Kuwaiti artist No plan to raise Afrah Adel wins brings anime power, petrol first gold for characters4 to life prices now:9 Omair Kuwait45

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www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16418- Friday, January 30, 2015 Pilot’s fate unknown as IS deadline passes

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AMMAN: Two posters with pictures of Jordanian pilot Lt Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who is held by Islamic State group militants, and Arabic that reads “we are all Muath,” hang on a street pole, in front of the captured pilot’s tribal gathering place in Amman yesterday.— AP Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Conspiracy Theories Just kiddin’, seriously Fight your case fairly The manipulation of beauty in Kuwait

By Badrya Darwish By Sahar Moussa

[email protected] [email protected] t was interesting watching an inter- Arabia. And because of this, the king- view on Arabic BBC this week with a dom will save billions in remittances. lastic surgeries are in vogue these days. these women because they undergo severe pain Women of all ages are obsessed with beau- in the process and at times sustain scars forever. Saudi writer in Washington DC I saw that as very trivial and even the I Pty. Both women and men are influenced by Instead of looking beautiful, they get deformed. about women’s right to drive. BBC was BBC presenter wasn’t impressed. Let’s all the fake and Photoshopped images that they For example, the Brazilian model Andressa exploring the various issues which will discuss it seriously. How much is the see on famous magazine covers, beauty websites Urach is a good example of a messed up surgery. come to the fore with the succession average salary of a family driver in the and television. Men attach high standards to Urach, the runner-up in Brazil’s ‘Miss Bum Bum’ following the death of King Abdullah Gulf? It doesn’t vary too much between what their women should look like, while women contest, is known for her love of plastic surgeries and the ascension of King Salman. One Saudi or Kuwait or the Emirates or try hard to meet these expectations. I frequently and urging women to advance their looks hear men say that they prefer a woman who is through cosmetic surgery. She recently went into of the issues they discussed was the Qatar. I think the drivers earn around naturally beautiful over a fake one, but ironically septic shock and was placed on life support after ban of women driving inside the king- 1,500 Saudi riyals (about KD 100) in the men are repeatedly attracted to women who she underwent a failed operation to augment dom and asked would King Salman be Gulf. So suppose Saudi Arabia has one have done plastic surgeries. her thighs. As was reported from her Instagram able or interested in lifting this ban. million drivers as the lady mentioned, In Kuwait, plastic surgeries have become account she expresses her regret at her decision BBC Arabic was interviewing this let’s say with the average, how much quite common since women love to look at their to flaunt her surgically enhanced flesh for fame writer for her opinion. To my surprise, could that be each year? So that’s best almost all the time, even if they are heading and money. In my opinion, women or men must her defense was so weak and odd. I nearly 1.5 billion Saudi riyals. to the gym. They schedule appointments with know when to stop when it comes to plastic sur- plastic surgery clinics as if they are scheduling an geries, because it can have an addictive effect expected her to concentrate more on But will Saudi families drop the driv- appointment with the hair salon. It has become a and can lead to a tragic end. the family matters and personal issues. ers even if women have licenses? Of habit to visit the doctor every few months to Others get lucky with plastic surgeries, and For instance, women with the right to course not. Look at Kuwait or the other inject botox and fillers and every year to sched- just look fabulous and amazing like yea, you drive can work and take their kids to Gulf countries? All of our women drive ule liposuction. know who - Kim Kardashian. I’m not against plas- school and it is their right to drive but most of our families have a driver. The pressure is getting really intense on tic surgeries if it can really enhance ones’ self- themselves whenever they like, wher- The driver has many duties for the women these days. It becomes impossible to sit esteem and really need it, but one should really in a women’s diwaniya and not to talk about the know when to stop and do a full research before ever they like. That is a freedom from house. Women having licenses or not, latest plastic surgeries like who is the most taking such an important step. which they are deprived. Saudi families will still have drivers. famous plastic surgeon in town or who is the sur- But the lady concentrated instead on I’m not against women driving in geon of this singer or actress because they auto- To avoid any disastrous outcome you should the financial matter of the subject. In Saudi. In fact, I am all for it. But don’t let matically assume that she wasn’t born with per- first make sure the following steps: my opinion, even in that she failed. us mix expat issues and money issues fect nose or lips. 1- Your doctor is a certified plastic surgeon. Because if women started driving they with a political and social issue. It Women check out other women in malls or at 2- Sit with her and make her explain exactly the restaurants more than men do, just to unlock the advantages and disadvantages of the surgery. will buy cars and at least half a million seems like expats have become the puzzle of what these women have done to their 3- Ask any question that cross your mind no mat- women will drive - at least and there- scapegoats for every ill or problem we faces or bodies. The first question that pops to ter how silly and stupid it is. fore half a million cars will be bought. have in the Gulf. It’s a shame and time mind is, ‘Is her beauty real or not?’ 4- Ask about the possible complications or side But she didn’t raise this issue at all. we started taking responsibility for fix- And if there is a bunch of women in a car and effects of any injection that may be adminis- Instead, she focused on the driver issue. ing our way of thinking. they see a beautiful woman walking, the poor tered. She claimed that if women are granted woman will be scanned intensely by these 5- Make sure it is approved by the US Food and women to the extent that she begins to feel that Drug Administration. the right to drive, the kingdom will be she is in a beauty pageant waiting to be judged. 6- Take all your time, the doctor must make you able to get rid of the one million plus Don’t get me wrong, some women love to be feel comfortable and you should trust her ful- drivers working for families in Saudi looked at and you can notice it when you see the ly. duck-lipped women, the cat-like eyes and the 7- Don’t ever go to a cheap doctor to save mon- oversized derrieres that look like the back of the ey, it is known if you want perfect result, you car from behind. And just to make matters worse, should pay. don’t forget the clown makeup that they paint their face with and the witch-like hairstyles they Last but not the least, just be healthy and happy, wear. because no matter how many plastic surgeries Yes, some women just like the attention. But you do and change your appearance, if you are other women look terrible because of a plastic not satisfied and content for what you already surgery that went horribly wrong. I really pity have, you will never find peace of mind.

Andressa Urach - Instagram Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Local Spotlight

KUWAIT: A bulldozer is seen Waiting to die? this week in Hawally at a construction site. An improved economic envi- ronment has seen a growth By Muna Al-Fuzai in the number of construc- tion projects both big and small around Kuwait. — Photo by Joseph Shagra [email protected]

t’s really a big problem, waiting for appointments in government hospitals in Kuwait. Seeing a spe- Icialist takes months and months and sometimes a year or two if you need surgery. The health situation in Kuwait is completely unsatisfactory. We are a rich country that helps other countries build hospitals, and yet we are unable to confront our own health situa- tion and fix it for the benefit of all people who live in Kuwait - expats or citizens. I’m not making this up - it could take you years to get an appointment for a surgery. Until then, you could be dead and this will only speed up the queue for the next patient in line. Every residential area has a clinic, but when your health condition requires a spe- cialist, then they will send you to the hospital, and appointments can take weeks or more. If the specialist decides that you need an operation, then the long wait can kill you. The solution to the problem of long appointments will not be solved by encouraging people to go to pri- vate hospitals, bearing in mind that this is not afford- able for everyone. Private hospitals are expensive.

I’m not making this up - it could take you years to get an appointment for a surgery. Until then, you could be dead

Only holders of medical insurance and high-income people can afford to go to private hospitals for check- ups and operations. There is a need to build medical cities in the north and south of the country in collabo- ration with the private sector. This is real partnership with the private sector instead of just helping private hospitals make more money. I do not blame the doctors for the long wait for appointments, but I blame those who fail to find ways to handle this mismanagement in the health sector, and also the government that cares less if people live or die. Is it because they never go to government hos- pitals when they are sick? Or is it because they can afford to get wasta and travel abroad at the country’s expense in case of emergencies? So what happens to people like me when they are sick and need surgery? Wait for a year or two until I die or beg an MP to speed up the appointment? I know many expats here who travel to their coun- tries when they need an operation, because it is cheaper and quicker. I’m a Kuwaiti, so where can I go if a minor operation in private hospitals will cost not less than two or three thousand dinars and the waiting period in government hospitals takes years?! I think the message is clear. It is like saying your health is not our priority or concern. Die if you wish. You are just one person less. Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Talented Kuwaiti artist brings anime characters to life

By Nawara Fattahova me in founding the Q8 CON team in 2013 and practice my hobby of making art- nime and cartoon characters from works,” he told Kuwait Times. the ‘80s are a hit with many peo- The team was founded with 60 mem- Aple in Kuwait, who still have toys bers, but the number has shrunk to 18. and other items from their childhood, “People in Kuwait don’t like to be tied while some are serious collectors of down. Some of them got married, started a figures of these characters. Grendizer, business or got employed, so they got Spiderman and other animated super- busy with their lives and are not participat- heroes inspired Mishari Al-Arouj, a tal- ing regularly in our activities and events,” ented Kuwaiti artist, to make various art- noted Arouj. works including figures, masks and draw- He uses different materials in his art- ings. works. “I collect cardboard cartons thrown out by supermarkets and use it to make figures of various fictional and cartoon characters, in addition to masks and outfits of these characters. I also use it to make artworks for the theatre or cinema. I use a glue gun to make the basic shape, then I use sackcloth to sheath the figures and other artworks. I also use clay to make fig- ures and Waka paintings. These materials are widely available in Kuwait,” he explained. Q8 Con But some materials are not easily avail- able here, for instance latex, which is a liq- uid that transforms into a rubbery material when exposed to air. “I use latex for my artwork and for the makeup used in the- atre by makeup artists. This material is for- bidden to order online unless by a compa- ny or institution, but not individuals. So I Arouj graduated from the Higher have to search for it in specialized shops Institution for Musical Arts, then obtained such as those in Dasman Complex, but it’s a bachelor’s degree from the Higher not available all the time and is more Institution for Theatre Arts in decor. expensive than online,” said Arouj. “Clay “During my studies, I worked as a TV pho- figures are delicate and don’t change col- tographer for seven years, and now I’m or, but may get damaged if somebody working as a graphic designer. This helped touches them firmly,” he added. Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

A Host of Talents “I also draw Japanese anime and manga, and I’m planning to do a comics series soon. I compose melodies and songs too, and I recently composed a song for a new Kuwaiti singer,” Arouj said. “Furthermore, I hold art courses and workshops on how to make car- toon figures and ‘stop motion’ clay cartoons. I have already made four of these cartoon seri- als for various local channels. I also made the

caricature figures of real people on demand. toons. I also sell the figures I make, and the 200, while masks start from KD 50,” he said. Al Jazeera TV then interviewed me over this price depends on the size. The clay figures Arouj concluded by calling on public and art, but I received criticism from many Arab start from KD 20, while the cartoon costumes private institutions to support holding and extremists who accused me of making idols. are more expensive and range around KD organizing such events and fairs. They only fight art and civilization, and this keeps them backward,” stated Arouj.

All in the Family Arouj made his first figures and masks in 2013. “I took them with me to the Q8 CON fair held in Dubai. There they called me the Grendizer of Kuwait as I was wearing the full suit that I made with the help of my wife. Also, my son got popular there as he was dressed as Super Mario. He wears this mask at all exhi- bitions he visits, but I didn’t make this mask - I bought it for him. I have involved my family in this art as there aren’t many activities here,” he pointed out. He also organized a two-day introduction of the Kuwaiti cartoon ‘Block 13’. exhibition in 2014 at the Abdulaziz Hussein These workshops are for all ages, and people Cultural Center in Mishref that was attended can apply on the Instagram account @Q8CON by 2,300 people. “This year I’m also planning or @Meshari30,” he noted. to hold a similar exhibition, which brings col- In the beginning, he sold clay figures he lectors, sellers and art lovers together. Such made at various exhibitions. “In addition to exhibitions are very popular and many people popular cartoon characters, I was also doing attend it, especially those who like old car-

Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Abdullah Al-Salem street leading to the market. View of modern Kuwait City through the wall that surrounded the old city. Soviet doctor reminisces about Kuwait in the ’70s

Review by Mahmoud Zakaria Abdulraheem Santos earned $30,000 for playing only one Heritage Researcher match, while Pele received $10,000. On arrival, Pele was received by the Amir of ictor Trupenkov (1924-1995) was a Kuwait, and all tickets for the match were Russian physician and orthopedic sur- sold out. Vgeon who worked as an adviser for the It was a great match. Pele scored a goal treatment of wounds, trauma and fractures in for his team, but after strenuous efforts, many hospitals of the Ministry of Health in Qadsiya equalized through Jassim Yacoub, Kuwait from March 1970 to March 1973. He who become a national hero overnight. contributed to the development of the med- Celebrations were held all over Kuwait after ical profession here, and also treated mem- the match, and the Kuwaiti players received bers of the ruling family including Sheikh Ali valuable gifts and prizes. It is important to Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, son of the Amir of note that football is the most popular sport Kuwait, as well as Kuwaiti businessmen like in Kuwait. brothers Abdullah and Ahmed Al-Qatami. In addition to being a skillful doctor and The National Museum educated person, he had a great reputation The government has focused on muse- among the people of Kuwait and the people ums to raise the cultural level of the popula- Dr. Victor Trupenkov of the desert that allowed him to know all tion, and there are several museums, the about Kuwaiti society. He moved between most important of which is the Kuwait different regions and visited remote areas to learn about the tribes of the desert and their living conditions. In 1975, two years after returning to Russia, Trupenkov wrote a book titled “Three On arrival, Pele was received by the Amir of Years in Kuwait”, published by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Kuwait, and all tickets for the match were sold out. Sciences of the Soviet Union. The book is a detailed study of the history of Kuwait and its economy and culture. In an attempt to shed light on this book and its value, we offer interesting. Hunters dig a deep hole about National Museum, which I visited four times. excerpts about the conditions in Kuwait dur- half a meter deep, then build a roof over it of The museum has two floors with balconies The translated edition into Arabic by the center of research ing that period. twigs and sand with some holes. A hunter sits and a beautiful green courtyard. in kuwait. in this hideout with a long twine, at the end of In the lobby of the museum are small Kuwait: The modern city which is a pigeon. When the unsuspecting fal- models of wooden ships by which Kuwaitis Since the beginning of the economic con dives and attacks the pigeon, the falconer used to travel to India, fish and dive for boom in 1952 and due to the continued grabs its feet and throws a cloth over the bird. pearls. Above all ships fluttered the old red development of oil extraction, compact hous- flag of Kuwait, with “Kuwait” written in the es have been razed and a wall erected in the Kuwaiti Arts middle of it. All kinds of wooden ships are 20th century to protect the city from raids by Despite the prosperity and develop- displayed, like the dhow and sambuk. nomadic tribes was demolished. Some parts ment of the Kuwaiti society, the indigenous Kuwait was famous for its art of wooden of it have been preserved as historical land- people have a great fondness for songs and shipbuilding in the Gulf. marks. The city has changed into a modern heritage dances, and Kuwaiti artists have The first floor has huge galleries with a and elegant one with multi-storey buildings the privilege of modern production facili- number of relics discovered on Failaka provided with electricity, telephones, televi- ties. Mahmoud Al-Kuwaiti is a popular Island. The second floor of the museum sions, air-conditioning and fresh water. singer, songwriter and wonderful compos- contains simple navigational devices that er, while many Kuwaiti artists have won were used by local sailors such as com- Camping in the desert awards and certificates of appreciation by passes and astrolabes, and household In spring, Kuwaiti citizens with their fami- participating in international exhibitions in items used by the Bedouins. Here you can lies head to the mainland, and not the sea, to Canada and Japan. see traditional Bedouin tents, water con- camp. Cars crawling like ants in the desert tainers and stone mills used to grind make their way to the northeast, and after Pele in Kuwait and Kuwaitis’ wheat. Clothing, heritage and ancient choosing a site, each family sets up tents and fondness for football weapons, as well as Turkish and Indian spreads out carpets. Men gather and chat, The state pays great attention to sports, currencies traded in 18th and 19th cen- while women in separate tents prepare food, and in 1972, Kuwait participated in the 20th turies are also displayed. cooking rice and mutton. Meanwhile, kids are Olympic Games in Munich. The team was busy having fun, and it is not surprising some made up of 14 young participants, which is Back to the homeland of them get lost amid the tents and cars scat- very positive, considering the small size of At the end of Feb 1973, I departed tered here and there. Kuwait. Kuwait after a farewell ceremony attended On Feb 12, 1973, an important football by the leaders of the ministry of health Falconry match was held between Brazil’s Santos and a lot of my friends in Kuwait. Going In the autumn of 1972, I was invited to a and Kuwait’s Qadsiya clubs. The Brazilians back home was a happy occasion, but I remote area with some of my friends to had six players from the team that won the was also sad to lose my relationship with watch Kuwaiti falconers. The breeding World Cup, including the famous players Kuwait and my friends. process and training of this swift bird is very Pele, Edu and Carlos Alberto among others. The falconer coaching one of the hawks. Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

KUWAIT: Officials pose for a photo after announcing the third edition of the Kuwait Yacht Show (KYS). — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Nouf Al-Hajery, PH7 Events Managing Director Kuwait Yacht Show 2015 opens on Feb 3

KUWAIT: On February 3, the third edition of the Kuwait Yacht Show encompassing show than its first two editions.” She continued, “The has truly become a great ally and it is with honor that we thank each (KYS) will open at the Marina Crescent under the patronage of His yacht market is recovering after suffering from the effects of the glob- and every one of you.” Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- al financial crisis. Around the world new investments are being made Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq, AGM at Boubyan Bank, commented Sabah. The show will be open from Tuesday until Saturday (February to develop and expand product lines, and Kuwait is ready for this “Boubyan Bank associates and specializes in catering to a niche group 7) inclusive, from 4 pm to 9.30 pm. growth with the new marinas opening in 2015. We are proud to have of society. We are gladly sponsoring the Kuwait Yacht Show (KYS) as Crowned by the unveiling of a global premiere and a number of been accepted in to the IFBSO, and see this as an accolade for the KYS the target group of KYS is significantly the Kuwaiti Elites, and this falls regional premieres, together with the introduction of new interna- and an honor for the nation of Kuwait. We are now working our way in line with our strategy to accommodate to the different aspects of tional and local exhibitors, this edition is indeed a turning point for to be ranked alongside major global marine shows”. our customer base”. He went ahead to add, “The diversified services Kuwait Yacht Show. Becoming a candidate member of the Al-Hajeri then stressed the importance of the sponsors, media sup- we offer our platinum and private banking clientele are a proof of our International Federation of Boat Show Organizers (IFBSO), this year’s porters and the Marina World management and clients “I would like commitment to this target group, including credit card benefits, and KYS will also be audited by BPA. Now, and for the first time, Kuwait is to take this opportunity to thank our Platinum Sponsors Boubyan the highest returns on deposits in Kuwait, as well as customized officially on the global boat show calendar. “We are glad to participate Bank and Viva; Gold Sponsors Powerboat Center and Sirbb Circuit; our financing facilities”. again in the Kuwait Yacht Show and are proud to be announcing the venue partner URC, our official timekeeper UlysseNardin; our official Commenting on VIVA’s participation, Abdulrazzaq Bader Al-Essa, global launch of our latest Majesty Superyacht at the event,” said automotive partner Ali Alghanim & Sons; our insurance partner GIG Director of Corporate Communications, said: “Our participation in this Erwin Bamps, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Craft. and our contracting partner 4 FEST.” She continued, “Each person, year’s Kuwait Yacht Show stems from our belief in the value this event Nouf Al-Hajery, PH7 Events Managing Director, stressed: “This year, organization or entity collaborating with KYS knows how vital a role has in raising the name of our beloved country internationally, espe- the Kuwait Yacht Show is being backed by a great governmental sup- they are playing in the success and continuation of the show. Every cially as it is now an Official Candidate Member in the IFBSO. In addi- port, without which it would have been impossible to invite regional yacht owner who has agreed to free his space for KYS, every sponsor tion, this event attracts thousands of visitors every year, and we look and international exhibitors. With that support, we felt it was our duty who has contributed in building KYS and every media partner who forward to welcoming visitors and VIVA customers to our stand, and to work even harder to give Kuwait a much larger and more fully has helped in promoting the show locally, regionally or internationally showcasing the latest products and services we have to offer them.”

Kuwait braces for collecting Crime unlicensed firearms, ammo Report Citizen, cafe employee KUWAIT: Law enforcers are gearing up for putting into effect the tion. Meanwhile, the Interior Minister congratulated His fight in Salmiya mall much overdue unlicensed firearms and ammunition law which Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah KUWAIT: A fight broke out in a Salmiya mall between a cit- was passed by the parliament this week. on the ninth anniversary of his assumption of power. He wished izen and a worker over the price of a cup of coffee and a The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh His Highness the Amir everlasting wellbeing and Kuwait much sweet. A security source said the citizen wanted coffee and Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chaired yesterday a security and stability under the wise leadership of His Highness sweets, then after he went to pay the price he did not like meeting for the Interior Ministry leaders to review and put the Sheikh Sabah. — KUNA the price and argued with the worker and a fight ensued. final touches on the security plans to enforce the law, the The two were taken to Salmiya police station for further Ministry’s Security Media Department said in a press statement. questioning. The Ministry has prepared a water-tight deployment plan to search for and bring to justice possessors of unlicensed firearms or ammunition in any part of the country, Sheikh Mohammad Expat held for stealing car said. Police arrested a Syrian expatriate who stole a car He stated that the ministry also is embarking on a nationwide from a Shuwaikh garage and drove off, then media campaign to persuade those with unlawful weapons in rammed into a tree. He was charged with theft and their possession to hand them in to authorities before the end of sent to the public prosecution. the four-month grace period. The Minister stressed that law enforcers will show due respect to the society traditions and the Islamic teachings during the inspection raids. He noted that Girl ignited fight female officers will participate in the raids on Kuwaiti citizens’ A girl caused a fight between two young men in a capital homes to inspect women’s areas. He underlined that the law cafe. One of them sustained a stab in his hand, as security aims to boost Kuwait’s security and to fight the growing crimes. men broke up the fight and sent the injured to the Amiri The National Assembly voted into a law the unlicensed KUWAIT: Fire-fighters combat the fire that broke out in an hospital. The other man escaped, before being arrested. firearms and ammunition collection bill in its regular session on apartment building in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh yesterday. Workers in the cafÈ said the fight broke out when one of Tuesday. The law stipulates that anyone possessing unlicensed the men entered and found his girlfriend with another per- firearms and ammunition could be jailed for five years and be Fire breaks out son, so he became angry and stabbed him. Investigations fined by up to KD 10,000 or one of the two penalties. are underway. It also increases the jail time to ten years and the upper limits in Jleeb building of the fine to KD 50,000 for anyone who deals (i.e. buying or sell- ing) in unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The law allows Old man duped police, after taking proper authorization from the public prosecu- By Hanan Al-Saadoun An elderly man fell victim to an elderly lady who tor, to search any public location and private or public vehicles if promised to bring him a virgin, university girl as a there was cause to believe the existence of unlicensed or unlaw- KUWAIT: A major fire broke out in a building in Jleeb Al- bride, and took KD 2000, then denied knowledge of ful firearms or ammunition. It also stipulates that people with Shuyoukh area opposite Jaber stadium. Fire tenders from Jleeb, him. The elderly man who lived in hopes of having unlicensed firearms and ammunition who choose to hand them Sabhaan and Ardhiya along with back-up and rescue centers his youth renewed found his dreams go up in smoke. in to authorities would be exempted from punishment. Such responded to the fire. The fire that spread to the adjacent build- So he went to police and told them what happened. people have four months from the time this law is in effect to ing was brought under control. No injuries were reported and Mubarak Al-Kabeer police are investigating. hand in their unlicensed weapons to be considered for exemp- investigations are under way to determine the cause of the fire. Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Kuwait offers safe environment for expats: Sabeeh GENEVA: Minister of Social Affairs and provided by Law No 6/2010 for expatriates has created a standing working team Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh reaffirmed yesterday coming from more than 164 nationalities, entrusted with compiling reports on that Kuwait’s commitment to protecting, she elaborated. A public manpower human rights situations in the country. promoting and safeguarding human rights authority was established under Law No at national, regional and international lev- 109/2013, taking it upon itself to bring in Paris Convention els. “Being aware of the size of responsibili- foreign workers with a view to fending off It has also adopted a draft law authoriz- ty shouldered by the state, we reiterate possible disputes or problems with ing a national independent agency to pro- Kuwait’s commitment to exerting fervent employers, the minister pointed out. mote and safeguard human rights in efforts to further promote human rights in Furthermore, a standing facility was set Kuwait as per the Paris Principles, the min- line with our national plans and goals as up in order to provide health, social, psy- ister added. well as our Arab and Islamic history amid a chological and recreational services to The Paris Principles are a set of interna- world order that is marked by amity and incoming workers who may have disputes tional standards which frame and guide peace,” the minister addressed the 21st with employers, she said, adding that the the work of National Human Rights session of the Human Rights Council facility received more than 2,800 workers. Institutions (NHRIs) mark this year their Universal Periodic Review Working Group. Kuwait is eager to keep up with swift 20th Anniversary. Drafted at an interna- Regarding the human rights of expatri- advancement in international human tional NHRIs workshop in Paris in 1991, ates in the country, Al-Sabeeh, who is also rights laws and concepts by means of pro- Hind Al-Sabeeh they were adopted by the United Nations Minister of State for Planning and moting and disseminating the culture of General Assembly in 1993. Development, said the fact that the num- human rights through a scientific and adopted by the State with a view to safe- The minister also pointed to several ber of expatriates in Kuwait is estimated at media approach, she said. guarding and promoting human rights in pieces of legislation bearing on the rights two thirds of the country’s population She said recommendations enshrined the country. In spite of negative changes, of children, families and juveniles, in shows that the oil-rich Gulf country pro- in the first report on Kuwait’s human rights and political and security turmoil in the addition to a set of steps targeting vides a safe and attractive atmosphere for situations have contributed to making region, Kuwait has managed to push for- women’s empowerment and gender foreign workers. progress in this field, especially in view of ward the human rights protection, she equality, especially in view of work, More legal rights and guarantees are laws, legislations, policies and plans added. In this context, the State of Kuwait wages and housing. —KUNA

