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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 RABI AL-AWWAL 9, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Amir says GCC Frantic search Time names Dortmund come keen on strategic for survivors Trump its back from 2-0 partnership as Aceh quake 2016 ‘Person down to draw with Britain2 kills nearly7 100 of10 the Year’ with20 Real Madrid Saudi King Salman arrives Min 08º in Kuwait on historic visit Max 18º High Tide 04:35 & 18:40 Amir voices deep pleasure, hails brotherly ties Low Tide 11:00 40 PAGES NO: 17074 150 FILS KUWAIT: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will arrive in Kuwait today on an official visit, where he will Junaid Jamshed among hold talks with HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah. In his first official state visit to Kuwait since ascending the throne on Jan 23, 2015, King 48 dead in Pak air crash Salman will focus on reinforcing the strong relations with Kuwait. Kuwait is the final stop on King Salman’s ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan: A plane belonging to airport manager and a local police official. The Gulf tour, which began in the United Arab Emirates, fol- Pakistan’s national carrier crashed and burst singer’s Twitter account had said he was in lowed by a visit to Qatar. He then traveled to Bahrain, into flames yesterday with 48 people on Chitral. Jamshed rocketed to fame in Pakistan which hosted this year’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) board, killing all of them, police and an airline in the 1980s and 1990s as the singer for the summit that ended yesterday. spokesman said. According to senior police Vital Signs rock group, and later launched a officer Khurram Rasheed, the plane crashed in solo career, with a string of chart-topping SEE PAGE 3 a village in the district of Abbottabad, 75 km albums and hits. Jamshed abandoned his northwest of the capital, Islamabad. The small singing career in 2001 to join the Tableeghi HH Sheikh Sabah yesterday expressed overwhelming twin-propeller aircraft was travelling from the Jamaat group, which travels across Pakistan pleasure on the visit that portrays the brotherly ties city of Chitral to Islamabad when it crashed and abroad preaching about Islam. between the two Gulf states. The Amiri Diwan, in a state- shortly after takeoff. In his last tweet, Jamshed posted pictures ment, quoted HH the Amir as warmly welcoming the Among those on board was Junaid of a snow-capped mountain, calling Chitral Saudi Monarch and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Jamshed, a former Pakistani pop star turned “Heaven on Earth”. Tributes were pouring in on King Salman and the officials who would accompany him evangelical Muslim, according to the Chitral social media for the former lead singer of the during the visit to the country, “where they will be guests country’s first major pop band, whose popular in their second home, among their families and brothers.” “Dil Dil Pakistan” became an unofficial national This visit clearly reflects the good and brotherly anthem. “The voice of my youth, the voice of bonds between the two countries’ leaderships and peo- my generation.... #JunaidJamshed you will be ples that have stood together in face of hardships and sorely missed,” tweeted user Huma A Shah. dangers, the Amir stated. He lauded the historic and piv- According to Daniyal Gilani, the spokesman otal role played by the Saudi leadership and people in for Pakistan International Airlines, the plane support of the Kuwaiti cause, namely the flagrant had lost touch with the control tower prior to “Saddami aggression” in 1990, alluding to the invasion of the crash. He said the plane was carrying 42 the country by forces of the ousted and executed Iraqi passengers, five crew members and a ground ruler Saddam Hussein. He recalled in this context brav- engineer. MANAMA: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ery of the Saudi forces that had taken part in the epic lib- Junaid Jamshed Continued on Page 13 (left) shares a light moment with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al eration of the country. Saud at the GCC summit in the Bahraini capital on Tuesday. — KUNA Continued on Page 13 LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

Amir back home after GCC summit

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Minister, Sheikh Azzam Mubarak Al-Sabah, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, along the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and the with his official entourage, returned home State of Kuwait Ambassador to the yesterday from the Kingdom of Bahrain Kingdom of Bahrain, and embassy staff. where he headed the State of Kuwait dele- gation at the GCC 37th summit. Gratitude His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Separately, His Highness the Amir has Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was received cabled Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al- at Kuwait International Airport by His Khalifa expressing deep gratitude on the Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf warm hospitality accorded to him and Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, senior the State of Kuwait delegation at the sheikhs, Deputy Chief of the National 37th GCC Summit, hosted by the Guards Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al- Bahraini capital. Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness Sheikh His Highness the Amir, in the cable to Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al- the Bahraini Monarch, expressed deep sat- Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister isfaction at the brotherly and blessed Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- meeting that grouped him with the top Sabah, Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs leaders of the other GCC member states, Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, lauding King Hamad’s sagacious and MANAMA: British Prime Minister Theresa May (center) poses with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders for a group picture yes- senior State officials, ranking chiefs of the effective management of the 37th session, terday, during a GCC summit in the Bahraini capital Manama. — AFP Army, the Police, the National Guards and noting its success and “constructive resolu- the fire department. tions that will boost our joint Gulf action.” He also lauded the summit that com- Delegation prised the GCC leaders with the British GCC keen on strategic His Highness the Amir was accompa- Prime Minister Theresa May, which consti- nied at the summit by First Deputy Prime tuted an opportunity to hold discussions Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh and exchange views on various issues of Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy common concern, in shadow of rapid partnership with UK: Amir Prime Minister and Interior Minister developments on the regional arena. His Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Highness the Amir expressed good wishes Al-Sabah, Deputy Premier and Defense to King Hamad, his country and people. GCC - UK meeting tackles need to quell regional unrest Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister and Understanding MANAMA: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah urgent need to find a peaceful solution to the Dangerous threats Acting Oil Minister Anas Khaled Al-Saleh, In the meantime, His Highness the Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said yesterday that conflict in Yemen. A statement issued after the GCC leaders and the British premier pledged Director of His Highness the Amir Bureau Amir has cabled British Prime Minister the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region was meeting, which occurred on the sidelines of the to maintain the mutual obligation to “face dan- Ahmad Fahad Al-Fahad, the Amiri Diwan Theresa May expressing deep satisfaction keen on bolstering strategic ties and relations GCC Summit that concluded yesterday, called for gerous threats caused” by the notorious groups Advisor Mohammad Abulhassan, Head of at the atmosphere of understanding that with the UK. This statement came during the final increased support of the United Nations’ (UN) Al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic States as well as the Amiri Protocol Sheikh Khaled Al- prevailed at the GCC-UK summit. The GCC- session of the 37th GCC Summit held in the Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh their offshoot factions. Abdullah Al-Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, UK summit was an opportunity to discuss Bahraini capital Manama. The event was attended Ahmed, as he works to establish a roadmap for The two sides decided to form a joint task Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Suleiman various issues of mutual concern between by British Prime Minister Theresa May and GCC peace in the war-torn nation. team charged with combating terrorism and Al-Jarallah, Head of the Media and Cultural the GCC countries and the United leaders. Moreover, the statement urged Yemen’s war- safeguarding states’ border security. They also Affairs at the Amiri Diwan Sheikh Fawaz Kingdom, he said, affirming that it would Delivering a speech to the event, His Highness ring parties to remain committed to the peace vowed to work together for tracking down, Saud Nasser Saud Al-Sabah, Foreign contribute to bolstering the distinctive ties the Amir thanked the Bahraini monarch King process, adding that maximal efforts should be arresting and prosecuting terrorists, in line with Minister Assistant for the Minister’s Bureau and strategic relationship between them. Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and the people of expended to ensure the safety of humanitarian national and international laws. They have Affairs Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad His Highness the Amir, moreover, Bahrain for hosting the 37th GCC Summit, saying workers in the country. decided to boost the action against terrorism Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, senior hailed the GCC-UK meeting for touching that this was reflective of the Kingdom’s efforts in The statement also ramped up pressure on funding, enhance intelligence cooperation and officials of the Amiri Diwan and the on the deep-rooted historic ties between boosting relations among nations within the the international community to exert more swap information on terrorists’ whereabouts. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. the two friendly countries and addressing regional and international arenas. efforts to put an end to a conflict that has Moreover, the UK and the GCC agreed to bol- Upon his departure from Bahrain, His mutual cooperation in various spheres. He The summit was within the efforts to enhance remained unabated, underscoring the need to ster joint efforts for cooperation in the defense, Highness the Amir was seen off at the air- expressed good wishes to Premier May strategic, economic, political, and security coop- abide by the UN resolution 2216, which cyber and marine security, in addition to organiz- port by Sheikh Ali Bin Khalifa Bin Salman and her nation and hoped the bilateral eration between the UK and the GCC, affirmed demands an end to the violence in Yemen. ing mutual training courses and drills. They have Al-Khalifa, the Bahraini Deputy Prime ties would be further enhanced. — KUNA His Highness the Amir, adding that history proved Addressing the conflict in Syria, the state- also agreed on cooperation for aborting cyber, that relations between the two sides were built ment underscored the need to ensure a sus- attacks, hacking and misuse, enhancing military on trust and a strong desire to bring security and tained political solution to the conflict, while coordination, strengthening defenses of the stability to the region and the world. His Highness forming a government that will represent the regional countries, including the marine borders. the Amir Sheikh Sabah mentioned that the two Syrian people. It also added that the solution sides were coordinating efforts on all levels. should guarantee an immediate end to violence Business cooperation On UK-Kuwaiti relations, His Highness Sheikh in the country. GCC leaders and the British premier also Sabah said that his country was proud to have On deteriorating humanitarian conditions in decided to enhance mutual cooperation at the historical ties with Great Britain, affirming that Syria, the statement expressed “concern”, while commercial and business levels, according to both nations were eager to bolster ties on all lev- condemning any attempts to stall the advent of the official statement released after the meeting. els. The Kuwaiti leader fondly remembered the humanitarian aid into besieged areas. Similarly, The statement said volume of trade exchanges strong UK stance with his country during the Iraqi on the situation in Iraq, the statement under- between the UK and the GCC countries exceed- invasion in 1990, saying that Britain played a piv- scored the need of increased support of the Iraqi ed 30 billion sterling pounds last year. It con- otal role in liberating Kuwait from the Iraqi government in the fight to defeat the So-called firmed that the UK, once it has accomplished the aggressors in 1991. His Highness the Amir con- Islamic State (IS), which can only be possible with ‘Brexit’, it would act as a priority to cement the cluded his speech by welcoming the British Prime concerted international efforts. commercial and economic relations with the Minister Theresa May to the region, re-affirming On Libya, the statement urged all sides in the GCC states. that the GCC will seek all venues to boost ties conflict to endorse a plan where authority in the The two sides agreed on holding the British- with the UK. North African nation will be evenly shared, in line Gulf conference on partnership between the pri- with UN resolutions and decisions. Meanwhile, vate and public sectors in the first quarter of Yemen on Lebanon, the statement pressed national 2017, in London, “which will focus on the KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is A meeting between GCC leaders and the institutions to fight all forms of terrorism that schemes for economic diversification in the GCC welcomed by His Highness Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- British Prime Minister May has underscored the threaten the country’s peace and security. countries.” —KUNA Sabah upon his arrival back to Kuwait. — KUNA GCC underscores closer cooperation, integration Final communique stresses boosting economic, military coordination

MANAMA: The GCC leaders have stressed the port to Yemen’s unity, sovereignty and inde- significance of continuously propping up and pendence and rejected any attempt to interfere beefing cooperation and integration among the in its domestic affairs, according to the final GCC member states, leading up to the imple- communique. They underscored the signifi- mentation of resolutions targeting full equal cance of finding a political solution to the treatment among Gulf citizens in view of joint Yemeni crisis in line with the Gulf Initiative and Gulf market fields. its Executive Mechanism, Output of the In a final communique issued after their 37th Comprehensive National Dialogue, Riyadh summit in Manama, the GCC leaders said it is Conference and UNSC Resolution 2016. imperative to share credit information as per a In this context, they voiced much apprecia- short-term plan and a comprehensive frame- tion to Kuwait for hosting UN-facilitated peace work for a Gulf credit facilitation exchange negotiations among Yemeni political rivals, mechanism. which began on April 21st and wound up on They also agreed to build a GCC payment August 7th, 2016. But, they condemned the for- system, and entrust Gulf central banks to own, mation of a new government by Yemen’s run and finance the plan by means of establish- Houthis and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh ing an independent company. They approved as a serious blow to ongoing efforts to find a an anti-fraud bill as a binding law, according to political solution to the Yemeni problem. the concluding statement. MANAMA: A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace yesterday shows Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders attending a Iraq Railway project GCC summit in the Bahraini capital Manama. — AFP On Iraq, they renewed keenness on main- They further emphasized that the GCC mem- taining this Arab country’s unity, sovereignty, ber states have to commit to implementing a They lashed out at the US act as a violation of national developments. pation of the three islands, and supported anew independence and territorial integrity, while Gulf railway project, sending it to the economic the basics and principles of the relationship The hailed the announced strategic part- the UAE’s sovereignty over the islands as an vehemently rejecting interference in its internal and development committee for setting out a among the states and principle of sovereign nership between the GCC and UK, which integral part of this GCC member state. affairs. They voiced total support to the Iraqi necessary mechanism in this regard. immunity, calling on Washington to rethink reflected historical distinguished relations In this regard, they called on Iran to positively government’s efforts to liberate Mosul from the It is also necessary to further promote and about this legislation due to its negative reflec- between both sides and set out frameworks of respond to UAE efforts to resolve the issue grip of the so-called Islamic State (IS), emphasiz- develop cooperation and coordination among tions on the relationship among the states. bilateral cooperation with a view to reaching through direct negotiations or the International ing that IS-controlled Iraqi areas should be the GCC member states in the military field, said However, they congratulated US president- closer ties in all fields. Court of Justice (ICJ), while denouncing Iran’s retaken only by Iraqi army and police forces. the communique, while appreciating progress elect Donald Trump, hoping that historic and interference in the internal affairs of the GCC However, they denounced crimes committed in the domain of mutual defensive cooperation strategic relations between the GCC member Palestine member states and the whole region. They also against civilians in the liberated areas on a sec- in the face of various challenges and threats. states and the US would be further promoted On Palestine, the GCC leaders reiterated that urged Tehran to revise its policies in the region tarian basis, calling on the Iraqi government to On terrorism, they reiterated their unshake- and cemented during Trump’s term of office. total, just and everlasting peace could be by means of honoring relevant international live up to its responsibility by protecting civil- able position of rejection and condemnation of They also vowed to work with him to ensure reached in the Middle East region only when conventions and treaties, and stop harboring ians and ensuring a safe return of internally dis- all forms and manifestations of terrorism, but security, peace and stability in the region and Israel withdraws from all Arab territories it occu- terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, on its soil. placed persons. Regarding Libya, the GCC lead- emphasized that more efforts should be exerted the entire world. pied in 1967. They reaffirmed support to an They emphasized that Iran should abide by ers, according to the concluding statement to stop terror-financing sources and to fight They congratulated Antonio Guterres on independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its nuclear with the G5+1 in July 2015, urging issued after their summit in Manama, reiterated attempts to distort the image of Islam. having being elected new secretary-general of its capital in line with the Arab peace initiative the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) backing to UN efforts to ensure this Arab’s secu- In this regard, they sharply denounced the United Nations (UN), reiterating support to and relevant international legitimacy resolu- to apply an effective mechanism to verify the rity and stability. recent explosions and bombings in Saudi Arabia UN efforts to maintain world security and stabili- tions, the concluding statement added. agreement is put in place. Finally, they expressed much thanks and as heinous crimes that have nothing to do with ty, according to the communique. They also voiced support to the French initia- appreciation to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa and the tolerant religion of Islam or values and prin- Moreover, the GCC leaders voiced much sat- tive, together with other Arab and international Syria Bahraini government for warm welcome and ciples of humanity and ethics. They reaffirmed isfaction with fervent efforts exerted to push efforts, to find a solution to the Palestinian state Regarding Syria, the statement reiterated the hospitality during the 37th session of the GCC their support to all regional and international forward strategic partnerships of the GCC coun- and to hold an early Middle East peace confer- GCC’s unwavering support to maintaining Syria’s Summit. They also welcomed His Highness the efforts to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS) tries with Jordan and Morocco, reflecting frater- ence. The GCC leaders further called on the unity, stability and territorial integrity, while con- Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber and all other terrorist networks and organiza- nal close relations. international community to put more pressure demning nonstop airstrikes by the aircraft of the Al-Sabah’s invitation for hosting the next 38th tions in Syria, Iraq and other regions. The leaders also blessed the recent resump- on Israel to end its occupation of all Arab territo- Syrian regime and their allies on the Syrian city session in Kuwait in 2017. His Highness the Amir tion of free trade negotiations between the GCC ries, including the Syrian Golan Heights, and of Aleppo. had stated earlier yesterday that the resolutions JASTA condemned and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). On appreciated a recent UNESCO resolution recog- The GCC leaders renewed backing to all of the GCC Summit will help to consolidate the On the recent US Justice Against Sponsors of meetings held in Manama between Gulf nizing Al-Aqsa Mosque as a purely Islamic site. efforts exerted by UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de bloc’s joint action and aid in realizing the peo- Terror Act (JASTA), the conferees condemned Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders and British Mistura to find a political solution to the Syrian ple’s expectations for further security and stabili- the law as a breach of the fixed principles of Prime Minister Theresa May, the conferees high- Iran crisis, and vowed to continue work to ease out ty. This statement came during His Highness the international law, mainly the principle of equali- ly commended the outcomes of GCC-UK talks On the Iranian-occupied three islands of the the sufferings of the Syrian people. Amir speech to the closing session of the GCC ty among the states. which focused on the latest regional and inter- UAE, they reiterated their rejection of the occu- On Yemen, the conferees reaffirmed full sup- summit. — KUNA LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

KUWAIT: A banner bearing pictures of Kuwait’s Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Workers put up a banner bearing pictures of Kuwait’s Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is seen above an entrance to the historic Mubarakiya Market in Al-Sabah and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the historic Mubarakiya Market in Kuwait City Kuwait City yesterday, ahead of the Saudi King’s visit to Kuwait. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat yesterday. King Salman’s visit to Kuwait comes amid volatile regional conditions Officials, academics emphasize visit’s importance

KUWAIT/RIYADH: Saudi King Salman bin King Salman will focus on reinforcing the occasions. In December of 2013, King Salman of Kuwait and restoration of legitimacy. the visiting Saudi leader and His Highness the Abdulaziz Al Saud is set to arrive in Kuwait strong relations with the State of Kuwait. was in Kuwait as representative of the late He reaffirmed Kuwait’s desire to continue Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- today on an official visit where he will hold King Salman and His Highness the Amir are King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the working with the Kingdom to meet the aspira- Sabah. They noted that the importance of the talks with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah expected during their meeting to look into 34th GCC summit. In March of 2014, the Saudi tions of the two peoples, boost cooperation talks stems from the fact that the Kingdom is Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The upcoming topics of mutual concern and will also touch King took part in the 25th Arab summit which among the Arab and Muslim nations, and con- the strategic depth of the State of Kuwait. visit will add another milestone to the strong on issues pertaining to bilateral relations. was also held in Kuwait. He headed the Saudi tribute to international peace and stability. They expected that the talks could also and historic relations linking the two nations. Regional and international happenings will delegation to the second donors’ conference touch upon the Saudi proposal to develop the In his first official state visit to Kuwait since also be on the radar of the top GCC leaders. for Syria held mid-January of 2015. Very important Gulf Cooperation Council to a union as to ascending the throne on January 23, 2015, King Salman visited Kuwait on numerous His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- The upcoming visit by King Salman will be unite Gulf states in the face of impending chal- Ahmad also made numerous visits to Saudi very important to coordinate efforts lenges facing the region. King Salman’s visit Arabia before and since becoming the head between the two countries, said Kuwaiti came at a delicate time for the whole the of the State of Kuwait. The history of Kuwait Ambassador to Riyadh Sheikh Thamer Jaber region, Political Science Professor at Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had been interconnected Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. King Salman’s meeting University (KU) Dr Abdullah Al-Ghanem said, with leaders exchanging visits since the ear- with His Highness the Amir will be of utmost he noted that this was the first visit of the ly 1900s. significance, affirming that relations Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Kuwait In 1910, founder of Saudi Arabia King between the two nations went beyond the since he assumed power. Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud visited parameters of diplomatic and political ties, Ghanem indicated that the growing dan- Kuwait in the era of the Amir Sheikh Mubarak the ambassador said. gers and challenges in the region would fea- Al-Sabah. After the death of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, his son Saud - who was born in Kuwait in 1902 - became King of Saudi Arabia. King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is remembered fondly by the people of Kuwait with him being one of the first Arab leaders to visit the country after the independence in 1961. Perhaps the most important gesture of solidarity between the two nations came during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Back then, the late Saudi King Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stood with Kuwait against the Iraqi aggressors. Saudi troops were among the international coalition which lib- erated Kuwait in 1991.

Cementing ties First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- Sabah said the upcoming visit by King Salman will add to the already firm ground of the bilateral ties. “The visit will be a historic junc- ture in the relationships between the two countries in all fields which stood the test of Kuwaiti and Saudi flags decorate a street in Kuwait City yesterday, ahead of the Saudi time and continue to serve the joint interests, King’s visit to Kuwait. and fend off the common threats and chal- lenges,” Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said in state- ments yesterday. Saudi Arabia had been standing in solidari- ture high on the bilateral talks. Topping the list “His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- ty with the State of Kuwait since its independ- was the terrorism threats, especially from Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is keen on strength- ence in 1961, said the Kuwaiti Ambassador groups such as the so-called Islamic State (IS) ening the relations, wither on the state-to- who also praised the Saudi strong opposition and Al-Qaeda, as well as the ongoing war in state or the people-to-people levels, with all of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and also Yemen and its economic cost and impact on GCC member countries, particularly the the Kingdom’s participation in the liberation of the region’s security and stability, he said. He Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kuwaiti-Saudi Kuwait in 1991. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will also expected that the two leaders would relations continue to grow thanks to the care continue to cooperate and develop ties in tackle the declining oil prices and its effects on and keenness of the leaders of both countries,” order to achieve the aspirations and dreams of the budgets of the Gulf Cooperation Council he pointed out. people in both nations, said Sheikh Thamer. (GCC) states. “King Salman will be more than welcome to In this regard, the GCC States were exerting be here as guest of His Highness the Amir and Volatile conditions relentless efforts to strike a balance on the oil the Kuwaiti people who remember with grati- In the meantime, Kuwait’s governors wel- market by cutting their production to stop the tude the Kingdom’s historic stances towards, comed King’s impending visit to the country, deterioration of oil prices, Ghanem boasted. and strong support to, Kuwait,” he went on. which they said comes amid volatile regional He pointed out that the developments in cri- Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled recalled the “the conditions. In separate statements, they hailed sis-hit regional countries such as Iraq, Syria heroic and decisive” help offered by Saudi the Saudi King’s historic visit as a testament to and Yemen need thorough discussions from People walk under the flags of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia inside the historic Mubarakiya Arabia to Kuwait in the struggle against the the deep-rooted ties shared by both nations, both leaders. Market yesterday. Iraqi invasion in 1990-1991 until the liberation noting that the visit will be instrumental in fur- On the GCC, he clarified that the GCC was ther bolstering these ties. formed during the Iran-Iraq war in early 1980s “The Saudi King’s visit is historic and to cement cooperation during that period and unprecedented,” Governor of Farwaniya Faisal now as the challenges grow, work for the Al-Humoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah said, adding transformation to the union stage became A historic visit and that the visit will provide both countries with more urgent. He underlined that Saudi Arabia the opportunity to exchange vantage points has been Kuwait’s main strategist backer in cri- on issues of mutual concern. sis times such as the Iran-Iraq war and the sub- continuous contacts Moreover, Governor of Al-Ahmadi Sheikh sequent Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Fawaz Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah under- Meanwhile, Academic and Political scored the amicable ties between Kuwait and Researcher Dr Ayed Al-Manaa Manaa pointed Saudi Arabia and how both nations’ fates out that the wisdom of the two leaders and KUWAIT: Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to tion that halted foreign intervention in have always been intertwined. “Kuwait and their experience in Arab, regional and interna- Kuwait Dr Abdulaziz Al-Fayez issued the fol- Yemen. The Kingdom and Kuwait worked Saudi Arabia have shared unforgettable tional policy will increase the feasibility of the lowing the statement on Saudi King Salman with their wise leaderships in facing the moments,” he said, adding they helped solidi- talks, especially as it comes after Manama bin Abdulaziz’s visit to Kuwait, scheduled threats and thwart foreign plots aiming to fy bilateral ties. summit. for today: weaken Arabian Gulf countries and control Meanwhile, Governor of Hawally Sheikh Manaa stated that Kuwaiti-Saudi political, “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques brotherly Arab countries. Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah described economic and cultural relations are deeply- King Salman bin Abdelaziz Al Saud (May As for bilateral relations between the two the Saudi King’s visit as “historic”, saying that rooted at the government and popular levels. Allah support him) begins an official visit to countries, this historic visit represents an Kuwaitis from all walks of life view this visit as He pointed to the unforgettable supportive Kuwait at the invitation of his brother, His extension of the continuous contacts an emblem of special ties between the two stance of Saudi Arabia during the brutal Iraqi Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad between the two leaders and a confirmation Gulf neighbors. invasion in 1990. Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (May Allah protect him). of the strategic relations between the Similarly, Capital Governor Lieutenant On the main dossiers to be opened during This historic visit is a confirmation of the Kingdom and Kuwait, along with consulta- General Thabet Al-Muhanna noted that lead- the visit, he pointed to bilateral relations, depth and strength of relations between the tions and continued coordination between ers of both nations are expected to discuss a regional security, whether in Iraq, Yemen, Syria two leaders, ruling families and peoples. It them at all levels and fields. series of pivotal issues, chief amongst them, and its impact on the region as well as rela- also reflects the advancement and develop- The Kingdom and Kuwait are keen on the mounting threat of terrorism. He also fore- tions with Iran. He underlined the importance ment of these relations in all fields, and it pushing the development of joint Gulf boded that this “brotherly visit” will yield fruit- of mulling the issue of requirements and steps affirms the unity of goals and destinies. action and reclaim balance in oil prices, and ful results that will serve the interests of the needed to be taken before moving to the This visit comes during a delicate period to send the distinguished relations between Gulf region. union stage. the Gulf region and Arab nations are going them to larger horizons in the interest of the Manaa stated that relations with the United through, as they face foreign aggression and two brotherly peoples. These are relations Heated topics States after the election of the President-elect interventions that threaten the security and that represent a distinguished model in Kuwaiti academics stressed the importance Donald Trump and the recently passed the stability of the region. The two countries cooperation and coordination between two of the historic upcoming visit of King Salman controversial JASTA law as well as the GCC also face these interventions and threats, as brotherly countries that have historic links Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Kuwait to the country. In separate interviews, they efforts to diversify income resources and study it was evident in the Decisive Storm opera- and long for a bright future.” Dr Abdulaziz Al-Fayez pointed out that several key and heated topics post-oil stage could be discussed during the would be on the table of discussions between coming visit. —KUNA LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

In Brief Amir congratulates Amir congratulates Amir offers Austrian president Gambian president condolences KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent yesterday a Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent yesterday a Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent yesterday a cable of congratulatory cable to newly elected Austrian congratulatory cable to Gambia’s newly elected condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo President Alexander Van der Bellen. His President Adama Barrow. His Highness the over the victims of the earthquake in Aceh province. Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al- Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to the Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to cables. — KUNA Gambian president. — KUNA President Joko. — KUNA

Photo of the day

KUWAIT: People cross a busy road in Kuwait City yesterday. Kuwait City is suffering from a severe shortage in available parking spaces; a problem that peaks during working hours, leaving hundreds of drivers forced to park in illegal spots. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat ‘Kashta Khalijiya’ forum concludes

By Nawara Fattahova ticipated in the forum. “We spent four months preparing this cultural activity. KUWAIT: The National Society of Domestic Also, it is amazing that female participation Security (RAWASI) held a concluding cere- reached over 200, out of all the partici- mony for the third edition of ‘Kashta pants,” stressed Qalaf. Khalijiya’ (Gulf picnic) Forum on Tuesday, The activities included different courses which was attended by the representative and symposiums. A body language course of the State Ministry for Youth Affairs presented by Hisham Abu Shaira, as well as Mohammed Al-Mutairi on behalf of another course titled ‘Turning Point’ by Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, and Ali Al-Hadad, Faisal Al-Musawi, which showed that cre- Chairman of Rawda and Hawally Co-op ativity and achieving has no limits, while a Society. Hadad noted that the co-op has planning course was presented by Dr set 20 percent of its profits for society serv- Maher Al-Seif accompanied by a workshop. ices and activities. In addition, Hawra’ Dashti presented a Tahani Al-Qalaf, Head of the Media course on personal charisma directly com- Committee at RAWASI said that the ‘Kashta municating with the audience. In the Khalijiya’ Forum coincides with the Islamic meantime, Abdullah Mahdi presented a Educational, Scientific and Cultural course titled ‘God’s Paradise on Earth’. The Organization’s (ISESCO) decision to select forum also had comedy sessions and Kuwait City as the Capital of Islamic Culture speeches presented by the GCC partici- for the year 2016. A total of 350 young pants, followed by an open discussion ses- KUWAIT: Columnist and author Abdullah Abbas Bowair presents a copy of one of his books to Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at a members from Kuwait and the Gulf sion. The forum concluded with an award previous function. Cooperation Council (GCC) countries par- ceremony and dinner. Bowair’s latest book reviews Amir’s speeches

KUWAIT: Columnist and author Abdullah Mohammed’, while his fifth book, also in 2012, Sabah was published in 2015. His eighth book Abbas Bowair recently published his 11th was titled ‘HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali - An Oasis of on HH the Amir as the Humanitarian Leader book about the speeches of HH the Amir Liberality’. Bowair’s sixth book about Deputy was published in 2015. Bowair’s ninth book on Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Chief of the National Guard Sheikh Meshaal Al- HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- The book consists of three chapters - the first Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was published in Mubarak Al-Sabah was published in 2015, includes the Amir’s famous quotes; the sec- 2013. His seventh book about HH the Crown while his tenth book was on Sheikha Fareeha ond includes his speeches before the UN Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, also in 2015. General Assembly; and the third includes his speeches since assuming power. Bowair’s first book was titled “Kuwaiti Government Ministers’ Interpellations - 1963- 2008”. It consists of seven chapters. The sec- ond book was titled ‘Sheikh of Diplomacy’ (2009). It is a complete biography of HH Sheikh Sabah, reviewing his early life, studies, family, children, diplomatic career and role in cementing Kuwait’s relations with various nations, contributions, awards, the positions he assumed before he became Amir, his inter- ests, benevolence, his role during and after the Iraqi invasion as well as his role in sup- porting the Iraqi people after its liberation, his initiatives and the international conferences he called for and hosted and his vision to turn Kuwait into a regional financial and commer- cial hub. Bowair’s third book was titled ‘Sabah Al- Khair’ (The Benevolent Sabah), which focused on HH the Amir’s 61-year-long career and the KUWAIT: The Albanian Ambassador to Kuwait Saimir Bala hosted a reception recent- role he has played in Kuwait’s foreign policy ly to celebrate his country’s national day. Senior officials, diplomats and other digni- and Kuwait’s diplomacy. His fourth book, pub- taries attended the event. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat lished in 2012, was titled ‘HH Sheikh Nasser Al- The book’s cover. LOCAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 Jail sentence for using disabled parking starting from January 1

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: Director of the public authority for disabled affairs Dr Shafiqa Al-Awadhi said that in collaboration with the interior ministry, article 63 of law 8/2010 per- taining the rights of the disabled will be strictly enforced effective January 1, 2017. Awadhi explained that the article states that “Those using disabled park- ing spaces will be punished by a maximum of one month imprisonment and/or a KD 200 fine”. Awadhi urged all disabled people to immediately renew their cards and make sure the ones they have are valid in order to avoid problems with the traffic police. In related news, the Interior Ministry announced yes- terday that four expatriate drivers were deported for driving without a license, after they were caught during crackdowns carried out by the traffic department. The campaigns took place from November 27 to December 3, resulting in issuing 33,012 traffic tickets, 885 vehicles were impounded and 53 persons were jailed for com- mitting grave violations. DOHA: The winner of the international Quran memorization contest in Qatar Khaled Jassem Al-Aynati (right) receives his award. — KUNA Outstanding companies commerce and industry and the industries union to The Public Authority for Manpower is currently work- select 13 companies to be included on the list. The Kuwaiti wins prestigious Quran ing on completing a trial procedure for outstanding pri- selected companies will be given certain privileges vate and oil sector companies with the lists system that including assessing their need for labor to get one is due to be launched by the beginning of next year. worker per 5 sq m of the total area of the rented premis- memorization contest in Qatar Notably, the authority coordinated with the ministry of es, with a maximum of 200 workers per license.

DOHA: Kuwaiti national Khaled His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh the Holy Quran during the period Jassem Al-Aynati won Tuesday the Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, November 27 and December 6. world’s highest-value and prestigious Kuwaiti government and people for Thirty-seven winners of Quran Quran memorization and recitation their unlimited support and care for competitions worldwide have partak- ‘Ensuring financial stability prize. “I am very proud of wining this Quran students and reciters. He com- en in the contest. The winner, Aynati, international competition,” Aynati said mended the competition jury and the has been awarded a high-value one on the sidelines of the prize-giving peer high-level competitors. million Qatari riyals ($274,000) prize. essential in turbulent times’ ceremony held today evening in Doha. Al-Aynati ranked first at the ‘Winner This contest considered the most Governor of the unleashed drastic changes in the percent during 2011-14 alone. “As He gifted his achievement to His of Winners’ Quran competition which prominent event in the Doha cultural ABU DHABI: Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Dr way we conduct business, interact these encouraging trends suggest, Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh was organized by Sheikh Jassem bin scene as it features the broadest cate- Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Mohammad bin Thani Foundation for gories and highest rewards. — KUNA Mohammad Al-Hashel stressed with each other, or consume vari- digitalization to the millions of yesterday the importance of ensur- ous products and services,” Hashel people have remained financially ing financial stability in turbulent said, adding that financial sector is excluded so far,” he said. times. Maintaining stability in experiencing a major transforma- Hashel also noted that program- money world is attained through tion, fueled by advances in tech- ing breakthroughs such as 21 election petitions shedding light on two effective nology. “blockchain” are potentially trans- factors; the tech-driven revolution, “Technology is supporting the forming the way the world verify which has brought its own set of outreach of formal financial servic- transactions and enforce contracts, risks and rewards, and the wide es to the millions of otherwise adding that that by allowing par- filed, more expected range of measures that have been unbanked customers. According to ties to transact without central introduced to strengthen the World Bank, the poorest 20 percent intermediaries, blockchain can resilience of the banking systems, of the world population is more strip off costs, reduce inefficiencies, New MPs press for lifting of sport suspension Hashel said. likely to have access to a mobile and enhance customer service. He made his remarks in his phone than to clean water and “Host of other innovations are By B Izzak petition separately before deciding Babtain said the lawmakers will speech at the 12th High Level sanitation,” he said. reshaping the way we transfer whether they are credible enough to assist the government in amending Meeting for the Middle East and Hashel also noted that a num- money or obtain credit. For KUWAIT: Former MPs and candidates be investigated. It may take the court the law within the stipulated period North Africa region on latest ber of countries have managed to instance, mobile wallets are who failed to win seats in the national several months to issue its rulings. in order to help end the suspension updates on banking supervision, swiftly expand access to finance in enabling payments by smart assembly election last month yester- on the local sports bodies. He said financial stability institute, and the recent years, adding that the num- phones, peer-to-peer lending is day filed 15 petitions challenging the Sport crisis that disputes in the sports field has Arab monetary fund, which kicked ber of adults in the world who providing new sources of financ- election results raising the number of In another development, new continued for the past 10 years and it off earlier in the Emirati capital. were previously out of formal ing, and robo-advisors are offering petitions received so far by the con- opposition MP Abdulwahab Al- is time to tell them “hands off” “Tech-driven innovations have financial system has dropped by 20 financial advice,” he said. —KUNA stitutional court to 21. Babtain said yesterday that he and Kuwaiti sports and let us work to The court, whose rulings are final, MP Omar Al-Tabtabaei have prepared resolve the crisis. has only one more day on next an initiative to resolve the sport crisis But another opposition MP Riyadh Sunday to receive more petitions and and help end the international sus- Al-Sane said that Kuwait does not then the door for petitions will be pension of Kuwait. need to pledge to amend its legisla- shut. Yesterday’s petitions included He said that the initiative has tion because the country was sus- challenges from four former MPs already been signed by 27 lawmakers pended in 2010 before the specific Youssef Al-Zalzalah, Ahmad Al-Azmi, and essentially calls on the govern- legislation was issued. He said he Mohammad Al-Barrak and Hamad ment to pledge to amend the sports believes that the suspension is not Matar. Most of the petitions called for law passed by the previous assembly related to domestic legislation or the recounting of votes. in June within three months for the independence of the sports move- The difference between those who international sports organizations to ment but due to the scrapping of got the last two or three seats in each end the freeze. He called on other financial and administrative supervi- constituency and those who came in MPs to sign the initiative before it will sion. Adasani stressed that the the 11th, 12th or even 13th place is be published today ahead of submit- Kuwaiti sports has been badly sometimes a few dozen votes. The ting it to the new government after harmed by continued political dis- constitutional court will study each its formation. putes and Kuwait and its sportsmen became the victims.

DNA law MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari said he has prepared a draft law calling for the abolishing of the controversial laws of DNA testing and a law that bars people convicted of religious crimes or insulting the Amir from run- ning in the polls. Kandari said the proposal will be submitted after the first session, adding that he will review most bills passed by the previ- ous national assembly to see how they should be rectified. MP Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie said yes- terday that he and MP Mubarak Al- Hajraf yesterday met with MP Hamad Al-Harashani, who will chair the first session on Sunday, and agreed that voting for the speaker and deputy speaker will be through the ballot KUWAIT: MP Majid Al-Mutairi (left) speaks with MP Omar Al-Tabtabaei dur- and not through the electronic sys- ing a gathering at the diwaniya of MP Mohammad Al-Mutair on Tuesday. tem. Other election will be made — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyar through the electronic system. Poultry banned from Croatia, India, Austria

By Meshaal Al-Enezi Agricultural Affairs and Fish including chicks and eggs from Resources (PAAAFR) issued a tempo- Croatia, India and Austria on detect- KUWAIT: The Public Authority for rary ban on importing poultry ing the H5N8 virus. The decision came in compliance with OIE and GCC safety and quarantine proce- dures, said informed sources, noting Kuwaiti, US military forces that all infected shipments will be rejected and importers will have to carry out joint drill re-export them at their own expense. KUWAIT: Units of the Kuwaiti being carried out within frame- Army are currently involved in work of the Kuwait-US defense Low temperature military exercise with troops treaty. The commander has con- Meteorologist Essa Ramadan said from the American Army, veyed to the personnel involved that the temperature is expected to intended to elevate the mutual in the mock fight salutes of sen- drop to 2-4 degrees Celsius in desert combat readiness and swap mil- ior leaders, namely Deputy areas over the next three days in itary expertise, said Commander Prime Minister and Minister of Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and western UAE. of the Kuwaiti Ground Forces Defense Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Major General Sheikh Khaled Al-Sabah. The drill is significant Case adjourned Saleh Al-Sabah yesterday. A for enhancing preparedness, The court of appeals yesterday Defense Ministry’s statement coordination and joint planning adjourned a case until December 22, quoted Major General Sheikh between the ground and air in which 70 citizens and nine former Khaled as saying the drill is forces. — KUNA MPs face charges of breaking into the parliament. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 From the Arabic press

News Al-Anbaa in brief Cabinet Speakership Verbal firing illegal election surprise

KUWAIT: An employer or company has no right to verbally terminate any employee for any reason, Acting Director of By Thaar Al-Rasheedi the Public Authority for Manpower Abdullah Al-Mutawtah said. The labor law in the private sector stipulates that ter- he opposition of the annulled 2012 parliament mination should be done through an official letter signed did not last more than a year before it disman- by the employer and has a specified date, while an tled into tiny blocs, and this is exactly what will employee is given the legal 90 days’ termination period, he Parliament Thappen to the new opposition born after the recent explained. “Verbal termination is a violation to the labor parliamentary elections for several reasons. The law, and such practice is subject to punishment according most important reason is that the new opposition the law,” he explained. — Al-Anbaa does not belong to a single political trend and each member has their own agenda, though they agree on broad general policies. Such dissimilarities will Natural reserves come to surface with a grilling motion or vital voting on any bill. KUWAIT: Kuwait plans to carry out the ‘largest envi- The new opposition includes major blocs; ronmental rehabilitation project in the world’ by creat- Islamite and independent MPs. Islamic MPs are ing five major natural reserves over a total area of divided into three different groups while each of the 1,600 square kilometers, said a source at the Public independent ones have their own thoughts and Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources. ideas. Since inception, the new opposition is only The $470 million project is expected to finish in 2022, he added. — Al-Anbaa

Al-Jarida The speakership election Education’s budget will reveal the real nature KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education is requesting a KD 1.6 of the new opposition billion budget to cover its expenses for the 2017/2018 fis- cal year, Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs Yousuf Al-Najjar said. The budget was recently prepared Al-Anbaa nominally coherent and that will appear during the and submitted to the Finance Ministry for approval, he speakership and the parliamentary committees’ added. — Al-Rai elections on Sunday. Staff of Moses The speakership election will reveal the real nature of the new opposition if they will or will not Genetic records By Saad Al-Mo’tesh continue with the same power and momentum. Their real power will be clear before the end of next KUWAIT: Kuwait is studying a project to collect month, and opposition MPs will not be more than genome data for Kuwaiti citizens in order to create a enjoy the speeches given by His Highness the Amir aim at pleasing their voters by pressuring ministers to seven while the other 26 opposition MPs will change genetic record for each individual that can be used to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and like unethically appoint some of them in certain positions. positions according to political variations. prevent genetic diseases and help cut spending on to quote him because the wisdom and lessons that This will create an obstacle for competent citizens who Accordingly, the speakership elections have Ihe shares are like roadmaps have any parliamentary or medicine, said Dr Laila Bastaki, Head of the Kuwait already exhibited a considerable difference prior to Medical Genetics Center. The project can be applied not only to the cabinet tribal support and are capa- the second competitor. I will not support a particu- on all Kuwaitis or certain families, she added. —Al-Rai members, but also to ordi- They should not surrender ble of achieving prosperity lar candidate. I am just analyzing the facts, after the nary citizens. “It is impossible for Kuwait if each MP gives in opposition bloc decided to run for the speakership to please all people,” His to illogical demands of to his voters’ wishes. elections with two candidates, which will be clear on Environmental reports Highness once said to newly The solution this is His December 11. appointed cabinet members. lawmakers who only aim Highness the Prime Minister — Translated by Kuwait Times KUWAIT: The Environment Public Authority (EPA) made He suggested that everyone Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- a request to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to must adapt to this concept at pleasing their voters Sabah has the Staff of Moses compel companies working in Kuwait to present period- in all areas of life. These wise which will help him accom- ic environmental monitoring reports for developmental words can apply to our chil- plish our wishes. However, and industrial projects, sources said. This condition dren when it is hard to agree with them. you have to consider that leading Moses’ Staff was should also cover projects that require environmental The same applies to ministers who are about to be more than just making rivers split and driving a herd of KIB sponsors job and social impact studies before being executed, they selected for the upcoming cabinet. They should not sheep. added. — Al-Qabas surrender to illogical demands of lawmakers who only — Translated by Kuwait Times fair at College of Business at Kuwait University

KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) recently participated in sponsoring the Annual Job Fair at the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University. The sponsorship came in line with the Bank’s efforts to support young national talents, par- ticularly fresh graduates, and provide them with promising career opportunities. “KIB’s participation in this job fair stems from our strong belief in the ability of youth to succeed, inno- vate and create across all sectors - but especially in the realm of business which remains one of the main pillars of our country’s economy,” said Nawaf Najia, Manager of the Corporate Communications Unit at KIB. He further added: “These kinds of events are a great opportunity for us to meet with new graduates and to engage with them in an open conversation. It also allows us to introduce these young talents to the many different career opportunities that KIB has to offer, which are tailored to meet their personal and professional aspirations. This all comes in line with our recruitment strategies which focus on attracting Esra Al-Habib attends the Fikra event. Group picture for the sponsors of Fikra Program. the best talents and investing heavily in our human resources.” KIB is always keen on participating in different Gulf Bank gold sponsor of 2nd Fikra Program career and student fairs, as well as other youth- focused events. This comes in line with the Bank’s strategic and comprehensive social responsibility Transforming ideas into business projects program which focuses largely on supporting young national talents, especially fresh graduates, and pro- KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced its gold second edition after accomplishing a great supporting young entrepreneurs and said: The main goal of Fikra Program is to moting their future development. sponsorship of Fikra Program in a press success last year. Fawaz said: “The program “Gulf Bank is proud to be the gold sponsor empower a new generation of entrepre- conference held to launch the second edi- seeks to encourage young Kuwaitis to turn of Fikra Program in its second edition and neurs to develop successful businesses and tion of this program that empowers a new their business ideas from mere thoughts we are pleased to incorporate it as part of advance the local Kuwaiti market. It is an generation of entrepreneurs to develop into business plans and implementations, our social responsibility plan. In fact, Gulf intensive entrepreneurship training that successful businesses. The press confer- by applying the highest standards of devel- Bank is strongly committed to giving back provides aspiring entrepreneurs with the ence, which was organized by Cubicle opment and training before presenting to Kuwait as it supports numerous events technical skills and business knowledge Services, took place on Tuesday 6 their projects to potential investors.” and initiatives focusing on youth, educa- needed to launch their own businesses December 2016, at Al-Hamra Tower- “Fikra Program embodies the spirit of tion, health and fitness, helping the under- such as leadership skills, comprehensive Exhibition Hall, in Kuwait City. cooperation between all institutions privileged, women’s empowerment, as well business plan, investment opportunities Having strategically partnered with the involved in the youth and SMEs whether as promoting Kuwait’s heritage and culture.” and others. The first edition of the program Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, Fikra these institutions are from the private or Habib added: “We believe in the high resulted in establishing 33 percent of busi- Program organizers along with the spon- public sector. The incubators’ business activ- potential of the youth in Kuwait, we are nesses, while 44 percent are still in the sors confirmed that the deadline for entre- ities are part of an ecosystem where spon- fond of supporting their innovative ideas negotiation phase with investors. preneurs to submit their projects and ideas sors of Fikra Program are playing a pivotal and projects. We are here to sponsor Fikra For more information on Gulf Bank, is January 1 2017. role in contributing to the promotion and Program in order contribute in turning please visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, Abdulrahman Al-Fawaz, CEO of Cubicle development of SMEs.” youth’s dreams into reality which will even- call the Customer Contact Center on Services addressed the business incubators Esra Al-Habib, Gulf Bank’s External tually create new employment opportuni- 1805805, log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, by explaining that Fikra Program for busi- Communications Manager also made a ties, and enhance our economy by diversi- Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, or visit its ness development is being launched in its statement highlighting the importance of fying it.” social media channels. Ahli United Bank provides valuable job opportunities at college job fair

KUWAIT: In line with its long-term “Today’s youth has great potential with which is to provide job opportunities strategy to support young talent in innovative ideas to help any company for young ambitious Kuwaitis, urging Kuwait, Ahli United Bank is participat- to grow faster and better compete in a them to join the private sector. This ing in Kuwait University’s Business global environment”. Amin added: enables the youth to contribute to the Administration College Job Fair, which “Kuwait University is a prestigious growth and development taking place commenced Sunday 4, December 2016 institution producing thousands of in the country, particularly the bank- at the university campus in Shuwaikh. young national and non-national grad- ing sector. Through this participation, the Bank uates every year. Having a variety of Kuwait University’s Business seeks to connect with students and talent and capabilities, we are delight- Administration College Job Fair will graduates of different business majors ed to support their ambitions and welcome students and graduates with the aim of attracting and recruit- help them attain their career objec- every day, from 8 am to 3 pm, until the ing young talent, especially Kuwaiti tives in the banking sector by offering 8th of December, 2016. For more infor- nationals, by discussing internship them promising job and/or internship mation on AUB’s wide range of prod- opportunities across the Bank’s opportunities at AUB”. ucts and services, please visit any of departments with them.. Ahli United Bank has participated in the Bank’s branches, call Hayakum Naqeeb Amin, Ahli United Bank’s several job fairs organized by many telebanking service on 1812000, or log Human Resources Manager underlined private and public universities in on the bank’s website www.ahliunit- the Bank’s firm belief in the younger Kuwait in line with their growing role ed.com.kw to find out more about its generation of new students, saying: in the country’s economic welfare, latest activities. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

Afghan woman Political limbo: What next for Renzi, Italy? goes from refugee to military pilot Page 10 Page 11

ACEH PROVINCE: The body of a young earthquake victim is carried in Pidie Jaya. — AFP Powerful quake kills 97 in Indonesia Rescuers begin massive scrabble for survivors

MEUREUDU: A strong earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh heavy debris. Footage showed rescue personnel taking province early yesterday, killing nearly 100 people and bodies in black bags away from the rubble. sparking a frantic rescue effort in the rubble of dozens of Muhammad Reza Faisal, director of the general hospital collapsed and damaged buildings. Maj Gen Tatang in Pidie Jaya, said the facility was overwhelmed with the Sulaiman, chief of the army in Aceh province, said at least numbers of injured and many people were being treated in 97 died while four people were pulled from the rubble tents pitched on its grounds. He said five of the quake vic- alive. Another four or five are known to be buried, but he tims died at the hospital. In the capital, Jakarta, President didn’t say if they were dead or alive. The Indonesian gov- Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he had ordered all government ernment declared a two-week emergency period in Aceh. agencies to take part in the rescue efforts for Aceh, a con- The rescue effort involving thousands of search officials, servative province that has considerable autonomy from villagers, soldiers and police is concentrated on Meureudu, the central government under a peace deal with sepa- a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya district near the epi- ratists. Indonesian Red Cross deployed emergency center. Excavators were trying to remove debris from shop response teams and advertised bank accounts for dona- houses and other buildings where people were believed tions. Its head of disaster management, Arifin Hadi, said buried. TV footage showed rescuers in orange uniforms five water trucks have been sent into the quake area. Aid, shining flashlights into the interiors of broken buildings as including hygiene kits, tarpaulins, jerry cans, blankets and they searched for signs of life. family assistance kits, is being distributed, with more to be The province’s disaster mitigation agency said more sent from Jakarta, he said. The International Organization than 600 people were injured. The national disaster agency for Migration said it sent an assessment team to Aceh. said some 245 buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed, mostly in Pidie Jaya, including 14 mosques. The No tsunami risk rest were mainly dwellings and shop houses. Roads also Seaside resident Fitri Abidin in Pidie Jaya said she fled cracked and power poles toppled over. with her husband and wailing children to a nearby hill after The US Geological Survey said the 6.5-magnitude earth- the quake jolted the family awake. They stayed there for quake struck at 5:03 am and was centered about 19 kilo- several hours until authorities reassured them there was no meters southeast of Sigli, a town near the northern tip of tsunami risk. “It terrified me. Aceh, at a depth of 17 kilometers. The agency had initially I was having difficulty breathing or walking,” Abidin placed the epicenter undersea. It did not generate a tsuna- said. She said her husband grabbed hold of her and carried mi. For Acehnese, the quake was a terrifying reminder of her out of the house. The family’s house didn’t collapse but their region’s vulnerability to natural disasters. More than the homes of some neighbors did and Abidin is afraid 100,000 died in Aceh after a Dec 26, 2004, earthquake trig- three friends were buried in the rubble. gered a devastating tsunami. In Pidie Jaya’s neighboring district of Bireuen, a teacher at an Islamic school died after being hit by falling debris, Memories of ‘04 said health worker Achmad Taufiq. The world’s largest “It was very bad, the tremors felt even stronger than the archipelago, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its 2004 earthquake,” said Musman Aziz, a Meureudu resident. location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes “I was so scared the tsunami was coming.” Aiyub Abbas, the and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. The 2004 quake and chief of Pidie Jaya district, said there was urgent need for tsunami killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen coun- emergency supplies and excavation equipment to move tries, most of them in Aceh.— AP Merkel party wants ban on Muslim full-face veil

ESSEN: Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party yesterday tough- citizenship and that of their country of origin. Interior ened its stance on immigration and integration, demand- Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned during a heated ing that dual nationality be scrapped for German-born chil- debate on the dual nationality motion that it would be dren of foreigners and calling for a partial ban on the wrong to tear up a compromise with its governing partner. Muslim full-face veil. The hardline measures set the party “We don’t want to reverse that,” he said, adding that it was on a collision course with its junior coalition partner Social also a blow for children of foreign origin at a time when the Democrats (SPD) ahead of elections next year, and under- country is struggling with integration issues. lined the challenges faced by Merkel to rein in the more No other party would back such a motion, warned de conservative wing of her party. Maiziere, whose separate proposal for jihadists to be Merkel herself had on Tuesday voiced her backing for a stripped of their German nationalities was also approved prohibition against the niqab or burqa “wherever it is legal- by the congress. But party delegates voted narrowly, with ly possible”, before the leadership of her Christian 319 votes in favor and 300 against, to scrap the compro- Democratic Union (CDU) voted on the issue yesterday. mise. The decision quickly drew a rebuke from the SPD, The party has also proposed to ease the deportation with Justice Minister Heiko Maas saying that reversing the process for rejected asylum-seekers. But some in her par- rule “would be a step backwards for integration”. ty sought to go further, with the youth wing defying the SPD vice-chair Aydan Ozoguz accused the CDU of leadership and winning a vote for a dual nationality rule attacking “an important integration success”. Given the lack to be reversed. of backing for it from other parties, the measure is unlikely Allowing dual nationality was a key demand of the SPD to be ever implemented. Likewise, the call for a partial ban during negotiations with Merkel’s conservatives after the on the burqa is unlikely to become law as it would run into last elections in 2013 that resulted in a hard-fought deal on a constitutional legal tangle. But they send a potent signal teaming up in a left-right government. ahead of the general elections expected next September as The move mainly affects Turkish migrants, many of the party seeks to win back supporters clawed away by the whom had come to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s to populist and anti-migrant AfD. work but have stayed on and started families here. Before In that spirit, the CDU on Wednesday also called for 2014, their children had to give up either their parents’ citi- migrants who are due to be deported to be taken into cus- zenship or their German one by the age of 23. European tody a few weeks before their departure rather than a few Union citizens are already permitted to hold both German days ahead. — AFP INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

