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MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
Omair: Drop
in shale output
caused oil
price rebound
Boko Haram
pledges
allegiance to
Islamic State
NO: 16454
150 FILS
3
40 PAGES
JAMADA ALAWWAL 18, 1436 AH
7
Expats chill
with Dubai
desert
off-roading
40
www.kuwaittimes.net
Messi breaks
Spain hat-trick
record as
Barca go top
20
Assembly panel approves
draft law for domestics
Barrak’s release sought • UAE to try ex-MP Duwailah
Min 09º
Max 26º
High Tide
01:46 & 14:08
Low Tide
08:10 & 20:33
By B Izzak and Agencies
Snapchat holds
talks with Saudi
Prince Alwaleed
DUBAI: Senior management of Snapchat held talks with
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on potential cooperation, the prince’s investment company said in a statement yesterday. The meeting, which included the mobile
messaging company’s Chief Executive Evan Spiegel and
Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan,
comes as Snapchat embarks on a
new funding round that values the
business at up to $19 billion.
“On the agenda of discussions
was future potential business cooperation between Kingdom Holding
and Snapchat in the technology
field,” Kingdom Holding, which is 95
Prince Alwaleed percent owned by Prince Alwaleed,
said in a statement without elaborating.
The billionaire prince has made a number of investments in technology brands in the past, including social
messaging service Twitter and Chinese e-commerce
company JD.com Inc. Los Angeles-based Snapchat,
which allows its more than 100 million users to send
messages that disappear after a few seconds, is looking
to raise as much as $500 million in its latest funding
round. — Reuters
RABAT: Moroccans shout slogans during a protest calling for gender equality as they mark
International Women’s Day yesterday. The placards read in Arabic: “An invitation to think, not to blaspheme” and “We won’t compromise on women’s rights”. International Women’s Day is marked on
March 8 every year and is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of
women past, present and future. — AFP
KUWAIT/ABU DHABI: The National Assembly’s health
and labor committee yesterday approved the first ever
draft law governing the affairs of domestic laborers in
Kuwait, granting them a number of key human rights.
Head of the committee MP Saadoun Hammad said the
approval came after deliberating all its articles and
reducing them to 62 from the original 75 and after
debating the opinion of various government bodies
concerned with domestic helpers. Domestic helpers in
Kuwait, whose numbers exceed 600,000, are governed
by a decision by the interior ministry because they are
not covered by the labor law in the private sector.
Hammad said that the committee added an article to
tackle the issue of maids fleeing their employers to new
ones, stipulating that new employers will have to pay a
certain amount of money in addition to airfare. The law
bans recruitment offices from advertising for maids on
the basis of religion or color or any other humiliating
way. It also requires recruitment offices to provide
maids with insurance throughout the work period.
The draft law, which requires the approval of the
National Assembly and acceptance of the government
to become law, introduces KD 45 as minimum monthly
wage and bans the appointment of those who are
under 20 years and above 50 years of age. The law stipulates eight working hours per day, introduces public
holidays and that maids must get paid weekly rest days
and annual leave. In addition, employers are not
allowed to seize their passports.
Continued on Page 13
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
LOCAL
Kuwait participates in 59th
UN women rights session
heading the Kuwaiti delegaNEW YORK: Kuwait’s particition to New York, noted the
pation in the 59th session of
importance of presenting
the UN’s Commission on the
applicable solutions to ease
Status of Women is a chance
the suffering of women in difto showcase the country ’s
ferent countries. Meanwhile,
achievements in the field, a
the Chairperson said that the
Kuwaiti government official
UN had planned to hold the
said yesterday.
59th session coinciding with
The event mainly focuses
the International Women’s
on violence against women all
Day. The official also praised
around the world, especially in
countries suffering political Sheikha Latifa Al-Fahad the decision to establish a
family court in Kuwait to supcrises, said Sheikha Latifa AlAl-Salem Al-Sabah
port the role of women in difFahad Al-Salem Al-Sabah,
Chairperson of the Cabinet’s Committee on ferent aspects of society and protect their
Women’s Affairs. Sheikha Latifa, who’s rights. — KUNA
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace yesterday. — KUNA
Amir, Crown Prince receive top officials
CAIRO: Ambassador Abdulhamid Al-Failakawi is seen during the meeting. — KUNA
Arab officials hold meeting to
follow up on Summit resolutions
CAIRO: Ambassador Abdulhamid AlFailakawi, the head of Kuwaiti Foreign
Ministry’s Arab World Department, headed
yesterday a meeting of the Arab League
permanent delegates, which was held as a
prelude to a ministerial meeting due today.
The meeting, held within the framework
of a special commission charged with following up and implementing the Arab
Summit resolutions, was convened in
preparation for the ministerial-level meeting, due today under chairmanship of
Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, said Ambassador
Ahmad Bin Hilli, the Arab League Deputy
Secretary General, in a statement at start of
the meeting.
Today’s meeting is designed to follow
up on resolutions of the Arab Summit,
hosted by Kuwait in March 2014, Bin Hilli
added, hailing His Highness the Amir
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
for the great efforts he had exerted to
ensure the Summit success. He also praised
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled for his major role in
forming delegations tasked with drumming up international support for Arab
causes, namely the Palestinian question,
Lebanon and Somalia.
Bin Hilli expressed hope that such distinguished Arab effort would continue in the
future to support the League resolutions
and causes of the nation. He added that the
Secretariat General had prepared, in coordination with Kuwait, the Summit current
chairman, a full report about following up
on resolutions, to be submitted to the ministers during their tomorrow’s meeting. The
report includes recommendations on obstacles hindering implementation of some resolutions, pending submission to the upcoming Summit due in Sharm El-Shekikh at the
end of this month. — KUNA
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah
Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan
Palace yesterday HH the Crown Prince Sheikh
Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National
Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, HH
the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah and First Deputy Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah AlKhaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Meanwhile, HH the Crown Prince received
Marzouq Al-Ghanim, HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, First Deputy
Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh
Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister
Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.
Separately, HH the Amir sent a cable of condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
over the demise of Prince Saud bin Sultan bin
Saud bin Abdullah Al Saud. In the cable, HH the
Amir expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the
Saudi King, praying to the Almighty Allah to
bestow his mercy upon the deceased, and grant
the Saudi Royal family patience and solace. HH
the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister sent
similar cables.
In other news, HH the Amir and Supreme
Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Sabah
Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to
patronize the graduation ceremony of the 19th
batch of university-level officers, and the 42nd
group of commissioned officers. The event takes
place at Ali Al-Sabah Military Academy at 10:30
am this morning. — KUNA
Kuwaiti lawyers visit
the Netherlands
BRUSSELS: The Board of Directors of the Kuwait
Lawyers Association begins today a visit to international courts and organizations affiliated to the
United Nations in The Hague, as well as to the
Dutch Union of Lawyers and law and training centers in the Netherlands with aim to strengthen
cooperation with these organizations.
The visit has been coordinated by the Kuwait
Embassy which is keen to see that program covers
the requirements and interests of Kuwait Lawyers
Association and achieve the desired results, said
Tareq Al-Shumaimri, Counselor at Embassy of
Kuwait in The Hague and Executive Board observer at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Shumaimri stressed the importance of the visit
saying it comes within the framework of the distinguished relations between the State of Kuwait
and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with more
than 50 years of political and trade cooperation.
KUWAIT: Australian Ambassador Warren Hauck presents his credentials First Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah. — KUNA photos
He noted that cooperation has been flourishing
between Kuwait and the courts and international
organizations in The Hague to which Kuwait has
memberships and positions since a long time.
The lawyers’ visit ends on Friday, and includes
a visit to the Dutch Union of Lawyers, the
International Court of Justice, the Permanent
Arbitration Court of Justice, Organization for
Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the
International Criminal Court, the University of
Leiden and The Hague Academy of Law.
Shumaimri stressed that this visit was preceded by a visit of Kuwaiti Minister of Justice and
Islamic Affairs Yaqoub Al-Sane to The Hague last
week, as well as the visit of a delegation from the
Kuwaiti Judicial Council a few months ago which
have contributed to increased cooperation
between the international judicial organization
and Kuwait. — KUNA
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah receives credentials of the new Ambassador of Thailand Prasas
Prasasvinitchai.