Online activists No plan to raise power, arrested ‘over Saudi criticism’ petrol prices now: Omair KUWAIT: Kuwait authorities have detained several Assembly debates several probes in one session online activists allegedly for comments deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah, activists said yesterday. Secret police late on By B Izzak Wednesday arrested online activist Mohammad Al- Ajmi outside his home for “unknown reasons,” the KUWAIT: Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said yester- National Committee for Monitoring Violations, an day that the government has no plan to back independent rights group of which Ajmi is a mem- down on its decision to scrap subsidies on ber, said on its Twitter account. Online activists and diesel and kerosene but said that a similar former MPs said on Twitter that Ajmi was being held decision on electricity and petrol is postponed for questioning over Tweets he made on Saudi for the moment. Arabia. The minister was responding to questions Nawaf Al-Hendal, a leading rights activist, said at raised by MPs during a session held to debate least four others had been detained by state securi- the reports of 10 investigations on a number ty for tweets deemed offensive to King Abdullah of issues including one on smuggling of who died on Friday. diesel. One month after cancelling the subsi- Hendal, currently in Geneva for a UN rights dies, the government has decided to reduce meeting, also said on his Twitter account that arrest the market price of diesel and kerosene from warrants have been issued against him and five 170 fils a liter to 110 fils from the beginning of other tweeters for the same reason. The Gulf next month. Centre for Human Rights, an independent body, Omair said that there is an agreement at said Hendal was being “targeted in order to intimi- the higher planning council postpone raising date him and others from working as defenders of the prices of electricity and diesel after gov- human rights.” There was no word on the arrests ernment officials said the issue has been from the interior ministry and the public prosecutor under consideration especially after the sharp has not announced any charges. drop in the price of oil. The investigations KUWAIT: Members of parliament engage in a discussion in Parliament yesterday. — Photo Human Rights Watch said in its World Report debated yesterday included one on the con- by Yasser Al-Zayyat released yesterday that the Kuwaiti government struction of the new Jaber Stadium, the only half of the deal’s value has been spent yesterday raised the jail term against online aggressively targeted free speech throughout 2014. awarding of tender for Subbiya Causeway, a and that the government has referred the activist Abdulaziz Jarallah Al-Mutairi from two Kuwait used provisions in the constitution, the report on suspected corruption regarding the issue to the public prosecution to establish if years in jail to five years for allegedly insulting national security law, and other legislation to stifle loan to Russia, a report on a probe into smug- there was any violation in awarding the con- His Highness the Amir. political dissent, the New York-based group said. gling of subsidized diesel, the $800 million tract. Mutairi was sentenced to two years in jail The authorities stripped 33 Kuwaitis of their contract with Shell and the purchase of new Head of the public funds protection com- over a year ago but asked to pay a bail to sus- nationality, including three apparently singled out planes. Following a lengthy debate that at mittee MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji said that pend the implementation of the term until because they represented opposition voices, it said. times witnessed heated exchanges between the appeals court has issued its verdict. Now, Kuwait has cracked down on activists for making MPs who also traded accusations, speaker responsibility of the problems at Jaber Mutairi must start serving the sentence in comments seen as critical of the oil-rich state’s ruler Marzouk Al-Ghanem adjourned the session Stadium has been pinned at the minister of order to be able to challenge the ruling at the and other Arab leaders, especially in the Gulf. until after two weeks after there was no quo- public works, the ministry undersecretary, supreme court. Former liberal MP Saleh Al-Mulla was detained rum to take a decision to extend the session head of the youth and sports authority, the The criminal court meanwhile sentenced for five days earlier this month for tweets deemed behind regular duration. construction company and the tenders com- leading stateless (bedoun) activist offensive to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi Most of the reports included non-binding mittee. He said the investigation committees Abdulhakeem Al-Fadhli to one year in jail with during a visit to Kuwait. recommendations to refer the issues to the do not condemn but recommend actions for immediate effect to be followed with deporta- He is to stand trial on February 15. And Shiite MP public prosecution. Omair told the house that the government. tion for taking part in an illegal gathering and Abdulhameed Dashti is facing trial for criticizing the government has referred those suspected Turaiji said that this National Assembly has assaulting police. Bahrain leaders, while former Islamist MP Mubarak of diesel smuggling to the public prosecution proven that it confronts public funds thieves Five others, including Fadhli’s brother Al-Duwailah was questioned over comments critical and the government is prepared to refer any more efficient than those who just make accu- Nasser, were handed the same sentence but of Abu Dhabi’s rulers. Since a political crisis in June issue to the prosecution if necessary. But MP sations by raising documents without a proof, were asked to pay a KD 200 bail each to sus- 2012, Kuwaiti authorities have ramped up efforts to Nabeel Al-Fadhl stressed that those behind an indirect reference to former opposition MP pend the jail term. The criminal court also curtail dissent. Courts have sentenced politicians, the suspects are more important. Mussallam Al-Barrak. sentenced former parliamentary election can- online activists and journalists to prison terms for A number of MPs criticized the expensive didate and prominent businessman Sahoud exercising free speech rights, HRW said earlier this deal with Shell and doubted if it is beneficial Jail term extended Al-Mutairi to three years in jail for buying month. — Agencies for the oil sector. The oil minister said that In other developments, the appeals court votes during the July 2013 election. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Sunnis wary as Cuba leader Disappearance Iraqi Kurds gain demands end of MH370 an ground to US embargo ‘accident’ 12 to15 renew ties 18

TOKYO: Junko Ishido, (left) mother of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto who was taken hostage by the Islamic State group, speaks during a press conference at her home. — AP Jordan demands proof captive pilot alive Fate of hostages unknown as deadline passes AMMAN: Jordan yesterday demanded proof from Goto. Yesterday afternoon, Jordanian government Qaida branch in Iraq, a forerunner of the Islamic baby girl was only three weeks old when Kenji Islamic State militants that a Jordanian pilot they spokesman Mohammed Al-Momani suggested State group, and was involved in deadly Amman left,” she added. “I hope our oldest daughter, who are holding is still alive, despite purported threats any possible swap was on hold and said Al-Rishawi hotel bombings by al-Qaida a decade ago. Her is just two, will get to see her father again. I want by the group to kill the airman at sunset unless an was still in Jordan. “We want to see a proof of life of explosives belt failed to detonate. She was arrested them both to grow up knowing their father. My Al-Qaeda prisoner is freed from death row in the Jordanian pilot and then we can talk about the shortly after fleeing the scene and was sentenced husband is a good and honest man who went to Jordan. The militants’ deadline passed without exchange between Sajida Al-Rishawi and the to death by hanging. Syria to show the plight of those who suffer.” word on the fate of the pilot, Lt Muath Al- Jordanian pilot,” he said. The hostage drama began last week with the Both Japan and Jordan have scrambled to Kaseasbeh, and a fellow hostage, Japanese jour- Jordan, a staunch US ally in the region, faces release of a video by the Islamic State group deal with the crisis. Any swap with the Islamic nalist Kenji Goto. Goto’s wife Rinko, who had kept difficult choices in the hostage crisis. Any swap showing Goto and another Japanese hostage, State group would set a precedent for dealing silent up to now, made a desperate plea for her with the Islamic State group would run counter to Haruna Yukawa. They were kneeling in orange with the hostage-takers. The group has not pub- husband’s life yesterday and revealed that she has its tough approach toward Islamic extremists, but jumpsuits between a masked man who threat- licly demanded prisoner releases before. Previous exchanged emails with his captors. it also faces domestic pressure to bring the pilot ened to kill them within 72 hours unless Japan captives may have been freed in exchange for “In the past 20 hours the kidnappers have sent home. The purported threat to kill the pilot came paid a $200 million ransom. That demand has ransom, although the governments involved me what appears to be their latest and final in an audio message posted online late since shifted to one for the release of Al-Rishawi. have refused to confirm any payments were demand,” she said in a statement. She said that if Wednesday. The message was read in English by a made. the Al-Qaeda prisoner, Sajida Al-Rishawi, was not voice the Japanese government said was likely US oppose negotiations Jordan’s main ally, the United States, opposes released by sunset, “The Jordanian pilot will be that of Goto. It warned that the pilot would be exe- The militants have reportedly killed Yukawa, negotiations with extremists. Jordan is part of a executed immediately.” “I beg the Jordanian and cuted unless Al-Rishawi is delivered to the Turkish 42, although that has not been confirmed. Goto’s US-led military alliance that has carried out Japanese government to understand that the fates border at sunset, Iraq time. It was not clear what wife wrote that her husband’s captors contacted airstrikes against the extremist group in Syria and of both men are in their hands,” she wrote. Goto’s fate would be if the woman is not released. her for the first time by email on Dec 2. “Since Iraq in recent months. At the same time, Jordan’s The Associated Press could not independently then, there have been several emails between the King Abdullah II faces growing domestic pressure Prisoner still in Jordan verify the contents of the recording, which was dis- group and me as I have fought to save his life,’” to bring the pilot home. The pilot’s family has Jordan has offered, in principle, to swap Al- tributed on Twitter by Islamic State-affiliated she wrote. “My husband and I have two very staged protests, complaining the government is Rishawi for the pilot, but has made no mention of accounts. Al-Rishawi has close family ties to the al- young daughters,” she said in the statement. “Our not doing enough to win his release. — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Hezbollah will pay for deadly attack: Israel

MAJIDIYA: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah it will pay the “full price” after missiles killed two Israeli soldiers Wednesday in an attack that raised fears of another all-out war. A Spanish UN peacekeeper was killed as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged artillery fire-the most serious clashes between the bitter enemies in years-following the attack by the Shiite militant group. “Those behind today’s attack will pay the full price,” Netanyahu’s office quoted him as saying at a meeting with Israeli’s top security brass Wednesday evening. The two soldiers were killed when Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at a military convoy in an Israeli-occupied border area, the army said. Seven other soldiers were wounded, but none were report- ed to have suffered life-threatening injuries. The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting to dis- cuss ways to defuse tensions between the two sides, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION: This photo shows, sailors from the Icelandic Coast Guard cutter Tyr practice descending from the who fought a month-long war in 2006. Israel respond- ship during a training exercise with protective gear. The ship is part of the 19-nation Operation Triton patrolling the seas for ed to the Hezbollah shelling with “combined aerial the rising numbers of migrants, especially from Syria and Iraq, that are trying to reach Europe. — AP and ground strikes” on southern Lebanon. The United States stood by Israel after the exchange of fire and condemned Hezbollah’s shelling Smugglers turn to cargo ships of an Israeli military convoy, which apparently came in retaliation for a recent Israeli strike on the Golan Heights that killed senior Hezbollah members. “We to help ferry fleeing Syrians support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and continue to urge all parties to respect the blue line Migrants’ fates hang between shipwreck and rescue between Israel and Lebanon,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. EU foreign ABOARD THE COAST GUARD CUTTER TYR: The crew was about Metin Corabatir, who heads the Ankara-based Research Center on affairs Chief Federica Mogherini appealed for an to dig into dinner when word of the “ghost ship” came through: a Asylum and Migration. “immediate cessation of hostilities”. Lebanese securi- freighter hurtling out of control toward Italy with no crew - and ty sources told AFP that Israeli forces had hit several hundreds of Syrians as cargo. The cattle freighter - its animal pens No future, no option villages along the border. crammed with families - was on a collision course with the Italian “We shall be seeing a lot more of these ships,” Corabatir said. Clouds of smoke could be seen rising from coast, and the refugee who had phoned authorities from on “These people have no future and often the only option they Majidiya village, one of the hardest hit. There was no board said the cabin’s controls were jammed. The Tyr changed have is to leave. They will give everything that they have and risk immediate information on casualties. A 36-year-old course and set off on a race against time. their lives.” One of the smugglers’ latest innovations is to select Spanish corporal from the UN peacekeeping force in The rescue operation by the Icelandic cutter Tyr was one of refugees with seafaring experience and put them in charge of the southern Lebanon was killed in the exchange of fire, the most perilous in a string of high-seas dramas that point to a ship - offering them a steep discount in exchange for navigating. officials and Spain said. “It is clear that this was new modus operandi among smugglers who send migrants That means that the traffickers can remain safely ashore. “There because of the escalation of the violence and it came across the Mediterranean. Gangs buy scrapyard-bound cargo were no smugglers on board. There was no pilot on board. Even from the Israeli side,” Spanish Ambassador to the UN ships over the Internet and pack them with Syrians willing to pay the crew, they weren’t the crew,” said Moutassem Yazbek, a Roman Oyarzun told reporters. top dollar to flee their ravaged homeland. The ships are then Syrian who was rescued from a cargo ship by Frontex in pointed toward Europe and abandoned, the migrants’ fate hang- December. “They were like me, refugees.” ing between shipwreck and rescue. But when a cattle freighter named the Ezadeen put out a dis- ‘Very harsh’ response tress call on New Year’s Eve, it didn’t even have a makeshift crew Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli military Hundreds perish yearly of migrants. The Icelandic cutter Tyr was 20 miles away. But when convoy “transporting several Zionist soldiers and offi- Until recently, most migrants paid several hundred dollars for it reached the stricken ship just after dark, Capt Halldor Nellett cers”. “There were several casualties in the enemy’s a trip aboard an old fishing boat, dinghy or speedboat. Hundreds knew there was no way to board the Sierra Leone-flagged ranks,” Hezbollah said. Israel said mortar fire was also of men, women and children perish every year in those voyages freighter. It was tearing along at a speed of 9 knots on choppy aimed across the border at several military facilities. when their unseaworthy vessels capsize in stormy seas. The war seas whipped up by gale-force winds - with nobody at the con- There were no casualties. in Syria, which has driven more than 3 million people into flight, trols. Hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said has offered a new, lucrative opportunity for smugglers. They contacted the ship by radio, and the woman who Israel should respond to the attack “in a very harsh Comparatively well-off refugees are able to pay higher prices for answered in English said she couldn’t turn off the engines and disproportionate manner, as China or the US passage on bigger, safer ships from the far eastern Mediterranean because the smugglers had wrecked the controls before leav- would respond to similar incidents”. Army spokesman directly to Italy, from where they then cross overland to central ing. The masked smugglers had locked the 359 migrants - Brigadier General Moti Almoz warned Israel was con- and northern European countries. including 42 women and 62 children - below deck in pens that sidering further action. “This is not necessarily the last Many of those Syrians are willing to pay $4,000-$8,000 for a looked like jail cells. They broke out once they realized the crew response,” he wrote on Twitter. Hezbollah’s attack place on board a seaworthy cargo ship. For the gangs, that means had abandoned them. The Tyr shadowed the boat as it steamed was hailed by the Palestinian Islamist groups Hamas that even if they lose a cargo ship that cost them a half-million closer to the Italian coast, powerless to stop it. And then sud- and Islamic Jihad. “We affirm Hezbollah’s right to dollars they can still earn millions of dollars in profit in a single denly the Ezadeen’s engines sputtered to a halt, and the ship respond to the Israeli occupation,” Hamas spokesman trip. Buying a cargo ship is a lot easier and cheaper than it used to went dark. Robbed of momentum, the ship began listing in the Sami Abu Zuhri said, while Jihad’s Quds Brigade be. A crisis in merchant shipping has left a glut of cargo ships on high seas and the Icelanders sprang into action. Trained to res- praised the attack as “heroic”. Israeli security sources the market, with low demand depressing prices and making an cue stricken fishing trawlers in the icy, storm-tossed waters of said at least one house had been hit in the divided vil- aging vessel particularly affordable to criminal gangs, said a the north Atlantic, a four-man boarding team sped across the Greek merchant marine ministry official, who spoke on condition rough waters on the Tyr’s launch to reach the freighter. An lage of Ghajar, which straddles the border between of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the Italian coast guard helicopter showed up, lowering several offi- Israel and Lebanon. record. cers to try to restart the ship’s engines, but it was no use - the “Three houses were hit by rockets,” said Hussein, The EU border agency Frontex says about 15 cargo ships fuel tanks were dry. 31, relaying what he had heard by telephone from rel- smuggling asylum-seekers have tried to reach Europe since On board, hundreds of desperate migrants clutched suitcases atives in the village of 2,000 inhabitants. He said a August. Frontex spokeswoman Izabella Cooper said one vessel and pleaded to be taken off the dark, lurching freighter that had number of villagers had been wounded but did not that arrived in Italy recently appeared to have been bought been their prison for days. The Icelanders could provide water, know how badly. Other frantic family members online from a scrapyard. The cargo ship method is not likely to go food and medical care, but explained through English speakers in argued with police to be allowed in to collect their away any time soon because of high demand. In Turkey alone, the crowd that there was no way they could ferry 300 people over children, who had been locked inside the village more than 1 million Syrians are fending for themselves without to their ship across choppy seas at night. They promised to get school for their own safety.— AFP jobs or basic services - many of them doctors or lawyers who can everyone to Italy, somehow. And they did: When morning came afford to pay thousands of dollars for a cargo ship berth, said the weather cleared, and the ship was towed to Italy. — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Shiite rebels seize military base near Yemen capital

SANAA: Yemen’s Shiite rebels took over a key military Last week the rebels put President Abed Rabbo batons and shots fired in the air. Protesters attempted base south of Sanaa where US advisers had previously Mansour Hadi, a close US ally, and his Cabinet under to break the Houthis’ siege on the home of the minister trained counter-terrorism forces, officials said yester- house arrest, escalating a prolonged power struggle. of local administration but the rebels forcibly drove the day. Military officials said the Republican Guard camp The officials resigned in response, and Prime Minister crowd away. Larger demonstrations were held in the captured Wednesday was used by American experts Khaled Baha said yesterday his resignation was “irre- western port city of Hodeida - which is controlled by until 2012 to train local forces battling Al-Qaeda’s pow- versible” according to a statement posted on his the Houthis - and Taiz, where scuffles broke out erful Yemeni affiliate. The officials spoke on condition Facebook account. Baha expressed his “extreme con- between demonstrators and rebels. The camp cap- of anonymity because they were not authorized to demnation” over the Houthis’ “coup,” adding that he tured Thursday was led by forces loyal to former speak to the press. had escaped an assassination attempt. He said he President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is suspected of quiet- The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, have seized a would refuse to serve in a caretaker government. ly backing the rebels. The seizure of the camp could number of key military facilities in recent days, includ- Anti-Houthi demonstrations meanwhile erupted in drive a wedge between the two, fueling further tur- ing the headquarters of the paramilitary special forces. Sanaa, with rebel forces dispersing the protesters with moil. — AP

ESKI MOSUL: A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier stands guard, overlooking the road between Mosul and Tal afar. — AP Sunnis wary as Iraqi Kurds gain ground Old suspicions still present amongst locals

ESKI MOSULP: An unarmed Sunni Arab man walked along a expected operation later this year to take back Mosul, US mili- they welcomed the IS when the group first arrived, resentful of road in a patch of northern Iraq newly liberated from Islamic tary officials said. A senior US military official said military lead- what they perceive as years of neglect, discrimination and sec- State extremists, holding a white surrender flag - a signal to ers were watching to see how Islamic State militants respond tarian policies by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. Kurdish fighters that he is not a militant. Cars drove by, a similar as their supply and communications lines dry up. The official “We thought they were revolutionaries coming to help us white banner flying from their windows. As they retake territo- spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not author- and give us our rights,” said 30-year-old grocer, Salim Khudair. ry from Islamic State militants, Iraqi Kurdish fighters have found ized to discuss the operations. Hard times followed. The village soon lost cooking gas and surprising ambivalence in areas they freed from the jihadis’ Islamic State fighters destroyed many power lines and electricity, forcing the people to heat what little food remained oppressive rule. Locals have swiftly shaken off the imposed bridges trying to slow the Kurdish advance but were eventually over open ground fires. The cows became emaciated and many Islamic lifestyle - but as Sunnis, from the same ethnic group as routed from the area. In the nearby town of Shandoukhah, bull- stopped giving milk. Most of the infants and the elderly the militants, many are nonetheless bracing for treatment as dozers and Kurdish troops worked feverishly this week to became sickly. Now, they can glimpse a better life emerging. collaborators. enforce positions, piling up dirt and sandbags as deterrents Cigarettes - strictly banned under the Islamic State, which For their part, the Kurdish peshmerga troops are suspicious against suicide bombers or shelling.”Before we proceed fur- seized a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed about why the locals chose to stay on when the Islamic State ther, we have to secure our backs,” Kurdish Col. Marwan al- strict Sharia law - are sold and smoked freely. For the first time conquered the area in a blitz last year. An Associated Press Mizouri told the AP. in months, women and young girls walk the narrow dirt streets team travelling with the Kurds found the road to Mosul, a cov- The Kurdish fighters in Eski Mosul - Turkish for “Old Mosul,” a without having to cover their faces. Young boys wrestle and eted prize in the battle for Iraq, strewn with suspicion and fear. name from the Ottoman rule - say they plan to leave as soon as play soccer without fear. But mistrust lingers. The recent Kurdish push secured several towns and villages Iraqi troops return but their enthusiasm about pressing ahead As several Kurdish fighters on Tuesday handed out bottled along a critical junction that connects the town of Tal Afar to in a fight for predominantly Arab territory is half-hearted. water, speaking to the villagers in broken Arabic, a group of vil- the city of Mosul - two of the IS group’s biggest strongholds in lage girls came up, timidly saying to the soldiers, “please don’t Iraq. The artery, which eventually leads to Syria, has been a vital Humiliating defeat blow up our homes.” Shaimaa, a resident of Eski Mosul who supply line for militants transporting weapons, goods and peo- Last June, Iraqi forces suffered a humiliating defeat amid the declined to give her full name out of fear for her safety, said her ple across the lawless Iraq-Syria border. IS group’s lightening advance. Their commanders disappeared, brother-in-law supported the Islamic State and so the Kurdish pleas for more ammunition went unanswered and in some cas- troops deemed her husband guilty by association and detained Struggle for control es, soldiers stripped off their uniforms and ran. The Kurdish him. The Kurdish fighters struggled for months to inch ahead, fighters then filled the vacuum in northern Iraq, seeing a Khudair, the grocer, claimed the peshmerga fighters con- backed by US -led coalition airstrikes. On Tuesday, at least four chance to spread out from their semi-autonomous region and fiscated some of his belongings, including a credit card airstrikes hit IS positions near Eski Mosul, a village of up to claim long-disputed territories in their bid for full independ- machine he uses for work. With the Islamic State still sporadi- about 9,000 residents some 40 kilometers northwest of Mosul. ence. The Iraqi military briefly returned in August for the battle cally shells the village - the last time as recently as Monday Kurdish Brig. Gen. Bahjat Taymes, who led the peshmerga to retake the Mosul Dam, “but we haven’t seen them since,” some among the Kurds worry the villagers are tipping off the operation to retake the Tal Afar-Mosul junction, said seizing it said Taymes, the Kurdish general. militants about the Kurdish positions. “We need them to trust was “crucial” because it also leads to the Mosul Dam, which The villagers in Eski Mosul are grateful for their Kurdish liber- us and to cooperate with us,” explained al-Mizouri, the Kurdish and Iraqi forces won back in August with the help of US ators, many of whom speak almost no Arabic. But the Sunni vil- Kurdish colonel. He said he believes some villagers are still airstrikes. lagers also know it will take time to convince the newcomers loyal to the jihadis. “Not all of them, but maybe 10 percent. It Last week’s uptick in the airstrikes marked the start of a new, they hold no allegiance to the Islamic State. The militants left is essential that we identify those people and take care of our broader effort to disrupt Islamic State’s supply lines ahead of an much devastation before they fled. Many in Eski Mosul admit backs before we continue.” — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

South Sudan rivals meet for peace talks

ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan’s presi- dent and rebel leader met yesterday for the latest round of peace talks mediated by East African leaders aimed at ending their 13-month-old civil war, officials said. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, whose rival armies continue to clash, met along- side presidents from the East African regional IGAD bloc in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Kiir “is doing his duties trying to restore peace”, his spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told AFP, dismissing reports Kiir was unable to attend talks because he had been sick. “The meeting... was aimed at nar- rowing the gap in the negotiations in an attempt to arrive at finding a peace- ful solution,” Ateny added. After meet- ing face-to-face, they then then held talks with regional leaders, ahead of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa today and tomorrow. The rivals last met earlier this month in Tanzania, BRUSSELS: Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (second right), speaks with, (from left) French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem where they signed a sixth ceasefire Desir, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU deal within a year, and also promised Council building. — AP to “make a public apology to the peo- ple of South Sudan for what has hap- pened” since war broke in December EU moves to increase 2013. Since then, fighting has continued and diplomats have been growing increasingly impatient with the peace sanctions on Russia talks held in luxury hotels, with dele- gates accused of being out of touch with the suffering back home. The Attempt to force all sides to the negotiating table country divided along ethnic lines and set off a cycle of retaliatory battles and BRUSSELS: France says European Union sanctions against sepa- Wednesday, voted to renew sanctions against Russia at least until massacres across the country that have ratists in eastern Ukraine and their Russian backers will be rein- April. Russian delegate Alexei Pushkov said yesterday that his dele- left tens of thousands dead and forced in an attempt to force all sides back to the negotiating gation’s walkout would continue the rest of the year. — AP pushed the country to the brink of table. French European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir said ahead of famine. yesterday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers that the bloc needs “the maximum toughness” in the face of continued fighting Year of violence Police question All previous agreements to end against government forces. more than a year of violence-marked The 28 ministers are expected to ask diplomats to come up with 8 year old over by massacres, gang rape and child sol- a series of sanctions proposals within the next two weeks, so they dier recruitment-collapsed within days can be considered at an EU summit on Feb 12. If the fighting in if not hours. Rebel military spokesman Ukraine continues unabated, there would be few other choices for terrorism comments Lul Ruai Koang said in a statement EU leaders to consider, said Britain’s Europe minister David Thursday that government troops were Lidington. “It is the duty of the EU now to prepare options for the NICE: An eight-year-old boy in France was questioned by police for advancing in eastern Jonglei state. He future including, I think it’s now necessary, the possibility of further half an hour Wednesday after he allegedly made comments in also warned that the rebel force would restrictive measures against Russia which our leaders could then school in praise of terrorists, police said. The child triggered con- create “the largest mass grave” for any troops who continued attacking. consider depending on what happens on the ground,” he said. cern when he refused to take part in a minute’s silence at his school in the southern city of Nice after Islamist gunmen shot dead 12 “Any attempt at invading our areas Desir said that “what will be decided today is to reinforce and people at the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on will meet strong resistance,” Koang broaden sanctions that target the separatists and those who back January 7, according to Marcel Authier, in charge of the region’s said. Analysts warned that deals struck them, including those in Russia.” public security. on paper have remained far from The boy’s teacher said the child also expressed “solidarity” implementation on battlefields. “The Pressure building with the gunmen. “In the current context, the principal of the regional organizations that seek to Pressure has built up since last weekend’s attacks on Mariupol, school decided to report to police what had happened,” said mediate have been unsuccessful, in when rockets crashed into a densely populated eastern district, Authier, who stressed no complaint had been filed against the part because members have compet- killing 30 and wounding several dozen. International observers boy. “We summoned the child and his father to try and compre- ing interests,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report yesterday. said a preliminary assessment indicated the attack had been hend how an eight-year-old boy could hold such radical ideas,” he added. “Obviously, the child doesn’t understand what he’s The IGAD-mediated talks have “narrow- mounted from rebel-held areas. “It was a deliberate attack on civil- saying.” The boy’s lawyer Sefen Guez Guez was not immediately ly focused on Kiir and Machar despite ians from the regions controlled by separatists, terrorists rather,” available for comment but on his Twitter feed (@IbnSalah) he the fragmentation and proliferation of said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linus Linkevicius. He said there wrote that the child admitted to police saying the words: “I am armed groups.”More than two dozen was increasing evidence of more Russian backing for the sepa- with the terrorists”. armed forces-including ragtag militia, ratists. “It is Russian war against Ukraine - to name names,” he said. Yet when police asked what the word “terrorism” meant, he rebels from neighboring Sudan’s Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the EU has steadily replied: “I don’t know”, according to the tweet. “Father and son are Darfur region, as well as Ugandan increased restrictive measures. In July, the EU imposed economic deeply shocked by their treatment which illustrates the collective troops backing Kiir-are involved in sanctions which, combined with the drop in oil prices, have stung hysteria that has engulfed France since early January,” said the fighting. South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, has been locked in Moscow. Meanwhile, Russia has extended its walkout from Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) in a statement. The Charlie Hebdo murders kicked off three days of Islamist civil war since December 2013 when Europe’s human rights watchdog after again losing its right to vote attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead and traumatized the coun- Kiir accused his sacked deputy Machar over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Parliamentary Assembly of try. — AFP of attempting a coup. — AFP the Council of Europe, meeting in the French city of Strasbourg on International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Romney takes aim at Obama, Clinton