Israel set for vote to advance bill legalizing settler homes

JERUSALEM: Israeli lawmakers could continued settlement building is eating Netanyahu says he still supports a Walid Assaf, the Palestinian minister are in Israeli-approved settlements but vote yesterday to advance a bill legalizing away at the possibility of a two-state two-state solution to the decades-old responsible for monitoring Israeli settle- were built on Palestinian land. Around some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied solution to the conflict. All Israeli settle- Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is nonethe- ments, has called the bill “the most dan- 750 are located in outposts which Israel West Bank despite international criticism ments are viewed as illegal under inter- less supporting the bill. gerous law issued by Israel since 1967.” has not yet approved, Peace Now says. and warnings over its implications. The national law and major stumbling blocks It has advanced despite concerns from Israeli occupied the West Bank in the Six- US Secretary of State John Kerry has said bill was set for a first reading in the to peace efforts as they are built on land Israeli Attorney General Avichai Day War of 1967 and subsequently there are currently around 100 wildcat Knesset, or parliament, and if approved the Palestinians see as part of their Mandelblit, who has said he will not be annexed east Jerusalem in a move never outposts in the West Bank and the bill would require two more full votes before future state. able to defend it before the courts and recognized by the international commu- would give retrospective Israeli approval becoming law. Israel differentiates between those it warned that it would violate both Israeli nity. But while comments by Bennett to 54 of them. A vote was expected yesterday, has authorized and those it has not. The and international law. and others have sparked international An agreement to remove one wildcat though last-minute negotiations could bill would legalize nearly 4,000 settler condemnation, polls have shown that a outpost from the bill has allowed the still cause it to be delayed. The bill was homes built on private Palestinian land. ‘Profoundly damaging’ significant percentage of Israelis sup- legislation to move forward. The outpost given preliminary approval in parliament Key figures in Prime Minister Benjamin US State Department spokesman port annexation. known as Amona, home to around 40 on Monday, with some of its backers call- Netanyahu’s coalition, considered the Mark Toner said Tuesday: “We hope that A recent poll by the Israel Democracy families, is under a court order to be ing it a step towards eventual annexation most right-wing in Israeli history, openly it does not become law. “Enacting this Institute think tank says 44 percent of evacuated by December 25 since it was of most of the West Bank. Some 400,000 oppose a Palestinian state. Education law would be profoundly damaging to Jewish Israelis support annexing all of built on Palestinian land. Some mem- Israeli settlers currently live in the West Minister Naftali Bennett, the bill’s main the prospects for a two-state solution. the West Bank, while 38 percent are bers of Netanyahu’s coalition said they Bank, excluding annexed east Jerusalem, backer, has advocated annexing most of “We’ve also been troubled by comments opposed. could not support the bill if Amona along with 2.6 million Palestinians. the West Bank, like other Israeli religious that we’ve heard by some political fig- According to settlement watchdog remained part of it because of the court The United States, UN officials and nationalists who point to the Jewish con- ures in Israel that this would be the first Peace Now, the bill would legalize some ruling against it. A solution is still being the European Union have warned that nection to the land from biblical times. step in annexing parts of the West Bank.” 3,881 housing units. Most of the homes sought for Amona settlers. —AFP As Syrian troops gain ground, Aleppo rebels propose truce Fate of the city be negotiated

BEIRUT: Staring a punishing and Sergey Lavrov were meeting for previously come under rebel fire. No offensive. The offensive was preced- brutal defeat in the face, several talks on Syria in Germany. injuries were reported. ed by an intensive bombing cam- Syrian rebel factions yesterday pro- It was the second such Israeli paign that knocked out medical posed a five-day cease-fire in the Widening control strike into Syria recently, according facilities and left the civilian popula- eastern part of the city of Aleppo so Earlier yesterday, Syrian govern- to the Syrian government, following tion reeling from the violence. the wounded, sick and other civil- ment troops and allied militiamen two missiles fired from Lebanese air- According to the Observatory, 369 ians can be evacuated. The proposal seized more ground in Aleppo’s space toward the outskirts of civilians, including 45 children, were came as Syrian government troops ancient quarters, further widening Damascus last week. But yesterday’s killed in eastern Aleppo since Nov. and allied militiamen declared they their control over an enclave in the attack is believed to be the first from 15. The Observatory said 92 civil- have seized control of three-quar- divided city, Syria’s state media and Israel into the vicinity of Damascus ians, including 34 children, were ters of the enclave that the opposi- an opposition monitoring group in years. Israel is widely believed to killed in the government-controlled tion controlled since 2012. said. With the latest gains, the have carried out a number of western Aleppo that came under The cease-fire proposal was endgame for Aleppo, which has airstrikes in Syria in the past few rebel fire. signed by the Aleppo command been carved up between the gov- years that have targeted advanced center, apparently a reference to the ernment and the rebel side for the weapons systems, including Gaining ground MOSUL: Yousuf Odey, 10, who was wounded in the eye by Islamic State mili- collection of factions fighting inside past four years, appears to draw Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles SANA said Syrian forces yester- tants, is treated by doctors at a clinic in Zahra district. —AFP the eastern enclave. A rebel even closer. If Aleppo - the country’s and Iranian-made missiles. day established control over two districts north of the Aleppo Citadel in the heart of the city - the Aghiour Iraqi forces battle and Bab Al-Hadid neighborhoods - after rebels abandoned positions and retreated further south. The deep inside Mosul new gains have choked the rebels, forcing them to pull back to other parts of the Old City, said the BARTALLA: Iraqi forces battled jihadists provide any casualty toll for the latest Britain-based Syrian Observatory for deep inside Mosul yesterday, edging closer fighting. The Joint Operations Command Human Rights. to the River Tigris that divides the city and supervising the fight against IS said CTS A map provided by the Syria looking for a breakthrough in the seven- forces had retaken the eastern Mosul army showed a quickly shrinking week-old offensive. The fighting to retake neighborhood of Ilam yesterday. Officers opposition enclave - a pointed leaf- the Islamic State (IS) group’s last major and analysts had expected the eastern side shaped territory in the center, abut- stronghold in Iraq has prompted a steady of Mosul to offer less resistance but the ting already government-controlled trickle of people to leave their homes, going has been tough and Prime Minister Aleppo districts. In a statement, the many taking refuge in camps where night- Haider Al-Abadi’s promise to retake Mosul Observatory said dozens of bodies time temperatures have dipped below by year’s end has looked increasingly in littered streets stretching from al- freezing. The 9th Armoured Division said it question. Shaar to the southern part of east- had retaken Al-Salam hospital in a push on Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular ern Aleppo, including the Old City, Tuesday, the farthest the army has pene- Mobilization) paramilitary forces have as a result of ongoing intense gov- trated into east Mosul since the start of a retaken significant ground in recent weeks ernment bombardment. broad offensive launched on October 17. on a western front targeting the town of Capt Abdel-Salam Abdel-Razek “We advanced in Al-Salam district but Tal Afar, which lies on the road linking of the rebel Nour el-Din el-Zinki fac- the situation is difficult, there is heavy Mosul to Syria. tion - one of the largest operating fighting,” Brigadier General Shaker Kadhem inside Aleppo - said the cease-fire told AFP. “We took control of Al-Salam hos- Water crisis proposal was driven by humanitari- pital, which was a command centre for Forces on the southern and northern an concerns because of the rising Daesh,” he said, using an Arabic acronym fronts made quick early gains when Iraq death toll and intensive destruction. for IS. The five-storey building towers launched its largest military operation in years but progress has been slow in recent ALEPPO: Syrian residents fleeing the violence in the eastern rebel-held parts of Aleppo evacuate He said currently there was no talk above the neighborhood and the jihadists had been using the upper floors and roof days. One of the main factors hampering from their neighborhoods through the Bab Al-Hadid district after it was seized by the govern- of rebels leaving the city. The proposal calls for the imme- as sniper positions for some time, Mosul Iraqi forces in Mosul is the continued pres- ment forces. —AFP diate evacuation of 500 seriously residents said. ence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, spokesman said Al-Qaeda-linked former commercial hub - is captured The arms are believed to be des- wounded and for allowing civilians The elite Counter-Terrorism Service who either want to stay in their homes or group Fatah Al-Sham Front, which by government troops, it would be a tined for the Lebanese Shiite wishing to leave to head to north- (CTS) has spearheaded the drive into are prevented from leaving by IS. has a limited presence in the turning point in the conflict, putting Hezbollah militant group, a close ern rural Aleppo, where there is Mosul in the past month, retaking several The United Nations yesterday put the enclave, will abide by the proposal. the four largest cities in Syria and ally of the Syrian government and a almost no government presence. It neighborhoods in the east of the city. The overall number of people displaced by the The offer made no mention of a the coastal region back under state fierce enemy of Israel. Rebel defens- also calls for negotiations over the army also punched into Mosul in offensive at more than 82,000. That is still rebel pullout from Aleppo, though control. es in eastern Aleppo have collapsed future of the city of Aleppo once November but its progress has been slow- less than half the figure the UN expected the proposal said the fate of the city Also yesterday, the state SANA rapidly in the face of a massive gov- the humanitarian crisis eases. er and Iraqi forces barely control half of the before the operation was launched. It its is to be negotiated after the human- news agency said that Israel ernment assault backed by Russia Abdel-Razek said this humanitarian eastern side of the city. latest situation report, the UN spoke of spi- itarian crisis eases. launched several surface-to-surface and thousands of Iranian-backed pause is to be monitored by the raling civilian casualties as Iraqi forces went The Syrian government and its missiles that hit near a military air- Shiite fighters. United Nations. Wissam Zarqa, an Hospital standoff house to house in east Mosul, attempt- ally Russia had previously rejected a port west of Damascus, triggering a On Tuesday, Syrian government English teacher in eastern Aleppo Kadhem said the goal of the latest push ing to battle jihadists and protect civilians cease-fire for the war-torn city, keep- fire. Israel had no immediate com- forces captured Aleppo’s centrally and an outspoken government was to meet up with CTS forces on the at the same time. “Partners are rushing to ing up the military offensive that has ment. SANA said the missiles fell located al-Shaar neighborhood, opponent, said the rebel retreat banks of the Tigris in the southeast of the bring trauma care closer to the front lines forced rebel retreats and massive within the perimeter of the Mezzeh securing about 45 square kilome- from large parts of Old Aleppo was city. A senior CTS officer said the fighting to give injured civilians the best chance of displacement of Aleppo civilians. military airport, the main air base in ters (17 square miles) of the “concerning.” “We are exhausted. in Al-Salam was fierce and the army had survival,” the Office for the Coordination of Yesterday, US Secretary State John the Damascus area. It lies on the besieged enclave less than two There is a lot of death and unprece- asked for backup. “The 9th Division’s situa- Humanitarian Affairs said. It said work was Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister western edge of the capital and had weeks after launching their ground dented destruction,” he said. —AP tion is difficult and they have called for also under way to repair water and elec- support. We are sending a regiment there,” tricity infrastructure in east Mosul, where it the officer told AFP on condition of described the current water shortage as anonymity. “They are surrounded now in “critical”. Ghana votes in election Al-Salam hospital... we are on the way so Hundreds of thousands of people in we can open a passage for them.” Mosul have gone days without drinking The IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said water and have had to boil water from the jihadists had carried out five suicide boreholes to survive. The conditions for amid economic slump car bomb attacks in the area during the those massing in the camps on the city’s past 24 hours. It said the army was holed outskirts were hardly better, with the onset up in the hospital compound and had suf- of winter bringing freezing temperatures fered heavy losses. Iraqi officers did not at night. —AFP ACCRA: Ghanaians voted yesterday in tight presi- ward.” Shadrack Opoku, an 18-year-old high gold Swiss watches for some of its staff. Akufo- dential and parliamentary polls that are seen as a school student, said Akufo-Addo of the New Addo has also alleged that the ruling party is litmus test of stability for Africa’s most secure Patriotic Party (NPP) is the “right person for our fomenting violence, a claim Mahama denies. democracy as it wrestles with a stumbling econo- country” who can secure future growth. More than 30 missing my and corruption scandals. Once praised by US “When we complete university, we want bet- Tight race President Barack Obama for its peaceful transfers ter jobs,” Opoku said. “Right now it’s not good.” But ahead of the vote, tensions were building. of power, Ghana has come under fire amid There are seven candidates battling for the top Police said an NPP supporter was beaten to in Yemen shipwreck reports of voter intimidation and questions over job and if the smaller parties perform well and death and six others were critically wounded the independence of its election agency. deny either man a majority, a run-off will be held during clashes on Monday between supporters ADEN: More than 30 people were miss- “Sixty people, including women and Charismatic President John Mahama is run- later this month. Mahama, 58, is seeking a sec- of the two main parties following a rally in the ing off the Yemeni island of Socotra yes- children, were aboard the vessel, which ning for reelection against veteran politician ond term, with Akufo-Addo, 72, making his third north. Elections in Ghana are famously close terday after a cargo vessel carrying was also carrying small fishing boats,” he Nana Akufo-Addo, who has chipped away at the and likely final-bid for the highest office. fought, with Mahama narrowly winning in 2012 islanders home from the mainland sank said. The government said United Arab popularity of the ruling National Democratic In the final days of the campaign, Mahama with 50.7 percent. But polls in Africa this year in the Indian Ocean, authorities said. At Emirates jets were assisting search and Congress (NDC) party by criticizing the country’s flexed his significant resources to reach as many have been a mixed bag of surprising triumphs least 26 passengers were rescued from rescue operations alongside Yemeni sluggish growth and high-profile corruption battleground regions as possible where he inau- and sobering failures for democracy. the water after a major search operation coastguards as well as two ships from scandals. There are some 15 million registered gurated blockbuster infrastructure projects, In Gambia, a dictator of 22 years conceded in the early hours, President Abedrabbo Australia and Austria. It did not specify voters in this West African country, and polling including railways and airports. “Mahama has defeat, while in oil-rich Gabon the Bongo family Mansour Hadi said in a statement on the whether those vessels were merchant stations opened at 0700 GMT. done well for us,” said Abudula Alhassan, a 40- continued its 50-year reign after a disputed elec- official sabanew.net website. ships or part of an international flotilla The winner will serve a four-year term in a for- year-old driver in the northern town of Bole, a tion. But Ghana is still seen as an example of The ship sank northwest of Socotra- that has been fighting piracy off the merly booming country that has seen its economy government stronghold. In contrast, Akufo-Addo peace and stability in West Africa. Pollsters are around 350 kilometers from Yemen’s nearby Somali coast. slow, currency deteriorate and inflation soar. An has blasted Ghana’s poor economic growth divided in a country whose democratic creden- south coast-which has been hit by rare Although long ruled from Yemen, exporter of gold, cocoa and oil, Ghana was once which stood at 3.3 percent in 2016 — the slowest tials have come under scrutiny after criticism of tropical cyclones in recent months. Hadi Socotra lies closer to the coast of Africa hailed as a regional growth model but has now rate in two decades-and has outlined detailed its electoral commission following the 2012 elec- called for “doubling efforts to broaden than it does to the Arabian Peninsula. It taken on too much debt, and in 2015 had to go to plans to get the economy back on track. tions. Following the last elections in 2012, Akufo- rescue operations to reduce the scope of sits at the exit of a busy shipping lane the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. He has also lambasted Mahama’s government Addo-who polled 47.7 percent of the vote-con- the catastrophe that has struck the from the Mediterranean through the over a series of corruption scandals in which tested the results in Ghana’s constitutional court, inhabitants of Socotra.” Officials declined Suez Canal and the Red Sea into the Mahama ‘has done well for us’ scores of judges have been implicated. Critics say although he was ultimately unsuccessful. Akufo- to say if inclement weather was behind Indian Ocean. For years it was prey to “We are facing a lot of problems economically, he squandered the country’s commodity wealth Addo, who said previously that he would accept the disaster but Yemeni Fisheries Minister piracy from the lawless Somali coast and everything is messy,” Julie Amofah, 26, who voted and turned a blind eye to graft within his inner the results even if he loses, added recently: Fahd Kavieen earlier told reporters that it is in one of the most heavily patrolled in Kibi, a town 80 kilometers from the capital, circle. During his tenure, the Bank of Ghana con- “Those are hurdles we have to jump once we get the vessel had “an accident.” maritime areas on Earth. —AFP Accra. “I voted for change so we can move for- troversially bought half a million dollars worth of there.” —AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 INTERNATIONAL Political limbo: What next for Renzi, Italy?

ROME: The final countdown to ment winning a vote of confi- on the approval of Italy’s 2017 there be early elections? And streets,” Matteo Salvini, leader of Backing for the Northern the end of Matteo Renzi’s time in dence in the Senate, the parlia- budget-an unfinished task which what is to become of Renzi? the far-right Northern League, League has been largely stable at charge of Italy was under way mentary chamber he tried to prompted President Sergio Renzi’s destiny looked set to be warned yesterday. “We cannot around 15 percent of voter inten- Wednesday amid frenzied negoti- emasculate via a referendum in Mattarella to ask Renzi to delay clearer after a meeting of the make a mockery of the 32 million tions, and Five Star’s hopes of ations over what comes next for a which he suffered a crushing his departure for a few days. executive of his Democratic Party people who voted on Sunday.” power are seen as being restrict- country in political limbo. defeat on Sunday. The confidence Meanwhile, two major ques- (PD) yesterday. Renzi remains the After the budget deliberations are ed by its reluctance to counte- Ironically, Renzi’s rule was set to vote was expected as a means of tions were exercising Italians over leader of the centre-left party but completed, Renzi will go back to nance alliances with other parties. come to an end with his govern- curtailing prolonged discussion their morning cappuccinos: Will it is beset by internal divisions see the president and formally The major obstacle to holding an that were painfully exposed by complete the resignation process. election in two months’ time is the referendum battle. As PD sec- This could happen later that parliament must first revise retary general, Renzi controls the Wednesday or be delayed until the rules by which it will be held. party apparatus, which he used to Friday, Thursday being a public As things stand, two different stage the coup that deposed his holiday in Italy. Renzi is reported electoral laws apply to the successor, Enrico Letta, in to favor a February 2017 election, Chamber of Deputies and the February 2014. calculating that the PD remains Senate, which hold equal powers well-placed to emerge with the under the “perfect bicameral” Push for early election largest share of the vote, despite principle upheld by the referen- Analysts see the party machi- the upward trend in backing for dum. A new system for the nations playing out in one of two the populist Five Star Movement. Chamber of Deputies, under ways. Either enough of Renzi erst- which the party getting the most while allies decide he is damaged Recipe for paralysis votes would be guaranteed a goods and he is toppled. Or he Led by comedian Beppe Grillo, majority of the seats, was survives as leader and reasserts Five Star is skilled at pitching an approved earlier this year. But all his authority as a precursor to eclectic message to all shades of the parties had agreed to revise staging a comeback bid at the opinion-from libertarian leftists it before the referendum. The next elections. An election must and ultra-environmentalists to Senate meanwhile is elected by a be held by February 2018 but anti-euro and anti-immigration proportional system unlikely to opposition parties are clamouring eurosceptics. The last year has give any one party or coalition a for it to be held up to a year early, seen Five Star emerge decisively majority. Elections under two dif- saying the referendum was effec- as Italy’s biggest opposition force, ferent systems would be a recipe tively a vote of no confidence in largely at the expense of 80-year- for political paralysis, most the centre-left coalition. old Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, observers agree. Crucially, ROME: A view of the Italian Senate in Rome yesterday during a confidence vote on the “Either we have immediate with around 30 percent of voters reports say Mattarella shares that 2017 budget law. —AP elections or we take to the likely to back the movement. view. —AFP Time names Trump its ‘Person of the Year’ ‘President of the Divided States of America’

NEW YORK: Time magazine yester- The president-elect told NBC’s Takes Obama’s advice talked,” he said. “He loves the coun- day named Donald Trump its Today show that he thought the For years he criticized Obama and try, he wants to do right by the “Person of the Year” for 2016 for his sub-heading on the front cover was instrumental in the so-called country and for the country and I stunning upset election victory that about a divided America was “birther” movement that questioned will tell you, we obviously very rewrote the rules of politics, deliv- “snarky” and denied that it was his whether the first black president was much disagree on certain policies ering him to the helm of a divided fault. “I’m not president yet so I did- born in the United States. “I will say and certain things, but I really like America. The president-elect dialed n’t do anything to divide,” he said, this: I’ve now gotten to know him,” he added. The billionaire even into NBC television’s Today show, despite having inflamed the coun- President Obama, I really like him,” said that he discussed some of his welcoming the accolade as a “very, try by campaign rhetoric disparag- Trump told NBC on Wednesday. “I possible appointments with the very great honor,” denying he was ing women, illegal immigrants and can’t speak for him, but we have a outgoing Democratic president. “I responsible for divisions and prais- Muslims among others. really good chemistry together. We take his recommendations very seri- ing outgoing Democratic President ously and there are some people NEW YORK: KT McFarland, Deputy National Security Adviser for President- Barack Obama. that I will be appointing and in one elect Donald Trump, right, watches as Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald The real estate tycoon, who has case have appointed where he Trump’s nominee for National Security adviser, center, takes a selfie with never previously held elected thought very highly of that person,” Sukhwinder Sangha of Vancouver, Canada, left, at Trump Tower. —AP office and shocked the political Trump said. establishment by defeating his Clinton, the former secretary of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, is state who became the closest in his- Worry as Trump security featured on Time’s cover described tory to becoming America’s first as “Donald Trump: President of the female commander in chief, was chief fuels conspiracies Divided States of America.” The named the runner-up, with computer magazine said its person of the hackers in third place. The former first WASHINGTON: On issues of national secu- Flynn also promoted conspiracy theo- year, a tradition that began in lady won the popular vote with rity and intelligence, no one is likely to rists, some of them white supremacists, 1927, “had the greatest influence, around 2.7 million more votes than have more influence in Donald Trump’s throughout the campaign even as he for better or worse, on the events Trump, but the Republican won the White House than retired Gen Michael T emerged as Trump’s highest profile of the year.” crucial Electoral College by 306 to Flynn. Yet Flynn, Trump’s incoming national national security adviser. He encouraged “So which is it this year: better or 232. Trump campaigned hard on a security adviser, has gained prominence in his followers to read a book by Mike worse?” editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs promise of bringing back jobs with Republican politics by fueling conspiracy Cernovich, whose website has suggested wrote. “The challenge for Donald the old manufacturing heartland theories and Islamophobic rhetoric that Clinton’s campaign chairman was part of Trump is how profoundly the coun- hard hit by companies fleeing over- critics warn could create serious distrac- a “sex cult with connections to human try disagrees about the answer.” seas and taking jobs to cheaper labor tions - or alienate allies and embolden trafficking.” Flynn also tagged white She said 2016 had been the year of markets in China or Mexico. enemies - if it continues. nationalist Jared Wyand, whose website is his rise and 2017 would be the year Trump told Time in an interview “His job is to ensure that the White popular with “alt-right” followers. of his rule, after he is sworn into that he asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to House is focused at all times on all of the Flynn’s appointment is not subject to office on January 20. “Like all newly build in the United States “a great threats that the United States faces Senate confirmation. Rep Adam Schiff, the elected leaders, he has a chance to plant, your biggest and your best, abroad,” said Julianne Smith, a former top Democrat on the House intelligence fulfill promises and defy expecta- even if it’s only a foot by a foot bigger deputy national security adviser to Vice committee, said Tuesday that Flynn’s will- tions,” said Gibbs. than some place in China.” He also President Joe Biden. She said she was ingness to promote fake news “raises pro- Trump won the title, she added, addressed representing working class “deeply troubled” by a Flynn tendency to found questions about his suitability for for “reminding America that dema- Americans despite his lavish wealth, promote fake news stories on his Twitter this important position.” Trump’s team did goguery feeds on despair and that living in a luxurious Manhattan pent- feed. “You don’t want to have a distracted not respond to questions about Flynn’s truth is only as powerful as the house. “I’m sitting in an apartment the national security adviser,” said Smith, who social media activity. Pence praised Flynn trust in those who speak it, for likes of which nobody’s ever seen. now directs the strategy and statecraft more broadly on Tuesday, even as he dis- empowering a hidden electorate And yet I represent the workers of the program at the Center for a New American tanced the incoming administration from by mainstreaming its furies and world. And they love me and I love Security. Flynn’s son. live-streaming its fears, and for them,” he told the magazine. “I think She was among several national securi- framing tomorrow’s political cul- people aspire to do things. And they ty experts who raised concerns Tuesday ‘Wealth of experience’ ture by demolishing yesterday’s.” In aspire to watch people. I don’t think about Flynn’s willingness to share bad “We are so grateful and honored to the past Time has showed its edito- they want to see the president carry- intelligence on a social media feed as he have Gen Flynn as our nominee for rial teeth by naming sinister figures ing his luggage out of Air Force One. prepares to move to the West Wing. Flynn national security adviser. He brings an Adolf Hitler in 1938 and Joseph This photo obtained courtesy of TIME shows US President-elect And that’s pretty much the way it is,” Donald Trump as Person of the Year cover. —AFP served until 2014 as the head of US mili- extraordinary wealth of experience,” Stalin both in 1939 and 1942. he said. —AFP tary intelligence. Although he left that job Pence said. The role of national security over disputes with the Obama administra- adviser has varied by administration, but tion over policy and his management of usually centers on coordinating the policy the Defense Intelligence Agency, he is positions of the secretaries of state and Paris choking under worst widely regarded as a top intelligence offi- defense, the attorney general and other cer, a job that requires an understanding of members of a president’s team. the power of disinformation. It is an especially important position winter pollution in decade because of the national security adviser’s Fake news access to the president in the West Wing The issue of sharing fake news was of the White House. Flynn’s office will be PARIS: Paris choked yesterday under its (of pollution) for the last 10 years,” Karine resorted to traffic restrictions to cope with highlighted when Flynn’s son, Michael G. steps away from the Oval Office, proximi- worst winter pollution in a decade, with Leger of AirParif told AFP by telephone. air pollution. The region’s officials took simi- Flynn, tweeted about the false idea that ty that allows him to act as a gatekeeper commuters enjoying free public transport For more than a week now, Airparif has lar measures in 1997, 2014 and 2015. But a prompted a shooting at a Washington piz- on a wide range of issues, including mat- and half of the cars ordered off the road in published readings of PM10 at more than 80 parliamentary report has questioned the za parlor. He had been promoting a con- ters of war and peace as well as diploma- spiracy theory that Hillary Clinton’s allies cy and intelligence. an effort clear the air. The surge in pollution microgrammes per cubic meter of air parti- efficacy of the restrictions, arguing that had been operating a secret pedophilia He is expected to have more direct they do not target the most polluting vehi- has been driven by cold weather and near cles, triggering the pollution alert. It record- ring in the restaurant and noted it would access to the president than national windless conditions that have trapped car ed the highest level of pollution last cles. Despite the measures on Tuesday, offi- remain a story until “proven to be false.” security officials in the Cabinet. Aside exhaust, wood smoke and other pollutants, Thursday, reporting 146 microgrammes/m3. cials reported heavy traffic jams in and Vice President-elect Mike Pence acknowl- from attending Trump’s daily intelligence said the French capital’s AirParif air monitor- Other parts of France were also facing pollu- around the city in the morning and evening edged Tuesday that the younger Flynn was briefings and senior staff meetings, Flynn ing service. tion alerts, with the air particle concentra- rush hours. helping his father with scheduling and will also oversee the National Security Though bad by local standards, current tions rising to dangerous levels in the south- Traffic police were kept busy trying to administrative items during the presiden- Council, a White House department that levels of fine airborne particles known as east and the north of the country. The cen- enforce the anti-pollution measures, fining tial transition but told CNN “that’s no has grown to about 400 people involved PM10 in Paris are around 60 percent of levels tral city of Lyon was suffering as pollution more than 1,700 motorists for violations. longer the case.” in making policy recommendations. in notoriously polluted Beijing and a fraction gathered in the Rhone Valley, also affecting Paris police chief Michel Cadot warned the Asked repeatedly whether a security Flynn, who turns 58 in December, of readings in New Delhi, known as one of the Alpine towns of Chambery and Annecy. traffic restriction might be kept in place for a clearance was requested, Pence refused to served for more than three decades in the world’s most polluted capitals. City third day. He called on commuters to limit answer directly. “Whatever the appropriate the Army. “If the national security adviser authorities announced a second day of traf- Fines for motorists their car use or organize car sharing to mini- paperwork was to assist him in that regard, is going to be the direct conduit fic restrictions, with a ban imposed on pri- The environmentalist candidate in next mize traffic pollution. Adding to the region’s Jake, I’m sure was taking place,” he said. between the president and the national vate cars with registration plates ending in year’s presidential election, Yannick Jadot, problems, the Paris rail link to its main air- Trump’s team did not clarify whether security world, of course it’s a concern even numbers from between 5:30 am (0430 said that politicians needed to target the port, Charles de Gaulle, has been out of Michael Flynn Jr.’s departure from Trump’s that that adviser is being taken in by GMT) and midnight. most polluting vehicles and restrict the use action since Tuesday morning after an acci- transition team was related to the tweets. conspiracy theories and fake news,” said They imposed the same restriction on of diesel engines. “We have politicians who dent brought down power lines, forcing Less than a week before the election, the Tom Nichols, a professor at the US Naval cars with odd-numbered plates on Tuesday. tell us they are looking after our health,” more people to take to the road. State rail elder Flynn tweeted a link to a story that War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Public transport in the city was also free for Jadot said. “The reality is that when they company SNCF said Wednesday they hoped falsely claimed Clinton emails contained where Flynn obtained a master’s in proof of money laundering and sex crimes national security and strategic studies in a second day running to encourage com- have to choose between traffic, diesel and to reopen the line by 1500 GMT. The air par- with children, among other illegal activi- 2001. Whoever has the president’s ear on ticles being measured can cause and exacer- muters to leave their vehicles at home, while our health, unfortunately they don’t choose ties. The incoming national security adviser international affairs, Nichols said, should school children are being prevented from our health.” bate a range of respiratory and cardiovascu- called the baseless story a “must read” and have “a firm grip on what’s true and exercising outside. “This is a record period This is only the fourth time Paris has lar illnesses. —AFP instructed his followers: “U decide.” what’s false.” —AP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 INTERNATIONAL Indian mourners shave heads in show of respect for leader

CHENNAI: Thousands of ordinary many times, and once asked for her Media reports said her nephew was Indians flocked yesterday to the sea- help getting treatment for a heart among the few relatives who attended, side grave of Jayalalithaa Jayaram, a complaint. and there has been intense speculation day after a burial ceremony restricted “She made sure I got the operation I about who stands to inherit the vast to politicians, film stars and relatives of needed. She even gave me money for wealth she accrued during her time in the reclusive but hugely popular leader. medicine. And the next time I met her power. An estimated one million people Men wearing white dhotis lined up on she remembered me and asked how I lined the streets to watch her glass cof- plastic chairs beside hastily-erected was,” said Vanita, pulling her sari to one fin transported to the burial site amid police barricades around the grave to side to reveal the scar from her surgery. tight security in a city that has seen out- have their heads shaved, a Hindu “She once said, ‘I am everything to my breaks of violence after the deaths of mourning tradition usually reserved for children and they are everything to me’,” past leaders. the death of a close relative. she said of the woman who was known Most shops and restaurants reopened Many of the mourners were poor simply as “Amma” or mother to her yesterday as the city began returning to women who had travelled long dis- adoring fans. normal, although schools and colleges will tances in intense heat to pay final The former movie star, a populist remain closed for another two days. The respects to the revered former chief champion of the poor, enjoyed god- atmosphere at her graveside was largely minister of the southern state of Tamil like status in Tamil Nadu and was one calm, the peace occasionally broken by Nadu, who died late on Monday aged of India’s most powerful female lead- anguished cries of “Amma” from the 68. Among them was Vanita, 50, who ers. She was buried on Tuesday along- mourners. One elderly woman screamed ekes out a living rolling the cheap side MG Ramachandran, her on-screen and beat her head repeatedly with her Indian cigarettes known as bidis. lover and predecessor as chief minis- hands, banging herself against the police Vanita, who like many people in ter, at a ceremony attended by the barricades around the grave. “She took southern India uses only one name, stars of the film world and top political care of everything and we wanted for CHENNAI: Indian supporters of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said she had travelled to the state leaders including Prime Minister nothing,” said 47-year-old Paramashiva Jayaram pay tribute by having their heads shaved at the memorial capital Chennai to see Jayalalithaa Narendra Modi. after having his head shaved. —AFP where she was laid to rest. —AFP Afghan woman goes from refugee to military pilot Afghan women step to increase their presence in society

KABUL: From a childhood as a Flying missions Niloofar Rahmani became the coun- US and NATO, is working to bring the refugee, Capt Safia Ferozi is now Farozi and 12 other women try’s first woman pilot in more than number up to 10 percent of its ranks flying a transport plane for applied, and she was the only one 30 years and the first to pilot fixed- over the next seven years, he said. Afghanistan’s air force as the who passed the tests to enter train- wing aircraft - there were a few Afghanistan’s small air force - just country’s second female pilot, a ing. While she was training at an air- female helicopter pilots during over 100 aircraft - received little sign of the efforts to bring more field in the western province of Herat, Soviet-backed rule in the 1980s. She attention for years, but in 2015 women into the armed forces. she first met Capt Mohammad Jawad is now in the United States training NATO and the US began focusing on Along the way, the 26-year-old Najafi, the pilot who would later on the far larger C-130 military trans- building it up with increased train- Ferozi also married another pilot, become her husband. They married port craft. Ferozi says she hopes to ing and equipment. The force has who flies in the same unit sup- nearly two years ago, and he has inspire other women. attack helicopters and light attack porting army ground forces. They since backed her ambitions. She grad- “As a woman you face many chal- planes that have been flying combat are part of a small Afghan air force uated from training in 2015. She gave lenges, but you have to deal some- missions this year, though NATO mil- that is trying to take a greater role birth to their first child, daughter how with all those problems,” she itaries carry out the vast majority of DHAKA: Attorney General of Bangladesh, Mahbubey Alam, center, walks in fighting the Taleban insurgency. Nergis, now nearly 8 months old, and said. There are around 1,800 women strikes in the fight against insur- out of the Supreme Court after the hearing of a review petition relating to “When I wear military uniform, I is back flying missions. serving in Afghanistan’s 195,000- gents. The other major role for the the death sentence of Harkatul Jihad leader, Mufti Abdul Hannan. —AP really, really feel proud of myself Farozi is one of only two female member military, according to Gen air force is in emergency humanitari- as a woman,” Ferozi said while pilots in the Afghan air force, but five Mohammad Radmanish, deputy an missions, helping those hit by Bangladesh court confirms preparing for a flight at the air other women are currently going Defense Ministry spokesman. The mil- flooding, avalanches, landslides or force base in the capital, Kabul. through training. In 2013, Capt itary, which is heavily backed by the other disasters. —AP Islamic group leader death She flies a C-208, a turboprop plane used as transport for the armed forces. NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s Supreme Court The trial court in 2008 sentenced two Nearly 16 years since the col- yesterday upheld death sentences for the other associates of Hannan to life in lapse of the militant Taleban leader of a banned Islamic group and two of prison in connection with the attack. regime after the US-led invasion in his associates found guilty in a 2004 grenade Hannan took over leadership of Harkatul 2001, Afghan women are taking attack on a British envoy. Defense lawyers Jihad in the late 1990s. The group, formed steps to increase their presence in representing Mufti Abdul Hannan, head of in 1992 by Bangladeshis returning from society, including in parliament, the group Harkatul Jihad, said they would fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan, has government and the military. Still, appeal for a Supreme Court review of yester- been blamed for many other attacks in they face resistance in a deeply day’s ruling, though such reviews are rare. the Muslim-majority nation. Hannan was conservative society where Hannan and the two others were found also sentenced to death for another women are largely expected to guilty in 2008 of orchestrating a grenade attack in 2001 that killed 10 people dur- stay in the home and where vio- attack against Bangladesh-born British High ing a new year celebration. He remains on lence against women remains a Commissioner Anwar Choudhury while he trial in a 2004 grenade attack that killed widespread problem. was visiting a popular Islamic shrine in the 24 people which targeted Prime Minister When she was a child, Farozi’s northeastern city of Sylhet in 2004. Sheikh Hasina when she was the opposi- family fled from their home in Choudhury was unharmed, but the attack tion leader. Hasina escaped injury. The Kabul in the 1990s, during the civil killed three police officers and wounded 70 group was banned by the government in war among Afghanistan’s war- others. 2005. —AP lords. They took refuge in Pakistan, returning only after the fall of the Taleban. In high school Nigeria’s Boko Haram battle in post-Taleban Afghanistan, Farozi saw a TV commercial urging stalls as population starves women to join the military. So after graduation she enrolled in the military academy, studying to KANO: Nigeria’s military campaign against kilometers. “We need another battalion,” become a communication officer. Boko Haram Islamists is increasingly said Alamson. Though Boko Haram has Then it was announced at the bogged down as it confronts suicide been weakened and casualty numbers fol- academy that the air force was attacks, looting and indiscriminate slaugh- lowings its attacks are often low, the fre- KABUL: In this Monday, Nov 21, 2016, photo, Capt Safia Ferozi, 26, sits in a C-208, a turboprop looking for women to become plane used as transport for the armed forces, before a flight, at the Afghan military airbase. —AP ter while the UN warns the affected region quency of their strikes “enable it to keep up pilots. faces the “largest crisis in Africa”. In north- the pressure on security forces and force ern Borno state, the epicentre of the insur- them to deploy”, said Omar Mahmood, a gency that has spread to three neighboring researcher at the Institute for Security countries-Chad, Cameroon and Niger- Studies, stretching them further. Nigeria’s army has unleashed a barrage of India records huge spike air and land assaults. ‘Famine-like’ The counter-insurgency has clawed Troop numbers are also being pulled back some territory, but Boko Haram has away to fight on another front, Nigeria’s responded by stepping up guerrilla tactics, south where militants have been sabotag- in ‘honor killings’ in 2015 ambushing troops when it can and terroriz- ing oil pipelines and other installations vital ing civilians when it cannot. In late to the country’s export earnings in a fierce November major general Leo Irbor hailed dispute over local autonomy and the distri- NEW DELHI: India has registered nearly an 800 Numbers doubted his men’s success in freeing “more than bution of petrodollars. And with tensions percent spike in the number of so-called honor State police officers were skeptical. Such a Torrential rain 5,200 people” over a month. But the high mounting between Shiite and Sunni killings reported last year, leading state officials jump “is astronomical” and needs to be looked number freed merely highlighted Boko Muslim communities in the country’s and women’s rights groups to urge investigations into, Deputy Inspector General D K Chaudhary strands tourists Haram’s capacity to capture and hold vast, northwest, authorities are struggling to into how such crimes persist. Indian police regis- said. Women’s activists say that’s missing the on Indian island heavily populated areas. guarantee security for Nigeria’s 180 million tered 251 cases of honor killing in 2015, com- point, and that having 279 honor killings Villagers under siege are typically forced people. pared with just 28 a year earlier when India recorded over two years still vastly underesti- NEW DELHI: Torrential rain and rough seas to abandon their crops, devastating local The number of killings in the northeast, began counting them separately from murder, mates the actual numbers. One 2011 study sug- have stranded around 1,000 tourists on one food supplies. Those who are freed by the which increases after the end of the rainy according to a statement this week by Junior gested about 900 people are murdered in honor of India’s tropical islands off its east coast, army are generally transported to camps season each year, is a particular cause for Home Minister Hansraj G Ahir to India’s killings ever year in India. The study by the All officials said yesterday. Officials from the where basic supplies are also desperately concern-especially on the border with Parliament. India Democratic Women’s Association was local Andaman and Nicobar Islands adminis- scarce. The United Nations estimates that 14 Niger. Territory in Niger has become the The surge could partly reflect more willing- based on surveys conducted nationwide. “There tration said they have asked the Indian navy million people will need outside help in stronghold of Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, who ness by people to report such crimes, which is severe under-reporting of such honor crimes. to help rescue tourists from Havelock, one of 2017, particularly in Borno State, after seven was declared a local leader by the Islamic many still consider just punishment for women Families are often ashamed to report such the smaller islands most popular with visi- years of conflict that has killed at least State group after Boko Haram declared its and men who defy communal customs by marry- crimes,” said Annie Raja of the National tors. “Around 1,000 tourists who had gone to 20,000 people and left 2.6 million homeless. allegiance to the jihadists. Anti-terrorist ing outside of their religion, clan or caste. Often, Federation of Indian Women. Havelock island have been stuck there since consultant Yan St-Pierre, director of the the perpetrators are relatives seeking to punish Raja said the situation had worsened in the Monday because of heavy rains,” TKS Ajayan, ‘Scorched-earth’ Modern Security Consulting Group, said young couples for bringing “shame” to the family. last few years, noting an increasing trend in vil- deputy director at the local disaster manage- The scale of humanitarian suffering has that pressure on Islamic State jihadists in Women’s rights activists say the government lage councils run by unelected elders promot- ment department, told AFP by phone. become more apparent as troops recapture northern Libya has, perversely, pushed its must pass legislation to recognize the crime as ing conservative, anti-women values in the The archipelago is one of India’s premier and discover the “scorched-earth” condi- activities further south, to countries bor- unique in order to target perpetrators for prose- name of preserving Indian culture and tradition. domestic tourist destinations thanks to its tions of villages that have fallen into the dering Nigeria. cution. “These figures show that the government Some observers also noted that social pristine beaches, marine life and lush-green hands of Boko Haram. But local people As a result, their “effectiveness for sup- has to take this as a priority,” said Sudha changes were creating friction in communities, forests. Ferry services between islands are complain that there are not enough securi- plying (Nigerian jihadists) with weapons Sundararaman, head of the All India Democratic as more women step away from traditional currently suspended. “The boats (between ty forces deployed to effectively battle the and logistic materiel has greatly improved Women’s Association. Though police are now home-making roles to join the work force. That Havelock and the main island) haven’t oper- menace of Boko Haram. over several weeks,” he told AFP. While IS asked to count honor killing separately, the lack makes them more likely to want to delay mar- ated yesterday or today because of bad The same day as Irbor hailed the libera- and Boko Haram fighters battle the of a separate law defining such crimes means riage, while also increasing the chance of find- weather, which is why we have sought the tion of the civilians, five people were killed Nigerian army, hunger is spreading among that some officers still record them in the larger ing partners outside of their community. Navy’s help. We know all of them are safe,” in insurgent raids on villages near Chibok, both villagers and the swelling ranks of dis- murder category and do not investigate the cas- “There has been a backlash of conservatism,” said Ajayan. The navy has deployed four the district that gained notoriety for the placed people in the ravaged northeast. es further, she said. Raja said. “Young people are facing violence and ships to the islands but said the sea was still Boko Haram kidnapping of more than 200 The UN has warned that 75,000 children in Honor killings are still common enough among attacks from their families if they fall in love.” too rough for them to risk moving the schoolgirls in 2014. The Boko Haram raiders the region are at risk of death within “a few Hindus and Muslims to regularly make newspaper Analysts say that even as politicians push for stranded travelers. looted and burned houses, set fire to crops months”. headlines in a country where most marriages are better health care and education for girls, they “We have reached there but the civilian that were ready for harvesting, and killed What the World Food Program has arranged by families. Most cases are reported in have been unwilling to act against village coun- lives can’t be risked in these rough seas,” said the locals-even though the army had been called “famine-like” conditions have northern states such as Uttar Pradesh and cils that influence large numbers of voters. Captain DK Sharma, a naval spokesman. “We alerted to the assault. prompted experts to warn against seeking Haryana, where caste councils wield enormous “Indian society is unwilling to accept the choic- will begin moving them only after the condi- “We’ve heard there are 700 soldiers to victory over the jihadists at all costs. “The power in village life. The highest number of honor es made by young women when it comes to tions improve.” The meteorological depart- secure the zone bordering the Sambisa for- Nigerian army, which has adopted a purely killings recorded last year was in Uttar Pradesh, their marriage,” said Ranjana Kumari of the ment forecast “heavy to very heavy” rainfall est that is the Boko Haram stronghold”, said military strategy for seven years, needs to where police counted 131 killings compared with Centre for Social Research, a New Delhi-based and “rough to very rough” seas around the Ayuba Alamson, a resident of Chibok. The change its approach if it wants to win this just two cases in 2014, Ahir said, citing data from think tank. “People also have to learn to respect islands in the next 24 hours. —AFP forest covers an area of about 1,300 square war,” said St-Pierre. —AFP the National Crime Records Bureau. women.” —AP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 INTERNATIONAL

After Trump row, China urges US to block Taiwan president

BEIJING: China has urged Washington may stop in New York for talks with pair. The president-elect broke with Beijing cannot enjoy such links with closely watching Trump’s picks for secre- to block Taiwan’s president from passing Donald Trump’s team, following a proto- decades of precedent last week to Taipei and vice versa. Both Beijing and tary of state and ambassador to China as through the US, after reports said she col-smashing phone call between the accept a congratulatory phone call from Taipei in principle consider themselves a sign of whether he truly intends to take Tsai, angering Beijing which regards the the only legitimate power in charge of a hard line on the world’s second-largest island as a rogue province awaiting uni- both China and Taiwan. economy. Although the United States is fication. Beijing further warned against Taiwan’s main ally and arms supplier, it Taiwan’s Liberty Times reported that Washington giving an “erroneous signal has not had official diplomatic relations President Tsai Ing-wen may seek to meet to ‘Taiwanese independence’ forces”. with Taiwan since 1979, when it switched members of Trump’s team while in New Trump’s surprise call with Tsai and subse- recognition from Taipei to Beijing. York on her way to Central America, quent Twitter barrage criticizing Chinese Asked about Tsai’s visit, a US State though her office would not confirm the military expansions and accusing it of Department spokesman said at a brief- plan to AFP. The trip would take place manipulating its exchange rate seemed ing on Monday that such transits were in before Trump’s inauguration on January to have caught Beijing off-guard. keeping with “longstanding US practice” 20, the newspaper said. Taiwan has and noted the US “usually” allows diplomatic relations with 22 states and ‘Diplomatic rookie’ Taiwan’s leaders to pass through the the island’s leaders make regular visits to China’s foreign ministry repeatedly country. It would be the second such its small group of allies in Central deflected or downplayed reporters’ trip for Tsai, who stopped over in Miami America and the Caribbean, often stop- questions Monday. But by Tuesday, state and Los Angeles on her way to Panama ping in the US for meetings with sympa- media were trotting out attacks on and Paraguay earlier this year during her thetic lawmakers. Trump as a “diplomatic rookie”. Yesterday first overseas trip as president. China’s foreign ministry called on they emphasized the need for calm, with Beijing protested to Washington over Washington to block any stopover in experts in the often shrill Global Times that trip as Tsai met with US politicians in the United States. Tsai’s “true intention urging China to “watch and wait” until Miami. Previous presidents of Taiwan is self-evident”, it told AFP yesterday. Trump takes office and not to “play his have also transited the US, with Tsai’s “We hope America abides by the princi- games”. Reports suggest the call was predecessor Ma Ying-jeou stopping in TAIPEI: In this Friday, Dec 2, 2016, file photo, released by Taiwan ple of the One China policy and the long-planned by both sides, but whether Hawaii in 2014 and Boston in 2015. Presidential Office, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen speaks with US three US-PRC Joint Communiques and Trump wants a wholesale change in US Taiwan has hemorrhaged allies in recent does not allow her transit.” Countries policy on Taiwan is still unclear. decades as they jumped ship to align President-elect Donald Trump through a speaker phone. —AP that have formal diplomatic ties with Communist Party authorities will be with an ascendant China. —AFP Woman at heart of S Korean scandal refusing to testify Final days in power for Park