Foreign Minister receives
ambassadors’ credentials
KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received yesterday
the new Ambassador of Australia to Kuwait Warren Hauck,
and the new Ambassador of Thailand Prasas Prasasvinitchai,
who presented their credentials.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled received Jamaica’s
Ambassador to Kuwait Audley Rodriques, and Cambodian
Ambassador Kim Long on the occasion of ending their
tenures in Kuwait. The meetings were attended by Foreign
Minister’s office director Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser
Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and Director of the Protocols
Department Ambassador Dhari Al-Ajran. Separately, Sheikh
Sabah Al-Khaled received a letter from the Indonesian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi. The message deals
with bilateral relations and means of enhancing them in all
fields besides issues of mutual interest. — KUNA
Kuwait, Italy discuss exempting
Kuwaitis of Schengen visa
ROME: The possibility of exempting
Kuwaiti citizens from the Schengen tourist
visa highlighted talks between Kuwaiti
Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Khaled AlSabah and Italian Interior Minister
Angelino Alfano held at the Italian Interior
Ministry headquarters yesterday.
The ambassador praised Rome’s strong
support for the request for exemption of
Schengen tourist visa for Kuwaitis and
reviewed Italian efforts within the EU to
achieve this, the Kuwaiti embassy in Italy
said in a statement.
The talks also tackled problems facing
entry of Kuwaiti patients, students and
scholarships to Italy, in addition to facilitating visits by Kuwaiti tourists and businessmen to Italy, with consideration to the
forecast attendance of thousands of people of (Expo Milan 2015) that kicks off in
May next year.
For his part, Minister Alfano stressed his
country’s keenness on boosting cooperation and the special friendship with
Kuwait, noting Kuwait’s main role in face of
security challenges, namely mounting terrorist threats. The two sides also discussed
issues of common interest, and talked
aspects of mutual cooperation in the security field, exchange of experience, latest
investigation techniques and border security. — KUNA
ROME: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Khaled Al-Sabah and
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano are seen during their meeting
yesterday. — KUNA
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
LOCAL
Drop in shale output caused oil
price rebound: Oil minister
Prices may improve this year
EQUATE, EPA, and GPCA officials as well as the volunteers are seen in a
group photo.
EQUATE, EPA, GPCA form
partnership for Waste
Free Environment campaign
KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company,
Kuwait’s first international joint-venture in
this industry, the Environment Public
Authority (EPA) and Gulf Petrochemicals and
Chemicals Association (GPCA) launched, for
the third consecutive year, a partnership for
the Waste Free Environment (WFE) campaign
for Beach Cleanup.
The campaign’s partners for this year
included Kuwait Municipality, K’s Path and
KUWAIT: EQUATE President and CEO
Mohammad Husain speaks during
the event. —Photos by Joseph Shagra
Touristic Enterprises Company. Held outside
the Green Island, the activity was attended
by over 300 persons, including EQUATE
employees, school students and other volunteers, who collected 1,813 kilograms of
waste.
EPA Director-General Sheikh Abdullah
Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah expressed gratitude to EQUATE and all the event’s partners,
noting that EPA will always do its best in light
of law number 42 for the year 2014 to ensure
protecting and preserving the environment
as a whole for Kuwait’s best interests.
Overall sustainability
On his part, EQUATE President and CEO
Mohammad Husain said, “This event is not
only about cleaning up the beach, but it is an
embodiment of our continuous commitment to protect and preserve the environment for overall sustainability as part of our
corporate strategy. Why are we doing this? It
is simply because the environment deserves
our care and attention. The environment,
with all its elements, is a critical part of our
existence and daily lives as a whole. This
activity is part of sharing success with all
stakeholders, yourselves included, to ensure
the environment is protected and preserved.
It is a comprehensive commitment that
requires an overall partnership between all
of us. Your presence here today is a living
example of our slogan ‘Partners in Success’ in
Kuwait and beyond. Throughout the years,
EQUATE has launched several world-class
environmental initiatives, including the
Middle East’s First Plant Water Recycle
Project, Kuwait’s First two projects for CO2
recovery, Kuwait’s First Seawater Cooling
Towers, and others. In conclusion, I would
like to extend utmost appreciation and gratitude to all of you, the Environment Public
Authority (EPA), Kuwait Municipality, K’s Path,
Touristic Enterprises Company, schools,
media members, and our employees.”
Improper disposal
GPCA Secretary-General Dr Abdulwahab
Al-Sadoun said, “As an industry involved
with the production of plastic-a product
that is often erroneously blamed for environmental problems-we feel it is essential to
educate and engage with different groups
about the persistent issues surrounding
improper waste disposal. Education plays a
crucial role in the campaign, which highlights the fact that plastic litter in marine
and desert environments is largely due to
irresponsible disposal of plastic waste combined with poor waste management, a lack
of regulatory framework and insufficient
recycling infrastructure. Plastic forms an
integral part of daily life, and is used in the
automotive, aerospace and food packaging
sectors so the solution to waste is not cutting the production of this vital product but
in the reuse and recycle of its many applications,” explained Dr Sadoun. “In the long
term, we hope that initiatives like the WFE
demonstrate that ultimately, litter is a
behavioral problem: plastics do not litter;
people do.”
Since the launch of the GCC campaign in
2013, the WFE has grown in size, participation and collection. The 2014 edition saw a
record collection of 11 tons of waste from
5,512 participants from GPCA member companies, schools and local communities in
nine GCC cities. Volunteers included students from 71 schools and universities, and
included clean- up teams in beaches and
waters as part of the day-long campaign.
DUBAI: A drop in shale oil production has triggered a rebound
of global oil prices, but prices will not rise sharply as long as the
world’s economy stays sluggish, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali AlOmair was quoted as saying by state news agency KUNA.
Many factors are affecting oil prices, including violence in
Iraq and Libya, KUNA quoted Omair as saying late on Saturday
during a visit to Bahrain for an energy industry conference.
Reduction of output will not have a major impact without a
global economic recovery that would spur demand, he added.
He said projections showed prices might improve this year,
but added that they might also stay between $50 and $60 a
barrel. Later at an energy conference in Bahrain yesterday,
Omair argued that Kuwait could live with current oil prices.
Brent crude oil closed Friday just below $60, up from lows near
$45 hit in mid-January.
Asked about OPEC’s decision last November to maintain
output instead of cutting it in an effort to support prices, Omair
said it “was not a hostile resolution but balanced”. The issue of
oil’s drop is the collective responsibility of all oil producing
countries, both OPEC and non-OPEC, he added without elaborating.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said he
expected oil prices to stabilize as supply and demand balanced, and urged non-OPEC producers to help balance the
market. —Reuters
Mohammad Al Thani, Ooredoo Kuwait’s
General Manager and CEO, and Rafiah Ibrahim,
President Ericsson Region Middle East and East
Africa.
MANAMA: Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair meets Bahrain’s Minister of Energy
Dr Abdulhussain Mirza after arriving to Manama late Saturday. —KUNA
Sheikh Mohammad Al Thani, Ooredoo Kuwait’s
General Manager and CEO, and Victoria Strand,
Head of Ericsson Gulf Council Countries and
Pakistan.
Sheikh Mohammad Al Thani, Ooredoo Kuwait’s
General Manager and CEO, and Chafic Trabulsi,
Head of Global Customer Unit Ooredoo at
Ericsson.
Ooredoo partners with Ericsson
to deploy Advanced LTE in Kuwait
During a celebration at World Mobile Congress
BARCELONA: Ooredoo Kuwait, a member of
Ooredoo Group, announced its partnership with
Ericsson to deploy the first LTE Advanced small
cell solution. This milestone is the latest in a successful ten-year partnership between Ooredoo
Kuwait and Ericsson. Signing this deal took place
last week during the World Mobile Congress in
Barcelona, Spain. The event, to which the biggest
mobile service providers across the world flock
annually, was attended by Ooredoo Kuwait
General Manager and CEO Mohammad bin
Abdulla Al Thani, Corporate Communications
Director Mijbil Alayoub, Chief Sales Officer Tamer
Shibil, and CEO Consultant Dr Hamad Alnuaimi.
Commenting on this, Ooredoo Kuwait’s
General Manager and CEO Mohammad bin
Abdulla Al Thani said: “Kuwait has witnessed an
exponential growth of data traffic in the LTE network. The overall data traffic since 2013 grew by
7 folds, or 600%. We are positive that this partnership with the reputable Ericsson will further
boost our capacity and provide a differentiated
user experience to our customers in Kuwait.”
Rafiah Ibrahim, President Ericsson Region
Middle East and East Africa said: “Mobile broadband is now an integral part of our everyday
lifestyle where constant connectivity is expected
anytime, anywhere. By introducing our integrated LTE advanced small cells into the LTE network, we are able to provide Ooredoo in Kuwait
with more reliable and higher capacity network
that will continue to support their customers’
connected lifestyles.”