MISSISSIPI: Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nomi- nee, looked and sounded like a candidate once again during a stop Wednesday in Mississippi, delivering a speech that ques- tioned Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton’s foreign policy and eco- nomic credentials. His time at Mississippi State University marked Romney’s third public appearance since he revealed earlier this month that he’s considering another presidential run. “I’m thinking about how I can help the country,” he told hun- dreds of students Wednesday night. In his comeback bid, Romney has focused particular attention on the poor and middle class as he tries to broaden his appeal after being cast in 2012 as an out- of-touch multimillionaire. “How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she doesn’t know where jobs come from in the first place?” Romney said, squarely attacking the Democrats’ potential 2016 nominee. “We need to restore opportunity, particularly for the middle class,” Romney said. “You deserve a job that can repay all you’ve spent and borrowed to go to college.” A Clinton spokesman did not immediately respond to Romney’s remarks, although the Democratic National Committee fired back. “We don’t really need to hear a lecture on ‘where jobs come from’ from a guy who’s best known for bankrupting companies and profiting off of outsourcing,” DNC spokesman Mo Elleithee said. Before his evening address on campus, Romney stopped at the popular barbecue joint Little Dooey, bounding out of a black sport-utility vehicle to shake hands with employees, townspeople NEW HAVEN: With more undergraduates coming from overseas than ever, some Ivy League universities in the US are reaching and students. In his address, Romney outlined three principles out in new ways to attract international students of more varied backgrounds. — AP that could serve as the foundation of a campaign: national securi- ty, improving opportunities for the middle class and ending poverty. The latter two principles are newly prominent for Romney, and he’s explained them with references to his personal Top US colleges push for faith and work in the Mormon church - personal testimony he did- n’t always offer in 2008 and 2012. more diverse students High-profile mistakes In previous campaigns, Romney fueled his critics with high- profile missteps tied in some way to money. No gaffe was bigger More graduates coming from overseas than his remark - secretly recorded at a high-dollar Florida fundraiser - that he didn’t worry about the 47 percent of Americans who “believe they are victims” and “pay no income NEW HAVEN: Yupei Guo does not fit the mold of the traditional from representing 3 percent of the student body, mostly from tax.” On Wednesday night, he managed to joke about his wealth, Ivy League student from China: Her journalist parents are neither high-income families, to 11 percent, with greater diversity. insisting his public life isn’t about generating attention or speak- rich nor members of the governing elite. Growing up, she “The diversity of our international student body has really ing fees. “As you may have heard,” he said, “I’m already rich.” thought the cost would make it impossible for her to attend one exploded, frankly to a greater extent than our US socio-econom- At Mississippi State, Romney sidestepped any mention of his of the famed American universities. But by the time she applied ic diversity has over time,” Quinlan said. He said most of the would-be Republican rivals, instead using Clinton and Obama as to Yale, it was among the US schools investing in more economic dozens of Chinese undergrads receive financial aid at Yale, foils. “Without a clue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed the diversity among their growing ranks of international students. where tuition, room and board cost nearly $60,000 a year. Guo reset button for Russia, which smiled and then invaded Ukraine, a Guo, 19, is now a second-year student at Yale, happily settled attended a selective public high school in Beijing and learned sovereign nation,” Romney says. “We need to help make the world among the school’s Gothic buildings. Most would never guess from upperclassmen the names of US schools with need-blind a safer place.” university grants cover much of the Beijing native’s tuition, at admissions - Yale, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Dartmouth and Romney has acknowledged privately in recent weeks that he least not judging by the questions she gets around New Haven. “I Amherst. She visited Yale during high school - on a US visit for will make a decision about the 2016 campaign soon. While he was did get asked if I were some sort of distant royal family member, model United Nations - and felt energized by the posters adver- the overwhelming establishment favorite in the last election, the which I’m not,” she said. tising campus activities. likely 2016 field includes other economic conservatives, including Top US universities that worked to overcome reputations for former Florida Gov Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, serving only children of the American elite are now pushing to do Mix reception at home who have taken steps toward campaigns of their own. — AP the same with their international students. With more undergrad- At home, her departure was met with a mix of admiration and uates coming from overseas than ever, Yale, Harvard and other scorn. Yale is a celebrated name in China, where her acceptance schools - with help from the US State Department - are trying to prompted calls from reporters. But Guo said there is also a stigma attract students of more varied financial backgrounds. that comes with attending college in the US, as though those leaving failed to fit into the Chinese system. And there is bitter- Chinese student majority ness: Financial concerns prevent many of her friends from going No country is receiving more attention than China, which to college at all. Two Chinese real estate moguls, Pan Shiyi and sends far more students to the US than any other country. Nearly Zhang Xin, are prodding American universities to do more by giv- 275,000 students came from China last year, 31 percent of all ing them money to support low-income students from China. international students, according to the Institute of International Through their Education. As China has grown more prosperous, many US col- SOHO China Foundation, they so far have awarded $15 million leges have stepped up recruiting there, seeking revenue-generat- to Harvard and $10 million to Yale. The admissions directors at ing students who can pay their full way. A small number of Yale and Harvard say the gifts align with their goals of encourag- schools pledge, like Yale, to meet the full financial need of admit- ing more Chinese students to apply. The universities say it’s about ted international students, and for them it is a matter of making promoting empathy and creating the diversity sought by stu- that known around the country of 1.3 billion people. dents and faculty. Finding candidates outside China’s elite circles A student-run organization at Harvard University holds col- is not easy. The affluent have access to the best schools - even lege-style seminars annually for dozens of Chinese high school more than in the United States - and admissions officers say many students, offering financial aid to help draw from all the country’s students assume they must have political connections. provinces. At Yale, which in 1854 graduated the first Chinese per- There are also language and logistical hurdles: The SAT has son to earn a degree from a US college, international students are limited availability in China and applicants must be fluent in deputized as “ambassadors” to talk with students while home on English. Guo learned English as a child when her parents were break. Admissions officers from both schools regularly travel to posted in the United Kingdom by their Chinese newspaper for China. three years. For the SAT, she had to travel to Hong Kong. To help Yale extended its need-blind admissions policy to internation- address such difficulties, the State Department’s EducationUSA al students in 2001, and Dean of Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan program created a $1 million fund to provide aid for costs like MISSISSPPI: Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the makeup of students from China and other countries has application fees, said Evan Ryan, an assistant secretary for ponders a point as he addresses the student body and guests since changed dramatically. International students have gone Educational and Cultural Affairs. — AP at Mississippi State University. — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Laser co-creator Townes dies

BERKELEY: Charles H Townes’ inspiration for Townes’ research applied the microwave the predecessor of the laser came to him while technique used in wartime radar research to sitting on a park bench, waiting for a restau- the study of spectroscopy, the dispersion of an rant to open for breakfast. On the tranquil object’s light into its component colors. He morning of April 26, 1951, Townes scribbled a envisioned that would provide a new window theory on scrap paper that would lead to the into the structure of atoms and molecules and laser, the invention he’s known for and which a new basis for controlling electromagnetic transformed everyday life and led to other sci- waves. His insights eventually led to the first entific discoveries. laser. Townes, who was also known for his strong spiritual faith, famously compared that Humble beginnings moment to a religious revelation. The 99-year- Born on July 28, 1915, in Greenville, South old Nobel Prize-winning physicist died Carolina, to Baptist parents who embraced an Tuesday. In 1954, that theory was realized open-minded interpretation of theology, when Townes and his students developed the Townes found his calling during his sopho- laser’s predecessor, the maser (microwave more year at Furman University and went on amplification by stimulated emission of radia- to earn a master’s degree from Duke University tion). “I realized there would be many applica- in physics and a doctorate at the California tions for the laser,” Townes told Esquire maga- Institute of Technology. He married his wife, zine in 2001, “but it never occurred to me we’d Frances Hildreth Townes, in 1941, and get such power from it.” designed radar bombing systems for Bell The laser paved the way for other scientific Laboratories during World War II. discoveries that revolutionized everything Demonstrating that masers could be made from medicine to manufacturing but also has a to operate in optical and infrared capacities, HAVANA: Cuba’s President Raul Castro points to the press during the closing of the huge array of applications today: DVD players, Townes and his brother-in-law, the late legislative session at the National Assembly. — AP gun sights, printers, computer networks, metal Stanford professor Arthur L. Schawlow, jointly cutters, tattoo removal and vision correction published a theory in 1958 on the feasibility of Cuba leader demands end to are just some of the tools and technologies optical and infrared masers, or lasers. A laser that rely on lasers. controls the way that energized atoms release US embargo to renew ties photons, or light particles. Today, the laser per- Enormous impact on science forms tasks ranging from cutting metal to “Charlie Townes had an enormous impact vision correction and tattoo removal, but its Compares economic sanctions to ’genocide’ on physics and society in general,” Steven inventors say they didn’t foresee any of that. Boggs, the chairman of the physics depart- “I feel that very rarely have I done any work BELEN: Cuban President Raul Castro laid counterpart Nicolas Maduro added: “While ment at the University of California, Berkeley, in my life,” he told Esquire. “I have a good time. out conditions Wednesday to normalize it’s true that President Obama has taken a said Wednesday. A devoted member of the I’m exploring. I’m playing a game, solving puz- relations with the United States, demand- big step, there is a long path ahead.” United Church of Christ, Townes drew praise zles and having fun, and for some reason, peo- ing an end to the US embargo, the return and skepticism later in his career with a series ple have been willing to pay me for it. of Guantanamo and Havana’s removal from ‘Profound differences’ of speeches and essays investigating the simi- Officially, I was supposed to retire years ago, a terror list. Castro issued his demands a Castro and Obama simultaneously larities between science and religion. but retire from what? Why stop having a good “Science tries to understand what our uni- time?” week after the highest-ranking US delega- announced on December 17 their intention verse is like and how it works, including us In 1966, he published an article called “The tion to Havana in 35 years and Cuban offi- to end half a century of animosity and nor- humans,” Townes wrote in 2005 upon being Convergence of Science and Religion” in the cials held landmark talks aimed at reopen- malize ties that broke off in 1961. Some US awarded the Templeton Prize for his contribu- IBM journal THINK. The difference between sci- ing embassies and renewing ties that broke lawmakers have voiced concern about the tions in “affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” ence and religion “are largely superficial,” he off in 1961. rapprochement, especially those of Cuban- The award, billed as the world’s richest religion wrote, “the two become almost indistinguish- Cuba has long blamed the embargo for American origin, who say Obama conceded prize, was worth more than $1.5 million, and able if we look at the real nature of each.” In an the communist island’s economic woes, too much to Castro without securing guar- past recipients have included Mother Teresa. era when many scientists steadfastly avoided with billboards in the country equating the antees of political change on the island. “My own view is that, while science and reli- ties to religion, the views expressed in the decades-old economic sanctions to”geno- “Some forces in the United States will try to gion may seem different, they have many simi- piece were seen as blasphemy by people in cide”. Speaking at a summit of the abort this process that has started,” Castro larities, and should interact and enlighten each both communities. Over the years, he wrote Community of Latin American and warned. After last week’s talks, US and other,” he wrote. Townes was a faculty mem- and spoke often on the subject. “Many people Caribbean States (CELAC) in Costa Rica, Cuban officials said their meeting had been ber at Columbia University when he did most don’t realize that science basically involves Castro said the “main problem” remains the productive and cordial but that “profound of the work that would make him one of three assumptions and faith. But nothing is absolute- “blockade” and that the road to ending it differences” remain and that the road to scientists to share the 1964 Nobel Prize in ly proved,” Townes said in 2005. “Wonderful would be “long and hard.” “The establish- normalization would be complex. physics for research leading to the creation of things in both science and religion come from ment of diplomatic relations is the begin- The United States has invited Cuba to the laser. The others were Russian physicists our efforts based on observations, thoughtful ning of a process toward the normalization hold another round of talks in the coming Aleksandr M Prokhorov and Nicolai G Basov. assumptions, faith and logic.” — AP of bilateral relations, but this (normaliza- weeks in Washington. In his speech in tion) won’t be possible as long as the Belen, Costa Rica, Castro said that Havana blockade exists.” also wants to be removed from a US black- list of state sponsors of terrorism, which has Regional support blocked Cuba’s access to financial institu- US President Barack Obama called on tions. In addition, he demanded the return Congress last week to put an end to the of Guantanamo Bay, where the US navy has embargo, which was imposed in 1962 and a base being used to jail terrorism suspects. has been a major source of tension Another Cuban demand is changes to US between the Cold War-era rivals since then. policies that allow Cubans to stay in the Earlier this month, Obama used his execu- United States if they step foot on US soil tive powers to ease travel and trade restric- and gives them fast-track access to perma- tions with Havana, putting a dent on the nent residency. Cuba says the US migration embargo. But Castro said that the US leader policies have caused an exodus and brain should do more. drain over the years. Castro said his delega- “He could use with resolve his broad tion outlined the conditions to US officials executive powers to substantially change during last week’s historic meeting, and the scope of the blockade, even without that more talks will take place to deal with the Congress decision,” he said. Members these issues. of the 33-nation CELAC backed Castro’s call “We shared with the US president our for the embargo to be lifted. The group, willingness to advance toward the normal- which does not include Washington, was ization of bilateral relations once diplomat- created by the late Venezuelan socialist ic relations are restored, which implies tak- leader Hugo Chavez. “Enough with the ing mutual measures to improve the NEW YORK CITY: In this file photo from January 25, 1955, Charles Hard Townes, Columbia criminal blockade of Cuba,” Ecuador’s left- atmosphere between both countries,” he University professor and Nobel laureate, explains his invention to the masses during a news ist President Rafael Correa said. Venezuelan said. — AFP conference. — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Sri Lanka says to return lands in civil war areas

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new government plans the rebels, always thought about a resurgence ment is reviewing the cases of 275 Tamils to give back military-held private land in the of the group. “We don’t think you can stop an detained for long periods on suspicion of being country’s war-ravaged north and release LTTE resurrection (just) by the army,” he said, involved with the rebels. He said most of them detainees, a minister said, in apparent moves at referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil were detained on mere suspicion and for minor post-civil war reconciliation with ethnic minori- Eelam. “So spending on security will be very offenses. He said the government will initiate a ty Tamils. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha moderate.” local inquiry into war crime allegations against Senaratne told reporters late Wednesday that government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. The his government under new President Crushing the Tigers Tigers used child soldiers and were accused of Maithripala Sirisena will ease its military pres- Government forces ended a long civil war other atrocities in more than two decades of ence, saying that unlike the previous adminis- by crushing the Tamil Tigers in 2009, but ever fighting for a separate state, while the govern- tration that was defeated in the Jan 8 presiden- since the Tamils have complained they have ment troops were accused of random violence, tial election, it does not believe military action been further isolated because of government especially in the last few months of the war alone can prevent a resurgence of terrorism. policies. Tamils say that the military not only when they overran rebel positions. “Especially for the north, we don’t think we continues to hold private lands which it occu- The United Nations human rights council is need all that security. Our entire concept will pied during war time but also acquired more already investigating the allegations and a be different,” he said. “About the lands in the land after the fighting ended, ostensibly for report is scheduled to be released in March. north ... we have already decided whatever security purposes. They accuse the military of Senaratne said the government will engage acquired for business purposes, other than the cultivating the land, and running hotels and with the UN But the new government has said security purposes, to give back to the owners.” other businesses, including a golf course. it will not allow an international investigation He said the administration of former President Senaratne told the Foreign because Sri Lanka has not signed the relevant Mahinda Rajapaksa which militarily defeated Correspondents’ of Sri Lanka that the govern- conventions. — AP Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena

Modi fires top diplomat, Dozens still missing tightens grip over policy after Bangladesh Underscores PM’s control over foreign affairs boat sinks DHAKA: An overloaded fishing trawler carrying migrants to NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fired “Why have you replaced the head of the foreign service so Malaysia sank in strong currents off the coast of Bangladesh the country’s highest ranking diplomat and replaced her with unceremoniously,” Manish Tewari, a leader of the Congress yesterday with tens of passengers missing, in the country’s lat- India’s ambassador to the United States, a day after a success- party said. “The government needs to explain.” During Singh’s est maritime accident, officials said. Emergency workers res- ful visit by US President Barack Obama. Modi’s appointment of tenure under the previous administration, India and the United cued about 32 Bangladeshis in the Bay of Bengal after the boat Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as foreign secretary, the top States were embroiled in a diplomatic row over the arrest of a capsized some 2.5 kilometers offshore, police and the coast- bureaucrat at the foreign ministry, underscores the prime min- junior Indian diplomat in New York for an alleged visa fraud. guard said. ister’s control over foreign affairs. But his abrupt sacking of Ties hit their lowest level in a decade. Since then, Modi has Several passengers also managed to swim to shore, but Sujatha Singh, the foreign secretary appointed by the previ- moved rapidly to rebuild ties with Washington, putting behind dozens of others were still unaccounted for, although the exact ous Congress administration, was criticized by the Congress his own embarrassment at being denied a visa for a decade for figure was not known, coast guard commander Maruf Hassan party. religious violence in the state he governed earlier. said. “We have heard from passengers that up to 70 passengers Since he swept to power last year, Modi has virtually taken He went on a state visit last September, building a relation- were on board when it capsized. We have rescued 32 and sev- over the reins of foreign policy, beginning with an unprece- ship with Obama and then hosting him as the guest of honor eral others have floated to shore,” Hassan said. Estimates varied dented invitation to regional leaders to attend his inaugura- at this week’s Republic Day Parade, the first US president to do on the total number of passengers, with police saying 60 were tion and followed by high profile meetings with the leaders of so. Jaishankar, credited with helping Modi turn around the on board, but private TV station Somoy putting the figure as United States, China, Japan and Australia. Singh was asked to relationship, said his job was to carry out the government’s high as 100. step down from the post, the government said late on priorities. “A big responsibility. I am honored that I have been The boat hit strong currents in a treacherous sea channel Wednesday, with seven months to go before retirement. The assigned this responsibility,” he told reporters as he took shortly after leaving a coastal town near the southern port city last time the head of the elite foreign service was removed charge. Jaishankar has previously been ambassador to China of Chittagong, Hassan said. It sank near the Bangladeshi island was in the late 1980s. and Singapore. — Reuters of Kutubdia where coastguard officers and police were now scouring the waters for victims.

Dangerous waters “It’s a small fishing trawler which was overloaded. It sank as it tried to make a turn in a dangerous channel near the Kutubdia Island,” Hassan said. The boat had been attempting to make the dangerous voyage to Malaysia, a common destina- tion every year for thousands of impoverished Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. “All the passen- gers are Bangladeshi and they were heading to Malaysia by sea illegally,” local police chief Masud Alam said. Hassan said two coast guard ships and two smaller boats were leading the res- cue efforts, while fishing trawlers have also been asked to help search the waters. “Fortunately one of our ships was stationed nearby when the boat first listed and then sank early Thursday morning,” Hassan said, adding that those rescued people were being treated for minor injuries. Rights groups say thousands have perished attempting the 3,200-kilometer journey, with many falling into the hands of people-traffickers. Some 100 Rohingya refugees lost their lives in two boating tragedies off the Bangladesh coast in October and November 2012. Bangladesh’s coastguard and border forces have launched crackdowns on economic migrants, while also arrest- ing a number of human traffickers and confiscating their ships. But there has been no noticeable impact. The migrants are illegal because they do not travel with the proper visas and attempt to enter Malaysia without notifying authorities. Ferry and other boating accidents are common in Bangladesh. Officials have said more than 95 percent of the country’s hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized boats do not meet minimum safety regulations. Some 50 peo- ple were killed in August last year when a crowded ferry sank in NEW DELHI: Congress vice President Rahul Gandhi waves to supporters during an election rally ahead of the Delhi Assembly rough weather in Bangladesh’s Munshiganj district. — AFP elections. — AFP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Indonesia ready to Suicide bomber kills execute foreigners 16 in Afghan funeral JAKARTA: Indonesia is ready to execute seven foreign drug convicts on death row after their appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, an official said, in a move certain to Memorial for police killed by Taleban attack set Jakarta on a collision course with international allies. The seven include two Australian leaders of the “Bali Nine” drug- KABUL: A suicide bomber struck a funeral in Afghanistan for the Zwak, the provincial spokesman, said police investigations Chief smuggling gang, who have been on death row for almost a victims of an earlier Taleban attack, killing 16 people and wound- Khlil Nyazi was among the 16 killed at the funeral, along with decade. The pair lost their appeals in December and earlier ing 39, an Afghan official said. The attack took place in eastern three other police officers. Three policemen were also among the this month. Laghman province, according to the local governor’s spokesman, 39 wounded. A spokesman for the attorney-general’s office revealed Sarhadi Zwak. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the Late Wednesday, Taleban insurgents in the central Ghazni late Wednesday that a further five foreigners have also lost bombing but the blame is likely to fall on the Taleban who have province attacked a checkpoint in Andar district, killing 11 mem- their appeals. He said four were from France, Brazil, Nigeria staged similar attacks in the past. bers of a pro-government militia that was manning the post and and Ghana. Local media reported that the fifth was a Also, the bombing came on the heels of a spate of Taleban wounding six. As the militia fought back, six insurgents were Philippine woman, and the foreign ministry in Manila said it attacks across Afghanistan overnight and yesterday morning that killed and seven were wounded, according to Mohammad Ali was working to prevent the execution. killed at least 17 people. The insurgents have been increasingly Ahmadi, deputy governor in Ghazni. The province’s deputy police Four Indonesians-only one of them convicted of drugs targeting local police and Afghan forces, inflicting heavy civilian chief, Asadullha Ensafi, said the insurgents had inside information offences-had also lost their bid for clemency. “The attorney casualties as well, after most foreign combat troops withdrew from one of their own who had managed to infiltrate the volun- general’s office now has 11 convicts on death row ready to be from the country at the end of last month. teer militia last year. In a message, Taleban spokesman Zabihullah executed,” spokesman Tony Spontana said. Indonesia earlier The bomber at the funeral in Mihtarlam mingled with the Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on the checkpoint. this month executed six drug offenders, including five for- mourners gathered for the funeral for a police commander and Also yesterday, in the district of Sayed Abad in Wardak province eigners, prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands- three other people killed earlier in the day in a roadside bombing, east of the capital, Kabul, Taleban fighters dragged two villagers whose citizens were among those put to death-to recall their then blew himself up. The roadside bombing also took place in from their home and killed them, according to spokesman ambassadors. Drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi and Mihtarlam and officials said the Taleban were behind that attack. Attaullha Khugyani. — AP Nigeria were also among those killed by firing squad.

No compromise Despite his image as a reformist, Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment for drug offenders, disappointing rights activists who had hoped that he would take a softer line on the death penalty. He has repeatedly vowed to show no clemency to drug traffickers. In a CNN interview broadcast earlier this week, Widodo vowed: “We are not going to compromise for drug dealers. No compromise. No compromise.” Spontana said a decision had not yet been made on when or where the convicts would be executed, only that more than one would face the firing squad in the next round. The Frenchman is Serge Atlaoui, who has been on death row since 2007, Spontana confirmed. In Sydney yesterday, more than 2,000 Australians, led by local musicians, gathered in a plea for mercy for their compatriots facing imminent execu- tion, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Holding candles and signs reading “I stand for mercy”, the crowd listened to speeches and live music. “Don’t kill him, please don’t kill him, please president, please forgive him,” Sukumaran’s grand- mother Edith Visvanathan told the crowd between sobs. The Australian pair were arrested in Bali in 2005 and sen- tenced to death the following year for attempting to smuggle eight kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin out of the Indonesian holiday island. The rejection of their clemency appeals removed the final hurdle to put the pair to death, as Indonesian authorities said they must be executed together as they had committed their crime together. Lawyers for the pair are planning a last-ditch appeal to their convictions but LAGHMAN PROVINCE: Afghan relatives weep for the victims as they arrive at the hospital following a suicide attack — AFP the attorney-general’s office has said that further legal chal- lenges are not possible once a clemency bid has been reject- ed. The Frenchman Atlaoui was arrested in 2005 in a secret laboratory producing ecstasy close to Jakarta. — AFP Philippines wary over China land reclamation

MANILA: The Philippines has urged fellow Southeast Asian China’s activities. nations to demand that China immediately stop its land reclama- According to del Rosario, “inaction on this would undermine tion in contested South China Sea reefs, warning the 10-nation the principle of centrality, since we are unable to address in a col- bloc’s credibility may be undermined if it remains silent on the lective and unified manner such a critical issue in our own back- issue. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told Association of yard.” A copy of his speech was obtained yesterday. The Chinese Southeast Asian Nations ministers that China’s massive reclama- Embassy in Manila had no immediate comment, but Beijing’s for- tions, which all appear “to be near completion as portrayed by eign ministry has said that the area where the reclamation is available photos,” could threaten freedom of navigation and the reportedly underway is part of China’s territory, and that any region’s biodiversity. Chinese activities there should be of no concern to the China’s neighbors are also concerned that the reclaimed Philippines and other countries. areas, which now are Chinese-controlled territories farthest Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the sprawling sea, which from its mainland, could be used by Beijing as offshore military has some of the world’s busiest commercial sea lanes. Del Rosario bases and resupply and refueling hubs to reinforce its territorial said the land reclamations appeared to be a part of the “step by claims. “ASEAN cannot remain silent on these serious develop- step realization of China’s illegal nine-dash line,” referring to a ments,” Del Rosario told the bloc’s top diplomats in a meeting rough demarcation of China’s territory on its official maps that vir- Wednesday in Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu city. “To do so, would tually envelopes most of the South China Sea, including areas BALI: Australian Helen Chan (left), led by her son be a grave mistake with fundamental strategic consequences.” that other Southeast Asian nations also claim. “With both free- Michael Chan, leaves a prison in Denpasar following a The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia have protested the land dom of navigation, peace and stability at risk, ASEAN as a regional meeting with her other son and death row prisoner reclamations, which have transformed Johnson South Reef and force should consider reaching out to the community of nations Andrew Chan. — AP other underwater coral outcrops in the Spratly archipelago into to help us say to China that what it is doing is wrong, that it must virtual islands. US officials have also expressed concern over immediately stop its reclamation activities,” he said. — AP International FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

China attacks on human rights ‘unseen in years’

BEIJING: China is violating human rights at an intensity that is unprecedented in its recent history, a top watchdog group said yesterday. The ruling Communist Party has “unleashed an extraordinary assault on basic human rights and their defenders with a ferocity unseen in recent years”, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said in its annual report. The group added that recent developments in China are “an alarming sign given that the current leadership will likely remain in power through 2023”. Since taking office as Communist chief in 2012, China’s President Xi Jinping has overseen a campaign against government critics with hundreds detained or jailed. “China remains an authoritarian state, one that sys- tematically curbs fundamental rights, including free- dom of expression, association, assembly, and religion, when their exercise is perceived to threaten one-party rule,” Human Rights Watch said. Xi’s much-publicized anti-corruption campaign, the group said, “has been conducted in ways that further undermine the rule of law, with accused officials held in an unlawful deten- tion system, deprived of basic legal protections, and often coerced to confess”.

Facing retaliation Activists and other rights defenders in China increasingly face retaliation, Human Rights Watch said, citing a number of cases including that of dissident Cao Shunli, who died in detention last year. Cao had been detained in 2013 shortly before she was due to travel to Geneva to attend a UN session on China’s PUTRAJAYA: A relative of a passenger of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 holds a picture of Malaysian Prime rights record. Minister Najib Razak with the writing ‘Please bring back my husband’ after the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) decided to China says that it safeguards its citizens’ rights, cancel a press conference yesterday. — AFP including freedom of assembly, expression, religion and the press. The ruling party had made “positive steps in certain areas”, HRW said, such as the official Malaysia declares MH370 abolition of re-education through labor camps and the reform of the “hukou” household registration system, which has barred China’s hundreds of millions of migrants from equal access to healthcare and other disappearance an ‘accident’ benefits. But the Human Rights Watch report also voiced con- KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia declared yesterday the disap- dent.” The DCA plans to release an interim report on the cern about Beijing’s August 2014 decision “denying pearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident, investigation into the missing jetliner on March 7, a day genuine democracy in Hong Kong”, which sparked a clearing the way for the airline to pay compensation to vic- before the first anniversary of the disappearance, a minis- wave of pro-democracy protests in the former British tims’ relatives while the search for the plane goes on. The ter said on Wednesday. colony. The watchdog criticized the use of “excessive Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared on March 8 last year, carry- “This declaration is by no means the end,” said force” by Hong Kong police, including the use of pep- ing 239 passengers and crew shortly after taking off from Azharuddin, adding that it will continue with the search for per spray, as well as the erosion of press freedoms and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing. the missing plane with assistance from China and Australia. physical attacks on independent journalists. “Despite Months of searches have failed to turn up any trace. “We Malaysia airline’s crisis worsened on July 17 when its Flight the waning of street protests, the underlying political issues remained unresolved and combustible at time of officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident MH17, on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was writing,” the group said. — AFP and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives,” Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Pilot at controls when AirAsia crashed Rahman said in a statement. In other news, the co-pilot of an AirAsia flight that The announcement is in accordance with standards of crashed into the Java Sea last month was at the controls annexes 12 and 13 in the International Civil Aviation, said when it went down, killing all 162 people on board, investi- Azharuddin. It will allow families of the passengers to gators said yesterday. The announcement came as fisher- obtain assistance through compensation, he said. Malaysia men found two more bodies from the crash in waters off Airlines was ready to proceed immediately with the com- Sulawesi island in central Indonesia, around 1,000 kilome- pensation process to the next-of-kin of the passengers on ters from where the plane crashed, a search and rescue the flight, he said. official said. China called on Malaysia to compensate families. “We AirAsia Flight QZ8501 went down in stormy weather on call on the Malaysian side to honor the promise made December 28 during what was supposed to be a short trip when they declared the flight to have been lost and from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. Only 72 earnestly fulfill their compensation responsibilities,” bodies have so far been recovered. Indonesian investiga- Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said tors have been analyzing data from the plane’s black box- in a statement. Most of the passengers on the plane were es-the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder- from China. International investigators are looking into and this week submitted a preliminary report to the UN’s why the Boeing jet veered thousands of miles off course International Civil Aviation Organization. from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into Yesterday, the country’s National Transportation the Indian Ocean. The search in the Indian Ocean is still Safety Committee revealed that the French co-pilot, going on and Malaysia is also conducting a criminal investi- Remi Plesel, was flying the plane when the aircraft went gation, Azharuddin said. down, rather than Captain Iriyanto, an experienced for- BEIJING: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (left) “Both investigations are limited by the lack of physical mer fighter pilot. “The second-in-command was the pilot speaks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a sign- evidence at this time, particularly the flight recorders,” he flying,” chief investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno told ing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. — AFP said. “Therefore, at this juncture, there is no evidence to reporters in Jakarta, adding that the captain was moni- substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the acci- toring the flight. — Agencies January 28,2015inParis.—AFP Spring-Summer collectionfashionshowon Gaultier duringthe2015HauteCouture A modelpresentsacreationbyJeanPaul

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 at couture as Bruni is mobbed mobbed is Bruni as couture at www.kuwaittimes.net Naomi Campbell steals show steals Campbell Naomi Page 20 Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Naomi Campbell steals show at couture as Bruni is mobbed

inger Carla Bruni, actress Catherine Deneuve and burlesque performer Dita SVon Teese were among regulars attend- ing the spectacular displays at Paris’ haute couture week Wednesday. Sophie Hunter, the fiancÈe of Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, meanwhile, caused much fra- cas when she attended Valentino hiding her baby bump. But it was surely Naomi Campbell who stole the show, strutting out panther-like at Jean Paul Gaultier despite being dressed as a bouquet of flowers. It’s good to know that high fashion still retains its humor. Here are the tidbits and highlights of the 2015 spring- summer collections.

