produced 10.6 million bar- against KD at 0.295 session. French oil major Total announced yesterday that it would rels a day in 2014, is in competition with the United States and Saudi KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the US dollar against the increase cuts to operational costs to $1.2 billion this year while spend- Arabia for the title of world’s biggest oil producer. Kuwaiti dinar was stable yesterday exchanging at KD 0.295, ing 30 percent less on exploration, to cope with weaker oil prices. But Russian production levels could decline owing to a decline in as well as the euro at KD 0.334 compared to Wednesday’s On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister met the chairman of investment in the sector. In its latest report on the medium-term oil exchange rates, said the daily bulletin of the Central Bank of Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, Saudi state media market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that the Kuwait (CBK). The sterling pound exchange also stabilized said, and discussed cooperation between oil producers belonging to country’s production could fall by more than 500,000 barrels per day at KD 0.450, as well as the Swiss Franc at KD 0.318 and the the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non- by 2020. Japanese Yen remained unchanged at KD 0.002. members such as Russia. “The drop in oil prices and the sanctions are going to affect Meanwhile, Ukrainian peace talks on Wednesday were met by a Russia’s production quite quickly,” said Antoine Halff, oil industry and surge of fighting. Washington is openly talking of arming Ukraine to marketing division head at the IEA. “One of them might not have had defend itself from “Russian aggression”, raising the prospect of a such a big impact but the combination of a very significant drop in oil Egypt pound steady for proxy war in the heart of Europe between Cold War foes.Elsewhere, revenue and the inability to go to capital markets to make up for that 7th straight dollar sale Saudi Arabia will keep March crude supply to Asia steady, industry is challenging for the Russian oil industry.” Oil accounts for almost 45 CAIRO: Egypt sold dollars at 7.53 pounds per dollar yesterday, sources told Reuters. Brent prices have gained as much as 30 percent percent of the Russian government’s budget. — Agencies the seventh central bank auction this month, as the pound strengthened on the black market. The bank has let the official exchange rate weaken since Jan. 18 in an effort to wipe out black-market trading, but it has kept the rate steady for nearly two weeks now. The bank’s moves to pressure the black market come alongside government efforts to bolster the economy and burnish Egypt’s image before a major investment confer- ence next month. The central bank said it offered $40 million yesterday and sold $38.4 million at a cut-off price of 7.5301 pounds per dollar, the same level as a sale on Wednesday. The rates at which banks are allowed to trade dollars are deter- mined by the results of central bank sales, giving the bank effective control over official exchange rates. There is still an active black market, where the pound initially weakened along- side the bank’s official depreciations. The black market has sta- bilised and recently strengthened since the bank stopped its depreciations last week.

Iraq’s oil exports drop to 2.535m bpd in Jan BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil exports dropped to 2.535 million bar- rels per day (bpd) in January from a high of 2.940 million bpd the previous month, an oil ministry statement said yes- terday. Two weeks of bad weather in the south affected January’s total, said a spokesman quoted in the statement. Exports from Iraq’s southern terminals reached 2.39 mln bpd, while exports from the north via the Kurdistan pipeline were 145,000 bpd in January, the statement said quoting a ministry spokesman. The spokesman said the average selling price in January was $41.45 per barrel with revenue of $3.258 billion, down from $5.247 billion in The Russian LUKOIL ice-resistant fixed platform LSP-1 at Korchagin’s oil field in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea. Western December. sanctions and falling oil prices have delivered a double blow to the Russian oil industry, but the producer country remains an unavoidable force in the energy market. — AFP India slashes Iran oil imports in January

NEW DELHI: India slashed imports of Iranian oil in January as New the March deadline would not be useful if Tehran has not agreed by In the first 10 months of this fiscal year, though, India has taken Delhi scrambled to bring its purchases from the OPEC member in line then to a basic framework that assures world powers it is not pursuing about 10.6 million tons or 252,500 bpd, up a quarter from the same with 2013 levels, according to data obtained from trade sources and nuclear arms. year-ago period, the data showed. State-run Mangalore Refinery and ship tracking data on the Thomson Reuters terminal. The negotiators have set a June 30 final deadline for a full accord, Petrochemicals Ltd was the biggest Indian client of Iran in January fol- India, Iran’s top client after China, took about 273,500 barrels per and Western officials have said they aim to agree on the substance of lowed by Essar Oil. The two refiners are expecting to get another day (bpd) of Iranian crude in January, a decline of 21.5 percent from that deal by the end of next month. Sanctions on Iran were softened 392,000 tons, or 102,200 bpd, from Iran in February via three cargoes the previous month, the data showed. The imports were about a third at end-2013 as discussions on a final resolution began, allowing Asian containing oil and condensate, data from trade sources shows. That less than a year ago. The cuts still leave India’s daily average volumes buyers of Iranian oil to maintain purchases at then-current levels. means India’s final intake from Iran for the year ending March 31 for the April-January period above sanction limits as Iran and world India, with daily imports now running above those volumes, last could come in close to the target of 11 million tons, unless March powers try to outline an agreement by March 31 to end Tehran’s isola- month asked refiners to cut oil purchases from Iran to keep the ship- arrivals are higher than expected. Indian Oil Corp, which is not a regu- tion in return for curbs to its nuclear program. ments in line with the previous fiscal year’s levels of about 11 million lar importer of Iranian oil, has rescheduled a shipment to March from US President Barack Obama said early this week that extending tons or 220,000 bpd. February, a company source said.—Reuters Business FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Sri Lanka’s new leaders seek $4.0bn IMF bail-out

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new government will seek to borrow previous administration of Mahinde Rajapakse. Karunanayake more than $4.0 billion from the IMF and other international said these loans had been granted on average at rates of between lenders as it “restructures” expensive Chinese debt, the finance five and seven percent. “In some cases, the interest rate on minister said yesterday. Ravi Karunanayake said he was travelling Chinese loans is as high as eight percent,” Karunanayake said. to Washington next week for talks with the International “Where possible, we want to renegotiate and reduce the rate.” Sri Monetary Fund and the World Bank on securing support to boost Lanka’s economy is among the fastest growing in South Asia, but reserves and finance investments in health and education. the IMF last year warned the island was vulnerable to sudden “With the new government in place, there is a lot of interna- external shocks due to high levels of foreign commercial borrow- tional goodwill,” Karunanayake said. ings. By the middle of last year, Sri Lanka’s foreign borrowings “We would love to have an enhanced program with the IMF stood at $42.4 billion, up from $39.7 billion at end 2013 and a fig- for balance of payments support.” ure the IMF considers high. Sri Lanka was expecting to tap the IMF for about $4.0 billion In 2013, the previous government dropped plans to seek a while additional funding was sought from the World Bank. The fresh $1.0-billion loan from the IMF following disagreements previous IMF bail-out was $2.6 billion in 2009, when Sri Lanka over how the money should be spent. However, Sri Lanka later faced a balance of payments crisis at a time when Tamil Tiger raised the same amount through a bond issue. The country’s COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake rebels were being crushed in a major military onslaught. The min- economy grew by a blistering 8.0 percent in the first two years speaks during a press conference in Colombo yesterday. Sri ister said Sri Lanka would also talk to the World Bank about secur- after the end of a decades-long Tamil separatist war in 2009, but Lanka’s new government will seek loans exceeding $4.0 billion ing aid for projects relating to health and education. growth has since moderated. The IMF is forecasting a growth from international lenders, including the IMF, as it “restructures” Beijing, Sri Lanka’s biggest lender in recent years, funded rate of 6.5 percent this year, lower than the government’s target expensive debt owed to China, the finance minister said. — AFP much of the country’s post-war infrastructure driver under the of 7.0 percent. — AFP