By integrating Small Cell solution as part of
the macro mobile network, Ooredoo Kuwait can
cost effectively provide increased network
capacity and improved coverage. It also provides full-service transparency in the network,
ensuring that, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast
Services over LTE, designed specifically to provide broadcast service over cellular network,
and similar functionality work seamlessly in the
network.
In the context of an advanced LTE market
with heavy uptake of data services, Ooredoo
Kuwait’s deployment of the LTE Advanced Small
cell solution will help it to stay ahead of competition through advance and innovative solutions.
Major General Abdullah Al-Muhanna, the Ministry of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs, and other participants at the inauguration ceremony.
2015 GCC Traffic Week underway
People can avail services at Avenues
By Faten Omar
Major General Abdullah Al-Muhanna, the
Ministry of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for
Traffic Affairs, is welcomed to the venue.
A traffic police officer distributes brochures to
drivers as part of the GCC Traffic Week activities.
KUWAIT: The unified Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) traffic week kicked off yesterday under
the patronage and in the presence of Major
General Abdullah Al-Muhanna, the Ministry of
Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic
Affairs and the Chairman of the Organizing
Committee for the activities of the 2015 Traffic
Week. Delegates from the GCC, Major General
Saleh Bo Dustor and a number of General
Department of Traffic leaders were also present in the flag off ceremony of the traffic week
which will run until March 13, 2015.
Muhanna welcomed the delegates of GCC
states and emphasized the greetings of
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and
the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior
Lieutenant General Sulaiman Fahad Al-Fahad,
and wished the guests a pleasant stay in
Kuwait.
Road safety
“The celebration includes a number of
events related to road safety, hoping that the
events will increase the traffic awareness
among the public. The exchange of experiences between the GCC countries and Kuwait
has added a lot of technological development,”
said Muhanna.
Traffic Week’s events began yesterday
morning with a field trip in General
Department of Traffic with the delegations of
the GCC visiting the central control room
where they observed the roads and recorded
the accidents. Faisal Zafiri, Head of the Central
Control Signals Optical Traffic Control provided
Officers are seen during a presentation at the traffic control department.
a brief explanation on the observation of traffic signals and the control system. Mohamed
Al-Mansoori, Head of Traffic Operations also
gave a brief explanation of the mechanism for
tracking the traffic patrols system, explaining
the road works, intersections mechanism and
how the cameras work.
Avenues booth
As part of the Traffic Week program, the
General Department of Traffic will open a booth
today at the Avenues Mall at 6 pm, where people can pay their tickets, unblock the suspended licenses and get the cars that are reserved by
the traffic department with no paperwork and
long lines. The GCC delegates will visit Al-Razi
Hospital, the Driving School, and the Museum
of Cars.
Muhanna thanked the GCC delegates and
also praised the role of citizens and residents
and what they are doing to support all the
activities to raise the standard of traffic on the
road. On the other hand, the Gulf delegates
praised the advanced level of the Traffic
Department of Kuwait and the security for traffic procedures to serve citizens and residents.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
LOCAL
289 arrested, 93 deported in February
97 felonies, 254 misdemeanors investigated
Fugitives arrested
An Iraqi, bedoon and a Gulf national
were arrested following a hot pursuit,
during which the driver ran several traffic
lights, ending in colliding with a concrete
barrier, injuring him and his companions.
A security source said an Ahmadi police
patrol saw a car being driven erratically,
and followed until it reached Fahaheel
Expressway, where it hit the center
cement barrier.
The driver was found wanted on three
cases, the bedoon was wanted to serve a
four-year jail sentence and the Iraqi was
wanted to serve two months in prison. Six
rings, suspected of being stolen, were
found with them. In a separate case, a citizen was sent to the civil sentences implementation department as he is wanted
over a KD 30,000 debt. He was arrested in
Mahboula.
By Hanan Al-Saadoun
KUWAIT: Police arrested 289 persons and
93 were deported during the period from
February 1 until February 28, 2015, said
Adballah Al-Ajmi, Acting Director of
Hawally Security Department. He said there
were 97 felonies and 254 misdemeanors
investigated in the same period.
The Egyptian suspect with one kilogram of ice.
3 arrested with drugs
Drugs Control Department local unit
arrested an Egyptian national with one
kilogram of ice. Security men raided his residence where they found the drugs. He was
sent to concerned authorities after he confessed that the drugs belonged to him. In
other news, Farwaniya police arrested a
person with more than 500 gram shabu
with him. The drugs were found in his car.
Meanwhile, police found 57 small
envelopes containing heroin with an undisclosed taxi driver.
No injuries in fires
A fire spread in a paint warehouse in an
eight-storey building in Kheitan. Farwaniya
and Subhan fire security men rushed to the
scene, evacuated the tenants and put out
the fire. No injuries were reported.
Separately, a fire broke out inside in a room
on the roof of a mall in Salmiya containing
wooden boards and goods. Salmiya firemen evacuated the building, and the fire
was contained and put out within 15 minutes, sources said.
The police patrol car flipped over after the accident.
Police car flips over
A police patrol car flipped over near the
American University. Preliminary information
indicates that there are three policemen who
were injured. The police rescue team rushed
to the scene to deal with the accident.
The scene after the fire in Kheitan.
Kuwait Municipality confiscated and
destroyed seven tons of fish that are not fit
for human consumption. The fish reportedly came through Nuwaiseeb border crossing during January and February. Istiqlal AlMusallam, Director of Imported Food
Department said the entire fish shipment
was destroyed at Nuwaiseeb. The shipment
belonged to several companies.
ATVs in camp confiscated
In other news, the municipality warned
against renting all terrain vehicles (ATVs) in
the camps area considering the possibilities of dangers involved. Mishal Aba Al-Safi,
Head of the Emergency Team in Ahmadi
said 27 ATVs were confiscated.
Children killed in accident, fall
A six-year-old Kuwait boy was killed
when he was run over by a car in Ali Sabah
Al-Salem. The driver, a Sri Lankan man, was
arrested. Meanwhile, an Egyptian boy, also
6, died after he fell from the fifth floor of a
Jahra building.
Husband stabbed
Police arrested a woman for stabbing
her husband four times in Mubarak AlKabeer. He was taken to Adan Hospital.
Arson probe
Police are investigating the circumstances of a fire that destroyed four cars
in front of a citizen’s house in Mishref. The
cars are valued at over KD 100,000, and it
is possible it’s a case of arson.
Cross-dressers arrested
Two men were arrested for cross-dressing, as they had women’s clothes and
makeup on. Meanwhile, an addict who
escaped from the psychiatric hospital and
threatened his brothers with a knife was
arrested.
Two sell liquor in bus
Ahmadi police arrested two Indian men who
used a bus to sell liquor from. A search
revealed169 bottles the men were in possession
of. Both were sent to concerned authorities.
Suspect drives off
A Hawally traffic officer accused a
Kuwaiti man of stealing goods worth KD
225. According to the officer, he left some
of his belongings in the citizen’s car while
waiting for the tow truck to arrive to
impound it. He alleged that the suspect got
into the car using a spare key and drove off
with the goods in it.
Firefighters are pictured while fighting the blaze at the
Salmiya mall.
Food dept seizes fish
The Imported Food Department at
KUWAIT: More than 540 weapons and at least one and a half tons of ammunition were handed over so far during the ongoing
national weapons collecting campaign, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday. The 4-month-long campaign allows people to
handover weapons and ammunition in their possession at 38 centers around Kuwait, or by calling the hotline 1888839, without
facing legal action.
Fireman’s Festival concludes
By Hanan Al Saadoun
KUWAIT: Major General Al-Ansari said the fireman’s festival this year was distinguished by
the preparations, public awareness and sponsors. Ansari was speaking during the conclusion of the festival Friday in Souk Sharq. “What
distinguishes the festival is the support it
receives from State Minister for Cabinet Affairs
Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah Al-Mubarak
Al-Sabah,” he said. He thanked all the sponsors
and Souk Sharq for facilitating the event.
Ansari said the 14th festival next year will
coincide with the fourth international fire conference, and hoped to have a mechanism that
“enables us to raise the competition performance between fire centers. He also lauded the
participation of army, National Guard, and KOC
fire centers in the event.
LOCAL
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
A Research vessel undergoes rough weather sea trials off Cork Harbour, Celtic Sea, Republic of Ireland, on March 7th, 2015. The catamaran was designed and built for the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research
(KISR). These final sea trials were in preparation for the boat’s delivery voyage to Felixtowe, England next week, from where it will be trans-shipped as deck cargo to Kuwait. The vessel was designed and built
by Safehaven Marine Ashgrove, Cobh, Co Cork, Ireland.