SEOUL: Ahead of an impeachment control government affairs and ex-aides allegedly pressured big With key witnesses absent, law- vote later this week, lawmakers extort companies. Park denies it. companies to donate millions of dol- makers questioned Kim about a took turns grilling a K-pop music On live TV, lawmakers in a hear- lars to foundations controlled by 2014 ferry disaster that has long director, a fashion designer and ing room jammed with media sent Choi, while the other is accused of dogged Park’s government nearly a dozen others said to be away a squad of about 20 security passing confidential government because of what’s widely believed linked to a woman at the heart of a officers with orders that Choi and documents to Choi. The two men, to have been a botched rescue scandal that threatens to bring 10 other witnesses attend the hear- both jailed at another detention cen- effort. The sinking killed more than down South Korea’s president. ing. A niece of Choi later appeared ter, also refused to testify yesterday. 300 people, mostly high school stu- Missing, however, was the at the hearing but others refused to dents on a field trip. woman, the jailed confidante of attend, National Assembly officials Key witness absent Opposition lawmaker Kim President Park Geun-hye, who cited said. They could face jail or fines, Thirteen people caught up in the Kyung-jin grilled Kim about an alle- a panic disorder for her refusal to but witnesses who have refused to scandal were at the hearing, includ- gation that he told junior presiden- attend the hearing yesterday, the attend past hearings have mostly ing two of Choi’s former associates tial secretaries that efforts to recov- latest step in what appears to be been fined. and former presidential chief of staff er bodies from the wreckage the final days in power for Park. Choi is being held at a detention Kim Ki-choon. Choi’s niece, Chang should be stopped because it Prosecutors say Park, who faces an center near Seoul. She and two of Si-ho, ran a sports foundation that would be a burden to the govern- impeachment vote Friday, let her Park’s former presidential advisers allegedly received illicit state finan- ment. The lawmaker cited what he friend of 40 years, Choi Soon-sil, have been indicted. One of the two cial support and other favors. called a memo left by a late Park secretary. Kim Ki-choon denied PEARL HARBOR: In this Dec 7, 1941 photo made available by the US Navy, a making such an instruction, caus- small boat rescues a seaman from the USS West Virginia burning in the fore- ing Kim Kyung-jin to erupt. “It will ground in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after Japanese aircraft attacked the military be hard for you go to heaven after installation. — AP you die. You need a lot of self- reflection,” the lawmaker said. Other witnesses included Cha Survivor recalls fear, anger Eun-taek, a music video director who has been charged with using on Pearl Harbor attack day his ties with Choi to win key cul- ture-related projects from govern- PEARL HARBOR: Surprise, fear, anger above the water line was on fire,” he said. ment agencies, and Ko Young-tae, and pride overcame Jim Downing as Downing said he felt proud while watch- who ran a company that made Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. ing sailors balance the capsizing ship by bags and clothes that Park used Then a newly wed sailor, he recalled a allowing water to seep in. The tactic let during overseas trips at the intro- Japanese plane flying low and slow in his the giant battleship slide into mud duction of Choi. direction as he rushed to his battleship below. “They just instinctively did the If impeached, Park’s presidential from his home after hearing explosions right thing at the right time without any powers will be suspended and the country’s Constitutional Court will and learning of the attack on the radio. thought about their own lives or safety,” have up to 180 days to rule on “When he got the right angle, he banked he said. whether to formally unseat her. On over, turned his machine guns lose,” The West Virginia lost 106 men. Tuesday, Park told ruling party Downing, now 103, said in an interview at Downing spent two hours fighting fires leaders that she is willing to accept a Waikiki hotel, “But fortunately he didn’t and checking the name tags of the dead the outcome if she’s impeached bank far enough so it went right over my so he could write their families personal and would make “every available head.” notes about how they died. “I thought effort” to prepare for a court The next aviator might have better that would give them more closure that process. The comments suggest aim, Downing remembers thinking. And just a cold note, ‘your son was killed in Park is bracing for a Constitutional with nowhere to hide, “I was afraid,” he action,’” said Downing, who also served Court procedure that could deter- said. Downing plans to return to Pearl as the ship’s postmaster. Ray Chavez was SEOUL: A protester shouts slogans in front of a caricature of South Korea’s President Park Geun- mine her fate, according to South Harbor Wednesday with a few dozen oth- out on a minesweeper, the USS Condor, Hye during a rally urging the impeachment of the president. —AFP Korean media. —AP er survivors to mark the 75th anniversary in the early hours before the attack. He of the attack that plunged the United remembers noticing with his shipmates States into World War II and left more that a mysterious submarine was lurking BBC under investigation than 2,300 service people dead. Those off the harbor. who gather at the ceremony on a pier “At 3:45 am on Dec. 7, I look out and overlooking the harbor are expected to spotted a submarine that wasn’t sup- observe a moment of silence at 7:55 am - posed to be in that area,” the 104-year- for profile of Thai king the same moment Japanese planes old Chavez said. The sailors reported the began their assault. sighting and Chavez went home to BANGKOK: Thai authorities are investi- responsible for the case, told AFP. Top sleep. He told his wife not to wake him gating the BBC over a Thai-language leaders from Thailand’s royalist junta, Tales of war because he hadn’t gotten any rest dur- profile of the new king, officials said which has ramped up use of the lese Duterte vows to Thousands of other servicemen and ing the busy night. “It seemed like I only yesterday, after the article outraged majeste law since the 2014 coup, women and members of the public are slept about 10 minutes when she called ultra-royalists in a country where criti- defended the probe on Wednesday. protect police expected to attend and watch via a me and said ‘we’re being attacked.’ And I cism of the monarchy is outlawed. A “As they have an office in Thailand livestream feed. Downing said he comes said ‘who is going to attack us?’ She said harsh royal defamation law has been and Thai reporters work there they MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yester- back to Hawaii for the anniversary com- ‘the Japanese are here and they’re used to jail scores of critics and must be prosecuted when they violate day defended police officers who killed a detained may- memorations to be with his shipmates. attacking everything,’” Chavez said. spawned a culture of self-censorship Thai law,” junta chief Prayut Chan-O- or on a list of top drug suspects even after another law “We get together and have a great time These days, many people treat Chavez across the kingdom’s media, academia Cha said of the BBC. The junta’s number enforcement agency concluded the death was an extra- and compare our stories,” said Downing, a and other Pearl Harbor survivors like judicial killing. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the arts. two, defence minister Prawit resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. celebrities, asking them for autographs on Tuesday disputed a police account that the mayor His ship, the USS West Virginia, was hit by and photos. But Chavez said it’s about The BBC is now under scrutiny for Wongsuwon, stressed the police’s duty from central Leyte Province, Rolando Espinosa, was the profile published out of its London to investigate any wrongdoing. “If any- nine torpedoes. the people who were lost. “I’m honoring killed in a shootout in a jail when police came to search “We were sinking and everything them, not myself,” he said. —AP offices of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, thing is illegal we must prosecute for guns and drugs last month. who ascended to the throne last week. accordingly without exception,” he told The bureau described Espinosa’s killing as a “rub The royal succession was Thailand’s first reporters. out”. “I will have to defend them,” Duterte said during in seven decades and is considered a The BBC defended the profile in a a ceremony at the main army base in the capital, Teen jailed for seven years delicate moment for the institution. statement and said its Thai-language Manila, referring to the police officers. “I will listen to Vajiralongkorn does not command the service was committed to bringing the story and I will take it as the true version ... respect enjoyed by his late revered “impartial, independent and accurate because they are under me, I should believe them.” for Australia terror plot father. news to a country where the media Earlier, Duterte had put Espinosa’s name on a list of The BBC profile included informa- faces restrictions”. “We are confident top drug suspects. The mayor, who denied involve- SYDNEY: An 18-year-old was sentenced said. Canberra has become increasingly tion about Vajiralongkorn’s personal that this article adheres to the BBC’s edi- ment in narcotics, was arrested on Oct 5 on drugs and yesterday to seven years in prison for worried about homegrown extremism planning a Mother’s Day attack in and the terror threat level was raised in life that is well-known inside the king- torial principles,” it added. On Saturday a firearms charges. Melbourne, the latest of a series of plots September 2014. dom but rarely printed by Thai media, prominent Thai dissident was arrested Police said Espinosa and a fellow prisoner, Raul Yap, fired at a police team that had come to search in Australia involving teenagers. The Australian officials say they have now such as details about his three mar- for sharing the BBC profile on Facebook. young man, who was 17 when he was prevented 11 terror attacks on home soil their cells. Police returned fire and killed them. riages that ended in divorce. The arti- Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa, a leader arrested by police last year, pleaded in the past two years. But some have Police say 2,004 people have been shot and killed by cle, which has since been blocked of a small group of anti-junta students, guilty to one charge of committing an gone ahead, including the murder of a officers in self-defense during anti-drug operations online in Thailand, quickly went viral was released on bail but faces up to 15 act, or planning the preparation of an Sydney police employee last year by a since the president took office on July 1. Espinosa’s on social media but attracted a torrent years in prison if convicted of lese act, of terrorism. 15-year-old boy. Counter-terror police killing was also investigated by senators, who of criticism from royalists. majeste. He will be eligible for parole in five have made a series of arrests since late doubted the police version of events because they Any member of the public can allege The BBC’s Thai service is one of few years and three months. The Australian 2014, with the youth and radicalization said there were many inconsistencies in the official royal defamation and authorities are platforms that publishes comparatively Broadcasting Corporation said the of many of those detained a growing report and witness accounts. Duterte said he did not teenager, who cannot be named, was concern for authorities. Parliament last duty bound to investigate. On Tuesday unfiltered reporting in the Thai lan- believe the investigation done by the NBI because a team of police officers visited the guage. Its articles are edited and pub- making pipe and pressure cooker bombs month passed new legislation to lower they had no credible witnesses. “As a matter of fact, for a May 10 Mother’s Day attack last year from 16 to 14 the age at which people BBC’s Bangkok office but found it lished out of London, though the serv- I’m ready to go to jail for them, no problem,” he closed. “This case is in the process of ice employs a small number of local when he was arrested. Police seized sev- can be subject to a control order-which added. Investigators have filed murder cases against eral items from his home, including a aims to prevent a terror attack by limiting investigation but I cannot disclose the staff in Bangkok. The BBC’s English-lan- 21 police officers in connection with Espinosa’s document entitled “Make a Bomb in Your a person’s movements, communication details,” Pornchai Chalordej, the com- guage bureau in Bangkok is an editori- death. —Reuters Mom’s Kitchen” on his computer, ABC and activity. —AFP mander of the Bangkok police station ally separate entity. —AFP NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 Suitors, husbands spurn Middle East women disfigured by war AMMAN: Ahzan was shopping in a market in the Iraqi according to MSF. They also receive psychological care capital of Baghdad when an explosion ripped through and counseling during their stay. Clinical psychologist the street, lifting her off her feet and shattering her low- Yafa Jaffal, who is treating Ahzan for depression as she er body. As the dust settled, Ahzan saw parts of her body recovers from surgery to treat the wound on her leg, said strewn across the ground. The 33-year-old’s left leg was patients who have undergone amputations can at least so badly injured, the doctors had no choice but to hide their missing limbs with clothing. They can learn to amputate. It was the start of more pain and misery, she use prosthetic arms or legs to gain autonomy again. said. Ruptures in her abdomen and leg never healed, But convincing women with severely disfigured faces and offers of marriage quickly dried up. to move on with their lives is near impossible, she said. “I had suicidal thoughts, I wanted to die. I just wanted “Many of them have trouble dealing with their children to stay at home all day doing nothing,” Ahzan said after the injury ... because sometimes the children don’t through a translator at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recognize them,” Jaffal told the Thomson Reuters hospital in Jordan’s capital Amman. As an amputee Foundation. “This is so difficult for a mother - to say ‘hello’ requiring ongoing medical assistance, which has to your child and they reply, ‘No you’re not my mother’.” brought her to the MSF hospital, Ahzan is seen as a bur- It is also common for husbands to divorce their wives, den on her community. For women young and old, taking their children with him, or to marry a second wife, being disfigured or maimed by conflicts in Middle East is said MSF mental health worker Muntaha Mashayekh. “I a stain that stigmatizes them for life, health workers say. can count on my fingers the females who stay with their Many are shunned by society, divorced by their hus- husbands after she is injured, especially those who have bands or deemed unfit for marriage and motherhood. been burnt. They lose their lives,” said Mashayekh, who “People make me feel disabled, like I’m not a whole counsels females patients at the hospital. person who can be depended on,” said Ahzan, who As part of their recovery, women at the hospital are asked that her full name be withheld for privacy. Ten offered classes in applying make-up to help cover their years after the bombing, Ahzan, now 43, remains single facial scars and burns, as well as dance therapy to boost and childless. A mark of shame for women in her culture, their self-esteem and confidence. Mashayekh takes the her status is also a source of depression, she said. women to local markets so they can start integrating into MSF staff at the only hospital in the Middle East to society again. “You have to be confident in yourself, you are perform complex reconstructive surgery on victims who a human being and you should be respected,” she said. “It have been blown apart and disfigured by conflicts, say will take time for society to accept them, but we are trying.” the stigma female patients endure when they return It will be a few more weeks until Ahzan is physically home is far worse than for men. Some young women well enough to return to Baghdad from the hospital in will drop out of school or university out of embarrass- Amman. But as the primary carer of two older brothers ment, others are ostracized by family and friends. This with mental disabilities, she said she will not have time isolation, compounded by their physical ailments, can to rest and recover from the operation. It is a strange seriously affect their mental health, MSF says. blessing in disguise, she said, as their condition has Since it opened in 2006, the hospital has transported helped her feel useful again and accepted by her family. and treated almost 4,400 patients from Iraq, Yemen, “I forced myself to walk again, to do things on my own Syria and Gaza, free of charge. Around 60 people, mainly and be independent to look after my brothers,” she said. young men, undergo complex orthopaedic, facial and “I feel like I’ve gone from being a disabled person to burn reconstructive surgery at the hospital each month, someone who functions wholly.” — Reuters A woman walks in a park in Frankfurt yesterday on a cold and grey day. — AP Saudi King Salman arrives in Kuwait... Continued from Page 1 peace and prosperity. Elaborating on King Salman’s traits, HH the Amir noted May to help Gulf Elaborating, HH the Amir in his statement welcoming the contributions by the “great guest” for strengthening the GCC Saudi monarch noted the great achievements that have march and his keenness on achieving “further integration” been made during King Salman’s era, bolstering the king- among the GCC countries at various levels. Sheikh Sabah said dom’s regional and international status. He also hailed King he is looking forward to this “exemplary and distinctive visit, ‘push back’ Iran Salman’s firm and brave policies at the Arab and Gulf levels forecast to result in further cementing the distinguished ties” and his foresightedness for bolstering regional security, between the two GCC countries. — KUNA

DUBAI: British Prime Minister Theresa May told Gulf lead- Bashar Al-Assad “has lost all legitimacy and has no role in ers yesterday that Britain would help “push back” against Syria’s future”. Junaid Jamshed among 48 dead in Pak... Iranian aggression as they agreed on a strategic partner- It called for Assad’s backers including Russia and Iran ship to deepen ties. Addressing a summit of the six-nation “to support a meaningful end to the violence, sustained Continued from Page 1 tuary as, “there is nothing left which you can recognize.” Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain, May reaffirmed humanitarian access and an inclusive political process” in Khan said he had heard that the plane was not fit to fly. British support for traditional allies in the region, while Syria. During her speech, May said the two sides would “It is a murder and I want to know who killed my broth- also seeking to strengthen post-Brexit trade. study liberalizing trade as Britain prepares to leave the “There is no survivor,” a senior government official at er,” he said. “I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the European Union after the shock referendum vote to quit the Interior Ministry said. “All those on board the plane Altaf Hussain, a rescue worker who transported the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and to the wider Middle the bloc. “I want these talks... to pave the way for an ambi- were killed,” said the official, who spoke on condition of remains of passengers in an ambulance, told the AP East,” she told leaders of the GCC, which brings together tious trade arrangement” after Brexit, she said in Bahrain, anonymity as he was not authorized to release details that the crash site smelled of burnt flesh and oil and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the which was a British protectorate for 100 years and gained about the crash to the media. that body parts were scattered everywhere. “We collect- United Arab Emirates. The Arab Gulf monarchies and Iran full independence in 1971. Azam Sehgal, PIA’s chairman, said the pilot of plane ed the burned bones of the ill-fated passengers and are bitter regional rivals, at odds over a range of issues May was the first woman and first British leader to told the control tower 4:09 pm that an engine had wrapped them in cloth,” he said. Ambulance driver including the wars in Syria and Yemen. GCC countries are address a GCC summit, as Gulf countries deepen ties with developed a technical fault and moments later he made Duray Hussain said the remains of the passengers were concerned about Iran’s growing influence in the region, major powers beyond longtime ally the United States. In a “mayday call” shortly before the plane disappeared. “beyond recognition”. especially after last year’s nuclear deal between Tehran May last year, France’s President Francois Hollande Sehgal said the plane was fit to fly but that it was One official, Farman Ghori, was crying outside the and world powers took a step towards ending its interna- became the first Western head of state to attend a GCC unclear what caused the crash. Pervez George, the hospital, saying he saw the faces of two toddlers among tional isolation. summit. US President Barack Obama followed in April this spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, told AP that the remains. “Oh God, I never saw such a tragedy,” Ghori The Iran agreement was “vitally important for regional year, seeking to reassure Gulf monarchs about US over- a team of experts would determine the cause after said. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said at team security”, May told the summit. “But we must also work tures to Iran. retrieving the plane’s black box recorder. had been dispatched to help identify the bodies together to push back against Iran’s aggressive regional GCC leaders have expressed concern over the interna- TV footage showed debris from the plane and a mas- through DNA tests. Authorities have released names of actions.” In a joint statement after the summit, Britain and tional agreement that lifted sanctions on Iran this year in sive fire at the site of the crash. The footage showed passengers - among them Jamshed and his wife. the GCC agreed to a “strategic partnership” that would fos- exchange for guarantees it would not pursue a nuclear local villagers collecting the remains of the passengers Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his ter “political, defence, security and trade” ties, while “devel- weapons capability. Riyadh and its allies fear the pact will and covering the bodies with cloths. In a statement, the “deep grief and sorrow” over the crash. In a statement, oping collective approaches to regional issues”. In their lead to more Iranian intervention in a region which, they military said that 40 bodies had been retrieved. Several he said “the entire nation is deeply saddened over statement, GCC states and Britain said they “oppose and feel, has suffered from a lack of American involvement bodies were later transported to the Ayub Medical today’s unfortunate crash and shares the grief of the will work together to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities”. under Obama. The EU including Britain is the Gulf’s Complex, where mourning relatives began arriving to families who lost their dear ones”. Plane crashes are not As part of strengthening military cooperation, Britain biggest trading partner, with trade flows of more than receive the remains. uncommon in Pakistan. About 150 people were killed in will maintain a presence “throughout the Gulf,” the state- €130 billion ($140 billion) annually. But almost 30 years Among such mourners was tearful Ghulam Rasool a crash in the hills of Islamabad in 2010. In 2015, a mili- ment said, including through British defense staff to be after the Gulf states and EU began talks on free trade, still Khan, 24, who said his brother Umair Khan was on tary helicopter carrying several diplomats also crashed based in Dubai. The statement said Britain and GCC coun- no deal has been reached. Bilateral trade between Britain board the plane. Ghulam asked police to allow him to in the country’s north, killing eight people. A private tries were “committed to continue working towards a sus- and the GCC was worth more than £30 billion ($38 billion) identify his brother’s body. However, police officer Iqbal plane also crashed near Islamabad due to bad weather tainable political resolution in Syria”, where President last year. — Agencies Khan told him there was no point in going to the mor- in 2012, killing all 127 people on board. — Agencies THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 ANALYSIS

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Focus Why India poor are devoted to demigod leaders

o me, she was a goddess,” said party worker Shankar as he joined a sea of mourners bid- “Tding farewell to Jayalalithaa Jayaram, high- lighting the messianic devotion of India’s poor for often controversial champions. Hundreds of thousands of people attended Tuesday’s funeral in Chennai for the veteran Tamil leader, an outpouring of emotion usually reserved for global figures such as Fidel Castro or Princess Diana. AFP looks at other Indian political lead- ers who engendered similar devotion and why they and former movie star Jayalalithaa were so popular: Iran closed Mosul ‘horseshoe’ and changed war Championing the poor Post-colonial India’s first mass funeral saw around n the early days of the assault on Islamic the Popular Mobilization units. A US-led majority of these statements are mere the road in just a few days,” Hashemi said. two million people mourn Mahatma Gandhi after his State in Mosul, Iran successfully pressed international coalition is providing air and analysis - they are simply not true,” he said. “The battle has taken a different shape 1948 assassination, while millions took to the streets IIraq to change its battle plan and seal ground support. Nevertheless, securing territory west of since then - no food, no fuel is reaching when Mother Teresa of Calcutta died in 1997. Up to 15 off the city, an intervention which has Iraqi army commanders have repeated- Mosul by the Iranian-backed militias has Mosul and Daesh (Islamic State) fighters million people reportedly attended the funeral of CN since shaped the tortuous course of the ly said that the presence of civilians on the other benefits for Iran’s allies, by giving the are bent on fighting to the end.” Annadurai, one of Jayalalithaa’s predecessors as Tamil conflict, sources briefed on the plan say. battlefield has complicated and slowed Shiite fighters a launchpad into neighbor- Nadu chief minister in 1969, while Mumbai ground to The original campaign strategy called for their seven-week-old operation, restricting ing Syria to support Assad. If Islamic State Iraq Stronghold a halt when local Hindu nationalist leader Bal Iraqi forces to close in around Mosul in a air strikes and the use of heavy weapons in is defeated in Syria and Iraq, Tehran’s allies Once the Iraqi Shiite militia advance Thackeray died four years ago. horseshoe formation, blocking three fronts populated areas. They considered a would gain control of an arc of territory west of Mosul had begun, Islamic State Like Jayalalithaa, they drew their support from the but leaving open the fourth - to the west change in strategy to allow civilians out, stretching from Iran itself across the leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi told his fol- legions of poor rather than from within Delhi’s corri- of the city leading to Islamic State territory but rejected the idea because they feared Middle East to Lebanon and the lowers there could be no retreat from the dors of power. “People who are powerless feel com- in neighboring Syria. that fleeing residents could be massacred Mediterranean coast. city where he first proclaimed his caliphate pelled to look up to someone who seems to offer That model, used to recapture several by the militants, who have executed civil- in July 2014. Those tempted to flee should some kind of hope,” said veteran commentator Parsa Iraqi cities from the ultra-hardline militants ians to prevent them from escaping other Russian Pressure “know that the value of staying on your Venkateshwar Rao. “It’s a kind of psychological in the last two years, would have left fight- battles. Authorities and aid groups would Iran was not the only country pressing land with honor is a thousand times better dependency.” Teresa, declared a saint in September for ers and civilians a clear route of escape and also struggle to deal with a mass exodus. for the escape to be closed west of Mosul. than the price of retreating with shame,” her work with the poor, was widely derided in her life- could have made the Mosul battle quicker Russia, another powerful Assad ally, also Baghdadi said in an audio recording time as a fraud, while Thackeray was criticized for divi- and simpler. But Tehran, anxious that Kill Box wanted to block any possible movement released five days after the Shiite militias retreating fighters would sweep back into Planning documents drawn up by of militants into Syria, said Hashemi. The announced they were moving to cut off sive rhetoric. Syria just as Iran’s ally President Bashar al- humanitarian organizations before the Russian defense ministry did not immedi- the last route out. Jayalalithaa was twice jailed over corruption allega- Assad was gaining the upper hand in his campaign, seen by Reuters, show they pre- ately respond to a Reuters request for com- Since then his fighters have launched tions and famed for a vast sari collection. But she won country’s five-year civil war, wanted Islamic pared camps in Kurdish-controlled areas of ment. One of Assad’s biggest enemies, hundreds of suicide car bombs, mortar the loyalty of many with a series of populist schemes, State crushed and eliminated in Mosul. Syria for around 90,000 refugees expected France, was also concerned that hundreds barrages and sniper attacks against the including lunches that cost just three rupees (five The sources say Iran lobbied for Iranian- to head west out of Mosul. “Iran didn’t of fighters linked to attacks in Paris and advancing forces, using a network of tun- cents) and election-time giveaways ranging from lap- backed Popular Mobilization fighters to be agree and insisted that no safe corridor be Brussels might escape. The French have nels under residential areas and using tops to goats. “Economists criticized her populist sent to the western front to seal off the link allowed to Syria,” said a humanitarian contributed ground and air support to the civilians as human shields, Iraqi soldiers schemes but the impact on the people’s psyche was between Mosul and Raqqa, the two main worker. “They wanted the whole region Mosul campaign. say. A senior US officer in international immense,” said columnist Shubha Singh. “She struck a cities of Islamic State’s self-declared cross- west of Mosul to be a kill box.” A week after the campaign was coalition which is supporting the cam- chord with the masses, there was a direct chord border caliphate. That link is now broken. Hisham Al-Hashemi, an Iraqi analyst on launched, French President Francois paign said that waging war amidst civil- between the leader and the people.” For the first time in Iraq’s two-and-half- Islamist militants who was briefed on the Hollande said any flow of people out of ians would always be tough, but the year, Western-backed drive to defeat battle plan in advance, also said it initially Mosul would include “terrorists who will Baghdad government was best placed to ‘Messiah Status’ Islamic State, several thousand militants envisaged leaving one flank open. “The try to go further, to Raqqa in particular”. decide on strategy. While the idea of deifying a living person is idola- have little choice but to fight to the death, first plan had the shape of a horseshoe, Still, the battle plan did not foresee closing “They’ve got 15 years of war (experi- trous for South Asia’s Muslims, India’s Hindus often ele- and 1 million remaining Mosul citizens allowing for the population and the mili- the road to the west of Mosul until Prime ence)... I can’t think of anyone more cali- vate heroes to God-like status. The now-retired crick- have no escape from the frontlines creep- tants to retreat westward as the main Minister Haider Al-Abadi agreed in late brated to make that decision and as a eter Sachin Tendulkar was often greeted with banners ing ever closer to the city center. thrust of the offensive came from the east,” October to dispatch the Popular result that why as a coalition we supported proclaiming “Sachin is God” while fans of Narendra “If you corner your enemy and don’t he said. About a week before the launch of Mobilization militias. “The government the government of Iraq’s decision,” Modi wanted to open a temple in his honour last year leave an escape, he will fight till the end,” the campaign, Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah agreed to Iran’s request, thinking that it Brigadier General Scott Efflandt, deputy before the Indian premier nixed the idea. “The kind of said a Kurdish official involved in planning leader Hassan Nasrallah, a close ally of Iran, would take a long time for the Hashid to commanding general in the coalition, told the Mosul battle. “In the west, the initial accused the United States of planning to get to the road to Syria, and during that Reuters. “The opening and closing of that blind adulation that we see for political leaders is not idea was to have a corridor ... but the allow Islamic State a way out to Syria. time the escape route would be open and corridor, hypothetically, realistically, did unique to India but what is perhaps unique in one Hashid (Popular Mobilization) insisted on “The Iraqi army and popular forces must the battle would still proceed as planned,” not fundamentally change the plans of the respect is the fact that these leaders are perceived as closing this loophole to prevent them defeat it in Mosul, otherwise, they will be Hashemi said. battle,” he added. “It changes how we pros- superhuman beings,” said Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, going to Syria,” he told Reuters. obliged to move to eastern Syria in order The Hashid move to cut the western ecute the fight, but that does not necessar- editor of the Economic and Political Weekly. The battle for Mosul is the biggest in to fight the terrorist group,” he said. corridor was announced on Oct 28, 11 ily make it easier or harder.” But the Kurdish “They become larger than life, they acquire a mes- Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. In Hezbollah is fighting in support of Assad in days after the start of the wider Mosul official was less sanguine, saying the battle sianic status. Here is a person who is a benefactor, sav- all, around 100,000 people are fighting on Syria. Hashid spokesman Karim Al-Nuri campaign. Fighters made swift progress, for Mosul was now “more difficult” and iour of all, he almost becomes God.” While neighboring the government side, including Iraqi sol- denied that Tehran was behind the deci- sweeping up from a base south of Mosul could descend into a long drawn out siege China would never allow a personality cult to develop diers and police, “peshmerga” troops of the sion to deploy the Shiite fighters west of to seal off the western route out of the city. similar to those seen in Syria. It could “turn around a politician from outside the ruling Communist autonomous Kurdish region and fighters in Mosul. “Iran has no interest here. The Abadi “was surprised to see them reaching Mosul into Aleppo,” he said. —Reuters party, India is free to choose its heroes. “Ours is a mass democracy,” said Rao. “We give vent to our emotions. We are not restrained, stiff-upper lipped British types.” ‘Demolition man’ architect of his own downfall One of the family While never marrying or having children, 68-year- hen former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano Renzi stormed to power following a ruthless internal not repeat Cameron’s so-called “project fear”, which had old Jayalalithaa was known among Tamils as Amma, tapped Matteo Renzi as prime minister in Feb party coup less than three years ago, hailed as an anti- predicted dire economic troubles in case of defeat. Renzi meaning mother - a powerful image in a country W2014, he urged his younger colleague to change establishment figure determined to revitalize a lethargic also decided he would not associate himself too closely to where the notion of “Mother India” runs deep. The the constitution in order to make it easier to govern Italy. country. But he was ultimately rejected by the very people corporate leaders to avoid accusations that he was in the cheap meals were served in “Amma canteens” while Early this year, Napolitano fretted that Renzi was taking the he had tried to court, the young and disaffected, who sway of big business. state-subsidized products such as “Amma water” and wrong approach in doing so. A referendum on the constitu- viewed him as one of the elite. Renzi is not disappearing Still, Renzi continued putting himself centre stage, “Amma cement” left people in no doubt over whom tional changes had been called. But instead of focusing the from the political scene; he remains the leader of Italy’s meaning that the merits of his reform were being drowned they should be grateful to. Annadurai was known as election campaign on the merits of the ambitious reform, biggest party and, at the age of 41, has time to craft a out. Messina found it hard to convince Renzi to do other- Anna, which translates as elder brother, and Renzi had turned it into a de facto plebiscite on himself by return to government. Still, his biggest rivals are the anti- wise, a source close to the prime minister said. “The prime Jayalalithaa was often compared to West Bengal Chief promising to quit if people voted against the changes. system 5-Star Movement, founded by a populist former minister needs to be a bit more malleable,” the communi- Minister Mamata Banerji, another unmarried woman At a time when anti-establishment parties were gaining comedian. cations maestro told the premier’s inner circle in July, pro- known as “Didi”, Bengali for elder sister. ground across Europe and when the Renzi government was voking a burst of laughter, according to someone present. Christina Paun, a professor who was among the struggling to revive an anaemic economy, a popularity con- Safe bet Messina’s office declined to comment. mourners in Chennai, said Jayalalithaa inspired such test was a dangerous tactic, Napolitano believed. “If Renzi Renzi raised the stakes on his flagship reform early in his adoration partly “because she didn’t have a family of loses, Italy will also lose a lot of credibility,” Napolitano, then tenure. “I will bet all my political life on it,” he told Corriere Genie has escaped her own”. “She was always a very loving woman, and 90, told friends at an April dinner, according to one person della Sera newspaper in March 2014. At the time it Polls showed momentum slipping from Renzi in the her love went to her people,” she said. Singh, the present. He said he had warned Renzi, 50 years his junior, appeared a safe bet. The opposition party Forza Italia (Go summer. In August, the premier finally acknowledged in columnist, attributed Jayalalithaa’s popularity to her that it was a “mistake to make this too personal”. Italy!) of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had given interviews that he had been wrong to pin his future to the image as “a mother figure”. “She was a consummate On Sunday, Renzi paid the price for that mistake. Sixty its support and opinion polls suggested that more than 70 referendum. He tried to change direction by refusing to politician and her followers built a kind of aura around percent of Italians voted to reject the plans to abolish a percent of the electorate were in favor. But Berlusconi soon discuss the vote in connection with what he would do if he her,” he said. “The emotional connect they felt with directly elected upper house Senate and streamline the pulled his backing as a broad policy pact with Renzi col- lost. But the change in tack came too late: Leaders of the Amma made them blind to her flaws.” —AFP legislative process. Within an hour of polls closing, a chas- lapsed. That left the government alone as it embarked on political opposition accused Renzi of trying to go back on tened Renzi announced his resignation. Interviews with a the most comprehensive overhaul of the constitution since his promise to resign. “The genie had escaped and it was dozen government officials, ministers and close advisers its introduction after World War Two. impossible to put it back in the bottle,” said Matteo show that Renzi persisted in effectively making the ballot a It took two years of fierce debate before the changes Richetti, a lawmaker from the ruling PD who was in con- All articles appearing on these pages are vote on himself - despite warnings from some of his closest finally got parliamentary approval in April. But because stant touch with Renzi. the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait advisors not to do so. they involved altering the constitution, Renzi had to call a In the three weeks before the Dec 4 vote, the prime Times takes no responsibility for views That allowed disparate politicians from opposition par- referendum to get it turned definitively into law. That same minister went back to his original strategy - playing on his ties to join forces in egging on the electorate to oust him. month, with polls still predicting victory, Renzi hired the own appeal to try to sway voters and making clear he expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites Even after acknowledging in August that the personaliza- Messina Group, headed by Jim Messina who led US would indeed quit if he failed. He also played the fear card, readers to voice their opinions. Please send tion had been a mistake, Renzi sidelined most of his own President Barack Obama’s successful 2012 re-election bid, warning that defeat could open the door to a tax-hiking submissions via email to: opinion@kuwait- ministers to dominate primetime television shows, giving for help in developing his campaign strategy. technocrat government and presenting himself as the only times.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 more than 20 major media interviews in the last week of Messina at the time was also advising British Prime guarantor of stability. Instead of keeping his distance from campaigning alone. Renzi’s defeat is the story of a personal Minister David Cameron in his efforts to keep Britain in the business leaders, he campaigned alongside Fiat Chrysler Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right gamble that went awry. But it also speaks to the fast-shift- European Union - an effort that failed. Cameron’s defeat in Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, even to edit any submission as necessary. ing loyalties of Europe’s electorate amid the rising appeal the June “Brexit” referendum shocked Renzi, according to though a government minister urged against it. “He didn’t of populist parties across the continent. close associates. The premier drew two lessons: He would listen,” the minister said. —Reuters THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 SPORTS

Former college gridiron 10 Turkish fans hurt Pardew’s job as star Salaam dies at 42 after Ukraine match manager is safe KIEV: Ten Turkish fans were treated in hospital, two for stab LONDON: Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has assured under-pressure man- LOS ANGELES: Rashaan Salaam, a former Heisman Trophy winner as America’s top wounds, after clashes broke out surrounding a Champions ager Alan Pardew that his job is secure and said he was a “positive force” at the college football player, has died at the age of 42, the University of Colorado said League qualifier between Besiktas and Dinamo Kiev, police Premier League club. The south London side’s 3-0 home win over Southampton Tuesday. The university released a statement saying Salaam’s body was found in a said yesterday. The violence late Tuesday cast a fresh spotlight on Saturday helped them stay three points clear of the relegation zone after six park in Boulder, Colorado on Monday night, and that police do not suspect foul on concerns for fans’ safety in Kiev as the Ukrainian capital league defeats in a row. “Alan has a 41 percent win record at Palace which is pret- play. “We are heartbroken for Rashaan and his family, and our thoughts and prayers prepares to host the 2018 Champions League final. A police ty astonishing,” Parish told Talksport. “It’s totally safe (Pardew’s job) in that every are with them at this very difficult time,” athletic director Rick George told the uni- manager is under pressure. It’s a binary industry and you have to win football versity’s website. The Chicago Bears, one of the teams Salaam played statement said two Turkish fans were stabbed while eight suf- fered less serious injuries during clashes that began on Kiev’s matches.” Parish said the team was no more in crisis than the for in an abortive NFL career, also acknowledged Salaam. “Our other clubs struggling near the foot of the table and said thoughts are with his family,” the Bears posted on their web- main avenue Khreshchatyk before the game and lasted for nine hours. The match ended with Dinamo thrashing their everyone at Selhust Park was working hard to help site. Salaam won the Heisman Trophy in 1994. The running Pardew succeed. “We have to find the balance. There’s back was drafted by the Bears in 1995 and enjoyed a strong rivals 6-0. The result means that the Turks progress to the Europa League as third-place finishers in Group B while Kiev plenty right and we just need to fix the things that are rookie season. But his NFL career unravelled with Salaam wrong,” he added. “If we’re in crisis then there are a lot of finish bottom of the group and are out of the competition admitting that marijuana use played a role. Salaam broke his clubs in crisis. We need to get points on the board and leg during the 1997 season and entered a rehabilitation pro- despite the win. At the match an AFP reporter saw Turkish everyone is behind Alan in doing that. “He’s a positive gram the following year. But he remained out of football until fans ripping off seats and throwing them at Dinamo support- force around the football club. If you look at the league, signing as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders in 1999. After a ers while the police tried to keep the two groups apart. A the top teams have gone on to a different level but it’s short stay with the Raiders he briefly played for the Cleveland spokeswoman for the Kiev mayor’s office said that eight of the very flat at the bottom.” Palace, who are 14th with Browns, before trying his luck with the XFL’s Memphis Maniax and Besiktas fans had been released from hospital by Wednesday 14 points, visit second-bottom Hull, who have the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts. — AFP while two more needed more time to recover. —AFP 11, on Saturday. — Reuters Ethics Board extends three IAAF officials’ suspension

LONDON: Three senior athletics officials have had their provisional suspension from the sport extended by the IAAF’s Ethics Board as it contin- ues its investigation into their alleged involve- ment in a suspected cover-up of Russian doping cases. Nick Davies, who was chief-of-staff to International Association of Athletics Federations president Seb Coe, was initially sus- pended along with his wife Jane Boulter-Davies and IAAF medical manager Pierre-Yves Garnier in June. Yesterday the Ethics Board issued a statement saying the suspensions had been extended until Jan. 31 2017 “to allow for the con- clusion of the disciplinary investigative process, including any hearing ensuing from the investi- gations.” Davies stood down from his role last December pending the investigation into a “potential breach of the IAAF’s code of ethics”. The Ethics Board statement yesterday added: “Each of the three individuals continue to enjoy PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon (L) welcomes petanque the presumption of innocence and the exten- player, Sok Chan Mean (C) upon his arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport yes- sion of the orders for provisional suspension terday. Cambodian petanque player, Sok Chan Mean, won a gold medal at the 47th should not be interpreted as any departure from World Championships held from December 1 to 4, 2016 in Antananarivo, the principle that each individual is to be consid- Madagascar. Sok Chan Mean defeated his French counterpart, Boursicaud Bruno, 36- ered innocent until the conclusion of the disci- 29 at the final round. — AFP plinary investigative process.” The investigations relate to an email reportedly sent by former IAAF IAAF president Sebastian Coe with Nick Davies (right). consultant Papa Massata Diack to his father, the Hosszu launches short then-IAAF president Lamine Diack, in July 2013 done nothing wrong. Last month he told the At the time of the initial suspensions in June, that allegedly showed the three suspended IAAF Daily Mail: “I was conned and never for a second the Ethics Board said that Davies, a former IAAF course worlds with bang officials were in receipt of, or had knowledge of, was I told, or thought, this money was to ensure general secretary and head of communications, a cash payment to withhold details of attempted cover-ups of doping in Russia. That would have received an undisclosed cash payment in 2013 MONTREAL: Katinka Hosszu, seeking to But once there he failed to advance cover-ups of Russian doping cases. been abhorrent to me. from Papa Massata Diack, “the circumstances add an exclamation point to her sparkling from the heats in the 100m, 200m and Other emails leaked earlier this year showed “I thought I could trust Lamine Diack and it and concealment of which call into question Olympic year, captured gold and silver 400m free and scratched from the 1500m Davies had discussed with Papa Diack develop- was my job to promote and protect the image of whether the payment was intended to have Tuesday as the Short Course Swimming free. Park showed signs of a resurgence ing a media strategy to limit the news impact of the IAAF and the World Championships. I was and/or in fact produced any manipulative World Championships began in Windsor, with four titles at the Asian championships a series of positive tests by Russian athletes never mixed up or aware of the criminal activi- effect.” Canada. in November-but also revealed last month ahead of the 2013 Moscow world athletics ties which are now in the public domain.” Boulter-Davies allegedly received, or knew Hungary’s “Iron Lady” of swimming, a that his training for Rio was hampered by championships. French authorities are investigating Lamine about, a payment to Davies. Garnier allegedly treble gold medalist at the Rio Games in worries over threats by former vice sports Diack and Papa Diack on charges of corruption received an undisclosed cash payment at the August, powered to a dominant victory in minister Kim Chong that his determination MEDIA STRATEGY and money laundering. Papa Diack has denied direction of Lamine Diack and “retained some the 400m individual medley. to compete in the 2016 Games could see Davies said that the mail was merely “brain- any involvement in bribery or corruption and part of the sum even when aware of its apparent Her time of 4min 21.67sec was more him cut off from access to corporate spon- storming for a media strategy” and that he had says his father Lamine is also innocent. impropriety”. — Reuters than two seconds off her own world record, sorship. but it was comfortably in front of runner- up Ella Eastin’s 4:27.74. LE CLOS WINS 200M FLY Easton seized silver after Vietnam’s Anh Chad le Clos also shook off Rio disap- Vien Nguyen appeared to touch second pointment with a victory in the 200m but- but was disqualified. American Madisyn terfly. The South African was denied an Cox was third in 4:27.78. The triumph came Olympic title repeat in the 200m fly by US shortly after Italian veteran Federica great Michael Phelps. But a storming finish Pellegrini denied Hosszu in the 200m saw him repeat as short course world freestyle. Pellegrini, 28, was closing at the champion in 1:48.76 — the third-fastest final turn and churned past Hosszu on the performance ever in a 25m pool. final lap to take the first short course world American Tom Shields, swimming in title of her career in 1:51.73. lane eight, led at the 150m mark but fin- Hosszu settled for silver in 1:52.28, with ished second in 1:49.50. Japan’s Daiya Seto 16-year-old Canadian Taylor Ruck third in a was third in 1:49.97. national record of 1:52.50. Hosszu, one of China’s Rio bronze medalist Wang Shun the few Rio stars competing in Windsor, won the men’s 200m medley in 1:51.74, pulled triple duty on Tuesday, also booking ahead of Germany’s Philip Heintz (1:52.07) her place in the 100m backstroke final. and Japan’s Seto (1:52.89). While Hosszu’s win was an extension of Vladimir Morozov’s storming third leg a stellar year that saw her win 200m and powered Russia to a victory over defending 400m medley and 100m backstroke gold in champions France in the men’s 4x100m Rio, South Korean Park Tae-Hwan’s 400m freestyle relay. Morozov took the Russians freestyle triumph was a turnaround in a from third to first, and Popkov held on for largely forgettable 2016. the victory in 3:05.90 went into the water Park, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist who for the third leg on Russia’s 400 free relay in fizzled in Rio after serving a drugs ban, third place, but he blasted a 45.42 split, by pounced to overtake Russian Aleksandr far the fastest in the field, and Aleksandr Krasnykh in the final 100m, winning in Popkov held on to give the Russians the 3:34.59sec. gold. Nikita Lobintsev, Mikhail Krasnykh took silver in 3:35.30 while Vekovishchev, Morozov and Popkov com- DUBLIN: British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland, left, with members of his coaching staff, Rob Howley, second left, Andy Farrell, second 2014 short course world champion Peter bined to post a time of 3:05.90, with France right, and Steve Borthwick pose for the media following a press conference to announce the 2017 British and Irish Lions coaching staff for next Bernek of Hungary was third in 3:37.65. second in 3:07.35. The United States and year’s tour of New Zealand at Carlton House, Dublin yesterday. — AP Park will be hoping his first short course Australia shared bronze in 3:07.76. world crown is a launching point for a new The United States’ quartet of Amanda phase of his career as swimmers begin Weir, Kelsi Worrell, Madison Kennedy and looking toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mallory Comerford won the women’s After serving an 18-month steroid ban, 4x100m free in 3:28.82 ahead of an Italian Gatland names ‘core’ Park battled South Korean team officials for squad anchored by Pellegrini (3:30.28) and the chance to compete in Rio. the Netherlands (3:31.10).— AFP Lions coaching team

LONDON: Andy Farrell, Steve Borthwick and Rob “It’s also important to have some new input. “The challenge for us will be to get on the Howley will be Warren Gatland’s specialist Steve has done a great job in shaping the same page as quickly as possible, appreciate ful- coaches for the daunting British and Irish Lions England pack and played a major role in their ly the danger they pose and find solutions to tour of world champions New Zealand, it was recent run of success, so I am looking forward to their attacking threats,” said Farrell, whose son, announced yesterday. working with him,” added the 53-year-old New England kicker Owen, is likely to be on the Tour All three were widely touted to be named, Zealander, whose selection of Howley sees as well. Howley, 46, has been a trusted lieu- especially after Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt Robin McBryde put in charge of Wales for their tenant of Gatland’s since being hired as Wales’s and future Scotland national handler Gregor tour of the Pacific islands next year. attack coach when the New Zealander took over Townsend said they wished not to be consid- Ireland defence strategist Farrell, 41, filled the national coach role in 2008. ered. Gatland, who has been replaced on a tem- that role on the Australia tour and has boosted Former England captain Borthwick’s stock porary basis by Howley as Wales head coach his reputation as since joining the Irish after this rose on the back of Japan’s impressive World whilst he prepares for the tour, said the trio were year’s Six Nations they have beaten all three of Cup campaign last year when he was the for- his ‘core coaching team’ though he might add the southern hemisphere heavyweights-the first wards coach-which included a victory over two- one more to the roster. team from the northern hemisphere to achieve time world champions South Africa. “I am excited about this coaching team,” said that in a calendar year since England in 2003. The 37-year-old former lock moved to the Gatland, who guided the Lions to a series win England set-up when former ‘Brave Blossoms’ over Australia in 2013. “I said from the outset it ‘GET ON THE SAME PAGE’ boss Eddie Jones took over the reins after the was important to have continuity because we Farrell said the squad and coaching staff departure of Stuart Lancaster-under whom need to hit the ground running, given the limit- would need to be on message as quickly as pos- Farrell was defence coach-following a first round ed preparation time. sible given the size of their task against a team World Cup exit. WINDSOR: Katinka Hosszu of Hungary reacts to her victory in the 400m Individual “In Rob and Andy, we have guys who under- who put together a record 18 successive Test Jones, with Borthwick in tow, has since seen Medley final on day one of the 13th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) at stand the Lions concept, have worked together wins before Ireland sensationally beat them in the revitalised England team win 14 Tests in a the WFCU Centre on Tuesday in Windsor Ontario, Canada. — AFP and know how to coach a winning Lions team. Chicago in November. row.—AFP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 SPORTS Tiger must prove he is over chipping yips: Jacklin

LONDON: Former world number one days in the Bahamas where Tiger had anchor it, but you can’t do that with “When you yip you get into outcomes tough to meet high expectations on Tiger Woods must prove he has over- delicate shots he didn’t do well with. chipping yips,” added Jacklin, an ambas- rather than staying in the stroke,” said home soil. come the “chipping yips” in order to fully “If he’s ever going to get back to the sador for the 2017 farmfoods British Par the 72-year-old Englishman. “You start “I putt with a long putter now and I challenge golf’s elite again, according to level of being able to win on the PGA 3 Championship from Aug. 8-11 (british- wondering where the ball is going to hold it away from my chest,” he said. “I double major champion Tony Jacklin. Tour, never mind a major, there’s no par3.com). end up and you can’t do that, the mind don’t putt very well but I don’t care American Woods, 40, made his come- room for a weakness.” “Chris Couch won the 2006 Zurich has got to be in the here and now. because I only play charity events and back after an absence of almost 16 The roller-coaster nature of Woods’s Classic of New Orleans. He overcame “When you’ve had a few chipping corporate days. months caused by chronic back prob- form was sharply illustrated by the fact them in that event by chipping left hand yips, and Tiger really did because it was “I’ve been humiliated often enough lems to finish 15th in an elite 17-man that he led the tournament with birdies below right and then disappeared off for a few weeks in a row, it was nothing over the years using a short putter so I’m field at last week’s Hero World Challenge (24) and double-bogeys (six). the scene, that’s the only example I’ve to do with his back it was something not going there again. A lot of people in the Bahamas. While he showed flashes of the bril- seen of someone who had chipping yips completely different. have had it, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and “I thought it was a promising return liant golf he produced in accumulating and adjusted his grip.” “It’s easier said than done in terms of others, it’s not unusual. by Tiger,” Jacklin told Reuters in a tele- 14 major titles, he also delivered the fixing it. There’s no hiding place for him, “In my case it manifested itself when I phone interview from his Florida home. inept, often finding sandy waste areas PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGING it’s hard for him just to shrug things off was in the U.K. playing in front of British “It must have been a bit daunting for off the tee or with approach shots. Jacklin, the most successful European because he cares so much,” said Jacklin. crowds, they expected me to win with him after all that time away. “His putting was sound, he hit the Ryder Cup captain of all time with two “He wouldn’t be coming back unless one arm tied behind my back and I was “One comment from Golf Channel ball nicely and his swing looks fine,” said wins and one tie from his four matches he cared. Sometimes you care too much trying harder than I was capable of and analyst Brandel Chamblee attracted my Jacklin, winner of the 1969 British Open in charge between 1983-89, knows how and you don’t enjoy it because of that, that made things worse. attention. I know he’s a bit outspoken at and 1970 US Open. psychologically damaging the putting that’s when you put more pressure on “Tiger has to be careful. I’m sure he times but he talks a lot of sense as well. “He also looks fitter but if there’s a yips can be to a player. yourself and you get into this outcome- wants to show the world he’s back “Brandel maintains he’s not seen any- chink in his armour going forward it’s He struggled on the greens at the over-execution situation.” and win a tournament but the more body really come back from the chip- going to make things difficult. back end of his career and, even now, Jacklin regularly criss-crossed the you want that, the more you put ping yips,” said Jacklin. “He cherry-picked “With the putting yips you can go to when he plays for fun, cannot bring him- Atlantic during his playing days and, pressure on the weaker elements of a number of situations from the four a long putter, as long as you don’t self to use a conventional putter. towards the end of his career, found it your game.” —Reuters

Tomic happy to put 2016 controversies behind him

SYDNEY: Bernard Tomic has no qualms appearances at the Australian Open and wiping his hands of a year he would rather Wimbledon but a second-round exit at forget and, with a reduced schedule next Roland Garros and a failure to clear the first year, is keen to make a fresh start when he hurdle at the US Open. opens his season in Brisbane. The Flushing Meadows loss, as world The 24-year-old Tomic, once considered number 19 to 72nd ranked Bosnian Damir Australia’s next great hope in men’s tennis, Dzumhur, earned him a $10,000 fine for fir- was plagued by an abdominal injury, fined ing lewd comments at a heckler in the for swearing at a fan, accused of not trying crowd. He also drew heavy criticism in May and involved in a spat with the Australian following his exit from the Madrid Open Olympic team chief this year. Despite when, facing match point against Fabio reaching a career-high ranking of 17, the Fognini, he held the racquet by the strings issues only reinforced a feeling amongst and did not offer a shot. He later ruled fans and the media that he was not overly himself out of consideration for the Rio interested in playing the sport, though that Games after the head of the Australian was something he denied yesterday. team had warned him that his behaviour, “I’m not the best, I’m not the brightest, and that of Nick Kyrgios, was being moni- but we all have our problems,” Tomic told tored to judge their suitability for the reporters on the Gold Coast ahead of the Olympics. Jan. 1-7 Brisbane International tournament. Tomic said few people truly understood “I think the main thing is I’m doing what I himself and his 21-year-old compatriot, love and I really respect the sport.” who had risen to number 13 in the world. “I Tomic said he was now clear of the think sometimes we do push it more than abdominal injury that blighted a year in we should,” Tomic said. “But that is our per- which he made just one final, at Acapulco, sonality, our character. “We are young, we and two other semi-finals, at Brisbane and are successful. But it turns into a bit of neg- the Queen’s Club in London. ative energy when we do things wrong. His performances at the grand slams “No one is perfect but I think we are doing were inconsistent with fourth round a pretty good job.” — Reuters

MINNEAPOLIS: San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) works against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) in the sec- ond half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, in Minneapolis. The Spurs won 105-91. — AP Djokovic has not worked hard enough, says Becker Spurs rally, roll toward

BELGRADE: Novak Djokovic lost his “They don’t spend enough time momentum in the second half of last together. I had it too, 20 years ago. It is history on the road season and was toppled as the world just the nature of the beast, being a ten- number one by Andy Murray because his nis player.” work-rate dropped, the Serbian’s former Having completed a career slam when MINNEAPOLIS: Kawhi Leonard scored 31 and struggled in the fourth quarter. Rajon coach Boris Becker said yesterday. he won his maiden French Open title in points and the San Antonio Spurs improved Rondo had 10 points in his return to the Speaking a day after the two termi- June, Djokovic suffered an astonishing to 13-0 on the road this season with a 105-91 Chicago lineup. nated their cooperation by mutual con- loss of form. He crashed out of victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on sent, German Becker said Djokovic’s Wimbledon in the third round to Tuesday night. Leonard hit 11 of 15 shots GRIZZLIES 96, 76ERS 91 need to spend more time with his family American Sam Querrey and made a first- after not scoring at all in the first quarter and Marc Gasol had 26 points and 12 rebounds, had derailed him on the court. round exit at the Rio Olympics at the Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench for and Memphis finally put away short-handed “He didn’t spend as much time on the hands of Argentine Juan Martin Del the Spurs (18-4), who played without Tony Philadelphia. Memphis scored the game’s final seven points to erase Philadelphia’s lead with practice court in the last six months as he Potro. Djokovic then lost the U.S. Open Parker after he bruised his left knee against less than 2 minutes left, sending the Sixers to should have and he knows that,” said final to Swiss Stan Wawrinka, a defeat six- Milwaukee on Wednesday night. San Antonio Becker, who helped Djokovic to six grand times major champion Becker said was a their eighth straight loss. JaMychal Green had overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent. 13 points and 10 rebounds, including a pair of slam titles after they teamed up in massive psychological blow to the Serb. The Spurs moved past the 1969-70 New York free throws with 4 seconds left to seal the December 2013. “I know the U.S. Open loss in the final Knicks to take sole possession of the second Grizzlies’ fourth straight win and 10th in the “Success like this doesn’t happen by against Stan hurt,” he said. best road start to begin a season in NBA his- last 13. Ersan Ilyasova had season bests of 23 pushing a button. Success like this does- “I think that is what he needed maybe tory. The Golden State Warriors started 14-0 points and 17 rebounds for Philadelphia. Dario n’t just happen by showing up at a tour- in a funny way was to lose a little bit, to last year. Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Saric scored 17 points, while Nik Stauskas nament. You have to work your bottom realise what it is like to lose, because he Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 added 12 points, despite missing seven of his off because the opposition does the hasn’t been losing for two and a half points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3 of 16. eight shots from outside the arc. The Sixers led same,” he told Sky News. years. “I am sure the fact that he lost the 91-89 with 1:57 remaining, but Zach “The profession of a tennis player is number one ranking to Andy Murray is KNICKS 114, HEAT 103 Randolph, who had 12 points and 14 probably the most selfish one in sports going to hurt. Carmelo Anthony matched a season high rebounds, scored inside and Memphis made because it has to be about you and he is “But he has got to go back to work. He with 35 points, and New York beat injury-rav- enough free throws in the closing minutes. the first to say he is a family man, so of has to go back to the office and practice aged Miami for its fourth straight victory. JAZZ 112, SUNS 105 course his wife and the rest of his family these hours and refocus on what made Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points and 12 had to take back seats. him strong in the first place.” — Reuters Gordon Hayward scored 28 points and Utah rebounds for New York, which is three games held on to beat Phoenix for its seventh victory over .500 for the first time since the end of in eight games. Rudy Gobert scored a career- the 2012-13 season. The Knicks lost Derrick high 22 points and had 11 rebounds and Rose to back spasms in the third quarter. blocked four shots for the Jazz, who recovered Goran Dragic scored 29 points and Hassan after the Suns erased their big lead to tie it at Whiteside finished with 23 points and 14 103. Hayward had 11 third-quarter points to rebounds for the Heat, who fell to 2-8 at reach 20-plus points for the ninth consecutive home. The teams were tied at 68 late in the game - the first Jazz player to do so since third quarter, when the Knicks went on a 27- Carlos Boozer in 2007-08. The Jazz sprinted 13 run over the next eight minutes to take out to a 25-10 lead thanks to an 8-0 run and SALT LAKE CITY: Phoenix Suns guard Eric control. Anthony finished 13 for 27 from the never trailed. They led 65-45 at halftime after Bledsoe (2) passes the ball as Utah Jazz for- field, and Porzingis and Joakim Noah com- Hayward’s pull-up 3-pointer highlighted a ward Gordon Hayward, rear, defends in the half-closing 11-2 stretch. The 65 points bined for 22 rebounds. first half during an NBA basketball game matched a Jazz season high for a half. Devin Tuesday, in Salt Lake City. — AP Booker scored 21 points for the Suns. — AP MAGIC 124, WIZARDS 116 Elfrid Payton scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the first half and Orlando over- NBA Results/Standings came John Wall’s 52-point performance to beat Washington. Wall had the highest-scor- ing game of his career and kept Washington Utah 112, Phoenix 105; Memphis 96, Philadelphia 91; San Antonio 105, Minnesota 91; NY Knicks 114, Miami 103; Detroit 102, Chicago 91; Orlando 124, Washington 116. in it with 33 points in the second half as the Wizards cut the lead below 10 in the fourth Eastern Conference Western Conference quarter. The guard made 18 of 31 from the Atlantic Division Northwest Division field and added eight assists. Payton went 8 W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 14 8 .636 - for 8 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line Toronto 14 7 .667 - Utah 14 9 .609 0.5 off the bench in that first half, nearly match- Boston 12 9 .571 2 Portland 12 10 .545 2 ing his previous season best of 23 points in NY Knicks 12 9 .571 2 Denver 8 13 .381 5.5 the first two quarters alone. Payton finished 9 Brooklyn 5 15 .250 8.5 Minnesota 6 15 .286 7.5 for 12 and handed out nine assists. Orlando Philadelphia 4 18 .182 10.5 Pacific Division won its third straight game and its 124 points Central Division Golden State 18 3 .857 - were a season high. Cleveland 14 5 .737 - LA Clippers 16 6 .727 2.5 Milwaukee 10 9 .526 4 LA Lakers 10 13 .435 9 PISTONS 102, BULLS 91 Chicago 11 10 .524 4 Sacramento 7 13 .350 10.5 Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Detroit Detroit 12 11 .522 4 Phoenix 6 15 .286 12 beat Chicago. Andre Drummond added 15 Indiana 10 11 .476 5 MELBOURNE: In this Jan. 14, 2016, file photo, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, right, walks points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who Southeast Division Southwest Division with his coach Boris Becker during a training session on Rod Laver Arena ahead of won for the fourth time in five games. Jimmy Charlotte 12 9 .571 - San Antonio 18 4 .818 - the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia. Djokovic says he Butler scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade Atlanta 10 12 .455 2.5 Houston 14 7 .667 3.5 and coach Boris Becker are splitting up after three seasons together. Djokovic post- added 19 points and seven assists for Orlando 10 12 .455 2.5 Memphis 15 8 .652 3.5 ed a statement on Facebook on Tuesday, saying the duo “jointly decided to end our Chicago, which lost its third straight. The Bulls Washington 7 13 .350 4.5 New Orleans 7 15 .318 11 cooperation.” — AP were playing their fourth game in five nights Miami 7 14 .333 5 Dallas 4 16 .200 13 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 SPORTS Only pain Neesham shows is in defeat