US challenges Chinese export subsidies

WASHINGTON: The United States a significant impact on his state’s on Wednesday launched a legal farm exports and enforcing trade challenge to Chinese subsidies rules was critical to winning sup- supporting billions of dollars of port for trade deals under negotia- exports across a wide swathe of tion. industries from steel to shrimp. “If we are going to convince our US Trade Representative constituents here in the United Michael Froman said Chinese com- States, American workers, panies in designated export hubs American businesses, that these benefited from free or subsidized negotiations will be good for our services, cash grants and other country, for the economy and for incentives which gave their prod- the world order of future trade, we ucts an unfair advantage. The have to ensure that our existing request for consultations, lodged trade agreements are being fol- on Wednesday, is the first step in a lowed,” he said. The United World Trade Organization dispute. Steelworkers Union, which oppos- The administration has also been es the Trans-Pacific Partnership trying to convince lawmakers, in and planned legislation to fast- particular Democrats, to support a track trade deals, said the move BRUSSELS: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde gestures during a press confer- new 12-nation Asia-Pacific trade would help establish a level play- ence prior to a European Union summit at the EU Headquarters in Brussels yesterday. — AFP deal and a bill to streamline ing field for workers whose jobs Congressional passage of trade were at risk due to Chinese subsi- deals. dies. Ukraine, IMF in deal for “We are equally committed to the decisive, effective enforce- Defense ment of our trade rights,” Froman China’s Commerce Ministry yes- $17.5bn bailout: Lagarde told a news conference, flanked by terday defended its policies, say- seven members of Congress, six of ing the demonstration bases were them Democrats. “important measures” to promote Turning point for struggling Ukraine economy China expressed “regret” at the healthy and stable foreign trade. move by Washington. USTR esti- “China expresses regret over BRUSSELS: The International Monetary Fund and conflict- during that time to the vital reforms necessary to stabilize mates suppliers of subsidized serv- the United States putting forth a torn Ukraine have reached a preliminary deal on a new the country’s finances.” ices to Chinese export hub compa- consultation request, and will financial rescue plan worth $17.5 billion that could be a nies received more than $1 billion appropriately handle it based on “turning point” for Kiev, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Ukraine economy struggling from the Chinese government WTO dispute resolution proce- yesterday. In total, Ukraine will receive $40 billion (35 bil- Ukraine’s economy is in turmoil, with its currency the over three years and said some dures,” an unnamed official said in lion euros) in assistance over four years coupled with bilat- hryvnia losing 50 percent of its value in 2014 and the companies received at least a statement posted on the min- eral loans from other sources, Lagarde said, helping to sta- economy shrinking 7.5 percent, with another contraction $635,000 in support annually. istry’s website. bilize Kiev’s finances after 10 months of conflict in the east. of 5.0 percent expected this year. China had 179 such hubs called Chin Leng Lim, a law professor Talks have been under way in Kiev for days to reach an Russia had agreed to provide a massive $15 billion demonstration bases. Exports from at the University of Hong Kong, agreement on Ukraine’s fourth IMF bailout in 10 years, bailout loan to Ukraine in December 2013, before pro- just 16 of them, specializing in tex- said Washington’s case fitted a ris- with the last package in April 2014 failing to stave off Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled, setting tiles, totaled more than $33 billion ing trend of using anti-subsidy financial crisis in the former Soviet republic. “I am pleased off the current crisis. Russia froze the loan after the first $3 in 2012, a USTR official said. Other action as the new trade weapon of to announce that the IMF team working in Kiev has con- billion instalment. Lagarde said the new arrangement industries covered by the program choice. As China prepares to get cluded a staff-level agreement with the Ukrainian govern- would support “bold policy reforms” by Kiev, which is include chemicals, medical prod- market economy status in 2016 ment on a new economic reform program that would be under pressure from Western governments and creditors ucts, metals and hardware. under its WTO accession agree- supported by an extended fund facility of about $17.5 bil- to root out endemic corruption and overhaul its finances, Louisiana Representative ment, it will be harder to bring lion from the IMF,” Lagarde told a news conference in even as it battles the rebels. Charles Boustany, a Republican, anti-dumping cases against Brussels. “It is an ambitious program, it is a tough program, and said unfairly subsidized shrimp Chinese companies. “When the The announcement came as leaders meeting at it is not without risk,” Lagarde said. “But it is also a realistic imports threatened the livelihood allegation is unfair subsidization, marathon peace talks in Minsk announced a ceasefire deal program and its effective implementation, after considera- of thousands of families in his you’ve got to remember that aimed at halting the conflict. Ukrainian Prime Minister tion and approval by our executive board, can represent a state. you’re not just going after compa- Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was committed to the reforms turning point for Ukraine.” Lagarde, speaking shortly Representative Jim Costa, a nies abroad for behaving unfairly. demanded by the IMF. before news came of the breakthrough at the Minsk talks, California Democrat who voted for You’re going after an entire for- “We anticipate, if the program succeeds and Russian said she hoped for an end to the fighting. “Of course, reso- three major trade deals in 2011, eign economy for being run differ- aggression stops, that the Ukrainian economy will start to lution of the conflict, so critical for people, would also said Chinese export subsidies had ently,” Lim said. — Reuters grow in 2016,” he told reporters. strengthen and speed up prospects for macroeconomic “This four-year program shows that Ukraine will stick stabilization and growth,” she said. — AFP Business FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Post-bailout BoE’s Carney signals risks of Portugal shrugs deflation for UK economy off Greek risks Central bank may expand QE program LISBON: Portugal has largely assuaged fears it is the euro zone’s weakest link after Greece, although it could still be stung LONDON: Inflation in Britain could turn negative within months and MPC is vigilant to the risks of disappointing global growth or any signs if a confrontation between the left-wing government in Athens interest rates cut, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yester- that low inflation begins to affect inflation expectations and wage and European creditors ends in “Grexit”. At the height of day, signalling fresh risks to the economy before the country’s elec- growth, and therefore becomes self-reinforcing,” Carney said yester- Europe’s debt crisis three years ago, the two countries were tion. “Inflation... will likely fall further, potentially turn negative in the day. “Were these downside risks to materialise, the Committee could often bracketed together. But nearly a year after Portugal exited spring and be close to zero for the remainder of the year,” BoE chief adjust the pace and degree of bank rate increases, expand the asset its bailout, and with its economy growing, they seem worlds Carney said at the unveiling of the central bank’s latest quarterly eco- purchase facility, or cut bank rate further towards zero.” apart-politically, socially and financially. nomic forecasts. Recent data showed that British inflation dived in December to a Lisbon said this week it would seek to repay early 14 billion The BoE could also expand its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus record low of 0.50 percent on collapsing world oil prices, which tum- euros of its bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund, program of pumping new money into the British economy, should it bled by 60 percent between last June and January. while Athens needs more money. Perhaps the clearest sign of be needed, the Canadian national added. The European Central Bank “The main reason for this was the steep fall in wholesale energy divergence is that Portugal’s centre-right government is acting recently launched its own QE policy to combat deflation, or a pro- prices during the second half of last year,” the BoE added in its quar- more like a tough northern European creditor, defending aus- longed period of falling prices, in the euro-zone. Britain is not a mem- terly report. “Inflation is likely to fall further in the near term, and could terity. “Europe has an interest and duty to help Greece to over- ber of the 19-nation bloc but counts the neighboring euro-zone as its temporarily turn negative, as falls in energy prices continue to be come its problems, but it cannot do that no matter what,” biggest trading partner. While falling prices may sound good for con- passed through. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said this week. Economy sumers, deflation can trigger a vicious spiral in which businesses and “Inflation is likely to rebound around the turn of the year as these minister Antonio Pires de Lima told Reuters last week it was nat- households delay purchases, throttling demand and causing compa- effects drop out of the annual rate.” January inflation data is sched- ural that Lisbon should insist Greece follows through on nies to lay off workers. uled for publication next week. The BoE’s main task is to keep annual reforms as Portugal had asked its own citizens for years of sacri- The BoE on Thursday forecast that the 12-month Consumer Price inflation close to a government-set target level of 2.0 percent. Recent fice under the 78 billion euro bailout. Index (CPI) inflation would average at about zero in the second and mixed data showed that Britain’s economy grew in 2014 at the fastest Portuguese newspapers still follow every twist and turn of third quarters of 2015, before climbing at the end of the year. annual pace since before the financial crisis-but experienced a fourth- the Greek saga, but the fear of contagion has ebbed. On At the same time however, the bank upgraded its 2016 and 2017 quarter slowdown. Wednesday, Portugal issued 10-year bonds at a record low cost economic growth forecasts, citing the lift from lower crude oil costs. Gross domestic product expanded by 2.6 percent last year, the of borrowing of 2.51 percent-less than the secondary market The economy was set to grow 2.9 percent in 2016 and 2.7 percent in best annual figure since 2007, but rose by just 0.5 percent in the yield in December, before the political crisis that brought left- 2017. That compared with prior forecasts of 2.6 percent in both years. October-December period. wing Syriza to power in Greece. Greek yields are around 11 per- That was the weakest quarterly rate in a year and comes ahead of cent. Record-low rate the looming general election due in May. “The BoE’s latest inflation Last week, the BoE’s monetary policy committee (MPC) held its report has confirmed that the MPC thinks that deflation is now on the NO SYRIZA IN PORTUGAL main lending rate at a record-low 0.50 percent, where it has stood for horizon,” noted Capital Economics analyst Vicky Redwood. “However, Portuguese politics meanwhile remain dominated by the nearly six years, amid fears of deflation and slowing economic growth. Mr Carney downplayed the significance of this-in fact, the fall in oil traditional parties of the centre-left and centre-right. Unlike Policymakers had decided also to maintain the level of QE stimulus at prices and market interest rates has prompted the MPC to revise up Greece, where the crisis spawned Syriza, and neighboring £375 billion ($571 billion, 500 billion euros). “On the downside, the its growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017.” — AFP Spain, where anti-austerity Podemos leads polls ahead of elec- tions this year, Portugal has seen no radical party garner any considerable share of voting intentions. “Nobody is talking about Portugal,” said Antonio Barroso, senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence in London, referring to any potential impact from Greece on Lisbon. Barroso said the time for the emer- gence of a strong, anti-austerity party in Portugal had passed, reducing political risk. “I think they really lost the opportunity when the troika (of European Union, European Central Bank and IMF lenders) was still in town,” he said. “If a fresh face had taken advantage of that opportunity then, maybe, but at this point I think it’s tough.” That means Portugal faces a smoother political ride ahead of elections due in September or October. Even if the opposition Socialists were to win, they are likely to continue budget consolidation, political experts say. But risks would rise if the situation in Greece worsens. “If Greece left the euro, there would be an impact on Portugal. Everybody would say ‘who’s next’?” said Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros economic consultants in Porto. “We can’t forget that Portugal is in a better situation, but we shouldn’t forget either that Portugal has a debt load of 130 percent of GDP.” Analysts say that a strong rally in Portugal’s debt has been driven by the ECB’s plan to launch quantitative easing in March. Its bonds’ eligibility for the plan relies on the ‘BBB’ investment grade rating assigned by one credit rating agency, DBRS, how- ever, with major agencies rating Portugal as junk. Eurasia Group analyst Antonio Roldan Mones said in a recent report that a downgrade by DBRS was unlikely due to Portugal’s improving fundamentals.—Reuters TOKYO: Pedestrians pass before a share prices board in Tokyo yesterday. Tokyo stocks jumped 1.64 percent as a weak yen lift- ed exporters while upbeat machinery order data boosted sentiment in post-holiday trade. — AFP Stimulus needs help from governments: ECB official