MPs prepare
to grill
Ibrahim, Omair
By A Saleh
KUWAIT: A meeting was held yesterday at MP Sultan AlShemmari’s diwaniya attended by 7 lawmakers, wellinformed parliamentary sources said. The MPs discussed
the bad debts issue as well as their preparations to grill
Minister of Electricity and Water and Public Works
Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim, as well as Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair,
the sources added.
‘Grace’ for ministers
MP Saleh Ashour said that the parliament’s decision to
mandate the government to respond to Audit Bureau’s
remarks was an unprecedented parliamentary monitoring
measure. He added that the government would have to
present reasonable responses to those remarks and that
serious ministers would be granted enough grace to
reform affairs.
Child law
Chairman of the parliamentary family and women’s
committee Ashour said that the articles disputed with
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Subaih concerning child protection have been included in the new
child law. He added that 40 juvenile-related articles had
been removed from the law to be included in a separate
bill to be submitted by the government soon.
Fodder subsidies
MP Saif Al-Azmi wondered about the motive behind
Kuwait Flour Mills Co’s decision to lift subsidies on barley,
which has greatly increased animal feed prices, affecting
both herders and consumers. “This directly led to increasing prices of livestock,” he charged, urging the government
to solve the problem and undo this decision.
KU Rector
Education Minister Dr Bader Al-Essa received a list of
candidates for the new Kuwait University Rector post, to
replace Dr Abdellatif Al-Bader. The minister will follow the
procedures of nominating one out of the five chosen by
the committee headed by former minister Dr Rashid AlHamad, as the report will be sent to the cabinet. One of the
nominees is an academic professor, besides a former university rector, and both favor the “liberal” faction, according
to sources.
Special needs
students to enroll
in public schools
By Meshaal Al-Enezi
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education announced its intention
to bring together learners with special needs with normal
peers in public schools from the beginning of the next school
year, said informed sources, noting that some educators
believe that it is still too soon for this step because those students have mental abilities and would normally be surpassed
by healthy students.
Minister receives UNDP reps
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State
for Planning and Development Hind Al-Subaih yesterday
received representatives of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), who discussed a plan to set health, vocational safety and inspection standards that match international ones. Meanwhile, Subaih recently issued a decision to
dissolve Fatima Al-Zahraa Charity and temporarily transfer its
funds to the ministry. Moreover, MSAL undersecretary Mutar
Al-Mutairi issued a decision on forming a special investigation committee to review Salwa Co-op’s accounts.
Asbestos landfill
Kuwait Municipality’s deputy director recently urged
Director Ahmed Al-Subaih to refer allocating a landfill site to
bury asbestos waste in Jahra to the municipality’s legal affairs
department so that it could be reviewed more thoroughly
pending referral to the fatwa and legislation department and
the Cabinet.
Municipality mulls environmental issues
Kuwait Municipality made a study for updating and developing a comprehensive strategy for Kuwait’s industrial areas,
and a Cabinet decree was made in this regard, said Ahmad
Al-Manfouhi, Kuwait Municipality Building Organization and
Structural Plan Director. The study included allocating industrial areas at state level, based on environmental studies.
There was coordination with all state departments to meet
their demands through a workshop, including the
Environment Public Authority (EPA), Manfouhi said.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Council approved the allocation of land for the Industry Public Authority (IPA) in Salmi
covering an area of 100 km, with the condition that all Kuwait
factories be moved there.
In other news, Kuwait Municipality approved a request
by the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish
Resources (PAAAFR) to shift the activity of Horse Riding
Club to women’s gym, covering an area of 917.5 meter
square, within the entertainment heritage village in Saleel
Al-Jahra.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
Fr om the Arabic press
Al-Jarida
Al-Jarida
At Morocco
Street corner
The ‘New
Kuwait’ account
By Hassan Al-Essa
By Mudaffar Al-Abdullah
G
enerally speaking, no public servant works until
3:00 pm in a nation where leniency dominates all
public work departments due to lack of administrative punishment. Yet, last Thursday, I saw a very heartening
phenomenal sight that is a rare exception amidst the
unique Kuwaiti negligence. Just at the corner where the
First Ring Road meets Morocco Expressway (at Abdullah
Al-Salem side), I saw a man in dishdashah and ogal
amongst workers working on widening the U-turn.
It was a bizarre eye-catching sight to see someone in
traditional clothes standing on the road striving with hardworking foreigners pointing at things and guiding them in
their work. It was nice image telling me that Kuwaitis are
not all ‘kings of office work’ who adore sitting behind lofty
desks signing or punching in-office before they go out
roaming various streets.
Well, that man did not look strange to me. He was of
medium height, skinny and seemed so earnest when dealing with the workers. I made this impression at a glance
while driving past. But, who might that hard-working citizen be? Is he an employee in the same company entrusted
with engineering supervision or any of its employees?
On a second thought, he seemed familiar like the people we occasionally see in the media. After a few quick
attempts to recall, the image of the minister of Public
Works and minister of Electricity and Water, Abdul Aziz AlIbrahim came to my mind. Yet, it was him. He was unaccompanied by ministerial courtiers who usually escort
‘their excellencies’ when inspecting work at any given public facility to look as if they are fully aware of how work was
going on, know the nature of work, the endless problems
in the form of corruption, anarchy and lack of law-enforcement in most public facilities.
There were no media cameras with the minister like
those that usually accompany his propaganda-loving colleagues as if they want their images deeply stored in the
minds of the common folk as a ‘Big Daddy’ who works hard
on serving the state and ensure the welfare of citizens.
Checking today’s and yesterday’s newspapers whether
the minister had a ‘candid camera’ hidden somewhere to
show us how dedicated he was to his job duties or not, I
found no photo of that at all. I mean those kinds of photos
that are usually ornamented by headlines and photos of
our dear Sheikhs shaking hands with simpler people widely smiling while checking on us (the subjects who live happily without any complaints).
Sorry, I got carried away reviewing our officials’ albums
while they do miracles to achieve our country’s welfare
and prosperity, while I should have focused on Ibrahim as a
true plain minister without any Besht on his shoulder or
media propaganda surrounding him.
I wondered about Ibrahim’s dedication in doing his
work though, seeing that the Amiri Diwan that has been
taking over most of MPW projects lately. Any minister in his
place would get angry and leave the rest of the projects or
would even resign in hand over his portfolio responsibilities to the Amiri Diwan undersecretary, Abdul Aziz Eshaq,
who always appears on TV in a luxurious Besht looking so
elegant and walking on marble our feet would never touch
and, most importantly, whom I will never see standing
amongst workers at Morocco Expressway corner!
W
ON
TI
UP
RR
CO
DEVELOPMENT
Al-Jarida
Al-Qabas
Eradicating terrorism is the answer
By Abdellatif Al-Duaij
N
ews had it that Arab regimes plan to discuss the
formation of a security force in their next summit, in order to face terrorism, and safeguard
the Arab National Security. This means, without a
doubt, that these countries expect, or may know for
sure, that terrorism will continue, and that its menace
will not stop by annihilating current organizations.
They think future organizations will be a worry, and
they must be ready to face them from now.
The regimes here know that very well. Otherwise,
why the need to form a security force to deal with
what is coming, at a time when most of those regimes
or all are actually participating in a practical international alliance, and is active to eradicate terrorism?
What will this joint Arab force be able to do, more than
what the current international allied force failed to do
to defeat IS? Nothing, of course. That is why the Arab
regimes are keen to form the security force.
Why will there be terror? Why Arab regimes are getting ready for the military confrontation with this terror? Is it not better and easier to look for the reasons of
sources and components of terrorism, and so destroy
it in the cradle? Why do we have to continually con-
front terrorism? Why is it not possible to eradicate it
forever?
Why, to start with, do some Arab regimes place
themselves in a permanent war with their people
under claims and justifications of preserving national
security? Who guarantees that these joint forces, or
those regimes, do not generalize their mission to
include every revolutionary move and uprising, to
crush it on the pretext of terrorism and threatening
Arab National Security? Who will stop these regimes
from continuing their oppression, especially that some
of the regimes themselves have the roots and seeds of
terrorism which they claim to resist?
Eradicating terrorism requires the removal of its
causes, creation of societies and formation of establishments that are able to shun terrorism and confront
it in the cradle.
Of course, this is difficult for the Arab regimes
because they themselves carry the seeds and roots of
terrorism, and some of them, as we have said many
times, created terrorism and cared for it. Maybe this is
why those regimes are getting ready to face its contradiction, which it creates day after day.
News
e cannot sum up promoting government projects and limit their accomplishments to launching an e-account
for propaganda reasons as such media are activated whenever promotable items are present.