Gaultier goes to the chapel The show, almost exclusively in black and white, was a tale of two silhouettes - with many dresses split down the middle. The best look was a figure-hugging black crepe num- ber with another gown, in trompe l’oeil 3-D hourglass tulle, placed creatively on the front.

Models present creations by Zuhair Murad during the 2015 Haute Couture Spring- Summer collection fashion show yesterday in Paris. — AP/AFP photos

els up to their 60s; a common theme. The divorce element appeared as a comic homage to the infamous seven weddings of actress Liz Taylor - with a blue python dress and feathered hair piece, modeled theatrical- ly. The couturier said, in an aside, that divorce and multiple marriages may indeed help boost couture dress sales. Silhouettes were often graphic, with more than an echo of his Eighties heyday. It might have benefited more if Monsieur Gaultier had used this fresh chap- ter in his career to do something completely different - but in all, it was a joyful collection.

Valentino’s Chagall-inspired couture The 62-year-old designer said show cele- It was a strong couture collection from brated “all forms of marriage, and for all ages, Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo and as many times as you want... And, yes Piccioli that moved gracefully from the dense, divorce.” This mantra was resoundingly clear: geometric embroideries of Hungarian styles in his signature menswear tuxedos (represent- to the bright colors and cosmic dreaming of ing gay marriage) and in the inclusion of mod- Russian artist Marc Chagall. Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Models present creations by Zuhair Murad during the 2015 Haute Couture Spring-Summer collection fashion show yesterday in Paris. —AP/AFP photos

But the high point of the show was surely muse of Chagall served well as a spring board inspired, apparently, by the nostalgia of his Flesh pink, beige, black and blue-grays the final flourish of diaphanous powder-col- to liberate the occasionally-stiff designs. Here mother’s Seventies heyday. In a fleshed out abounded in floaty, nostalgic silhouettes that ored gowns with chic embroidered writing. the duo explored bolder colors such a vibrant program book, the Lebanese designer touch- touched on these moments. “These memories They were aptly called “tulle clouds” and felt “Chagall blue,” cut with primary yellow. ingly went back in time through text and pho- still inspire my colors and my scents... The at once both couture and highly contempo- Elsewhere, hand painted prints such as a sun, tos, tracing the fashions throughout the eras 70’s, women in ankle length dresses, trapeze rary. Valentino Garavani looked on approving- sky and stars - beautifully evoked the natural- of his birth city, Beirut - once graced by such dresses, high waist skirts, embroidered and ly from the front row, as some 47 looks filed ized-French artist’s famed stained glass win- stars as singer Dalida, actor Omar Sharif and sheer tops wading through downtown,” said by inside the chic Hotel de Rothschild. The dows. French icon Brigitte Bardot. It particular, Saab Saab. Fastidiously embroidered ruffles on full designers did not do away with their signa- described the impact of the last golden years skirts and diaphanous feathers gave this 55- ture Empire lines and continued their ongo- Elie Saab’s delicate coup of glamour before the protracted Civil war in piece show a more textural quality than nor- ing musings in the traditional flowing silks Elie Saab moved in a welcome direction in 1975, through the prism of a tulip print silk mal. And embroidered, shimmering flared and silhouettes of the Renaissance. But the Wednesday’s delicately feminine display - dress his mother would often wear. pants made it securely on-trend. — AP

Models present creations by Elie Saab dur- ing the 2015 Haute Couture Spring- Summer collection fashion show. Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Models present creations by Elie Saab during the 2015 Haute Couture Spring-Summer collection fashion show.

Models present creations by Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2015 Haute Couture Spring-Summer collection fashion. Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Italy artisan crafts guitars for musicians in need ffer Roberto Ceretti a fortune for one of his more of a carpenter than an artist. Breaks are coveted hand-made guitars and he’ll likely spent walking alongside a nearby river, waiting Oturn you down: the Italian craftsman may patiently for the right moment to collect fresh be in demand among collectors, but only plies his materials-a timetable he says is often dictated by trade for top musicians in need. Tucked away in the waxing and waning of the moon, which the hills of north-west Italy, Ceretti’s workshop is affects the presence of woodworm. hung with half-finished models, the walls lined From the moment the wood is ready, it takes with stacks of cedar, mahogany and apple wood, him about a month to craft the instrument, which and a large drawing board is littered with classical he sometimes rounds off with inlay on the rosette guitar designs. “I made my first guitar when I was or fingerboard. It is a painstaking, time-consuming 12-years old, out of cardboard. It didn’t work of vocation he says his children are unlikely to want to course, but the passion stuck,” said Ceretti, 50, inherit, but one Ceretti says he finds “incredibly who began his business in earnest 15 years ago rewarding”. “If you’re a musician living in Italy today, you are not making any money. So I don’t charge for many of my guitars-I exchange things for them,” Ceretti said, adding that in the past he’s been paid in machines or tools he needs, and even a cement mixer. His family lives in the house adjoining the workshop, and Ceretti saves money by using spring water rather than tap, and wood stoves for both central heating and cooking. But even out here in the wilderness, his philosophy is based on sharing. “With the best musicians that’s always been the way Italian luthier Roberto Ceretti works on a guitar in his workshop. — AFP photos I’ve worked. If they can afford to pay, I might charge tars for collectors or people who just want some- between 2,000 euros ($2,270) and 7,000 euros thing fashionable to put on their wall,” he added. ($7,950) for a guitar, but it doesn’t happen often,” White-bearded and decked out in a lumberjack he said. “With the economic crisis as it is, I help out Roberto Ceretti uses the sound of the river shirt and workman’s boots, Ceretti sees himself as real musicians in need.” — AFP near his workshop to tune the soundboard of a guitar. after transforming his run-down holiday home in the Piedmont woods into an atelier. Now he makes between five and six guitars a year, selling them for a song to help musicians hit hard by the economic crisis and cuts in culture budgets. The father of three fells trees himself during the winter-the best season because the wood is less likely to split-hauling them back to Roberto Ceretti works on a guitar. the remote workshop in his truck before chop- ing the first modern classical guitar Ceretti likes ping them down to size in the clearing, his dog at his instrument bodies rounded rather than flat. his side. He also rescues trees such as redwoods or Modern artisanal guitars, sought for their rich firs destined for the chop in gardens around the tonal qualities, can sell for up to 25,000 euros region. He selects the best grain aesthetic from ($28,500), but Ceretti is not in business for the those to carve out the back, front and neck of his money. guitars, and uses all natural materials-such as boiled cow femurs-to make parts like the bridge ‘Not prostitutes’ and nut. In crafting his instruments, Ceretti takes “Guitars aren’t prostitutes to put in the win- inspiration from master makers like Antonio dow. They’re instruments to be kept for a lifetime, Torres Jurado, the 19th-century Spanish luthier to be played and lovingly cared for,” Ceretti said. “I (stringed instrument maker) renowned for design- only have musicians as clients. I don’t make gui- Roberto Ceretti in his workshop. One killed, two injured at Martin Scorsese film set

ne person was killed and two others “Wolf of Wall Street”. Lee told reporters that were injured yesterday when part of a the incident was not expected to affect the Ohouse caved in at the Taipei set of filming schedule. Shooting was due to begin Hollywood director Martin Scorsese’s upcom- on Friday, according to two financial backers ing film “Silence,” officials confirmed. A ceiling of the film-the companies F·brica de Cine and collapsed on three Taiwanese construction SharpSword. workers who were reinforcing an old brick-and- “Silence”, based on a novel by Shusaku wood house at the Chinese Culture and Movie Endo, portrays Portuguese Jesuits in the 17th Center Central Pictures during pre-production, century suffering persecution as they work in said the Taipei city fire department. A worker isolated areas of Japan. It will star Liam identified as Chen Yu-lung was pronounced Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver dead at the hospital while the others sustained and will be released in cinemas in 2016. injuries to their legs and heads, it said. Scorsese is the latest Hollywood heavyweight “The director is shocked and saddened to film in Taiwan in recent years, following that one worker was fatally wounded...he Taiwan-born director Ang Lee who filmed regrets that this incident happened,” said Oscar-winning 3D adventure “Life of Pi” on Police inspect a demolished film set where a worker died in an accident at a film lot dur- David Lee, a Taiwanese producer working the island, and French director Luc Besson, ing preparations for the shooting of a new Martin Scorsese movie titled “Silence,” in with Scorsese, the award-winning director of who shot some of his sci-fi thriller “Lucy” in Taipei, Taiwan yesterday. — AFP such movies as “Taxi Driver”, “Casino” and Taipei. — AFP Food FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

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Nutrition information per serv- ing: 650 calories; 360 calories from fat (55 per cent of total calories); 41 g fat (10 g saturat- ed; 0 g trans fats); 105 mg cho- lesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 37 g protein; 760 mg sodium.

Rack of lamb for 2 with rosemary crumb crust

By Sara Moulton you’ll want to “French” the bones. This is an American term for a French technique, in which the any racks of lamb come already Frenched, ribs, about 1 1/4 pounds) ant to wow your sweetie on Valentine’s meat and fat are removed from the top few inches with the fatty layer trimmed, and with the 2 tablespoons mayonnaise Day? One of the ways I spell romance is of the end of each chop. What’s left is the succulent Msilver skin (a tough membrane that lines 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Wwith a roasted rack of lamb for two. Most heart of the chop, from which a long spare bone the meat) removed. If not, follow these instructions: of us never get to enjoy this wonderful dish outside extends like an elegantly curved handle. To remove the silver skin, using a very sharp par- Preparation: fine restaurants, but there’s no reason not to make Now you’re ready to sear the meat, then top it ing or boning knife and starting in the middle of the In a medium skillet over medium-high, heat 1 it at home. In fact, this recipe - adapted from one with a mustard-mayonnaise mix, then finally the top of the roast, insert the tip of the knife beneath 1/2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the pepper flakes, if we used to make at Gourmet magazine all the time crumbs. You can prep the roast to this stage earlier the membrane and slice in one direction, holding using, and garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. - is hard to mess up. in the day, then park it for an hour. When dinner is the knife at a 20 degree angle until you reach the Stir in the scallions and rosemary and cook, stirring, A single rack of lamb comprises eight chops, or about 30 minutes away, just pop it in the oven. Be end of the roast. Turn the knife around and work in until the scallions are slightly softened, about 30 half of the rib cage. At the supermarket these days sure to let it rest afterward to ensure that the chops the opposite direction until you reach the other end seconds. Stir in the breadcrumbs and remove from you’ll usually find a choice of New Zealand or are every bit as juicy as Cupid meant them to be. of the roast. Discard the strip of silver skin. Repeat the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then American racks. The former are smaller than the lat- the procedure until you have removed all the silver transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet. ter and taste slightly more lamb-y. Either kind will skin from the meat side of the roast. To French the Heat the oven to 400 F. work here, but in both cases you have to make sure bones, trim and discard the fat and meat along the Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add that the chine bone has been removed by the top couple inches of the bones, scraping the bones the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Season the lamb butcher. Otherwise you’ll be unable to cut the rack with the knife until they are completely clean. with salt and pepper, then add it to the skillet, meat into chops. Start to finish: 55 minutes (30 minutes active) side down. Sear until well browned on the meat The butcher also can trim the rack for you, Servings: 2 side and the ends, about 5 minutes. Remove the though you’re welcome to do that at home. If I skillet with the lamb from the heat and pour off the were going to roast the rack without a crumb layer, Ingredients: fat.In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and I’d protect the meat from drying out by leaving the 2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided mustard. Spread the mixture evenly over the meat layer of fat on the top of the meat. But this recipe’s 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) side of the lamb, then press the rosemary crumbs crumb layer performs the same function as the lay- 1 teaspoon minced garlic into it. Transfer the skillet to the middle shelf of the er of fat, so off it goes, along with the tough silver 3 medium scallions, white and 1 inch of the green oven and roast until it reaches 120 F at the centre skin beneath it. parts, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup) for medium-rare, about 10 to 12 minutes. The best way to remove the silver skin is with a 1 teaspoon dried rosemary Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let it sharp boning or paring knife. Slide it under the skin 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs (made by pulsing 1 large rest for 10 minutes before slicing into chops. at a 20 degree angle and slice it first one way, then slice rustic white bread in a food processor) Arrange on 2 plates, overlapping the rib bones. If the other, along the length of the rack. Salt and ground black pepper some of the crumbs fall off, just sprinkle them over Then - if it hasn’t already been done for you - One trimmed and Frenched rack of lamb, (7 to 8 the plated chops.—AP Food FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Seek the savory side of chocolate during the holidays

By Melissa D’Arabian they need no sugar for me to appreciate the wonderful flavor of the cocoa. Among the hile I still pay attention to what I eat most classic choices - and one of my favorites - during the holidays, I nonetheless is Mexican mole, a thick, spicy sauce based on Wallow plenty of small splurges. And cocoa or chocolate that traditionally takes a those splurges mostly can be summed up in couple of days to develop its rich flavors. one word: chocolate! Trouble is, the holidays But I have four hungry kids who aren’t eventually pass, but my cravings for the deep willing to wait days for chocolate, sweet or flavor of a perfectly-roasted cocoa bean linger. savory. So I have developed a version of Even more than the sweetness that accompa- mole that takes under an hour. Does it cap- nies most chocolate desserts, I miss the unctu- ture all the flavor of a two-day mole? Nope. ous coating cocoa leaves on the palate. But But for a recipe that shaves 47 hours off my who says healthy eating must mean the end of labor, I think it still does a pretty darned that deliciousness? Enter unsweetened choco- good job. And you can take comfort in late! All the richness of the flavor without the knowing that you’re getting all the delicious sugar. My healthy chocolate-eating strategy benefits and satisfaction of chocolate with- has me leaning toward savory dishes because out the pesky sugar.

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Nutrition information per serv- ing: 430 calories; 190 calories from fat (44 percent of total calories); 21 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 105 mg choles- terol; 26 g carbohydrate; 6 g Chicken in quick mole sauce fiber; 11 g sugar; 39 g protein; 690 mg sodium. Start to finish: 45 minutes Servings: 4

Ingredients: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes Kosher salt and ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 15-ounce can diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons chopped chipotles in adobo (more or less according to heat preference) 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 1/2 cup prune juice (or 1/4 cup chopped pitted prunes) 1 1/4 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped Squeeze of lime (1 to 2 teaspoons) Fresh cilantro, chopped, to serve

Preparation: Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan over medium- the mixture from the heat and allow to cool high, heat the oil. Add the chicken and brown for several minutes. until golden on all sides, about 7 minutes. Pour or spoon carefully into a blender, Transfer to a plate and set aside. then add the almond butter, chocolate and Return the pan to medium heat and add lime juice. Let sit for a minute in the hot liq- the onion. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. uid. Blend carefully - low at first, then at high- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander er speed - until the sauce is smooth, about 1 and cinnamon, then cook, stirring, until very minute. Add more stock if the sauce is too fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add the toma- thick. toes and let cook for 3 more minutes. Add the Return the chicken to the pan (no need to chipotles, orange zest and prune juice, then clean it) and pour the sauce over the chicken. cook an additional minute, stirring. Heat over medium until the chicken is cooked Add the stock and let simmer until the through, another 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with onion is fairly soft, about 5 minutes. Remove rice and beans and top with cilantro. — AP Features FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 26 Pup needs a second coat? Crafts Try making it yourself

t’s that time of year when many dogs need a little extra pro- Cabled sweater tection - a coat or a sweater - when going out into the cold. A knit-store dog needs to wear the wares, says Toby’s owner, IWhy not try making it yourself? Small breeds such as Ruthie Kolb, who works several days at the shop. “I thought he Chihuahuas, pugs and Shih Tzus; several kinds of terriers; and might need a classy, cabled sweater.” The sweater also comes in some larger, short-haired breeds such as greyhounds and handy after Toby’s fur is shaved, as it was recently. “When the Doberman Pinschers are among those that need to be dressed temperature is minus 1 walking to the shop, as it was this morn- for winter. ing, the sweater helps keep him warmer,” says Kolb. “He doesn’t You can buy cold-weather doggy wear, of course. And web- seem to mind it.” sites such as Pinterest or Etsy abound with homemade exam- While Vesk’s two dogs love the attention they receive while ples, along with other items of clothing for dogs, including walking in their coats, other dogs may need help becoming dresses, costumes, even blue jeans with suspenders. There are accustomed to outerwear. “Use the old treat method,” advises do-it-yourself instructions online for repurposing sweaters, Vesk, “and then they associate putting on their coats with a long-sleeve turtlenecks and T-shirts into warm dog coats and treat. Eventually, they’ll get used to it.” sweaters. Or start from scratch with a pattern and fabric. Mansfield advised similarly. “Part of it is training. It’s getting Monica Mansfield, a veterinarian in Medway, Massachusetts, them used to it and having a little food reward,” she says. recommends using soft fabrics against a dog’s skin - fleece “Sometimes at-home love rewards are good.” Do not clothe fur- works great - and checking any garment bought or made for ry, winter-loving breeds, the vet warns. Dogs such as huskies, hard edges or hurtful places. Make sure clothes aren’t too snug. malamutes and golden retrievers with thick coats don’t need “We can only guess what feels comfortable to dogs,” says winter wear. “The way their fur is - they have triple or quadruple Mansfield. But “if you run your hands against everything that’s thickness - it’s like having four coats on already,” Mansfield says. touching the dog’s skin to make sure there’s nothing poking And don’t even think about clothing a cat. “I think they’d just be and no prickly thing on it, the vast majority of dogs will accept annoyed,” says Mansfield. — AP them and enjoy wearing them.”

Fashionable dog knits Short-haired dogs, especially the little ones, probably need to wear their extra coats outside when temperatures dip below 35 or 40 degrees, says the vet. “All the smaller dogs deserve a sweater,” she says. The ideal garment has wool on the outside and fleece on the inside, she says, for both warmth and comfort. Karen Vesk of Erie, Pennsylvania, makes dog coats for her two Dobermans - partly to provide warmth but also to allay others’ concerns about her two big dogs. “It’s fun to dress them up, but also people think of Dobermans as big, tough dogs,” says Vesk. “You can’t take a dog seriously who’s wearing a cupcake sweater.” Vesk makes her dogs’ coats because large-breed coats are difficult to find, she says, and are often costly. Her dogs have large chests and small waists, so she adapts out-of-print com- mercial patterns she finds on eBay (find them new at fabric stores). She uses mostly remnant-table fleece and Velcro clo- sures. Vesk recommends using a simple poncho pattern with strap and Velcro closure. She measures the dog’s chest around, and the length from the neck to the base of the tail. Toby, a 4-month-old standard poodle, wears an elaborately knitted sweater while greeting customers at the Knit Knack yarn shop in Arvada, Colorado. Fashionable dog knits abound at free online pattern-sharing sites - try Knitty or Ravelry - and in books such as “Top Dog Knits” by Jil Eaton (Breckling Press, 2010). Photos show Toby, a 4-month-old standard poodle, who wears his knitted sweater when he accompanies his owner, Ruthie Kolb, to the Knit Knack shop. — AP photos

Photo provided by Karen Vesk, her two Doberman Pinschers wear plaid coats that she sewed, in Erie, Penn. Features 27 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

A cloth decorated with owls that was offered as a souvenir to guests at Fukuro no Mise.— AP photos

Photo shows instructions for visitors covering the exterior of Fukuro no Mise, which means Shop of Owls, in Tokyo.

An employee of Fukuro no Mise demonstrating the proper It’s a hoot hanging out way to hold an owl. with owls at this Tokyo cafe

n the US, hanging out in a cafe with animals is such an exotic (alcohol costs extra). The drink arrives covered in plastic wrap, concept that people can’t get enough of it. A pop-up cat cafe decorated with a magic marker illustration of an owl. But no one Iin New York last year had lines down the block. Online reserva- pays attention to their beverage until the final activity, which tions for another Manhattan cat cafe are almost fully booked involves distributing souvenirs. Each item is held up and guests more than two months ahead. But in Japan, cat cafes are just the raise their hand if they want it. If too many people raise hands, start. You can hang out in rabbit cafes or have coffee in Tokyo winners are chosen by playing rock-paper-scissors, which seems with two goats. And you’re not limited to domestic animals. You to be the same in Japan as it is in the US souvenirs included a can also spend an hour at a cafe holding a great horned owl. photo book, cell phone charms, chopsticks and a cloth decorated Judging by how complicated it was to get a reservation at with owls. Tokyo’s Fukuro no Mise (“Shop of Owls,”), the owl cafes there are If owls aren’t enough to satisfy your longing to commune with just as much of a hoot there as cat cafes are here. To get a spot, birds of prey, there’s also a Falconers Cafe in Mitaka, the same visitors are supposed to line up an hour before Fukuro no Mise area of Tokyo as the Ghibli Museum. When it’s not busy, the only Photo shows an owl perched on the arm of a visitor at opens. But when I showed up an hour early, I was lucky to get the birds there will be the owner’s, four Harris hawks and a peregrine Fukuro no Mise. last seat for a session two hours later. There are no refunds on the falcon that can’t be petted, only watched. But hawk owners also 2000 yen ($17) fee. If you’re late, you lose your slot. come to the shop with their birds, and some may allow you to Inside, I was given a list of detailed English instructions. For touch them. This one’s a proper cafe, with dishes on an English example, only touch the owls on the head or back. And while the menu named after raptors, including Harris Curry and Eagle owls are very tame, “they can’t be potty trained like dogs. So Ginger pork. please be generous when they potty on you!” The woman in There are other owl cafes in Japan. All have different hours charge also gave a long talk and demonstration in Japanese and procedures, so it’s best to have a Japanese speaker help navi- before allowing each guest to hold a bird. gate websites and make calls. Fukuro no Mise also had limited The owls come in various sizes and species, from tiny to quite and somewhat erratic hours. large, including a great horned owl with large sharp claws and And while the cafe is off the beaten tourist path, it’s easy to impressive beak. Each bird has a tether around one foot, which find from exit 10 of Tokyo Metro Tsukishima Station - just cross you hold in your hand as they perch on your arm. Sleek and clear- and head up the street lined with oddly pruned trees and you’ll eyed, the owls seem calm despite the fact that the small room is see its storefront on the right, covered with posters in Japanese crowded. and English explaining the reservation system. Once you have The attentive staff will place the owl on your shoulder or head your reservation, if there’s time, you can head up to the next cross if you like (I declined in light of the warning about the lack of pot- street and stroll an old shopping street with lots of monjayaki ty-training). Staff can also help if your owl starts to flap. Raising restaurants. Monja is the Tokyo version of okonomiyaki, the meat, your hand in the air usually settles them down, but apparently I seafood and vegetable pancake that’s cooked on a griddle on was holding my arm wrong, so a worker repositioned it. If you’ve your table. The cafe suggests English speakers come on Fridays had enough and want to just watch everyone else’s owls, they’ll when they have English-speaking staff, but I had no difficulty on a relieve you of the bird. different day. — AP Photography is forbidden in some of the oddest places in Japan, but this isn’t one of them. No flash is allowed (and no video) but posting a shot of yourself on social media holding an owl is clearly a goal for many visitors.

US souvenirs Unlike some other animal cafes in Japan, this place is only Photo shows a tray of beverages ready to be served to vis- nominally a cafe. There’s no food but a small drink is included itors at Fukuro no Mise. 28 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Home

A look at $1 million homes in the US

This photo provided by Gladys Manion, Inc via Realtor.com shows the exterior of a five-bedroom, five bath limestone mansion at 36 Portland Place in St Louis, previously listed at $1.385 million. — AP photos Home 29 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 US

ales of $1 million homes are booming, even as overall sales have sputtered this year. It’s further evidence of how the near- Sly six-year economic recovery has favored the wealthy. Those with epic stock portfolios, superb credit and cash to spare are snap- ping up estates, pied-a-terres and beachside cottages. Some of this shopping spree comes courtesy of the Standard & Poor’s 500 climb- ing an additional 13 percent this year, while mortgage rates had slid below 4 percent and made it much easier to borrow. The real estate brokerage Redfin recently reported that sales of properties costing more $1 million climbed 9 percent year-over- year, based on data from the July to October quarters. Overall sales slipped 1.2 percent. These luxury homes are ascendant even though they represent less than 3 percent of the market. More than 60 percent of the US homes sold in November cost less than $250,000 - and their sales have tumbled over the past 12 months, the National Association of Realtors said last week. But as this slideshow of homes from Realtor.com reveals, what $1 million gets you can vary drastically across the country. In St Louis, it can secure a Beaux Arts mansion. In Atlanta, it’s enough for a charming craftsman. In Boston, it covers a two-bedroom condominium. — AP

These photos show the interior of a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath craftsman home.

Photo shows an interior view of a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, 1,229-square-foot con- Photo shows the pool. dominium. Features 30 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Displayed is a card presented with a bill. People walk past Girard a ‘No-Tip’ restaurant in Philadelphia. No-tip restaurant offers food for thought on pay, benefits ustomers to Girard Brasserie and Bruncherie might be in for “I think it’s pretty important to want to treat waitstaff well,” a surprise when they read the note attached to their bills: Cinquegrana said. So far, only one employee, a dishwasher, has C“Tipping is not necessary.” That’s food for thought in an used a paid sick day, said Girard co-owner Cristian Mora. industry where servers depend on gratuities for the bulk of their Scheduling is harder than he imagined and margins are tight; the pay. Yet staff at the French-inspired restaurant earn about $13 an new approach is “not for everyone,” he said. “A lot of people do hour, and they get sick time, vacation days and health insurance. make a very good living with the model as it is now, with the The economics aren’t easy, said Girard co-owner Brian Oliveira. guest leaving a tip,” he said. Ideally, though, the provisions make for more loyal and content But Mora, who also didn’t have health insurance for most of employees, who then create a better experience for customers, his 15-year restaurant career, said he’s glad to be among the van- he said. “We had to make less money as owners and sacrifice guard. He noted about half the customers are leaving tips of 5 some of that, but in the end, it created a better environment and percent to 10 percent for a job well done - what Mora calls “a true everyone’s happier,” said Oliveira, who is also the chef. gratuity,” akin to the European custom of leaving a token amount The unusual model highlights a debate about pay and condi- for servers, who generally earn a living wage and have national tions in an industry that employs 10 percent of the US workforce, health care. according to the National Restaurant Association. The group Girard waitress Katie Breen, 31, says she’s been able to work doesn’t track the number of no-tip models among the nation’s almost full-time as the restaurant’s business has increased, yield- nearly 1 million eateries, but examples have popped up over the ing a decent paycheck on top of about $250 weekly in tips. She’s past year in Pittsburgh, New York, Los Angeles and near making less money than at past serving jobs, but the overall qual- Cincinnati. ity of life is better for her and her 3-year-old daughter. “I have a The federal hourly minimum wage for non-tipped workers, better schedule, I have health insurance,” Breen said. “I think that Co-owner Cristian Mora, serves costumers. such as dishwashers and cooks, is $7.25; the minimum for tipped this is the best job that I have ever had.” — AP workers like waiters and bartenders is $2.13. Paid time off and medical benefits are almost unheard of in the high-turnover busi- ness. Congress hasn’t raised the tipped wage in nearly 25 years. The restaurant association, which has fought increased mini- mums, argues that requiring higher wages will force owners to lay off servers, cut workers’ hours or raise prices. Some cities and states, acting to address growing income inequality, have raised the tipping wage on their own. Among the highest: $10.74 an hour in San Francisco, $9.47 an hour in Washington state and $9.25 an hour in Oregon.