FRANKFURT: A top European Central Bank official says the bank’s the stimulus Jan. 22 in an effort to raise growth and an alarmingly to implement so-called structural reforms that clear away excessive new 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) monetary stimulus could “fall on low rate of inflation. Prices in the 19-country euro currency union fell regulation on hiring and firing people and the mounds of paperwork barren ground” if governments do not cut red tape and excessive 0.6 percent annually in January. The stimulus should lower interest required to even start a business. Praet singled out Spain as one regulation. rates even further. Some bond-market yields have even fallen below country that has tried such steps and seen a faster recovery. The bank will start purchasing government bonds with newly zero ahead of the start of the program. “If we take advantage of the window of opportunity that exists printed money next month, a step aimed at increasing alarmingly Praet said monetary policy can increase returns on starting a new today, that possibility is there for the whole euro area,” he said. low inflation and warding off long-term stagnation. ECB executive business by lowering the cost of the capital needed to start it. The euro-zone is struggling to overcome troubles over high gov- board member Peter Praet said in the text of a speech in London yes- Government reforms, he said, would raise the returns on the busi- ernment debt in several countries and slow growth. Greece, one of terday that “perhaps the biggest risk we face with our new measures ness, “for example by reducing costs arising from unnecessary red the hardest hit, is trying to negotiate with other euro-zone govern- is that they fall on barren ground because governments are not tape.” ments for new terms on its bailout loans that would place less doing enough to raise confidence in the future.” The ECB announced Euro-zone governments such as France and Italy have been slow emphasis on budget austerity and more on re-starting growth. — AP Business FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Australia’s jobless rate jumps to 6.4%

SYDNEY: Australia’s unemployment rate such as mining and manufacturing or to jumped to a more-than 12-year high of keep up with the flow of new workers 6.4 percent in January, official data into the economy.” The weakness left showed yesterday, providing further the door open to more rate cuts, he ammunition for the central bank to cut added. interest rates. “We expect a further rate cut in (the Economists had been expecting a rise first half of) 2015, most likely at the next to 6.2 percent from December’s 6.1 per- board meeting in March.” Quay Equities cent but with the number of people head of trading Tristan K’Nell agreed that employed falling by 12,200 it was worse- another rate cut was on the cards. “The than-expected, at a level not seen since numbers probably continue to give the August 2002. The Australian Bureau of RBA the ammunition to continue to cut Statistics said full-time employment interest rates next month,” he said. dropped 28,100 in January and part-time “Improvement in employment is the NEW DELHI: Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (second right) gestures as US Secretary of Treasury Jacob J employment was up 15,900. major issue for our economy to go with Lew (second left) poses with Vice Chairman of Federal Board of Governors Stanley Fisher (left) and Reserve The weaker reading saw the Australian other issues such as low business and Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan (right) prior to a meeting in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP dollar plunge to near six-year lows of consumer confidence, falling economic 76.56 US cents after the figures were growth, an end to the mining cycle, low released, from 77.26 US cents prior. The inflation and our major trading partners central bank last week cut forecasts for slowing.” Australia’s unemployment rate After G20, US says race 2015 economic growth and inflation and has been edging up over the past two warned unemployment would likely rise years as the economy prepares for an as the economy transitions away from a expected sharp fall-off in mining invest- to devalue a big mistake mining investment boom. ment this year. The resource-driven The caution followed a cut in interest economy is also struggling under the India, US to cooperate against illicit money flows rates this month to a record low of 2.25 impact of a fall in prices for key com- percent. They had previously been on modity exports, including an almost MUMBAI: The United States will “push back very hard” Europe to use some of its fiscal space to grow demand, it hold for a year-and-a-half. ANZ senior halving of iron ore prices in 2014 due to against countries that target weaker exchange rates to gain would actually make monetary policy more effective,” said economist Riki Polygenis said the jobless weakening demand from China. JP an unfair trade advantage, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Lew. “It will help to get the economy moving.” Lew spoke in numbers were worse than feared. “The Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said yesterday, driving home concerns he expressed to the Mumbai, the financial capital, on the first day of a two-day rise in the unemployment rate to 6.4 per- the unemployment data was a “shock- Group of 20 this week. Speaking in India, Lew said the US visit to India. He meets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New cent suggests the surprise decrease to 6.1 ing report all round”. “It really does sug- economy had turned the corner but the rest of the world Delhi yesterday, with a joint news conference to follow. percent in December was an outlier, with gest that the Australian labour market is needed to do more to revive growth. He urged Europe to the unemployment rate continuing to still softening and that’s a trend we make greater use of fiscal policy to reinforce monetary stim- Cooperation track up in trend terms,” he said. think will continue over the next few ulus to boost growth. Meanwhile, India and the United States vowed yesterday “While new labor demand is holding months, pushing the unemployment Lew’s remarks reinforced a message he gave to G20 to step up joint efforts to halt illicit money flows after revela- up, it is not enough at present to offset rate towards 6.5 percent and maybe a finance ministers in Istanbul on Tuesday, but stopped short tions that Iranian oil export revenues had been siphoned out retrenchments in particular industries little bit higher,” he said. — AFP of naming any countries suspected of competitive currency of an Indian bank in a suspected money-laundering scheme. devaluations. The euro has weakened against the US dollar Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the case center- following the announcement of 1 trillion euros in stimulus ing on state-controlled UCO Bank had not come up as part measures by the European Central Bank, while China and of his talks with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, but added commodity exporters, such as Australia, have also seen cur- that Indian authorities had strengthened their financial over- rency weakness of late. sight. “This issue has been brought to our notice and the In an interview with NDTV Profit, Lew drew a distinction concerned authorities, including the central bank, have tak- between policies of quantitative easing, which seek to stim- en appropriate action,” Jaitley told a joint news conference ulate credit and growth, and those targeting the exchange in New Delhi. Investigators suspect that a group of people rate to gain an “unfair trade advantage”. “We have been from Iran and Azerbaijan, after entering India on student clear, that kind of unfair policy is something that we will visas, set up a group of shell companies in a provincial city to oppose and we will push back very hard on,” Lew told the obtain as much as $3.2 billion from UCO Bank. financial news channel. “It would be a very big mistake for The advances were secured against export invoices that the world to get into a situation where ... there is kind of a were never followed by actual deliveries, according to race to devalue.” He said the US economy had “turned a cor- sources familiar with a probe by the Enforcement ner”, and was showing sustained growth in jobs, wage Directorate, an agency that fights financial crime. The funds increases and a recovery in housing and manufacturing. were wired to destinations like Dubai or Hong Kong, sources “What we have now in the US is the kind of recovery that say. Investigators have traced 9.25 billion rupees ($150 mil- will feed on itself and grow, but we can’t look at the US as if it lion) in dubious flows, but suspect the total could be as high is an island all by itself,” said Lew. “So we are very much con- as 200 billion rupees. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered cerned that there needs to be more growth in other parts of banks on Monday to tighten checks on advances paid the global economy as well.” In contrast, Lew said, Europe against trade invoices, in a step that a source familiar with SYDNEY: A man with his dog counts his money while begging for money in was reluctant to use fiscal tools to lift growth because some the ruling said was linked to the UCO case. Lew, who met RBI Sydney’s central business district as Australia’s unemployment rate jumped countries did not have room to do so, while the continent officials in Mumbai on Wednesday, said India and the United to a more-than 12-year high of 6.4 percent in January, official data showed faced “real challenges” to stabilize Ukraine and Greece. States were deepening their cooperation to thwart what he yesterday, providing further ammunition for the central bank to cut interest “Having deployed the monetary policy tools, I think were called “threat finance”.—Reuters rates. — AFP UK lawmakers release details of swaps redress scheme