Yet, there is a problem in linking the promotion of
government projects to the transparency in executing them, especially with all the public dissatisfaction with the failure of so many projects such
as Jaber Hospital and Jaber Stadium where so
many delays and corruptions prevailed overburdening the state budget and abusing its economic reputation.
The fuss made on launching the official ‘New
Kuwait’ account might have been exaggerated or
even driven by bloggers’ partiality towards the
‘Mashrou’e Kuwaiti’ (My projec t is Kuwaiti)
account that belongs to a Kuwaiti young man
who has 29,000 followers. The young man’s ambitions had been ignored by the government who
later on, unjustifiably made something from
scratch though the ‘new’ account does have an
inactivated Twitter account last used on February
12, 2013.
I am not concerned here by talking about
using Twitter or any other social media because,
in Kuwait, individuals are more effective and creatively active than the government that has no
effective presence on social media, except for
some that have to be there due to the nature of
their jobs. Well, we have many conservations
about the content, communication speed and
providing information in due time. In addition,
the idea of having an official spokesperson for
the government seems to have been forgotten
with the result that many rumors can easily be
spread around Kuwait in times of distress.
Checking on the new Kuwait account and promoting it through some satellite TV channels, I
found out that the idea is very good, though it
came too late. And, in view of the millions spent
by the government on social welfare without any
statement except when a minister responses to a
parliamentary inquiry, this is good news.
Here, we are not talking about a mere Twitter
account but about how the country is being managed, the abuse of powers, profiteering and
bribes admitted by His Highness the Prime
Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, who
urged his Cabinet members to fight them. So,
how will New Kuwait solve all these problems,
will it provide followers with delay reasons, cost
and justification?
Crime
i n
b r i e f
Ministry to
buy electricity
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water allocated
around KD 8 million to buy electric power from north Zour
station to cover demands during this summer, sources said,
adding that the cost of buying was determined by the
expected number of operating hours of the gas units and
the total electricity production and the cost of contracted
kilowatt. The station production will be limited to three gas
units in the summer of this year that will be in service from
June 28 until Sept 28 consecutively, for the production
capacity to reach 664 megawatt per hour. The production
will continue for 181 days, and the gas units will shut down
on March 27, 2016 to complete the rest of stages. —Al-Rai
Kuwaiti to appear in court
KUWAIT: The foreign ministry contacted its American
counterpart to check on the FBI investigations with a
Kuwaiti employee at Washington health office. The
sources said the enquiries have not been responded
adding that the detained employee is supposed to
appear in court this week. — Al-Rai
Amendments to bad loan ‘old story’
KUWAIT: Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh stated that the
issue of amending bad loans law ended long ago and cannot be discussed or amended anymore. “Refusal of the
amendment is a clear government stand since two years,
and the best evidence is what was mentioned in the
Investment Public Authority letter dated May 5, 2013,
rejecting such a proposal,” Saleh said. “We cannot talk about
amending a law that legal centers have approved, and all
courts have ruled in their favor including verdicts of the cassation court. The amendment affair is like any other project
that is rejected in favor of not achieving justice between citizens, and because of the lack of clarity in the financial cost
of the proposed amendments,” he said. — Al-Rai
R e p o r t
4-year-old lost
girl found
KUWAIT: Jahra police reunited a girl with her family after
she was reported lost in a mall. Police who found the girl
behind the mall area said they searched for the missing girl
after they received a report from an Iranian expat who
complained she lost her four year old girl in the crowd.
Policeman on duty threatened
A policeman in Fahad Al-Ahmad reported against a
violator of threatening him, when he issued a traffic citation. The suspect was charged with threatening and
insulting a public employee on duty. Detectives are looking for him.
Police accused of molesting boy
A Syrian expat accused a police officer of sexually
attacking his 12-year old boy in Fintas. The complainant
alleged that when the boy told him what had happened,
he took him to the station to complain. Investigations are
underway.
Youths fight in mall
Several juveniles broke into a scuffle inside a mall in
Fahaheel using sharp objects and sticks. Fahaheel patrols
went to the area and arrested some of the combatants,
while others escaped.
Fire in police station
An electric contact caused a fire in the roof of Surra
police station entrance. Firemen put out the fire and no
injuries were reported. —Al-Rai
Soaring rent, fees consume
budgets of citizens, expats
KUWAIT: According to an analysis by
local Arabic daily Al-Anbaa on inflation rates as per the latest statistics
issued by the Kuwait Central
Statistical Bureau’s consumer price
index, rapidly increasing rent has
been leading to dearer services and
consumer goods for both citizens and
expatriates living in Kuwait since
2012, affecting their wages and
income.
The study showed that most tenants in investment buildings had been
expats until recently, but many young
Kuwaiti couples started renting apartments while waiting for their promised government housing because
they would have to wait long in view
of the accumulating number of applicants - 108,000 so far.
The study also showed that despite
the fact that inflation rates were still
acceptable, some expenses like hous-
ing has been devouring consumers’
income by at least 28.9 percent. The
study also showed that food and beverage expenses came second with
18.4 percent, with an inflation rate of
2.5 percent over the past three years.
The study also showed that housing
related services like furniture and
maintenance came third in terms of
price increases at 11.3 percent.
More importantly, the study
showed that education and tuition
fees, which are very integral for everyone, consumed large portions of families’ incomes with an inflation rate of
4.4 percent. — Al-Anbaa
Selma civil rights
milestone
marked by black
president
Page 9
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
Boko Haram pledges allegiance to IS
Alliance described as a ‘religious duty’
LAGOS: Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State group, after repeated indications that it was seeking
a formal tie-up and a series of Nigerian military successes
against the rebels. The Nigerian group’s leader Abubakar
Shekau made the announcement in an audio message on
Saturday night, describing it as a religious duty and saying
it would “enrage the enemy of Allah”.
The declaration raises the possibility that Western powers, which have so far stayed out of direct military operations in northeast Nigeria, might be pulled into the conflict, which has left more than 13,000 people dead since
2009 but largely been seen as a “local” or regional issue.
“Operating as an IS proxy could draw Western efforts
against its operations, particularly from France, which
already runs a multi-country anti-terrorist campaign in the
west and central African region,” said Ryan Cummings, from
risk consultants Red24. Extremists from Libya to Pakistan
have previously pledged support or allegiance to IS leader
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi while the group itself last month
expanded its reach into lawless Libya.
‘Natural ally’
There have been growing indications that Boko Haram
was looking to formally align itself with IS group, starting
last year when Shekau declared the captured town of
Gwoza, in Borno state, part of a caliphate. That followed a
similar declaration by Baghdadi while both groups have
captured swathes of territory. In recent weeks, previously
poorly produced Boko Haram videos took on the look and
feel of more polished IS propaganda and was posted
directly online, guaranteeing a wider audience.
IS was also reported to have received pledges of allegiance from militants in Nigeria. Max Abrahms, a specialist
in extremist groups, said Boko Haram and IS, which has yet
to respond to the pledge, were in many ways a perfect
match. “Neither group (IS and Boko Haram) is inhibited in
terms of violence. They’re a natural ally,” said Abrahms,
from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Shekau may have attempted to tone down his violent
rhetoric and improve Boko Haram’s public image among
the wider jihadi movement but indiscriminate attacks have
continued against civilian “soft” targets. Scores of civilians
have died in suicide attacks and bombings, despite the military fight-back by Nigeria and its regional allies Cameroon,
Chad and Niger. On Saturday, a woman with explosives
strapped to her body blew herself up at about 11:20 am
(1020 GMT) at Baga fish market in the Borno state capital,
Maiduguri. — AFP
p8_Layout 1 3/8/15 9:17 PM Page 1
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Defense minister escapes
Houthi-controlled Sanaa
ADEN: Yemen’s defense minister has fled
Houthi-controlled Sanaa for Aden, officials
said on Sunday, in a move expected to bolster President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in
his power struggle with the Shiite Muslim
group. Yemen is caught in a stand-off
between the Western-backed president
and the Iran-backed Houthi clan, now the
country’s de facto rulers. The group seized
the presidential palace in Sanaa in January
and confined the president to his private
residence. Hadi managed to escape from
the Houthis two weeks ago. Officials said
the defense minister, General Mahmoud AlSubaihi, escaped in a convoy on Saturday
night, arriving in the southern port city of
Aden early on Sunday. They said the
Houthis shot and killed four of Subaihi’s
security guards in the western province of
Hodeida where they attacked a convoy in
their search for the minister.