Improve conditions The state minimum for tipped employees in Pennsylvania is $2.83 hourly. After taking tips into account, that translates into a median wage of $8.25 an hour, or just over $17,000 per year for a full-time employee, according to Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, an organization seeking to improve conditions in the field. But tips offer the potential to earn a lot more - and sometimes much more quickly - than even a higher hourly wage might allow, said Geoff Bowman, a longtime bartender in Philadelphia. Currently in between bar gigs, he earns $2.83 plus tips as a server at Dottie’s Dinette, just few blocks from Girard in the city’s Fishtown section. Bowman acknowledged the lack of time off and health insurance have been “speed bumps and challenges” in a career he otherwise enjoys. At Girard, the menu and checks explain that “dishes are priced accordingly” to provide staff with higher wages and benefits. A fixed price, three-course dinner ranges from $31 to $42.

Glowing review Kelly Cinquegrana visited Girard shortly after its debut in late November, in part to support the idea of a better working envi- ronment. The cost of the meal was reasonable - “equal to giving a tip, anyway” - and she gave the food and service a glowing review on Yelp. Patrons eat near the lunch hour at Girard a ’No-Tip’ restaurant in Philadelphia. — AP photos Leisure FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

DOWN 1. United States explorer who (with Meriwether Lewis) led an expedition from CROSSWORD800 St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River. 2. 100 halers equal 1 koruna. 3. Italian violin maker in Cremona. 4. Straggling shrub with narrow leaves and conspicuous red flowers in dense globular racemes. 5. A language unit by which a person or thing is known. 6. (Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology. 7. A deep bow. 8. Any plant of the genus Stevia or the closely related genus Piqueria having glutinous foliage and white or purplish flowers. 9. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy. 10. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group. 11. A health resort near a spring or at the seaside. 12. Reddish long-tailed monkey of west Africa. 13. A particular environment or walk of life. 14. A woman of refinement. 20. The sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this). 22. Scottish sea captain who was hired to protect British shipping in the Indian Ocean and then was accused of piracy and hanged (1645-1701). 28. East Indian tree yielding a resin used medicinally and burned as incense. 31. Any of a group of heavenly spirits under the god Anu. 32. Sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Mohammed during his life at Mecca and Medina. 34. A state in the western United States. 35. Disposed of as useless. 36. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium. 38. A unit of dry measure used in Egypt. 39. Devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment. 40. Doglike nocturnal mammal of Africa and southern Asia that feeds chiefly on carrion. 43. An official language of the Republic of South Africa. 46. Regional and archaic. 50. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and ACROSS health-related products. 1. A wad of something chewable as tobacco. 51. United States architect (born in 1925). 5. Large aquatic animal supposed to resemble a serpent or plesiosaur of Loch 54. A heavy brittle metallic element of the platinum group. Ness in Scotland. 55. The rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state. 11. (trademark) A tinned luncheon meat made largely from pork. 56. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957). 15. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism. 58. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man. 16. A new embodiment of a familiar idea. 61. A cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the oppo- 17. (obstetrics) The number of live-born children a woman has delivered. site way. 18. (botany) Of or relating to the axil. 63. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 19. A noisy riotous fight. 64. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls. 21. A shot or scene that is photographed again v 1. 65. A primeval personification of air and breath. 23. A genus of Indriidae. 67. Stable gear consisting of either of two curved supports that are attached to 24. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. the collar of a draft horse and that hold the traces. Yesterday’s Solution 25. The largest Greek island in the Mediterranean. 68. A visual representation of an object or scene or person produced on a sur- 26. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan. face. 27. State in northeastern India. 69. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life. 29. A public promotion of some product or service. 71. The residue that remains when something is burned. 30. South American plant cultivated for its large fragrant trumpet-shaped flow- 73. In favor of (an action or proposal etc.). ers. 77. An informal term for a father. 33. British writer of novels who was born in India. 78. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 37. A rich meat stew highly seasoned with paprika. 41. (of securities) Not quoted on a stock exchange. 42. Out of bed. Yesterday’s Solution 44. Showily imitative of art or artists. 45. A village in eastern Ireland (northwest of Dublin). 47. A radioactive element of the alkali-metal group discovered as a disintegra- tion product of actinium. 48. An Old World reptile family of Sauria. 49. Material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds. 52. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail. 53. A small stalk bearing a single flower of an inflorescence. 57. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 59. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 60. A software system that facilitates the creation and maintenance and use of an electronic database. 62. The sixth month of the civil year. 66. Any of numerous plants of the orchid family usually having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colors. 70. A genus of Ploceidae. 72. (informal) "in the dumps". 74. The lean flesh of a fish similar to cod. 75. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment. 76. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off. 79. Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand. 80. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiat- ed material. 81. Common genus of marine bubble shells of the Pacific coast of North America. 82. Either extremity of something that has length.

Challenging Maze Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution TV listings FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

06:50 Classic Car Rescue 03:10 The Hive 21:35 Gravity Falls 19:00 Live From E! 05:00 Ultimate Airport Dubai 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 03:20 Art Attack 22:00 Suite Life On Deck 19:30 Eric And Jessie: Game On 06:00 Hard Time 08:30 Auction Hunters 03:45 Art Attack 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 20:00 Giuliana & Bill 07:00 Caught In The Act 08:55 The Liquidator 04:10 Jungle Junction 22:50 Shake It Up 21:00 Fashion Bloggers 08:00 One Ocean 09:20 What’s In The Barn? 04:20 Jungle Junction 23:10 Wolfblood 21:30 Fashion Bloggers 09:00 Gorilla Murders 00:30 Eastenders 09:45 How It’s Made 04:35 Jungle Junction 23:35 Wolfblood 22:00 E! News 10:00 Predator CSI 01:00 Doctors 10:10 How It’s Made 04:45 Jungle Junction 23:00 Live From E! 11:00 Plastiki 01:30 Lark Rise To Candleford 10:35 Airplane Repo 05:00 Art Attack 23:30 Christina Milian Turned Up 12:00 Fight Science 02:20 The Mimic 11:25 Street Outlaws 05:25 Art Attack 13:00 Ancient Secrets: The Sphinx 02:45 Sherlock 12:15 Hellriders 05:50 Mouk 14:00 Megacities 04:15 The Weakest Link 13:05 Auction Hunters 06:00 Dog With A Blog 15:00 Mega Factories: Supercars 05:00 The Green Balloon Club 13:30 The Liquidator 06:25 Liv And Maddie 16:00 Mega Breakdown 05:25 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 13:55 What’s In The Barn? 06:50 So Random 17:00 Live Free Or Die 05:45 Boogie Beebies 14:20 Outback Truckers 07:15 I Didn’t Do It 00:00 Fashion Bloggers 18:00 Hunter Hunted 06:00 Little Human Planet 00:30 Christina Milian Turned Up 15:10 Classic Car Rescue 07:40 Jessie 00:05 Chopped 19:00 Mega Factories: Supercars 06:05 Jollywobbles 00:55 Extreme Close-Up 16:00 Fast N’ Loud 08:05 Austin & Ally 00:55 Amazing Wedding Cakes 20:00 Mega Breakdown 06:15 The Green Balloon Club 01:25 Keeping Up With The 16:50 How It’s Made 08:30 Good Luck Charlie 01:45 Amazing Wedding Cakes 21:00 Live Free Or Die 06:40 Mr Bloom’s Nursery Kardashians 17:15 How It’s Made 08:55 Good Luck Charlie 02:35 Siba’s Table 22:00 Hunter Hunted 07:00 Boogie Beebies 02:20 E! News 17:40 Dual Survival 09:20 Sonny With A Chance 03:00 Siba’s Table 23:00 Plastiki 07:15 The Weakest Link 03:15 Giuliana & Bill 18:30 Overhaulin’ 09:45 Sonny With A Chance 03:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 08:00 Dad’s Army 04:10 THS 19:20 Kindig Customs 10:10 Suite Life On Deck 03:50 Amazing Wedding Cakes 08:30 The Omid Djalili Show 05:05 E!ES 20:10 The Liquidator 10:35 Suite Life On Deck 04:40 Reza, Spice Prince Of Vietnam 09:00 Eastenders 06:00 Keeping Up With The 20:35 What’s In The Barn? 11:00 That’s So Raven 05:05 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 09:30 Doctors Kardashians 21:00 Overhaulin’ 11:25 That’s So Raven 05:30 Reza, Spice Prince Of 10:00 Lark Rise To Candleford 06:55 Keeping Up With The 21:50 Kindig Customs 11:50 A.N.T. Farm Thailand 10:50 The Weakest Link Kardashians 22:40 Fantomworks 12:15 A.N.T. Farm 05:50 Siba’s Table 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 11:35 Dad’s Army 07:50 Style Star 23:30 Overhaulin’ 12:40 Good Luck Charlie 06:10 Sweet Genius Stewart 12:05 The Omid Djalili Show 08:20 E! News 13:05 Good Luck Charlie 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 01:30 Family Guy 12:35 2 Point 4 Children 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 13:30 Jessie 07:25 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 02:00 It’s Always Sunny In 13:10 Eastenders 10:15 Beyond Candid With Giuliana 13:55 Jessie 07:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Philadelphia 13:40 Doctors 11:10 E!ES 14:20 Austin & Ally 08:15 Chopped 02:30 Sean Saves The World 14:10 Lark Rise To Candleford 12:05 E! News 14:55 Jessie 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 03:00 The Neighbors 15:00 The Mimic 13:05 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 15:20 Liv And Maddie Basics 03:30 How I Met Your Mother 15:25 Dad’s Army 13:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 00:00 Violetta 15:45 Liv And Maddie 09:30 Farm Kings 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 15:55 The Omid Djalili Show 14:05 Fashion Bloggers 00:45 The Hive 16:10 Violetta 10:20 Recipes That Rock Jimmy Fallon 16:25 The Weakest Link 14:30 Fashion Bloggers 00:50 Art Attack 17:00 Radio Rebel 10:45 Reza, Spice Prince Of Vietnam 05:30 My Boys 17:10 My Family 15:00 House Of DVF 01:15 Art Attack 18:40 Austin & Ally 11:10 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 06:00 Last Man Standing 17:40 Doctors 16:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take The 01:40 Jungle Junction 19:05 Spooksville 11:35 Grandma’s Secret Cookbook 06:30 The Simpsons 18:10 Casualty Hamptons 01:50 Jungle Junction 19:30 Violetta 12:00 Chopped 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 19:00 Blackadder II 17:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take The 02:05 Jungle Junction 20:20 Liv And Maddie 12:50 Siba’s Table 08:30 My Boys 19:30 The Mimic Hamptons 02:15 Jungle Junction 20:45 Liv And Maddie 13:15 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 09:00 The Neighbors 20:00 Zen 21:10 Wolfblood 18:00 E! News 09:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 21:30 Ideal 02:30 Violetta 13:40 Mystery Diners 14:05 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 22:00 Live At The Apollo 10:30 The Simpsons 22:45 Watson & Oliver Cook Off 14:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 23:15 Blackadder II Jimmy Fallon 23:45 The Weakest Link 15:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:45 Farm Kings 12:00 Last Man Standing 16:35 Chopped 13:30 The Simpsons 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 17:50 Reza, Spice Prince Of Vietnam 14:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:00 Hot In Cleveland 18:40 Siba’s Table 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 19:05 Grandma’s Secret Cookbook Stewart 00:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 16:30 Last Man Standing 00:55 Food & Drink 19:30 Mystery Diners 19:55 Burger Land 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 01:20 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 18:00 The Neighbors Notebook: London 20:20 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook Off 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 01:45 Sweet Baby James 19:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 02:15 Masterchef: The Professionals 21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes 22:00 BBQ Crawl 19:30 The Goldbergs 03:05 Bargain Hunt 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 03:50 Come Dine With Me 22:25 BBQ Crawl 22:50 Pizza Cuz Jimmy Fallon 04:15 Planet Cake 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 04:40 Fantasy Homes By The Sea Stewart 05:25 Food & Drink 22:00 Silicon Valley 05:50 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 22:30 Silicon Valley 06:15 Sweet Baby James 23:00 Sean Saves The World 06:40 Masterchef: The Professionals 00:35 The Hungry Sailors 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 07:35 Planet Cake 01:30 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of 08:00 Bargain Hunt Dogs 08:45 Come Dine With Me 02:00 Emmerdale 09:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 02:25 Emmerdale 09:55 Food & Drink 02:55 Coronation Street 10:20 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 03:25 The Chase: Celebrity Specials 01:00 American Idol Notebook: London 04:20 Keep It In The Family 12:00 Emmerdale 10:45 Fat & Fatter 05:15 Murdoch Mysteries 16:00 Emmerdale 11:40 Masterchef: The Professionals 06:10 The Jonathan Ross Show 19:00 Once Upon A Time 12:35 Bargain Hunt 07:05 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of 21:00 American Idol 13:20 Come Dine With Me Dogs 22:00 American Horror Story: Freak 13:45 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 07:30 The Chase: Celebrity Specials Show 14:30 Food & Drink 08:25 Keep It In The Family 15:00 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 09:20 Big Star’s Little Star Notebook: London 10:15 Murdoch Mysteries 15:25 Fat & Fatter 11:10 Emmerdale 16:20 Masterchef: The Professionals 11:35 Emmerdale 17:15 Bargain Hunt 12:00 Coronation Street 18:00 Come Dine With Me 12:30 The Hungry Sailors 01:00 Good Morning America 18:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 13:25 The Jonathan Ross Show 05:00 Good Morning America 19:15 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 14:20 Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of 07:00 Emmerdale 20:00 How To Cook Like Heston Dogs 10:00 Emmerdale 20:25 Come Dine With Me: South 14:45 Murdoch Mysteries 15:00 Live Good Morning America Africa 15:35 The Great Fire 23:00 Justified 21:15 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 16:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes 21:40 Masterchef: The Professionals 17:25 Big Star’s Little Star 22:05 Baking Made Easy 18:20 The Jonathan Ross Show 22:30 Bargain Hunt 19:10 Coronation Street 23:15 Come Dine With Me 19:35 The Great Fire 23:40 The Hairy Bikers USA 20:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes 21:25 Big Star’s Little Star 22:20 Coronation Street 00:15 Dredd 22:50 Emmerdale 02:00 Stash House 23:15 Emmerdale 04:00 Knockout 23:45 Murdoch Mysteries 06:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 00:20 Street Outlaws Wolverine 01:10 Hellriders 08:00 Oblivion 02:00 Fast N’ Loud 10:15 White House Down 02:50 Auction Hunters 12:30 Knockout 03:15 The Liquidator 14:15 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 03:40 What’s In The Barn? Wolverine 00:00 One Ocean 04:05 How It’s Made 16:00 Oblivion 01:00 Gorilla Murders 04:30 How It’s Made 18:15 The Philly Kid 02:00 Predator CSI 05:00 Dual Survival 20:00 White House Down 03:00 My Dog Ate What? 06:00 Outback Truckers 22:15 Brave AFTER EARTH ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 04:00 Storm Worlds TV listings FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

09:00 Darling Companion-PG15 03:00 Live NBC Nightly News 05:00 What Not To Wear 11:00 Seven Days In Utopia-PG15 03:30 ABC World News With David 06:00 17 Kids And Counting 13:00 Kon-Tiki-PG15 Muir 06:25 Hoarding: Buried Alive 15:00 Beasts Of The Southern Wild- 04:00 Live MSNBC All In With Chris PG15 01:00 Golfing World 07:15 Hoarding: Buried Alive Hayes 02:00 Bellator MMA 00:00 Stash House-PG15 17:00 Darling Companion-PG15 01:00 The Happy Cricket 08:05 Secret Eaters 05:00 Live MSNBC The Rachel 04:00 Pool Mosconi Cup 02:00 Knockout-PG15 19:00 The Invisible Woman-PG15 02:45 Soccer Dog: European Cup Maddow Show 07:00 Golfing World 08:55 Secret Eaters 04:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 21:00 Disconnect-PG15 04:30 The Ugly Duckling And Me 06:00 Live MSNBC The Last Word 08:30 European Tour Weekly 09:45 Cake Boss Wolverine-PG 23:00 Her-PG15 06:00 The Chronicles Of Narnia: W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 09:00 Live PGA European Tour 06:00 Oblivion-PG15 Prince Caspian 10:10 Cake Boss 12:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 08:15 White House Down-PG15 08:30 Barbie In The Nutcracker 07:00 NBC Nightly News 12:30 ICC Cricket 360 10:35 Sister Wives 10:30 Knockout-PG15 10:00 The Little Rascals Save The 07:30 ABC World News With David 13:00 European Tour Weekly 11:00 Curvy Brides 12:15 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & Day Muir 13:30 Live PGA European Tour Wolverine-PG 11:45 Twigson 07:57 NBC Nightly News 11:25 17 Kids And Counting 19:00 WWE Superstars 14:00 Oblivion-PG15 13:00 Soccer Dog: European Cup 08:18 ABC World News With David 11:50 17 Kids And Counting 01:00 Rust And Bone-18 20:00 WWE SmackDown 16:15 The Philly Kid-PG15 14:30 Quest For A Heart Muir 03:00 Salmon Fishing In The Yemen- 22:00 NFL Road To The Super Bowl 12:15 18 Kids And Counting 18:00 White House Down-PG15 16:00 Shrek 2 09:06 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow PG15 XLIX 12:40 18 Kids And Counting 20:15 Brave-PG15 18:00 The Little Rascals Save The Show 05:00 Limitless-PG15 Day 23:00 Live Top 14 22:00 After Earth-PG15 10:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ 13:05 18 Kids And Counting 07:00 Robot & Frank-PG15 20:00 The Missing Lynx 09:00 Annapolis-PG15 22:00 Quest For A Heart Lawrence O’Donnell 13:30 Say Yes To The Dress: The 11:00 Salmon Fishing In The Yemen- 23:30 Marvel’s Planet Hulk 11:00 Live ABC World News Now Big Day 13:00 Hitchcock-PG15 11:30 Live ABC World News Now 14:20 Oprah: Where Are They 15:00 I Am Sam-PG15 14:30 MSNBC First Look 17:15 Annapolis-PG15 15:00 Live NBC Today Show 00:00 New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI Now? 00:00 Me, Myself And Irene-18 19:00 Stalingrad-PG15 18:57 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Highlights 15:10 Cake Boss 02:15 Standing Ovation-PG15 21:30 The Count Of Monte Cristo- Matthews 01:00 New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI 15:35 Cake Boss 04:15 Chalet Girl-PG15 23:45 Puncture-18 19:38 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Highlights 00:00 A Family Reunion-PG15 06:30 Live England v India ODI 16:00 Cake Boss 06:00 What To Expect When You’re Show 02:00 The 7:39-PG15 14:30 New Zealand v Sri Lanka ODI 16:25 Cake Boss Expecting-PG15 04:00 Vamps-PG15 20:19 MSNBC The Last Word W/ 08:00 Mr. 3000-PG Highlights 16:50 Cake Boss 06:00 Red Sky-PG15 Lawrence O’Donnell 17:30 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 10:00 The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The 08:00 The Host-PG15 21:00 Live MSNBC Ronan Farrow 17:15 Bakery Boss Galaxy-PG15 18:00 ICC Cricket 360 10:15 Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Daily 18:05 Oprah's Master Class 12:00 Addams Family Values-PG 18:30 Ranji Trophy 01:15 Knuckle-PG15 Super Heroes Unite-PG 22:00 Live MSNBC The Reid Report 14:00 Open Season-FAM 18:55 Say Yes To The Dress 11:30 Vamps-PG15 23:00 Live MSNBC The Cycle 16:00 Mr. 3000-PG 03:00 Thor: The Dark World-PG15 19:20 Say Yes To The Dress 05:00 Good Deeds-PG15 13:30 All In Good Time-PG15 18:00 10 Years-PG15 15:30 The Host-PG15 19:45 Say Yes To The Dress 20:00 Sweet Home Alabama-PG15 07:00 Planes-PG 17:45 Pacific Rim-PG15 20:10 Say Yes To The Dress 22:00 3 Geezers!-18 09:00 Sky Force-FAM 20:00 Runner Runner-PG15 23:30 Addams Family Values-PG 10:30 Thor: The Dark World-PG15 22:00 We’re The Millers-18 00:45 The Face Australia 20:35 Say Yes To The Dress 12:30 Captain America: The Winter 21:00 Oprah: Where Are They 02:30 Golfing World 01:35 Bizarre ER Soldier-PG15 03:30 Super Rugby Final Highlights 02:00 Bizarre ER Now? 15:00 Nebraska-PG15 06:20 Live Cricket 21:50 Oprah Presents: Master 17:00 Playing For Keeps-PG15 02:25 What Have I Got 14:30 NFL Road To The Super Bowl Class 01:15 Phantom-PG15 18:45 About Time-PG15 XLIX 02:50 What Have I Got 03:00 The Factory-PG15 21:00 The Monuments Men-PG15 00:00 Live MSNBC Now With Alex 15:30 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 03:15 Extreme Cheapskates 22:40 Extreme Couponing 04:45 Seven Days In Utopia-PG15 23:00 Man Of Tai Chi-PG15 Wagner 17:00 Inside The PGA Tour 03:40 Extreme Cheapskates 23:05 Undercover Mums 06:30 Mandela: Long Walk To 01:00 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 17:30 PGA European Tour 23:55 Undercover Mums Freedom-PG15 02:00 Live MSNBC Politicsnation 23:00 Live PGA Tour 04:05 What Not To Wear

WHITE HOUSE DOWN ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD Stars FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Aries (March 21-April 19) COUNTRY CODES Libra (September 23-October 22) Difficulties in negotiations and persuasions to change or Afghanistan 0093 Lithuania 00370 This is a good time to sit in your car and read the little book Albania 00355 Luxembourg 00352 update an old technical way of doing things may need rethinking. It is not the Algeria 00213 Macau 00853 time to replace a part or item just now, but you will have plenty of time to do that came with your car. Write down your mileage and, if you do not know, Andorra 00376 Macedonia 00389 your research and state your case. For an example, let us just say that you learn where or how to get to all the fluids that need checking from time to Angola 00244 Madagascar 00261 have decided to purchase a new video recorder but others do not want to time. Create a folder for the repair work, oil changes and tire replacements Anguilla 001264 Majorca 0034 spend the money. Do the research and show the options . . . Next month you that can be kept neatly in the trunk or glove compartment. During this day, Antiga 001268 Malawi 00265 will be able to purchase the product. Now is not a good time to make a pur- someone makes a suggestion, says a name, or puts a bug in your ear, so to Argentina 0054 Malaysia 0060 chase. Work is definitely on the back burner this afternoon but you could be speak; you will want to remember. Keep a diary of notes and jot down a few Armenia 00374 Maldives 00960 inspired to do something that will beautify your home. Relationships are the words that will remind you of these things later. You will inspire a young Australia 0061 Mali 00223 order later today. The rapport between you and your family is particularly person who may be stuck in a muck of homework. Break yourself of that Austria 0043 Malta 00356 strong. Bahamas 001242 Marshall Islands 00692 last-minute-habit by helping yourself create incentives. Tonight is for hugs. 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 This is a stimulating day and you find success and rewards at Bhutan 00975 Mongolia 00976 every turn. You will probably be able to enjoy letting the world come to As you move through your various responsibilities today you Bolivia 00591 Montserrat 001664 you now-do not expect too much. You may even get the feeling that you are quickly able to cut through the red tape and get behind difficult situa- Bosnia 00387 Morocco 00212 could conduct an orchestra. There are delivery instructions to give and tions. In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your men- Botswana 00267 Mozambique 00258 tal best. A meeting with someone older or in authority is insightful. This may there are directions and guidance and encouragement that you enjoy Brazil 0055 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 be a time when serious discussions lead to good solutions. The location of Brunei 00673 Namibia 00264 handing out to the necessary persons. The day ends with calls of reports the planets at this time may help stir the energies to give your plans or ideas Bulgaria 00359 Nepal 00977 and achievements and updates of the day. Speaking with a friend later, you a good beginning. You are the one to use the energy, as you generate your Burkina 00226 Netherlands 0031 may find this friend has ideas that may actually turn you in a direction that own determination to succeed and excel. As this month moves along you Burundi 00257 Netherlands Antilles 00599 will help you increase your finances. You enjoy the family this evening. will feel when it is the right time for putting the finishing touches to your Cambodia 00855 New Caledonia 00687 Consider discussing the long- and short-term goals of the family for this Cameroon 00237 New Zealand 0064 plans. Harmony with friends and family is the order, and joy, of the afternoon year. Everybody has an agenda. Canada 001 Nicaragua 00505 and evening. 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 Procrastination-hum the good aspect of procrastination is Spend some extra time to study a special problem today. Comoros 00269 Oman 00968 that procrastinating will let you stop and think things through. Rest a bit. A Your time is usually spent in rushing around and getting things accom- Congo 00242 Pakistan 0092 Cook Islands 00682 Palau 00680 good plan of action will emerge soon. You may find yourself experiencing plished-some on time and some not. Now is a good time to think over your routine and look at how you can eliminate a few needless steps. This is a Costa Rica 00506 Panama 00507 some delays today and this may be caused by too many avenues of busi- Croatia 00385 Papua New Guinea 00675 ness needing your attention. One thing at a time works wonders, however. good time to take the observer attitude and make notes of how often you Cuba 0053 Paraguay 00595 Like the little train that climbed the mountain-you will see this day through feel your errands or chores could have better organization, affording you a Cyprus 00357 Peru 0051 with many accomplishments. Sex and healing are manifestations that play a little time saved. You and a co-worker friend might have fun working this Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Philippines 0063 bigger role in your life now. Taxes, investments and other financial ties or over together. When the study is completed, give credit where credit is due. Czech Republic 00420 Poland 0048 obligations may grab your attention as well. Relax after work-get outside, This afternoon you may be encouraged to join a choir or take some sort of Denmark 0045 Portugal 00351 weather permitting of course, and enjoy some fresh air, perhaps with a creative class. Think about balance and what you will do when no busy-ness Diego Garcia 00246 Puerto Rico 001787 occupies your mind. Djibouti 00253 Qatar 00974 friend. 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 Allow for delays and cancellation today-exercise patience. If If you are working at home today, expect delays. Life has ways Eritrea 00291 Saint Vincent 001784 of making us slow down and think about where we are going. You have an Estonia 00372 Samoa US 00684 challenged in any way, you are likely to be irritable and argumentative. Think Ethiopia 00251 Samoa West 00685 positive and try to avoid disruptive people and events. You also may be opportunity to catch up mentally and create new plans if necessary. This is a Falkland Islands 00500 San Marino 00378 prone to impulsiveness and insist on having your own way-careful. perfect time to find the answers to any difficulties that have come to your Faroe Islands 00298 Sao Tone 00239 Obviously, keeping your cool during this short period is important. However, attention. Consider starting a senior math or reading mentor program, Fiji 00679 Saudi Arabia 00966 there could be a positive use for single-mindedness, such as in braking down recruiting retirees as volunteers. If needed, have a jar handy for the change Finland 00358 Scotland (UK) 0044 barriers that previously were insurmountable. If you are looking for the needed to buy refreshments. This volunteer work is within your expertise France 0033 Senegal 00221 answer to a long-endured problem-you will find it now. A lucrative time is and it will fill you with a great deal of satisfaction. Take some time off from French Guiana 00594 Seychelles 00284 coming up soon; as with anything, there are risks as well as rewards. You are slaying dragons and recharge your batteries! Share a visit with someone spe- French Polynesia 00689 Sierra Leone 00232 Gabon 00241 Singapore 0065 motivated to give some personal time to a family member. cial this evening. Enjoy some relaxed activity and chat about each other’s day. 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 Guadeloupe 00590 Sudan 00249 You feel very good about yourself and others tend to support Patience, all good things happen in their own time schedule. Follow your usual routine, but learn to see the delays as blessings. You will Guam 001671 Suriname 00597 your self-confidence. If you enjoy your work, this is a good day to expand Swaziland 00268 understand in a short time. There are times this year when you will be stand- Guatemala 00502 your horizons. If you consider your job little more than drudgery, this is a Guinea 00224 Sweden 0046 good time to begin a vacation. You may find yourself reviewing some sales ing in line or traffic is slow. These are the best times to have something Guyana 00592 Switzerland 0041 recorded to listen to and be entertained and calmed. A story on recording technique or some old project. This is the best time to plan a way to abolish Haiti 00509 Syria 00963 equipment or recorded music would be fun to have with you but if you find the rubbish. There is a tendency to be too strict with yourself, to insist that Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Serbia 00381 yourself sitting without entertainment, it will be a good time to find some Taiwan 00886 whatever does not contribute to security and other long-term goals is trivial. Honduras 00504 paper and a pen and become the composer of letters, poems, music, etc. Now Hong Kong 00852 Tanzania 00255 Later today, you may enjoy a good movie or book or feel like escaping from you have the vision that these little delays afford you which is a creative Hungary 0036 Thailand 0066 day-to-day realities. Be careful that you do not overspend or indulge too Toga 00228 adventure. Relax this evening and enjoy your special day. Ibiza (Spain) 0034 much. You can appreciate an imaginative approach and may enjoy a play or Iceland 00354 Tonga 00676 movie. 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 Ambition, practicality and achievement are admirable, but You will have an opportunity at work soon that will help you Jamaica 001876 Uruguay 00598 they are means to an end-not ends in themselves. It is important that you in your struggle to move up the corporate ladder. Thoughts along this line Japan 0081 USA 001 share the responsibilities to complete an old project. If you can be a bit flexi- may not be far from your mind. You have a talent that would make a good Jordan 00962 Uzbekistan 00998 ble, you will see successful results from most anything with which you try to income for you in the future. Think about polishing this talent and consider Kazakhstan 007 Vanuatu 00678 involve yourself. Your focus and self-discipline are admirable and others may going public. This may be art but it could also be the talent that you have in Kenya 00254 Venezuela 00582 Kiribati 00686 Vietnam 0084 want some advice on how to do what you do. It is time to build upon future problem solving with some technical project. You could solve computer problems or car problems, convert existing products into some more conven- Kuwait 00965 Virgin Islands UK 001284 goals and take that action one step at a time. This may mean in the work- Kyrgyzstan 00996 Virgin Islands US 001340 place, in the home or in a volunteer organization. Whatever the case, a spirit ient or updated product, etc. You don’t have to be stuck in one job-you have Laos 00856 Wales (UK) 0044 of moving forward is the attitude you embrace. You come across as very the talent to see where and how certain changes can work. Consider being a Latvia 00371 Yemen 00967 organized; let us see how you progress. Totally forget everything with a cou- business consultant. An urge for the social life may find you out with friends Lebanon 00961 Yugoslavia 00381 ple’s massage later this evening. this evening. Liberia 00231 Zambia 00260 Libya 00218 Zimbabwe 00263 HEALTH FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 As smokers spark up e-cigs to quit, traditional aids suffer