LONDON: British lawmakers have published an agreement Parliament’s Treasury Select Committee (TSC) published “It may potentially be able to help people. It’s important between banks and the financial regulator over how banks details of the agreement yesterday after taking evidence from clients have confidence in the process and the TSC has high- should compensate small firms mis-sold hedging products, FCA Chief Executive Martin Wheatley on Tuesday. Lawmakers lighted serious concerns,” he said. The products were meant to potentially making it easier for businesses to pursue claims. had criticized the regulator for not releasing details of the protect firms against rising interest rates, but when rates fell The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) agreed the terms of a agreement sooner. “The FCA took far too long to cooperate the companies had to pay extra charges, typically running to scheme to compensate thousands of small companies that and did so only after many requests and persistent pressure tens of thousands of pounds. They also faced hefty penalties were mis-sold complex products known as interest rate swaps from the committee,” TSC chairman Andrew Tyrie said. Many to extricate themselves from the deals, which many said they in 2012 with nine banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, firms and their advisers have complained that it is difficult to were unaware of. Banks set aside 4.4 billion pounds to com- Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and HSBC. But it quickly attract- appeal decisions without being in possession of the original pensate customers but have so far paid out just 1.8 billion ed criticism with more than a third of businesses excluded from agreement. pounds in compensation. “The Committee remains very con- the scheme because they were deemed to be “financially Martin Berkeley, a senior consultant at Vedanta Hedging, cerned that terms of the FCA’s redress scheme may, in some sophisticated” and many of the firms that were allowed into it which advises on interest rate hedging products, said the cases, have provided banks with an opportunity not to provide offered alternative hedging products by banks rather than cash release of the original agreement would be welcomed by busi- meaningful redress. Many firms feel that this process has compensation. nesses pursuing compensation. unfairly favored the banks,” Tyrie said.— Reuters Sports FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 42 McCaw, Carter look to bow out in style

WELLINGTON: All Blacks stars Richie McCaw title drought. “There is something special about Keven Mealamu are expected to retire after the ‘Money’ Bill and Dan Carter will look to go out on a high this season, with it being our 20th Crusade and World Cup. Game-time for established players will be when the final Super 15 competition starts as Rugby World Cup year,” Crusaders coach Todd While it is goodbye to the New Zealand stal- carefully monitored with South Africa’s key the World Cup approaches fast. Blackadder told the Super 15 website. warts, Super rugby is saying hello to an ambi- men given rest periods as clubs heed the call of New Zealand’s iconic captain and fly-half “So there is a real buzz within the team at tious new era with teams from Japan and Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer. Meanwhile respectively appear set to bow out of Super the moment, they are fired up for this season Argentina joining the expanded competition serial code-hopper Sonny Bill Williams will look rugby after this year’s competition, which will and ready to get it started.” Carter, 32, will play to write another chapter in his fairytale career next year. be replaced by a new-look, 18-team version for France’s Racing Metro next season, while by helping Waikato Chiefs win a third title in next year. 34-year-old McCaw is expected to reveal his The World Cup starting in September will four years. Williams, back from his latest stint in Both have been named for Canterbury plans for the future in the coming days. also raise interest in the valedictory Super 15, rugby league, helped the Chiefs win their first Crusaders’ tournament-opener against the Fellow thirty-somethings Conrad Smith and which wraps up in early July and can decide the title in 2012 and he now stands to earn Super, Melbourne Rebels on Friday as the seven-time Ma’a Nonu have also signed with French clubs ambitions of many players hoping to feature in World Cup and Olympic honours as he embarks champions take aim at ending their seven-year for next season, while Tony Woodcock and England and Wales. on a two-year deal.—AFP