Hadi, who resigned after the Houthis
seized the presidential palace, has since reclaimed the presidency and is seeking to
set up a rival power centre in the south
with loyalist army units and tribes. An
impoverished country of 25 million, Yemen
is part of a regional struggle for influence
between rival powers Saudi Arabia and
Iran. The Iran-backed Houthis control much
of the northern half of the country while
several Gulf state embassies have said they
would operate from Aden in the south after
Hadi’s escape. — Reuters
Pakistan’s toilet shortage
a growing health concern
ISLAMABAD: More than 40 million people
in Pakistan do not have access to a toilet,
forcing them to defecate in the open,
which in turn is a major contributor to
stunting in the country, a top UNICEF official said. “There are 41 million people who
do not have access to a toilet in Pakistan
and as a result they are defecating in the
open. And open defecation has significant
health and nutritional consequences,” said
Geeta Rao Gupta, deputy executive director at UNICEF. She recently spoke to The
Associated Press during a trip to Pakistan to
draw attention to the problem. “Open
defecation is a major contributor to stunting and that’s why we’ve got to do all we
can to stop it,” she said.
Pakistan is the third-largest country
when it comes to people going to the bathroom in the open, behind India and
Indonesia. The problem can spread disease
and lead to intestinal infections, which can
contribute to stunting in young children,
she said. Stunting means children don’t
grow as tall as they would otherwise, and it
can also affect a child’s brain development.
Stunted children are more at risk of disease,
don’t do as well in school and stunted
mothers can also give birth to stunted children.
UNICEF is working with the Pakistani
government to improve sanitation by
doing things like encouraging people to
wash their hands more often. They’re also
working with communities to help them
build toilets so they don’t have to use the
bathroom in a field or elsewhere. Building
more toilets is also vital for empowering
women and girls and keeping them in
school, Gupta said. If women have to walk
long distances to find a private place to
relieve themselves, they are more vulnerable and exposed to attack. They’re also less
likely to go to school if there are no toilets.
“Having toilets is a big advantage to girls,”
she said. —AP
KARACHI: A Pakistani villager builds a toilet in Thatta district, Sindh province. — AFP
AD-DAWR: Iraqi Shiite fighters, members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization units backing the government, fire Howitzer Cannons towards positions
of the Islamic State (IS) group. — AFP
IS draws recruits despite setbacks
BAGHDAD: Nigeria’s Boko Haram is the latest
militant organization to swear allegiance to the
Islamic State group, demonstrating what analysts say is the jihadist network’s growing ability
to attract new backers. Although its predecessor
was active for several years following the US-led
invasion of Iraq, IS sprang to worldwide prominence in June last year when it overran large
parts of Iraq and Syria, declaring a “caliphate” in
the two nations. Several local jihadist groups
quickly affiliated themselves, and IS has since
received pledges of fealty from extremist outfits
from as far afield as Algeria, Afghanistan and
Indonesia.
But it is in Iraq and Syria-where IS still controls
huge portions of Sunni Arab heartland-that the
group holds the most sway. According to Pieter
van Ostaeyen, an expert on the Middle East,
about eight million people live in territory controlled by IS in the two countries. In Libya, where
an IS affiliate recently killed 21 Coptic Christians
in videotaped execution-style murders, “the territory isn’t too large and isn’t totally controlled
by the jihadists,” he said. Luay Al-Khatteeb, a
researcher at the Brookings Institute, puts the
number of people in IS-controlled areas at
“between six and seven million”. From that, the
jihadists have more than enough possible
recruits to maintain “a powerful and numerous
armed force,” Khatteeb added.
Unknown fighter numbers
IS’s strict controls on information from its territories make it virtually impossible to evaluate
the number of fighters it has at its disposal, and
estimates vary greatly. Khatteeb said IS could
have 80,000 fighters, including “around 20,000
foreigners”. Van Ostaeyen put the number at
60,000-70,000 — the vast majority in Iraq and
Syria-and about 1,500-2,000 in Libya.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
Britain-based monitor, estimates IS has as many
as 45,000 fighters in Syria alone. Dalia GhanemYazbeck, an analyst from the Carnegie Middle
East Center, believes the true size of IS’ fighting
force to be far smaller than most reports suggest. “If they have 25,000 in total, that’s the maximum,” she said, adding that reporting inflated
fighter figures amounted to “advertising” for IS.
‘Trademark that works’
It is no less challenging to work out how
much money IS has, or where its funding comes
from. The group seized several oil fields when it
swarmed across Iraq and Syria last year, and revenue from the crude trade is a key pillar of its
income. The US Treasury estimated in October
that IS makes as much as $1 million per day from
oil sales, even if some analysts dispute this figure.
Khatteeb said the group produces “a maximum of
50,000-60,000 barrels a day,” not enough to satisfy
demand for the population under its yoke. He
added that IS’ income is supplemented by various
activities, including the smuggling of antiques,
taxes and extortion imposed on “merchants who
have to pay to keep their shops open”. Although
it has been pinned back militarily by US-led air
strikes and a counter-offensive by Iraqi security
forces and militias, IS remains a potent draw for
would-be recruits. Using social media and slick
video productions, Ghanem-Yazbeck said the
group had become its own trademark. “It’s a
trademark that works, like Coca-Cola or
McDonald’s, which attracts,” she said. “Their true
strengths are virtual, online, on YouTube... after
nearly every defeat they put out a shocking video
so that we talk about them. It’s a way of compensating for military defeat.” — AFP
Iran leader appears
amid health rumors
TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
made a public appearance yesterday amid rumors about
his health, as a relative dismissed the claims as gossip
meant to derail ongoing nuclear talks with world powers.
State television aired pictures yesterday of the 75-year-old
Khamenei addressing a group of environmental officials
and activists at his residence in central Tehran. He
appeared to look comfortable and healthy in the footage.
Foreign-based news websites in recent days have
claimed that Khamenei, who has the final word on all matters in Iran, had been hospitalized in critical condition.
Khamenei has been Iran’s top leader since the death in
1989 of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini. In September, Khamenei underwent prostate
surgery and spent about a week in the hospital before
being released.
Iran is in the middle of critical negotiations with world
powers over its contested nuclear program. Khamenei’s
health is given significant attention because it may affect
the process of talks for a final nuclear accord. Khamenei
has backed Iran’s negotiators publicly in the talks, but also
has set his own requirements for what he wants out of any
deal.
The supreme leader’s office and the government have
issued no statement on his health. Iran’s former deputy
foreign minister Sadeq Kharrazi, whose sister is married to
Khamenei’s son, said rumors spread about Khamenei’s
health were released by those seeking to undermine the
nuclear talks and weaken Iran’s position. “The intention
behind spreading such lies is to demoralize Iran’s negotiators and the Iranian people and overshadow Iran’s successful policy (in fighting the Islamic State group) in Iraq and
Syria,” he said in comments widely published yesterday in
Iranian newspapers. — AP
TEHRAN: In this picture released by the official website of
the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses a group of environmental officials and activists at his residence. —AP
3 dead in rocket attack on UN base in Mali
BAMAKO, Mali: Three people were
killed and 12 wounded in a rocket
attack early yesterday on a UN base in
Mali’s northeastern city of Kidal, said
the United Nations mission in Mali.
More than 30 rockets and shells hit
the UN base in Kidal at about 5:40 am
yesterday, said the UN mission. The
attack killed a U.N. soldier and two
civilians and an additional 12 people
were wounded, said the UN.
The UN forces returned fire at
about 6 am It said the rocket attack
was launched from a spot about 2
kilometers from the camp. The attack
was not immediately claimed but the
Islamic extremist group Ansar Dine
claimed a similar attack against UN
peacekeepers in Kidal in September
2014. The rocket attack on the UN
camp in Kidal comes a day after
Islamic extremists attacked a restaurant in the capital, Bamako, killing five
people, including a French person and
a Belgian. Bamako is about 1,500 kilometers southwest of Kidal. A masked
gunman sprayed bullets early
Saturday in La Terrasse, a restaurant
and bar that is popular with foreigners. Al Mourabitoun, or The Sentinels,
a northern Mali jihadist group allied
with Al-Qaida, claimed responsibility
for the attack, according to the
Mauritanian news website Al-Akhbar.
The website often receives messages
from Malian extremists. In addition to
those killed, nine people were wounded including two experts for the UN
mission, said the UN stabilization mission in Mali. The two are Swiss soldiers
and were flown to Senegal for treatment, said the Swiss Defense
Ministry.— AP
BAMAKO: UN peacekeeper police officers stand guard at entrance of Hotel
Salem. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
5 Nemtsov killing suspects
arraigned; 1 admits guilt
MOSCOW: Russian news agencies said yesterday one of the suspects in the killing of
leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov
has admitted involvement in the crime.