NEW YORK: When Marty Weinstein decided to consumers it has been a direct substitution.” quit smoking, he took a friend’s advice and tried GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Johnson & Johnson electronic cigarettes rather than government- don’t break out the data on their smoking cessa- approved nicotine replacement products. tion products, which are relatively small parts of Weinstein, 58, has gone from a pack a day nine their sales, but the companies have noted the months ago to the equivalent in nicotine of four or change. five cigarettes. The e-cigs have a familiar look and “It’s definitely taken a bit of our market, no feel, and quench his desire to hold on to a ciga- question at all - but there’s a lot of competition in rette and puff. “I fully understand I’m still addicted that space,” GSK chief executive Andrew Witty told to nicotine,” said Weinstein, a Connecticut taxi Reuters in an interview this month. GSK’s nicotine driver who had smoked for more than 20 years. replacement therapies and smoking cessation “But I’m now so much healthier.” products include the brands Nicorette, E-cigarettes, metal tubes that heat liquids typi- NicoDermCQ and the medicine Zyban. There is lit- cally laced with nicotine and deliver vapor when tle long-term safety data on e-cigarettes, although sucked, are transforming the market for smoking some healthcare professionals say they may be cessation products and slowing the $2.4 billion in better for consumers than tobacco cigarettes global sales of long-standing aids such as nicotine because they have no carbon monoxide and fewer patches and gums. But their impact on health cancer-causing chemicals. remains unclear, experts say, raising difficult ques- A growing number of states, cities and coun- tions for regulators who are starting to impose lim- tries - including Israel and Australia - are consider- its on e-cigarette use. ing or have approved legislation to ban or limit the E-cigarette makers in the United States are devices or the liquids, which come in exotic flavors barred from explicitly marketing the products as from bacon to bubble gum. California’s top public smoking cessation devices, but have found ways health official on Wednesday slammed e-cigs as to appeal legally to smokers who are thinking of addictive, saying they were leading to nicotine poi- quitting. “You never say ‘quit’ because it’s not University College London survey in January of by Euromonitor to drop this year by that amount. soning among children and threatened to unravel approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation 1,800 people, including 450 smokers. E-cigs are Big tobacco companies like Altria, Lorillard and the state’s decades-long effort to reduce tobacco device,” said Jose Castro, the chief executive of A1 used by almost twice as many people as govern- Reynolds American have rushed into the e-cig use. Vapors in Miami, referring to the US Food and ment-approved nicotine gums, lozenges and market. The entire US market for “vapor devices” Earlier this week, California introduced a bill Drug Administration. patches, according to the survey. That was a rever- such as e-cigs grew in 2014 by 40-50 percent to that would ban the devices in public places, and A1 Vapors runs an ad on its website urging cus- sal from 2011, when only about 5 percent of peo- $2.5 billion to $3 billion, Euromonitor said. The New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a similar tomers to “kiss tobacco goodbye” and give them- ple were using e-cigarettes and more than 30 per- global market is worth $5 billion. ban earlier this month. Last year, the World Health selves the “gift of your life. literally”, adding a dis- cent used over-the-counter products. Organization recommended that smokers should claimer that e-cigs are not a smoking cessation Similar data is not yet publicly available for the Rules on e-cigs tightening be encouraged to try already approved treatments product. E-cigarettes, or e-cigs, have only come United States. Worldwide sales of all nicotine Mark Strobel, a consumer health analyst at rather than e-cigarettes. The FDA last April pro- into widespread use in the past few years, but have replacement therapies grew just 1.2 percent last Euromonitor, said e-cigarettes have slowed nico- posed rules for electronic cigarettes that would, already made inroads into traditional quitting ther- year, to almost $2.4 billion, according to data from tine replacement therapy sales, along with rela- among other things, ban sales to those under 18, apies. About a third of British smokers trying to commercial researcher Euromonitor. US sales, at tively high prices and a shrinking population of but not restrict flavored products, online sales or quit were using e-cigarettes, according to a $900 million, grew 0.2 percent, and are expected smokers, especially in the United States. “For some advertising.— Reuters FRIDAY, JANUARY 30 , 2015

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (29/01/2015 TO 04/02/2015)

SHARQIA-1 BLACKHAT 3:15 PM BLACKHAT 11:30 AM ROBOT OVERLORDS 5:45 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 2:00 PM BLACKHAT 7:45 PM BLACKHAT 4:30 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 10:15 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 7:00 PM BLACKHAT 12:15 AM AMERICAN SNIPER 9:30 PM BLACKHAT 12:05 AM MARINA-2 TAKEN 3 12:45 PM SHARQIA-2 ROBOT OVERLORDS 3:00 PM SONG OF THE SEA 11:30 AM TAKEN 3 5:00 PM SAT TAKEN 3 7:15 PM TAKEN 3 1:00 PM TAKEN 3 9:45 PM NO FRI + SAT ROBOT OVERLORDS 12:15 AM SONG OF THE SEA 1:30 PM FRI + SAT MARINA-3 SONG OF THE SEA 3:30 PM SONG OF THE SEA 11:30 AM SONG OF THE SEA 5:30 PM SAT TAKEN 3 7:30 PM SELMA 1:00 PM TAKEN 3 9:45 PM NO FRI + SAT TAKEN 3 12:15 AM SONG OF THE SEA 1:30 PM FRI + SAT SHARQIA-3 SONG OF THE SEA 3:30 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 11:30 AM SONG OF THE SEA 5:30 PM BLACKHAT 1:30 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 7:30 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 4:00 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 10:00 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 6:00 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 12:30 AM ROBOT OVERLORDS 8:00 PM BLACKHAT 10:00 PM AVENUES-1 ROBOT OVERLORDS 12:30 AM CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 11:45 AM CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 2:15 PM MUHALAB-1 CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 4:45 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 12:45 PM CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 7:15 PM BLACKHAT 3:00 PM CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 9:45 PM CHANGE OF NAME ROBOT OVERLORDS 5:30 PM CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 12:15 AM BLACKHAT 7:30 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 10:00 PM AVENUES-2 I, Melitta Anthony Almeida, BLACKHAT 12:15 AM THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 11:30 AM holder of Indian Passport No. DAVID OYELOWO, CARMEN EJOGO 1:45 PM F5531147 have hereby MUHALAB-2 SELMA 4:30 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 11:30 AM SELMA 7:15 PM changed my name from SELMA 2:00 PM SELMA 10:00 PM Melitta Anthony Almeida to AMERICAN SNIPER 4:30 PM SELMA 12:45 AM Melitta Almeida. Henceforth, SELMA 7:00 PM in all dealings and docu- AMERICAN SNIPER 9:30 PM AVENUES-3 AMERICAN SNIPER 12:05 AM AMERICAN SNIPER 1:15 PM ments I will be known as AMERICAN SNIPER 3:45 PM Melitta Almeida. (C 4913) MUHALAB-3 AMERICAN SNIPER 6:15 PM 29-1-2014 TAKEN 3 11:30 AM AMERICAN SNIPER 8:45 PM SONG OF THE SEA 1:45 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 11:15 PM SONG OF THE SEA 3:45 PM Salina Fernandes, r/o TAKEN 3 5:45 PM AVENUES-4 Mashem, Loliem Polem - Goa, Hereinafter, in all my dealings TAKEN 3 8:00 PM TAKEN 3 11:30 AM and documents, I will be TAKEN 3 10:15 PM TAKEN 3 2:00 PM holder of Passport No. TAKEN 3 12:30 AM TAKEN 3 4:30 PM H0192790, have changed my known by the name Salina TAKEN 3 7:00 PM name from Salina Sanjay Fernandes. FANAR-1 NO THU (C 1912) ROBOT OVERLORDS 1:00 PM Special Show “THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 “ 7:00 PM Divakar to Salina Fernandes. MORTDECAI 3:00 PM THU 27-1-2014 ROBOT OVERLORDS 5:00 PM TAKEN 3 9:30 PM MORTDECAI 7:00 PM TAKEN 3 12:05 AM ROBOT OVERLORDS 9:00 PM ROBOT OVERLORDS 11:00 PM AVENUES-5 ROBOT OVERLORDS 1:00 AM BLACKHAT 1:00 PM BLACKHAT 3:45 PM Sabah Hospital 24812000 FANAR-2 AMERICAN SNIPER 6:30 PM Amiri Hospital 22450005 AMERICAN SNIPER 11:30 AM BLACKHAT 9:00 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 2:00 PM NO MON Maternity Hospital 24843100 AMERICAN SNIPER 4:30 PM Special Show “UNBROKEN “ 9:00 PM Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 AMERICAN SNIPER 7:00 PM MON AMERICAN SNIPER 9:45 PM AMERICAN SNIPER 11:45 PM Chest Hospital 24849400 AMERICAN SNIPER 12:15 AM Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 AVENUES-6 FANAR-3 BLACKHAT 12:00 PM Adan Hospital 23940620 ROBOT OVERLORDS 11:45 AM BLACKHAT 2:45 PM BLACKHAT 1:45 PM BLACKHAT 5:30 PM Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 BLACKHAT 4:15 PM BLACKHAT 8:15 PM Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 BLACKHAT 6:45 PM BLACKHAT 11:00 PM BLACKHAT 9:15 PM Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 BLACKHAT 11:45 PM AVENUES-7 THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 1:00 PM FANAR-4 THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 3:15 PM TAKEN 3 11:30 AM THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 5:15 PM Kaizen center 25716707 NO SAT STILL ALICE 7:45 PM Rawda 22517733 SONG OF THE SEA 12:00 PM THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 10:00 PM SAT AMERICAN SNIPER 12:15 AM Adaliya 22517144 SONG OF THE SEA 2:00 PM Khaldiya 24848075 TAKEN 3 4:00 PM AVENUES-8 SONG OF THE SEA 6:15 PM MORTDECAI 12:00 PM Kaifan 24849807 TAKEN 3 8:15 PM MORTDECAI 2:15 PM Shamiya 24848913 TAKEN 3 10:30 PM THE BOOK OF LIFE 4:30 PM TAKEN 3 12:45 AM HAWAIZAADA - HINDI 6:45 PM Shuwaikh 24814507 MORTDECAI 9:45 PM Abdullah Salem 22549134 FANAR-5 MORTDECAI 12:05 AM SELMA 12:30 PM Nuzha 22526804 SELMA 3:00 PM AVENUES-9 CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 5:30 PM SELMA 12:30 PM Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 CAIRO TIME - ARABIC 7:45 PM SONG OF THE SEA 3:00 PM Qadsiya 22515088 SELMA 10:00 PM SONG OF THE SEA 5:15 PM SELMA 12:30 AM SONG OF THE SEA 7:30 PM Dasmah 22532265 BLACKHAT 9:45 PM Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 MARINA-1 BLACKHAT 12:30 AM BLACKHAT 12:30 PM Shaab 22518752 Qibla 22459381 Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Sri Lanka hikes company taxes, Total awarded stake in new Abu Dhabi oil concession says economy in ‘sad state’ PAGE 38 PAGE 39

NEW YORK: A worker cleaning a pot beside a street in New York. New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits plunged to the lowest level in nearly 15 years last week, the Labor Department reported yesterday. — AFP Fed stays ‘patient’ on raising rates US jobless applications plunge to 15-year low

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve’s out- Employment next week. Some of the drop also reflects the The Fed’s statement did not explicitly men- look for the US economy is steadily brighten- Meanwhile, the number of people seeking end of seasonal layoffs of temporary employ- tion the weakening global economy. But it ing. Yet the Fed will be “patient” in raising unemployment aid plunged last week to the ees hired by retailers and restaurants for the did say the Fed planned to take “international interest rates from record lows. That was the lowest level in almost 15 years, a sign hiring winter holidays. Those layoffs caused a spike developments” into account in determining dual message the central bank sent will likely remain healthy. in applications in early January. They reached when to start raising rates. Wednesday in a statement it issued after its Weekly applications dropped 43,000 to a a seven-month high of 317,000 three weeks The Fed operates with two key mandates: latest policy meeting. Why is no rate hike like- seasonally adjusted 265,000, the Labor ago. The government tries to adjust for such Maximizing employment and keeping prices ly soon? The main reason, the Fed suggested Department said Thursday. That is the lowest seasonal patterns but isn’t always able to do rising at a moderate pace of 2 percent. The US in its statement, is that inflation remains well level since April 2000. It is also the biggest so perfectly. Applications have been near or economy’s steady growth and improving job below the central bank’s target rate. decline in two years. The four-week average, a below 300,000 since September. That sug- market would normally argue for a move to And it said the pressures holding down less volatile measure, fell 8,250 to 298,500. gests companies are confident enough in the begin raising rates to prevent high inflation. inflation - mainly plunging oil prices - have The latest drop may have been exaggerat- economy to hold onto their staffs. Last year’s The Fed has kept its benchmark rate near zero intensified. The Fed said it thinks inflation will ed by the federal holiday, which likely slowed robust hiring means that more Americans are since 2008 to encourage borrowing, spending decline further before eventually reaching the the processing of some claims. Still, applica- earning paychecks than a year ago. That and investment and support the recovery from central bank’s 2 percent target rate. tions are a proxy for layoffs, so the sharp should boost consumer spending and help the Great Recession. The Fed’s key rate affects The Fed sketched a bullish picture of the decline means companies are cutting fewer power faster economic growth this year. Most rates on many consumer and business loans. economy - with a strengthening job market, jobs. The four-week average has fallen 11 per- economists forecast growth will top 3 percent But the concerns about global economic lower unemployment, rising consumer cent in the past year. At the same time, hiring in 2015 for the first time in a decade. Yet weakness and low inflation have raised spending and higher household purchasing has picked up. Employers added almost 3 mil- wage growth has lagged hiring. Average doubts about when the Fed’s first rate power fueled by lower energy prices. lion jobs last year, the most since 1999. Strong wages increased only 1.7 percent in 2014. increase will occur. A growing number of Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital economic growth has encouraged companies That’s down from 1.9 percent in 2013 and economists say the date could slip to Economics, said the statement suggested that to add more workers. much lower than the 3.5 percent to 4 percent September or even later. Economists at the Fed “is still taking the view that the col- Last week included the Martin Luther King that is consistent with a healthy economy. Morgan Stanley this week pushed back their lapse in oil prices is a net positive for the Jr. holiday, when state unemployment offices forecast for the first rake hike to March 2016 economy.” were closed. That could have delayed the pro- Low inflation because of the factors holding inflation down. The Fed’s statement also made clear that cessing of some applications, a Labor The Fed’s emphasis on low inflation could Some economists said the Fed’s refer- policymakers still think the impact of low oil Department spokesman said. The unem- affect when it decides to raise its key short- ences to both stronger growth and lower prices on inflation will prove temporary, ployed can apply for benefits online, though term rate from near zero. Many economists inflation largely offset each other. That sug- Ashworth said. The statement was approved they are typically less likely to do so on a holi- have forecast a rate hike in June, but some gests that the Fed sees little pressure to raise on a 10-0 vote. day. That suggests applications could rise have pushed back their predicted timetable. rates soon. — AP Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 News Report US dollar stable against dinar at 0.294

KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Kuwaiti dinar was stable yesterday at KD 0.294, while the euro dropped to KD 0.332 compared to yesterday’s exchange rates, said the daily bulletin of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK). The sterling pound exchange rate went down to KD 0.446, while the Swiss Franc dropped to KD 0.323, and the Japanese Yen remained unchanged at KD 0.002.

Kuwaiti crude price up 98 cents to $41.86pb KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil barrel went up 98 cents on Wednesday, reaching $41.86, compared to the day before of 40.88 per barrel, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. Global oil prices continued its downward trend yesterday, especially after US official data showed a new hike in crude oil reserve, which backed fears of market saturation against weak demand. The decline has been ongoing since June 2014 as the second- HERAT: Afghan residents are reflected in a lake as they walk with cattle in the outskirts of Herat on Wednesday. biggest ever, after the collapse in 2008 which followed a Afghanistan’s economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001 largely because of the record high. infusion of international assistance. — AFP

Saudi Aramco sets Feb Total awarded stake in new propane at $450/T, up $25 TOKYO: State-run Saudi Aramco has set its February contract price for propane at $450 a ton, up $25 from the January level, an Abu Dhabi oil concession industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said yester- day. The prices provide a benchmark against which Middle East sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Asia are priced. Shell, BP may get 10% stake each if terms agreed

Saudi Arabia says seeks PARIS/DUBAI: Total became the first oil A Shell spokesman said the company the remaining 5 percent stake. 660,000T of wheat in tender major to renew a 40-year onshore con- had received a proposal from ADNOC US firm Occidental Petroleum Corp, ABU DHABI: Saudi Arabia’s state grain buyer, the Grain cession in Abu Dhabi, putting its peers regarding the company’s bid for the Italy’s ENI , China National Petroleum Corp. Silos and Flour Mills Organization (GSFMO), said yesterday under pressure to improve terms after the onshore concession, giving no further (CNPC), Norway’s Statoil and Japan’s Inpex it was seeking 660,000 tons of hard wheat in a tender. The local partner said the French firm made details. BP declined to comment. have also bid. An Inpex spokesman had no wheat, with 12.5 percent protein content, is for shipment the best offer. An ADNOC source told Reuters the firm comment yesterday. during April and May, GSFMO said in a statement. The The state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil is negotiating separately with other com- Each company submitted two propos- wheat will be purchased in shipments of 55,000 tons with Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement panies to bring their offers in line with als-one for a 5 percent stake and another a total 330,000 tons to be imported via the port of Jeddah yesterday with Total giving the firm a 10 Total’s. “Shell and BP could also get a 10 for 10 percent, with a one-year validity, but and 330,000 tons via Dammam, the statement said. In its percent stake in the new concession to percent stake each as Total,” the ADNOC bids were later extended. The fields pro- last reported tender on Nov. 24, GSFMO bought 345,000 help operate the United Arab Emirates’ source said, adding that Korea National Oil duce 1.6 million barrels per day and are tons of hard wheat, with accepted origins the European biggest oilfields. Nine Asian and Western Corp. was likely to get a 5 percent share, if expected to reach 1.8 million bpd from Union, North and South America and Australia, at the sell- firms bid for stakes in the Abu Dhabi agreed on terms. He did not elaborate on 2017. — Reuters er’s option. Saudi Arabia has become a major importer of Company for Onshore Oil Operations hard and soft wheat since abandoning plans for self-suffi- (ADCO) concession after a deal with ciency in wheat in 2008 as farming in the desert drained Western oil majors dating back to the Angola’s economy set to away precious water supplies. The country aims to steadily 1970s expired in January 2014. reduce agriculture and plans to be completely reliant on Four oil majors-ExxonMobil, Royal slow as oil prices collapse imports by 2016 to save water. Dutch Shell , Total and BP-had each held 9.5 percent equity stakes in the ADCO con- JOHANNESBURG: Angola’s oil- structure. The austerity drive is a cession since the 1970s. After the deal dependent economy is set to slow result of a halving of global oil prices Egypt CB widens band for expired last year, ADNOC took 100 percent this year, key infrastructure projects in the last six months. Oil accounts for of the concession as political leaders in will be shelved and swathes of social around half of Angola’s GDP, 80 per- banks to trade dollars Abu Dhabi weighed up whether to bring in spending are facing the chop as a cent of tax revenues and 90 percent Asian firms or stick with old partners, global crude price slump takes its toll of export earnings. CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank widened the band in which banks industry and diplomatic sources said. on Africa’s second-biggest producer. “The impact of low oil revenues can trade dollars to 10 piasters above or below the official rate, Shell, Total and BP have made new bids, Angola’s cabinet last week sent a will be reflected in growth,” said up from 3 piasters, bankers said yesterday, prompting the while Exxon has decided against bidding, revised 2015 budget to parliament, Samantha Singh, analyst at Standard lenders’ dollar rates to fall to their weakest ever levels. sources have told Reuters. The concession cutting the assumed oil price to $40 a Bank, which expects Angola’s GDP to Egypt has been attempting to tackle a flourishing black mar- signed with Total was effective from Jan. 1, barrel, from $81 previously projected, grow around 3.1 percent this year, ket in the pound by allowing for the gradual depreciation of the 2015, and covers Abu Dhabi’s 15 principal and slashing $14 billion off planned down from 4 percent last year and a currency over the past two weeks, raising expectations for a less onshore oilfields that represent more than spending, the finance ministry said. peak of 12 percent in 2012. interventionist approach to managing the pound. The central half of the Gulf emirate’s production. The government’s failure to shield Angola’s finance ministry had pre- bank’s decision to allow for a wider band for trading in dollars “Total is honoured to be the first inter- sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest dicted growth of around 9 percent this prompted the rate at which Egyptian banks sell dollars to their national oil company to be chosen ... and economy from tumbling oil prices is year but that was before the budget clients to weaken to 7.59 pounds per dollar, bankers said, it’s to be entrusted with the mission of techni- likely to intensify public anger cuts. Singh said she expected Angola weakest level ever. cal leader on two major groups of fields,” towards President Jose Eduardo dos to post a budget deficit of around 8.1 Earlier yesterday, Egypt’s central bank had allowed the pound Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne Santos, who has been accused of percent of GDP, while the kwanza was to weaken to an official rate of 7.49 per dollar at a dollar auction, said in a statement. enriching a political elite and leaving likely to weaken to new record lows the weakest level it has been allowed to reach since auctions ADNOC said in a statement that Total the poor behind during his 35 years against the US dollar and there was began in December 2012. The rates at which banks are allowed “presented the best technical and com- in power. further upside to inflation, currently at to trade dollars are determined by the results of central bank mercial offers.” More companies will be Dos Santos told Angolans last 7.5 percent. It is also likely Angola’s sales, giving the bank effective control over official exchange added to the concession soon, ADNOC month that 2015 would be “difficult current account balance could slip into rates, though there remains an active black market in the pound. said. A Total spokeswoman said the com- economically” and some public deficit this year, for the first time since Expectations that the bank will devalue have grown since it pany’s margin on the deal was better than spending would have to be cut, 2009, if oil prices remain depressed, announced a surprise 50-basis-point cut in benchmark interest the previous concession, although com- including on fuel subsidies and infra- economists say. —Reuters rates earlier this month. —Reuters mercial details could not be divulged. Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Spanish retail sales rise at fastest pace in 11 years Consumer durables show strongest growth, up 8.2%

MADRID: Spanish retail sales leapt 6.5 percent year- ing hopes of healthier high street spending. percent below the level of 2006, according to INE on-year in December, the biggest increase since 2003, Expectations of job creation encourage people to data. That means the overall outlook for retail is selec- as Spaniards spent at Christmas, encouraged by an spend, even people who are already working, Jose tive and tough. “Despite the good reading, the pace improving economic outlook and falling oil prices. It Maria Bonmati, director general of retail association of growth for retail is still below the pace of growth was the latest sign that falling prices are boosting AECOC, told Reuters. for both the economy and consumer spending,” said consumer spending and growth, rather than translat- “It now looks likely that people are doing the kind retail association ANGED in a statement. A combina- ing into “bad” deflation, where consumers delay pur- of spending they had shelved for a long time,” he said. tion of an ageing population, young people putting chases in the hope that prices will be lower in the The December rise followed a 1.9 percent increase in off starting families, job instability, wage cuts and a future. Yesterday’s data on a calendar-adjusted basis retail sales in November. Retail sales have grown eight large number of unemployed are likely to limit the from the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed the out of the past nine months after a three-year period rebound. Unemployment data last week showed greatest rise was in consumer durables, up 8.2 percent of declines, and fourth quarter data so far shows one- 433,900 jobs were created in 2014, although overall as shoppers bought pricier household goods they had off purchases picking up. unemployment nudged up to 23.7 percent in the previously held back on. Big retailers, such as Carrefour, have hired more fourth quarter. About 40 percent of the jobs created Food sales increased 4.9 percent year-on-year and permanent workers in Spain, while consumer confi- in 2014 were temporary. Yesterday’s INE data showed personal equipment, including clothing, was up 5.0 dence is recovering. The French retailer is creating employment rates in retail grew just 0.1 percent in percent. Even excluding sales at service stations, up 3,000 permanent jobs for young Spaniards, aimed at 2014 as a whole. The government says that, so far, 6.0 percent, overall sales were up 4.7 percent. Spain’s strengthening its customer services force. falling prices are not having pernicious economic economy, which mostly depends on domestic effects and lower prices are encouraging Spaniards to demand to grow, is expected to expand by at least Uncertain outlook spend a little more freely. “The fall in the oil price is a two percent this year after a six-year crisis during While retail sales were up 1.0 percent in 2014, the very positive factor for an economy such as Spain’s ... which high unemployment and high levels of private first full-year rise since 2007, experts remain cautious because it results in more purchasing power for fami- debt have curbed spending. about the longer trend, which remains uncertain. lies,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told radio sta- Tax cuts, lower oil prices and job creation are feed- Household spending in 2013 was still more than 10 tion Capital. — Reuters