Woods says he’ll return when his game is ready

PEBBLE BEACH: Tiger Woods said Wednesday his game is “not acceptable” to compete in tournaments and he will return when he thinks it is. Hopeful of having injuries behind him, Woods made a hor- rific start to the new year. He shot a career-high 82 in the sec- ond round of the Phoenix Open to miss the cut by 12 shots. And then he withdrew after 11 holes of ordinary golf at Torrey Pines because of tightness in his back from a fog delay. Woods said on his website the last two weeks have been disappointing, especially at Torrey Pines, where he is an eight- time winner. He said he never wants to withdraw, but recent injuries have allowed that to happen too often. Woods said his latest injury was not related to the back sur- gery he had last spring, and that he is feeling better every day with physical therapy. “Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are impor- tant to me,” Woods said. “My play, and scores, are not accept- able for tournament golf. Like I’ve said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back.” Woods is not playing Pebble Beach or Riviera, and said he would practice next week at his home and at The Medalist “getting ready for the rest of the year.” He said he wants to play the Honda Classic, which starts Feb. 26, but he won’t be there unless his game is tournament ready. “That’s not fair to anyone,” Woods said. “I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon.” Ernie Els, who has known Woods longer than any other active PGA Tour player, heard about his woes while playing in Dubai and later saw highlights. “As competitive as we are, we don’t want to see anyone suffer like that,” said Els, who has finished second to Woods more than any other player. “We’ve got to do our stuff in pub- lic. I don’t care if you’re Tiger Woods, Ernie Els or whoever. If you have some error in your game, you get exposed.” MEMPHIS: Kei Nishikori, of Japan, waits during his match against Ryan Harrison, of the United States, at the Memphis Woods, the winner of 79 PGA Tour events and 14 majors, Open tennis tournament Wednesday, in Memphis, Tenn. —AP has never looked this bad on the golf course. He had back sur- gery to relieve a pinched nerve a week before the Masters and missed three months (including the first two majors), and Nishikori survives three-set then he took four months off at the end of last year to regain strength and get his back fully healed. He also hired a new swing consultant and embarked on match, moves into q-finals the fifth swing change of his career.—AP MEMPHIS: Top-seeded Kei Nishikori little more loose.” Earlier Wednesday, win on the ATP tour, and set him up to was pushed to three sets in his opening fifth-seeded Ivo Karlovic, the runner-up face Nishikori in the quarterfinals. match of the Memphis Open on in 2014, was eliminated by qualifier Nishikori said there wasn’t anything in Wednesday, beating American qualifier Austin Krajicek 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4. particular that caused the slow start Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6 -3, 6-4 to advance Also, Sam Querrey defeated wild- against Harrison. to the quarterfinals. card entry and fellow American Jared “He played to a good level,” Nishikori Nishikori, the two-time defending Donaldson 6-4, 6-1 in a match that took said. “The first set I wasn’t really ready champion from Japan who had a bye in less than an hour. A late match for the match. The second set, I started the first round, struggled in the opening Wednesday featured John Isner, the playing better and stepping in a little set against Harrison, who was playing tournament’s third seed, against Ivan more. I was more aggressive.” The his fifth match in five days. After steady- Dodig of Croatia. aggressiveness showed with the fifth- ing his play, he jumped to a 4-0 lead in Karlovic, who won his opening match ranked player in the world coming to the second set. In the third, he broke with 23 aces, recorded 32 in the three the net and running Harrison from side Harrison early and each held their serve sets against Krajicek, but only seven of to side on extended points.”I was com- PEBBLE BEACH: Colt Knost hits a shot in practice for the through the rest of the match. those came in the deciding set, when ing in a little more because he was hit- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at the Monterey “The third set was a tight game, but I the Croatian also double faulted seven ting a little slice.” Nishikori said, “and he Peninsula Country Club on February 11, 2015 in Pebble got the first game break, and that times. has great defense. I knew I had to sneak Beach, California. —AFP helped mentally,” Nishikori said. “I was a For Krajicek, it marked only his third in a couple of times.” — AP Sports FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

KSSC opens new ranges at Heritage Village

By Abdellatif Sharaa board member Hussam Al-Roumi were also Al-Osaimi lauded the administration of open the range and was the first to shoot in present. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Heritage Village, and it. Amiri Diwan Advisor Sharar thanked the KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting Sports Club (KSSC) Al-Osaimi said in his speech that Kuwait wished them success in spreading Kuwait’s KSSC board of directors for having the range opened new ranges at Sheikh Sabah Al- Shooting Sports Club is happy to spread this genuine heritage. in the village as part of heritage that we Ahmad Heritage Village on Wednesday, heritage sport among Kuwaiti youth, so they He thanked chairman and members of the inherited from our fathers and grand fathers. under the patronage of Advisor at Amiri can practice according to international and higher organization committee and advisor He said the range is an important addition Diwan Mohammad Daifallah Sharar. Olympic rules. He said the club made avail- Mohammad Sharar for having shooting to the village that cares for heritage, and the Secretary General of Kuwait and Arab able a distinguished technical team to super- among the activities at the village. state is very interested in the sport and its Shooting Federations Obaid Al-Osaimi and vise the range. Mohammad Sharar then cut the ribbon to athletes and wished them success. Olympian Ten takes lead at Four Continents

SEOUL: Olympic bronze medallist Denis Ten left and Han Cong of China scored 69.19 points. Radford the competition in his dust with a flawless short said he and his partner overcame butterflies in their programme at the Four Continents Figure Skating stomachs to claim the lead. “We’re really happy with Championships in Seoul yesterday. our short program. Before we went to skate, we Aided by a perfect quad toeloop at the start, were more nervous than usual,” Radford said. “We Ten, from Kazakhstan, scored 97.61 points, his didn’t really have solid expectations of ourselves, highest of the season. Shoma Uno of Japan was a and it’s a nice relief to have that type of skate.” distant second with 88.90 points, and Yan Han of China’s Pang Qing and Tong Jian, the two-time China scored 87.34 points to rank third. world champions who came out of retirement seek- The free skate is scheduled for tomorrow. Ten, ing their sixth Four Continents title, tumbled their whose great-great-grandfather was a Korean-born way to fourth place at 66.87 points. In ice dance, the independence fighter, said the event in Seoul car- US champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates ries a special meaning for him. “I am ethnically scored 70.38 points in short dance to open a slim Korean and I am virtually skating in my home lead over fellow Americans, Maia Shibutani and Alex country,” he said. “I feel great support here... The Shibutani, who posted 69.65 points. competition isn’t over yet. Hopefully I can finish Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada this event on a positive note.” were in third after scoring 68.31 points. Chock Earlier yesterday, Meagan Duhamel and Eric called the performance “definitely our best short Radford of Canada took the lead in the pairs after dance so far in competition”. Bates chimed in: “I scoring their season-best 75.67 points in the short think it was an improvement even from the US programme. Two Chinese teams are trailing the cur- championships a few weeks ago. Every time we rent Grand Prix Final champs: Peng Cheng and SEOUL: Denis Ten of Kazakhstan performs in the men’s short program during the ISU compete, we get a little more comfortable with the Zhang Hao earned 69.81 points, while Sui Wenjing Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul yesterday. — AFP programme.” — AFP FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

World Cup launched with quirky opening ceremony

CHRISTCHURCH: Children mingled with cricketing greats in “backyard” matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with morris dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened yesterday with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch. Thousands of fans crammed leafy Hagley Park to see the launch of the first World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in 23 years, the formal part of which began with a lone bagpiper and ended with a booming fire- works display - the biggest in the city’s history. The World Cup is the largest event Christchurch has hosted since an earthquake in February 2011 devastated the city’s centre - only a few hundred yards from where yesterday’s festivities took place, claiming the lives of 185 people. The physical scars of that disaster still remain in the many vacant lots where buildings once stood but the people of Christchurch showed yesterday the city’s spirit remains undimmed. Mayor Leanne Dalziell said Christchurch was preparing to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup when the earthquake struck, toppling hotels and wrecking venues, forcing matches to be allocated to other centers. She told fans yesterday “we’re back!” New Zealand prime minister John Key MELBOURNE: Ten captains of the ICC members’ countries stand with their national flags during the opening ceremony ahead of the ICC said the earthquake robbed Christchurch of the 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday. — AFP chance of hosting the Rugby World Cup and it was “only fitting” that it should be chosen to host the Competing nations and Irish dancers and indigenous Maori haka match.” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his opening of the Cricket World Cup. He said the Yesterday’s ceremony, which set the stage for groups - in total more than 1,000 participants, per- team’s opening match against New Zealand tomor- opening ceremony was a way of telling the world the 20th Cricket World Cup, celebrating the love of formed for enthralled crowds. row is “going to be a tough contest, it’s going to be that Christchurch is “back in business.” cricket and the cultures of the competing nations, The captains of the teams currently in New an even contest and whoever plays the best cricket International Cricket Council chief executive equally celebrated Christchurch’s resilience as it lit- Zealand were presented to the crowd. South Africa will win.” David Richardson unveiled the Cricket World Cup erally lifted itself from ruins to host the opening captain A.B. de Villiers told fans that while the New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who trophy, saying it was a symbol of the ICC’s values of and opening match of cricket’s four-yearly festival. Proteas had never won the World Cup “we’re as lives in Christchurch said “having the first game of excellence, integrity and inclusion. Hagley Oval, As many as 80 children were joined by famous well prepared as we can be and we look forward to the World Cup here in Christchurch after all it’s which will host tomorrow’s opening match players in games of backyard cricket played on four taking the trophy home.” been through is fantastic.” “I think it’s a wide open between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, has hosted giant ovals, divided into 14 individual grounds rep- Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza, whose World Cup,” he said. “The nature of wickets we’ll first class cricket matches since 1867 but was resenting the 14 nations taking part in the world team plays South Africa in its opening match on see in Australia and New Zealand are pure wickets extensively redeveloped since to become the city’s tournament. Each of the four areas was overlooked Sunday, said while the odds were against his team and that brings in the match-winners. Every team international cricket venue after the earthquake by a stage on which cultural performers from Sri “the good thing about this tournament is the team has match-winners and they can turn the game in wrecked Lancaster Park. Lanka and India, West Indian steel bands, Scottish that plays the best cricket on the day will win the 10 or 15 overs.” — AP