MELBOURNE: The first thing that went stared down Starc, who had come down Neesham told reporters on Wednesday. my hand,” said Neesham, who will have not the sort of performances we want through all-rounder Jimmy Neesham’s the pitch to offer him some ‘advice’, “Obviously he’s still got a bit of that the arm examined before the final game to be putting out on the park.” mind when he was struck by a Mitchell before receiving treatment. legacy holding on there.” in Melbourne on Friday. Neesham added they would need to Starc bouncer was the words of from But the words of McCullum: ‘Not to The left-handed Neesham was on 57 “Batting wasn’t all that easy after work on their bowling at the back end former captain Brendon McCullum- flinch, show no pain. Even if you think at the time and said his big concern was that.” With the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy of the innings, having conceded 126 ”show no pain”. it’s broken’, were all he could think of, whether he could continue to bat as the now lost, Neesham said the team had runs in the final 10 overs at Manuka Neesham failed to pick up a 148kph said Neesham, who scored 74 in the visitors attempted to chase 379 for vic- been given a dressing down by coach Oval. In the first game in Sydney, the delivery from the left-arm fast bowler in 116-run loss to Steve Smith’s side that tory after David Warner top scored with Mike Hesson and captain Kane bowlers conceded 113 runs in the final their second one day international in secured the three-match series for the 119 in Australia’s 378 for five. Williamson. 10 overs. “We started quite well but Canberra on Tuesday and was hit on the hosts with a game to spare. “It was more seeing whether I could “Hess and Kane came out and made going for 170 odd in last 15 overs is not right forearm. “That’s something you were taught hold the bat with the top hand. I gave it it pretty clear they weren’t all that hap- what you want from a team that have The 26-year-old, outwardly at least, very quickly under Baz’s captaincy, not bit of a test and realised I might need py with the performance and that’s fair shown they have the skills to bowl well at showed little effect of the blow and to show much pain when that happens,” couple of minutes to get feeling back in enough,” Neesham said. “We know that’s the death.” —Reuters

Red cards to be introduced for unruly player conduct

MUMBAI: Cricketers could be ‘red-carded’ ROLE MODELS by umpires and ejected from the ground The committee discussed sanctions like for the duration of a match from next run penalties and sin bins but felt it would October after the sport’s lawmakers yester- be hard to apply them consistently around day recommended on-field sanctions to the world. address declining standards of player “It got to the state where something behaviour. had to happen to prevent those things The world cricket committee of the happening on the international stage,” for- Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the mer Australia captain Ricky Ponting, a guardian of the game’s laws, has recom- member of the committee, said. mended that a player should be removed “The modern player now understands from the field for threatening an umpire, their role in society, about being role mod- physical assault or any other act of vio- els, and want to play the game the right lence. Match officials currently report play- way for younger kids.” ers or incidents to the match referee at the The committee also decided that no end of the day after which action is taken. changes were required to the current ball- Following a two-day meeting in tampering laws despite recent incidents. Mumbai, MCC world cricket committee The age-old practice of shining the chairman Mike Brearley said umpires need- cricket ball has become a grey area for ed to be empowered to impose on-the- some cricketers who called for clarity after spot sanctions, noting that there were South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was more disciplinary problems in the lower- declared guilty of ball-tampering by the tier leagues. International Cricket Council last month. “There was a survey done of the Television footage appeared to show du umpires and 40 percent said they are con- Plessis applying saliva to the ball while sidering giving up the game or giving up sucking on a sweet during the Hobart test umpiring because of verbal abuse,” former against Australia leading to him being England captain Brearley told reporters at sanctioned and losing his entire match fee. the Wankhede Stadium. The committee also agreed that the “Anecdotal evidence from people who game had tilted too far in favour of the are familiar with leagues in parts of batsmen and therefore recommended spe- England say that the behaviour has got cific bat size limitations to the edges and worse. “The umpires have to be respected depth of a bat. and given the best possible chance and I The new laws will be implemented at all think cricket is the only game in which levels of the game from Oct. 1 next year, there isn’t this possibility of an in-match subject to approval by the MCC’s main punishment or deterrent.” committee. — Reuters

Jennings to be Cook’s latest opening partner for England

MUMBAI: Keaton Jennings will make way he wants to play, keep him calm I PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia Flyers’ Steve Mason (35) blocks a shot by Florida Panthers’ Jussi Jokinen (36) as Shayne Gostisbehere (53), Nick his England debut as captain Alastair suppose. Obviously it’s disappointing Cousins (25) and Colton Sceviour (7) look on during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 3-2 in Cook’s latest opening partner in the about Has, we obviously found a player overtime. — AP fourth and penultimate test against there. India at the Wankhede Stadium today. “But if Keaton comes in and does well Lefthander Jennings will replace again, it’s just adding to our top-order teenager Haseeb Hameed, who broke players.” Fast bowler Stuart Broad, who Voracek and Simmonds lift his little finger during England’s defeat suffered a foot injury during the second in the third test in Mohali and returned test in Visakhapatnam and subsequent- home to undergo surgery. ly missed the game in Mohali, was still Flyers to sixth straght win Jennings, the son of South African doubtful for the Mumbai match, Cook former wicketkeeper and coach Ray, added. arrived in India only on Monday after The Wankhede Stadium, overlooking PHILADELPHIA: Jakub Voracek scored with 8.6 Subban also scored for Nashville, which ended a Buffalo rallied after squandering a 2-0 first-period being called up from the England Lions the Arabian Sea, has been a happy seconds left in overtime after Wayne Simmonds two-game losing streak. Matt Duchene scored lead. Anders Nilsson stopped 34 shots, closing his squad in the United Arab Emirates. hunting ground for England, who have had two goals in regulation, leading the twice and Nathan MacKinnon also scored for legs to foil Edmonton star Connor McDavid on a “He’s going to play. He’s going to won their last two test matches against Philadelphia Flyers to their sixth straight victory, 3- Colorado, which has lost six straight. At the tail end short-handed breakaway in the third period. Leon open the batting and another great the hosts at the venue in 2012 and 2 over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Steve of 2-minute 5-on-3 advantage, Josi took a pass from Draisaitl, Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle scored for opportunity for a guy to come in and 2006. England made a strong start to Mason made 42 saves to help the Flyers to their Ryan Johansen at the top of the left faceoff circle the Oilers, who improved to 3-0-2 on the road play,” Cook told reporters, adding he the series in Rajkot when they made longest winning streak in five years. Mason, who and dropped to one knee as he fired a tiebreaking despite the loss. McDavid had two assists. was reminded of his own debut in 2006 India fight hard in their second innings earned the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Monday, one-timer by goaltender Semyon Varlamov. won his fifth straight start. Aleksander Barkov and RED WINGS 4, JETS 3, SO when he flew into India 48 hours ahead to eke out a draw but lost the next two Jussi Jokinen scored for Florida, which completed a BLACKHAWKS 4, COYOTES 0 Henrik Zetterberg backhanded in the deciding of the game and hit a century in tests to trail 2-0 against the world’s six-game trip with a 1-5-0 record. Mason turned Marian Hossa had two goals, Scott Darling goal in the shootout and Detroit came back from a Nagpur. number one test side. aside Florida’s best chance in overtime when he made 22 saves and Chicago beat Arizona to snap a two-goal deficit to beat Winnipeg. Thomas Vanek “He’s in good touch, spending bit of They drew lot of flak for defensive denied Aaron Ekblad’s slap shot from close range. two-game slide. Artem Anisimov and Dennis also scored against goalie Connor Hellebuyck in time in the middle with the Lions, get- batting while chasing an improbable Rasmussen also scored to help Chicago maintain a the shootout, and Patrik Laine had Winnipeg’s tally ting hundreds and stuff. Pretty special 405 to win the second test and coach ISLANDERS 4, RANGERS 2 three-point lead over St. Louis in the Central against Petr Mrazek. Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha day for him tomorrow.” Trevor Bayliss said it was time for the Andrew Ladd scored in the second period and Division. Darling made a handful of tough stops and Vanek scored in regulation for Detroit, which The 24-year-old Jennings, who side to show more positive intent. Jaroslav Halak stopped 36 shots to lead the but wasn’t heavily tested in his first shutout this has at least one point in seven of its last eight scored six centuries for county side “It’s a clear message I knew was com- Islanders over their crosstown-rival. John Tavares, season and third of his career. He started his third games (5-1-2). The Jets got goals from Andrew Durham last season, is Cook’s 11th part- ing out,” Cook said. “We do have to take Jason Chimera and Scott Mayfield also scored at straight game in place of No. 1 goalie Corey Copp, Dustin Byfuglien and Laine, whose 17th of ner at the top of the order in the game’s that second innings in Vizag out of it, the Barclays Center to help the last-place Islanders Crawford, who had an appendectomy in the season tied him for the NHL lead with longest format since the retirement of where we played that way. improve to 4-0-1 in their last five games. Jimmy Philadelphia on Saturday. The 37-year-old Hossa Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. Andrew Strauss four years ago. “But I wonder whether that did kind Vesey and Marc Staal scored for the Metropolitan scored his team-leading 13th and 14th goals in his Cook said the frequent changes of his of tie into the third game and there was Division-leading Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist fin- 27th game - surpassing his total of 13 last season in FLAMES 2, STARS 1 opening partner did not impact his own a bit of hangover and we did go back ished with 28 saves. The Rangers have alternated 64 contests. Sean Monahan scored on a power play midway batting. “It doesn’t really affect me,” the into our shells a bit. wins and losses in regulation in their last eight through the third period, lifting Calgary over Dallas. 31-year-old said. “You don’t just bat with “After chatting around a bit I think it games. The Rangers went 0 for 6 on the power play, SABRES 4, OILERS 3, OT Johnny Gaudreau passed to Monahan from behind your opening partner, you bat with peo- was quite clear message that we want- including a 6-on-3 advantage with Lundqvist Rasmus Ristolainen scored from the left circle the net into the slot, and he slid a wrist shot past ple at three, four, five as well. ed to play a little bit more aggressively pulled over the final 32 seconds. 57 seconds into overtime and Buffalo beat goalie Kari Lehtonen. Monahan assisted on “I will just make sure Keaton plays the and with a bit more intent.” — Reuters Edmonton. The Sabres scored twice in a span of 86 Gaudreau’s goal that tied it at 1 in the second period. BLUES 3, CANADIENS 2, OT seconds, with Evander Kane forcing overtime by Flames goalie Chad Johnson made 29 saves. Lehtonen Jaden Schwartz got his second goal of the scoring with 29 seconds left in regulation. Kane had 18. Dallas’ Curtis McKenzie opened the scoring game in overtime, leading St Louis over Montreal. had two goals and Brian Gionta also scored as with an unassisted goal in the first period. —AP Paul Stastny also scored for St. Louis, which has won four of five. The Blues rallied from a 2-0 deficit and have a point in their last 13 home games. NHL results/standings Tomas Plekanec and Paul Byron scored for Montreal, which completed a five-game trip 2-3. Chicago 4, Arizona 0; Calgary 2, Dallas 1; St. Louis 3, Montreal 2 (OT); Nashville 4, Colorado 3; Detroit 4, Winnipeg Goalie Jake Allen made 28 saves to improve to 13- 3 (So); Buffalo 4, Edmonton 3 (OT); New Jersey 3, Vancouver 2; NY Islanders 4, NY Rangers 2; Philadelphia 3, 3-3. Schwartz lifted a backhander past goalie Al Florida 2 (OT). Montoya with 1:22 left in overtime. Western Conference Ottawa 15 9 2 64 67 32 Central Division Boston 15 10 1 63 58 31 DEVILS 3, CANUCKS 2 WLOTLGFGAPTS Tampa Bay 14 11 2 77 72 30 Taylor Hall scored a goal, set up a go-ahead tally Chicago 17 8 3 78 68 37 Detroit 13 11 3 69 72 29 by Kyle Palmieri and delivered a crushing check St. Louis 15 7 4 72 72 34 that knocked Vancouver defenseman Philip Larsen Winnipeg 13 13 3 77 85 29 Florida 12 11 4 65 70 28 out of the game to lift New Jersey. Defenseman Minnesota 12 8 4 66 51 28 Buffalo 10 10 6 55 6826 Ben Lovejoy also scored and Cory Schneider made Nashville 12 9 4 75 69 28 Toronto 10 9 5 72 77 25 22 saves as New Jersey remained the NHL’s only Dallas 10 11 6 67 87 26 team not to lose at home in regulation. This is the Metropolitan Division Colorado 9 14 1 52 73 19 Pittsburgh 16 7 3 88 80 35 first time the Devils have gone 10 home games Pacific Division NY Rangers 17 9 1 97 69 35 without losing in regulation - they began 8-0-1 in Edmonton 14 10 4 83 74 32 1987-88. This was also their first win in regulation San Jose 15 9 1 60 51 31 Columbus 15 5 4 77 53 34 in the last 11 games. Daniel Sedin scored a second- Calgary 14 13 2 73 83 30 Philadelphia 15 10 3 90 87 33 period power-play goal with the Canucks on a two- Anaheim 12 9 5 67 67 29 Washington 14 7 3 61 55 31 man advantage, and he set up his brother, Henrik, Los Angeles 13 10 2 66 66 28 New Jersey 12 7 6 66 68 30 early in the third period when Vancouver closed Vancouver 11 13 2 60 78 24 Carolina 10 10 5 58 65 25 the deficit to a goal. Arizona 8 13 4 57 80 20 NY Islanders 10 10 5 66 73 25 Eastern Conference MUMBAI: England cricketers play football during the training session at the PREDATORS 4, AVALANCHE 3 Atlantic Division Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the Wankhede stadium ahead of the fourth Test cricket match between India and Roman Josi scored a power-play goal 1:04 into Montreal 17 6 3 76 59 37 standings and are not included in the loss column (L) England in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP the third period to give Nashville a win over Colorado. Viktor Arvidsson, James Neal and P.K. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 SPORTS Plane tragedy overshadows Club World Cup

YOKOHAMA: Atletico Nacional will play crash, which killed 71 people. competition’s first semi-final in Osaka on Real face either Mexico’s Club Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and through their grief over the In tribute, the Copa Libertadores December 14. America or South Korea’s Jeonbuk Club World Cup,” he told AFP. Chapecoense plane tragedy when they champions successfully lobbied South The Colombians, who claimed their Hyundai Motors in the competition’s sec- “We won them in 2014 and we will tackle the Club World Cup in Japan-just American football officials to award the second Copa Libertadores title in July, ond semi-final in Yokohama. work towards winning the Club World days after their Copa Sudamericana final Copa Sudamericana to the stricken are looking to avenge an extra-time Ronaldo issued a warning as Los Cup to do it again.” opponents were wiped out. team. “For our part, and forever, defeat by AC Milan in the tournament’s Blancos go in search for their second Real, who beat Argentina’s San FIFA’s global club showpiece, which Chapecoense are champions of the 2016 forerunner, the Intercontinental Cup, in Club World Cup title in three years after Lorenzo 2-0 in the final two years ago, will also feature Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Copa Sudamericana,” stated the club’s 1989. Their stingy defence kept nine lifting the trophy in 2014. also won the Intercontinental Cup in Madrid, begins this week under the website. European giants Real will be clean sheets in a 14-game run to the “It has been a perfect year, with the 1960, 1998 and 2002. shadow of the air crash that sent football favourites to win the tournament, which South American title, and they play a Champions League and the Euros,” said Plucky Auckland will look to produce into mourning. kicks off today and features football’s six tidy brand of football under coach Madrid’s talisman, who also led Portugal another shock in their eighth appear- It promises to be an emotional tour- continental champions plus Japanese Reinaldo Rueda. But bookmakers are to European Championship glory in July ance in the tournament after their col- nament for Colombia’s Nacional, who title-holders Kashima Antlers. firmly backing Spain’s Real. and has signed a new five-year deal lection of truck drivers, cleaners and were due to play Chapocoense for the But Ronaldo’s Real will face the stretching to 2021. zoology students defied the odds to fin- Copa Sudamericana title before the uncomfortable task of having to beat RONALDO’S ‘PERFECT YEAR’ “Now we have to win the Club World ish third in 2014. plane carrying the Brazilian team Nacional, now the sentimental Zinedine Zidane’s table-toppers will Cup. I want to win trophies, that’s why I “The game against (Kashima) is going crashed en route to the final. favourites, should both teams reach the be without Gareth Bale as the Welsh wiz- want to stay at this club.” to be tough, but our boys are well pre- “Pain overwhelms our hearts and December 18 final in Yokohama. ard continues to recover from ankle sur- Real president Florentino Perez has pared and I’m looking forward to it,” said invades our thinking in mourning,” Nacional could face South Africa’s gery, but Real have been boosted by the demanded another international treble. New Zealand international Clayton Nacional wrote on their website. All but Mamelodi Sundowns, Kashima or New return of Toni Kroos ahead of their open- “It would be a huge satisfaction to Lewis, ahead of today’s tournament- three Chapocoense players died in the Zealand part-timers Auckland City in the ing game on December 15. win the three international titles-the opener. —AFP Messi or Ronaldo? No thanks, says Leipzig boss

LEIPZIG: Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo would be considered fresh enough at youthful Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig, says sports director Ralf Rangnick. Founded in 2009, Leipzig are bankrolled by energy drinks giants Red Bull and are currently top of the Bundesliga after four promotions in seven years. Impressively, they have done it with a squad without superstars and an average age of 23. Eight of the players who started Saturday’s 2-1 win over Schalke played for RB in the second division last season. Rangnick, 58, became sports director in 2012 when Leipzig was in the fourth division. He showed the door to those the wrong side of 30 signing youngsters on their first or second con- tracts, including current club captain Dominik Kaiser. And Rangnick shakes his head when asked if he would like to sign Real Madrid’s Ronaldo, 31, or Barcelona’s Messi, 29. “It would be absurd to think that it could work with them here,” said Rangnick with a grin. “They are both too old and too expensive.” His most recent recruits illustrate the point with Scotland winger Oliver Burke, 19, signed from Nottingham Forest, Guinea midfielder Naby Keita, 21, and Brazilian defender Bernardo, Pep Guardiola 21, both from sister club RB Salzburg. “We have LEIPZIG: In this Tuesday photo Leipzig’s sports director Ralf Rangnick watches a training ses- the youngest team-and most unexperienced-in sion of RB Leipzig in Leipzig Germany. — AP the league,” he said. Rangnick admits the success of RB Leipzig- Rangnick has been here before. becoming England manager when Roy Hodgson Roberts friendly fire the only club from former East Germany current- He was coach of Hoffenheim in 2008/09, who stood down after Euro 2016 before Sam ly in the Bundesliga-has caught him by surprise. are bankrolled by a German software billionaire, Allardyce’s ill-fated 67-day reign. makes Pep take note “I don’t know if it’s a revolution, but it’s and were also unpopular until they beat Bayern “I still think it was an honour that they asked unusual that a team, who was in the fourth divi- to first in the league table by Christmas, only to a German coach if I was available,” he said. sion three-and-a-half years ago is now on 33 Manchester City manager sounded a note of caution. eventually finish seventh. “Whenever a new “But even if they had offered it to me, I MANCHESTER: points after 13 games,” he said. Pep Guardiola expressed admiration for club comes along, fans of rival teams see them wouldn’t have stopped working for Reb Bull “Nobody expected this.” as an opponent and an enemy. “It was the same completely. “We are building our own tradition Patrick Roberts after the loanee scored RODGERS ‘DELIGHTED’ against his parent club for Celtic in a 1-1 “The group was really, really tough,” said with Hoffenheim, we were disliked in the second and writing our own story right now.” Champions League draw. Guardiola, a two-time Champions League ‘11 CANS’ division, but really disliked when we went up to Rangnick rejects the notion that Leipzig are Leipzig are unpopular with some German City signed Roberts, 19, from Fulham in winner as Barcelona coach. the Bundesliga. “Then we played Bayern and we Germany’s version of Leicester City, last season’s fans, who say the team only exists to sell Red 2015 for a reported fee of 12 million “We did one (qualifying) game before were top, and everyone was supporting us. surprise Premier League winners, “we share the Bull’s drinks. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim pounds ($15.2 million, 14.2 million euros), and our performance at home was really “There are people, not just in Leipzig, who think first three letters in our names, but little else”. Watzke described RB Leipzig as ‘performing but he played just three times before join- good, against Gladbach, Barcelona and we deserve what is happening to us right now. “In a normal season, Bayern will win the title, cans’, words he may regret now as Dortmund ing Celtic on an 18-month loan last today as well. “The Champions League is “Neutrals will say we deserve what we have but maybe this isn’t a normal season. lost 1-0 at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena in September. February. not easy, especially for a team that has not with such young players.” “Our match against them (December 21) “If that was true, then 11 ‘cans’ beat 11 ‘bot- He came back to haunt City on Tuesday, experience in Europe. We cannot forget won’t be decisive, but it will be exciting. tles’, which in German (slang) means ‘someone jinking into the box from the right to score that guys. “We have to show respect for the ENGLAND ‘HONOUR’ “Last season, we were the favourites in each who played poorly’ - I say that with a twinkle in a fourth-minute solo goal, which Kelechi others, for the history, for many, many rea- Rangnick is seen as one of Germany’s most (second division) game. This season we have my eye,” said Rangnick with a grin.” Iheanacho cancelled out four minutes later. sons. You have to win that respect through talented managers. He was sounded out about nothing to lose.” — AFP “We’re going to talk about it at the end our performances through the next years. of the season. We know his quality, but the “Now we are there and Monday we are decision is not talking about one game,” going to see the draw and we’re going to Guardiola said when asked about Roberts’s see how is our level in February. future. “It’s for one season. We’re going to “It’s important how our level will be in speak with him, with the managers, February and hopefully it will be good to between each other we’re going to decide. compete against the best teams in Europe.” “But of course he has the good quality of a Celtic were trounced 7-0 by Barcelona in winger, one against one. He worked defen- their first game, but Rodgers said his side’s sively. So he has potential. I’m so happy two draws against City-with whom they about his performance.” Celtic manager shared six goals at Celtic Park in Brendan Rodgers backed Roberts to go on September-augured well. and enjoy a decorated City career. “I’m absolutely delighted with the cam- “I’m sure he’ll come back here in the paign overall,” said the former Liverpool summer and Pep and his staff will have a manager. “Apart from the first game, in the real good look at him,” Rodgers said. main our performance level has been very, “You’ve got a young English talent, a big very good. talent, and I’m sure there’ll be a big career “We competed against two of the super- for him here.” With City already assured of a powers in European football. We haven’t last 16 berth and Celtic doomed to a been beaten by Manchester City. We fourth-place finish in Group C, there was arguably could have won both games. I’m nothing riding on the game. absolutely proud of the team. “It now sets City will learn their next opponents in the standard for us to continue with this Monday’s draw and while Guardiola drew development and look to go on and win satisfaction from home wins over Barcelona the league and be ready to go into the and Borussia Moenchengladbach, he also qualifiers for next season again.” —AFP

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain’s players observe a minute’s silence for the players of the Brazilian Chapecoense football team who died in a plane chrash last week in Colombia ahead the UEFA Champions League Group A football match between Paris Saint-Germain and PCF Ludogorets Former Saints coach behaviour Razgrad at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on Tuesday. — AFP ‘very very wrong’: Le Tissier Runners-up spot leaves LONDON: Former England and Southampton review into whether their body had been star Matt Le Tissier became the highest profile made aware of these allegations at the time- former footballer to make accusations of as the scandal has been labelled the biggest inappropriate behaviour telling the BBC he crisis in English football. PSG in dangerous waters received a ‘naked massage’ from former Saints At present 20 police forces are holding youth coach Bob Higgins. their own investigations after being contact- Higgins, who is still alive unlike several ed by former players and a source told The PARIS: After faltering in the Champions League Nasser al Khelaifi. Defender Thomas Meunier lacked creativity in midfield. To add to their other former coaches who have been subject Observer at the weekend the allegations con- quarter-finals four times in a row, Paris St added: “We will see if it was a failure when we woes, Thiago Motta will be suspended for the to a slew of allegations of abuse over the past cern 55 professional and non league clubs. In Germain could face the prospect of a last-16 exit know the draw, there are teams that could be first leg of their last 16 game. fortnight, was acquitted of sexual abuse other developments The Daily Telegraph after a mediocre performance against good for us,” PSG could also face Leicester City, Despite an under-par performance in the charges in 1992. reported the late Chris Gieler has been Ludogorets saw them finish the group stage in Napoli, Juventus, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, or group phase, where they won only three games, But he was linked to abuse again in a 1997 accused of abuse of apprentices and school- second place. Borussia Dortmund. PSG had shown signs of the team and Emery are still backed by Al Channel Four documentary while the boys at London club Queens Park Rangers PSG needed an extra-time equaliser by Angel weakness at the weekend, losing 3-0 at Khelaifi. “I trust my players and my coach,” he Football League, police and social services over three decades when he was their youth Di Maria to salvage 2-2 home draw against the Montpellier in Ligue 1 in their biggest defeat in said. Emery took over from Laurent Blanc during had warned as early as 1989 he was a danger development officer. Athletics too came into Bulgarian side but that result still allowed over five years, but they failed to react on the close season after the former France coach to children. the spotlight as a former aspiring athlete Roy Arsenal, who beat Basel 4-1, to leap-frog them Tuesday, defending poorly again. led the club to three successive French titles. He has in the past week been accused by Messenger, 55, went public in The Daily into first place in Group A. PSG will now await “It’s a bad result. I am worried because we PSG lie third in Ligue 1, four points behind lead- several former Southampton players and the Telegraph and said he had been raped 50 next Monday’s round of 16 draw anxiously, hop- don’t usually concede so many goals,” said coach ers Nice, whom they face at the Parc des Princes club’s former manager Harry Redknapp, who times between the ages of nine and 12 by the ing to avoid an earlier-than-hoped meeting with Unai Emery. PSG have conceded five goals in on Sunday. “I hope the players will react, it’s was not in charge at the time Higgins was man known as Oxford’s ‘Mr Athletics’ Aubrey either Real Madrid or Barcelona. their last two games - as many as in their 10 pre- important to beat Nice at home,” said Al Khelaifi. there, criticised the Football Association (FA) Harris, including at the track where Roger “Top spot was our goal. We are qualified but vious matches in all competitions. “The squad is experienced enough to deal for not banning him from football. Bannister broke the four minute barrier for we should have won this game. I was expecting In the absence of the suspended Marco with that kind of complicated periods,” said The FA have launched their own internal the mile.—AFP more from the players,” said club president Verratti and the injured Adrien Rabiot, they also Meunier. — Reuters THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 SPORTS Leverkusen seal first win over Monaco in six

LEVERKUSEN: Bayer Leverkusen Morgan de Sanctis sealed the win at the Ukrainian’s first appearance of the sea- penalty for Leverkusen when he was unbeaten with two wins and four draws. earned a first Champions League win BayArena. Regardless of the result, son having suffered a hairline leg frac- fouled in the area. Brazilian left-back This was the first time French league over Monaco at the sixth attempt yester- Monaco progress as Group E winners, a ture in September. Leverkusen doubled Wendell hit the crossbar with the spot side Monaco have lost to Leverkusen day, sealing a 3-0 victory with both sides point ahead of Bayer, who are in the last their lead three minutes after the break. kick, but the ball bounced in to the net after three wins and two draws in already through to the knock-out stages. 16 at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur. Brandt finished off a flowing move as off De Sanctis on 82 minutes. previous meetings. The Germans A first-half strike from Vladlen Leverkusen took a deserved lead on he floated his shot over De Sanctis after It was a bit of luck for Leverkusen, avenged their 1-1 at Monaco in Yurchenko, a well-worked goal by the half hour mark thanks to Yurchenko’s being played into area by Hakan who had failed to convert all four penal- September when they were denied vic- Germany winger Julian Brandt and a late superb curling long-range shot from just Calhanoglu. Australian winger Robbie ties awarded in the Bundesliga this sea- tory when Kamil Glik equalised for the own goal by Monaco goalkeeper outside the area. It was the 22-year-old Kruse came off the bench to win a son. Leverkusen finish the group stages hosts in the 94th-minute. — AFP

Teams qualified for Champions League last 16

LONDON: Teams qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League following yester- day’s final group matches. GROUP WINNERS RUNNERS-UP Arsenal Paris St Germain Napoli Benfica Barcelona Manchester City Atletico Madrid Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen Monaco Real Madrid Borussia Dortmund Porto Leicester City Sevilla Juventus Last-16 draw takes place on Monday. Sevilla withstand Lyon assault, reach last 16

LYON: Sevilla are through to the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in seven years after soaking up the pressure to draw 0-0 away to Lyon yesterday. Lyon- Matches on TV who lost 1-0 in Seville in September and (Local Timings) trailed the Spaniards by three points-need- ed to win by two clear goals to go through UEFA Europa League at Sevilla’s expense from Group H. But they could not find a way through, with Corentin Tolisso and Mathieu Qarabag Agdam v Fiorentina 19:00 Valbuena both hitting the woodwork in the beIN SPORTS 4 HD first half at Parc OL. A big enough defeat PAOK v Slovan Liberecech 19:00 would have seen Sevilla drop down into beIN SPORTS the Europa League, a competition they TURIN: Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain scores a goal during the Uefa Champions League group H soccer match between Juventus and Dinamo Konyaspor v KAA Gent 19:00 have won in each of the last three seasons, Zagreb at the Juventus stadium in Turin, Italy, yesterday. — AP but instead it is Lyon who must settle for beIN SPORTS 6 HD that consolation. Sevilla go through in sec- Sporting Braga v Shakhtar Donetsk19:00 ond place behind Juventus, who beat beIN SPORTS 5 HD Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in Turin, and make it Osmanlispor v Zurich 19:00 Higuain, Rugani strike four Spanish clubs in the knockout stage beIN SPORTS 3 HD with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Villarreal v Steaua Bucurest 19:00 Madrid already having qualified. Lyon were hoping to join Paris Saint-Germain and beIN SPORTS 1 HD Monaco and make it three French repre- Feyenoord Rotterdam v Fenerbahce 21:00 as Juve secure top spot sentatives in the last 16 for the first time, beIN SPORTS 2 HD and had been boosted by the presence of Zorya Lugansk v Manchester 21:00 goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in their starting beIN SPORTS 2 HD TURIN: Gonzalo Higuain hit a slick, second- Cuadrado cross, the Croat was only thwarted Juventus got stagefright when it came to line-up. The Portuguese international was Apoel Nicosia v Olympiacos 21:00 half winner and Daniele Rugani added a late by Leonardo Sigali’s timely intervention. adding to their tally. Despite Higuain standing taken to hospital after firecrackers were beIN SPORTS second as dominant Juventus laboured to a 2- Sigali came to the rescue on the half hour in acres of space on the left flank, Pjanic opted thrown onto the pitch during Lyon’s Ligue 0 Champions League win over Dinamo with a precious toe poke for Livakovic as to send Cuadrado through on the right in a 1 game at Metz at the weekend, which was Young Boys v Astana 21:00 Zagreb that secured top spot in Group H yes- Higuain threatened. Livakovic then got down move that ultimately broke down. subsequently abandoned. beIN SPORTS terday. With qualification for the last 16 low to collect Pjanic’s downward header from Pjanic was in the thick of it again with a Lopes reportedly didn’t sleep for two Anderlecht v Saint Etienne 21:00 nights after the Metz game and suffered already secure, Juventus welcomed the Croats Mandzukic’s pinpoin delivery, and minutes great cross in for Mandzukic but before he beIN SPORTS 6 HD looking for a repeat of their 4-0 romp in later had full-back Gordon Schildenfeld to could tap home Livakovic came bravely out to headaches as well as a feeling of pressure Mainz v Gabala 21:00 inside his ears, but he was passed fit to Zagreb in a bid to beat Sevilla to first place in thank for clearing a loose ball yards from goal smother, requiring treatment for his trouble beIN SPORTS play. He was beaten by Vitolo in the 19th Group H. as Higuain hovered. after clashing with the Croat. minute but there was relief for the hosts as Maccabi Tel Aviv v Dundalk 21:00 The Italian champions had fans on their A Pjanic free kick from 35 yards forced Another counter led by Cuadrado came to the Spain winger’s effort came back off the beIN SPORTS toes throughout a one-sided encounter in Livakovic to parry down low and moments nothing, despite both Pjanic and Higuain call- far post. Lopes could also have conceded a Alkmaar v Petersburg 21:00 chilly Turin, but largely flattered to deceive later Higuain was out of position when ing for service from the Colombian, who was penalty when he brought down Vitolo beIN SPORTS before Higuain broke the deadlock with a clin- Livakovic spilled Mandzukic’s angled drive dispossessed as he tried to dribble his way inside the box but Swedish referee Jonas Viktoria Plzen v Austria Wien 21:00 ical strike seven minutes after the restart. from the right. into the area. Redemption came in the 73rd Eriksson waved away Sevilla’s appeals. beIN SPORTS 12 HD EN It gave Juve a spur, and when Rugani was Juve resumed in positive fashion but minute when Rugani rose to send a bullet Otherwise Lyon dominated the first half on left alone at a corner he rose above the Higuain was wasteful after Mandzukic rose to header past Livakovic down low. Astra Giurgiu v Roma 21:00 a misty night, setting the tone when a first- Dinamo defence to beat Dominik Livakovic head a floated ball in the Argentine’s direc- Juve striker Paulo Dybala made his return time effort by Valbuena had to be turned beIN SPORTS 4 HD down low. tion. Higuain made amends moments later from a six-week injury lay-of when he over by an alert Sergio Rico inside three Sassuolo Calcio v Genk 21:00 Juve’s fourth win in the campaign left the when Mario Lemina’s fancy footwork left the replaced Dybala for the last 10 minutes. But minutes. beIN SPORTS Italians, beaten finalists in 2015, on 14 points, Dinamo defence in tatters before the ball fell despite three shots towards goal, the The French club had a huge appeal for a Rapid Wien v Bilbao 21:00 three ahead of Sevilla after their scoreless kindly for the Argentine to sweep past Argentine was to be denied a fairytale return penalty of their own midway through the beIN SPORTS 3 HD draw in Lyon. Juventus have been ravaged by Livakovic and into the top corner. Again, to action. —AFP first period as Valbuena went down under a injury, the loss of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Mariano challenge that began right on the Panathinaikos v Vigo 23:05 Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini leaving the edge of the box but again the referee gave beIN SPORTS 6 HD nothing. Tolisso headed against the bar Liege v Ajax Amsterdam 23:05 hosts shorn of their feared ‘BBC’ defence. Days before the city derby against Torino from a Rafael cross and Valbuena struck the beIN SPORTS Legia beat Sporting crossbar with a fine first-time shot after a on Sunday, coach Massimiliano Allegri added Red Bull Salzburg v Schalke 23:05 spice when he decided to rest Gianluigi good run by Tolisso as Sevilla withstood the beIN SPORTS 5 HD pressure. Lyon had more than 20 attempts Buffon for Norbert Neto. to earn Europa spot Nice v Krasnodar 23:05 on goal and the majority of the possession Juventus were flying from kick-off, Mario beIN SPORTS 3 HD Mandzukic setting up Miralem Pjanic with a but they lacked the subtlety to break down WARSAW: Legia Warsaw defeated point lead and could have secured third the opposition defence and clear chances Southampton v Hapoel Beer Sheva23:05 deft flick from a long ball in midfield. Sporting Lisbon 1-0 yesterday to clinch place with a draw, played with 10 men were at a premium in the second half. beIN SPORTS The Bosnian found Higuain to his right but Mouctar Diakhaby headed wide from a despite forcing Livakovic down low, the third place in Group F of the Champions from the 85th minute after midfielder Inter Milano v Sparta Prague 23:05 League and secure a spot in the Europa William Carvalho was sent off for a sec- Nabil Fekir corner and Sevilla held on to beIN SPORTS 4 HD Argentine’s drive was blocked. It was an early ensure a first appearance in the last 16 warning, but Juve were wasteful throughout League. ond yellow card. since 2009/10. —AFP the remainder of the first half. Midfielder Guilherme scored from The Portuguese side hasn’t won an Neto was forced into action soon after, the close range in the 30th minute after a away game in the competition since Brazilian reacting well to a snap header from pass by forward Aleksandar Prijovic, The 2008, losing six of its seven games since close range, but had little to do for the strike brought the hosts their first victory then. Borussia Dortmund, which drew remainder. From then on, Juve dominated in since a 1-0 triumph over Blackburn Real Madrid 2-2 in Spain, won the group all departments, the pace of Juan Cuadrado Rovers in 1995, the last time it played in with 14 points, two more than the and creativity of Pjanic proving all too much the competition’s group stage. defending champions. Legia ended with for Ivaylo Petev’s side. When Mandzukic rose Sporting, which arrived with a two- four points and Sporting three. —AP at the edge of the box to meet a superb Copenhagen bow out in style with Bruges win

BRUSSELS: FC Copenhagen scored twice in the opening 15 minutes to secure a 2-0 victory at Club Bruges yester- day, but saw their hopes of a place in the Champions League knockout stages dashed. An own goal by Bruges defender Brandon Mechele and a header from Mathias Jorgensen handed Copenhagen a deserved win at the Jan Breydelstadion that in the end was only good enough for third place in Group G. The Danish side had needed victory and no more than a draw for Porto at home to English champions Leicester City to advance, but saw their hopes of a second round place quashed as the Portuguese side romped to a 5-0 win. Copenhagen, who will now enter the last 32 of the Europa League, scored both their goals from set-pieces whipped into the box by Ludwig Augustinsson. Captain Thomas Delaney got a slight touch to a free kick and the ball deflected into the net off the unlucky Mechele. The visitors doubled their lead when Jorgensen headed LYON: Sevilla’s Adil Rami clears the ball during the Group H Champions League soc- BRUGES: FC Copenhagen’s Erik Johansson (L) and Club Bruges’s Wesley Moraes vie home Augustinsson’s corner. It was another soft goal con- cer match between Lyon and Sevilla at the Lyon stadium in Decines, near Lyon, for the ball during their UEFA Champions League football match at the Jan ceded by the home side, who lost all six of their group France, yesterday. — AP Breydelstadion yesterday in Bruges. — AFP games in this year’s competition. — Reuters Spurs rally, roll Messi or Ronaldo? toward history No thanks, says on the16 road Leipzig18 boss THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

Red cards to be introduced in cricket for unruly conduct Page 17

MADRID: Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, center, heads the ball as he scores his team’s second goal during the Champions League, Group F, soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, yesterday. — AP Dortmund strike late, beat Madrid to top spot

MADRID: Marco Reus’s dramatic equaliser two minutes go for victory despite the possibility of an easier draw Navas before the Costa Rica international produced a ly took one of their chances when captain Marcel from time ensured Borussia Dortmund beat holders by remaining in second with Casemiro and James brilliant stop to turn Andre Schuerrle’s free-kick behind. Schmelzer’s run wasn’t tracked and his low cross was Real Madrid to top spot in Champions League Group F Rodriguez coming into the side in only two changes Another dangerous break moments later saw gratefully tapped home by Aubameyang for his 19th with a pulsating 2-2 draw yesterday. from Saturday’s Clasico. Gonzalo Castro burst through on goal, but he tried to goal in as many games this season. With both sides already qualified, a double from However, Dortmund were well worthy of a point hav- square for Aubameyang and overhit his pass. Cristiano Ronaldo’s week had been dominated by Karim Benzema looked to have Real well set to leapfrog ing created a huge number of chances in an end-to-end unwanted headlines off the field surrounding allega- Dortmund and secure a home tie in the second leg of encounter. RONALDO FRUSTRATED tions he stored millions of euros from image rights in their last-16 tie. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was busy Dortmund were even more profligate at the start of tax havens. However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reduced the early on as he parried a Benzema drive before denying the second period as Ousmane Dembele and Castro And there wasn’t much for the Portuguese to shout arrears before substitute Reus slid in to turn Rodriguez twice in quick succession. fluffed their lines from point-blank range. about as he was held scoreless for a fourth straight Aubameyang’s dangerous low cross high into the net. Benzema wasn’t to be denied on 28 minutes when Benzema should have got his second of the night Champions League game by more Weidenfeller heroics A point does at least ensure Madrid match a club he bundled home Dani Carvajal’s low cross at the back when Weidenfeller produced a brilliant save to parry to turn a rising drive headed for the top corner behind. record 34 games unbeaten in all competitions, while post. Real only went in ahead at the break, though, the Frenchman’s volley. Ronaldo then seemed in disbelief as he struck the Los Blancos are now also ensured of avoiding the likes thanks to a mixture of good goalkeeping from Keylor However, Benzema only had seconds to stew on that base of the post with just Weidenfeller to beat. And that of Bayern Munich, Manchester City or Paris Saint- Navas and wayward finishing from the visitors. miss as moments later he bulleted home a header from miss proved costly as Aubameyang stormed past Sergio Germain in Monday’s draw. American wonder kid Christian Pulisic wasted a great Rodriguez’s inch-perfect cross. Ramos and produced the perfect cross for Reus to slide Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane kept his promise to chance when his weak effort was placed too close to Just when Madrid looked in control, Dortmund final- home the equaliser. — AFP Spurs sink CSKA to earn Porto crush Leicester Europa League berth to ease into last 16 PORTO: Porto eased into the Champions heel finish from Maxi Pereira’s delivery just League knockout stages with an embarrass- before halftime. LONDON: Tottenham rounded off a frustrat- while White Hart Lane is redeveloped, ingly simple 5-0 win over Leicester City’s After a fairytale start to their European ing Champions League campaign with a 3-1 Pochettino was keen for his team to make hapless second-string side in the Estadio do adventures which matched their Premier victory over CSKA Moscow that secured the themselves more at home by beating CSKA. Dragao yestersday. League heroics last season, Leicester, who dubious consolation of a place in the Europa The swathes of empty seats at kick-off sug- With their qualification as Group G vic- had left the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie League. Mauricio Pochettino’s side were gested many Tottenham supporters had tors assured, the English champions rested Vardy at home, were suddenly left with already eliminated from the Champions already made up their minds about the key players, leaving their Portuguese hosts nothing but thoughts of damage limitation. League before yesterday’s final Group E fix- Wembley experience. But the stay-aways to cash in hungrily with a double from They improved markedly but Danny ture, but they finished on a high note with missed Tottenham’s only emphatic perform- Andre Silva and fine strikes from Jesus Drinkwater’s 65th-minute foul on Silva their first victory at Wembley at the third ance of the tournament. Corona, Yacine Brahimi and Diogo Jota. allowed the striker get up and slot home his attempt. Leicester had only conceded one goal in fifth European goal of the season from the After falling behind to Alan Dzagoev’s EXTRA GEAR their previously unbeaten first Champions spot before Jota crashed home a fifth. strike, Tottenham equalised through Deli Alli Early on, Alli headed wide from Christian League campaign but shipped three in 45 Even worse for the hopelessly outclassed and Harry Kane netted in first half stoppage- Eriksen’s cross before Son Heung-Min’s low minutes with Silva starting the rout by visitors, Drinkwater, one of the few first- time before goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev’s own strike was pushed out by CSKA goalkeeper heading home unchallenged from Corona’s team regulars on duty, limped off with an goal sealed the points. Akinfeev. Another flowing Spurs attack saw corner after six minutes. ominous-looking injury. Tottenham ended third in the group and Kyle Walker feed Kane, whose instinctive first- One-way traffic and two brilliant goals With Copenhagen winning at Club Bruges in the other group game, Porto fin- the north Londoners will enter the Europa time pass released Eriksen, only for the Danish ensued, Corona’s magnificent first-time vol- ley from Alex Telles’ cross in the 25th minute ished two points ahead of the Danish side League when the knockout stages begin in winger to shoot straight at Akinfeev. LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s English strik- being followed by Brahimi’s cheeky back- and two adrift of Leicester. — Reuters February. Playing in the less glamourous of Alli wasted a good chance to open the er Harry Kane (2nd L) misses with this head- Europe’s club competitions, with its gruelling scoring when his tame shot from eight yards er during the UEFA Champions League itinerary and far-flung destinations, might be barely forced Akinfeev to move. group E football match between Tottenham something of an unwanted burden for Not for the first time in their strangely Hotspur and CSKA Moscow at Wembley Tottenham given the potential to damage lethargic European campaign, Tottenham Stadium in north London yesterday. — AFP their Premier League ambitions. were punished for a lackadaisical mistake in But the Europa League winners qualify for the 33rd minute. sequence. Eriksen chipped a pass towards the Champions League so Pochettino’s men A high punt towards CSKA’s Zoran Tosic Danny Rose and the left-back’s low cross may yet end up taking it seriously. should have been easy for Jan Vertonghen, found Kane, who wasted no time dispatching CSKA’s failure to hold onto their lead meant but the Spurs defender allowed his opponent a cool shot past Akinfeev for his seventh goal boss Leonid Slutsky was unable to leave to win the header and Dzagoev, unchecked in his last six appearances. Moscow with the parting gift of prolonged by Eric Dier, raced onto the loose ball before Having established the lead, Tottenham involvement in Europe after revealing on firing past Hugo Lloris. looked far more composed after the interval Tuesday that he would quit the Russian cham- Faced with elimination from Europe, and Kane came close to his second goal when pions after the Spurs match. Tottenham found an extra gear and Alli he tested Akinfeev with a lunging volley. Defeats against Monaco and Bayer equalised five minutes later when he con- Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld, back Leverkusen in their other group matches at trolled Eriksen’s cross on the left side of the from a knee injury, came off the bench for his Wembley had played a major role in penalty area and whipped a fine finish into first appearance since October. Tottenham’s exit and contributed to a nega- the far corner. And Tottenham wrapped up only their sec- tive feeling about the stadium among players Tottenham had failed to score more than ond Champions League win this season in the and fans. once in each of their past nine Champions 77th minute when Alli headed goalwards and PORTO: Porto's Andre Silva, right, fights for the ball with Leicester's Wes Morgan But with Tottenham likely to spend the League games, but 30 seconds into first half Akinfeev saved before accidently nudging the during a Champions League group G soccer match between FC Porto and Leicester whole of next season as tenants at Wembley stoppage-time, they ended that dismal ball into his own net. — AFP City at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal yesterday. — AP India holds interest rates steady despite cash chaos Page 23

Bosnian businesses go halal to Business serve Gulf visitors, eye exports THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 Page 26 Egypt sees ‘three-year strategy’ to revive its Monte dei Paschi bolsters European stocks struggling economy Page 24 Page 23

DHAKA: Bangladeshi worker Russel, and who says he will turn 14 next year, works in a garage in Dhaka yesterday. Bangladeshi child laborers who live in slums work for an average of 64 hours a week, many of them in textile fac- tories making clothes for top world brands, a major study said. — AFP Bangladesh child laborers toil 64 hours a week

DHAKA: Bangladeshi child laborers who live tion - a survey of slum settlements in Dhaka”, not regard their employment as illegal. killed at one of the largest spinning factories. children wanted to go to school. “But pover- in slums work for an average of 64 hours a found that two-thirds of girls from slum areas He also admitted that many of his employ- Police probing the factory said they found a ty was driving parents to find jobs for their week, many of them in textile factories making who are working full-time were employed in the ees did not carry identification cards which quarter of the workforce at the factory outside children, even though they could see that it clothes for top world brands, a major study booming garment sector. The findings raised would verify their age. There was no immedi- Dhaka were children. would jeopardize their long-term future,” said yesterday. The new report from the concern over Bangladesh’s $30 billion clothes ate comment from Bangladesh authorities or The ODI report, one of the largest surveys she wrote. The study also found that child London-based Overseas Development manufacturing industry, which is one of the its powerful garment manufacturers, but on child work and education conducted in labor levels rise from around eight percent Institute has found that 15 percent of Dhaka world’s biggest despite a dreadful safety record. union leaders said child labor in factories was Bangladesh, found that by the age of 14 at the age of 10 to 45 percent at the age of slum-dwellers aged between six and 14 did The manager of one unnamed garment factory rampant. The extent of child labor in almost half of the children living in Dhaka’s 14, with 36.1 percent of boys and 34.6 per- not go to school and worked full-time. told researchers that while he was aware chil- Bangladesh’s textile industry was laid bare in slums were working. The report’s co-author cent of girls saying they had experienced The report, entitled “Child labor and educa- dren aged 11-14 should not be working, he did July when a nine-year-old boy was brutally Maria Quattri said researchers found many extreme fatigue. — AFP UAE outperforms Free weddings, gravestones MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates outper- in Turks’ plan to boost lira formed the region yesterday while investors booked profits in Saudi Arabian petrochemical shares and Egyptian blue chips. Dubai’s main index closed 1.3 percent higher in ANKARA: Convert your hard currency to Turkish lira and assets abroad, “it’s not going to have a huge impact on er interest rates to boost Turkey’s growth, even though healthy volume as some large and mid-sized shares, which you could enjoy a free wedding package, a meal and a our balance of payments or on the value of the currency”. the central bank is theoretically independent. had been relatively quiet so far this week, gained. Emaar loaf of bread. Or even a gravestone. These incentives are Yesterday, the lira was trading at 3.42 to the dollar after The president also said trade with Russia, China and Properties rose 2.4 percent. being offered by Turkish businessmen to customers who rallying slightly this week. It had traded at 2.9 to the dollar Iran should be done in local currencies. But Yesilada said A Dubai-based stock broker said she was seeing signifi- respond to a call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to at the start of the year. they are “not a huge part” of Turkey’s trade thus any cant buy orders from foreign investors. In Abu Dhabi, buy lira and prop up the ailing national currency. His plea impact-even if they agreed-would not be “major”. “Fifty investors bid up two banks that were expected to obtain has met with a huge response-from kebab shop owners ‘Economic coup’ percent of our trade is with the EU, that’s not going to shareholder approval yesterday for their previously to the defense industry-although economists doubt the With growth stuttering and the lira under pressure, change,” he said. But he added that offering tenders in announced merger. First Gulf Bank rose 5.4 percent and campaign will have any lasting impact. Erdogan has turned preserving Turkey’s economic stabili- Turkish lira was a positive step. “It’s a good idea to sell National Bank of Abu Dhabi rose 2.8 percent. The main Abu Gokhan Kuk, a baker in Istanbul said he started offer- ty into a national struggle, like the defeat of the July assets in Turkish lira and to contract tenders in lira. This is Dhabi index added 1.8 percent. Real-estate related shares ing free bread to those changing $250 into Turkish lira. coup.”They are trying to stage a coup through interest sensible.” Turkey’s privatization authority confirmed on were the top gainers in Qatar’s main index which added 0.1 “With the help of God, we will raise the lira and annihilate rates, stock exchange and foreign currency transactions,” Tuesday tenders would henceforth be offered in the local percent. United Development and Mazaya Qatar each rose the dollar,” he said, sitting in his office decorated with sev- Erdogan said on Sunday. He has repeatedly called for low- currency. — AFP 2.1 percent. Activity in other shares was quiet. eral portraits of Erdogan. “I do not win anything with this initiative... The only interest is to support our country as Saudi, Egypt the president asked.” A few shops away, Bulent Baydeniz, In Saudi Arabia, the general stock index pulled back 0.4 who sells Turkish meat patties, offers a free meal for every percent as the petrochemical sector, which had lifted the $250 changed. “After I heard the president of the republic, market higher over the last several days, weakened. I understood that this could help the country.” In the Investors booked profits in most oil producers, suggesting southeastern city of Gaziantep, businessman Fatih Demir the market had fully factored in last week’s OPEC deal to is offering a free 5,000 lira ($1,460) wedding package if curb oil output and prop up crude prices. Heavyweight people prove they converted $10,000 into lira. “We are Saudi Basic Industries lost 1.6 percent. Zain Saudi fell 0.6 doing this after the president’s call to give support for the percent after the company said its chief executive Hassan lira to gain greater value,” Demir said. For those at the end Kabbani had resigned and it had appointed Peter of their life in the northwestern city of Bursa, Enes Alan Kaliaropoulos as his successor. says he is offering free gravestones worth 750 lira ($220) But Saudi Investment Bank added 1.0 percent after the for those who convert $2,000. company said its board had recommended an increase of the bank’s capital through bonus shares, to be paid for ‘No huge impact’ through the transfer of retained earnings. Egypt’s index main retreated 1.3 percent as trading volume jumped by But it is not just small business owners who are joining roughly 50 percent from the previous session. Ninety per- the campaign-Erdogan also urged shopping mall owners cent of the 30 most liquid shares closed down. Orascom to pay rent in lira for the sake of patriotism. The religious Telecom, which has been hammered since Sunday’s news affairs agency said Turkish Muslims had to pay for pilgrim- that its chief executive will step down next month and it ages in lira and the Istanbul Stock Exchange said its cash would wind up a North Korean bank affiliate, fell a further assets would be converted to the local currency. The flow 7.2 percent and was the most heavily traded stock. of patriotic conversions continued on Wednesday as the “Shares in OTMT have almost doubled since October, so energy market’s regulatory authority said natural gas dis- this sell-off is not only specific to this week’s news, it’s part tribution tenders would be offered in lira. of the overall sell-off seen across the broader market today,” And the government said its defense industry support said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Cairo’s Naeem fund had converted $262.7 million and 31.3 million euros Brokerage. Shares in most Egyptian stocks have enjoyed into lira. The drive has been propped up by a campaign spectacular performances since authorities ditched the on social media with the hashtag #doviziniturkiyeicinboz Egyptian pound’s US dollar peg on Nov 3. Foreign institu- (Change your foreign currency for Turkey). Economist tional funds, which have been net buyers of Egyptian shares Atilla Yesilada of consultancy Istanbul Analytics suggested since the float, remained buyers yesterday, exchange data the president’s call would have a limited impact on the ISTANBUL: A customer shows a dollars exchange receipt to backer Gokhan Kuk (right) for free bread in Istanbul. showed. “Sentiment has not shifted, the market is simply lira because “the problem is Erdogan’s voters are usually Convert your hard currency to Turkish lira and you could enjoy a free wedding package, a meal and a loaf of bread. Or taking a breather,” said Sandeep. — Reuters from the lower income classes” unlikely to have much even a gravestone. These incentives are being offered by Turkish businessmen to customers who respond to a call wealth to convert. With richer Turks more likely to transfer from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to buy lira and prop up the ailing national currency. — AFP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 BUSINESS Investors see cause for worry in Turkey’s divided economic team AK Party legacy built on economic growth