Gold falls 1%; Fed Sri Lanka hikes company taxes, upbeat outlook says economy in ‘sad state’

boosts dollar COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new government yes- terday announced hefty taxes on top compa- LONDON: Gold prices dropped for the fourth session in nies in a bid to raise revenue, accusing the five yesterday, losing as much as 1 percent as the dollar previous regime of fudging the figures and firmed after the Federal Reserve signalled it was on track leaving the economy in a “sad state”. to lift interest rates this year. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake also In Wednesday’s policy statement, the Fed said the US said prices of essential food items would be economy was expanding “at a solid pace”. It reiterated, slashed to cut the cost of living for average however, that it would be “patient” in deciding when to Sri Lankans, as he unveiled his government’s increase benchmark borrowing costs from zero. supplementary budget. Karunanayake said public debt had been Gold had been boosted by increased central bank liq- hidden and growth artificially inflated by the uidity and low interest rates in the years after the 2008 regime of Mahinda Rajapakse, who was oust- credit crisis. The prospect of higher US rates could encour- ed after 10 years in elections this month on age investors to withdraw money from the metal, a non- claims of corruption and cronyism. “The offi- interest-bearing asset. cials and economic experts have looked into Spot gold fell to a session low of $1,271.55 an ounce the figures and now the economics of deceit in earlier trade and was down 0.7 percent at $1,275.70 and falsehood had surfaced,” Karunanayake COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena (left) and Sri Lankan by 1052 GMT. Gold had hit a five-month high of told parliament. “The bad news is that econ- Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe (center) listen as Sri Lankan Finance $1,306.20 on Jan 22, before retreating on stronger risk omy is in a sad state, and the good news it is appetite after the European Central Bank announced liq- not beyond resurrection and is in safe and Minister Ravi Karunanayake (unseen) presents a supplementary budget to uidity measures. sound hands,” he said, pledging a transpar- parliament, marking the first economic policy statement of the new govern- US gold for February delivery eased 0.9 percent to ent government. ment which came to power earlier in the month in Colombo yesterday. — AFP $1,274.80 an ounce. “There was a chance that the ECB and Karunanayake announced a “super” tax of the actual figures were. mega infrastructure projects. Former strong- the Fed would restore order and that’s basically what hap- 25 percent on companies which earn annual Karunanayake’s government has accused man Rajapakse, who has also been accused pened, that the ECB QE (quantitative easing) was just net profit of more than two billion rupees the former regime of stealing at least $5.38 of stacking his former regime with relatives, about the right pitch and then the Fed last night was cer- ($15.38 million), and a one-billion-rupee billion in 2013 alone by inflating costs of has denied such kickbacks. — AFP tainly hawkish relative to expectations,” Macquarie analyst ($7.56-million) tax on Sri Lanka’s handful of Matthew Turner said. local casinos. “It’s possible we can see a bit more weakness with the He revealed tax cuts on a dozen essential food items including milk powder and bread, US GDP coming out Friday.” The dollar was slightly firmer and granted a 10,000-rupee ($76) salary against a basket of currencies and not far from an 11-year increase to more than 1.6 million public ser- peak reached last week, while European shares edged vants. A “mansion” tax of one million rupees lower. The Fed said it would take “financial and interna- ($7,700) will also be imposed annually on tional developments” into account when determining owners of large homes, the minister said. The when to raise rates, referencing global markets for the first new government last week reduced fuel by time since January 2013. But analysts said that did little to 20 percent and pledged further reductions, alter market expectations of a mid-year rate increase. in populist measures ahead of parliamentary “Overall, there is little to signal a shift from expecting polls. Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala the first hike to come in June,” Mizuho Bank said in a note. Sirisena has pledged to dissolve parliament Investors will be watching US gross domestic product data in April, two years ahead of time, and call an today for more clues on the strength of the economy. election aimed at strengthening his hold on Some economists say a drop in US business invest- power. Karunanayake said debt was 88.9 per- ment spending for the fourth straight month in cent of GDP, sharply higher than the Sri December suggested a risk that fourth-quarter economic Lankan central bank’s figure of 74.5 percent growth could fall short of forecasts that mostly hover given before the change of government. around a 3.0 percent annual pace. Spot silver dropped 2 Sri Lanka reported more than eight per- cent in the first two years after the end of a percent to $17.59 an ounce. Palladium fell 0.4 percent to COLOMBO: Sri Lankan residents walk among cars at a vehicle sales centre in $786.10 an ounce and platinum was down 1 percent at decades-long separatist war in 2009, and has recorded steady growth since then. But Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka’s new government announced hefty taxes on $1,239.45 an ounce. —Reuters Karunanayake branded those figures highly top companies in a bid to raise revenue, accusing the previous regime of fudg- suspect, although he did not estimate what ing the figures and leaving the economy in a “sad state”. — AFP Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Shell wants to resume drilling in Arctic

LONDON: Oil major Shell wants to revive its ence in London. The resumption depends on Arctic oil drilling program this year after a having the logistics in place, receiving neces- near two-year suspension, angering environ- sary permits and fending off a number of mentalists who say the risk of an oil spill is too legal challenges, he said. Opposition to the high. Remote and costly to develop, the Arctic drilling has been fierce. Arctic is estimated to contain 20 percent of “Shell is taking a massive risk doggedly the world’s undiscovered hydrocarbon chasing oil in the Arctic, not just with share- resources and despite fierce opposition, plans holder value, but with the pristine Arctic envi- for drilling north of the Arctic Circle are under ronment,” said Greenpeace environmental way in the United States, Russia and Norway. campaigner Charlie Kronick in a statement. Shell, Europe’s largest energy firm, is intent “No company is able to operate safely in on restarting its Arctic drilling campaign in this remote, fragile ocean where the nearest Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this summer. It was sus- rescue fleets are hundreds of miles away.” The pended in early 2013 following the ground- Anglo-Dutch company has already spent $1 ing of a drilling rig. billion on preparing its Arctic drilling work “Will we go ahead? Yes if we can. I’d be so and it is costing Shell several hundred mil- LONDON: Ben van Beurden (right), Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell, and Simon disappointed if we wouldn’t,” Shell Chief lions of dollars a year even without progress- Henry (left), Chief Financial Officer, attend a press conference in central London yesterday to Executive Ben van Beurden told journalists at ing with drilling, Chief Financial Officer Simon release its fourth quarter results. — AFP the company’s fourth quarter results confer- Henry said.—Reuters

Oil holds above Philippines says country $48 as US stocks escaped ‘boom-bust cycle’ hit record Manila eyes faster growth after 2014 rebound

LONDON: Brent crude oil futures held above $48 a bar- MANILA: Philippine officials voiced confidence the country had On a full-year basis, the Philippine economy grew at a rate second rel yesterday as investor inflows offset data showing escaped a “boom-bust cycle” as they predicted yesterday that eco- in Asia only to China’s 7.4 percent, and narrowly outpacing Vietnam’s that US crude stocks had hit a record high. nomic growth would accelerate in 2015, after expansion last year six percent, Balisacan said. “With this upbeat year-end performance, By 0928 GMT yesterday, US crude was trading at beat international expectations. the economy is anticipated to gain further traction in 2015,” he said. about $44.50 a barrel, up 5 cents and off a six-year low The economy grew 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, new Balisacan however conceded that such high growth rates must hit on Wednesday. Brent was up 26 cents at $48.73 a figures showed, offsetting weaker growth in the previous nine be sustained over 20 years before they could be felt by the poor, as barrel. months to boost full-year gross domestic product (GDP) expansion shown by the experience of other countries. On Wednesday, the US Energy Information to 6.1 percent, exceeding forecasts from major international institu- Administration (EIA) said domestic crude oil stocks had tions. ‘There’s no shortcut’ risen by almost 9 million barrels week on week to near- The rebound puts the country on a high-growth trajectory not “It’s a long way to go before we can effectively make this growth ly 407 million, the highest level since the government seen in decades that will finally see it shake off its image as the “sick shared broadly. There’s so much to do. There’s no shortcut to it. We began keeping records in 1982. This pushed US crude man” of Asia, economic planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan told have to deepen reforms,” he said. The full-year economic growth rate futures to an intraday low of $44.08 a barrel, the weak- reporters. Balisacan added that the government expected the econ- of 6.1 percent exceeded forecasts of 6.0 percent by the World Bank est level since April 2009, but Brent held up relatively omy to grow by between 7.0 percent and 8.0 percent in 2015. and the International Monetary Fund, but fell short of the govern- well. “We have avoided the dreaded boom-bust cycle that has hound- ment’s targeted range of between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent. “It’s a tug of war between the non-supportive fun- ed our economy for decades,” he said. The economy grew by an impressive 7.2 percent in 2013. The damentals and investor flows - investors are more con- “What we are seeing in the last five years has never been seen in 2014 fourth quarter growth figure of 6.9 percent was also an cerned about missing a potential bounce,” said Ole the last 40 years. The last time we have seen such growth was in the improvement from the 6.3 percent growth posted in the same peri- Hansen, senior commodity strategist at Saxo Bank. “But mid-1970s,” he said, referencing a period when the Philippines saw od in 2013. Analysts, meanwhile, largely echoed government confi- there is nothing bullish to be found in those numbers. annual economic growth rates approaching nine percent. Despite dence about the economy. The break will be to the downside.” global uncertainties, the Philippines was buoyed by “solid” macro- “Overall, this remains consistent with our long-held view that the Analysts expect stockpiles to keep building as US economic fundamentals including strong domestic consumption, economy is on a solid growth trajectory,” Nomura research analyst production has shown no signs of slowing, and when ample foreign exchange reserves, a stable banking sector and man- Euben Paracuelles said. Barclays analysts Rahul Bajoria and Bill refiners enter seasonal turnarounds, utilization rates ageable inflation, finance secretary Cesar Purisima said. Purisima said Diviney, meanwhile, predicted expansion will be “robust” this year as will fall. in a statement that the country “has more fundamental strength the Philippines is expected to benefit from a marked drop in world In addition, the market structure incentivises traders than most peers to fuel long-term growth prospects and buttress oil prices while the central bank is expected to hold off on any inter- to buy cheap crude to store, with the aim of selling it at against vulnerabilities to external shocks.” est rate hikes until the fourth quarter.—AFP a higher price for future delivery. “With weak pricing and contango structures across most US grades, storage plays will continue to attract material into tanks. Until seasonal maintenance is out of the way there appears to be little incentive to do otherwise,” analysts at Energy Aspects said in a note. Some traders believe this buying to store has pro- vided a “false bottom” in the market, and that when land storage gets filled, or floating storage economics no longer work, there will be another sell off in futures. “Traders buying and putting oil into storage may be holding the price for now,” said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Jefferies Bache in London. “I see the market as being in a consolidating phase ... (but) at some point I expect a move to the downside.” He suggested Brent could test $40 or go lower. “My principal reason for being so bearish is the production war within OPEC as Saudi and Iraq both seek to maxi- mize sales and US production has not yet started to slow.” Saudi Arabia has said it is unwilling to balance the market alone and will maintain output in hopes low prices will drive higher-cost producers to cut their output.— Reuters HONG KONG: Pedestrians cross a street in the financial district of Hong Kong yesterday. Asian stock markets fell across the board, largely on the back of declines in the US triggered by concerns over a strengthening dollar and falling oil prices. — AFP Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Global stocks, oil firm after Fed statement

TOKYO: Global shares and the price of oil stabilized yesterday during European trading hours after the Federal Reserve issued a reminder it is still on track to raise interest rates this year.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX rose 0.2 percent to 10,734.45 and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.3 percent to 4,625.36. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent to 6,802.70. Wall Street looked set for gains after two days of losses. Dow and S&P 500 futures were up 0.5 percent.

FED MEETING: The Federal Reserve issued its first policy statement of the year, making clear that it would remain “patient” in raising interest rates from near zero, which was expected. But it also strengthened its assessment of the US economy, noting it is expanding at a solid pace and generating strong job growth.

THE QUOTE: “The fact is no one knows when a rate hike will A pair of tanker trucks parked next to pumps at an oil-producing well in McKenzie County. Never mind dropping oil prices, US occur,” IG’s chief market strategist Chris Weston said in a com- producers are pushing harder than ever for the right to sell US crude oil overseas. — AP mentary. “And, while the Fed would like to be in a position to raise, the lessons of 1938 still haunt them: raising rates too early Despite low prices, US oil caused the second leg of the Great Depression.”

EARNINGS: Investors were also keeping an eye on corpo- industry pushing for exports rate earnings around the world. Oil company Shell saw its shares drop after it warned it would cut spending to cope with Producers play a longer game, eye demand rebound the fall in oil prices. Telecoms company Nokia and Germany’s Deutsche Bank reported a rise in earnings. In the U.S., the focus WASHINGTON: Never mind dropping oil prices. US producers are give the US a stronger hand in foreign policy. will turn to reports from Google, Ford and Amazon, among oth- pushing harder than ever for the right to sell US crude oil over- Opponents argue just the opposite: They say exporting oil ers. seas. It might seem counterintuitive: Oil prices are as low as they now would result in higher gas prices and prevent the US from have been at any point since 2009 and the height of the Great achieving a goal of energy independence. Opponents include ALIBABA ALARM: In China, news was dominated by a Recession, and some say they could drop even further. But oil many domestic oil refiners, which stand to lose business if crude scathing report by regulators accusing e-commerce giant producers are playing a longer game, betting that long-term oil is exported. Alibaba of failing to prevent fake goods from being sold on its demand will be strong and new markets offer lucrative rewards “The oil markets and the markets for various petroleum prod- websites pushed its share price sharply lower. Further muddy- for US producers. ucts are extremely complicated and I think that to mess with this ing the water was a disclosure that the report was delayed to Supporters see possible inroads in a Congress controlled by upsets the equilibrium that’s there,” said Jay Hauk, executive avoid affecting Alibaba’s $25 billion New York stock market list- Republicans who generally are considered more receptive to oil director of Consumers and Refiners United for Domestic Energy, ing. Alibaba’s shares fell 4.5 percent Wednesday. exports, as well as some signs that the Obama administration or CRUDE, which represents a group of oil refiners. Hauck said the may at least be open to consider changes to longstanding policy, policy shouldn’t change while the US continues to import great ASIA SCORECARD: Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.1 percent which bans the export of raw crude. The ban was put in place in quantities of oil. The US imported 9.9 million barrels of oil per day to 17,606.22 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1 percent to the 1970s after the OPEC oil embargo led to fuel rationing, high in 2013, from some 80 countries, according to the US Energy prices and iconic images of long lines of cars waiting to fuel up. Information Administration. 24,595.85. The Shanghai Composite shed 1.3 percent to The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobby- Simply increasing US production to eliminate imports is not 3,262.30. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.5 percent lower at 1,951.02. ing arm, is running TV ads highlighting the growth of the US shale that simple, though. Different types of oil have different uses, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 5,569.50. Markets oil industry as evidence that the there’s enough oil for both US production is predominantly lighter, “sweet” crude oil. in Southeast Asia were mostly lower. domestic and overseas markets. The organization lists overturn- Many US refineries are equipped to handle heavier crude pro- ing the ban as its top priority for 2015. Jack Gerard, the organiza- duced by countries like Mexico and Canada. Producers argue that OIL ROUT: Benchmark US oil rose slightly but was near six- tion’s president, said the policy is the result of “a politically moti- shipping to countries in Europe and Asia, where refineries are year lows after the US Energy Department reported oil invento- vated disconnect between today’s much-changed energy land- equipped to more efficiently handle lighter oil, makes economic ries rose to their highest levels ever recorded. The contract was scape and the political orthodoxy of some who continue to push sense until more US refineries can efficiently process lighter oil. up 8 cents to $44.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New for arbitrary and unfair limits or an outright ban.” “The reason for allowing exports is primarily that not all oil is the York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.78 to close at $44.45 a bar- Besides the financial incentive, Gerard and supporters argue same,” argued a 2014 report by the Aspen Institute, which backed rel in New York on Wednesday. As recently as June, it traded that lifting the ban would help control prices for consumers and lifting the ban. — AP above $100. Its decline reflects oversupply and weakening growth in major economies. CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 118.06 yen from 117.73 yen Nokia turns to Q4 profit the previous day. The euro rose to $1.1306 from $1.1286. — AP buoyed by strong growth Revenue grows to $4.3 billion in Q4

HELSINKI: After selling its ailing handset unit, Nokia has turned a plined cost control and a focus on delivering ongoing productivi- fourth-quarter net profit of 443 million euros ($502 million) with ty and quality improvements across the company.” sales increasing nearly 10 percent, partly buoyed by strong Nokia said it expects annual sales to grow in 2015 in all three growth in North America. The Finland-based company said yes- remain sectors; networks, mapping services and technologies and terday that revenue grew to 3.8 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in the patents. “Nokia seems to be progressing very steadily in the right period, from 3.48 billion euros a year earlier when it reported a direction now,” said Mikael Rautanen, analyst at Independent net loss of 26 million euros. Equity Research. “No doubt the company will make investments CEO Rajeev Suri noted excellent network profitability in the and purchases for services that supplement its existing opera- period with strong growth in all operations, after selling its loss- tions.” making devices and services to Microsoft last year. Suri said that The company’s core networks business that accounts for near- last year had been “a time of significant change ... and reinven- ly 90 percent of total sales grew 8 percent in the period with NEW YORK: Trader Tommy Kalikas (center) works on the tion” while 2015 will be a year of “execution.” broadband sales increasing 13 percent. Sales in North America floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The US stock mar- “We will not shy away from investing where we need to jumped 95 percent to 514 million euros. Growth in Europe, Africa ket slumped at the close as oil falls to its lowest level in invest,” he said. “But, we plan to always combine that with disci- and the Middle East was up 4 percent. —AP nearly six years. — AP Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Fun-loving ‘Gronk’ a serious Super Bowl threat

PHOENIX: Don’t let the party bus fool touchdowns in his most productive sea- hard. I’m super excited for this game good fun and he takes it and he loves it you, New England’s Rob Gronkowski son since 2011. “That’s their go-to guy.” Sunday.” But unlike many of his col- and it’s cool.” Gronkowski thinks some takes his role as one of the NFL’s premier His performance is a testament to his leagues, Gronkowski seems excited by fans fascinated by his extracurricular tight ends seriously. And you can be sure, determination, since he’s rehabbed the whole Super Bowl package. activities lose sight of his dedication. the Seattle Seahawks will be taking him injuries in each of the past three seasons, He’s happy to hold court for the “People kind of underestimate the seriously, too, when they line up against including a slow return from the knee media, just as he’s happy to take the rib- hard work and dedication that goes into him on Sunday in Super Bowl 49. injury that halted his 2013 campaign. bing that ensues in the locker room after the week to get prepared for the games Big, powerful yet deceptively elusive, “I definitely don’t take the game for high profile photo shoots-whether they on Sunday.” But with that hard work pay- Gronkowski has bounced back from granted anymore,” Gronkowski said. “It’s include cuddly kittens or more racy shots ing off, and the party bus always parked injury to become a key target for quarter- an honor to be out there on the field with involving a strategically placed smiley just around the corner, even the Patriots’ back Tom Brady, and a man Seahawks my teammates and all. “Throughout the face. “There have definitely been some billionaire owner Robert Kraft has a feel- defenders know they’ll have to stop. whole year, especially this time of the blown-up shots posted in the locker ing it’s good to be Gronk. “In our next life “That’s their playmaker,” Seattle safety year, going to the Super Bowl, being out room posted in his locker-of him, usually a lot of people might want to be Gronk,” Kam Chancellor said of Gronkowski, who on the practice field, helping my team do not with many clothes on,” Patriots run- Kraft said. “because he never has a bad had 82 catches for 1,124 yards and 12 its job and just going out and practising ning back Shane Vereen said. “It’s all day.”— AFP Australian golfer Kel Nagle dies SYDNEY: Australia’s former British Open winner Kel Nagle died yesterday, aged 94. Tributes began flowing in after the PGA of Australia released a statement saying golf’s oldest-liv- ing major winner had passed away at a Sydney hospital. “I heard the news this morning...and it’s always very sad when one of the legends of the game passes away,” world number one Rory McIlroy told Reuters at the Dubai Desert Classic. “I do know a little bit of his Open win at St. Andrews in 1960 when he beat Arnold Palmer so it will be sad occasion this year for everyone heading back to the Old Course,” added McIlroy, who won last year’s British Open at Hoylake. “But then I’m sure there will be a few glasses raised in Nagle’s memory at the Former Champions Dinner.” Brian Thorburn, chief executive officer of the PGA, said golf had lost a “champion of our game.” Nagle was one of Australia’s most successful and popular golfers, winning 81 professional titles in his long career, including at least one every year between 1949 and 1975. His finest moment came in 1960 when he won the Centenary British Open at age 39, beating Arnold Palmer by a stroke at St. Andrews. He also finished runner-up at the 1965 US Open, beaten by Gary Player in an 18-hole playoff and was inducted into golf’s Hall of Fame in 2007. “His name was one of the first I remember seeing when I was handed the Claret Jug in 2010 at St. Andrews,” recalled South African Louis Oosthuizen. “Then when I had time to look more closely at all the names of those who won the trophy at St. Andrews there was Mr. Nagle’s name, so it’s kind of special to me, even though it is very sad, to know he and I both won on the Old Course.” Double Open Champion Ernie Els also expressed his con- dolences. “I’m sorry to here Kel passed away as he one of the legends of the game and what he achieved at St. Andrews in 1960 was remarkable given Arnold’s (Palmer) reputation at the time,” he said in Dubai. “He was a great DUBAI: Stephen Gallacher of Scotland plays a shot during the first round of the 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic yester- champion and I’m sure Australian golf, and golf in general, is day in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Three of the top-five ranked players in the world head a stellar field assembled for poorer for his passing.” — Reuters this week’s Dubai Desert Classic. — AFP McIlroy shoots 66 despite Dubai driving radar being off

DUBAI: Rory McIlroy’s driving radar mal- here in 2009 my golf game is much better with fellow countryman Lee Westwood functioned early in his opening round at and the sort of score I shot this morning and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts. the Dubai Desert Classic yesterday but he just comes a lot easier to me these days,” “It was absolutely fantastic and to play showed why he is the world’s number one said the 25-year-old Northern Irishman. the way I did in their company was bril- golfer by recovering to shoot a 66. “Managing my game and knowing how liant.” Stephen Gallacher, who made his “I didn’t hit a fairway till my eighth hole to shoot a score is kind of second nature Ryder Cup debut in September and is but I scored well for those holes,” the four- now whereas back then 66 would have chasing a hat-trick of Desert Classic wins, times major champion told reporters after been a really good score for me. These holed out from a greenside bunker on his his six-under-par effort. “I can’t really com- days it’s sort of what I expect of myself.” way to a 66. plain with a 66 to start. I feel like I’ve start- McIlroy was accompanied by Ryder “This round is a statement that I don’t ed off this tournament pretty well the last Cup team mate Martin Kaymer (67) and want to give the trophy back without a few years and it’s another good one ... Englishman Andy Sullivan (65), winner of fight but then it is only the first round and something to build on.” this month’s South African Open. I still have three rounds to play,” said the OCALA: Azahara Munoz of Spain watches her ball fly from The Desert Classic holds special memo- “It was the best day of my life out there Scot. Former British Open champion Louis the 10th tee during the first round of the LPGA Coates Golf ries for McIlroy because it was the first playing with these guys and I just enjoyed Oosthuizen withdrew from the tourna- Championship at the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian European Tour victory he picked up six so much watching Rory and Martin play,” ment before teeing up because of back Club in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday. — AP years ago. “Compared to when I first won said Sullivan after setting the early pace problems. — Reuters Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Millsaps leads Hawks to 17th win in a row

ATLANTA: Paul Millsap had 28 points and 15 rebounds, five other Atlanta players scored in double figures, and the Hawks stretched their franchise-record winning streak to 17 games in a row with a 113-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Atlanta (38-8) has won 31 of 33 and leads the Eastern Conference by a commanding seven games. This was a bit tougher than expected against the struggling Nets, who kept it close most of the way. The Hawks pulled away in the final quarter, leading by as many as 15. Millsap finished off Brooklyn’s last run with a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:34 remaining, pushing Atlanta to a 109-98 edge. Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points. It wasn’t enough to prevent Brooklyn’s 11th loss in 13 games, a slide that has knocked the team out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Cavaliers 99, Trail Blazers 94 Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 55 points, breaking the arena record while LeBron James watched from the bench and leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their eighth straight win. Irving took over with James sidelined with a sprained right wrist. He buried a 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left to break a 94-94 tie, grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Portland’s Damian Lillard, and as many in the crowd chanted “M-V-P” and James danced near the bench, Irving dropped two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to seal the win. Irving broke the previous scoring record at Quicken Loans Arena held by Allen Iverson. His point total was also the highest in the league this season, bettering the 52 scored by Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Minnesota’s Mo Williams. Irving made a team-record 11 3-pointers and finished 10 of 10 CLEVELAND: Portland Trail Blazers’ Chris Kaman, center, battles for a rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers Timofey Mozgov, from the free-throw line. LaMarcus Aldridge, playing his second left, and Kevin Love in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, in Cleveland. — AP game since deciding to delay thumb surgery until after the season, scored 38 to lead the Trail Blazers, who have dropped six of seven. Langston Galloway added 18 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, finishing with 14 for the NBA results/standings 76ers 89, Pistons 69 Knicks, who won for the fourth time in five games, representing Robert Covington scored 19 points, Michael Carter-Williams nearly half of their nine victories on the season. Russell Westbrook Cleveland 99, Portland 94; Philadelphia 89, Detroit 69; Toronto scored 40 points on 13-of-30 shooting for the Thunder, who were had 14 points and 10 assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a 119, Sacramento 102; Houston 99, Dallas 94; Minnesota 110, six-game losing streak. JaKarr Sampson had 13 points and Luc without Kevin Durant for a second straight game because of a Boston 98; Denver 93, New Orleans 85; NY Knicks 100, Oklahoma Mbah a Moute added 12 for the Sixers (9-37). Carter Williams, back sprained big toe on his left foot. after missing the Sixers’ last game due to an upper respiratory City 92; Atlanta 113, Brooklyn 102; San Antonio 95, Charlotte 86; infection, finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. Greg Rockets 99, Mavericks 94 LA Clippers 94, Utah 89; Phoenix 106 Washington 98. Monroe led the Pistons (17-30) with 20 points, and Jodie Meeks Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the scored 19 off the bench. Detroit shot just 2 of 20 from 3-point Houston Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Eastern Conference range in a matchup of slumping squads missing their top scorers. Dallas Mavericks. Atlantic Division It was the third straight win for the Rockets, who played with- The Pistons have lost four straight, and three since leading scorer W L PCT GB Brandon Jennings ruptured his left Achilles in a 101-86 loss to out Dwight Howard (sprained ankle), and the fourth loss in a row Toronto 31 15 .674 - Milwaukee on Saturday. for Dallas. Terrence Jones blocked a shot by Monta Ellis but knocked it out of bounds in the closing moments, giving Dallas a Brooklyn 18 27 .400 12.5 Raptors 119, Kings 102 final chance. The inbounds pass by Chandler Parsons sailed out of Boston 16 28 .364 14 Lou Williams scored 27 points and the Toronto Raptors made a bounds to give Houston the ball. Harden made two free throws NY Knicks 9 37 .196 22 season-high 17 3-pointers in a victory over the slumping after that to secure the win. Ellis led the Mavericks with 33 points. Philadelphia 9 37 .196 22 Sacramento Kings. Greivis Vasquez scored 18 and Jonas Central Division Timberwolves 110, Celtics 98 Valanciunas had 15 for the Raptors, who won their fourth straight. Chicago 30 17 .638 - It’s Toronto’s longest streak since a six-game run in December. Kevin Martin scored 21 points in his first game in more than Cleveland 27 20 .574 3 Rudy Gay scored 22 points, Ben McLemore had 17 and DeMarcus two months and Gorgui Dieng added 16 points and 14 rebounds Cousins, 13, for the Kings, whose season-long losing streak to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Boston Celtics. Zach Milwaukee 23 22 .511 6 reached seven games. Forward Carl Landry returned after missing LaVine added 17 points and six assists and Martin scored nine Detroit 17 30 .362 13 the previous five games with a sprained right wrist and finished straight points during a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter to help Indiana 16 31 .340 14 with 14 points. the Timberwolves (8-37) snap a 10-game losing streak at Target Southeast Division Center. Jared Sullinger had 16 points and eight rebounds and Atlanta 38 8 .826 - Marcus Thornton scored 15 for the Celtics, whose promising road Spurs 95, Hornets 86 Washington 31 16 .660 7.5 Tony Parker scored 17 points and the San Antonio Spurs over- trip came to an end with a thud. The Wolves had not won at home Miami 20 25 .444 17.5 came another lethargic third quarter to beat the Charlotte since beating Portland on Dec 10. Hornets. Danny Green had 16 points and Tim Duncan added 12 Charlotte 19 27 .413 19 points and 14 rebounds as San Antonio won its sixth straight at Clippers 94, Jazz 89 Orlando 15 33 .313 24 home. Gerald Henderson scored 18 points, Al Jefferson had 17 Jamal Crawford scored 21 points and the Los Angeles Clippers Western Conference points and 16 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 14 used a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Utah Jazz. The Clippers have Northwest Division points for Charlotte. The Hornets were without star guard Kemba won a franchise-record 13 straight games against the Jazz. Portland 32 14 .696 - Crawford knocked down four 3-point baskets in the win, and Chris Walker, who will be out at least six weeks following surgery on his Oklahoma City 23 23 .500 9 left knee. Paul scored 21 points and dished out six assists. Crawford scored 14 in the first half after Denver 19 27 .413 13 Nuggets 93, Pelicans 85 scoring 23 against the Nuggets on Monday. Enes Kanter scored 21 Utah 16 30 .348 16 Arron Afflalo scored 18 points and the Denver Nuggets points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss, while Derrick Favors Minnesota 8 37 .178 23.5 snapped a seven-game losing streak. Afflalo hit four 3-pointers, added 18 points and nine rebounds. Pacific Division the last with 2:32 left to increase Denver’s then-tenuous lead to 89- Golden State 36 7 .837 - 85. After that, the Pelicans were unable to score another point and Suns 106, Wizards 98 LA Clippers 32 14 .696 5.5 Goran Dragic scored 20 points to lead five Phoenix players in saw their four-game winning streak end. Anthony Davis had 24 Phoenix 27 20 .574 11 points and 12 rebounds, but briefly left late in the third quarter double figures and the Suns held on to beat the worn-out Sacramento 16 28 .364 20.5 after a collision with Kenneth Faried under the basket. Davis Washington Wizards. The Wizards, playing their fourth game in returned with more than 8 minutes left, but the Pelicans were five nights, trailed by 22 in the first half and 18 early in the fourth LA Lakers 12 34 .261 25.5 unable to regain the lead. Tyreke Evans had 25 points for New quarter before twice cutting it to four. Washington’s Otto Porter Southwest Division Orleans. scored eight consecutive points to slice the lead to 101-97 with Memphis 33 12 .733 - 1:17 left, but Markieff Morris’ high-arching 15-footer with 23.9 sec- Houston 32 14 .696 1.5 Knicks 100, Thunder 92 onds to go put Phoenix up 103-97. Phoenix, which hadn’t played San Antonio 30 17 .638 4 since Sunday, improved to 5-2 with one to go in its franchise- Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Lance Dallas 30 17 .638 4 Thomas scored a season-high 17 points against his former team record eight-game homestand. Porter and Marcin Gortat scored New Orleans 24 22 .522 9.5 and the New York Knicks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder. 14 each for the Wizards. — AP Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Banned Aamer vows to be better on return to sport