MELBOURNE: The ICC 2015 trophy is displayed during the opening ceremony ahead of the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Myer Music MELBOURNE: Members of the Dance School of Distinction represent- MELBOURNE: Spectators watch fireworks during the Bowl in ing the British Ballet Organisation perform during the opening cere- opening ceremony of the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup at Melbourne mony ahead of the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Myer Music Bowl the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday. — AFP yesterday. — AFP in Melbourne yesterday. Tendulkar: India-Pakistan game a giant challenge

NEW DELHI: Retired great Sachin Tendulkar Pakistan, which has lost all its five Cup games in 1996. Tendulkar was declared man of the dream when India lifted the trophy beating says Sunday’s World Cup game against to India. The two countries did not meet in series at the 2003 edition in which he Sri Lanka at his home ground Wankhede Pakistan could pose a challenge to the Indian the first four editions of the World Cup, with smashed a memorable 75-ball 98 against Stadium, said he had considered retiring team that is bigger than even playing in the an 18-year-old Tendulkar scoring a half-cen- Pakistan in a match best remembered for his after India’s first-round exit in 2007 in the final. “The Pakistan game was a high pres- tury in their first encounter in 1992. Though slashed six over third-man off speedster West Indies. sure game compared to the final,” Tendulkar Pakistan lost that match, it went on to win Shoaib Akhtar. “When I came back home, I was so said in an interview on Headlines Today the title. “A Pakistan game is not only about that depressed and so upset with the way we news channel about India’s win over its arch Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, figured in day. I remember 2003, when we played had performed. I actually thought of retiring rival in the 2011 semifinal at Mohali in which six World Cups and is the most prolific bats- Pakistan at Centurion, my friends had started then. I called my brother Ajit over and told he scored a match-winning 85. “It’s a differ- man in the tournament’s history with 2,278 talking about it 10 months before that,” said him that I do not want to continue. The ent atmosphere altogether.” runs in 45 matches. Tendulkar, who finished with a record 15,921 game has been cruel to us and I want to India starts its defense of the World Cup He aggregated 482 runs at the 2011 runs and 51 centuries in 200 tests and 18,426 stop,” he said. But Tendulkar said it was Ajit against Pakistan at Adelaide on Sunday. It World Cup and 673 in 2003, when India fin- runs with 49 centuries in 463 one-day inter- who motivated him to continue with the will be the first time that India will be with- ished runner-up to Australia. He also scored nationals. aim of winning the World Cup at home four out Tendulkar for a World Cup game against 523 runs when India reached the semifinals Tendulkar, who realized a long-time years later. — AP FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Eight Pakistan stars warned with expulsion

SYDNEY: Pakistan yesterday warned Meanwhile, Australia and England eight of their World Cup squad they cranked up the mind games, 48 face banishment from the tourna- hours before they clash in their ment if they repeat a team curfew World Cup opener which will be breach. watched by 90,000 fans inside the On a day when Australia admitted iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. that hobbled captain Michael Clarke One of those looking on from the will miss tomorrow’s opener against sidelines will be Clarke who has still England and organisers found it nec- to fully recover from his long-stand- essary to stage two opening cere- ing hamstring injury. Not that monies, it was 1992 champions England skipper Eoin Morgan had Pakistan who were fighting off the huge interest in the plight of his first mini-crisis of the six-week event. opposite number. “Eight Pakistan players, including “Whatever team they put out former captain Shahid Afridi and doesn’t really bother us. It’s really opener Ahmed Shehzad, were fined important we focus on what we do,” 300 Australian dollars (US $230) after Morgan said. Australia coach Darren they came late to their Sydney hotel Lehmann confirmed that Clarke on Sunday,” sources in the team told would not play at the MCG but AFP on condition of anonymity. should feature in Australia’s second The team management, headed game against Bangladesh in Brisbane by manager Naveed Cheema, a for- on February 21. Clarke, 33, top scored mer military man, claimed the play- with 64 opening the batting in ers arrived 45 minutes late after a Wednesday’s 188-run warm-up win night out. The players are under- over the United Arab Emirates in stood to have apologised and have Melbourne where he also bowled promised not to repeat the offence. two overs. He was captaining Team management have told the Australia for the first time since his players that if such a breach was hamstring surgery almost two repeated they will be sent home on months ago. Clarke will be key to the first available flight. Pakistan play Australia’s hopes of winning a fifth their first group game against arch- world title, boasting an impressive rivals and title-holders India in 7,762 runs in his 238 ODIs with an MELBOURNE: A giant puppet of a batsman (C) waves a bat as it is controlled by stage hands during the opening Adelaide on Sunday. average nudging 45. — AFP ceremony ahead of the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday. — AFP Clarke still has fitness Morgan to bounce back when tests to pass: Lehmann chips are down

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael SYDNEY: Struggling England captain Eoin Morgan says Clarke will miss the World Cup opener he is confident he can bounce back and score runs in against England yesterday and still has tomorrow’s crunch World Cup opener against Australia fitness tests to pass to meet his deadline before a MCG full house. to be ready for the second group match Morgan, who succeeded the dumped Alastair Cook for against Bangladesh, coach Darren the six-week event, is in the midst of a slump with scores Lehmann said. of just 0, 2, 0 and 0 in his last four innings ahead of the On the comeback trail from ham- cricket showpiece. The Irishman’s latest disastrous outing string surgery, Clarke had an encourag- was a duck in Wednesday’s four-wicket loss to Pakistan in ing return in Australia’s final World Cup a warm-up game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, falling off warmup match against United Arab a full toss from Yasir Shah. Emirates in Melbourne on Wednesday, But Morgan is banking on the strength of his pulsating scoring a game-high 64 and running 121 off 136 balls against Australia in the Sydney match of between the wickets without any appar- last month’s tri-series to catapult him back into form. “It’s been four or five games since I last scored a 100, so ent discomfort. I don’t have to look that far back to actually reconnect “He’s pulled up really well and no, with what works well for me,” Morgan said yesterday. he’s not playing,” Lehmann told “I took a lot out of that 100 I scored in Sydney, particu- reporters at the Melbourne Cricket larly as it was against Australia. I take a lot of confidence Ground on Thursday. “Really happy with from that game. “I find it really easy to reconnect with the his progress but we’re going to stick to past and find what I do well and be very individually the plan that he’ll play against focused when the chips are down. Bangladesh. “The way he batted, ran, “And I’ve done that in the past on a number of occa- fielded, bowled (on Wednesday), ticked sions where I’ve gone through low scores. To reconnect all the boxes. with that when I’ve come through tough periods, I know “He’s still ticking those (boxes) off I’ve done it and come out the other side.” along the way. He’s got a few tests Michael Clarke An in-form Morgan is a must for England if they are to today and he’ll pass those no dramas. successfully navigate the pool stages and reach the quar- “Then it’s making sure he gets into Vice captain George Bailey is expect- “That’s a good sign for us. Again ter-finals of the tournament. Morgan has the support of the fielding side of it next week and just ed to lead against England at the MCG, we’re just dictated by the medical team teammate Joe Root, who predicted his skipper would hit ticks that off and away we go.” though local media have called for bats- at the moment,” he added. “Hopefully back in the World Cup. “Morgs is one of the guys that The selectors’ deadline to have man Steven Smith, who led the team he’ll resume bowling very shortly so under the pump, when the pressure is on, you turn to,” Clarke, a proven World Cup performer, during Clarke’s absence in the India test we’ll wait and see.” Lehmann said selec- Root told reporters. “He’s done it so many times for us and prove his fitness by the Bangladesh series, to take the reins. tors would consider picking Faulkner on I’m sure throughout this competition he’s going to score a match on Feb. 21 or miss out on playing Australia’s other injury worry has his batting merits alone, but said he lot of runs. “Everyone in the dressing room is absolutely the tournament on home soil has been been all-rounder James Faulkner, an hoped Clarke would be able to bowl as convinced that’s going to be the case. He scored a hun- seen as draconian by some pundits. accomplished batsman and seamer who well as bat. “We do (want him to bowl). dred not long ago. He’s obviously a fine player, he’s a fine Local media have fanned the flames has struggled with a side strain and is Obviously being a left-armer taking the leader.” Morgan came into the tournament under a cloud by alleging a rift exists between Clarke, also set to miss the England match. ball away is another advantage for him. when it was revealed that he had been the target of a selectors and some of his team mates Faulkner ran some laps of the MCG at “He’ll bowl at the right time as he nor- blackmail attempt over a relationship with an Australian over his injury problems and ability to training on Thursday and Lehmann said mally does. He’s a very astute leader in woman five years ago. — AFP lead the side in the long-term. he was batting without any trouble. that regard.” — Reuters Sports FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 46 Trail Blazers hand Lakers 11th straight road loss