ANKARA: The Turkish government’s eleventh- markets don’t have transparency or visibility they he has recently shown some sympathy with the hour rescheduling of a meeting of its economic tend to assume the worst.” reformist camp, although he maintains his alle- team to include the president last month was giance to Erdogan. another stark reminder for investors: When it Last-minute change “I am the current chairman of the EKK, and the comes to policy, Tayyip Erdogan likes to call the When Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, an person who will speak about the economy after shots. Erdogan’s drive for lower interest rates has Erdogan stalwart who is generally seen as being me is... Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek,” rattled financial markets and, along with alarm aligned with the populists, last month abruptly Yildirim said in a recent interview with state about the crackdown after the July coup and a rescheduled a meeting of the Economic broadcaster TRT. “In situations when I am not stronger dollar, contributed to the lira currency Coordination Committee (EKK), sources in his present, he is the one who has all the say and losing a fifth of its value this year. Officials say this office cited a scheduling conflict. However, some responsibility regarding the economy.” All the has widened a rift in the economic team between analysts saw the last-minute change as a move by while, Erdogan has been unrelenting in calling reformists who want more to be done to appease Erdogan to stamp his authority on a meeting on the central bank to lower interest rates. “Those international investors - such as Deputy Prime where weakness in the lira was due to be dis- in the financial sector can sit comfortably... but Minister Mehmet Simsek and Finance Minister cussed. Erdogan, who as president is supposed to the real investor is unfortunately experiencing Naci Agbal - and populists such as Deputy Prime be above party politics, does not normally attend hardship. So I say: ‘Drop these rates, brother,’” he Minister Nurettin Canikli and Economy Minister meetings of the EKK. An official at the presidency said a speech on Saturday to mark the opening Nihat Zeybekci. said there was nothing unusual in his attendance of a new shopping centre in Istanbul. Adding to the confusion is the central bank, at the rescheduled meeting. “The economy is very Investors are still trying to figure out the posi- which raised rates for the first time in nearly three important and President Erdogan just wanted to tion of the central bank under Murat Cetinkaya, years last month, despite Erdogan’s appeals. discuss the latest developments and measures. who was only appointed in April. Policy is decid- “There isn’t complete harmony among the eco- Such a meeting is not an exceptional issue for the ed by the seven-member monetary policy com- nomic leadership. On one side, there are those government, officials, or President Erdogan him- mittee which includes the governor, four deputy who are attuned to the needs of the global econ- self,” the official said. governors and two other appointees. Erdogan, omy and act as anchors for the markets. On the In the past, the AKP was seen as being able to who has described himself as an “enemy” of other, there are those who want more national balance populist rhetoric with the needs of finan- interest rates, says the central bank is independ- economic policies,” a senior official from the ruling cial markets - delivering hospitals, roads and air- ent but he has a right to criticize it. The bank ini- AK Party said. “It seems Simsek and Agbal are ports, and ensuring growth and jobs, while tially cut rates following Cetinkaya’s appoint- anchors in the eyes of the markets, and they are remaining sensitive to the needs of markets. ment, in line with Erdogan’s demands. Last crucial for the Turkish economy to be understood Lately, investors aren’t so sure. “Until now, they month’s rate hike, however, was seen as appeas- internationally.” could always come to a compromise of some ing the markets. The party has relied on the economy’s strong sort, and resolve their differences. But now, there As the lira has hit a series of record lows, growth as the pillar of its success. Divisions are concerns they cannot find middle ground Erdogan has responded by urging Turks to cash among its top ranks could not come at a more and that the divisions could continue to get out their foreign currency holdings and buy inopportune time, both for Turkey’s economic worse. This is the risk that has markets worried,” a either lira or gold. For the time being, that may stability, and the party itself, as slowing growth local banker said. be the only boost to the lira. “This kind of disso- and stubborn inflation risk undermine its achieve- nance between the president’s concept of inter- ments in the eyes of voters. Officials at Simsek Who’s in charge? est rate policy and that of the market is creating and Agbal’s offices were not immediately avail- Yildirim, who replaced Ahmet Davutoglu as a huge obstacle for the central bank to intervene able for comment. “The policy setting is not trans- prime minister in May after widespread reports and stabilize the currency,” said Phoenix Kalen, parent,” said Dan Raghoonundon, an emerging of divisions between Davutoglu and Erdogan director of emerging markets strategy at Societe markets portfolio manager at Janus Capital. “It’s over the economy, has gone to lengths to say he Generale. There was likely to be “much more very hard to know who is in charge and when is in charge of the economic team. Officials say pain” for the lira ahead, Kalen said. —Reuters

Representatives from Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) and The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) take group photo after the press conference. Etihad Aviation Group makes major commitment to health of its staff

KUWAIT: Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) will intro- Middle East 2016 in Abu Dhabi, Dr Bastaki added: through special training ahead of EAG’s launch of duce healthier Weqaya-approved meal options to “This is a major undertaking by EAG and demon- nine Weqaya menu options across six staff restau- its staff restaurants after signing an agreement strates our commitment to a healthier workforce rants this month. with The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD). and to the reduction of health conditions in the Dr Al Hajeri added: “Our collaboration with The agreement represents a significant commit- community linked to a poor diet. We would like to EAG today, is an important milestone in promot- ment by EAG to the wellbeing of its employees, thank HAAD for their guidance and support.” ing the Weqaya Nutrition Program, and encourag- while contributing to a healthier community in its Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, Director of Public Health ing its adoption across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. home of Abu Dhabi. The “Weqaya” logo, the offi- and Research at HAAD, said: “HAAD is ramping up We will continue to work diligently with all our cial mark of healthy eating in Abu Dhabi, is only its efforts to fulfil its vision for “a healthier Abu partners in both the public and private sector to permitted on foods and at food outlets that meet Dhabi” by promoting a healthy food culture in our ensure a smooth implementation and adoption strict requirements on preparation and ingredi- community and ultimately increasing demand for of healthy food specifications at food supply com- ents, as governed by HAAD. Weqaya labelling can it. In parallel to its awareness-raising efforts to panies, cafes, restaurants and market stores.” be displayed when food items, such as a salad or increase demand, HAAD is also ensuring the avail- The Weqaya Nutrition Program was launched sandwich, contain less than 750 calories, are low ability of healthy food options across the Emirate in September 2013 to raise awareness about in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, and high in of Abu Dhabi and making them easier to identify healthy food items available at food outlets in fibre, among other specifications. through the “Weqaya” logo. the Emirate, while encouraging outlets to Dr Nadia Bastaki, Etihad Aviation Group Vice We will continue to stress that besides regular increase their healthy offerings. HAAD collaborat- President Medical Services, said: “We have been physical activity, healthy eating habits are a criti- ed with the Quality Conformity Council (QCC) working closely with HAAD for many months to cal component of leading a healthier lifestyle.” and Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) understand the Weqaya requirements and incor- Etihad Aviation Group, in collaboration with to update the standards. The program will help porate them into our business so that our staff HAAD, held training sessions for Etihad food han- contribute to the effective reduction of risk fac- restaurants offer food of the highest nutritional dlers on how to prepare healthy food, according tors associated with major non-communicable quality and employees can quickly identify what to Weqaya food specifications. So far, more than diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and choices are best for their health.” Speaking at SIAL 50 chefs and food and beverage staff have gone high blood pressure. EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Sterling Pound 388.630 Nepalese Rupees 3.800 Hong Kong Dollar 0.037316 0.040066 Canadian dollar 231.120 Malaysian Ringgit 69.630 Indian Rupee 0.000244 0.005500 Turkish lira 89.110 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024 ASIAN COUNTRIES Chinese Yuan Renminbi 41.235 Swiss Franc 304.740 Japanese Yen 0.002589 0.002769 Japanese Yen 2.680 Thai Bhat 9.555 Australian Dollar 228.930 Kenyan Shilling 0.002990 0.002990 Indian Rupees 4.515 Turkish Lira 87.065 US Dollar Buying 304.450 Korean Won 0.000251 0.000266 Pakistani Rupees 2.920 Malaysian Ringgit 0.064993 0.070993 Srilankan Rupees 2.062 GOLD Bahrain Exchange Company Nepalese Rupee 0.002837 0.003007 Nepali Rupees 2.812 20 Gram 239.11 Pakistan Rupee 0.002659 0.002949 Singapore Dollar 215.700 10 Gram 122.48 Philippine Peso 0.006097 0.006397 Hongkong Dollar 39.408 CURRENCY BUY SELL 5 Gram 62.08 Sierra Leone 0.000052 0.000058 Bangladesh Taka 3.835 Europe Singapore Dollar 0.209376 0.219376 Philippine Peso 6.157 British Pound 0.380067 0.390067 South African Rand 0.016313 0.024813 Thai Baht 8.604 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Czech Korune 0.004093 0.016093 Danish Krone 0.039950 0.044950 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001640 0.002220 Euro 0. 321998 0.330998 Taiwan 0.009453 0.009633 GCC COUNTRIES Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Norwegian Krone 0.032262 0.037462 Thai Baht 0.008245 0.008795 Saudi Riyal 81.561 US Dollar 305.100 Romanian Leu 0.072657 0.072657 Qatari Riyal 84.004 Canadian Dolla 230.445 Slovakia 0.009157 0.019157 Arab ani Riyal 795.309 Sterling Pound 390.340 Swedish Krona 0.029383 0.034383 Bahraini Dinar 0.804171 0.812671 Bahraini Dinar 812.140 Euro 330.010 Swiss Franc 0.296080 0.307080 Egyptian Pound 0.015613 0.024866 UAE Dirham 83.261 Swiss Frank 285.180 Turkish Lira 0.083891 0.094191 Iranian Riyal 0.000085 0.000086 Bahrain Dinar 808.795 Iraqi Dinar 0.000180 0.000240 ARAB COUNTRIES UAE Dirhams 83.460 Jordanian Dinar 0.426047 0.435047 Egyptian Pound - Cash 23.000 Australasia Qatari Riyals 84.680 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 17.180 Australian Dollar 0.218700 0.230700 Saudi Riyals 82.285 Lebanese Pound 0.000152 0.000252 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.228 New Zealand Dollar 0.21155 0.220655 Jordanian Dinar 431.490 Moroccan Dirhams 0.020100 0.044100 Tunisian Dinar 133.760 Egyptian Pound 17.561 America Nigerian Naira 0.000400 0.001035 Jordanian Dinar 430.710 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.058 Canadian Dollar 0.224493 0.233493 Omani Riyal 0.787475 0.793155 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.038 Indian Rupees 4.487 Georgina Lari 0.138049 0.138049 Qatar Riyal 0.083143 0.084593 Syrian Lira 2.179 Pakistani Rupees 2.910 US Dollars 0.301550 0.306250 Saudi Riyal 0.080420 0.081720 Morocco Dirham 31.030 Bangladesh Taka 3.871 US Dollars Mint 0.302050 0.306250 Syrian Pound 0.001296 0.001516 Philippines Pesso 6.148 Tunisian Dinar 0.130383 0.138383 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Cyprus pound 167.550 Asia Turkish Lira 0.083891 0.094191 US Dollar Transfer 305.650 Japanese Yen 3.680 Bangladesh Taka 0.003373 0.003957 UAE Dirhams 0.081793 0.083493 Euro 329.340 Syrian Pound 2.430 Chinese Yuan 0.042953 0.046453 Yemeni Riyal 0.001012 0.001092 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 BUSINESS China warns against ‘irrational’ overseas acquisitions SHANGHAI: China has urged domestic The wave of overseas investment this $6.5 billion for 16 luxury properties from companies to avoid “irrational” overseas year has complicated efforts by Beijing hedge fund Blackstone. investments following a record-setting to stem capital outflows, which are put- Chinese companies have increasingly buying spree that has worried authori- ting downward pressure on the yuan. gone abroad for investment opportuni- ties about capital outflows and rash Chinese mergers and acquisitions ties as domestic growth slows and the spending. The rebuke carried by the abroad in the first eight months of the government has encouraged firms to Xinhua news agency did not single out year reached $61.7 billion, surpassing seek technology, resources and market particular firms but highlighted areas those for all of 2015, official data showed access overseas. such as sports, hotels and entertainment recently. Among the more high-profile “One of the reasons regulators are where there have been major deals deals are Wanda Group’s purchase of doing this is because the yuan (currency) involving Chinese groups. Hollywood studio Legendary for $3.5 bil- has been under depreciation pressure “We advise such companies to make lion, as well as London-based Odeon & and it is hard to control capital outflows,” cautious decisions,” according to a joint UCI cinema group in a deal worth said Li Jiachao, marketing director for statement issued by the Ministry of around $1.2 billion. The Chinese proper- mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Commerce and other agencies and pub- ty-to-entertainment conglomerate also DealGlobe. China’s foreign exchange lished late Tuesday. “Regulatory depart- paid more than one billion euros for reserves plunged by $69 billion in ments are also closely watching the irra- Swiss-based Infront Sports & Media. November to $3.05 trillion, its fifth tional tendency in overseas investment Appliance giant Midea took over leading straight monthly contraction and the in fields including real estate, hotels, cin- German robotics firm Kuka for $5 billion, largest month-on-month decline since emas, entertainment, and sports clubs.” and insurer-turned-hotelier Anbang paid BEIJING: A woman uses her mobile phone outside a hotel in Beijing yesterday. — AFP January. — AFP News Australia economy in a rare in brief

Iran to sign oil and gas contraction; spending falls deals with Total, Shell TEHRAN: Iran was set to sign preliminary agreements with Total and Shell yesterday to Economy shrinks 0.5% in Q3 develop major oil and gas fields as it seeks to boost its output, an oil official said. The deals include a $10-12 billion expansion of the South SYDNEY: Australia’s economy contracted for just the fourth Azadegan oil field and another project at the quarter in 25 years, official data showed yesterday, slowing Yadavaran oil field, both in southwestern Iran, the annual growth rate to 1.8 percent amid weaker govern- as well as an offshore gas field near Kish Island ment and consumer spending on top of softer trade figures. in the Gulf. The official, speaking on condition The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.5 percent con- of anonymity, did not specify how the projects traction for the September quarter. It was the weakest figure would be divided between France’s Total and in eight years-despite the recent upswing in commodity Anglo-Dutch giant Shell. The agreements are prices-and underlined the challenges facing a country in tran- only preliminary and must be finalized in the sition from a mining investment boom. coming months, the official said. The decision “The contraction in real GDP (gross domestic product) to award major energy projects to foreign firms recorded in the September quarter is not just a reminder, not caused some controversy when the tenders just a wake-up call or a warning about being complacent were first announced in October. A senior com- when it comes to economic growth,” Treasurer Scott Morrison mander in the paramilitary Revolutionary told reporters in Canberra. “It is a demand to support eco- Guards, which has extensive economic inter- nomic policies that drive the investment needed... to survive ests in the energy sector, said it was a “disgrace” in a tough and competitive environment.” The latest figures-at for Iranian firms to be subordinated to foreign- the lower end of forecasts-came after a stellar second-quarter ers in the proposed contracts. But the oil min- report that saw the economy expand by a revised 0.6 percent istry says foreign capital and know-how are for 3.1 percent year-on-year, to mark a quarter of a century vital to expanding the country’s energy sector. that Australia has avoided recession. The Australian dollar fell about half a US cent to 74.25 cents. “It was even weaker-than-expected, and consumer Credit Suisse steps up (spending) was a big disappointment,” JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said. “We are of the view that the RBA (Reserve its cost cutting drive Bank of Australia) is going to have to ease to keep growth at a ZURICH: Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s sec- satisfactory level.” Government investment fell by 0.2 percent ond-biggest bank, said yesterday it was for July-September, while household spending grew by a slow stepping up its cost cutting drive as market 0.4 percent. Net exports detracted 0.2 percentage points from turbulence would crimp the performance of growth. The central bank on Tuesday held interest rates at a its wealth management units. The bank said record-low 1.50 percent, with governor Philip Lowe noting it now aims to make 4.2 billion Swiss francs “some slowing in the year-ended growth rate is likely, before SYDNEY: Construction personnel work on a building site in central Sydney yesterday. Australia’s economy contracted (3.8 billion euros, $4.2 billion) in savings by it picks up again”. for just the fourth quarter in 25 years, official data showed, slowing the annual growth rate to 1.8 percent amid weaker the end of 2018, up from its previous target government and consumer spending on top of softer trade figures. — AFP of 3.8 billion. It said it aims to reduce opera- Sustained weakness? weakness. Construction and government spending look set to Callow said. AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver tional costs to 17 billion Swiss francs by The Australian economy has charted a bumpy path since improve for the next quarter, while rebounding commodity expected Australia to avoid a recession, although growth was 2018, instead of 18 billion. Credit Suisse has the end of the mining investment boom, with the data show- prices should feed through to better export numbers, “still likely to be fragile and constrained”. Inflation also remains been undergoing a massive cost-cutting ing that resources spending was continuing to fall while busi- Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow said. well off the RBA’s target range of 2.0-3.0 percent, giving the program since Tidjane Thiam, a former insur- ness investment was weak. The RBA has eased rates by 300 Australians’ willingness to spend has been dampened by slow central bank scope to ease further. Despite the negative quar- er, took the helm in October last year. It basis points since November 2011 - including two cuts this wage growth while the third-quarter period also coincided ter, Australia’s economy was still powering forward in compar- shook up its structure, pivoting away from year-to support growth in non-resources industries. The focus with the fiercely fought federal election and a protracted vote ison to developed world peers, Morrison said. “Our annual real risky investment banking towards wealth now shifts to the October-December figures. Two consecutive count that may have left consumers unwillingly to loosen the growth is still higher than six out of the world’s G7 economies, management. But the bank lowered the quarters of negative growth would meet the technical param- purse strings, he added. “Almost everything that could have second only to the United Kingdom. Higher than the US, earnings target for its wealth management eters for a recession, but analysts say the latest disappointing gone wrong has gone wrong in the same quarter, which at Canada, Japan, Germany, and higher than the OECD average,” unit, saying “we have seen major changes in data is more likely to be a one-off than a sign of sustained least raises the hope that there’s a sharp rebound in Q4,” he said. — AFP the market environment and political out- look, which have negatively impacted the market-dependent portion of our targets.” It Egypt sees ‘3-year strategy’ to now expects the international wealth man- agement unit to earn 1.8 billion Swiss francs in 2018, down from its earlier target of 2.1 revive its struggling economy billion, due to lower commissions on asset management. CAIRO: Egypt has an ambitious three-year reform rely on any borrowing from international financial plan that, with foreign help, can revive its strug- institutions” in the long run, she said. gling economy, the minister of international coop- UK industrial output eration said. In an interview, Sahar Nasr said the ‘Three pillars’ of reform unexpectedly drops “three-year strategy” will lead to a return of invest- The international aid is “to improve Egyptians’ LONDON: Britain’s industrial production has tak- ments, boost industrial production and create living standards”, she said, in a country where 27.8 en an unexpected tumble, hurt by a sharp slide jobs. It comes as Egypt faces not only falling percent live below the poverty line and public in oil and gas extraction, official data showed growth and a currency crisis following years of debt is nearing 100 percent of Gross Domestic yesterday. Output sank 1.3 percent in October political turmoil, but also increasing public discon- Product. The goal is a return to sustainable eco- compared with activity in September, the Office tent over rising prices. nomic growth of six percent by 2018, compared for National Statistics (ONS) revealed in a state- “Once these reforms are all in place, there will with 3.5 percent in the first half of this year. The ment. That confounded market expectations for be a positive impact on the economy, and on the government’s reform plan is based on “three pil- a slight gain. Over 12 months, it was down by social front,” Nasr said. “Especially in the medium lars”, Nasr said. and long term.” The economy of Egypt, the most The first is to boost private sector investment. 1.1 percent. Production was hurt by the shut- NEW DELHI: Indian laborers walk past an elephant and others working in a field on a populous Arab country, has faced major chal- “The key of the reform program is improving the down of the Buzzard North Sea oil field-one of cold foggy morning in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP Britain’s biggest-which was closed for mainte- lenges since the 2011 ouster of longtime ruler business environment, encouraging industrializa- nance, the ONS noted. Manufacturing output, Hosni Mubarak. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, tion, and also promoting exports,” she said. which excludes mining and quarrying, electrici- who took power after the 2013 overthrow of his The second is restructuring the budget, includ- India holds interest rates ty, gas and water supply, slid 0.9 percent in Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi, has vowed ing by cutting subsidies, which represent 7.9 per- October from the previous month, dented by to get the economy back on track. cent of government spending. “On social housing, steady despite cash chaos falling pharmaceuticals production. The ONS His government has sought help abroad and on subsidies were initially going to the developers November 11 the International Monetary Fund and we moved from this supply side to the added that it decreased by 0.4 percent year-on- NEW DELHI: India’s central bank left inter- Analysts expect a further dip in those approved a $12 billion loan to Egypt over the next demand side, so that subsidies would be effec- year. “October saw a sharp fall in UK oil output, est rates unchanged at 6.25 percent yester- numbers driven by a spending slowdown three years. The country will also benefit from the tively targeted to the low-income or middle- largely down to the total shutdown of the major day, defying expectations of a cut follow- after most of India’s currency was with- release of the first tranche of a $1 billion World Bank income households in a very transparent and Buzzard oil field,” said ONS senior statistician ing the government’s shock move to with- drawn from circulation last month by the loan and the deposit by the African Development effective manner,” Nasr said. The third pillar is Katie Davies. “Small falls in output across a range draw high-denomination banknotes from government in an effort to bring back bil- Bank of the first tranche of a $1.5 billion loan. Cairo monetary reform, she said, describing it as “a of sectors also contributed to a drop in overall circulation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lions in so-called ‘black’, or undeclared, is also finalizing an $800 million loan with the major step in terms of economic stability”. Egypt manufacturing.” said the benchmark repo rate-the level at money into the formal system. The move European Union. Nasr said the aid programs are floated its currency on November 3, which was which it lends to commercial banks-would unleashed chaos and a spending crunch helpful but will provide only temporary support. followed by a devaluation from the fixed rate of stay steady after it was cut to 6.25 percent across sectors. Ratings agency Fitch has Donors are “helping Egypt to stand on solid ground, 8.8 pounds per dollar to a traded rate of 18 in October. already lowered its India growth forecast BMW to compensate helping Egypt not to rely on foreign aid, and not to pounds per dollar last week. — AFP its Australian clients Lower interest rates boost consumer for the current fiscal year from 7.4 percent SYDNEY: German car giant BMW has spending, which is likely to see a sharp to 6.9 percent, saying the cash crunch will agreed to pay Aus$77 million (US$57 mil- downturn in the wake of the government’s bring “temporary disruptions” to economic lion) to compensate thousands of so called demonetization scheme but it can activity. Ashutosh Datar, an economist at Australians who were misled into taking also cause an uptick in inflation. “The MPC IIFL Institutional Equities, said he was sur- loans they could not afford in the country’s (monetary policy committee) was of the prised the RBI had not taken action to largest consumer payback scheme. The view that given the reduction of policy rate boost consumer spending. Australian Securities and Investments of 25 basis points in October... a further “This is a negative surprise for sure. I was Commission said at least 15,000 customers reduction in the policy rate is not warrant- expecting a 50 basis points rate cut and may have “suffered hardship as a result of ed at this juncture,” RBI governor Urjt Patel they’ve done nothing,” he said. “Since the BMW Finance’s compliance failure”. ASIC told reporters. impact of the demonetization is unclear, I deputy chairman Peter Kell highlighted The central bank also lowered its out- expected them to be proactive and do a BMW’s “sales-driven culture that failed to look for gross value added growth from 7.6 rate cut. They’e done the exact opposite by comply with the requirements of the credit percent to 7.1 percent. GVA is different deciding to wait and watch.” However Sunil laws and resulted in poor outcomes for from gross domestic product, the measure Sinha, principal economist at rating agency many consumers. “We are encouraged that typically used to show a country’s econom- India Ratings & Research, said that the deci- BMW Finance has recognized these short- ic growth. However, it is indicative of how sion to keep rates unchanged was logical. comings and agreed to a remediation pro- the GDP could move, although not by the “RBI had already accounted for inflation in gram that will see thousands of consumers same amount. Pressure to cut rates mount- the last monetary policy and a further rate compensated,” Kell said in a statement ed last week, with analysts expecting a 25 cut was not warranted,” said Sinha. released Tuesday. “This is an example of the basis points cut after India reported a low- Speaking alongside Patel, the RBI’s staggering cost of poor business practices.” er-than-expected 7.3 percent growth of deputy governor Rama Subramaniam BMW said yesterday it was actively working GDP in the three months to the end of Gandhi insisted there was no reason for with Australian authorities to meet its regu- September. While that is better than most consumers to panic despite the lack of cash latory commitments. CAIRO: Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr works at her office major economies, it is still lower than earli- and said machines were working flat out to in Cairo. — AFP er predictions. print more notes. — AFP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 BUSINESS Monte dei Paschi bolsters European stocks

LONDON: European shares followed Asian stocks The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.0730. It fell as higher yesterday, buoyed by reports Italy would step low as $1.0505 on Monday in reaction to the referen- in to rescue troubled bank Monte dei Paschi and dum before hitting a three-week high the same day. expectations the European Central Bank would “People had gone into the referendum with a very extend its bond-buying stimulus scheme this week. pessimistic view and I think the last five years have Italian government bond yields fell, narrowing the taught us that, as far as the euro is concerned, political premium investors demand to hold them rather than issues often don’t have a lasting impact,” DZ Bank cur- benchmark German debt, to its tightest for about a rency analyst Sonja Marten said. The dollar index, month. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 which measures the US currency against a basket of percent, led by banks, and Italy’s FTSE MIB share index six of its major peers, was marginally down on the day. gained 1.2 percent, hitting its highest for six months. The yen fell 0.3 percent to 114.13 per dollar, approach- Shares in Monte dei Paschi, Italy’s oldest bank and ing a 10-month low. the focus of investor concerns over the country’s Many market participants were looking to the banking sector, rose 9 percent. Reuters reported ECB’s policy meeting today, at which it is widely exclusively on Tuesday that Italy was preparing to take expected to announce an extension of its quantitative a 2-billion-euro controlling stake in the bank as easing program. Uncertainty remains over whether prospects of a private funding rescue faded following the size of monthly purchases will be kept steady or Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s decision to resign. scaled back, and over whether it will send a formal Investors’ concerns were that a defeat for Renzi in a signal on the eventual end of the program. One of the referendum on constitutional reforms could further biggest movers in the currency markets was the undermine faith in the European Union - following Australian dollar, down 0.4 percent after data showed Britain’s decision to quit the bloc - as well as confi- the Australian economy shrank by 0.5 percent, its dence in the euro currency. biggest contraction since 2008, in the third quarter. Market reaction to Renzi’s defeat and his resigna- Australian stocks, however, closed 0.9 percent tions was relatively muted, partly as a consequence of higher in anticipation of more fiscal and monetary a pledge by the ECB to buy Italian government debt if stimulus. While rate futures imply scant chance of a markets became unsettled. “Despite the fact that the Reserve Bank interest rate cut in the coming months, probability of early elections has risen, the market is prospects of a hike vanished. MSCI’s broadest index focusing on the banking sector and the fact the gov- of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4 percent TOKYO: People are reflected on the electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo. — AP ernment seems to be showing more urgency in deal- while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.7 percent. Chinese ing with that problem,” Mizuho strategist Antoine shares gained 0.7 percent. China’s foreign exchange central bank. The currency is down 5 percent so far Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 30 Bouvet said. Italian 10-year government bond yields reserves fell by more than expected last month to this year. Oil prices fell as investors questioned cents to $53.63 a barrel. “Investors are torn between fell 6 basis points (bps) to 1.92 percent yestersday, $3.05 trillion, their lowest since 2011, the central whether a deal to cut output agreed last week by hopes that producers will cut enough production to having hit 2.17 percent in the run-up to the vote. bank said. the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting balance supply and demand, and fears that they Yields on German 10-year debt, the euro zone bench- The yuan currency last stood at 6.8850 to the Countries (OPEC) and others would be enough to won’t,” brokerage PVM Oil Associates’ senior analyst, mark, fell 1 bps to 0.36 percent. dollar, compared to a mid-point of 6.8808 set by the drain that global glut that has pushed prices lower. Tamas Varga, said. — Reuters

Cab-hailing company Careem launches women drivers in conservative Pakistan

KARACHI: Taxi-hailing service Careem has a global force of 90,000-plus drivers introduced women drivers in Pakistan yes- and more than four million users regis- terday, a rare initiative in a deeply conserva- tered through its mobile app. In the swel- tive Muslim country where women account tering southern city of Karachi, among for only 22 percent of the workforce. Careem’s largest markets, demand for Careem has a larger market share than rival secure taxis is particularly strong among Uber in most of the 32 cities in the Middle women, Usman said. “If an organization is East, North Africa and Pakistan region in offering security for women ... naturally which it operates. Now it has a new idea for that is very important,” said driver Aasia Pakistan: taxis driven by women, who will Abdul Aziz, 46, when asked why she pick up both male and female customers. chose to work for Careen. The start-up operates in the Pakistani cities “Especially in a city like Karachi where of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. “We want no work can be done in the absence of to give women the same opportunities and proper security.” Aziz said she had worked the same chance that men have of leverag- long hours at a beauty salon for most of ing our platform to generate healthy her life and now that her two daughters income,” said Careem’s Pakistan General were settled in jobs, she wanted work that Manager Ahmed Usman. Usman said seven allowed her flexibility. When asked about women drivers had qualified to join the the challenges of being a woman driver in fleet but applications were open and the Pakistan, Aziz said: “When people start company hoped more would apply. accepting something, when our public Zahra Ali, 30, heard about Careem from a realise that women can do a certain job friend and thought it would be an “honor- and are doing it in a commendable man- able” way to support her two children, who ner, then I think it will not be so difficult.” she is raising alone since the death of her Domestic abuse, other violence and husband two years ago. She had just enough economic discrimination make Pakistan money to buy a car and got her driving the world’s third-most-dangerous country license this year. When Ali applied to be a for women, a 2011 Thomson Reuters Careem driver a few months ago, she was Foundation expert poll showed. About 500 told there was no provision for women driv- women are killed in Pakistan every year at ers. Then Careem called back with good the hands of relatives over perceived dam- news. “The only skill I know is driving,” Ali told age to family “honor” that can involve Reuters at her home in the city of Lahore. eloping, fraternizing with men or any other “Now I can raise my children honorably, I can infraction against conservative values. give my children a good education.” “One must face problems bravely,” Ali said in Lahore. “Women are not weak; it is our ‘Women are not weak’ society which portrays them as weak. One BEIJING: Photo shows Chinese 100 yuan notes. China’s foreign exchange reserves plunged by $69 billion in November to a five-year low, accord- Launched in Dubai in 2012, Careem cannot move forward with fear.” — Reuters ing to central bank data released on December 7, 2016 as policy-makers battled to support the yuan currency against a resurgent dollar. — AFP China Nov forex reserves fall more than expected The lowest in nearly 6 years

BEIJING: China’s foreign exchange reserves fell likely accounted for some of the fall in reserves. ING’s forecasts will persist through the first quar- far more than expected in November to the low- But China also has announced a string of meas- ter of 2017,” Tim Condon, ING’s chief Asia econo- est level in nearly six years, as authorities strug- ures in recent weeks to tighten controls on mon- mist, wrote in a note. — Reuters gled to stem capital outflows and shore up the ey moving out of the country, adding to market But he warned that capital outflows during sliding yuan in the face of a relentlessly rising speculation that potentially destabilizing capital the dollar rally could become “excessive”. The dollar. Reserves fell by $69.06 billion last month, outflows are on the rise. State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) the fifth straight month of declines, to $3.052 tril- “The capital control tightening that Chinese has begun vetting transfers abroad worth $5 mil- lion, levels not seen since March 2011, central authorities announced at end-November is a lion or more and is increasing scrutiny of major bank data showed yesterday. Some traders very good indicator that capital outflows contin- outbound deals, even those with prior approval, believe the $3 trillion mark is a key psychological ue from China and are turning threatening,” ana- sources said last week. Currency analysts polled level for the People’s Bank of China, but it risks lysts at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said in a by Reuters expect the yuan to plumb its lowest KABUL: An Afghan money changer (second from right) counts a pile of Pakistani cur- rapidly churning through its still massive stock- note this week. The PBOC had sold a net $39.2 level in nearly a decade next year on sustained rency banknotes at a money exchange market in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans are pile if the US dollar continues to rise against oth- billion worth of foreign exchange in October, capital outflows and further gains in the dollar. increasingly uncertain about their future, less confident in their government and er currencies. indicating continued official intervention to sup- China’s gold reserves fell to $69.785 billion at more pessimistic than before on issues such as security, corruption, and rising Last month’s drop was the largest since port the yuan. To be sure, the yuan is falling end-November from $75.348 billion at end- unemployment, according to the annual survey by the San Francisco-based Asia January, when a sharp fall in the yuan and wor- alongside other emerging market currencies in October. — Reuters Foundation released yesterday. — AP ries about China’s slowing economy raised fears the face of the strong dollar, which is being that Beijing would devalue its currency, roiling buoyed by hopes that President-elect Donald global financial markets. Economists polled by Trump will be able to shift the US economy into Reuters had expected reserves to drop $30 bil- faster gear. It has been more steady lately against lion to $3.091 trillion in November, after a decline a basket of currencies of major trading partners. Oil prices steady of $45.7 billion in October. The central bank is But China, with its huge trade surplus with the widely believed to have sold US dollars to sup- United States, is firmly in Trump’s sights. He has port the yuan currency as it sunk to more than 8- vowed to label China a currency manipulator on Nigeria plans to raise output sharply 1/2 year lows last month. his first day in office on Jan. 20 and has threat- China’s foreign exchange regulator said the ened to impose huge tariffs on imports of LONDON: Oil prices steadied yesterday as Information Administration said on research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. decline in reserves was partly due to the dollar’s Chinese goods. A senior central bank researcher investors waited to see if OPEC and Russia Tuesday it expected domestic crude oil “There is a big discrepancy right now 3 percent rally versus major currencies in told Reuters last week that Beijing needs to break would deliver promised production cuts production for 2016 and 2017 to fall by between expectations, perception and November. But the yuan’s more than 5 percent a potentially destructive feedback loop, where designed to end a supply overhang that less than previously expected. “Investors reality.” slide so far this year has sparked a flurry of bets expectations of further yuan weakness spur out- has weighed on the market for more than are torn between hopes that producers Despite widespread skepticism, many that the currency will weaken further, leaving flows, and fresh capital flight in turn puts more two years. North Sea Brent crude oil was will cut enough production to balance analysts say 2017 will likely see a more bal- traders wondering how long China can maintain pressure on the currency. The central bank is also up 10 cents a barrel at $54.03 by 1130 supply and demand, and fears that they anced oil market. “Oil markets are on track its yuan defense and withstand a prolonged likely to worry about a faster drawdown of its GMT. US light crude was up 15 cents at won’t,” said Tamas Varga, senior analyst at to tighten over 2017, which will be acceler- drain on reserves if the US dollar continues to ral- reserves, which are approaching the closely $51.08 a barrel. Oil prices surged almost London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. ated by OPEC’s decision to reduce produc- ly. The yuan fell 1.6 percent in November alone, watched $3 trillion level, analysts said. 20 percent after the Organization of the OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers meet tion alongside non-OPEC countries,” said its worst month since August 2015 when Beijing French bank Societe Generale said earlier this Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia this weekend in Vienna to agree details of BMI Research. “If effectively implemented, shocked global markets by devaluing the curren- year that International Monetary Fund guidelines announced last week that they would cut the output cut, which targets an overall we expect the global oil market will return cy by almost 2 percent overnight. put $2.8 trillion as the minimum prudent level for production next year in an effort to prop reduction of around 1.5 million barrels per to balance in Q1 2017.” Oil production has Adding to pressure on the currency, U.S. China, which is not far away if reserves keep up markets. day (bpd). OPEC member Nigeria, exempt been outpacing consumption by 1 to 2 President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to label falling at the current pace. Since mid-2014, But doubts have emerged over whether from the cuts, said yesterday it hoped to million barrels per day since late 2014. China a currency manipulator on his first day in China’s forex reserves, which include a hefty the planned cuts will be big enough to boost its oil production to 2.1 million bpd “The average annual oil price will be high- office on Jan. 20 and has threatened to impose amount of US government bonds, have shrunk rebalance the market. Since the deal was in January, up from 1.9 million bpd now. er in 2017 than in 2016, with Brent at $55 huge tariffs on imports of Chinese goods. by more than the gross domestic product of announced, both OPEC and Russia have “We will see whether belief in the per barrel for the year,” BMI Research said. Though the composition of China’s reserves is a Switzerland. “Our baseline is that tightened capi- reported record production and output (OPEC production) deal will hold,” said The average 2016 Brent price has so far state secret, analysts say the falling value of other tal controls enable the authorities to stay the elsewhere is also resilient. The US Energy Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities been $44.47 per barrel. — Reuters currencies it holds against the rising US dollar course during the Trump dollar rally, which on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 BUSINESS French Socialists risk meltdown in stricken steel belt

FLORANGE: Towering above the Moselle the graves of relatives in the cemetery. It’s throw his hat in the ring. “Whether it’s valley in northeast France are two rusting painful,” the 35-year-old said. Hollande or Valls, it’s the same thing. It’s testaments to the dashed hopes of The deindustrialization that fuelled just a change of packaging,” Weber said. Francois Hollande’s presidency that loom Brexit and Donald Trump’s rise to the White large over the election of his successor House has created fertile ground for far- Globalisation’s losers next year. Five years after steel giant right leader Marine Le Pen, who is hoping Local Socialist lawmaker Michel ArcelorMittal snuffed out the last two blast to pull off a similar upset in the April-May Liebgott accuses “Made in France” champi- furnaces in a crucible of France’s heavy election on a protectionist platform. More on Montebourg-who is also running for industry, the workers who fought to save than 1.5 million manufacturing jobs have the party’s presidential nomination-of per- their beloved “cathedrals”, as they call been lost in France in the past 25 years, petuating “a romantic vision of the work- them, are still seething. Lakshmi Mittal, the with some of the country’s best-known ing class that no longer exists”. “In today’s Indian billionaire owner of the sprawling manufacturers like Peugeot and TGV high- factories, people are sitting at computers,” steelworks that runs between the towns of speed train maker Alstom among those Liebgott argues, calling for greater invest- Florange and Hayange, is the target of requiring a leg-up recently from the state. ment in training people to work in high- much of their ire. But the ruling Socialists Situated at the crossroads between France, tech plants. are also feeling the heat. They are accused Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, the Burriello, who is running for parliament of betraying voters who elected Hollande Lorraine region where the Moselle valley is next year on a hard-left list, said voters on a promise to tame capitalism and keep situated has kept afloat thanks to a broad drawn to populist candidates faced a the Florange fires burning. manufacturing mix. choice between two “us-versus-them” pro- “I will never again vote Socialist. Never. But the signs of decline sparked by the grams. “With the National Front, it’s us ver- It’s over,” said Lionel Burriello, a 39-year-old crisis in Europe’s steel sector, which HAYANGE: Photo shows blast furnaces of steel giant ArcelorMittal at the sus contract workers from other European mechanic, who followed his Italian immi- claimed a steelworks in Gandrange in Florange site, in Hayange, eastern France. — AFP countries. With the far left, it’s us versus the grant father into the steel mills. “It was a 2008, are starting to stack up. “It’s becom- lines when it dumped its longtime Socialist ment he secured from ArcelorMittal in financial oligarchy.” The opportunities and shit job, toiling in the heat and the dust. ing a wasteland here,” said Gabriele mayor for a young gun from Le Pen’s 2012 to preserve jobs and plough 180 mil- pitfalls of Europe’s open borders are on But we took pride in it,” said the trade Mariotti, the owner of a cafe on the main National Front (FN). Trade unionist Frederic lion euros ($193 million) into the area in daily display in Lorraine, where 90,000 unionist, one of the 629 workers who were street of Hayange, a grey town at the foot Weber fears the FN could spring a similar return for the mothballing of the furnaces. skilled workers commute across the border moved to jobs in the site’s rolling mills or of the blast furnaces. surprise in the presidential election, which “The battle was won,” Hollande declared- each day to Luxembourg for better wages, pensioned off under a 2012 compromise “The gold in this valley was steel. Now polls show ending in a duel between Le an assessment contested by the workers, while the unskilled eke out a living at brokered by the government. For Olivier there’s nothing left. They sent it all over- Pen and Francois Fillon, a Thatcherite con- who resent him for overriding former home. It’s a politically toxic cocktail for Weber, another son of the valley who car- seas,” said Fernand, a scrap metal dealer servative. “People here are lost,” says economy minister Arnaud Montebourg’s Liebgott, whose 20-year parliamentary ried out the last smelting operation in and FN supporter whose son was among Weber. “They tell us they will either not proposal to temporarily nationalize the career could be in jeopardy if he stands October 2011, the loss of the hot steel mills hundreds of people laid off from vote at all or vote FN.” site. Last week, Hollande announced he again in the general election in June. “I’d robbed the region of a key marker of its ArcelorMittal subcontractors in the past On a visit to Florange in October would not stand for re-election, paving the be happy to make it to the second round,” identity. “Seeing the furnaces is like seeing five years. In 2014, Hayange made head- Hollande defended the five-year commit- way for his prime minister, Manuel Valls, to he says. — AFP Trump interjects himself in Air Force One and business deals

FAYETTEVILLE: President-elect Donald was part of a fund of up to $100 billion in glob- Trump, a political newcomer who touts his al technology investments that SoftBank and corporate skills, turned businessman-in-chief the government of Saudi Arabia announced in Tuesday, first demanding the government October. As for Air Force One, the government cancel a multibillion-dollar order for new has agreed that Boeing will build two new presidential planes and then hailing a planes, which would go into service around Japanese company’s commitment to invest 2024. That means Trump might never fly on billions in the US. “We will defend American the aircraft, which carry US presidents around jobs. We have to look at it almost like a war,” the globe. The Air Force has pressed for a faster Trump thundered in North Carolina, vowing schedule, saying the aging current Boeing to keep companies from moving overseas 747s are becoming too expensive to repair and during the second stop of his “thank you” tour keep in good flying shape. The overall deal for to salute his supporters. “We want the next researching, developing and building new generation of innovation and production to planes was to be about $3 billion, but costs happen right here in America.” have been reported to be rising. Trump was far less bombastic than during The General Accountability Office estimat- the tour’s kickoff in Ohio last week, striking ed in March that about $2 billion of the total - more of the healing notes traditionally deliv- for work between 2010 and 2020 - was for ered by a president-to-be in the weeks after a research and development on complex sys- bruising election. He will travel to Ohio State tems, not for building the actual aircraft. The University on Thursday to meet with some of inflated $4 billion figure Trump cited appears the victims of the recent car-and-knife attack to include operation and maintenance as that left 11 people injured, according to a well. Boeing responded to Trump Tuesday in a person familiar with the plans but not author- statement: “We are currently under contract ized to discuss them before they are for $170 million to help determine the capa- announced. “We will heal our divisions and bilities of these complex military aircraft that unify our country. When Americans are uni- serve the unique requirements of the presi- fied there is nothing we cannot do - nothing!” dent of the United States. We look forward to Trump told the crowd in Fayetteville. “I’m ask- working with the US Air Force on subsequent ing you to dream big again as Americans. I’m phases of the program allowing us to deliver asking you to believe in yourselves.” the best planes for the president at the best The Republican businessman largely stuck value for the American taxpayer.” to the script Tuesday - and, in a change, even NEW YORK: President-elect Donald Trump, accompanied by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, speaks to members of the media at Trump Tower in stopped the crowd when it started to boo the Cancel order! New York on Tuesday, Dec 6, 2016. — AP media - and avoided some of the score-set- The $170 million figure is just for a portion tling and scorched-earth rhetoric that of the research and development efforts. defined his campaign and was present again Trump began his onslaught against Boeing at Trump woos Asian firms last week in Cincinnati. He also repeated his 8:52 am, tweeting “Boeing is building a brand vow to fortify the nation’s military and new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, brought Marine Gen James Mattis on stage, but costs are out of control, more than $4 bil- officially naming his choice to be Defense lion. Cancel order!” That tweet came 22 min- SoftBank’s Son pledges $50 billion Secretary after teasing it last week. utes after The Chicago Tribune posted a story in which the Boeing CEO voiced concerns NEW YORK: Two of Asia’s biggest technology been determined, we will announce the details briefly reached their highest level in 2-1/2 years, Boeing’s stock drops about Trump’s views on trade. companies said they were looking to expand of any plans following the completion of direct soon after Son’s comments. They closed up 1.5 Earlier in the day, Trump plainly The president-elect then descended to the investment in the United States, as President- discussions between our leadership and the rel- percent, while shares of T-Mobile US rose 1.8 telegraphed that when he takes office in six lobby of the Manhattan skyscraper that bears elect Donald Trump pushes to bring manufac- evant US officials,” the Foxconn statement said. percent. It was not immediately clear how much weeks he’ll take an interventionist role in the his name to reiterate his case. Trump had turing and jobs back home. Billionaire business- Son and Foxconn founder Terry Gou are consid- of SoftBank’s investment had been disclosed nation’s economy - as well as play showman tweeted in 2013 that he owned Boeing stock, man Masayoshi Son, also the head of Japan’s ered close and have several business ventures before. SoftBank said on Nov 7, the day before when he sees a chance. The celebrity busi- but a spokesman said Tuesday he sold all of SoftBank Group Corp, pledged a $50 billion together, including launching humanoid Pepper the US election, it planned to make future large- nessman’s declaration about Air Force One his stock holdings in June. That sale was not investment in the United States, and Apple Inc - which is manufactured by Foxconn - into sever- scale investments via the $100 billion fund, caused manufacturer Boeing’s stock to drop publicized by the campaign at the time, and supplier Foxconn said it was in preliminary dis- al markets, and investing jointly in India. rather than on its own, to avoid growing already- temporarily and raised fresh questions about aides did not reveal how much cash it might cussions to expand its US operations. bloated debt. Whether or not Trump’s election how his administration - not to mention his have generated. If Trump had held onto his Son said on Tuesday, after meeting Trump, his Shares surge led to SoftBank’s planned investment, the billion- Twitter volleys could affect the economy. “The stock portfolio, he would have been required investment would create 50,000 new jobs, a In October, prior to the election, SoftBank said aire’s victory has been a boon to stock investors. plane is totally out of control,” Trump told to repeatedly file reports with the US Office of move the US President-elect claimed was a Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would The Dow Jones industrial average closed at reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower. “I think Government Ethics. A 2012 update of the direct result of his election win. The investment be the lead partner in the $100 billion tech fund another record level on Tuesday, its 11th new Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We Ethics in Government Act obliges presidents pledge revived speculation that US telecoms and could invest up to $45 billion over the next high since the Nov 8 vote. Should the SoftBank want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not and other senior government officials to giant Sprint Corp, 82 percent owned by five years. SoftBank expects to put in at least $25 fund grow as large as $100 billion, it would be that much money.” Earlier he had tweeted report such transactions. SoftBank, might rekindle merger talks with T- billion. Shares in SoftBank jumped 6.2 percent yes- one of the world’s largest private equity investors that the deal’s costs were “out of control, Trump now uses his own plane, a Boeing Mobile US Inc that died under pressure from US terday in Tokyo to their highest since August last and a potential kingpin in the technology sector. more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” 757, which he has outfitted with white leather regulators. The lack of details on the investment year. “Now the market sees SoftBank as a Trump- SoftBank, a diverse firm that also holds stakes in Not long after his first appearance, Trump and gold, a large flat-screen television and a timetable also prompted doubts on whether the related stock and that’s because it reacted favor- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has been returned to the lobby with Masayoshi Son, the bedroom. But as president it is expected that promise of money and jobs will be met, as Sprint ably to their meeting,” said Fumio Matsumoto, a stepping up investment in new areas, as Son CEO of SoftBank, a massive telecommunica- he would travel aboard the Air Force jet, is slashing staff numbers to cut more than $2 bil- fund manager at Dalton Capital in Japan. aims to make the firm the “Berkshire Hathaway of tions company that counts Sprint among its which is equipped with special safety, defen- lion in costs this fiscal year. Son had hoped to merge Sprint with T-Mobile the tech industry”. It purchased UK chip design holdings. Trump pointed proudly to Son’s sive and communications equipment. Air Trump’s moves since the election to engage US to take on US market leaders AT&T Inc and firm Arm Holdings for $32 billion this year in commitment to invest $50 billion in the United Force One also has seating for reporters; with individual companies, while turning his Verizon Communications Inc. Shares of Sprint Japan’s largest ever outbound deal. — Reuters States, which Trump said could create 50,000 Trump generally does not allow the press on back on broader, years-in-the-works trade deals, jobs. Trump - who also tweeted the deal - his own plane. Later this week, Trump will use show that he is leaning on the deal-making skills shook Son’s hand and posed for photos, revel- that plane to travel to rallies in Iowa and he honed in the boardroom. Trump campaigned Trump misses target with ing as he had last week when he toured a Michigan, And on Saturday, Trump will attend against the over-regulation of business and is Carrier plant in Indiana where he said he had the 117th annual Army-Navy football game. expected to be more open to mergers than instigated an agreement that will preserve The game between the two military acade- President Barack Obama. The $50 billion invest- China onslaught: Experts about 1,000 jobs the appliance maker had mies often draws the commander in chief; ment, announced jointly by Trump and Son in planned to move to Mexico. Details of the deal both Barack Obama and George W. Bush have the lobby of the Trump Tower in Manhattan, BEIJING: US President-elect Donald Trump The initial devaluation, Beijing said, was were scarce and it was unclear if the money attended in recent years. — AP would come from the $100 billion tech invest- accuses China of keeping its yuan currency intended to make the yuan trade closer to its ment fund the head of SoftBank is setting up artificially low and slapping unfair taxes on market value as the country lobbied to have with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund and American exports. However, analysts say the unit join the International Monetary other potential partners, according to the Wall Beijing is in fact struggling to prop up the Fundís elite basket of currenciesónot help Street Journal. yuan as capital flows out of Chinaís flagging exporters, as Trump claims. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Masa from economy in search of better investments in But downward pressure proved to be SoftBank of Japan, and he’s just agreed to invest the United States. ‘Did China ask us if it was OK stronger than expected, and since that time $50 billion in the United States and 50,000 jobs,” to devalue their currency (making it hard for the PBoC has been scrambling to prop it up. Trump said. “He would never do this had we our companies to compete), heavily tax our China is hemorrhaging foreign currency (Trump) not won the election!” Trump later products going into their country (the US reserves. Data released on Wednesday show Tweeted. Son, who wore a red tie and red sweater doesnít tax them)?’ Trump wrote Sunday in a they plunged by $69 billion in November under his suit jacket, told reporters his company, Twitter outburst. ‘I donít think so!’ alone. China has spent that money on buying a $68 billion telecommunications and tech invest- back its own currency, analysts say, in an effort ment behemoth, would create the jobs by invest- Close controls to keep the yuanís value artificially higher. ing in startup companies. He also said he expect- China keeps close controls on its currency, China prefers to see ‘the yuan strengthen, ed a lot of “deregulation” under a Trump adminis- allowing it to fluctuate within a two percent or at least be stable’, to avoid volatility that tration. Trump and Son did not give a timeline for margin from a point fixed by the central bank compromises the currencyís evolving interna- the investment. Trump’s four-year term will begin each day. And its value has been steadily tionalisation, Credit Agricole analyst Dariusz after his Jan. 20 inauguration. dropping for over a year. The yuan, also known Kowalczyk said. Son’s business partner Foxconn issued a brief as the renminbi, is currently at an eight-year Meanwhile, the US dollar is soaring on low of 6.89 to the dollar. Yet the evidence sug- expectations Trump will embark on an infra- statement after a report by broadcaster CNBC gests the currency is over, not under, valued. structure spending spree that would fan infla- showing a snapshot of a page held by Son out- On August 2015, the Peopleís Bank of China tion and force the Federal Reserve to hike lining the investment carrying the logos of FLORIDA: Air Force One is seen on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Md Tuesday, announced a surprise five percent devaluation interest rates. That expectation is fuelling SoftBank and the Taiwanese firm, formally Dec 6, 2016, before President Barack Obama boards en route to MacDill Air Force of the yuan. Since then, the currency has fallen demand for US assetsócausing capital to flee known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. “While Base in Tampa, Fla. President-elect Donald Trump wants the government’s contract another six percent. China and other emerging markets. — AFP for a new Air Force One canceled. — AP the scope of the potential investment has not THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 BUSINESS Bosnian businesses go halal to serve Gulf visitors, eye exports