KARACHI: Disgraced Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Aamer yesterday vowed to prove himself a “better player and better human” after his spot-fixing ban was relaxed, allowing him to play again in domestic matches. The International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s gov- erning body, gave permission yesterday for the 22-year-old to return to the game in Pakistan with immediate effect. The move brings Aamer a step closer to a return to interna- tional competition and a measure of redemption for his part in one of the most scandalous episodes in modern cricket. Aamer was one of three Pakistani players handed bans of at least five years for arranging no-balls to order in a Test against England at Lord’s in 2010. His ban was due to expire on September 2, but the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) used discre- tionary powers to allow him to return to domestic cricket early. “The ACSU Chairman, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, with the prior approval of the ICC Board and the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), has exercised his discretion to allow Aamer to return to domestic cricket played under the auspices of the PCB with immediate effect,” the ICC said in a statement. WELLINGTON: New Zealand celebrate winning the ANZ One Day International cup after the seventh and final one-day interna- tional cricket match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Westpac Stadium in Wellington yesterday. — AFP ‘Biggest news of my life’ Aamer said he was overwhelmed by the announce- ment, the fruit of two years of efforts by the PCB. “It’s the Sangakkara lifts Sri biggest news of my life,” he told AFP by phone. “It was the most difficult phase of my life but I am sure it’s over now and I am keen to return to international grounds.” Aamer, along with captain Salman Butt and new-ball Lanka to 34-run win partner Mohammad Asif were found guilty of orchestrating deliberate no-balls in the Test against England. The three players and their agent Mazhar Majeed were jailed by a WELLINGTON: Kumar Sangakkara’s masterful double of a centu- British court after the now-defunct tabloid News of the ry and a world-record wicketkeeping performance inspired Sri SCOREBOARD World exposed them in a sting operation. Lanka to a 34-run win over New Zealand in their one-day series At the time of the incident, left-armer Aamer was finale in Wellington yesterday. Scoreboard at close of play in the seventh and final One Day regarded as one of the hottest young bowling prospects in Even though it was a dead rubber, with New Zealand going world cricket and there was some sympathy for him, given International between New Zealand and Sri Lanka yesterday in into the match holding an unbeatable 4-1 lead in the seven- Wellington, New Zealand. his young age-he was 18 at the time. match series, it was a morale boosting win for Sri Lanka who had The ACSU said it was satisfied Aamer had shown underperformed in the earlier matches. They posted their high- remorse and cooperated in the fight against fixing by Sri Lanka Innings est total of the series with 287-6 from 50 overs, with Sangakkara L. Thirimanne lbw b Anderson 30 recording messages for education sessions. Cricket, and contributing an unbeaten 113, and New Zealand were all out for Pakistani cricket in particular, has struggled with the T. Dilshan c Ronchi b Southee 81 253 in the 46th over. K. Sangakkara not out 113 scourge of corruption in recent years and there has been When Corey Anderson threatened to blast New Zealand into M. Jayawardene c Ronchi b Southee 14 some disquiet about Aamer’s return to the game. contention with 29 off 20 deliveries, Sangakkara’s diving one- S. Prasanna lbw b Mills 1 Some former professionals have said he should not be handed catch to remove the sixth wicket made him the most suc- D. Chandimal c Ronchi b Anderson 5 allowed back into international cricket, but Aamer vowed cessful ODI keeper. It was his 473rd dismissal, one more than the T. Perera c Mills b Anderson 20 to win over the naysayers with his bowling-and promised previous record set by Australian Adam Gilchrist. N. Kulasekara not out 12 to behave from now on. —AFP Although the victory restored some confidence to Sri Lanka Extras (lb-2 w-9) 11 they still have concerns about their batting depth with only Total (for 6 wickets, 50 overs) 287 Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne contributing decent Fall of wickets: 1-71 L. Thirimanne, 2-175 T. Dilshan, 3-203 M. partnerships with Sangakkara. Sangakkara put on 71 for the first Jayawardene, 4-209 S. Prasanna, 5-231 D. Chandimal, 6-253 T. wicket with Thirimanne (30) and 104 for the second wicket with Perera Dilshan (81) who was caught behind off Tim Southee with Sri Did not bat: D. Karunaratne, S. Eranga, D. Chameera Lanka looking strong at 175-2 and 17 overs remaining. But as has Bowling: been the pattern in their previous innings, they were unable to K. Mills 8-1-42-1(w-2), T. Southee 10-0-50-2(w-1), M. accelerate the scoring despite having wickets in hand. Only McClenaghan 9-0-47-0, D. Vettori 8-0-52-0(w-1), C. Anderson 9- Thisara Perera, with 20 off 12 offered late lusty hitting while 0-59-3(w-2), G. Elliott 4-0-24-0(w-2), K. Williamson 2-0-11-0. Mahela Jayawardene, who opened with a century in game one of the series, went for 14. In contrast New Zealand fell well behind New Zealand Innings in the run chase and appeared on the ropes when the required M. Guptill lbw b N. Kulasekara 0 rate ballooned to 8.33 after the 35th over and only four wickets in T. Latham b Eranga 6 hand. K. Williamson c M. Jayawardene b Dilshan 54 But they showed their batting depth going into the World Cup R. Taylor b Chameera 11 next month with Luke Ronchi scoring 47 off 42 deliveries, Daniel G. Elliott c Chandimal b Chameera 24 Vettori 35 off 30 and Kyle Mills 30 but as the gap narrowed they C. Anderson c Sangakkara b Eranga 29 L. Ronchi b N. Kulasekara 47 ran out of wickets. Fittingly, Sangakkara ended the match when D. Vettori b Prasanna 35 he whipped off the bails to run out Mills. K. Mills run out (N. Kulasekara, Sangakkara) 30 At the top of the New Zealand innings Martin Guptill was T. Southee c Sangakkara b T. Perera 1 removed first ball for the second time in the series. It offered an M. McClenaghan not out 5 LAHORE: Banned Pakistani paceman Mohammad opportunity for Tom Latham, deputising at the top of the order Aamer (C) arrives for a press conference in Lahore yes- Extras (lb-5 w-6) 11 for rested skipper Brendon McCullum, to prove himself but he Total (all out, 45.2 overs) 253 terday. Aamer vowed to prove himself as a “better only lasted nine deliveries before he was bowled for six and New Fall of wickets: 1-0 M. Guptill, 2-11 T. Latham, 3-42 R. Taylor, 4- player and better human being” after his spot-fixing Zealand were 11-2 in the fourth over. 101 G. Elliott, 5-121 K. Williamson, 6-141 C. Anderson, 7-215 L. ban was relaxed by the cricket world governing body. Dushmantha Chameera made a dream start to his internation- Ronchi, 8-218 D. Vettori, 9-225 T. Southee, 10-253 K. Mills The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said Aamer, al career claiming the wicket of New Zealand’s senior batsman Bowling: N. Kulasekara 9-0-55-2(w-3) 22, can return to domestic matches with immediate Ross Taylor with his sixth delivery. Kane Williamson, with a cau- S. Eranga 9-1-34-2(w-1), S. Prasanna 9.2-0-30-1(w-1), D. effect, ending his five-year suspension from all forms of tious 54 from 83 deliveries, top scored for New Zealand who con- Chameera 8-0-60-2, T. Perera 5-0-42-1(w-1), T. Dilshan 5-0-27-1. the game some eight months early. — AFP tinue their World Cup build up against Pakistan in Wellington Result: Sri Lanka won by 34 runs. tomorrrow. — AFP Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Afrah Adel wins first gold for Kuwait HH the Amir’s Grand Prix event concludes today By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Activities of HH the Amir of Kuwait 4th International Shooting Grand Prix will come to a close today as 59 countries, represented by 526 shooters partici- pated. The final day will see the distribution of four gold medals in the 50m prone rifle for women and juniors, and men’s double trap for men and juniors. Kuwait’s Afrah Adel was the star of the third day of com- petition as she won the first gold for Kuwait in the women’s skeet event. Arab shooters won five different medals along with Afrah Adel who was followed by Qatar’s Sarah Mohammad, and Poland’s Aleksandra Jarmolinska. Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s Antoneta Boneva won the gold medal in 10m ladies pistol followed by Lithuania’s Jekaterina Zdanova and Tunisia’s Olfa Cherni. In the 10m air pistol, ladies juniors Kazakhstan’s Yulia Komendra was first followed by Noor Amer from Iraq and Cuili Slau from Malaysia. In the 50m 3 positions women, Pejcic Snjezana from Croatia was first followed by Andrea Arsovic from Serbia and Xiang Wei Jasmine Ser from Singapore. In the 50m rifle 3 position women-junior Kazakhstan’s Violetta Starostina was first followed by Qatar’s Aisha Al- Suwaidi and Malaysia’s Jain Izni Al-Zamil was third. Meanwhile, Secretary General of Kuwait and Arab Shooting Obaid Al-Osaimi, who is also the Grand Prix Director congratulated HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the occasion of his ascension to power, on behalf of the higher organizing committee and working committees, as well as all those who belong to the game. Al-Osaimi said this unprecedented gathering of world shooters in Kuwait and the fantastic achievements by Kuwait at the technical and organization levels, was the fruit of the support of His Highness the Amir and his contri- butions to the shooting sport in particularly and Kuwait sports in general. HH the Amir also has extended his peaceful and goodness to the world with a record that is full with humanitarian aid, the reflected on Kuwait’s status and its people in the eyes of the world’s people. Kuwaiti shooter Afrah Adel dedicated her gold medal to HH the Amir, and Information Minister, State Minister for Youth Affairs, President of Asian Shooting Confederation Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud, and all those who supported her during the competition. She said the win came after hard work and dedication with her coach who spent long time with her during the past period. She said the competition itself was very difficult espe- cially with the Polish shooter who won the third place. Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Golden boot glitters as UAE size up Iraq

NEWCASTLE: Sharpshooter Ali Mabkhout joint top of the scoring charts alongside final in Sydney. UAE coach Mahdi Ali could with his national team. can win a tight race for the Asian Cup’s Jordan’s Hamza Aldaradreh. still opt to rest Mabkhout, who top-scored “After my club contract ends, I can’t golden boot when the United Arab Among his strikes are the fastest goal in at November’s Gulf Cup and in Asian Cup predict my future,” the former Iraq interna- Emirates face Iraq for the consolation prize Asian Cup history-after just 14 seconds qualification, against Radhi Shenaishil’s tional said. Iraqi icon Younis Mahmoud is of finishing third yesterday. The UAE went against Bahrain-and the volley that put Iraq. Of greater concern for Ali will be that also looking to the future after a team down 2-0 to Australia this week and Iraq UAE 1-0 up against Japan before they UAE, favourites to host the 2019 Asian packed with youngsters encouragingly lost by the same scoreline to South Korea shocked the holders on penalties. Cup, finish third in what has been their reached the last four, downing arch-rivals as their dreams of Asian Cup glory were Another goal against Iraq would take best campaign since they were runners-up Iran along the way. “I’m not retiring after shattered in the semi-finals. the Al Jazira marksman clear on the scor- in 1996. “This is a good opportunity to give this Cup. We’re now building a new gener- Both teams must now pick themselves ers’ list and help him towards his aim of other players a chance and to give some a ation and we need to have experienced up for an unwanted third-place play-off in securing a big-money move to Europe. rest,” Ali said. “Of course I will make some players with them in the national team,” Newcastle, although Mabkhout has more Socceroo Tim Cahill is lurking behind changes.” Meanwhile Iraq’s Shenaishil, on the striker said. motivation than most. Partnered by play- Mabkhout with three goals, while South loan for the tournament from Qatar Sports “The World Cup qualifiers start in four maker Omar Abdulrahman, Mabkhout has Korea’s Son Heung-Min and Lee Jeong- Club, will want a strong finish with the or five months. Hopefully I’ll be with the already grabbed four goals, placing him Hyeop both have two ahead of Saturday’s chance still hovering for a permanent deal team in the World Cup qualifiers.” — AFP Murray reaches fourth Melbourne final Serena to meet Sharapova for women’s title

MELBOURNE: After three heart-breaking trips to the final, Andy Murray secured another shot at Australian Open glory by overhauling Tomas Berdych yesterday after women’s top seed Serena Williams set up a blockbuster title-decider with Xu Shilin Maria Sharapova. Edged in a marathon first set, Murray Meet Coco: Potentially fired up after a frosty exchange with the hard-hitting Czech and blazed to a 6-7(6), China’s next Li Na 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory under the lights of Rod Laver Arena. The sixth-seeded Scot will MELBOURNE: China has begun its search for the next Li Na, and contest his first grand slam final since his one of the juniors with the talent to replace the country’s two- emotional triumph at Wimbledon in 2013. time Grand Slam champion may speak better English than she His next opponent will be decided in does Chinese. today’s semi-final between world number Xu Shilin, who just turned 17 and goes by the English name one Novak Djokovic and champion Stan Coco, was the first Chinese girl to be No. 1 in the world junior Wawrinka. Murray’s clinical disposal of rankings and won the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games Rafa Nadal’s conqueror sent an ominous last year. She has also told the Chinese media that her goal is to signal to his eventual challenger and win a Grand Slam title before she’s 20. thrilled the centre court crowd after the “It is a goal and a dream. Of course, I’m working toward that,” women’s semi-finals were earlier wrapped she said at the Australian Open, where she was the top seed in up in straight sets. the girl’s singles draw before losing Wednesday in the third With his former assistant coach Dani round. “I think anything is possible.” Vallverdu sitting in Berdych’s player’s box, Murray made redundant any plans the Xu’s rise has been unique compared with the previous gener- MELBOURNE: Britain’s Andy Murray plays a shot during his men’s singles semi- two might have hatched by taming the ation of Chinese players because her parents decided to develop final match against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych on day eleven of the 2015 Czech’s monster serve and cutting him to her talents outside China’s state-run sports system, choosing Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. — AFP instead to move to Florida where she could train at top private pieces in the baseline exchanges. academies. Such freedoms were only made possible due to Li Na “I changed tactics a little bit (after the Keys burnished her credentials as the Most streaks are eventually broken and and a few other current players, who broke free from the state first set) but also I was getting more com- next torchbearer for American tennis, defi- Sharapova, fit and in ominous form, took system years ago and were allowed to manage their own careers fortable with the conditions and Tomas’s antly saving eight match points as her heart from her win over Makarova. and keep their own prize money. This paved the way for the next ball,” Murray said courtside on a chilly, opponent roared in frustration before “I think my confidence should be pretty generation of players to choose their own paths. breezy night. “I made him do most of the Williams sealed the contest with an ace high going into a final of a grand slam no Xu’s parents made a big decision when they saw how much running ... which was important.” down the middle. matter who I’m facing against and talent she had at age 8. Her father, Xu Yang, sold the small tennis Murray sealed the match with a thump- “She’s obviously a great player,” whether I’ve had a terrible record, to say club he owned in Guangdong province and moved the family to ing ace down the ‘T’ after three hours and Williams said courtside, still suffering a the least, against someone,” she said. Florida for nearly six years. 26 minutes. Arguably the match was won cold and breaking into coughs. “It doesn’t matter. I got there for a rea- when the rangy Czech poked the Scottish “I think she’s going to be winning this son. I belong in that spot.” Attracted sposors bear at the change of ends after winning a tournament very soon and lots of other As with her quarter-final trouncing of “Her father rolled the dice,” said Xu’s manager Terry Rhoads, tense first set. Glaring at Murray, the Czech grand slams. “I was really happy to see her Eugenie Bouchard, Sharapova’s game- who is managing director of Shanghai-based sports consulting muttered a few words and earned a gentle do so well and be such a great sport at the plan was devastatingly simple-winding up firm Zou Marketing. “They didn’t live well. They struggled.” rebuke from French chair umpire Pascal same time.” Williams, who retains her the forehand and bludgeoning anything Because Xu was talented, she was invited to train at several Maria. The Scot returned to the court a world number one ranking by reaching remotely short of the baseline. different academies and began to climb the junior rankings in the raging bull, throwing Berdych from side to the final, will face the woman she has tor- Sharapova will be busy before US, attracting the interest of the United States Tennis Association, side and returning every baseline rocket mented for over a decade in 27-year-old Saturday’s final working out how to beat Rhoads said. Instead of having Xu play for the US, however, the with interest. Sharapova, who trounced Ekaterina Williams. family decided it was time to return to China. The late match followed on from some Makarova 6-3 6-2 in the first semi-final. “I think her power and her aggressive- It wasn’t an easy transition at first because Xu’s Mandarin had fierce skirmishes earlier in the day when Five-times grand slam champion ness, I think that’s always made me a little become so rusty, she was afraid to speak at times. But she’s top seed Williams brushed aside teenager Sharapova will be hoping a 15-match los- bit too aggressive, maybe going for a little becoming more comfortable now and has already attracted a Madison Keys, the latest member of ‘gen- ing streak against her American nemesis, bit more than I had to,” said the Russian, number of sponsors. eration next’ trying to steal her crown. stretching back to 2004, will have no bear- whose overall win-loss record agaist Rhoads compares her career trajectory with that of Japanese Williams was pushed hard by her 19- ing come Saturday. Williams stands at 2-16. star Kei Nishikori, who also lived in and trained in the US for many year-old challenger in a duel between two Sharapova, a 2008 champion at “She’s great at making players hit that years. “If you ask me this is what China needs to do with a bunch of the game’s hardest hitters before tri- Melbourne Park, lost to Williams in the shot that you don’t necessarily have to go of the boys,” he said. “Coco got tough. She grew up. She saw how umphing 7-6(5) 6-2 to reach her first 2007 final and again in the final at the for. “It’s been a really difficult matchup for difficult it was for her parents.” —AP Melbourne Park final in five years. 2013 French Open. me but I am a competitor.” — Reuters Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 Blatter submits bid for fifth term as FIFA president

PARIS: FIFA boss Joseph Blatter yesterday submitted his president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, ex-FIFA executive licly nominated by five of FIFA’s 209 member associa- candidature for a fifth term as president of world foot- Jerome Champagne and former France winger David tions. Blatter’s reign has been tarnished by accusations of ball’s governing body. Ginola. “It’s very difficult to beat Blatter, I know, but I corruption stemming from the bidding process for the “Today is a key date in the electoral calendar. I’ve think the world of football is with me,” said Ginola, 47, 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to made my submission, now the electoral committee fol- who is being £250,000 by betting company Paddy Power Russia and Qatar respectively. low a process,” the 78-year-old Swiss wrote on his Twitter to throw his hat into the ring. Ginola said the challengers Although the deadline was yesterday, FIFA official account. The deadline for nominees to announce their were looking for “more democracy and more transparen- Domenico Scala said it could take time before the names candidacies falls at midnight. Blatter, who has held the cy” in football’s world governing body. of the candidates are revealed. “We cannot make a state- post since 1998, had already indicated his intention to “It can’t be that football is the most popular sport, but ment at the time of the date limit,” said Scala, president seek another term, and has wide support in Asia, Africa the most inaccessible politically speaking,” Ginola told of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee. “A certain and Oceania. Among his challengers are former Portugal Spanish sports daily Marca. time will be needed before the ad hoc electoral commis- and Real Madrid winger Luis Figo, Dutch football boss Candidates must have played an active role in football sion are in a position to announce the candidates.” The Michael Van Praag, Asian Football Confederation vice- administration for two of the past five years and be pub- election will take place in Zurich on May 29. — AFP

Chelsea look to restore 8-point lead over City

MANCHESTER: Chelsea has had an eight-point lead in the English Premier League wiped out by title rival Manchester City once already this season. Don’t expect it to happen again. That means all the pressure will be on City when the defending cham- pions travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, looking to avoid a loss to Chelsea that would restore the eight-point gap with 15 games remaining. In fact, for City manager Manuel Pellegrini, only a victory will do. “We must close the gap to two points,” Pellegrini said of the biggest match of the season so far. Having worked so hard in December to get back on level terms with Chelsea, City has allowed its rival to pull five points clear in the title race after drawing at Everton and losing at home to Arsenal in its last two league games. Throw in a home loss to second-tier Middlesbrough in the FA Cup last weekend and City’s form has plummeted - despite star striker Sergio Aguero being back in the team after injury. Chelsea was also humbled in the FA Cup on Saturday - by third-tier Bradford - but recovered quickly by beating Liverpool on Tuesday to reach the League Cup final. That win was marred, however, by Chelsea striker Diego Costa stamping on an oppo- nent’s leg, leaving the Spain international facing a three-game ban that would rule him out of the City fixture. With question marks also hanging over the fitness of key center midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who came off with a hamstring injury against Liverpool, Chelsea could be without arguably its two best players this season. Here are some other things to know about the 23rd round of matches in the Premier League.

No Ivorians for City SYDNEY: Australian striker Tim Cahill arrives for a press briefing ahead of their AFC Asian Cup final football match in Ivory Coast’s progress to the knockout stage of the African Sydney yesterday. Australia will play South Korea in the AFC Asian Cup final in Sydney tomorrow. — AFP Cup of Nations on Wednesday was bad news for City. It dashed any faint hopes the champions had of having star midfielder Yaya Toure and new signing Wilfried Bony available for the game Cahill dodges retirement against Chelsea. City hasn’t won since Toure, the team’s driving force in midfield and a regular source of goals, left for interna- tional duty. With Aguero searching for full fitness after more than talk, says Korea favourites a month out injured, goals have suddenly become a problem for City, which has scored only once in three games. SYDNEY: Australia’s talisman Tim Cahill be favourites in Sydney.“People can say someone else is going to reap the Formation formula brushed off retirement talk before the what they want,” Australia’s record goal- rewards.” Cahill, who has scored 39 goals Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal must decide Asian Cup final and cannily labelled South scorer said. “For us as players it doesn’t in 81 games for the green and gold, point- whether to stick to his preferred 3-5-2 formation or go with a 4-4- Korea favourites as he indulged in some make a difference what people write or ed to Tuesday’s 2-0 semi-final victory over 2 set-up demanded by the club’s increasingly frustrated fans mind games yesterday. say because our focus is just to switch off the United Arab Emirates, when goals when the 20time champions host Leicester on Saturday. The 35-year-old, whose explosive per- from everything. from defenders Trent Sainsbury and Jason Van Gaal says he finds it uncomfortable to watch United formances have propelled the hosts to the “If we’re favourites, excellent. But I feel Davidson swept Australia into their sec- when it plays four at the back, but results show the team is more brink of their first Asian title, sidestepped that’s a bit of a hardship when Korea beat ond successive Asian Cup final. effective when it lines up in that formation. He changed to a 4-4- the question of whether Saturday’s clash us so I think they’re probably favourites.” “When you see two, three defenders 2 midway through United’s last league game when the score was would be his last appearance in a Cahill scored in Australia’s opening 4-1 holding me, Trent Sainsbury got free and 0-0 against Queens Park Rangers - and the move paid off in a 2-0 Socceroos shirt. win over Kuwait and netted a stunning scored a header,” he said. “Overall we’ve win. United has won only two of its last six games in all competi- “I’m not sure but that’s something I’ll double in their 2-0 quarter-final victory had 10 different goal-scorers and come the tions, and is reeling from being held 0-0 by fourth-tier talk about after,” Cahill told reporters in over China, including a jaw-dropping bicy- end of this game hopefully it will be 11, 12 Cambridge in the FA Cup on Friday. A torrent of injuries has deprived Arsenal of so many of its Sydney. “My main focus is the final and cle kick, and the former Everton forward or 13. We will play with intent. I’m pretty best players this season. Now, though, manager Arsene Wenger hopefully trying to win something that’s expects to be a marked man again against sure we’ll find a way to break them down.” has a very different kind of selection dilemma. With Theo very special for our country. South Korea. Cahill shrugged when asked about the Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey back after long-term “It’s definitely going to be one of our pressure of delivering as a nation awaits. problems and playmaker Tomas Rosicky in brilliant form, Wenger most difficult games but the boys are Nation awaits “I don’t really feel the pressure,” he has a wealth of attacking riches at his disposal as his fifth-place determined to do well which is the “We definitely know a lot about their said. “I’m not scared of what’s ahead. I’m team looks to climb back into the Champions League positions. biggest factor. “They have been really well game,” he said. “They’re strong and they’re looking forward to embracing the chal- Arsenal - with four straight wins in all competitions - is one point drilled and it’s all about being mentally very physical. I don’t need love from the lenge with my team-mates and adding behind United going into the weekend, when it hosts struggling ready for 95 minutes of football because I ref. Every single game I’ve come up that experience to make sure they under- Aston Villa on Sunday. don’t think this game is going to go to against something different. stand to play the game, not the occasion. Want a sure way of avoiding relegation from the Premier extra time.” South Korea, who famously “First 45 minutes against China I Goalkeeper Mathew Ryan paid tribute to League? Hire Tony Pulis. West Bromwich Albion had slumped to reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 touched the ball three times because the Cahill’s influence on the Socceroos. “He’s within a point and a place of the relegation zone and was on a but have failed to lift the Asian Cup in 55 Chinese defenders had me wrapped up. A like a big kid,” he joked. “He’s like one of us run of just one win in 10 matches when it appointed Pulis as a years, beat Australia 1-0 in the group lot of their focus is do we be all over Tim young guys, always playing FIFA (video replacement for Alan Irvine at the start of January. —AP stages and Cahill sought to put pressure Cahill, or do we give him space? Either way games) and screaming the hotel walls on the Red Devils by insisting they would you can’t do it for 90 minutes. If you do, down if he loses. — AFP Melbourne yesterday.—AFP Australian Opentennistournamentin semi-final matchonday11ofthe2015 Makarova ofRussiaintheirwomen’ssingles ebrates winningmatchpointoverEkaterina MELBOURNE: MariaSharapovaofRussiacel- Serena to meetSharapova

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