PORTLAND: LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers extended the Los Angeles Lakers’ road losing streak to a franchise-record 11 games with a 102-86 victory Wednesday night. Wesley Matthews scored 20 points for the Blazers, who won their sec- ond straight before heading into the All-Star break. It was the sixth straight loss overall for the struggling Lakers, who trailed by as many as 23. Los Angeles was hurt late in the third quarter when Nick Young appeared to injure his left ankle on a jumper and did not return. Mired in second-to-last place in the Western Conference, the Lakers began their road losing streak in Portland with a 98-94 loss on Jan. 5. Wayne Ellington led Los Angeles with 16 points and eight rebounds. The Blazers also won the previous two meetings with the Lakers this season and have taken four straight overall. All those wins have come with Kobe Bryant sitting out because of injuries. Portland, coming off a 109-98 victory at Houston, was without center Chris Kaman because of a sprained right ankle. The Blazers jumped out to a 30-20 lead in the first quarter and stayed in front for the rest of the game. Nicolas Batum’s 20- foot jumper off a pass from Aldridge gave Portland a 50-39 lead, and the Blazers went into the break ahead 54-46. Portland extended the lead in the third quarter to 77-56 fol- lowing Matthews’ 3-pointer and a fast-break layup from Aldridge. Damian Lillard finished with 15 points and eight assists, becoming the only NBA player to score in double fig- ures in all of his team’s games this season. He and Aldridge sat out the fourth quarter.

Boston 89, Atlanta 88 Evan Turner made a running scoop shot with 0.2 seconds left to give Boston its only lead of the game, and the Celtics sent the Atlanta Hawks to just their third loss of the calendar year, 89-88 on Wednesday night. Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won four of five but still remain out of playoff position. Turner had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Al Horford scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who followed a MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game 19-game winning streak by losing four of their last seven. against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, in Milwaukee. —AP Warriors 94, Timberwolves 91 Popovich reached 1,000 victories two days earlier. The Spurs games. Timofey Mozgov scored 20 and Tristan Thomson 17 in Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa led a dominant effort held Detroit to 12 points in the first quarter and led comfort- Cleveland’s final home game before the All-Star break. The from the Golden State Warriors’ reserves and Klay Thompson ably through just about the entire second half. D.J. Augustin Cavs will play at Chicago on Thursday before the season’s hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch to close out a long road scored 22 points for the Pistons and Kentavious Caldwell- extended respite. Hassan Whiteside had 17 points and 14 trip with a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Iguodala Pope added 20. rebounds for the Heat, who were again without All-Star scored just eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and Barbosa had Dwyane Wade. Cavaliers forward Kevin Love sat out most of 10 points, but they spearheaded an energized second unit Pacers 106, Pelicans 93 the second half after being poked in the right eye. that picked up the slack for their sluggish starters. Stephen David West and George Hill each scored 17 points and the Curry had 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting for Golden State Indiana Pacers went into the All-Star break with their fourth Mavericks 87, Jazz 82 (42-9), which goes into the All-Star break with the best record victory in their last five games, pounding the New Orleans J.J. Barea scored 15 of his season-high 22 points in the in the NBA. Kevin Martin scored 21 points and Ricky Rubio Pelicans. The Pelicans played without All-Star Anthony Davis, third quarter and the Dallas Mavericks went into the All-Star had 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the who missed his second straight game with sprained right break by holding on for a victory against the Utah Jazz. Timberwolves (11-42), who rallied from a 14-point deficit in shoulder, and without sharp-shooting forward Ryan Starting while Rajon Rondo recovers from a broken orbital the fourth quarter to tie the game. Anderson, who missed his second game in a row with a sore bone, Barea got a mild surprise when Monta Ellis joined him right elbow. Luke Babbitt scored 15 for New Orleans, which in the backcourt a day after being called doubtful with a left Magic 89, Knicks 83 has lost three straight. hip injury. Gordon Hayward was limited to 12 points for Utah Nik Vucevic had 28 points and 18 rebounds, and the and had two of his six turnovers in the closing minutes with Orlando Magic held off the New York Knicks. Victor Oladipo Thunder 105, Grizzlies 89 the Jazz trying to rally for their first three-game winning added 19 points and Willie Green 13 off the bench. It helped Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Russell Westbrook streak in a year. Trey Burke led Utah with 16 points. offset a third-quarter injury to starting forward Channing added 24 to help the Thunder defeat the Memphis Grizzlies. Frye, who left with a dislocated left index finger. The victory Nick Collison had season highs of 15 points and nine Trail Blazers 102, Lakers 86 stopped a two-game skid by the Magic. It also improved rebounds and Dion Waiters added 11 points for Oklahoma LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the interim coach James Borrego’s record to 2-2 since taking over City, which has won five of six heading into the All-Star break. Portland Trail Blazers extended the Los Angeles Lakers’ road for Jacque Vaughn, who was fired last week. Jason Smith led Zach Randolph scored 16 points and Jeff Green and Beno losing streak to a franchise-record 11 games. Wesley the Knicks with 25 points. The Knicks played without forward Udrih each added 11 for Memphis, which had won 10 of 11. Matthews added 20 points for the Blazers, who won their sec- Carmelo Anthony, who sat out their final game before the All- ond straight before heading into the All-Star break. It was the Star break with of a sore left knee. Bucks 111, Kings 103 sixth straight overall loss for the struggling Lakers, who Brandon Knight scored 20 points, powering a third-quarter trailed by as many as 23 points. Los Angeles was hurt late in Raptors 95, Wizards 93 surge that helped the Milwaukee Bucks to a victory over a the third quarter when Nick Young appeared to hurt his left DeMar DeRozan hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 12 sec- Sacramento Kings team on the brink of yet another coaching ankle on a jumper and did not return. Wayne Ellington led Los onds left and the Toronto Raptors headed into the All-Star change. DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 19 rebounds for Angeles with 16 points and eight rebounds. break on a winning note, beating the Washington Wizards. the Kings, a team about to make its second coaching change Lou Williams scored 27 points, DeRozan had 23 and Kyle of the season. Before the game, the Kings and George Karl Clippers 110, Rockets 95 Lowry 13 for the Raptors, who have won seven of the past agreed to the framework of a deal for him to take over as DeAndre Jordan had 24 points and 20 rebounds, Jamal eight meetings with the Wizards, including all three this sea- coach, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Crawford and J.J. Redick each had 20 points, and the Los son. John Wall scored 21 points, Drew Gooden had 10 points The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets. The Clippers and 12 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 17 for the Wizards, anonymity because the discussions were private. That meant played their third game without Blake Griffin, who will be whose two-game winning streak was snapped. The loss was the game was the last for coach Tyrone Corbin. Karl will be sidelined at least three weeks after surgery for a staph infec- Washington’s sixth in the past eight games. Sacramento’s third coach this season, as the Kings fired tion in his right elbow and will be re-evaluated after that. Michael Malone in December. Chris Paul had 12 assists and 12 points. Jordan shot 6 for 8 Spurs 104, Pistons 87 from the field, extending his NBA-record streak to 39 consec- Danny Green scored 19 points and Tony Parker added 17, Cavaliers 113, Heat 93 utive games shooting at least 50 percent. Corey Brewer and the San Antonio Spurs easily brushed aside the Detroit LeBron James scored 18 points against his former Miami scored 22 points and fellow reserve Josh Smith had 21 for the Pistons. Manu Ginobili added 13 points for San Antonio, teammates and Cleveland had six others score in double fig- Rockets, who have lost 11 of their last 12 meetings with the which won this game amid little fanfare after coach Gregg ures as the Cavaliers beat the Heat for their 14th win in 15 Clippers. —AP Sports FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 47