SARAJEVO: Bosnian banks, food producers contamination risk, including from clean- and hoteliers are adopting halal standards ing. “At Klas, all products are halal,” said to tap a fast-growing market thanks to the Vasvija Poljo, quality manager at Sarajevo- country’s large Muslim population, an based food producer Klas, explaining that influx of Gulf tourists and growing trade people often confuse halal products with with the Arab world. Bosnia has one of products that lack pork content. Europe’s largest indigenous Muslim popu- “It’s much more - it requires that all raw lations, traditionally liberal in its interpreta- materials must also be cleared of pesti- tion of Islam, but the arrival of Arab fighters cides, heavy metals, GMO, antibiotics and during the 1992-95 war and an influx of other elements that have a negative effect Saudi money has spurred an Islamic revival. on our health.” The Gulf-owned Bosna Bank The country, half of whose population is International (BBI), Bosnia’s only bank oper- Muslim, has become a regional hub for halal ating on Islamic principles, helps exports products since it set up Europe’s first agency with its 550 million marka-strong ($300 mil- for halal quality certification in 2006. “Market lion) portfolio of halal projects. “The halal potential is high because the phenomenon industry is a corridor to the Islamic world is new and there is a gap between demand because the largest investments today and supply,” said agency head Amir Sakic, come from that part of the world,” said adding the halal market in the Balkans had Amer Bukvic, the director of the BBI, which grown by about 17 percent each year over together with the Sarajevo Stock Exchange the past decade. (SASE) launched the Balkans’ first Islamic The agency has certified thousands of share index of listed firms in October. products from Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro Gulf investors have bought large and Lithuania and helped Croatia, Serbia swathes of agricultural land and food-pro- and Macedonia to establish their own halal ducing companies in Serbia and Bosnia to quality agencies. help address weaknesses in the supply The halal market was worth more than chain of halal ingredients. “The first thing $1 trillion in 2015, according to Deloitte that visitors from the Arab world look at is if Tohmatsu Consulting, and growing by there is a halal certificate,” said Saljo about 15 percent a year. Halal certification Mrkulic, an owner of two large hotels in confirms that a product was manufactured Sarajevo. “It is expensive to maintain the in keeping with Islam’s Sharia law. It must certificate - organic food is more expensive not contain traces of pork, alcohol or blood, - but in the end it pays back. You get more and must be made on factory lines free of guests.” — Reuters Peter Kaliaropoulos picked CAIRO: An Egyptian man carries bread as he rides his bicycle in downtown Cairo. — AFP as CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia Egyptian beekeepers under RIYADH: Zain Saudi Arabia announces the utmost confidence he has the right leader- appointment of telecom stalwart Peter ship qualities to take the operation to next threat as economy slumps Kaliaropoulos as CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia phase of growth, building upon the many (Zain KSA), effective January 1, 2017. Peter achievements accomplished by Hassan joins the company to continue the healthy Kabbani during his tenure.” SHIBIN EL KOM: Egypt’s beekeepers say their “There is a sugar crisis and the bees have to United States and Canada. “We are calling on foundation of transformation and growth HH the Chairman noted, “In recent years hives are under threat because of a shortage of receive nutrition through their winter hiberna- the government to help the beekeepers to pro- achieved over the past three years by Hassan Zain Saudi Arabia has witnessed many sugar, as are the flowers and crops that their tion,” said commercial beekeeper Saeed Hagras. vide support. Kabbani, who has decided to step down highlights, notably the Company’s recent bees pollinate. Sugar became hard to find in With sugar in short supply, beekeepers had to This will create employment opportunities to from his post for personal reasons, effective High Order granting of a 15 year license recent months after the government took con- let their bees consume honey instead. “So now the youth and open up investment.” Mohamed 31st December 2016. extension as well as a universal license to trol of stocks to counter what it said was an epi- instead of profiting from taking the honey pro- added: “Many will be employed and the country An Australian national, Kaliaropoulos provide all telecommunication services, demic of hoarding by merchants reacting to ris- duced and selling it, we are now supplying it for will receive hard currency. We are in dire need of joins Zain Saudi Arabia as a highly-accom- including fixed services. The High Order ing prices as a result of a shortage of foreign the bees again instead of the sugar,” Hagras told hard currency and investment.” Another bee- plished telecom professional having also granted Zain Saudi Arabia the oppor- currency. Bees are fed sugar to tide them over Reuters Television at his farm in Shibin El Kom, keeper, Rayhan Meligy, said crops would suffer if enjoyed over 30 years of experience in the tunity to coordinate with the Ministry of the winter and to compensate for honey har- the capital of the Nile Delta province of bees were allowed to die out. “The crops are international ICT sector, and playing a key Finance to discuss alternatives regarding vested from their hives. Menoufia. pollinated through bees. There will be no crops role in the transformation and growth of a the amounts due to the government. In Beekeeping in Egypt can be traced back to His son Mohamed said the government and the corn will decline, the harvest will number of companies operating across the addition, the reduction by the CITC to the time of the Pharaohs, with the first hiero- should step in to help, particularly as there were decline and the clover will decline. All the crops Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. In his reduce Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) glyphs of bees dating back thousands of years. opportunities to export honey profitably to the will decline,” he said. — Reuters most recent role, Kaliaropoulos was the GM will all support the financial and future prosperity of the company.” Furthermore HH the Chairman added, “The company’s transformation plan and continuous invest- Currencies tread water ment in 4G LTE network upgrades and expansion combined with numerous data monetization initiatives has resulted in the recording of impressive revenue growth as all eyes turn to ECB and being EBITDA positive.” HH the Chairman concluded by saying, “I am confident that Zain Saudi Arabia will Sterling falls after weak industrial data enter a new and prosperous era, playing a key role in the growth of the telecommuni- LONDON: Most major currencies treaded water gone into the referendum with a very pessimistic poked above 102.00 to a 13-1/2-year high in late cations sector and the economic and social yesterday with traders looking ahead to a meet- view and I think the last five years have taught us November as US Treasury yields soared on development of the Kingdom. As the coun- ing of the European Central Bank today that could that, as far as the euro is concerned, political prospects of President-elect Donald Trump try evolves, we have an important role to set the tone for markets after the sharp moves in issues often don’t have a lasting impact,” DZ Bank adopting large fiscal spending and reflationary play in the transformation of the Kingdom the wake of last month’s US elections. The ECB is currency analyst Sonja Marten said in Frankfurt. policies. “While we still think that the dollar towards a digitally enabled and diversified widely expected to announce an extension to its The dollar was flat at 114.03 yen, not far off the could bounce further, especially in 2017, economy. On behalf of the Board of quantitative easing program, but uncertainty peak of 114.83 hit last week, its highest against euro/dollar’s short-term direction will ultimately Directors I would like to thank Mr. Kabbani reigns over whether the size of the monthly asset the Japanese currency since early February. The depend on what the Fed has to say about the for his success in managing the transforma- Peter Kaliaropoulos purchases will be kept steady or scaled back, and greenback has surged over 10 percent against future direction of US interest rates at its meet- tion of Zain Saudi Arabia. We all wish him over whether a formal signal on the eventual end the yen in the past month. ing next week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research of ‘touch’ Lebanon until June 2016, the well in his future endeavors.” of the asset-purchase program will be sent. Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kikuo Iwata director at City Index. country’s leading operator that Zain man- Scott Gegenheimer, CEO of Zain Group If the ECB does say it will start to reduce its said yesterday that the central bank had not “If the Fed believes that President-elect ages on behalf of the Lebanon Telecom noted, “I would also like to express my pro- asset purchases - so-called tapering - the euro shifted its focus away from the pace of money Trump’s fiscal largesse warrants a faster pace of Ministry and then took on the role as an found gratitude to Hassan Kabbani’s efforts would probably rebound following a 4 percent printing and stressed it remained committed to rate increases than is currently being priced in, advisor to the ‘touch’ Chairman and Vice in the successful transformation of Zain fall against the dollar over the past month, ana- using both rate cuts and asset purchases as key then the market will rush to price in higher Chairman of Zain Group, Mr Bader Al Kharafi. Saudi Arabia over the past three years, ful- lysts said. Yesterday the European single currency tools to revive the economy. “The Fed is hiking yields, which will boost the dollar and weigh on In his varied roles over the years, Mr. filling the mission that was set when he edged up 0.2 percent to $1.0734. It had slumped rates, the ECB might extend the duration of its currencies like the euro.” The biggest mover Kaliaropoulos has been responsible for driv- joined. With Peter Kaliaropoulos’ vast and on Monday to $1.0505, its lowest since March program..., but the next big thing is going to be among major currencies was sterling, which fell ing customer-centric operating cultures, impressive experience in technology and 2015, in a knee-jerk reaction after Italian Prime tapering,” said Marten. “There’s a general move as much as 0.8 percent to hit a one-week low of optimization of productivity levels and management over the past 30 years, and Minister Matteo Renzi lost a referendum on con- away from adding onto expansionary measures. 85.255 pence against the euro. It also slid half a implementing growth strategies. He has the compelling support of Zain Group’s stitutional reform and said he would resign. So the central banks that continue to signal that percent against the dollar after data showed also served as a Director on the Board of resources in all facets of the business, we But the euro quickly jumped back to a 3-week they are willing to do that stand out.” British industrial output suffered its biggest various technology and telecommunication are confident that he will build on the solid high of $1.0797 on the same day as a worst-case monthly fall in more than four years. The companies in Singapore, India, USA, foundations laid by his predecessor and will political scenario for Rome appeared to have Fiscal largesse Canadian dollar was flat ahead of a Bank of Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. bring new innovation and take full advan- been averted for the time being, and as investors Against a basket of currencies, the dollar Canada policy meeting that is expected to see His Highness Prince Naif bin Sultan bin tage of the digital growth opportunities in turned their attention to the ECB. “People had edged down 0.1 percent to 100.44, having interest rates left unchanged. — Reuters Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer, Chairman the Kingdom.” Peter Kaliaropoulos has a of the Board of Directors of Zain Saudi Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from the Arabia said, “Peter Kaliaropoulos joins Zain University of NSW (Sydney, Australia) and Saudi Arabia at an important stage of the has a Master of Business Administration, Nissan scoops Silver at company’s evolution and we have the from Macquarie University (Sydney). the MENA Effie Awards

DUBAI: At this year’s MENA Effie Awards, Nissan Middle East’s recent campaign around its partner- ship with the International Cricket Council (ICC), has landed the Japanese automaker a silver award in the ‘Entertainment and Sports’ category, for its campaign, #MomentsThatCount. Nissan becomes the first automotive brand in the region to win an award in this category. The winning campaign, #MomentsThatCount, was aimed at creating awareness around Nissan’s recent sponsorship agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nissan executed the campaign by taking over a street cricket game and providing players with an incredible and an unexpected experience that they will never forget. Nissan surprised the players having one of the greatest bowlers of all time, WasimAkram, to drop ABK announces winners of in on them unannounced and join in their game. To add more excitement to the match, the company ‘Double Your Salary’ Draws set a pop-up cricket pitch, as well as provided play- ers with world class kit, which included branded KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) held ly be entered into the weekly draws to dou- equipment and clothing. The Nissan match its 32nd ‘Double Your Salary’ weekly draw ble their salaries. Existing customers who takeover engaged with fans globally by tapping on 5thDecember, 2016 at the Bank’s Head are already transferring their salary to ABK into the heightened excitement around ICC World Office in the presence of a representative are entered into a separate draw. Twenty20, owning moments of cricketing excite- from the Ministry of Commerce, announc- The next ‘Double Your Salary’ draw will ment on and off the field. public opinion. We are extremely proud that this The Nissan team arrived in Patrol pickups ing the names of the winners for this week. be held on 12December, 2016 where two Overall opinion of Nissan amongst Asians has been recognized by the Effie Awards which is a loaded with high quality equipment for the players The promotion includes weekly draws, with new lucky winners will be announced. All improved dramatically and the campaign was a trusted index for the most comprehensive global including flags, stumps, helmets, gloves, sweaters, two winners per draw.The campaign will winners will be contacted personally and a great contributor to the sales growth among the rankingsin marketing effectiveness.” kit bags, balls, and of course, the finest English run until 27thJune, 2017. The winners this weekly announcement will be made target audience. Commenting on this achieve- Cricket is extremely popular in the Emirates Willow bats autographed by WasimAkram. week were: (1) Hasan Hussain Taher Al through the media with the winners’ ment, Samir Cherfan, Managing Director at Nissan with many residents taking part in matches in car The equipment was given to the players as gifts Shemali - Qurain Branch. (2) Fajer Ali Salem names. For more information about Al Ahli Middle East said, “The #Moments That Count cam- parks and other public spaces. Nobody could antic- for them to enjoy for years to come. Nissan became a Ali - Andalus Branch Bank of Kuwait please visit eahli.com or paign had a tremendous impact on the community ipate that one of the greatest bowlers of all time, global sponsor of international cricket in October New customers who transfer their salary contact acustomer service agent via ‘Ahlan and showed how a small gesture of goodwill WasimAkram, would drop in unannounced and 2015 when it announced an eight-year deal with the to ABK receive KD 100 and will automatical- Ahli’ at 1899899. among strangers can have a landslide effect on join such a casual public match. International Cricket Council (ICC). technology THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

Deciphering and Decoding the Most Common Dashboard Warning Lights

e have all experienced that vex- The fact is, for some of us who aren’t Seeing that these warning signs it means that the engine oil pressure pull over to a safe location, shift into ing moment when we are casu- exactly mechanically-inclined, decrypt- could be indicating anything from might be low. This may simply mean that neutral (N) and allow the engine to idle. Wally driving to our destination, ing those blinking warning lights on our needing a minor top up of fluid to a cat- the oil levels need to be topped up, or Do not continue to drive if the tempera- and suddenly - out of nowhere - a flash- dashboard can be tricky - which, let’s astrophic engine meltdown, under- could indicate a more complex issue. ture does not return to normal or the ing warning light appears on our dash- face it, is a real issue considering that standing whether you need to be con- According to ACDelco, which sells car “HOT” light stays on! board. We’re all too familiar with the feel- some of these symbols are designed to cerned or act quickly is essential, to say parts and fluids for many car makers, low • The Boxing Glove (or Malfunction ings of sheer panic and confusion that flag an urgent and sometimes danger- the least. engine oil pressure can cause extensive Indicator Light): this is known as a ‘check often ensue. ous underlying problem. With this in mind - and to help you and costly damage to your engine. If this engine light’, but what exactly are you better assess if you are driving under the warning light displays, safely bring your supposed to check? Well, it could indi- best possible conditions - we have vehicle to a stop and do not restart your cate a number of potential issues, which rounded up the most common warning engine. Check the engine oil level. If it’s is why, if it remains on while driving then lights that typically pop up on our dash- not low, or if you’re not sure how to be sure to seek service promptly! But, boards to explain what message they are check it, note that many vehicles, such as there’s no need to panic if you see this trying to convey. Chevrolets, GMCs and Cadillacs come light briefly when you turn the ignition with region wide roadside assistance on. As long as it doesn’t stay on, it’s ok. Here they are: (the phone number should be on a stick- • Winking Robot (or Voltage • Exclamation in a Jar (or Low Tire er on the car window), so call the experts Gauge/Battery Light): this light is just a Pressure Warning Light): This symbol to take a look and advise you on your tiny battery and indicates the electrical looks like an exclamation point in paren- next steps. Note that most auto insur- system’s voltage when the engine is thesis. What it alerts to is a significant ance policies come with roadside assis- running. You need to service your vehi- loss in pressure of one of the vehicle’s tance too. Remember, it is important not cle if the battery light comes on or if the tires. In other words, at least one of your to operate the engine with the oil pres- pointer moves to either “HIGH” or “LOW,” tires might be getting flat. If the warning sure warning light on. indicating too much or not enough light comes on, stop as soon as safely • The Keyed Thermometer (or voltage. possible and inflate the tires to the rec- Temperature Gauge/Light): this symbol Remember, knowledge is power. Now ommended pressure shown in the dri- is fairly easy to remember - it looks like a that you have armed yourself with this ver’s manual. thermometer in water. It basically indi- pertinent information, you will hopefully • The Aladdin Lamp (or Low Oil cates the temperature of your vehicle’s no longer find yourself struggling to Pressure Warning Light): if this sign - coolant. A reading in the “H” zone of any decipher your dashboard warning lights which bears an uncanny resemblance to light means “HOT” and is an indication of - instead, you will be able to swiftly take Aladdin’s magic Genie Lamp - comes on, trouble. If you receive this notice, simply action!

Samsung prevails over Apple in $399m patent appeal

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on offers hope for Samsung and others Tuesday overturned a $399 million patent adjudged of infringing design patents, it infringement penalty imposed on Samsung offers no clarity as to the rule of law,” Crouch for copying Apple’s iPhone design, in a case said in a blog post. watched for its implications for technology Crouch said the court allowed for dam- innovation. ages at the component level but also indi- The shorthanded justices ruled 8-0 that cated that the product as a whole is “an arti- Samsung should not be required to forfeit cle of manufacture,” leaving the matter the entire profits from its smartphones for open to interpretation. “Thus, it will be up to infringement on design components, send- courts to figure out which level (of dam- ing the case back to a lower court. ages) applies in particular cases,” he wrote. While the ruling was short on specifics, Samsung won the backing of major analysts said it was likely to curb litigation Silicon Valley and other IT sector giants, from patent holders expecting to reap big including Google, Facebook, Dell and profits from infringement on a component. Hewlett-Packard, claiming a strict ruling on A jubilant Samsung hailed the “victory design infringement could lead to a surge for Samsung and for all those who promote in litigation. creativity, innovation and fair competition Apple was supported by big names in in the marketplace.” fashion and manufacturing. Design profes- The 11-page ruling found that the $399 sionals, researchers and academics, citing million penalty-one element of a major precedents like Coca-Cola’s iconic soda bot- patent infringement case-was inappropri- tle. Reacting to the verdict, an Apple ate because it represented “Samsung’s spokesman said in an email, “Our case has entire profit from the sale of its infringing always been about Samsung’s blatant copy- smartphones” for copying the iPhone’s “rec- ing of our ideas, and that was never in dis- tangular front face with rounded edges and pute... We remain optimistic that the lower a grid of colorful icons on a black screen.” courts will again send a powerful signal that But the court stopped short of delving into stealing isn’t right.” Samsung did not imme- details of how the lower court should deter- diately respond to requests for comment. mine the penalty. LAS VEGAS: Screens show the feeds from traffic cameras at the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada’s FAST traffic manage- Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the ‘Sigh of relief’ ment center on Tuesday, Dec 6, 2016. —AP opinion that “doing so would require us to Florian Mueller, an intellectual property set out a test for identifying the relevant analyst who writes a closely followed patent article of manufacture... and to parse the blog, wrote that “large parts of the (US and Car company offering red light- record to apply that test in this case.” global) tech industry will breathe a sigh of The court sent the case back to the relief now,” even if the case is not settled. appellate court in Washington to resolve Ed Black, president of the Computer & reading vehicles in Las Vegas the details. The case is one element of Communications Industry Association, the $548 million penalty-knocked down which represents major tech firms, wel- from an original $1 billion jury award- comed the ruling. “This was a pivotal court Picked first-in-the-nation Samsung was ordered to pay for copying case for the technology industry and it is iPhone patents. encouraging to see the law interpreted and LAS VEGAS: On the theory that a driver who and shoulders ... time to hand a milk bottle to she said should improve mobility and safety - applied in a way that makes sense in a mod- knows when a red light will turn green is more your child in the back seat ... while knowing particularly in the congested Las Vegas Strip No clarity ern era and protects both inventors and relaxed and aware, vehicle manufacturer Audi you’re not taking attention away from the road.” tourist corridor and around McCarran Observers had been watching to see innovation,” Black said. is unveiling this week in Las Vegas a technolo- International Airport. how the court-which had not taken up a The lower court’s interpretation of design gy that enables vehicles to “read” traffic sig- First-in-the-nation About 150 Audi owners are using the system design patent case in more than a century- patents, Black said, “would have had a chill- nals ahead and tell the motorist how long the Audi and Regional Transportation in Las Vegas, Malhotra said. The car company would tip the balance between technologi- ing effect on investment and the develop- wait will be. Commission of Southern Nevada officials said official called the debut of the commercial serv- cal innovation and protecting intellectual ment of products-especially in the tech sec- It’s a simple display for the driver - a dash- Tuesday that Las Vegas was picked for the first- ice “a small step forward in V2I,” but a key property. Dennis Crouch, a University of tor.” Brian Love, a law professor who follows board traffic signal icon and a timer next to the in-the-nation debut because it has a single cen- demonstration of the kind of technology that Missouri law professor and co-director of technology at the University of Santa Clara, digital vehicle speed and area speed limit dis- tralized traffic management center covering all will enable vehicle-to-vehicle communication the Center for Intellectual Property and said it was noteworthy that the top court plays already common in newer cars. The tech- jurisdictions in Clark County, a region nearly the and driverless cars. Entrepreneurship, said the ruling may leave declined to provide detailed guidance on nology behind it is more complex. It uses 4G LTE size of New Jersey. Using cellular communication for smart car both sides disappointed. “Although the case how to resolve the damage award. —AFP cellular communication between the vehicle Malhotra said Audi hopes to expand the sys- systems differs from vehicle-to-vehicle and vehi- and a centralized traffic management control tem soon to other big U.S. cities, including cle-to-traffic signal programs using dedicated network- dubbed vehicle-to-infrastructure or places like Los Angeles, which have patchwork short-range communication. “V2I.” Audi offers it through a subscription serv- traffic management systems run by varying DSRC has been tested since 2012 at the ice not unlike commercial satellite radio. The jurisdictions in a sprawling urban landscape. University of Michigan, said Debra Bezzina, sen- company calls it “traffic light information.” The Las Vegas-area program, dubbed the ior program manager for the Ann Arbor Company executive Pom Malhotra terms it Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation, Connected Vehicle Test Environment. The univer- “time to green.” “You don’t have to constantly or FAST, collects data and synchronizes 1,300 sity Transportation Research Institute program is stare at the traffic light. You have that informa- traffic signals in a region home to more than 2 backed by several federal traffic safety, research, tion right in front of you,” Malhotra told reporters million people and host to more than 40 million trucking and transit agencies, and pilot pro- who test-drove the system Tuesday in vehicles tourists a year. It also has 508 cameras and free- grams are slated for Wyoming, New York and on and around Las Vegas Strip. way flow detectors, and controls 106 message Tampa, Florida. Bezzina said properly equipped Can’t see the light because there’s a tour bus signs and freeway on-ramp meters. vehicles with DSRC are able to detect traffic sig- ahead? No problem. The icon says you have 37 Tina Quigley, transportation commission nal phase signals at intersections. “If the light has seconds. “A lot of behavior in the car changes,” general manager, said other car companies will turned yellow, it can tell the driver, ‘You’re not Malhotra said. “You have time to relax your hands be able to tap into the Las Vegas data, which going to make the light,’” Bezzina said. —AP Malls take the Santa experience high-tech

NEW YORK: Hop on a virtual sleigh ride virtually fit over their bodies on a to the North Pole. Stand on the screen. The final stop was a two-story “Naughty or Nice O’Meter.” Snap a selfie tall enclosed sleigh that dropped fake and see your face on a dancing elf. The snow upon them. One girl made snow SEOUL: This file photo taken on October 26, 2016 shows people on an elevator as the Santa experience has gotten a angels on the floor while her sister logo of Samsung Electronics is seen on a glass door at a flagship store. — AFP makeover as many malls install shows danced under the colorful lasers. “It was and games they hope will lure shop- extravagant and well done,” says Mass. pers who are buying more online. Malls are hoping the over-the-top About 40 malls in the US and one in Santa visits remind people what brick- New Zealand passport robot tells London have the high-tech Santa dis- and-mortar stores can offer. They’re plays, most of them located near major increasingly trying to offer special applicant of Asian descent to open eyes cities that tend to house pricier stores. experiences as they compete with Taking photos on Santa’s lap costs online rivals, says Howard Davidowitz, SYDNEY: A New Zealand man of Asian Facebook. “No hard feelings on my part, about $30 and up, around the same as chairman of New York-based retail con- descent had his passport photograph I’ve always had very small eyes and facial at other malls, but most of the malls say sulting group Davidowitz & Associates. rejected when facial recognition soft- recognition technology is relatively new people can walk through without pur- “The parents love it, the kids love it and ware mistakenly registered his eyes as and unsophisticated,” Lee told Reuters. chasing anything. “It was a half-hour of Amazon can’t do it,” says Davidowitz. being closed. Richard Lee’s attempt to “It was a robot, no hard feelings. I got my entertainment that was free,” says Katie Santa’s Flight Academy was devel- renew his passport was blocked after he passport renewed in the end.” Mass, who took her twin daughters oped by mall operator Taubman submitted the picture to an online pass- Up to 20 percent of passport photos through Santa’s Flight Academy, a Centers Inc., which spent two years on port photo checker run by New submitted online are rejected for various 3,000-square-foot setup at The Mall at the idea. After testing it last year at The Zealand’s department of internal affairs. reasons, an Internal Affairs spokesman Short Hills in New Jersey. Mall of San Juan in Puerto Rico, the The automated system told the 22- said. “The most common error is a sub- She had gone to the mall to return company rolled it out to 11 other year-old engineering student the photo ject’s eyes being closed and that was the some dresses, but had to stop when Taubman malls this year, replacing a was invalid because his eyes were generic error message sent in this case,” her 2-year olds saw the spectacle. “They low-tech ice palace that had housed closed, even though they were clearly he said. The lighting in Lee’s first photo started running,” says the stay-at-home Santa for years. Like other malls with open, according to a copy of the notifi- was uneven, but a later one was accept- mom from Westfield, New Jersey. The elaborate Santa sets, Taubman declined ALPHARETTA, Georgia: In this Sunday, Nov 20, 2016, photo, mall cation posted on social media site ed, he added. — Reuters girls tapped touch screens, pulled to say how much it spent on Santa’s shoppers line up to visit the “Adventure to Santa,” a DreamWorks levers and watched as flight suits were Flight Academy. — AP DreamPlace experience at North Point Mall. —AP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 HEALTH & SCIENCE Global prescription drug spend seen at $1.5 trillion in 2021

NEW YORK: Global spending on prescrip- report found. Annual spending growth over data, said in an interview. QuintilesIMS reg- The report predicts an average of 45 Russia, will contribute to an overall drag on tion medicines will reach nearly $1.5 trillion the next five years is forecast at 4-7 percent, ularly tracks prescription drug data for the new drug launches each year, a historically spending growth and slow plans to expand by 2021, although the annual rate of growth primarily driven by newer medicines for industry. Spending in the United States, the high rate. While many will be very expensive access to more medicines, the report said. will decrease from recent years, according cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases largest market with by far the highest drug treatments, the report sees rising costs par- For example, China is expected to spend to a forecast by Quintiles IMS Holding in developed markets. That compares with prices, is expected to account for more than tially offset by a higher level of drugs going between $150 billion and $180 billion in released on Tuesday. spending growth of nearly 9 percent in half of global growth over the period, at a off patent than in the previous five years. 2021, but annual spending growth for med- That figure, based on wholesale pricing, 2014 and 2015 fueled in part by surging compound annual rate of 6 to 9 percent, or That includes the anticipated effect of more icines will fall to less than 7 percent over the is up nearly $370 billion from estimated demand for new hepatitis C cures that has 4 to 7 percent including discounts and biosimilars - cheaper versions of high-priced next five years from about 14 percent over 2016 spending. The United States will since leveled off. “After two years of unex- rebates. That is down from 12 percent biotech medicines - entering the market. the prior five. The compound annual account for up to $675 billion of the $1.5 pectedly high levels of growth, we are spending growth in 2015. “We are projecting they will have a total growth rate of drug spending in Europe is trillion. When accounting for anticipated returning to a more balanced and sustain- The report projects a slowdown in US impact over the next five years in the range estimated at just 1 to 4 percent through discounts and rebates to health insurers able level of expansion that we think health branded drug price increases, possibly a of $27 billion to $58 billion in savings in the 2021. “Economic growth remains relatively and other payers, 2021 net spending will be systems and payers will be able to manage,” result of rising political pressure. It sees US market,” Aitken said. weak across Europe, so that constrains closer to $1 trillion, the QuintilesIMS Murray Aitken, executive director of the annual wholesale price increases of 8 to 11 Economic slowdowns in Europe and expansion in healthcare and drug budgets,” Outlook for Global Medicines through 2021 QuintilesIMS Institute which compiled the percent and net prices rising 2 to 5 percent. emerging markets, such as China, Brazil and Aitken said. — Reuters Trump’s corporate tax holiday could spur pharma M&A Buying way into growth

NEW YORK: US President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to incentivize US companies to repatriate their swelling overseas cash piles could spur a new wave of deal making in a pharmaceutical industry seeking to buy its way into growth. For years, big US drugmakers have turned to acquisitions of foreign companies to put their overseas cash to work, rather than bring it home at a 35-percent tax rate. Trump has proposed allowing repatriation of this cash at a 10-percent tax rate, hoping some of it will be spent on hir- ing and investing in their businesses. However, drugmakers are much more likely BOHICON, Benin: This file photo taken on November 29, 2016 shows Blandine to spend this money on acquisitions that could Mekpo, a midwife at a maternity ward, providing information about AIDS to preg- revive their drug development pipeline by nant women. — AFP acquiring smaller peers with promising offer- ings, as opposed to risking more of their own Benin clinic battles mother- dollars on research and development, corporate executives and dealmakers say. Some of these deals could even result in job to-child HIV transmission cuts as companies seek to eliminate overlaps. “Would we consider to repatriate the cash? I BOHICON, Benin: Pregnant with her fourth care at the top of the list. The UN Children’s would say yes, and what we would look at would child in a clinic in Benin, Rosine is relieved to Fund (UNICEF) provides test kits, while the be first to maintain the lowest weighted average learn that she does not have AIDS, after a free Global Fund against AIDS, TB and Malaria pro- cost of capital for the company,” Amgen Inc chief FAYETTEVILLE: In this Dec 6, 2016, photo, President-elect Donald Trump speaks to supporters test considered a national health priority. “I vides ARV therapy. financial officer David Meline told analysts and during a rally. — AP was afraid the test would be positive. My hus- In Bohicon, the drugs are now stored on investors on the company’s most recent earn- are still hovering near historic lows after being speculation after a disappointing drug trial in band is a driver, you know,” the woman in her hospital premises. “Before, there was a risk of ings call in October. “Then we would look at cer- dragged down by election-season political criti- August sent its stock down more than 25 per- 40s told AFP at the maternity clinic in the running out because everything was stocked tainly deploying cash towards external opportu- cism of high drug prices. cent. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s blockbuster cancer small town of Bohicon, where she was in Cotonou,” the economic capital on the Gulf nities, but in that instance we would certainly “Tax repatriation is a more likely situation drug Opdivo could compliment Pfizer’s plan to screened. of Guinea, said Nicole Paqui, the doctor head- lead with other strategic opportunities that now, benefiting large biotechs and (pharmaceu- become a leader in immuno-oncology, which For 15 years, authorities in Benin have ing up UNICEF’s AIDS program. “Today, test make sense where we could get a return for our tical companies) with significant offshore cash seeks to use the body’s own defenses to treat sought to tackle mother-to-child transmis- kits and medication are available in perma- own shareholders from such investments.” and a desire to buy mid-cap companies,” RBC cancer, industry bankers said, without suggest- sion of HIV with free care, from the initial tests nent fashion in all the public health zones,” Trump’s transition team did not respond to a Capital equity analyst Michael Yee wrote in a ing that any deal is in the works. to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs if a patient she added. request for comment on the potential impact of research note. The last time tax considerations Pfizer declined to comment, while Bristol- proves seropositive. A program that covers 87 Training for nurses and care assistants has his proposed tax holiday on the drug industry. fueled a wave of dealmaking in the pharmaceu- Myers Squibb did not respond to a request for percent of the public and private maternity helped to make maternity clinics friendlier Corporate America had $1.3 trillion, or 74 per- tical industry was in 2014, when companies comment. Another cancer drug company that clinics in the small west African country has places to welcome mothers. AIDS has cent of its total cash, stashed overseas in 2016, sought to redomicile abroad through acquisi- could attract takeover interest following a cash been a success, cutting the rate of mother-to- become less of a taboo subject and health according to Moody’s Investors Service Inc. tions, referred to as corporate inversions. But US repatriation is Incyte Corp, as it could make an child transmission almost by half between workers no longer take fright when a new That’s up from an estimated $1.2 trillion, or 72 President Barack Obama subsequently attractive target for Gilead Sciences Inc if it was 2012 and 2016, from 14 percent of cases to case is detected. But in Bohicon as elsewhere, percent of total cash, a year earlier. announced curbs to limit inversions, culminating able to bring home its nearly $25 billion in over- 7.6 percent. “This is completely integrated difficulties arise for medical and social rea- While the top five overseas cash holders are in Pfizer abandoning its $160-billion agreement seas cash, bankers said. into maternal care, it’s routine,” said Blandine sons. Some patients give up on treatment technology companies such as Apple Inc and to acquire Allergan Plc, the biggest attempted Gilead has been under pressure to find a new Mekpo, who has been a midwife for 11 years. because of unpleasant side-effects, while oth- Microsoft Corp , the pharmaceutical industry merger of all time. blockbuster because of declining sales from its “All the women who come in for a prenatal ers shrug off their HIV-positive status for fear accounts for a big chunk of that cash. The five US Pharmaceutical M&A involving US companies aging Hepatitis C franchise and the recent failure consultation agree to the test.” of being stigmatized. Money can also be a pharmaceutical companies with the largest cash has been around $90 billion year-to-date, down in clinical trials of a cancer drug that would have Elise cradles her little son in her arms. problem, for instance whenever a man refus- piles, namely Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co, Johnson & from nearly $270 billion the year before. competed with Incyte’s successful blood cancer Fifteen months ago, the young mother es to pay for his wife to travel to the maternity Johnson, Amgen and Eli Lilly and Co, hold nearly drug, Jakafi. Gilead declined comment; Incyte learned that she was infected with HIV. The clinic. Female mediators help to overcome $250 billion in overseas funds, according to data On the hunt did not respond to a request for comment. clinic at once provided her with a free box of such obstacles by accompanying women dur- from US non-profit research and advocacy group Executives at Pfizer, which has already said it Beyond cancer drug makers, other biotech- ARV drugs, which worked. Her child of six ing the medical process. “When they notice Citizens for Tax Justice. is looking to do more deals after its $14-billion nology companies that could attract takeover months does not have the virus. “This is a that some women are no longer attending, At the same time, big pharma is in hot pursuit acquisition of cancer drugmaker Medivation Inc, interest include those specializing in neurology great joy,” Elise says. “The treatment saved me, they go out to their homes to fetch them,” of the next blockbuster drug. Many of the indus- have told investors in private meetings that its companies, such as Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc , they saved my son and my husband. He is the said the head coordinator of health care in try’s most successful franchises, from Gilead’s M&A appetite would grow even bigger if it could that have promising treatments for ailments only one to know. I live a normal life, like all the area, Blaise Guezo-Mevo. Hepatitis C cure and Biogen Inc’s multiple sclero- bring home its more than $70 billion in overseas such as Alzheimer’s psychosis and migraine. women and all mothers.” Seventy percent of the women concerned sis treatments, to AbbVie Inc’s arthritis drug cash, according to people familiar with the mat- Acadia did not respond to a request for com- Medical staff will nonetheless continue to are found. “And when we recover them, we Humira, are all bracing for declining revenues as ter. Pfizer could potentially use its newfound ment. “We believe the vast majority of investors monitor Elise’s son until he is 18 months old. don’t lose them again,” the doctor added. In patents age and competition heats up. firepower to buy a company as large as Bristol- have been underweight biotech all year,” said Yee “When a mother takes ARVs, she doesn’t mid-November, the ministry of health Valuations of biotechnology companies that Myers Squibb Co, a $92-billion market capitaliza- in his note. “A coiled spring of money flow may transmit the virus to her child, neither during launched an ambitious campaign to bring the could be acquisition targets for major drug firms tion cancer drugmaker that fueled takeover need to shift back over to biotech.” — Reuters pregnancy nor at birth, nor while breast-feed- rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV ing,” Mekpo points out. The risk of transmis- down below five percent in the next four sion is less than one percent, compared with years. a risk of 35 percent in the absence of preven- If this goal is to be achieved, men have to Conservative Serbia becomes tive treatment. At 1.2 percent across Benin, be brought into the process. “The involve- the rate of HIV-positive people is low by ment of spouses is indispensable,” Paqui said. African standards. Of every hundred births “When the man is informed and supportive of recorded at the Bohicon clinic during a his spouse, she’ll go all the way. But if she has unlikely sex change center month, two mothers on average have proved to hide, the protocol is not effective.” seropositive. But during the entire year, only Elise is one of the lucky ones. Her husband BELGRADE: In a country where Gay Pride parades one child was subsequently infected. came to take a test, which proved negative, require massive security and almost half the citi- and he is ready to fetch drugs for her from the zens think homosexuality is a disease, Serbia is Get the men involved clinic. “Screening husbands is still difficult,” drawing patients from around the world seeking Several factors contribute to such good Mekpo says. “Yet screening is a matter for sex change operations to become men. results, with free provision of screening and couples.” — AFP Offering experts in the field for a fraction of the cost in western Europe and America, Belgrade has become a surprising centre for the complex gender reassignment surgery. One Italian patient began S Korea expands cull the transition to become a man 14 years ago and visited Belgium, Britain and Germany looking for to contain bird flu the best clinic to complete the procedure. In the end the 38-year-old anesthetist chose the SEOUL: South Korea on Tuesday said it was the country if the virus continues to spread, Belgrade Centre for Genital Reconstructive Surgery, expanding a cull of chickens and ducks to the ministry said in a statement. led by Miroslav Djordjevic, a professor of urology try to contain a damaging bird flu out- There have been no cases of human and surgery in the Serbian capital. “I did a lot of break. The H5N6 virus was first confirmed infections from H5N6 in South Korea, research and contacted many centers and I found on November 18 at a farm in central South although between 2014 and April 2016, the that almost everyone was a student of Professor Korea and has since spread to farms around virus killed six people in China, according Djordjevic, so I wanted to go to the source of this the country, with the total number of cases to the South’s Centers for Disease Control knowledge,” said the bearded and softly-spoken now standing at 28. and Prevention. patient, speaking to AFP a few days after surgery. The agriculture ministry said in a state- The World Health Organization warned He asked to be identified only by the initials A.T. ment that it has culled more than 4.4 mil- earlier this year that the strain “has caused Djordjevic operates on about 100 international sex lion birds and would slaughter another 2.7 severe infection in humans” but added change patients each year from countries including million. Health authorities agreed to issue a “until now human infections with the virus Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Australia and the United BELGRADE: An anonymous Italian anesthetist (R) speaks with the Professor Miroslav Djordjevic so-called “standstill” order to restrict work- seem to be sporadic with no ongoing States. Another 20 or so come from around the for- (L), after his sex change operations at a specialized clinic on October 11, 2016. —AFP ers at poultry farms from moving around human to human transmission”. — AFP mer Yugoslavia. Eighty-five percent of his patients This medical specialty started in Serbia in the tions to reduce the chance of complications. In any are seeking female-to-male operations, a rarer and late 1980s under Djordjevic’s mentor Sava Perovic, case the pre-surgical procedure is lengthy: a patient more complicated procedure than the reverse. a surgeon who pioneered developments in treat- should undergo a thorough psychiatric evaluation All of France placed on ‘high ment for transgenders. Another centre in his name, and hormone treatment totaling up to two years. Yugoslav pioneers the Sava Perovic Foundation, also performs female- risk’ restrictions over bird flu For general healthcare Serbia is not widely con- to-male sex changes in Belgrade. ‘Violence, bullying, rejection’ sidered a medical tourism destination, although it Media-savvy Djordjevic denies that value-for- Serbia’s success in this special strand of medical PARIS: France widened “high risk” restric- But France, which has the largest poultry does draw some foreigners seeking cheap den- money is the main reason for Serbia’s popularity, tourism is incongruous with the widespread atti- tions to the entire country after the detection flock in the European Union, has since been tistry. Take, for example, gallstone treatment in although A.T. paid 15,000 Euros ($16,000) in Serbia tudes towards gays and transgenders in the patri- of several cases of the highly pathogenic hit by several outbreaks, in a setback for Serbia, which “is five times cheaper than in for surgery that would have cost 60,000 euros in archal country of seven million people. At H5N8 avian flu strain in farms in southwest French poultry and foie gras producers still Germany, but nobody comes here for gallstone Britain. The Italian patient said he could have had Belgrade’s Gay Pride march in 2010, hardline France and in wild ducks in northern France, reeling from a bird flu epidemic that started a treatment,” said 51-year-old Djordjevic. He said his operation for free at home but he believed the nationalists attacked participants and clashed with the farm ministry said on Tuesday. year ago. Poultry farmers will have to keep patients come to his centre, which opened in 2006, surgeons there lacked enough experience. police, wounding 150 people and prompting offi- The decision was also motivated by the their flocks indoors or apply safety nets pre- because it’s one of fewer than 20 around the world David Ralph, a London-based consultant urolo- cials to ban the parade for the next three years. “rapid change in the ... situation in France and venting contact with wild birds, it said. that can perform the full female-to-male surgery- gist who specializes in penile construction, said Thousands of riot police are now deployed for in several European countries”, the statement Those who may not use confinement or and it’s unique because “we perform everything in lower hospital costs rather than surgical expenses the annual event and the city centre is locked said. The ministry had already imposed safety nets because of animal welfare or one stage”. “We do, at the same stage, the removal appeared to be what drove down prices in Serbia. down. A UN-backed survey on discrimination in tighter restrictions on several zones mostly quality requirements can ask to be exempt- of the breasts, removal of female internal geni- “At the end of the day the patients get the same,” late 2013 showed that 49 percent of Serbians located in humid areas last month in an effort ed if they can prove sufficient biosecurity talia... and then we finish our surgery with the cre- Ralph told AFP, although he said he preferred to do believed homosexuality was a disease that should to avoid contamination. measures. — Reuters ation of a neophallus,” he explained. female-to-male surgery in a series of smaller opera- be treated. — AFP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 HEALTH & SCIENCE ‘Obamacare’ repeal-only would make 30m uninsured ‘Replace’ stalls

WASHINGTON: Repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law without a clear replace- ment risks making nearly 30 million people uninsured, according to a study released yester- day. Republicans say that won’t happen because they are working on replacement legislation for a President Donald Trump to sign. Nonetheless, the complex two-stage strategy the GOP SYRACUSE, New York: In this Oct 6, 2016 still image from video, Ph.D. candidate Andy Congress is contemplating has raised concerns. Newhouse looks over young American chestnut trees, some of them genetically The plan is for Congress to first use a special modified, growing in a rooftop nursery at the State University of New York’s College budget-related procedure to repeal major por- of Environmental Science and Forestry. — AP tions of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, next year. The effective date of that repeal would be Spread by trade and climate, delayed by months or years to give lawmakers time to write replacement legislation. bugs butcher America’s forests The replacement law would presumably do many of the same things that “Obamacare” Undermining forest ecosystems does, such as subsidizing coverage and protect- ing people with health problems. But it would PETERSHAM, Massachusetts: In a towering “The primary driver of the invasive pest not involve as much federal regulation, and it forest of centuries-old eastern hemlocks, it’s problem is globalization, which includes would eliminate a highly unpopular require- easy to miss one of the tree’s nemeses. No increased trade and travel,” Andrew Liebhold, ment that most Americans get health insurance larger than a speck of pepper, the Hemlock a Forest Service research entomologist in or face fines. woolly adelgid spends its life on the under- West Virginia. “But there are cases where cli- side of needles sucking sap, eventually killing mate change can play an important role. As ‘Replace’ stalls the tree. The bug is one in an expanding army climates warm, species are able to survive Yesterday’s analysis from the nonpartisan of insects draining the life out of forests from and thrive in more northerly areas.” Urban Institute looks at a scenario where “repeal” New England to the West Coast. Aided by The emerald ash borer, first found in 2002 goes through, but “replace” stalls. It predicts WASHINGTON: In this Oct 24, 2016, file photo, the HealthCare.gov 2017 web site home page. — AP global trade, warming climate and drought- in Michigan, is now in 30 states and has killed heavy collateral damage for people buying indi- vidual requirement to carry health insurance. try back to the situation before the ACA,” the weakened trees, the invaders have become hundreds of millions of ash trees. The gypsy vidual health insurance policies independent of Another 7.3 million would become uninsured study concluded. “It moves the country to a situ- one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in moth, discovered in 1869 in Boston, is now government markets like HealthCare.gov. because of the ripple effects of market ation with higher uninsurance rates than was the United States. found in 20 states and has reached the north- Though nonpartisan, the Urban Institute gener- upheavals. That could happen if insurers lose the case before the ACA’s reforms. Scientists say they already are driving ern Great Lakes, according to the US ally supports the goal of extending coverage to confidence in the Republican promise of a “To replace the ACA...with new policies some tree species toward extinction and are Department of Agriculture. all Americans. Previously it has criticized some replacement and abandon the individual mar- designed to increase insurance coverage, the causing billions of dollars a year in damage - Native bark beetles have taken advantage of the subsidies provided under Obama’s law as ket. A key industry worry is that a repeal law federal government would have to raise new and the situation is expected to worsen. of warming conditions and a long western insufficient. would get rid of subsidies and mandates but still taxes, substantially cut spending, or increase the “They are one of the few things that can actu- drought to rapidly range from Mexico into The new analysis warns that repealing major leave insurers on the hook for covering people deficit,” the authors added. That’s because the ally eliminate a forest tree species in pretty Canada. An outbreak in Colorado spread parts of the health law without a clear replace- with health problems. taxes used to finance Obama’s coverage expan- short order - within years,” said Harvard across 3.4 million acres of forest from 1996 to ment could upend the health insurance market The number of uninsured people would rise sion would also be repealed. Republicans say University ecologist David Orwig as he 2013, according to the Forest Service, and in for people buying their coverage directly, out- to nearly 59 million in 2019, and the nation they won’t allow chaos to happen. “We are not walked past dead hemlocks scattered across California 100 million-plus trees have died in side of the workplace. That group has grown would have a higher uninsured rate than when going to rip health care out of the hands of the university’s 5.8-square -mile research for- the Sierra Nevada since 2010. substantially under the health care law, but also the ACA passed in 2010, the study found. Americans,” House Ways and Means Chairman est in Petersham. includes millions of other customers. Federal and state governments would save tens Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a recent interview This scourge is projected to put 63 percent Bugs damage The study found that 22.5 million people of billions of dollars, but the potential price with Associated Press reporters and editors. of the country’s forest at risk through 2027 Though small, bugs can easily overwhelm would lose coverage directly due to repeal of the would be social dislocation and a political back- “Republicans are going to give Americans choic- and carries a cost of several billion dollars big trees with sheer numbers. “They drain the law’s subsidies, Medicaid expansion, and its indi- lash. “This scenario does not just move the coun- es and an appropriate transition.” — AP annually in dead tree removal, declining resin that otherwise defends the tree,” said property values and timber industry losses, Matt Ayres, a Dartmouth College ecologist according to a peer-reviewed study this year who worked on the Ecological Applications in Ecological Applications. study. “Then, the tree is toast.” Captive elephants help save That examination, by more than a dozen Forest pests in the era of climate change experts, found that hundreds of pests have are especially concerning for timberland wild cousins on forest frontline invaded the nation’s forests, and that the owners, said Jasen Stock, executive director emerald ash borer alone has the potential to of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners LAMPUNG, Indonesia: It was the middle of the cause $12.7 billion in damage by 2020. Association. “We’re dealing with pests we’ve night when the villagers sounded the alarm: a never been around before, never had to man- huge Sumatran elephant was raiding their rice Species going extinct age around before,” Stock said. “It’s something fields, and they needed urgent help to drive it back Insect pests, some native and others from we’re going to be dealing with forever.” to the forest. as far away as Asia, can undermine forest Urban forests, too, are at risk from out- Dodot-a veteran Indonesian elephant keeper ecosystems. For example, scientists say, sever- breaks. In Worcester, Massachusetts, a city of trained to handle such emergencies-rushed to the al species of hemlock and almost 20 species about 180,000, an Asian long horned beetle scene, fearing villagers would take matters into of ash could nearly go extinct in the coming infestation in 2008 resulted in the removal of their own hands if he didn’t get there in time. “It decades. Such destruction would do away 31,000 trees. “You would leave for work with a was the king,” Dodot said of the hungry bull male with a critical sponge to capture greenhouse tree-lined street, and you come back and that had strayed from the forest in southeast gas emissions, shelter for birds and insects there was not a tree in sight,” recalled Ruth Sumatra in search of food. “He’s not afraid of and food sources for bears and other animals. Seward, executive director of the nonprofit humans, or weapons. He owns the territory.” Dead forests also can increase the danger of Worchester Tree Initiative. Most trees have It was the third such intrusion in a month. catastrophic wildfires. since been replaced. Confrontations between elephants and humans Today’s connected world enables foreign Though trees can die off quickly, the can quickly turn violent in Sumatra, where compe- invaders to cross oceans in packing materials impact of pests on a forest ecosystem can tition for space has intensified as the island’s forests or on garden plants, and then reach American take decades to play out. Dead hemlocks, for have been rapidly cleared for timber and farming. forests. Once here, they have rapidly expand- example, are giving way to black birch and Nearly 70 percent of the Sumatran elephants habi- ed their ranges. other hardwoods. Gone are favorite nesting tat has been destroyed in a single generation, says While all 50 states have been attacked by spots for two types of warblers, as well as the conservation group WWF, driving them into ever- pests, experts say forests in the Northeast, bark that red squirrels love to eat, Harvard’s closer contact with humans. California, Colorado and parts of the Midwest, Orwig said. The birds won’t die off, he said, Villagers have been trampled and killed by North Carolina and Florida are especially at but their ranges will be restricted. “It’s a great stampeding herds, but it’s the elephants that have INDONESIA: This photo taken on November 8, 2016 shows a ranger atop a patrol elephant with risk. Forests in some states, like New York, are example of how one species can make a dif- suffered most as their habitats have shrunk. In 25 her calf in Way Kambas National Park, where human settlements border a tranche of lowland close to major trade routes, while others, like ference in the forest,” Orwig said. As pests years, half of Sumatra’s wild elephants have been forest home to an estimated 250 wild Sumatran elephants. — AFP in Florida, house trees especially susceptible proliferate, scientists seek to contain them. wiped out. The species was upgraded to critically to pests. Others, like New Hampshire, Among the methods are bio controls, in endangered in 2012, with experts blaming the twin tusks but many elephants are killed simply for tres- island’s northeast. Authorities believe it accidental- Massachusetts and Maine, are experiencing which bugs that feed upon pests in their drivers of deforestation and conflict with humans. passing on land. This month an elephant was ly ingested fertilizer but an investigation is continu- record warming. native lands are introduced here. — AP Ivory poachers have long hunted bulls for their found dead near a palm oil plantation in the ing, the local conservation head told AFP. — AFP THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 HEALTH & SCIENCE

Democrats: McConnell fix for miners’ health care inadequate

WASHINGTON: Senate Democrats on Tuesday push for a bipartisan bill that would protect retire- Brown said. “This is everything that’s wrong with miners in his state and across Appalachia. “If we blasted a proposal by Senate Majority Leader ment and health-care benefits for about 120,000 Washington.” don’t stand for the people that have made our Mitch McConnell to temporarily protect health retired coal miners and their families. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would block country as great as it is, we stand for nothing,” care benefits for thousands of retired coal miners. other bills on the Senate floor until miners get Manchin said. The benefits are set to expire at the end of the Vote blocking their full health care and pension money - about McConnell said his plan would protect benefits year, and McConnell said he is working with House Republicans have blocked a vote on the bill on $3 billion over the next 10 years. Manchin warned for miners suffering from what he called the Speaker Paul Ryan to include money for the min- the Senate floor. McConnell and other GOP lead- colleagues they may have to stay through Obama administration’s “war on coal,” combined ers in a short-term spending bill slated for a vote ers are wary of bailing out unionized workers, with Christmas unless the issue is resolved. with “challenges within the energy market (that) this week. But Democrats said the GOP solution some arguing that all coal miners should get the In a speech on the Senate floor, Manchin said have led to a dramatic increase in bankruptcies only lasts for a few months and does not protect help. Some Republicans also say the bill could retired miners deserve benefits that are now at risk and lost coal jobs, exhausting the health benefits pension benefits that also are at risk. McConnell’s pressure Congress to offer similar help to other amid the coal industry’s steep decline and bank- of thousands of coal workers and retirees.” proposal would pay for miners’ health care for the cash-strapped pension funds. Their opposition ruptcies of several large mining companies. While he recognizes the plan “will not solve the next four months by seizing money from their cur- was criticized by Brown and other Democrats. “We Without congressional intervention, some of the challenges of every coal miner or retiree in rent health-care plan, Democrats said. had the chance to protect the retirement and funds could run out of cash by next year, accord- Kentucky, this provision will help address many of “The Republican leader is turning his back on health care coal miners have earned and save tax- ing to the United Mine Workers of America. “We the health care needs of thousands of miners who American coal miners,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D- payers money in the process, but Washington are the country that we are because of the hard fell victim to the steep downturn in coal produc- Ohio. Brown and other Democrats said they will leaders chose to pull a bait and switch instead,” work that they’ve done,” Manchin said, referring to tion,” McConnell said. — AP