Judge Nataliya Mushnikova said that Zaur
Dadaev made a statement confirming his
guilt, according to the reports. They did not
specify his alleged actions. Dadaev is
among five suspects detained in the Feb 27
killing, when Nemtsov was shot while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin.
Another man, Anzor Gubashev, was
charged in the killing, and a hearing for
three other unnamed suspects was under
way, court spokeswoman Anna Fadeeva
said earlier yesterday. Dadaev and
Gubashev were identified as suspects by
Federal Security Service director Alexander
Bortnikov a day earlier. Bortnikov gave no
details of how the men were detained or
specifics on how they were connected to
the killings. However, the state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti said the pair was
detained in Ingushetia, a republic bordering Chechnya, citing Ingush Security
Council chief Albert Barakhoev. Dadaev
served in a battalion of Interior Ministry
troops in Chechnya, Barakhoev was quoted
as saying. He said the other, Gubashev, had
worked in a private security company in
Moscow, according to the reports.
Details still hidden
There was scant information about the
identity of the three other suspects.
Barakhoev was quoted by RIA Novosti as
saying two others were seized at the same
time as Dadaev and Gubashev. But there
had been no official announcement of their
detention. Shortly before the court session
began,
Investigating
Committee
spokesman Vladimir Markin revealed there
was a fifth suspect, but gave no details.
Nemtsov’s killing shocked Russia’s already
beleaguered and marginalized opposition
supporters. Suspicion in the opposition is
high that the killing was ordered by the
Kremlin in retaliation for Nemtsov ’s
adamant criticism of President Vladimir
Putin. The 55-year-old Nemtsov was working on a report about Russian military
involvement in the eastern Ukraine conflict.
But Russia’s top investigative body said it
was investigating several possible motives,
including that he was killed in an attempt
to smear Putin’s image. It also said it was
looking into possible connections to
Islamic extremism and Nemtsov’s personal
life. Chechnya, where Dadaev reportedly
worked, was wracked by two wars over the
past 20 years between Russian forces and
separatists increasingly allied with fundamentalist Islam. Although the insurgency
died down in Chechnya several years ago,
attacks attributed to Islamic militants sporadically occur in nearby regions.
Chechnya’s strongman Kremlin-backed
president Ramzan Kadyrov has imposed an
Islam-tinged rule on the region, including
the mandatory wearing of headscarves by
women. Kadyrov, himself a former rebel,
has been widely accused of rampant
human rights abuses including executions
and abductions of opponents. Many
believe that Nemtsov’s death in a tightly
secured area near the Kremlin wouldn’t
have been possible without official involvement, and could be an attempt to scare
other government foes. Putin, who had
dubbed Nemtsov’s killing a “provocation,”
made no comment on the detentions
announced Saturday. — AP
MOSCOW: Police escort a man believed to be one of five suspects in the killing of
Boris Nemtsov in a court room. — AP
SELMA: President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha as well as members of Congress and civil rights leaders make a
symbolic walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.— AP
Selma civil rights milestone
marked by black president
‘Our march is not over’
SELMA: America’s racial history “still casts its long
shadow upon us,” President Barack Obama said as
he stood near the Edmund Pettus Bridge in solidarity and remembrance with civil rights activists
whose beatings by police a half-century ago galvanized much of the nation against racial oppression
and hastened passage of historic legislation guaranteeing voting rights for minorities.
Tens of thousands of people on Saturday joined
to commemorate the “Bloody Sunday” march of
1965 and take stock of the struggle for equality.
Under a bright sun, the first black US president
praised the figures of a civil rights era that he was
too young to know but that helped him break the
ultimate racial barrier in political history with his
ascension to the nation’s highest office. He called
them “warriors of justice” who pushed America
closer to a more perfect union.
Turbulent history
“So much of our turbulent history - the stain of
slavery and anguish of civil war, the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow, the death of four
little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a
Baptist preacher - met on this bridge,” Obama told
the crowd before taking a symbolic walk across
part of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the 1965
marchers were attacked by police. “It was not a
clash of armies, but a clash of wills, a contest to
determine the meaning of America,” Obama said.
He was 3 years old at the time of the march. A veteran of that clash, US Rep John Lewis, who was
severely beaten by police that day in 1965 and suffered a skull fracture, exhorted the crowd to press
on with the work of racial justice.
“Get out there and push and pull until we
redeem the soul of America,” Lewis said. He was the
youngest and is the last survivor of the Big Six civil
rights activists, a group led by the Rev Martin
Luther King, Jr that had the greatest impact on the
movement. Among those in attendance was Peggy
Wallace Kennedy, a daughter of the late George
Wallace, the Alabama governor in 1965 who once
vowed “segregation forever.” Selma’s fire department estimated the crowd reached 40,000. Former
President George W Bush shared the platform.
Republican congressional leaders were mostly
absent but one, House Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy, joined the walk.
The walk progressed under the bold letters on
an arch, identifying the bridge named after Pettus,
a Confederate general in the Civil War, senator and
reputed Ku Klux Klan leader. Obama, his wife,
Michelle, and their two daughters walked about a
third of the way across, accompanied by Lewis,
who has given fellow lawmakers countless tours of
this scene. Bush, his wife, Laura, and scores of others came with them before a larger crowd followed.
Bloody Sunday march
Two years after King’s historic “I have a dream”
speech in Washington, the Bloody Sunday march
became the first of three aiming to reach
Montgomery, Alabama, the state capital to demand
an end to discrimination against black voters. Scenes
of troopers beating marchers on the bridge shocked
the nation, emboldening leaders in Washington to
pass the Voting Rights Act five months later. On his
way to Selma, Obama signed a law awarding the
Congressional Gold Medal to participants of the trio
of marches, the last of which brought protesters all
the way to Montgomery. —AP
p10 2_Layout 1 3/8/15 7:55 PM Page 1
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
US role in Philippine raid under scrutiny
MANILA: A disastrous raid on alleged
Islamic militants has ignited the worst
political crisis yet for Philippine
President Benigno Aquino-and questions about the extent of any US role in
the operation are deepening his discomfort. Some Philippine lawmakers are
asking whether the US military played a
leading role in the operation in January,
which ended with 44 police commandos dead in a field in the country ’s
Muslim-majority south. They point to
reports that a US drone was overflying
the area at the time, and said to be
beaming back real-time images to US
commanders as the fiasco unfolded.
Senate president Franklin Drilon, a
powerful member of Aquino’s ruling
Liberal Party, is one of at least five senators to have raised questions about
what the United States knew.”Did the
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
know beforehand about this operation?” Drilon asked the head of the
police commando unit Getulio
Napenas, who lost his job over the affair,
in one hearing.
“Or any US armed forces personnel,
did they know about this operation
beforehand?” Under the terms of an
anti-terrorism training deployment, the
US is not permitted to engage in combat in the Philippines. A US government official said that its troops helped
evacuate casualties, but that the operation was “planned and executed by
Philippine authorities”, and declined to
comment further.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary
Albert del Rosario, meanwhile, declined
to give a direct answer when asked
about any US role, speaking only in generalities about American help to Manila
in suppressing militancy. “With the
United States, we have very close counter-terrorism cooperation,” del Rosario,
who has repeatedly said elsewhere that
the operation was led by the
Philippines, conveyed via text message.
The pre-dawn raid by police commandos on a secluded farming village
controlled by Muslim rebels in the south
was meant to be a surprise attack to
capture or kill two men on the US government’s global list of “most wanted
terrorists”. Even though one of the
alleged militants was reported killed,
hundreds of rebels quickly outnumbered the police, trapping a big group
in a cornfield and slaughtering the 44
commandos during a day-long battle.
National security silence
The botched operation has seriously
damaged Aquino, and also forced his
national police chief to resign. But many
politicians, traditional media and netizens are broadening the net to encompass possible US involvement as they
probe the affair. Both houses of parliament have launched inquiries into the
raid, and those investigations have
unsuccessfully sought to get specifics
on US involvement. In the hearings,
broadcast live on television, authorities
have declined to give a full explanation
on the extent of any US role, citing security issues. In one instance, Napenas
began detailing some of the US involvement, stating that American “counterparts” provided intelligence, training
and maps. But before he could elaborate, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima,
who was at the hearing, quickly intervened to silence him.
“May I interject? May I just remind
the officer that he is already dwelling on
matters of diplomatic relations and military intelligence,” she said. In another
hearing, Napenas confirmed a US helicopter was brought in to evacuate the
casualties, although authorities have
refused to disclose where it came from.
Philippine and US authorities have also
said the severed finger from a corpse
believed to be from the killed militant,
Malaysian national Zulkifli bin Hir, was
given to the FBI.