Grayson out to shock Man Utd in FA Cup again

LONDON: Preston North End manager United team in the third round. After a also won the Double in the first season of Preston in the FA Cup 43 years ago will be Simon Grayson has already mastermind- fourth round in which the FA Cup rekin- the Football League-and again in 1938 as memorable for him as that victory over ed a famous FA Cup victory against dled its old magic with the exits of the when they beat Sunderland with a penal- Leeds was five years ago. “It was a fantas- Manchester United and will hope to do it Premier League leaders Chelsea and ty in the last minute of extra time, would tic occasion that day,” Grayson said. “This again when they visit his League One side champions Manchester City to lower end Louis van Gaal’s best hope of his first is a different United team but one we will in the fifth round on Monday. league opponents, the Preston boss trophy as United manager, with the look forward to playing. “The football club Grayson was in charge of Leeds wants to use his previous experience of league seemingly out of reach. deserves it, because we have not had any United, then a third tier side themselves, conquering 11-times winners United to Preston and United were regular ties like this over the last few years. “I’m when they won 1-0 at Old Trafford in do it again. opponents until 1961 when Preston lost sure Deepdale will be full and it’s a mas- 2010 to become the first lower league A win for his third tier side, who won their top flight status and Grayson hopes sive boost for us. The profile of the game opposition to beat an Alex Ferguson-led the FA Cup in 1889 — when they won their first meeting since United beat makes it a fantastic attraction.”—Reuters

Mourinho threatens walk-out over Ivanovic

LONDON: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho threatened to walk out of his media conference as he bristled at questions about a melee involving Branislav Ivanovic in the 1-0 win over Everton. Mourinho, who also broke off a BBC interview when asked about the incident, refused to give his view when questioned in the post-match press conference. Defender Ivanovic appeared to head-butt Everton’s James McCarthy in a scuffle before Willian’s 89th-minute winner preserved Chelsea’s sev- en-point Premier League lead. “I am concerned with my reaction because one more ques- tion and I leave,” Mourinho said, seemingly referencing his recent £25,000 ($38,000, 34,500 euros) FA fine for bringing the game into dispute over the conspiracy claims. Retrospective action by the Football Association is now a possibility, with Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who lost Gareth Barry to a late red card, strongly critical of the Serbian defender. Chelsea have already fallen foul of the video replay panel, with striker Diego Costa missing Wednesday’s game due to his three-game suspension for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre Can in last month’s League Cup semi-final. The Ivanovic incident came directly after referee Jonathan Moss had shown a second yellow card to Barry for a foul on BARCELONA: Villarreal’s midfielder Manuel Trigueros Munoz scores a goal during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) Willian. Martinez was adamant the official had missed a more semifinal first leg football match FC Barcelona vs Villarreal CF at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Wednesday. — AFP serious offence as players from both sides came together angrily in the aftermath of Barry’s challenge. “From that moment the red card gives an unfair momen- tum to the home side and allows them to score a goal. And Barcelona ease towards then, if you look at the images, Ivanovic’s behaviour is wrong. That shouldn’t be allowed,” Martinez said. He added: “First of all he grabs James McCarthy around his Copa del Rey final neck in a very forceful manner. Then he put his head against him. James McCarthy never reacted one single bit and if you want to be fair with the laws, that’s a red card. MADRID: Barcelona took a huge step but captain Bruno and former Barca after half-time when he failed to keep “It is even more hurtful because Ivanovic was involved in towards a fifth Copa del Rey final in sev- midfielder Jonathan dos Santos to out Trigueros’s thunderbolt from out- the goal and there was a deflection on the way in and it went en years with a 3-1 win over Villarreal in injury. “This game seemed lke a horror side the area. through Darron Gibson’s legs.” the first leg of their semi-final on film. Barcelona took advantage of our The visitors were only on level terms Wednesday. mistakes and scored the type of goals for a minute as Suarez again created the ‘Super’ Cech Lionel Messi opened the scoring from we didn’t expect. “We have two injuries, danger when he claimed to have been Despite the incident, it was a vital win for Chelsea after sec- Luis Suarez’s cutback four minutes one of which could be serious. I am sad fouled inside the area by Mario Gaspar ond-placed Manchester City’s 4-1 victory at Stoke, and kept before the break, but Villarreal levelled for all these combined circumstances and Iniesta swept the loose ball into the Mourinho on course for a third Premier League crown with shortly after half-time when Marc-Andre that mean we are much further away far corner. the club.—AFP Ter Stegen failed to keep out Manu from reaching the final.” Another defensive error allowed Trigueros’s drive. All of Villarreal’s good defensive work Barca to extend their lead when However, Barca were back in front in the opening 45 minutes was undone Musacchio and Asenjo were caught flat- within a minute through Andres Iniesta four minutes before half-time when footed by Messi’s corner and Pique and Gerard Pique’s header 26 minutes Mateo Musacchio slipped to allow headed home unmarked at the far post. from time made it 3-1. The Catalans Suarez to rob possession and he Musacchio was also at fault seven could have had an even healthier squared for Messi to slot home his 11th minutes later when he handled as Messi advantage to take into the second leg goal in his last nine games. tried to wriggle free inside the area. The on March 4, but Neymar had his penalty The roles were reversed a minute lat- Argentinian had missed from the spot in saved by Sergio Asenjo. er as this time Messi freed Suarez inside the previous round against Atletico “I think it was a very good perform- the box, but the Uruguayan drove his Madrid and handed the responsibility to ance on our part against an opponent low shot beyond the far post. Neymar, but he too failed from 12 yards that was more defensive than we as Asenjo made a comfortable save low expected, but against a very good team. Dominance to his right. It is a good result, although it isn’t defin- For all their dominance, Barca nearly Suarez nearly rounded off the itive,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique. went in at the break level as Villarreal’s evening with a stunning effort from just “It could have been even better with only threatening counter-attack of the inside the Villarreal half, but the ball the penalty we missed, but it is a good half ended with Ter Stegen making a floated just wide with Asenjo beaten. result and deserved based on what we fine save to turn Luciano Vietto’s shot Espanyol also moved closer to mak- LONDON: Chelsea’s Didier Drogba is fouled by Everton’s saw on the pitch.” behind. ing it an all-Catalan final as they secured Darron Gibson during their English Premier League soccer Villarreal coach Marcelino meanwhile However, the young German goal- a vital away goal in a 1-1 draw away at match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge described his side’s evening like a “hor- keeper was very much at fault when Athletic Bilbao in the night’s other semi- stadium in London, Wednesday. — AP ror film” having not only lost the match Villarreal did equalise just three minutes final.—AFP FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 FEBRUARY FRIDAY, www.kuwaittimes.net

MELBOURNE: A giant ‘batsman’ takes a stance to play a shot during the opening ceremony ahead of the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne yesterday. — AFP

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