Clean cookstoves fail to curb pneumonia in kids: Study

PARIS: Disappointed researchers reported One continued using traditional, open- yesterday that a two-year trial in rural sub- fire wood- or dung-burning stoves for Saharan Africa showed clean-burning cooking and heating for the duration of indoor cookstoves did not reduce cases of the two-year experiment. Families in the pneumonia in young children, as hoped. other group were given clean-burning Investigators and health advocates had cookstoves that also used biomass-organ- expected that closed stoves rather than ic matter derived from animals or plants. smoke-producing open fires would dra- “There had been the assumption that the matically curb health problems linked use of cleaner cookstoves will bring about with household air pollution. The World health benefits and save lives,” said lead Health Organization (WHO) estimates that investigator Kevin Mortimer of the indoor air pollution-notably soot and oth- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. er fine particles-kills more than four mil- But the new stoves had “no effect on lion people every year around the world, the incidence of pneumonia” in the chil- mostly in Africa. dren, the researchers concluded. Young children are thought to be espe- Published in The Lancet, the study did cially vulnerable. In Malawi, pneumonia is show that children living in the clean the leading cause of death among under stove homes had 42 percent fewer burns five-year-olds. For the experiment, the than their counterparts in the other families of more than 10,000 very young group. “The reductions in burn-related children in villages across two districts in injuries is encouraging from a safety per- Malawi were divided into two groups. spective,” Mortimer said. —AFP

Japan mercury-poisoning victims demand tests, 60 years later

TOKYO: Six decades after “Minamata dis- The presiding judge ruled that Tsuda ease” mercury poisoning was first discov- was legally ineligible to be a plaintiff in the ered, victims and their advocates are lawsuit. The ruling statement argued there demanding tests for food toxicity and ill- was no risk of the poisoning spreading and ATLANTA: In this Thursday, Nov 10, 2016 photo, CDC workers look through microscopes at as an image of a skin biopsy is displayed on a screen nesses be carried out to help identify said the relevant law was not designed to at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. —AP patients. certify food-poisoning victims, just stop its Such tests could have greatly reduced spread, the judge said. the number of victims if done earlier, said Toshihiro Yamaguchi, Tsuda’s lawyer, Goals missed on obesity, food Toshihide Tsuda, a doctor whose civil law- said Minamata victims could number as suit demanding such tests was rejected by many as 470,000 people. Many have the Tokyo District Court yesterday. Tsuda already died. Only about 2,200 have been sued the Japanese government to demand officially certified as victims, often after poisoning, despite govt push it conduct tests for methyl mercury poison- arduous court battles. “Sixty years is a long ing. He vowed to appeal the court’s deci- time,” Yamaguchi said. “Many have endured sion backing the government, which gen- suffering every day.” —AP A frank self-assessment erally has chosen not to conduct such tests. Minamata disease, one of Japan’s worst NEW YORK: Progress in the US against obesity, next month, as the Trump administration takes Mixed progress on cutting down infections environmental disasters, refers to mercury food poisoning, and infections spread in hospi- control of federal agencies and appoints its own spread in hospitals and medical clinics. Three poisoning from eating fish and shellfish. tals has been uneven and disappointing, despite administrators. kinds of infections declined. They haven’t yet hit Thousands of people were sickened or crip- dedicated efforts to fight these health threats by The most clear-cut progress was in cigarette target levels, but there’s some hope they will pled by neurological disorders from the the nation’s top public health agency. smoking and teen pregnancy. Last year, national when more data are available. And rates for cer- mercury leaks into Minamata Bay and near- The Centers for Disease Control and goals were met for reducing adult smoking by tain urinary tract infections didn’t fall at all. by waters by chemical company Chisso Prevention issued a frank self-assessment more than 17 percent, and youth smoking by 12 Inability reduce the number of new HIV cases Corp., which continued for more than a Monday of its campaign to focus on certain percent. The goal of cutting the teen birth rate by 25 percent. The number of new cases fell by decade. Affected babies were born with health problems, an effort it called “winnable by 20 percent was also met. 18 percent. Failure to reduce obesity rates for severe deformities. battles.” While there have been clear success- Critics argued that those were relatively easy toddlers and older children. Instead, the rate Advocates of the victims have been try- es in areas like smoking and teen pregnancy, goals - smoking and teen pregnancy rates were grew slightly, to more than 17 percent. Despite ing since 1956 for the right to demand such other areas have seen little change or even already trending down before Frieden arrived. the mixed grades in the CDC’s report card on tests, which can only be mandated by the gotten worse. But Frieden argued that the goals his agency set itself, some experts applauded CDC efforts, say- government. Tsuda contends there would Particularly disappointing is the battle were ambitious and never assured. ing the agency had only limited abilities to pre- have been far fewer Minamata victims if against childhood obesity, said Dr. Tom Frieden, Another goal once considered within easy vent illness or stop people from doing things tests had been done right away. Even the CDC’s director. “The data speak for them- reach was the reduction of car crash deaths by that hurt their own health. “I think, to CDC’s today, such tests could help identify people selves,” Frieden said of the obesity statistics. “If 31 percent by 2015. Earlier in this decade those credit, they picked a broad range of public suffering from high mercury levels, he says. you look for the goal we set for ourselves, and deaths were plummeting and the goal seemed health challenges and they set the bar high Japanese law requires routine and look at what happened, we didn’t achieve it.” well within reach. But crash deaths only fell 21 enough that they could not automatically meticulous testing for food poisoning. But Frieden set a list of priorities he called percent because of a recent uptick, which many declare success at the end of an administration,” such testing is only conducted when the “winnable battles” shortly after he was named to attribute to distracted driving. said Jeff Levi, a George Washington University government deems it necessary. That often lead the CDC in 2009. The list included smoking, professor of health management and policy. has been the case in smaller food poison- AIDS, obesity and nutrition, teen pregnancy, The report card also found: The Atlanta-based CDC has an annual ing incidents. The requirement that the auto injuries and health care infections. It later Disappointing results in meeting two food budget of more than $13 billion and a staff of government order such tests is a “legal grew to include food poisoning. safety goals. Rates of illness from harmful E. coli more than 15,000. Much of its funding is dis- loophole,” said Tsuda. “If this is allowed, it TOKYO: Plaintiff Toshihide Tsuda, a On Monday, the agency released what it bacteria dropped, but didn’t reach the goal of a tributed to state and local health depart- means the government can do whatever it doctor and Okayama University pro- described as its third and final report card on the 29 percent reduction goal. And illness rates from ments, and many of them follow the CDC’s wants - or rather not have to do anything at fessor, attends the press conference campaign. Frieden is expected to leave office salmonella increased. agenda-setting lead. —AP all,” he told reporters after the ruling. yesterday. — AP Many smartphone health apps Scientists develop robotic hand don’t flag danger, says review

NEW YORK: Don’t count on smart- entered information that should have for people with quadriplegia phone health apps in an emergency: A drawn warnings from the app - like review shows many don’t warn when selecting “yes” when the app asked if the BERLIN: Scientists have developed a mind-con- carry out tasks such as picking up potato chips or of the study, participants represented typical peo- you’re in danger. The study published user was feeling suicidal, or entering trolled robotic hand that allows people with cer- signing a document. According to Surjo R. ple with high spinal cord injuries, meaning they Monday in the journal Health Affairs extremely abnormal levels for blood tain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday Soekadar, a neuroscientist at the University were able to move their shoulders but not their found problems even with apps consid- sugar levels. tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup. Hospital Tuebingen in Germany and lead author fingers. — AP ered to be among the highest-quality Only 28 of 121 apps responded The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six offerings on the market. appropriately to such red-flag informa- people with quadriplegia affecting their ability There’s been a proliferation of health tion, researchers said. Health apps to grasp or manipulate objects. apps for mobile phones. According to “should have some common-sense stan- By wearing a cap that measures electric brain the IMS Institute for Healthcare dards” said lead author Dr. Karandeep activity and eye movement the users were able Informatics, there are more than Singh, a University of Michigan internist. to send signals to a tablet computer that con- 165,000 health apps out there. “The “The vast majority of apps do not have trolled the glove-like device attached to their state of health apps is even worse than any kind of response.” hand. we thought,” said Dr. James Madara, Participants in the small-scale study were chief executive of the American Medical Medical privacy able to perform daily activities better with the Association, who was not involved in Another issue is the safeguarding of robotic hand than without, according to results the study. medical privacy. While patients com- published Tuesday in the journal Science This wasn’t a survey of step-counting monly enter health information into Robotics. fitness apps. The research team apps, a lot of the information is shared The principle of using brain-controlled robot- reviewed 137 apps designed for patients through insecure methods like text mes- ic aids to assist people with quadriplegia isn’t with serious ongoing health problems, sage or emailing, the researchers said. new. But many existing systems require including asthma, cancer, diabetes, The reviewed apps came from Apple implants, which can cause health problems, or heart disease, and depression. iTunes and Google Play app stores - use wet gel to transmit signals from the scalp to The health apps, for example, help most of them free. Each app was the electrodes. The gel needs to be washed out those with diabetes track and record reviewed by a doctor and a tech expert. of the user’s hair afterward, making it impractical every blood sugar reading and insulin The researchers named most of the apps in daily life. “The participants, who had previous- injection. One invites users to photo- but didn’t publish their reviews. Instead, ly expressed difficulty in performing everyday graph their moles, and offers analysis on they shared them with the app compa- tasks without assistance, rated the system as reli- whether they are changing in a way that nies. Singh said they were interested in able and practical, and did not indicate any dis- signals skin cancer. “identifying gaps that need to be filled” comfort during or after use,” the researchers said. The study suggests that, though instead of naming winners and losers. some apps are good, there are prob- Overall, the industry needs to do more How to use the system lems. Perhaps most concerning was work to improve safety and privacy, he It took participants just 10 minutes to learn what happened when doctor reviewers said. —AP BADALONA, Spain: In this undated grab taken from video, a patient uses a robotic hand to how to use the system before they were able to drink from a cup. —AP WHAT’S ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

The Promenade expands family offering with opening of Chocomelt Kuwait’s neighborhood mall welcomes new chocolate coffee shop, catering to growing family visitors

he Promenade mall has welcomed its latest opening such as birthday parties and family celebrations. Promenade and Chocomelt partnered to host media for a and expansion of its offering to families following the Commenting on the opening, Mishari Jamal Al-Oudah, special brunch to showcase the cafe menu and the avail- Tintroduction of Chocomelt. The new dessert bar and Deputy General Manager said: “We are proud to provide able activities across the mall for families. cafÈ is set to attract families and friends with passion of creative flavors for sweets lovers in Kuwait. Following our Open from 10am until 10pm Saturday to Wednesday chocolate sweets, dipped fruits, hot and cold drinks, and passion of chocolate, we aim at offering special taste to and 10am until 11pm Thursday and Friday, the mall fea- coffee blends with the finest form of chocolate. everyone in town. Therefore, The Promenade is only the tures five floors of shopping and entertainment, providing The neighborhood mall, which has established itself beginning and we promise our guests to always be closer top fashion brands, a gourmet supermarket and a variety with the destination of choice for families, is adding to its to them with the new branches that will be launched early of cafes and dining restaurants, while offering dedicated appeal the latest dining and confectionary outlet. “It is with next year”. entertainment and health & leisure options such as a spa. delight that we welcome Chocomelt to The Promenade. To mark the opening of the new coffee shop, The We are continually looking to attract a wealth of outlets, restaurants and activities that provide entertainment and enjoyment for the families who visit us, and the latest opening adds to this offering that I am sure will be a delight for all ages,” Alyah Al-Jasser, Marketing Manager at Al Othman, the owning charitable company of The Promenade.

The Kuwaiti concept, founded in 2015 by Abdul Rahman Fahed Al-Oudah and Mishari Jamal Al-Oudah, spe- cializes in the perfect blend of chocolate with sweets, served with both cold and hot sips. Chocomelt dessert bar and cafe serves a variety of sweets prepared by the finest ingredients and best Belgian chocolate featuring “Baby Dynamic”, “Red Velvet Souffle Pancake”, “French Peanut Butter Brownies” besides of a various cold and hot drinks like” Cafe Mocha”, “Nutella Espresso”, “Iced Spanish Latte” and “Caramel Frappe” to name some. In addition, the dessert bar and cafe is ready to cater for special events

Burgan Bank’s Airport Branch Ready for the Prophet’s Birthday Holiday Rush

ith the upcoming Prophet’s Birthday Wholiday expected to be a hugely busy period, Burgan Bank today announced that it is ready to serve its customers in its air- port branch which will be open as usual from 8:00 am to 10:30 pm, in an effort to accommodate banking requirements for both travel- ers and regular customers over the public holiday. For more information on any products or services, cus- tomers are required to con- tact Burgan Bank’s call center That Al Salasil hosts book signing of 1804080 during the holiday. On this occasion, Burgan Faisal Al Ayyar’s ‘Money and Sand’ Bank extends its best wishes and greetings to the public. hat Al Salasil bookstore hosted the signing ceremo- large an impact politics can have on the investment and ny of ‘Money and Sand: Kuwaiti investments financial decision-making process.” Tbetween the hammer of politics and the anvil of mis- management’, a book by the renowned Kuwaiti business- He further said: man, Mr Faisal Al Ayyar. The ceremony, held at the book- “This research has confirmed that political and eco- KFH Continues to Serve Clients Electronically, store’s branch at The Avenues, was attended by people nomic decision-making are intertwined, and that in many interested in politics and economy, as well as media per- cases no one was held accountable despite the formation through Airport Branch during Holiday sonalities. of investigation committees, the intervention of the prose- The book, published in Arabic, discusses investment, cution and the media exposure. Having said that, readers commercial and financial cases that took place in Kuwait will no doubt be proud of the many success stories and uwait Finance House (KFH) announced that it is 1803333 that is available throughout the day. Clients over the past four decades. the sound strategic decisions that were taken, as well as ready to fulfill its commitments towards its clients can call to make account transactions, ask for financial the people who stood up for what is right regardless of Kduring the holiday. The bank will continue to transaction, pay bills, purchase cards to recharge cell On this occasion, Mr Faisal Al Ayyar said: the outcomes.” offer various services for its clients in Kuwait and over- phone, and other services. “For several decades, I observed the investments made ‘Money and Sand: Kuwaiti investments between the seas through its website that offers over 150 eservices, Further, clients can take advantage of KFH’s ATM by Kuwait both in the country and abroad, and I found hammer of politics and the anvil of mismanagement’ is a in addition to the airport branch and other service machines that are available at all vital locations. KFH that there is much that the public are not aware of. This is publication of That Al Salasil Publishing. channels that provide clients with necessary services offers Mobi Baitok vehicles that serve as mobile branch- why I took the initiative to oversee this project, whereby a round the clock. es that allow people to deposit and withdraw cash in research team collected this information from different Moreover, the Call Center will be ready to receive addition to other usual transactions. sources and put it in one book. I hope that this generation calls from clients throughout the day, and will work KFH has additional technical privileges, such as and the ones to come will learn from these cases.” relentlessly to overcome any problems that might face allowing clients to conduct basic banking operations clients in Kuwait and overseas. through smart phones on kfhonline application. Mr Al Ayyar added: In addition, KFH continues to offer its IVR service on “The book discusses a series of investment cases in Kuwait over a period of time. These include ‘K-Dow’, an example of the effect of politics on economy; the ‘fourth refinery’ and the heavy price that is incurred when proj- ects are delayed and stalled; and ‘Kuwait Airways’, where millions were lost while other airlines in the Gulf were profiting. These are some examples that reflect just how THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 TV PROGRAMS

07:15 Disorderly Conduct: Video On 08:20 Elena Of Avalor 20:10 Storage Hunters UK 23:00 Your Bleeped Up Brain Patrol 08:45 Star Darlings 20:35 The Liquidator 08:05 Impractical Jokers 08:50 Liv And Maddie 21:00 Salvage Hunters 08:30 Ridiculousness 09:15 Jessie 21:50 Marooned With Ed Stafford 08:55 Tosh.0 09:40 Jessie 22:40 Sharks Among Us 01:45 Session 9 09:20 Key And Peele 10:05 Jessie 23:30 Fat N' Furious: Rolling Thunder 03:30 Mine Games 09:45 Workaholics 10:30 The Incredibles 05:15 Armageddon 10:10 The It Crowd 12:35 Austin & Ally 00:20 Fifth Gear 08:00 Forbidden Empire 10:35 Ridiculousness 13:00 Liv And Maddie 01:10 American Pickers 10:00 Heatstroke 11:00 Lip Sync Battle 13:25 Liv And Maddie 02:00 Storage Wars 12:00 Blackhat 11:25 Lip Sync Battle 13:50 Shake It Up 02:25 Storage Wars 14:15 Armageddon 11:50 I Live With Models 14:15 Shake It Up 02:50 Fifth Gear 17:00 Forbidden Empire 12:15 Workaholics 14:40 Dog With A Blog 06:00 Supa Strikas 03:40 Fifth Gear 19:00 Brick Mansions 12:40 The It Crowd 15:05 Dog With A Blog 06:25 Supa Strikas 04:30 Pawn Stars 20:45 Con Air 13:05 Disorderly Conduct: Video On 15:30 Good Luck Charlie 06:50 Counterfeit Cat 05:00 Time Team 22:45 Snatch Patrol 15:55 Good Luck Charlie 07:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 06:00 Shipping Wars 13:55 Ridiculousness 16:20 Girl Meets World 07:15 K.C. Undercover 06:25 Shipping Wars 14:20 Lip Sync Battle 16:45 Girl Meets World 07:40 Atomic Puppet 06:50 American Pickers 14:45 Lip Sync Battle 17:10 Elena Of Avalor 08:10 Lab Rats Elite Force 07:40 Pawn Stars 15:10 I Live With Models 17:35 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And 08:35 Danger Mouse 08:05 Pawn Stars 15:35 Ridiculousness Cat Noir 09:00 Finding Nemo 08:30 Storage Wars Texas 16:00 Impractical Jokers 18:25 Descendants Wicked World 10:45 Gravity Falls 08:55 Banger Boys 00:50 River Monsters (Best Of Series 1- 16:30 Workaholics 18:30 Liv And Maddie 11:10 Gamer's Guide To Pretty Much 09:45 Banger Boys 5) 16:55 Tosh.0 18:55 Star Darlings Everything 10:35 Shipping Wars 01:45 Bondi Vet 17:25 Workaholics 19:00 Liv And Maddie 11:35 Gamer's Guide To Pretty Much 11:00 Shipping Wars 02:40 Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet 17:50 Urban Tarzan 19:25 Disney Mickey Mouse Everything 11:25 Time Team 03:35 Tanked 18:15 Urban Tarzan 19:30 Austin & Ally 12:00 Counterfeit Cat 12:15 Shark Wranglers 04:25 Borneo's Pygmy Elephants 18:39 The It Crowd 19:55 Descendants Wicked World 12:30 K.C. Undercover 13:05 Ice Road Truckers 05:15 Gator Boys 19:03 Lip Sync Battle 20:00 Backstage 12:55 K.C. Undercover 13:55 Counting Cars 06:02 River Monsters (Best Of Series 1- 19:27 Lip Sync Battle 20:25 Tsum Tsum Shorts 13:20 Star Wars Freemaker Adventures 14:20 Counting Cars 5) 19:50 I Live With Models 20:30 Elena Of Avalor 13:45 Lab Rats 14:45 Fifth Gear 06:49 Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet 20:13 Impractical Jokers 20:55 Best Friends Whenever 14:10 Disney Mickey Mouse 15:35 Pawn Stars 07:36 Swamp Brothers 20:37 Ridiculousness 21:20 Jessie 14:15 Lab Rats 16:00 American Pickers 08:00 Swamp Brothers 21:00 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 21:45 Jessie 14:40 Counterfeit Cat 16:50 Storage Wars 08:25 Too Cute! Pint-Sized 21:30 South Park 22:10 Jessie 14:50 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 17:15 Storage Wars 09:15 Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet 21:54 Ugly Americans 22:35 H2O: Just Add Water 15:05 K.C. Undercover 17:40 Swamp People 10:10 Mutant Planet 22:18 The Roast Of James Franco 23:00 Binny And The Ghost 15:30 Atomic Puppet 18:30 Time Team 11:05 Tanked 23:28 The Roast Of Donald Trump 23:25 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 15:55 Lab Rats 19:20 American Pickers 12:00 Too Cute! Pint-Sized Witch 16:25 Danger Mouse 20:10 Pawn Stars 12:55 Bondi Vet 23:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 16:50 Future-Worm! 20:35 Pawn Stars 13:50 Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet Witch 17:15 Lab Rats: Crush, Chop & Burn 21:00 Forged In Fire 14:45 Gator Boys 18:05 Disney Mickey Mouse 21:50 Billion Dollar Wreck 15:40 Mutant Planet 18:10 Supa Strikas 22:40 Time Team 16:35 Tanked 18:35 Supa Strikas 23:30 Forged In Fire 17:30 Borneo's Pygmy Elephants 00:30 Prototype This 19:00 Star Wars Freemaker Adventures 18:25 River Monsters (Best Of Series 1- 01:20 Buggin' With Ruud 19:25 Gamer's Guide To Pretty Much 5) 02:10 The Lion Queen Everything 19:20 Wildest Europe 03:00 Untamed & Uncut 00:00 Doc McStuffins 19:55 K.C. Undercover 20:15 Tanked 03:50 Ultimate Survival 00:30 Minnie's Bow-Toons 20:20 Counterfeit Cat 21:10 Search For The Knysna Elephants 04:40 How It's Made 00:35 Zou 20:45 Mighty Med 22:05 Mutant Planet 05:05 How It's Made 00:50 Loopdidoo 21:10 Pickle And Peanut 00:10 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia SUPERFAST ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD 23:00 Wildest Europe 05:30 Dirty Jobs 01:05 Art Attack 21:40 Disney Mickey Mouse 00:35 My Dubai 23:55 Gator Boys 06:20 Mythbusters 01:30 Henry Hugglemonster 21:45 Guardians Of The Galaxy 01:00 Cool Spaces 20:00 Explorer 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 07:00 Kenny The Shark 01:45 Calimero 22:10 Ultimate Spider-Man 01:50 The Best Job In The World 20:50 Classified: Secret Service Files 14:00 Drop Dead Diva 07:25 Awesome Adventures 02:00 Zou 22:35 Boyster 02:15 Food School 21:40 Locked Up Abroad - Short 15:00 Live Good Morning America 07:50 Bad Dog 02:15 Loopdidoo 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA 02:40 Mega Food 22:05 Locked Up Abroad - Short 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 08:40 How It's Made 02:30 Art Attack 03:30 Wineroads 22:30 Taboo 18:00 Castle 09:05 How It's Made 03:00 Calimero 03:55 Places We Go 23:20 Strippers: Cars For Cash 19:00 Once Upon A Time 09:30 Prototype This 03:15 Zou 04:20 Places We Go 20:00 Blindspot 00:10 Eastenders 10:20 Mythbusters 03:30 Loopdidoo 04:45 Croatia's Finest 21:00 Lethal Weapon 00:45 The Durrells 11:10 Dirty Jobs 03:45 Art Attack 05:10 Croatia's Finest 22:00 Empire 01:35 The Paradise 12:00 Bad Dog 04:10 Henry Hugglemonster 05:35 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 23:00 Satisfaction 02:30 Orphan Black 12:50 Ultimate Survival 04:25 Calimero 00:00 Chopped South Africa 06:00 Around The World In 80 Dishes 03:15 Silent Witness 13:40 How It's Made 04:45 Loopdidoo 01:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 06:50 Cool Spaces 00:20 Dark Side Of Crocs 04:10 Doctors 14:05 How It's Made 05:00 Art Attack 01:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 07:40 The Best Job In The World 01:10 Animals Gone Wild 04:40 Eastenders 14:30 Dirty Jobs 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster 02:00 Man Fire Food 08:05 Food School 02:00 Sumatra's Last Tiger 05:10 Doctor Who 15:20 Mythbusters 05:35 Calimero 02:30 Man Fire Food 08:30 Mega Food 02:50 Bear Nomad 03:00 Chopped 09:20 Wineroads 03:45 The Invaders 04:00 Guy's Grocery Games 09:45 Places We Go 04:40 Make You Laugh Out Loud 01:00 Storm Rider 05:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 10:10 Places We Go 05:35 Sumatra's Last Tiger 03:00 Marvel Super Hero Adventures: 05:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 10:35 Croatia's Finest 06:30 Bear Nomad Frost Fight 06:00 Chopped 11:00 Croatia's Finest 07:25 The Invaders 05:00 Black Beauty 07:00 Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics 11:25 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 08:20 Make You Laugh Out Loud 07:00 Storm Rider 07:30 Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics 11:50 Around The World In 80 Dishes 09:15 Unlikely Animal Friends 09:00 Inside Out 08:00 The Kitchen 12:40 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet Compilations 11:00 Black Beauty 09:00 Cooking For Real 13:05 A Is For Apple 10:10 Extreme Animal Babies 13:00 Open Season: Scared Silly 09:30 Cooking For Real 13:35 The Best Job In The World 11:05 World's Weirdest 15:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 10:00 Chopped 14:00 Food School 12:00 Manta Mystery 17:00 Harriet The Spy 11:00 Guy's Big Bite 14:30 Mega Food 12:55 Mother Croc 19:00 Hotel Transylvania 2 11:30 Guy's Big Bite 15:25 Wineroads 13:50 Hollywood Bear Tragedy 21:00 Marvel's Iron Man & Captain 12:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 15:50 Places We Go 14:45 The Invaders America: Heroes United 12:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 16:20 Lucky Chow 15:40 Make You Laugh Out Loud 22:30 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 13:00 Man Fire Food 16:45 Croatia's Finest 16:35 Unlikely Animal Friends 13:30 Man Fire Food 17:15 Croatia's Finest Compilations 14:00 Chopped 17:40 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 17:30 Extreme Animal Babies 15:00 The Kitchen 18:10 Around The World In 80 Dishes 18:25 Madagascar's Fantastic Creatures 16:00 Anna Olson: Bake 19:05 A Is For Apple 19:20 The Invaders 00:00 Fifty Shades Of Grey 16:30 Anna Olson: Bake 19:30 Wineroads 20:10 Make You Laugh Out Loud 02:15 Pay The Ghost 17:00 Chopped 20:00 Places We Go 21:00 Unlikely Animal Friends 04:00 Ride 18:00 Iron Chef America 20:25 Lucky Chow Compilations 05:45 5 Flights Up 19:00 Siba's Table 20:50 Croatia's Finest 21:50 Extreme Animal Babies 07:30 Madoff Part 1 19:30 Siba's Table 21:15 Croatia's Finest 22:40 Madagascar's Fantastic Creatures 09:00 Madoff Part 2 20:00 Private Chef 21:40 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 23:30 Manta Mystery 10:30 Ride 20:30 Private Chef 22:05 Around The World In 80 Dishes 12:15 The Walk 21:00 Jenny Morris Cooks The Riviera 22:55 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 14:15 Stonehearst Asylum 21:30 Jenny Morris Cooks The Riviera 23:20 A Is For Apple 16:15 Hello Carter 22:00 Iron Chef America 23:45 The Best Job In The World 17:45 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 23:00 Siba's Table Part I 23:30 Siba's Table 19:45 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 01:30 Boychoir Part II 03:30 The Patrol 22:00 How To Be Single ARMAGEDDON ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 05:00 Every Thing Will Be Fine 07:00 Stolen From Suburbia 06:00 Doctors 16:10 Kenny The Shark 05:50 Zou 09:00 Abandoned 06:30 Doctors 16:35 Awesome Adventures 06:00 Loopdidoo 00:10 Science Of Stupid Sports 11:00 Boychoir 07:00 Eastenders 17:00 Secret Space Escapes 06:15 Art Attack 00:00 America's Book Of Secrets 00:35 Science Of Stupid Sports 13:00 Invasion Day 07:30 Holby City 17:50 How The Universe Works 06:35 Henry Hugglemonster 01:00 Ancient Aliens 01:00 Years Of Living Dangerously 15:00 Love Under The Stars 00:00 The Babymakers 08:30 Father Brown 18:40 Prototype This 06:50 Calimero 02:00 Missing In Alaska 02:00 Mars 17:00 Abandoned 09:15 Call The Midwife 19:30 How It's Made 07:00 Zou 03:00 Ancient Impossible 02:55 Startalk 19:00 Landmine Goes Click 02:00 How Do You Know 10:10 Doctor Who 19:55 How It's Made 07:20 Loopdidoo 03:50 Patton 360 03:50 Science Of Stupid Sports 21:00 Touched With Fire 04:15 Coneheads 11:00 Doctors 20:20 Mythbusters 07:35 Art Attack 04:40 Last Days Of The Nazis 04:15 Science Of Stupid Sports 23:00 Addicted 06:00 Angus Thongs And Perfect 11:30 Eastenders 21:10 Secret Space Escapes 08:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 05:30 America's Book Of Secrets 04:45 Chasing UFOs Snogging 12:00 Father Brown 22:00 How The Universe Works 08:30 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 06:20 America's Book Of Secrets 05:40 Strippers: Cars For Cash 08:00 Superfast 12:45 Call The Midwife 22:50 Untamed & Uncut 09:00 Goldie & Bear 07:10 The Universe 06:35 Brain Games S3 Compilations 10:00 Coneheads 13:40 Doctor Who 23:40 Ultimate Survival 09:30 Doc McStuffins 08:00 Ancient Aliens 07:30 Megastructures 11:45 How Do You Know 14:30 Doctors 10:00 Doc McStuffins 09:00 Missing In Alaska 08:25 Mega Factories 14:00 The Beautician And The Beast 15:00 Eastenders 10:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:00 Ancient Impossible 09:20 Chasing UFOs 15:30 Father Brown 11:00 Sofia The First 11:00 Patton 360 10:15 Explorer 00:30 Cougar Town 16:00 Superfast 16:15 Call The Midwife 11:30 The Lion Guard 12:00 Heroes Of War 11:10 Classified: Secret Service Files 01:00 Cougar Town 18:00 Blue Streak 17:10 Doctor Who 12:00 Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital 13:00 America's Book Of Secrets 12:05 Locked Up Abroad 01:30 Family Guy 20:00 Now Add Honey 18:00 Doctors 12:30 Little Mermaid 14:00 Ancient Aliens 13:00 Mega Factories 02:00 Family Guy 22:00 Top Five 18:30 Eastenders 00:40 Killer Instinct With Chris Hansen 13:00 Sofia The First 15:00 Missing In Alaska 14:00 The Raising Of The Costa 02:30 Insecure 19:05 Father Brown 01:30 Deadly Women 13:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:00 Ancient Impossible Concordia 03:00 Last Man Standing 20:00 Holby City 02:20 Suspicion 14:00 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 17:00 Patton 360 15:00 Brain Games Compilation 03:30 The Simpsons 21:00 Mr Stink 03:10 Murder Among Friends 14:30 Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital 18:00 Heroes Of War 16:00 Fidel Castro: The Lost Tapes 04:00 Cooper Barrett's Guide To 21:55 Moone Boy 04:00 Killer Instinct With Chris Hansen 15:00 The Lion Guard 19:00 Ancient Aliens 17:00 Classified: Secret Service Files Surviving 22:15 Moone Boy 04:48 I Almost Got Away With It 15:30 Sofia The First 20:00 Missing In Alaska 18:00 Locked Up Abroad - Short 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy 22:40 Benidorm 05:36 Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall 16:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:00 Ancient Impossible 18:30 Locked Up Abroad - Short Fallon 01:00 Walking On Sunshine 23:30 The Detectorists 06:24 Love The Way You Lie 16:30 Doc McStuffins 22:00 Patton 360 19:00 Taboo 05:30 George Lopez 02:45 Ordinary People 07:12 Blood Relatives 17:00 The Lion Guard 06:00 The Grinder 05:00 Neil Young: Heart Of Gold 08:00 I'd Kill For You 17:30 PJ Masks 06:30 Men At Work 06:45 Testament Of Youth 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 08:50 I Almost Got Away With It 18:00 The Adventures Of The Disney 09:00 Days Of Heaven 09:40 Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall Fairies 08:00 Cooper Barrett's Guide To 11:00 Walking On Sunshine 10:30 Love The Way You Lie 18:30 Goldie & Bear Surviving 11:20 Blood Relatives 19:00 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 08:30 George Lopez 13:00 The Truth About Emanuel 00:00 The Haunting Of... 12:10 Disappeared 19:30 Little Mermaid 09:00 Last Man Standing 15:00 Second Coming 01:00 Stalked By A Ghost 13:00 I'd Kill For You 20:00 PJ Masks 09:30 Angie Tribeca 17:00 Days Of Heaven 02:00 50 Ways To Kill Your Lover 13:50 I Almost Got Away With It 20:30 Sofia The First 10:00 Young & Hungry 19:00 Secret Window 03:00 My Crazy Ex 14:40 Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall 21:00 The Lion Guard: Return Of The 10:30 Men At Work 21:00 Almost Famous 04:00 The Haunting Of... 15:30 Love The Way You Lie Roar 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy 23:45 The Gambler 05:00 Stalked By A Ghost 16:20 Blood Relatives 22:00 Miles From Tomorrow Fallon 06:00 50 Ways To Kill Your Lover 17:10 A Crime To Remember 22:30 Miles From Tomorrow 12:00 The Grinder 07:00 The First 48 18:00 I'd Kill For You 23:00 The Adventures Of The Disney 12:30 Cooper Barrett's Guide To 08:00 Nightmare In Suburbia 18:50 I Almost Got Away With It Fairies Surviving 09:00 Homicide Hunter 19:40 Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall 23:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:00 George Lopez 10:00 It Takes A Killer 20:30 Love The Way You Lie 13:30 Men At Work 10:30 It Takes A Killer 21:20 Blood Relatives 14:00 The Simpsons 01:15 Memory Loss 11:00 Killers 22:10 I Am Homicide 14:30 Angie Tribeca 02:45 Blue Elephant 2 12:00 Killers 23:00 Six Degrees Of Murder 15:00 Young & Hungry 04:30 Jungle Book: Mowgli's Adventure 13:00 Killers 15:30 Cougar Town 23:50 Nowhere To Hide 06:00 True Story Of Puss'n Boots 14:00 Killers 16:00 Cougar Town 07:45 Ghatothkach - Master Of Magic 15:00 The First 48 00:20 Wheeler Dealers 16:30 The Grinder 16:00 Gangs Of Britain... 01:10 Blue Collar Backers 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 09:30 Pim And Pom: The Big Adventure 17:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 02:00 Incredible Engineering Blunders: 18:00 Last Man Standing 11:00 Gladiators Of Rome 18:00 I Killed My BFF Fixed 18:30 The Last Man On Earth 12:45 Blue Elephant 2 19:00 Nightmare In Suburbia 02:50 World's Top 5 19:00 The Last Man On Earth 14:30 Moomins And The Comet Chase 20:00 Homicide Hunter 00:10 Hank Zipzer 03:40 Fat N' Furious: Rolling Thunder 19:30 Young & Hungry 16:00 Alpha Dogz: Pups United 21:00 It Takes A Killer 00:35 Binny And The Ghost 04:30 The Liquidator 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy 18:00 Pim And Pom: The Big Adventure 21:30 It Takes A Killer Fallon 01:00 Violetta 05:00 How It's Made: Dream Cars 20:00 Minuscule: Valley Of The Lost Ants 22:00 The First 48 01:45 The Hive 21:00 Cougar Town 05:30 How Do They Do It? 22:00 Moomins And The Comet Chase 23:00 Britain's Darkest Taboos 01:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 06:00 Deadliest Catch 21:30 Cougar Town Witch 06:50 Wheeler Dealers 22:00 Family Guy 23:30 Alpha Dogz: Pups United 02:15 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 07:40 Fat N' Furious: Rolling Thunder 22:30 Family Guy Witch 08:30 Gold Divers 23:00 Insecure 02:40 Hank Zipzer 09:20 The Liquidator 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 03:05 Binny And The Ghost 09:45 How It's Made: Dream Cars 00:00 South Park 03:30 Violetta 10:10 How Do They Do It? 00:25 Inside Amy Schumer 04:15 The Hive 10:35 Blue Collar Backers 00:00 Exeter 00:50 Tosh.0 04:20 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 11:25 Incredible Engineering Blunders: 02:00 The Mark 01:15 Tosh.0 Witch Fixed 04:00 Girl Missing 01:40 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 04:45 Sabrina Secrets Of A Teenage 12:15 World's Top 5 00:00 The X-Files 06:00 Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate 02:05 Hannibal Buress: Live In Chicago Witch 13:05 How It's Made: Dream Cars 01:00 Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Chip Cookie Mystery 03:00 Workaholics 05:10 Hank Zipzer 13:30 Storage Hunters UK 02:00 Scream Queens 03:25 Disorderly Conduct: Video On 05:35 Binny And The Ghost 13:55 The Liquidator 03:00 American Horror Story: Roanoke 08:00 Date Night Patrol 06:00 Violetta 14:20 Edge Of Alaska 04:00 Live Good Morning America 10:00 Two Wrongs 04:15 Key And Peele 06:45 The Hive 15:10 Gold Divers 06:00 Lie To Me 12:00 The Proposal 04:40 Impractical Jokers 07:00 Drop Dead Diva 06:50 Mouk 16:00 Deadliest Catch 14:00 The Dorm 05:05 Ridiculousness 07:00 Dog With A Blog 16:50 Fat N' Furious: Rolling Thunder 08:00 Castle 05:30 Lip Sync Battle 07:25 Dog With A Blog 17:40 Wheeler Dealers 09:00 The Voice 16:00 Date Night 05:55 Lip Sync Battle 07:50 Tsum Tsum Shorts 18:30 How It's Made: Dream Cars 10:00 Lie To Me 18:00 The Visit 06:20 Tattoo Disasters 07:55 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And 18:55 How Do They Do It? RIDE ON OSN MOVIES HD 11:00 Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. 20:00 The Forger 06:50 Tattoo Disasters Cat Noir 19:20 Gold Divers 12:00 Shark Tank 22:00 Son Of A Gun THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 information

For labor-related inquiries INTERNATIONAL and complaints: CALLS Call MSAL hotline 128

Afghanistan 0093 Lithuania 00370 GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Albania 00355 Luxembourg 00352 Algeria 00213 Macau 00853 Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883 Andorra 00376 Macedonia 00389 Sabah Hospital 24812000 Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414 Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558 Angola 00244 Madagascar 00261 Amiri Hospital 22450005 Anguilla 001264 Majorca 0034 Maternity Hospital 24843100 Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518 Antiga 001268 Malawi 00265 Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622 Argentina 0054 Malaysia 0060 Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184 Armenia 00374 Maldives 00960 Chest Hospital 24849400 Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967 Australia 0061 Mali 00223 Austria 0043 Malta 00356 Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000 Azerbaijan 00994 Marshall Islands 00692 Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201 Adan Hospital 23940620 Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638 Bahamas 001242 Martinique 00596 Bahrain 00973 Mauritania 00222 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265 Bangladesh 00880 Mauritius 00230 Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075 Barbados 001246 Mayotte 00269 Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999 Belarus 00375 Mexico 0052 Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549 Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559 Belgium 0032 Micronesia 00691 Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554 Belize 00501 Moldova 00373 Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264 Benin 00229 Monaco 00377 Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581 Kaizen center 25716707 Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241 Bermuda 001441 Mongolia 00976 Bhutan 00975 Montserrat 001664 Rawda 22517733 Bolivia 00591 Morocco 00212 Adaliya 22517144 Bosnia 00387 Mozambique 00258 Botswana 00267 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Khaldiya 24848075 Brazil 0055 Namibia 00264 Kaifan 24849807 Brunei 00673 Nepal 00977 Bulgaria 00359 Netherlands 0031 Shamiya 24848913 Burkina 00226 Netherlands Antilles 00599 Shuwaikh 24814507 Burundi 00257 New Caledonia 00687 Cambodia 00855 New Zealand 0064 Abdullah Salem 22549134 Cameroon 00237 Nicaragua 00505 Nuzha 22526804 Canada 001 Nigar 00227 Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 Cape Verde 00238 Nigeria 00234 Cayman Islands 001345 Niue 00683 Qadsiya 22515088 Central African 00236 Norfolk Island 00672 Dasmah 22532265 Chad 00235 N. Ireland (UK) 0044 Chile 0056 North Korea 00850 Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 China 0086 Norway 0047 Shaab 22518752 Colombia 0057 Oman 00968 Comoros 00269 Pakistan 0092 Qibla 22459381 Congo 00242 Palau 00680 Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082 Cook Islands 00682 Panama 00507 Costa Rica 00506 Papua New Guinea 00675 Mirqab 22456536 Croatia 00385 Paraguay 00595 Sharq 22465401 Cuba 0053 Peru 0051 Cyprus 00357 Philippines 0063 Salmiya 25746401 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Poland 0048 Jabriya 25316254 Czech Republic 00420 Portugal 00351 Denmark 0045 Puerto Rico 001787 Maidan Hawally 25623444 Diego Garcia 00246 Qatar 00974 Bayan 25388462 Djibouti 00253 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Mishref 25381200 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Rwanda 00250 W Hawally 22630786 Ecuador 00593 Saint Helena 00290 Sabah 24810221 Egypt 0020 Saint Kitts 001869 El Salvador 00503 Saint Lucia 001758 Jahra 24770319 England (UK) 0044 Saint Pierre 00508 New Jahra 24575755 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Saint Vincent 001784 Eritrea 00291 Samoa US 00684 West Jahra 24772608 Estonia 00372 Samoa West 00685 South Jahra 24775066 Ethiopia 00251 San Marino 00378 Falkland Islands 00500 Sao Tome 00239 North Jahra 24775992 Faroe Islands 00298 Saudi Arabia 00966 North Jleeb 24311795 Fiji 00679 Scotland (UK) 0044 Finland 00358 Senegal 00221 Ardhiya 24884079 France 0033 Seychelles 00284 Firdous 24892674 French Guiana 00594 Sierra Leone 00232 French Polynesia 00689 Singapore 0065 Omariya 24719048 Gabon 00241 Slovakia 00421 N Khaitan 24710044 Gambia 00220 Slovenia 00386 Georgia 00995 Solomon Islands 00677 Fintas 23900322 Germany 0049 Somalia 00252 Ghana 00233 South Africa 0027 Gibraltar 00350 South Korea 0082 Greece 0030 Spain 0034 Greenland 00299 Sri Lanka 0094 PRIVATE CLINICS Grenada 001473 Sudan 00249 Guadeloupe 00590 Suriname 00597 Guam 001671 Swaziland 00268 Guatemala 00502 Sweden 0046 Ophthalmologists Plastic Surgeons Paediatricians Endocrinologist Guinea 00224 Switzerland 0041 Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898 Guyana 00592 Syria 00963 Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700 Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Haiti 00509 Serbia 00381 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Taiwan 00886 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Family Doctor Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099 Honduras 00504 Tanzania 00255 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581 Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514 Hong Kong 00852 Thailand 0066 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Physiotherapists & VD Psychiatrists Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100 Hungary 0036 Togo 00228 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282 Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Tonga 00676 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Iceland 00354 Tokelau 00690 Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr Eisa M. 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CROSSWORD 1454 STAR TRACK

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

The folks around you are appreciative of your ability to be able to make con- If you are feeling that you have little control, this can be restored now by structive suggestions or to help them with practical decisions. This may making an effort to be more comfortable and appreciative of yourself. You take action to mean that you are good in some sort of counseling or social work, or you could work as a manifest your dreams and this includes your personal life as well as your professional life. consultant for businesses. Knowing exactly what the public wants at this time is yet anoth- In your professional life, you no longer cling to work practices that are not effective. Steer er feather in your hat. Expect to make clear decisions that will affect others. You have a clear of meddlesome colleagues who try to embroil you in office politics. In your personal greater appreciation for your fellow workers as well as the business for which you work. life a feeling of security comes from your closest friends, morals and social interaction. This You may find yourself gaining a great deal materially. It is most assuredly a time when tan- self-clearing is part of your personal and professional transformation. You are letting go of gible things are important to you. The feelings of those around you should be quite clear, the people, situations and attitudes that are counterproductive to your personal develop- making it a successful time for any sort of communication needs. ment. Share quality time with a loved one tonight.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21) If you have given any thought to committing your ideas to a book, journal or periodical, now is the time to put pen to paper. You have a lot of imagination and cre- This particular day is so much fun that your mind may not be on business as ativity. Your ideas and thinking, together with your talent for putting your thoughts into much as it should be. You could be a bit distracted from a meeting. Perhaps a phone call words, allow you to captivate and spellbind. Your professional life does not leave you with lets you know a loan was approved, or someone agreed to sign a contract so you could time for personal projects but you may find yourself writing or creating outlines for a story, get that new car, or a new baby was born. Unfinished business in the workplace will be poem or jingle to complete and submit later. You are good at using your time well, your first priority this afternoon; double-check your work before you send it on down the whether it is for work or your own personal projects. Do not keep any of those personal line. Children are not as apt to be a problem at this time, particularly if you allow them projects at the workplace. This afternoon you might find yourself enjoying a good movie some time for crafts, responsibilities and rewards and attention for any extra chores they with a friend. Friendships are most satisfying now. might want to perform. You enjoy your friends and your children's friends. Expand your creative talent . . . Art is calling.

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

Escaping from the everyday, ordinary ways of doing things could prove Today you are feeling the push to complete unfinished business. Time is most enjoyable to you. You may find it easy to bring a group together with your words or fleeting and your own personal goals for this whole year seem to come into ideas that move others. Poetry and art may be possible this afternoon. Your whole world your mind when you view your calendar this morning. Easy does it . . . One day at a time may seem meditative or dreamy. It may benefit you in many ways to take the time to you can do anything, particularly when you have a plan and your determination. A pro- ACROSS DOWN reflect and truly understand your own particular situation, just how you feel about your- fessional project may be moving a bit slow but you give it extra attention. You are focused 1. (informal) Roused to anger. 1. United States naval officer and historian self. Feelings in particular, or the emotions of those around you, may be very clear. You on your career. Your attitude is achievement oriented. You might consider volunteering in 4. Something considered choice to eat. (1840-1914). may realize that now would be the perfect time to get a program of self-help started, a youth group to teach business techniques, a good thing. Later this evening, a reunion 12. A federation of North American industrial 2. Any of several tall tropical palms native to especially dealing with your work habits, diet and exercise. The bottom line to all of this is with friends brings about fun conversations. There are lots of pictures and remembering unions that merged with the American southeastern Asia having egg-shaped simply the enjoyment of your life. and hugs and fun chatter. Enjoy the party! Federation of Labor in 1955. nuts. 15. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square 3. A city in north-central India. meters. 4. A state in midwestern United States. ) 16. A town in west central Florida on the Gulf 5. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syl- Cancer (June 21-July 22 Capricorn (December 22-January 19) of Mexico. lables. Someone in authority may come to you with a special project that requires 17. A river in north central Switzerland that 6. The part of a quadruped that corresponds to a cautious mind. This additional responsibility could put you more in the limelight than You are most persuasive with others today. You are determined to stay runs northeast into the Rhine. the human buttocks. usual. Hang in there; this experience will be more enjoyable than you think. New tech- focused on some particular goal. This could be the day you break all of your own sales records. One of your secrets to success is to back up and see the whole picture instead of 18. The activity of contributing to the fulfill- 7. An alkaloid medicine (trade name Kavrin) nologies may provide outlets to meet more people and expand your career. A person who becoming involved in one part of the subject. Where some see a problem, you see beauti- is very important to your professional development encourages your self-expression. ment of a need or furtherance of an effort obtained from opium. ful ideas and can simplify the most complicated situation. You have a rapport with the or purpose. 8. The compass point midway between south Some form of flattery regarding your talents comes to your attention. You may find it easy public and try to teach others how to gain the same connection. You do not seek to sepa- 20. The act of deciding to do something. and southeast. to enjoy and value the path that your life is taking at this time. Your mate encourages you rate yourself from your co-workers. Sophistication and connection to others are the key 21. Indigo bush. 9. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth in your work. You spend time in thought, looking for ways to add vitality to life and to insti- elements to emotional gratification now. The most enjoyable times you will remember are 23. A dull persistent (usually moderately group. gate methods to achieve a more profound intimacy. the social times like the time you enjoy with friends this evening. intense) pain. 10. A highly unstable radioactive element (the 24. Seed vessel having hooks or prickles. heaviest of the halogen series). 27. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow 11. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) leaves and small flowers. Middle East that remains dry except dur- 29. A genus of temperate and arctic evergreen ing rainy season. Both projects and people should keep you very busy as well as challenged just now as you assess how to get things organized. You could find this a time of unwaver- You may find that your ideas and thoughts run in the opposite direction of trees (see spruce). 12. A high-crowned black cap (usually made of today's activity. A little more of a focused effort helps to put you in the moment, howe ve r. ing study and thought, as you are not prone to taking on another's opinion without first 31. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey You look fo rward to some exciting event occurring soon-this may be where you fight to investigating that person's motives. People may talk you into some plan but you must 32. A white metallic element that burns with a and Iran and the Caucasus. gain a focus. Regardless of distractions, wo rk proceeds rather well. Evidently, you have brilliant light. 13. The United Nations agency concerned with have some form of authority. You could find those around you feeling a big sense of done some preliminary wo rk that helps the progress of today's project-not a glitch! A ve ry 33. The Uralic language spoken by the atomic energy. appreciation or value for your position. Young people you know are inventive and can cre- close friend or relative, whom you care for, could be coming to you for advice concerning a ate extremely worthy projects. Some of these youth may decide to be of help to the hand- Yeniseian people. 14. A port city in northwestern Algeria and the ve ry personal and emotional issue. You may be most helpful through locating some icapped or invent their own television shows on current events, etc. This is where your avenue of resources as well as just being available to listen. Help is best when the person 34. Electronic warfare undertaken to insure country's 2nd largest city. future may be oriented: encouraging the young. effective friendly use of the electromag- 19. The state prevailing during the absence of in need can help himself or herself. netic spectrum in spite of the enemy's use war. of electronic warfare. 22. Combined or joined to increase in size or 37. Add to the very end. quantity or scope. Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) 41. In bed. 25. Stalk of a moss capsule. Being active on the social scene and demonstrating your social graces 43. An expression of greeting. 26. The quarter of many North African cities in Sensitivity is needed today; you may be called upon to use your creative will be a big step in paving your path to success. This is a time for forging ahead, a time insight when an aggressive person doesn't seem to take no for an answer. 44. A close friend who accompanies his bud- which the citadel is located. that you can combine business and pleasure and a time to enjoy your career and rewards. dies in their activities. 28. A Chadic language spoken in Chad. You know just how to handle a difficult situation. If you are not in a management position, Ambition and achievement are qualities that you hold in special regard. As your profes- you might consider the possibility. You seem to enjoy stress and appreciate the challenges. 45. A unit of magnetomotive force equal to 30. A ductile gray metallic element of the lan- sional life progresses, there arises a passion for details. There is a need to do just the right 0.7958 ampere-turns. thanide series. However, it would be a good thing to free up a bit of your time for yourself. Make sure thing at just the right time, and a burning desire to have a place for everything and every- there is laughter in that free time period. You create a positive influence on others in all 46. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali 35. Largest crested screamer. thing in its place. Care must be taken not to take these feelings to the extreme, or you areas of your life and could enter into a mentor program. This is a time in which you will earth group. 36. (Greek legend) The greedy king of Phrygia could find yourself battling such things as ulcers or digestive problems as a result. feel the need to express your talents-a creative awakening. A social gathering will bring 48. A colorless and odorless inert gas. who Dionysus gave the power to turn Knowing that you have done a good job will be your reward. just such an opportunity to be expressive and enjoy your friends. 50. Conforming to an ultimate standard of per- everything he touched into gold. fection or excellence. 38. A genus of Ploceidae. 53. A great raja. 39. Appeal or request earnestly. Word Search Yesterday Solution 56. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan 40. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity. River. 42. A period marked by distinctive character or 57. Small beads made from polished shells and reckoned from a fixed point or event. formerly used as money by native 47. A woman hired to suckle a child of some- Americans. one else. 59. Type genus of the Anatidae. 49. The capital and largest city of Yemen. 60. A quantity of no importance. 51. Squash bugs. 62. An ancient country in west central Asia 52. A person forced to flee from home or coun- Minor. try. 64. Lacking self-confidence. 54. A city in northern India. 66. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent 55. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped and univalent) metallic element. cucumbers and spices. 67. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh. 58. Jointed and nearly leafless desert shrub 70. An ancient country is southwestern Asia on having reduced scalelike leaves and red- the east coast of the Mediterranean. dish fleshy seeds. 73. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. 61. Type genus of the Cynipidae. 75. A vinyl polymer used especially in paints or 63. A young upwardly mobile professional per- adhesives. son. 77. The atomic weight of an element that has 65. The hole that an anchor rope passes the same combining capacity as a given through. weight of another element. 68. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a 78. Title for a civil or military leader (especially skewer usually with vegetables. in Turkey). 69. Jordan's port. 79. Membranous tube with cartilaginous rings 71. Title for a civil or military leader (especially that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to in Turkey). the bronchi. 72. Marked by or showing unaffected simplici- 83. The 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. ty and lack of guile or worldly experience. 84. Deciduous perennial herbs of South Africa. 74. South American armadillo with three 85. Extremely pleasing. bands of bony plates. 86. An awkward stupid person. 76. A man's sleeveless garment worn under- 87. Eurasian perennial herb having pale pink neath a coat. flowers and curved pods. 80. A period of time spent sleeping. 88. A loose sleeveless outer garment made 81. Being nine more than eighty. from aba cloth. 82. A master's degree in fine arts.

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

GOSSIP Cruz Beckham reveals his family's Christmas routine

avid Beckham pretends his children haven't received David, 41, admitted he is "really proud" of his youngest son, 'Mr. and Mrs.'Asked which of his parents was more likely to any Christmas presents every year. Cruz Beckham - the who is raising money for Global's Make Some Noise charity, swear, he said: "100 percent my mum!" And then questioned D11-year-old son of David and Victoria Beckham - has which aims to change the lives of young people across the UK. on whether David or Victoria was more likely to embarrass revealed that his dad goes through the same routine every Speaking to the 'Capital London Breakfast Show', David said: him, Cruz replied: "Definitely my dad, he is so embarrassing." December 25 by trying to trick his children into thinking they "I'm really proud. I mean he's having fun, he's enjoying it, you David and Victoria are among the most photographed people have not been left any gifts by Santa. He shared: "We always know." Victoria was part of the Spice Girls, who have sold over in the world, but Cruz revealed that his mother takes consider- wake up at 6am. My Dad says, 'Wait, let me check if there's 80 million records worldwide and are the the best-selling ably longer to get ready to go out. He shared: "She takes 10 presents downstairs.' After that, he comes up and is like, female group of all time - but her son cited James Arthur and hours, my dad takes 10 minutes." 'Oh...there's none. We all have to go up to bed.'" Cruz - who has Nathan Sykes as two of his biggest inspirations. Asked to brothers Brooklyn, 17, and Romeo, 14, as well as a five-year- name his favorite song of the moment, Cruz said: "Well I'd old sister called Harper - recently announced he is to launch a have to pick 'Say You Won't Let Go' by James Arthur." Cruz was debut single, 'If Every Day Was Christmas', in aid of charity. also happy to dish the dirt on his parents during a game of Chris Pratt's karaoke woes

hris Pratt once lost out on a date with a girl because gonna kill it. "I got up on stage and I said 'This song's for he couldn't pull off Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Marina'. "Now, I didn't realize there's different notes and dif- CMirror' at a karaoke bar. The 37-year-old actor - who ferent keys and stuff, and it just wasn't my key, it wasn't my has a four-year-old son Jack with wife Anna Faris - had previ- night." But the 'Parks and Recreation' actor soldiered on ously been impressed with his own rendition of the late through with the song until someone from the crowed King of Pop's classic track, so decided to sing it again in a bar yelled "You suck" and his evening rapidly went downhill. He after meeting a girl he wanted to impress. Speaking on 'The continued: "I really started sweating. "Some guy yelled 'You Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', the 'Jurassic World' star suck', and I look and he's standing right next to Marina! "And said: "I had killed it one week, I felt really good. I was like, she left with the 'You suck' guy!" But the disastrous experi- 'That's my song! I can sing 'Man In The Mirror'!' "It's very dif- ence hasn't put Christ off karaoke for good. He said: "I am a ficult. High degree of difficulty but when you nail it, you nail karaoke guy. I've sung karaoke for a long time, my whole it. "I was riding high on the wave of nailing 'Man In The family always sings karaoke at parties." Mirror' the week before, but I went to a new karaoke bar and met a girl, her name was Marina. "I was flirting with her, and I had 'Man In The Mirror' in my pocket and I knew I was

Amy Schumer thanks Barbie David Gandy: 'I want to give younger guys in trolls for hateful comments the industry a chance' avid Gandy wants to give young models "a chance" my Schumer has thanked trolls who attacked her cast- there fighting for you, for us. And I want you to fight for your- in the fashion industry. The 36-year-old model - ing in a new 'Barbie' movie for proving she is a "great" self too! "We need to laugh at the haters and sympathize with Dwho embarked on a career in the modeling indus- Achoice. The 35-year-old actress is to play a character them. They can scream as loud as they want. We can't hear try after winning a competition in 2001 - has admitted who is expelled from Barbieland for failing to live up to the them because we are getting s**t done. I am proud to lead by despite starring in fashion and beauty campaigns for luxu- perfection expected of its residents and will set off on a jour- example. I say if I'm beautiful, I say if I'm strong. You will not ry brands, including Dolce and Gabbana, for many years, ney of self-discovery in the upcoming live-action film, which determine my story. I will #thegirlwiththelowerbacktattoo he likes to do "a lot more" and is keen to pass on his based on the popular Mattel doll franchise. The plot has been (sic)" And Amy also pointed out that she can't be "fat shamed" knowledge onto budding stars. Speaking exclusively to described as a "contemporary spin on beauty, feminism and by people if she knows she's "not fat", and isn't concerned by BANG Showbiz, the dark-haired hunk - who joined forces identity", but despite this message Amy received an avalanche people's comments about her body. She posted: "Is it fat with Marks and Spencer to design his own range in 2014 - of criticism on Twitter from users who were angry the curva- shaming if you know you're not fat and have zero shame in said: "When you've done something for 15 years you'd like ceous actress was cast in the movie. Taking to Instagram on your game? I don't think so. "I am strong and proud of how I to switch it up and that's where the designing and invest- Tuesday night Amy wrote a lengthy post detailing how the live my life and say what I mean and fight for what I believe in ing came into it. It's not just the modelling, it's being an Emmy Rossum's criticism only helped to prove she is a "great choice" for the and I have a blast doing it with the people I love. "Where's the ambassador for London Fashion Week for the last eight role. She wrote alongside a photo of herself in a bathing suit: shame? It's not there. It's an illusion. "When I look in the mir- years, Vogue, Vanity Fair. "People think I just model but I "Thanks to everyone for the kind words and support and ror I know who I am. Im a great friend, sister, daughter and do a lot more because of that industry, and I get to work wedding dress again my deepest sympathy goes out to the trolls who are in girlfriend. "I'm a badass comic headlining arenas all over the with Jaguar. I've always done lots of different things and more pain than we will ever understand. I want to thank them world and making tv and movies and writing books where I collaborations, but I want to give younger guys in the for making it so evident that I am a great choice. "It's that kind lay it all out there and I'm fearless like you can be. (sic)" industry a chance." And the British star - who was listed as of response that let's you know something's wrong with our the second male on the Forbes' list of The World's Top- designed by culture and we all need to work together to change it. Anyone Earning Male Models of 2013 - can be a dangerous place who has ever been bullied or felt bad about yourself I am out for upcoming stars, although he regularly advises younger models on their future. He explained: "I do talk to lots of Carolina Herrera the younger models anyway and they call about contacts and agencies, so it can be a minefield for a new model. mmy Rossum's wedding dress has been designed by "And I'm very honored that I have everyone coming up to Carolina Herrera. The 30-year-old actress is set to tie the me for a chat; from younger guys to gentlemen to older Eknot with 'Mr Robot' creator Sam Esmail after she ladies, to younger ladies, and have a chat on everything accepted his marriage proposal in August 2015. Rossum has about it." And the creative mastermind believes his work in been busy planning her nuptials and she has let slip that she front and behind the camera has made him a notable and has hired legendary Venezuelan fashion designer Herrera to trustworthy idol for people. He said: "I think people trust create her bridal gown. Speaking to E! on the red carpet at 'An me in the fashion industry and my designs and stuff." Evening Honoring Carolina Herrera' in New York City on Meanwhile, David , who is a friend of the Jaguar brand, Tuesday evening she said: "Yeah, she'll be making it. That's all attended the global reveal event in Los Angeles for the I- I'll say!" The 'Beautiful Creatures' star has been wearing 77- PACE, Jaguar's first all-electric car, which was revealed to year-old Herrera's creations for many years. After wearing one guests using pioneering virtual reality technology. of her dresses at the New York Botanical Garden's 2015 Conservatory Ball, Rossum took to her Instagram account to thank her "fashion fairy godmother" for dressing her so well. She posted: "She is like a fashion fairy godmother watching over to be sure the fit is perfect! She is kind, elegant, wickedly funny and I'm lucky to call Carolina my friend." Rossum was also invited to attend Herrera's New York Fashion Week show earlier this year. Other than the dress designer, Rossum has been very coy about her wedding plans, even though she has her big day planned out. her in his film 'Comet' - previously said: "I'm not even answering my family who asks me. I know everything. I'm just not sharing it!" Rossum was previously wed to music executive Justin Siegel but she filed for divorce in September 2009 after just 19 months of marriage citing "irreconcilable differences" in her legal papers.

Nicole Richie's favorite trend Katie Holmes' daughter a is the 'turtleneck style' constant presence on movie set he 35-year-old American fashion exists in people's closets already. "This is atie Holmes has hailed her daughter because the lines between Katie's character designer - who launched House of 2016, I don't expect people to wear my brand Suri as an "incredible little girl" after and her on-screen daughter are blurred. Katie THarlow 1960 in 2009 - has admitted she head to toe. So I love giving girls options lay- Kshe supported the actress through her said: "I felt like that was such a universal is a big fan of the basic staple and considers ering options - many different pieces they can directorial debut. The 37-year-old star helmed theme for all mothers, and yet these two the high-neck top a must-have garment to layer with pieces that they already have." And the new drama movie 'All We Had', and Katie characters are unique in that they're survivors layer dresses or jumpsuits over for the winter the television personality - who has eight- has revealed that her 10-year-old daughter - on the road. Sometimes Ruthie's the mom months. Speaking to Vogue.com about her year-old daughter Harlow and seven-year-old who she shares with ex-husband Tom Cruise - and Rita's the daughter, and they're like sis- wardrobe essentials, the blonde beauty said: son Sparrow with her husband Joel Madden - was a constant presence on the set of the ters sometimes. There was this Thelma and "I like the turtleneck style and then I just layer has revealed the inspiration behind her film. Katie said: "My daughter is an incredible Louise quality to them." Meanwhile, Katie has summer dresses or even jumpsuits on top." designs was comfort, because she "loves" little girl. She was with me every step of the also revealed she made a conscious effort to And the former 'Simple Life' star - who was wearing clothes she can move freely in. She way. She means everything to me. Like every ensure there was a positive atmosphere on legally adopted by the 'Hello' hitmaker Lionel explained: "I love wearing a piece of clothing mom, you just want to make sure your child the set of her movie. She told 'The Tonight Richie and his former partner Brenda Harvey where I feel like I can run around at any knows how special they are." Katie - who stars Show Starring Jimmy Fallon': "We had a great when Nicole was nine years old - has revealed moment and dance in it. So you know, I guess as Rita Carmichael, a single mother, in the time, because I've been in this business lucki- she loves to "pull together my inspiration and when I'm designing, I want the clothes to feel movie - said she was excited by the prospect ly for 20 years now, and I love being on a hap- favorite looks" in one place to help her fans celebratory and feel very light and fun and of combining acting and directing. She told py set, and I love it when people actually val- with fashion advice and styling tips. She feel like you could move seamlessly." 'Good Morning America': "It was very exciting, ue me ... so I wanted to provide that for my explained: "I like being able to pull together powerful and challenging ... I started prep- actors." — Bang Showbiz my inspiration and favorite looks all in one ping about a year before we started shooting. place for anyone who wants to replicate Just compiling a lot of inspiration photos, myself." However, Nicole has admitted she watching a lot of movies." Katie explained doesn't "expect" people to be dressed "head- that the central theme of 'All We Had', single to-toe" in items from her label . Speaking pre- motherhood, was something she was keen to viously about the fashion house, Nicole said: explore in her directorial debut. The actress "I design every piece thinking about what also said her movie has a "unique" feel lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

FEATURES

Actress Peyton List attends the Lincoln Center Corporate Actress Julianna Margulies Actress Emily Robinson Model Romee Strijd Fund Gala. Carolina Herrera says it's an honor to dress Melania Trump

hile a few designers have made news for the United States. It's not for myself. It's for the Herrera to design her gown for her upcoming on her Herrera gown. "I cannot tell you how much saying they would not dress the future public." Obama has worn Herrera while in the wedding. "I knew without question that only she it meant to me and how in awe I was when my Wfirst lady, Carolina Herrera said she'd be White House. Herrera was lauded at the event for could make the wedding dress of my dreams, and wife walked down the aisle after she had been honored if Melania Trump wore one of her outfits. her 35 years of fashions by Emmy Rossum and she has approached that task with the same care, lying on that gurney, on those fluids, and it was all The famed designer spoke about Trump on the Seth Meyers, among others. Diana Ross sang a elegance and enthusiasm that only she can," such a credit to this Carolina Herrera wedding red carpet before she received an honor of her mini-concert in Herrera's honor, including hits like Rossum said. "I couldn't be more honored at the gown she was wearing," he said. "She was com- own Monday night from the Women's Leadership "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "I'm thought of wearing her dress on my big day." pletely transformed." — AP Council at Lincoln Center. Who might dress the Coming Out." Meyers' wife also wore Herrera for their wed- wife of President-elect Donald Trump has become Rossum and Meyers both used wedding dress ding. On the day, the late- night comedian an issue after designers Sophie Theallet and Tom tales to testify about the greatness of Herrera. The recalled how his wife came down with food poi- Ford, who have both dressed first lady Michelle "Shameless" actress said Herrera, whom she called soning and had to go to the hospital, but rallied Fashion designer Carolina Obama, said they wouldn't do so for Mrs. Trump, a "the chicest women alive," was the first to design for the ceremony. "I was still concerned as to how Herrera attends the former model. for her on the red carpet, and over the years, she would look as she walked down the aisle, Lincoln Center Corporate But when asked if she would, Herrera said, "Of helped her get out of her comfort zone. "She per- because I have to be honest, she did not look Fund Gala honoring course I will, as the first lady of this country I will. suaded me to embrace increasingly bolder and great in the hospital," he said to laughs. "It was Carolina Herrera at Alice Of course." She added, "It is an honor to dress the brighter prints," Rossum said. "She dared me to problematic, because I put on the tuxedo, I looked Tully Hall in New York. first ladies of the country and it's something to do stand out." Rossum said she excitedly called fantastic." But his fears were allayed when she put —AP photos DiCaprio, former Kirk Douglas at 100, still in Kremlin aide competing for ivory love with soul mate Anne

irk Douglas, whose illustrious career has taken in some first of three Oscar nominations for best actor, an award that documentary Oscar of cinema's landmark roles, turns 100 tomorrow- has eluded him but was finally snared by his son Michael for attributing his remarkable longevity to his "wonderful "Wall Street" (1987). Among his most famous films were 1956 ollywood heartthrob and environmental K marriage" of more than six decades. The iconic actor revealed Van Gogh biopic "Lust for Life," "Gunfight at the OK Corral" activist Leonardo DiCaprio is competing in a special essay to mark the milestone that his second wife (1957), "Spartacus" (1960) and "Seven Days in May" (1964). Hfor another Oscar against an unlikely rival - Anne, 97, had been his inspiration in rebounding from adver- Douglas's first marriage to American actress Diana Webster a former top aide to Russian President Vladimir sity over the years. "I was lucky enough to find my soul mate produced sons Michael and Joel before it ended in divorce in Putin. Critics are touting DiCaprio's "The Ivory 63 years ago, and I believe our wonderful marriage and our 1951. Three years later he married Belgian-American Anne Game", about Africa's illegal ivory trade, for a pres- nightly 'golden hour' chats have helped me survive all things," Buydens, who once wrote of Douglas: "Living with my hus- tigious Academy Award in the documentary film he writes in celebrity magazine Closer Weekly. The three-time band is like sitting in a beautiful garden right next to a vol- category along with a film on the same subject by Oscar nominee will celebrate with 200 friends and family at a cano that may erupt at any moment." Sergey Yastrzhembsky, the Kremlin's best-known party in California hosted by his son Michael and daughter-in- The couple would go on to have two sons, Eric and Peter. spokesman in the West for more than a decade. law Catherine Zeta Jones. "One hundred years old is certainly a milestone, but the facts The silver-haired ex-diplomat spent most of his The star, who was forced to retire because of speech prob- are what dad has accomplished in 100 years," Michael Douglas working life deflecting media criticism as Putin's lems after a stroke, has practiced delivering a few words on writes in the Closer Weekly article. "I think his stamina and spokesman on Chechnya and special envoy to the day with the help of a speech therapist. "I am always asked tenacity are the qualities that stand out for me," he continues. for advice on living a long and healthy life. I don't have any. I "He has taught me always to give it your best shot at whatever Brussels, and earlier as the Kremlin's mouthpiece do believe, however, that we have a purpose for being here," you take on. He's the full package." under the late Boris Yeltsin. he says. "I was spared after a helicopter crash and a stroke to Now Yastrzhembsky is trying to cause a stir do more good in the world before I leave it." Douglas, the son Jewish faith Daniele Watts with his "Ivory A Crime Story", which names and of illiterate Russian immigrants, appeared in some of cinema's The Douglas family has been touched by its fair share of shames top ivory buyers such as China, the most iconic roles, from slave Spartacus and painter Vincent tragedy and disaster over the years. Eric, also an actor, died Vatican and Buddhist monks in Thailand. It high- van Gogh to Western legend Doc Holliday. He was in more from a lethal combination of alcohol and prescription drugs at Cop accused of lights how the population of elephants in Africa than 80 movies but, unlike stars of younger generations, never the age of just 46 in 2004, after years battling addiction. Kirk has dropped to less than 500,000 from 1.5 mil- took a role in a sequel. had already been deeply shaken by a mid-air collision lion in the past 30 years and that every 15 min- between his helicopter and an airplane over California in 1991 racism by 'Django' utes an elephant is slaughtered by poachers for 'Volcano' that killed two people, prompting him to rediscover his Jewish its ivory. The price of ivory soared to $3,000 a Born Issur Danielovitch in poverty in New York to a Jewish faith. His 1996 stroke robbed him of the ability to speak kilo from $6 some 35 years ago, according to the father and Protestant mother, Douglas went to the city's entirely, although he managed to make a partial recovery actress fined documentary. Academy of Dramatic Arts. "Champion" (1949) earned him the after months of therapy. As his health limited his film roles, If nothing is done, conservationists say the Douglas and his wife turned increasingly to philanthropy, and now-retired Los Angeles police officer, who grabbed African elephant could be extinct in the wild have expressed their intention to give most of their fortune to headlines over the detention of a "Django Unchained" charity on their deaths. within a generation. "We can only hope that this The couple have rebuilt 400 school playgrounds in Los Aactress, was fined $500 Tuesday by an ethics commis- film will get the world to pay more attention to sion for leaking audio of the incident. Sergeant James Parker Angeles and were behind the establishment of "Harry's this sad situation regarding elephants in Africa," Haven," an Alzheimer's unit named after Kirk's father at the had faced a $10,000 fine but members of the Los Angeles Yastrzhembsky told Reuters in an interview in Ethics Commission said a lower nominal penalty was more Motion Picture and Television Fund Home in Woodland Hills, Paris. His documentary, which took three years appropriate. In a highly unusual move, Parker was accused of California. Double Golden Globe winner and lifelong friend violating city ethics rules after he leaked audio of his and cost $1 million to make, won prizes this year Angie Dickinson shared a bedroom scene with the legend in September 2014 encounter with African-American actress at the Montreal, Rome and New York film festivals. "Cast a Giant Shadow" (1966), which required the pair to be Daniele Watts. Parker's attorney, Lawrence Hanna, expressed Harsh scenes include one of an elephant being naked. "You couldn't ask for more than you get with Kirk," the outrage at the ethics commission ruling, blasting panel mem- shot and then moaning as it is hacked to pieces 85-year-old actress, an ex-wife of legendary composer Burt bers as "cowards" and vowing an appeal. by poachers. Bacharach, told AFP. "He's just a perfect man, I must say. "This is the first police officer they've ever done this to... Yastrzhembsky said Pope Francis saw a short- Everything he does is perfect." — AFP and they are trying to make an example out of him," he told ened version of his film before publicly speaking AFP. "They are cowards because they just feel that they have out in Nairobi against ivory poaching in Kenya. He to do something and to show that they're being tough rather also said he helped convince Russia's nuclear than backing a police officer and doing what's right." In the energy agency RosAtom, which he initially 2014 incident, Watts was briefly handcuffed and detained by approached to co-finance the film, to spend mon- police who were responding to a report of a couple having ey on protecting wildlife around a uranium sex in a car parked in Studio City, an upscale neighborhood of deposit it intends to mine in Tanzania. Los Angeles. She had refused to show any form of identifica- Yastrzhembsky said he showed a trailer to tion to the responding officers and was released after her boyfriend, Brian James Lucas, gave police her ID. DiCaprio three years ago on the yacht of a mutual The actress-who played Coco in Quentin Tarantino's Oscar- friend, the real-estate oligarch Vladimir Zemstov, winning 2012 film "Django Unchained"-and Lucas initially in the French resort of Saint Tropez. claimed that the police action was racially motivated. Lucas Yastrzhembsky said he invited DiCaprio to take wrote on his Facebook page that officers acted as though the part in his project financially or do the voiceover, pair were engaged in prostitution as he is white and Watts is but talks never bore fruit. "I think DiCaprio want- black. Parker defended his actions, which gained national ed to do his own film," he said. DiCaprio's "The attention, by releasing an audiotape of the encounter to the Ivory Game" debuted at the Toronto Film Festival celebrity website TMZ, prompting a backlash against the cou- in September. — Reuters This file photo taken on October 22, 2009 shows actress ple. He was not paid for the tape, his attorney said. Lucas and Anne Douglas (left) and actor Kirk Douglas as they arrive Watts subsequently pleaded no contest to disturbing the at the 4th Annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in peace and were ordered to apologize to police officers. As Film for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at This file photo shows Anne Douglas and actor Kirk part of their deal with prosecutors, charges of lewd conduct the Biltmore Four Seasons Hotel in Santa Barbara, Douglas as they arrive to The Heart Foundation Gala at were dropped.—AFP California. — AFP photos Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 lifestyle

MUSIC & MOVIES 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' release pushed back a year

t will take a little longer for "How to Train Your Dragon 3" to open on Sept 27, 2019. The film follows a group of misfits fly into theaters. The sequel in the popular animated fran- who undertake an epic journey to reunite a magical creature Ichise hits theaters on March 1, 2019, nearly a year after it with his family atop the world's tallest mountain. The moves was originally slated for release, DreamWorks Animation said follow Comcast's $3.8 billion purchase of DreamWorks Monday. That gives it a one-week jump on "Captain Marvel," a Animation. That sale will put the animation studio under the comic-book adventure featuring Brie Larson. "How to Train umbrella of Universal, the same company that oversees Your Dragon 3" was originally supposed to open on May 18, "Despicable Me"-maker Illumination Studios. Last month, 2018. That would have put it a week before a Han Solo, "Star DreamWorks Animation announced it had cancelled "Croods Wars" spinoff film. 2," a follow-up to its 2013 comedy hit that was slated to hit Director Dean DeBlois, who oversaw the previous two theaters in 2017. — Reuters "Dragon" films, will return for the sequel. Related 'How to Train Your Dragon 3,' Margot Robbie's 'Larrikins' Officially Move to Universal In addition, DreamWorks Oriental's "Everest" will 2017 Grammy Awards: A list of the nominees in top categories

list of nominees in the top categories at the 59th annu- Project," PJ Harvey; "Post Pop Depression," Iggy Pop; "A al Grammy Awards, announced Tuesday by The Moon Shaped Pool," Radiohead. ARecording Academy. • Best urban contemporary album: "Lemonade," Beyonce; • Album of the year: "25," Adele; "Lemonade," Beyonce; "Ology," Gallant; "We Are King," KING; "Malibu," Anderson "Purpose," Justin Bieber; "Views," Drake; "A Sailor's Guide to Paak; "Anti," Rihanna. Earth," Sturgill Simpson. • Best R&B album: "In My Mind," BJ the Chicago Kid; "Lalah • Record of the year: "Hello," Adele; "Formation," Beyonce; "7 Hathaway Live," Lalah Hathaway; "Velvet Portraits," Terrace Years," Lukas Graham; "Work," Rihanna featuring Drake; Martin; "Healing Season," Mint Condition; "Smoove Jones," "Stressed Out," twenty one pilots. Mya. • Song of the year (songwriter's award): "Formation," • Best rap album: "Coloring Book," Chance the Rapper; "And Beyonce, Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan and Michael L. the Anonymous Nobody," De La Soul; "Major Key," DJ Williams II; "Hello," Adele and Greg Kurstin; "I Took a Pill In Khaled; "Views," Drake; "Blank Face LP," ScHoolboy Q; "The Ibiza," Mike Posner; "Love Yourself," Justin Bieber, Ed Life of Pablo," Kanye West. Sheeran and Benjamin Levin; "7 Years," Lukas • Best country album: "Big Day In A Small Town," Brandy Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard and Clark; "Full Circle," Loretta Lynn; "Hero," Maren Morris; "A Morten Ristorp. Sailor's Guide to Earth," Sturgill Simpson; "Ripcord," Keith • Best new artist: Kelsea Ballerini; The Chainsmokers; Urban. Chance the Rapper; Maren Morris; Anderson Paak. • Best jazz vocal album: "Sound of Red," Rene Marie; • Best pop solo performance: "Hello," Adele; "Hold Up," "Upward Spiral," Branford Marsalis Quartet With Special Beyonce; "Love Yourself," Justin Bieber; "Piece by Piece Guest Kurt Elling; "Take Me to the Alley," Gregory Porter; (Idol Version)," Kelly Clarkson; "Dangerous Woman," Ariana "Harlem On My Mind," Catherine Russell; "The Sting This file photo shows TV host Jimmy Kimmel during the Grande. Variations," The Tierney Sutton Band. 68th Emmy Awards show at the Microsoft Theatre in • Best pop duo/group performance: "Closer," The • Best jazz instrumental album: "Book of Intuition," Kenny downtown Los Angeles. — AFP Chainsmokers featuring Halsey; "7 Years," Lukas Graham; Barron Trio; "Dr. Um," Peter Erskine; "Sunday Night at the "Work," Rihanna featuring Drake; "Cheap Thrills," Sia featur- Vanguard," The Fred Hersch Trio; "Nearness," Joshua ing Sean Paul; "Stressed Out," twenty one pilots. Redman & Brad Mehldau; "Country for Old Men," John Jimmy Kimmel • Best traditional pop vocal album: "Cinema," Andrea Scofield. Bocelli; "Fallen Angels," Bob Dylan; "Stages Live," Josh • Best compilation soundtrack for visual media: "Amy"; Groban; "Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin," "Miles Ahead"; "Straight Outta Compton"; "Suicide Squad expecting 2nd child with Willie Nelson; "Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway," (Collector's Edition)"; "Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1." Barbra Streisand. • Producer of the year, non-classical: Benny Blanco; Greg • Best pop vocal album: "25," Adele; "Purpose," Justin Bieber; Kurstin; Max Martin; Nineteen85; Ricky Reed. wife Molly McNearey "Dangerous Woman," Ariana Grande; "Confident," Demi • Best music video: "Formation," Beyonce; "River," Leon immy Kimmel is going to have a busy 2017. After Lovato; "This Is Acting," Sia. Bridges; "Up&Up," Coldplay; "Gosh," Jamie xx; "Upside being announced Monday as the host of next year's • Best dance/electronic album: "Skin," Flume; "Electronica 1: Down & Inside Out," OK Go. Oscars, Kimmel said on his ABC late-night show that The Time Machine," Jean-Michel Jarre; "Epoch," Tycho; Best music film: "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," Steve Aoki; "The J his wife Molly McNearey is pregnant with their second "Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future," Underworld; Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years," The Beatles; child together. Kimmel mentioned the Oscars gig before "Louie Vega Starring...XXVIII," Louie Vega. "Lemonade," Beyonce; "The Music of Strangers," Yo-Yo Ma & adding: "My wife is hosting a baby inside her body." • Best rock album: "California," Blink-182; "Tell Me I'm Pretty," The Silk Road Ensemble; "American Saturday Night: Live from Kimmel congratulated himself on his big day of Cage the Elephant; "Magma," Gojira; "Death of a Bachelor," the Grand Ole Opry," Various artists. — AP announcements, joking, "I'm hosting the Oscars and I had Panic! at the Disco; "Weezer," Weezer. This file photo shows Maren Morris performing ‘My sex." Kimmel and McNearey have a 2-year-old daughter. • Best alternative music album: "22, A Million," Bon Iver; Church’ at the 50th annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Kimmel also has an adult son and daughter from his first "Blackstar," David Bowie; "The Hope Six Demolition Tenn. — AP marriage.

Dunham and Documents: Jay Z's company wanted Coates, mutual to manage Prince's music admirers, talk oc Nation, the entertainment company founded by ative expression." However, Bremer Trust in June instead rap mogul Jay Z, tried but failed to get chosen to chose L Londell McMillan, Prince's longtime attorney, man- Rmanage Prince's musical assets in the weeks after the ager and friend, and business executive Charles rock superstar's death, according to court documents Koppelman to manage Prince's music. writing and Trump released Tuesday. The documents stem from a dispute Since then, a dispute has been brewing between the irls" creator Lena Dunham and author-essayist Ta- between Prince's record company and Jay Z's music two sides over how Tidal is streaming Prince's music. Nehisi Coates, strangers until Monday night, found streaming service Tidal, which is playing out in both state Bremer Trust acknowledged that an Aug 1, 2015, agree- "Gthey had a lot in common. Especially when the and federal court in Minnesota. The trust company over- ment, which remains sealed, gave Tidal the right to stream subject was the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump. "If seeing Prince's estate says the dispute belongs only in fed- a new Prince studio album, "Hit n Run Phase One." what has to happen is that I get metaphorically strung up by eral court, where PRN Records is suing Roc Nation for copy- However, the trust company alleges in court filings, Tidal in my toes because I think we were all born equal and beautiful, right infringement for making a large part of Prince's cata- June began streaming many Prince albums without per- then that's just what's going to happen," Dunham said. "As ter- log available to its subscribers. A closed hearing is set for mission. rified and as horrible as I think the events of the election were, Thursday in Carver County probate court. I live for this moment. I think this is a great time," said Coates, After Prince Rogers Nelson died of an accidental Exclusive rights adding that Trump's victory had filled him with determination painkiller overdose in April, the court appointed Bremer According to an October letter to the judge by Roc and a sense of purpose. "I make books and I make articles, and Trust to run his estate. The company then solicited requests Nation attorney Rodney Mason, Prince and NPG "granted now I have a formidable opponent." for proposals for managing his music to generate cash. The Roc Nation the exclusive rights to stream the Artist's vast The event was organized by the Peterborough, New documents show Roc Nation, founded in 2008 by Shawn and historic catalogue of master recordings and musical Drake tops iTunes' Hampshire-based MacDowell artist colony and was held "Jay Z" Carter, submitted a proposal in May. That proposal, compositions exclusively on the TIDAL service. It was no before more than 150 MacDowell supporters at the New marked "Proprietary and Confidential," pitched Roc Nation secret that the Artist did not like competing streaming Museum in downtown Manhattan. Pulitzer Prize-winning nov- as an "artists first" endeavor that would protect his artistic services and was publicly vocal in support of granting year-end music lists elist and MacDowell board chairman Michael Chabon, who vision. It noted that Prince had already given Tidal rights to exclusive rights to TIDAL ... and there are many documents moderated the discussion, says the idea was to have a stream some of his recent work. which support the parties' agreement to the same." rake was all over Apple Music this year, so perhaps no "sparky" conversation between artists of different fields and Bremer Trust disputes that. In a brief dated Monday, surprise the rapper tops the iTunes music lists as well. backgrounds, an approach similar to last year's MacDowell Prince studio album attorney Katherine Moerke wrote that the only agreement DDrake's album "Views" was the best-seller in iTunes, gathering that featured Martin Scorsese and Lin-Manuel "Mr Nelson spoke openly with Mr Carter about the it knows of between Prince or his companies with Roc while his hit "One Dance" was the most popular single. Drake Miranda of "Hamilton" fame. future of his music, and the future of the music industry Nation or any of its affiliates covered only "Hit n Run Phase debuted his album on Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio in the Dunham, author of the best-selling essay collection "Not overall," said the letter, signed by Roc Nation CEO Jay One." Roc Nation has failed to produce any other agree- spring. Rihanna, who collaborated with Drake on her smash That Kind of Girl" and at work on a novel, is a self-described Brown. "Mr Nelson's point of view on art, protecting rights ments despite several requests and a subpoena, she wrote. "Work," held the No. 2 spot on the top album's list with "Anti," "rich white girl" from New York City. Coates grew up in a rough and advocating for social good were directly aligned with Roc Nation also has not responded to a request for an while Adele's "25," Frank Ocean's "Blonde," which also debuted neighborhood in Baltimore and went on to become one of those of Mr Carter. He confided in and entrusted Mr Carter accounting of any payments, she wrote, suggesting that it on Apple, and Justin Bieber's "Purpose" rounded out the top the country's leading voices on race through his commentary and Roc Nation with his most prized possession, his cre- still owes the estate royalties. Moerke and Mason did not five. Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" was the No. 2 for The Atlantic Magazine and his best-selling "Between the immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment song of the year, followed by Rihanna's "Work," Flo Rida's "My World and Me." But Dunham says that she has long admired Tuesday. Roc Nation has not formally responded to the House" and Lukas Graham's "7 Years." Coates' work, and Coates has written warmly about "Girls," copyright lawsuit, which NPG filed last month. — AP The list is determined by iTunes downloads and streams which has been criticized for its scarcity of black actors. In from Apple Music, which has over 20 million subscribers. In an 2013, he reviewed the show in The Atlantic, calling it "really, interview, Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software really funny" and praising it for its candid and liberating depic- and Services at Apple, said that 60 percent of those using tions of sex.—AP Apple Music had not purchased any music from iTunes, and noted the growth in its exclusives with artist, from Frank Ocean to Chance the Rapper. "At the end of the day, we work for the artist. What we are doing is about making sure that we make it easy with our technologies for them to create music, and with our technologies, for them to be able to distribute music and for them to make a great living doing that," he said. Cue said one of the biggest lessons learned is Apple Music was making it easier for consumers to use, from access to its playlists to its radio stations on Beats 1. Zane Lowe, who runs Apple's Beats 1 Radio, said the integration of all platforms is key for Apple Music as well. "When you go to browse, you know that there's an album out, but there's also an interview that's just been done that there's attached to that, and there's a playlist to that," he said. Elsewhere on iTunes in 2016, the top paid app was Minecraft: Pocket Edition, while the most popu- In this Feb 4, 2007 file photo, Prince performs during In this file photo, Jay Z performs during a campaign lar free app was Snapchat; the top movie was "Star Wars: The halftime of the Super Bowl XLI football game in rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Force Awakens," and the most popular TV show was "Game of In this file photo, Lena Dunham arrives at the Glamour Miami. — AP photos Clinton in Cleveland. Thrones, Season 6." — AP Women of the Year Awards at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles. — AP lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

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This photo taken at Los Angeles handmade clothing boutique Matrushka Shop’s owner Laura Howe standing next to a dress called the ‘Jasmine’ that can Shop’s owner Laura Howe adjusting a long green dress that can be worn as an Construction shows the shop’s owner Laura Howe adjusting a long green dress be worn as an unconventional wedding dress. unconventional wedding dress. that can be worn as an unconventional wedding dress. — AP photos Nontraditional wedding dresses range from blush to black

By Solvej Schou

hen deciding what kind of dress I wanted to wear for my wedding this year, I knew what I didn't want. No Wlace, no veil, and absolutely nothing long, corseted, traditional and white. So, for our tiny May marriage ceremony, I went with an off-the-rack, navy blue sailor dress with a film noir Shop's owner Laura Howe sewing a piece of fabric. flair. For our wedding celebration with friends and family six months later, I wore a shorter, stretch velvet halter dress in red - my favorite color - custom-made by a Los Angeles boutique I've gone to for years. It turns out that unconventional wedding dresses, while still not as popular as their white, floor-sweeping counterparts, are catching on. "We saw a noticeable spike in the number of untra- ditional dresses - shorter dresses, the use of color - a couple of years ago," said Keija Minor, editor-in-chief of Brides magazine . "There's a move for all couples to want to personalize their wed- ding and not be the cookie-cutter wedding their parents want. If your dream dress isn't a flowy white gown, and you want a pop of color, then why not?" According to the magazine's 2016 American Wedding Study, an annual survey of engaged and newlywed women, 93 per- cent of brides still select white and off-white gowns. Yet 11 per- cent of brides opt now for something "unique," from cocktail- length and non-white dresses to slinky jumpsuits. The study Bride Jennifer Gutowski dancing during her wedding at the Rainbo Club in Chicago, Ill, with her husband John Herndon. also found that 73 percent of couples pay for or contribute to the cost of their own wedding. "If your mom's paying for your appreciation, for both fashion and handmade fashion. I also plans to make a pantsuit for her own wedding next year - met have clients who trust me from making dresses for them and hashed out a design. Then they shopped for fabrics, and Photo shows a dress called the ‘Carli’ that can be worn as dress, she would probably want more of a say," said Minor. "The an unconventional wedding dress. days of the bride's family paying is so over. With this financial before." Howe started making custom wedding dresses 10 years Davis took a plaster cast of Hardy's body to work off of. shift, you've seen more girls being less traditional." ago. They range from $200 for a dress based on an existing Hardy's neutral toned, cocktail-length dress ended up being Popular nontraditional colors range from lighter pastels Matrushka design to $1,500 for a more distinct and complex a sleek and artistic combo of raw silk, clear sequins, upholstery such as champagne, blush, pale pink and light blue to glittery custom-made look. fabric and darker, vine-like embroidery, with part of a multi-col- gold and silver, said Minor. Besides shorter lengths, high-low Dresses with names such as the Jasmine (in sheer black and ored kimono sash on one shoulder. "I wanted it to be tree-like hemlines appeal to women who want to show off their shoes. embossed green velvet, with long billowing sleeves and a V- and root-like, and Gerri as an architect brought structure to it," Designer Vera Wang has showcased wedding dresses in black neckline) and the Jean Harlow (a clingy Old Hollywood-inspired said Hardy, who was then going to school for landscape design. and pink. David's Bridal stores sell a white wedding jumpsuit. floor-length and knee-length design, with a plunging neckline "I also don't like the color white. It doesn't look good on me, "Even traditional designers, and in the mainstream, are giv- and ruching) hang on racks throughout the shop. and I would get it dirty. Comfort is really important. If I'm in a ing a nod to the feeling that brides can wear what they want," For a tall "anti-anything froufy and kind of punk rock" con- corset or bodice, that wouldn't work." Minor added. Recently, at Matrushka Construction, a cozy, one- cert pianist getting married in London, Howe said, she A more comfy, translatable wedding look that can also be room clothing shop in the hip Silver Lake area of Los Angeles designed a silvery silk halter gown with a full-length skirt. For a worn at other events has a certain appeal. Still, while Hardy that makes colorful dresses and other apparel by hand, owner customer who runs a yoga studio, she made a Jean Harlow in a wanted her dress "to not just be a wedding dress in my closet," Laura Howe - wearing a slouchy, off-the-shoulder sweater - cream-ish yellow. she said, she hasn't yet worn it again. "For a certain bride, laughed when recalling the most untraditional wedding dress "People have said, 'I want an orange silkscreen with a poppy there's something about a more casual dress, if it's a more casu- she's ever made. on it,' or 'I want it to be black,' or whatever color they're really al wedding or party," said Minor. "I have to be honest, though. I into. It's very personal," said Howe. When Brooklyn, New York- haven't seen someone wear their wedding dress again. I have a Jamie Hardy in her unconventional wedding dress made More distinct based Jamie Hardy, 37, and her husband were planning their friend who wore cocktail-length gold, and we said, 'You're by her friend, and architect, Gerri Davis, at Hardy and her "I once made a tutu dress, like a Degas dress, in lavender, June 2011 wedding celebration - a lunch and dance party - a going to wear that again!' But she didn't." — AP husband’s wedding celebration with friends and family in and that was wacky," said Howe, 49. "Usually people who want year after they secretly married, Hardy asked her architect the Brooklyn borough of New York, a year after the couple alternative dresses are people who have an understanding, an friend Gerri Davis to make the dress. Hardy and Davis - who officially married. Stepparents at the wedding? Experts advise being inclusive

By Lisa A Flam after her mom and dad remarried, and she gave her step- my life." Whatever you decide, it's crucial - as with most mother and stepfather prominent roles in her wedding. everything in a wedding - to plan it ahead of time, and it's ith a loving act of kindness, Brittany Peck's dad During her ceremony on March 23, 2014, in Berkeley, a good idea to communicate your plans with everyone made her wedding-day dream come true. Just California, her mother and stepmother walked down the involved, parents and stepparents, so nobody's caught off Wbefore her father, Todd Bachman, walked her aisle together on the arm of her brother. Her stepfather, guard on the already emotional day. down the aisle on Sept 26, 2015, he stopped the proces- who had long been a spiritual guide in Zimmerman's life, sional and continued down the aisle alone to grab the helped create the ceremony and served as the officiant. Big day hand of her stepfather and make a surprise invitation that "I wanted to keep the tradition of having my dad walk "The goal is to not only avoid hard feelings but to left everyone teary-eyed. "He asked my stepdad to stand me down the aisle, but I wanted my stepdad involved," avoid any extra tension on the wedding day itself," Miller up and said, 'You deserve this just as much as I do. Will you she said. "My stepdad has been a huge support of our said. There are various ways of acknowledging a steppar- help me walk our daughter down the aisle?'" Peck relationship and also a huge support of me in my life, and ent at your nuptials. A stepfather could walk a bride down recalled, adding that just she and her groom, Jeremy Peck, he just seemed like the perfect fit to be an officiant." A the aisle with her dad if they all felt comfortable, like what and their photographer knew of her dad's plan. special moment was walking down the aisle with her dad ended up happening with Peck, or stepparents could be For Peck, 22, whose parents split up when she was toward her groom, Noah Schreck, with her stepfather part of the processional. If they are not walking down the young and spent years fighting for custody of her and her standing at the altar. "It was really, really beautiful to walk aisle, you can give them a special role, like reciting a read- Zimmerman, left, and Noah Schreck, join hands as Eva's stepfather Jack sister, being given away by her father and her stepfather, down the aisle holding my dad's arm and seeing my hus- ing or prayer, Miller said. A stepparent's name can be Shoemaker officiates their wedding ceremony in Berkeley, Calif. Todd Cendrosky, was exactly how she envisioned getting band with my stepdad," recalled Zimmerman, 31. "It was included in the program with some words of thanks, or a married. But after all her family had been through, she dreamlike to have those men present for that moment in stepmom can be acknowledged with a small nosegay or never thought her father would share the spotlight with special flower, she said. You can give her a gift like an the second man Peck calls Dad. embroidered handkerchief, and including a note of appre- "It was the best gift that my father could have ever giv- ciation goes a long way. en me," said Peck, of Elyria, Ohio. "It was a dream of mine, There are even more subtle ways to make someone and when it came true, it was so awesome." "Him showing feel connected to the big day. A stepmom could attend a everyone and me how he could just be so humble and dress fitting, perhaps when the bride's mother is not put all their differences aside meant the absolute world to there; she could help bake a treat for the favor or be in me," she added. The moment brought joy and inspiration charge of bustling the gown, Miller says. A stepfather to millions as the story and photos went viral. It was a nice could give a toast during the celebration. Los Angeles reminder of how important it is to be inclusive on your wedding planner Beth Helmstetter says most couples she wedding day, said Darcy Miller, editor at large of Martha works with include a stepparent in the processional. For Stewart Weddings. those who don't, they may set out a place card so the stepparents have a reserved seat for when their spouse Bride and groom sits down. She said couples shouldn't feel obligated to "It reminds people again that it's a day to all be togeth- treat stepparents exactly the same as a parent, but should er, and it's about two people getting married, and it's not acknowledge them if they have been a parent to you. about whatever anyone's personal politics are," she said. Also, think of the future. "Keep in mind the decision you Miller believes most couples include stepparents in the make on your wedding day - hurt or non-hurt feelings - wedding. While there is no set rule on how to do so, cou- will affect your relationship for a really long time," said ples should consider family relationships and dynamics to Helmstetter. "I wouldn't do anything out of spite or to be decide what feels right. "Sometimes it might be pretty hurtful. That's still your family." — AP straightforward, and other times it's very complicated," Miller said. "You, as a bride and groom, have to know your family politics. It is your day, but it is also about your fami- Zimmerman is walked to the ly and being sensitive to what works for everyone and altar by her father Michael Zimmerman, left, kisses her father Michael Zimmerman, as her stepfather making sure everyone feels included." Jack Shoemaker, the officiant of the ceremony, looks on in the back- Zimmerman during her wedding Eva Zimmerman, whose parents divorced when she ceremony in Berkeley, Calif. ground.— AP photos was 4, grew up feeling as if she had two sets of parents lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016

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This handout from Marin Minamiya shows Japanese mountaineer Marin Minamiya (right) Marin Minamiya answering questions during a press con- This handout released by Marin Minamiya and taken on December 20, 2015 shows posing for a self-portrait on the peak of Mount Everest. — AFP photos ference in Tokyo. Japanese mountaineer Marin Minamiya posing for a self-portrait at the South Pole. Everest-conquering Japan teen eyes explorers' 'Grand Slam' apanese teenager Marin Minamiya has already conquered landed a sponsorship deal with a major Japanese clothing prised. They said, 'Out of nowhere, why?'" she said, adding that While it is the highest, Everest was not the toughest, she Mount Everest and the highest peaks on six other conti- chain-was a school trip in Hong Kong, where her family had neither of her parents are climbers. "There were times when said, shivering at the memory of Mount Elbrus. "It is supposed- Jnents, plus a journey to the South Pole. Now the 19-year- moved for work. The then 13-year-old was fully engrossed in several adults came to me and said: 'There is no way you can ly one of the easiest mountains of the 'Seven Summits'. old university student has the North Pole in her sights as she the online world, often chatting with friends through social do it. You are just a young Japanese girl without experience. However, this was in winter and when I climbed Elbrus it was tries to become the youngest person to ascend the seven media rather than in person. One day her class ventured onto "But that did not matter to me. I was just way too determined," right before Everest." "I had one week to climb this mountain peaks and venture to opposite ends of the earth. Only 51 peo- some of the southern Chinese city's hilly terrain-and Minamiya she added. and the weather was absolutely terrible, the mountain condi- ple have completed the feat, known as the Explorers Grand was hooked. "It was so refreshing. It was new to us," she said. Minamiya started with the 6,961-metre (22,838-foot) tions were terrifying, the whole mountain was frozen-it looked Slam, according to a website dedicated to the challenge. Not "We were communicating with each other in real life, using Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, in early 2015. like an ice skating rink". And two days later she was scaling bad for someone who thinks scaling jaw-dropping mountains analog map and compasses, and we thought, 'My goodness. I In December last year she scaled Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Everest in Nepal. "I just don't give up and I feel that every is just a "hobby". "I am not a climber so I do not intend to con- did not know there was so much beauty out there.'" where she ventured to the South Pole. She also stood atop mountain has taught me new lessons and it made me a much tinue climbing high peaks", Minamiya told AFP in a recent Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro, Australia's Mount stronger person", she said. — AFP interview in Tokyo. 'Way too determined' Kosciuszko, Russia's Mount Elbrus and in May this year the "I enjoy the process of getting there, meeting people." "(It) is Then she started scaling mountains in Nepal and Tibet. 8,848 meter Everest. She is the youngest Japanese to reach the all about challenging yourself, you have to go over your own After turning 17, she took up a challenge to complete the top of the world's highest mountain. Her seventh and final limits, fight your weakness. It's almost like meditation and I Explorers Gland Slam. Now, she just needs to reach the North summit was North America's Denali, also known as Mount really enjoy that." The inspiration for Minamiya-who recently Pole-hopefully in April-to finish the circuit. "My family was sur- McKinley, in July. Saffron, rural Spain's crisis-beating spice n the arid, wind-swept plateau of central Spain, saffron she puts them in small plastic bags to wait for experts who producers are reaping the benefits of a return to favor control their composition to give them their PDO. They will Oof the precious spice introduced by Arabs in the Middle then be able to sell the saffron threads with their distinctive Ages. After a lull in production due to the high cost of growing aroma. The price? Four euros per gram. Spanish saffron is saffron in Spain, farmers are now back in business as customers "among the best of anywhere," says Pat Heslop-Harrison, pro- have started seeking quality over lower prices. Sitting around fessor of agricultural biology at Britain's Leicester University. three long tables at the Molineta company in Minaya, a 1,600- "Castilla-La Mancha has the perfect conditions," he adds, point- strong village 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Madrid, ing to "the types of soil, climate, how it is harvested and dried." elderly ladies extract bright red stigmas from violet saffron cro- That fact has not gone unnoticed among Spain's legion of cuses that will subsequently be dried and sold off. Every day chefs. "In Spain, we treat it as if it were threads of gold," says during the autumn harvest, Segunda Gascon, 78, blackens her Daniel Lasa, chef at Spain's Michelin-starred Mugaritz restau- fingers as she works the fragrant petals, a gesture she has prac- rant. "La Mancha's saffron is much clearer, less bitter" than that ticed again and again since 1964 when she was given a small of Iran, he adds. He prefers using the spice for soups and batch of seedlings for her wedding. gelatines, and to accompany seafood. In the region around She is part of a group of around 50 people-many of them Minaya, Spain's devastating economic crisis, which erupted in retired-who are paid to help out at this time of year in the small 2008, pushed many to return to growing what is known as "red village of the Castilla-La Mancha region. Nearby Dolores gold." There are now 267 producers of saffron with the PDO Harvesters, paid in a job-by-job basis, pick saffron flowers at one of Molineta de Minaya Navarro, 83, sings a folk song as she works: "The saffron rose is label alone in Spain. Just 100 kilometers away in Toledo saffron company’s plots in Minaya. — AFP photos a fragrant flower, that grows at sunrise and dies at sunset." She province where unemployment is sky-high, small-scale produc- remembers the men who would come to the village in the ers are on the rise, grouping themselves into cooperatives. And 1960s to buy the spice "at a high price." in Minaya, the Ortiz family is no longer alone. Antonio Garcia Filoso, a 36-year-old farmer, started planting saffron two years All by hand ago, and produced three kilograms last year. — AFP But then came the modernization of agriculture, which led to a drop in many food prices. Saffron though, which relies on intensive manual labor, remained expensive and Spanish pro- ducers were unable to keep up. From more than 100 tons a year at the start of the 20th century, Spanish production dropped over the decades to reach just 1.9 tons in 2014, the last official figure. By comparison Iran-where the workforce is cheaper and the selection of stigmas less strict-says 93 percent of worldwide saffron production came from the country in 2015, at 350 tons. Spain, Morocco and Kashmir shared what was left. "In the 1980s, saffron was ruinous," says Molineta founder Juan Antonio Ortiz, a 66-year-old farmer. Standing by his field, he keeps an eye on the basket-carrying Bulgarian, Senegalese and Malian day laborers, who have been picking still-closed flowers since daybreak and are paid 5.20 euros a kilo. Unlike others, Ortiz decided not to abandon his precious flowers, and it even- tually paid off. His 10 hectares (25 acres) of saffron now earn his family "around 500 euros per kilo," which comes to around 50,000 euros a year. "I held on because I always liked growing this," he said. "I was barely walking and I was already in the saffron plots A basket full of saffron flowers lies on the ground of one of the Molineta de Minaya saf- with my mother picking the flowers." fron company’s plots in Minaya. At the turn of the century, Ortiz and his wife Maria Angeles bet on quality to broaden their production, which now comes complete with a protected designation of origin (PDO) label recognized by the European Union. They sell their saffron to distributors from Spain, the United States, European countries and even the United Arab Emirates.

'Threads of gold' Once Maria Angeles has sorted through the stigmas with tweezers, and dried them on a silk canvas above a small fire, A harvester, paid in a job-by-job basis, picks saffron flowers.

Saffron stigmas are poured over a sieve A harvester pulls up a saffron flower from used to dry them. its root.

Molineta de Minaya saffron company owners Mari A saffron cleaner picks the stigmas of a saffron flower. Angeles Serrano (left) and Jose Antonio Ortiz pose hold- ing a basket full of bloomed saffron bulbs outside their Saffron cleaners work at Molineta de Minaya company’s warehouse. company’s warehouse. Everest-conquering Japan teen eyes explorers’ ‘Grand Slam’

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 39

People enjoy the Christmas Lunapark in the capital Nicosia, in this eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Christmas events and decorations are taking place all over the island running up to the Christmas celebrations. — AP

Lennard Otto, Chief Executive Officer of IMG Worlds of Adventure, bottom center left, address the audience during a A costumed cartoon character poses at the IMG Worlds of Adventure in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. press conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday. — AFP photos

Dubai developer that recently opened the world's largest indoor theme park now plans an even bigger Aattraction next door. The Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Dubai plans to Group said on Tuesday that its planned IMG Worlds of Legends park will spread across more than 2 million square feet (186,000 square meters) near the existing IMG Worlds of Adventure, which opened at the end of August. The new park will include well-known characters, including open yet another Pokemon, Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora the Explorer, as well as Mattel's Barbie and Hot Wheels. Officials didn't say how soon the park will open or how much it will cost. Dubai is building a flurry of new amusement parks amusement park and other entertainment venues as it prepares to host the Lennard Otto, Chief Executive Officer of IMG Worlds of Adventure speaks during a press con- World Expo in 2020. — AP ference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. King's Americas next shuffle cat event with Hannah Simone

Wylie Coyote Super Genius is the winner of America’s Next Shuffle Cat Actress Hannah Simone, left, congratulates Wylie Coyote Super Genius and owner Actress Hannah Simone plays with adoptable cats from Brooklyn Cat Cafe during an contest after a live cat-walk in New York, Tuesday. Wylie will be fea- Michelle Meinhold after Wylie wins the America’s Next Shuffle Cat contest after a live event. tured in the new mobile game from King, Shuffle Cats. cat-walk in New York.