The FBI said it did a DNA test on
the finger, which showed it was likely
from Zulkifli. US military involvement
in the Philippines is not unusual, as
the two nations are longtime allies.
Until last month, the United States
had a unit of about 500-600 special
forces in the southern Philippines
t h a t t r a i n e d l o c a l t ro o p s to f i g h t
Islamic militants but was itself not
MAMSAPANO: US military personnel (left) help their Philippine counterparts
prepare to load an injured police commando from one stretcher to another and
onto a waiting US military helicopter. — AFP
allowed to be engaged in combat.
Importing war?
Senator Grace Poe, another powerful
Aquino ally and tipped by some to succeed him as president next year, sought
answers in one of the congressional
inquiries about the reports that a US
drone monitored the battle. Those
reports said the drone fed footage back
to a Philippine command centre in
which US authorities helped to direct
the police commandos into, and
through, the deadly battle.
“I am concerned because actual participation, if any, of US forces in the
operation of a purely law enforcement
operation, like service of warrants to
accused, albeit known terrorists who are
themselves wanted criminals in the US,
should not be allowed,” Poe told AFP via
text message.—AFP
N Korea rejects links
to US envoy attacker
SEOUL: North Korea hit out yesterday at
accusations that it may be behind a shocking knife attack on the US envoy to the
South, branding the claims to be a “vicious”
smear campaign by Seoul. Kim Ki-Jong
slashed Mark Lippert with a paring knife
Thursday in an assault that left the US
envoy needing 80 stitches to a deep gash
on his face. Kim, 55, was immediately
arrested and charged with attempted murder, and police are investigating whether
he has any links to the communist North.
He has reportedly told police that he had
acted alone and denied any links to the
North, calling the suggestion “outrageous”.
The profile painted of him-based on
past brushes with the law and his blog
postings-is that of a lone assailant with
strong nationalist views who saw the US as
one of the main obstacles to the reunification of the divided Korean peninsula. But
Kim has also visited the North seven times
since 1999, and once tried to erect a
memorial in Seoul to the late North Korean
leader Kim Jong-Il after his death in 2011.
Kim told police he had stabbed Lippert
in protest at massive US-South joint army
exercises currently underway. The annual
exercises are routinely slammed by the
North as a practice for invasion. After the
attack Thursday, the North hailed Kim’s
ac t as “just punishment ” and a valid
“expression of resistance” to the US-South
military drills. But yesterday the North’s
Committee for the Peaceful Reunification
of Korea (CPRK) bristled at suggestions
that it might have been behind the
assault, calling it an attempt to defame its
leadership. “Even the police and conservative media of South Korea joined the
(South’s) regime in attempting to link the
case with the (North),” it said in a statement carried in English by the state-run
KCNA early yesterday. “Such moves are
prompted by a vicious intention to save
itself from the present awkward position...
and intensify an anti-DPRK smear campaign worldwide,” the CPRK said, using
the North’s official title.
Questions over ‘mastermind’
Last week police raided Kim’s house in
search for evidence of his potential links to
Pyongyang and found several books published in the North, a senior Seoul detective
on the case said yesterday. “We are investigating if there were any mastermind
behind the attack,” Kim Doo-Yeon told
reporters, adding police were probing
whether Kim had violated the anti-communist national security laws.
The notorious laws ban unauthorized
contact with the North or activities
deemed to be praising Pyongyang, which
technically remain at war with Seoul after
the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a
ceasefire instead of a peace treaty.
Offenders are subject to up to seven years
of imprisonment. The laws-often used to
stifle political dissents under the South’s
army-ruled governments in the past-have
been criticized by rights groups for curbing
freedom of expression. Kim, who also
voiced anger at the South’s former colonial
ruler Japan on his blog postings, was convicted in 2011 of hurling a stone at thenJapanese ambassador and received a suspended jail term. Lippert, 42, is recovering
well and expected to be released from the
hospital as early as tomorrow, his doctors
say. —AFP
ODISHA: This photo shows Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creating a sand sculpture of the missing Malaysian airliner MH370 on Puri
beach. — AFP
Tears for MH370 mystery
persists on anniversary
Nation committed to the so-far fruitless hunt
SEOUL: This handout photo taken and released by the Severance Hospital shows US
Ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert (left), talking with US Navy Admiral James
Winnefeld , vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. — AFP
China asserts its dominance
as diplomatic superpower
BEIJING: China asserted its place on the
global diplomatic stage yesterday, pledging to steadfastly support Russia in the face
of Western sanctions, scolding regional
rival Japan, and making clear it sees the US
as an equal. Foreign minister Wang Yi,
speaking to reporters at a packed annual
press conference, staunchly defended
China’s national interests, while proclaiming that its rise is no threat to the international order.
He stressed that Beijing would not abandon old friends and allies such as Moscow,
which is beleaguered under sanctions and
international opprobrium, and Pyongyang,
in recent years more often than not a
headache for China’s leaders rather than an
asset. Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to
visit the US, the world’s only superpower,
later this year and Wang emphasized that
the two countries are equals that must
work to overcome tensions.
The two presidents were expected to
“inject new momentum into efforts to build
a new model of major country relations
between China and the United States”,
Wang said, using Beijing’s favored description of their ties, suggesting they are on the
same footing. “China and the United States
are two large countries,” he added. “It’s
impossible for there not to be any disagreements between us.”Wang vowed to
deepen economic and diplomatic cooperation with Russia, even as it faces Western
sanctions over the annexation of Crimea
and the conflict in Ukraine.
Beijing and Moscow have regularly used
their veto power on the UN Security
Council to thwart Western initiatives such
as on Syria’s civil war, and Wang said they
would “continue to carry out strategic coordination and cooperation to maintain international peace and security”. Sino-Russian
relations were based on “mutual need”, he
said, and they would work to increase trade
to an annual $100 billion a year while
intensifying cooperation in sectors including finance and energy. —AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: Emotional families marked
the first anniversary of the disappearance of
flight MH370 yesterday as a new report said the
battery on its black box locator beacon had
expired, but shed no new light on the cause of
the disaster. Prime Minister Najib Razak said his
nation remained committed to the so-far fruitless hunt for the Malaysia Airlines flight, which is
believed to have crashed in the southern Indian
Ocean, and was hopeful it would be found. Next
of kin, many of whom have criticized Malaysia’s
handling of the disaster, held ceremonies in
Kuala Lumpur and Beijing to remember the
missing and urge authorities to never abandon
the expensive and arduous search. “The only
answer I want is where is the plane, then only
will we know,” said Jacquita Gonzales, wife of the
flight’s cabin crew supervisor Patrick Gomes.
“The whole world has heard what he (Najib)
has said, so they can’t go back on their word.” A
report by an international investigative team
released yesterday raised no red flags relating to
the crew or the aircraft’s condition to indicate
any cause for the disappearance. But it said the
battery powering the underwater locator beacon on the plane’s flight data recorder was due
to expire in December 2012.Although the battery on the plane’s cockpit voice recorder was
up-to-date, this could have potentially contributed to the failure to find the plane so far,
said Gerry Soejatman, a Jakarta-based aviation
consultant. “My major worry is that (search vessels) may have gone over the aircraft but not
heard the pings because of this,” said Soejatman,
who added that the report otherwise largely
restated what is already known about MH370. A
year-long hunt in the deep ocean at least 1,600
kilometers off Australia’s west coast, where satel-
lite data indicate the Boeing 777 crashed, has so
far yielded no sign of the plane.”Together with
our international partners, we have followed the
little evidence that exists,” Najib said in a statement. “Malaysia remains committed to the
search, and hopeful that MH370 will be found.”
‘A most painful year’
The plane inexplicably veered from its Kuala
Lumpur-Beijing route on March 8 of last year
with 239 passengers and crew aboard. Relatives
and friends of the missing held an emotional
public remembrance in Kuala Lumpur that
included prayers and live video links with other
next of kin around the world.
A temporarily wall erected for the occasion
contained scrawled messages such as “Never
give up hope” and “I miss you so much brother
and sister, please come back.” “My mother was
on MH370. It has been a year so far. It has been a
most painful year for many of us, a never-ending
battle,” said Grace Subathirai. “My mother was
my world, everything to me,” she added, her
voice breaking. In Beijing, relatives who have
bitterly criticized Malaysia’s national carrier and
government for their handling of the crisis, gathered under a heavy police presence to mark the
anniversary.
Shouting slogans including “Fight to the End”
and “Malaysian Government-apologize to us!”
they mounted a small protest near the Malaysian
embassy which was blocked off by dozens of
uniformed security. Earlier yesterday, the relatives visited the Lama Temple, a popular Tibetan
Buddhist place of worship and tourist site, with
around 10 entering the site in groups of two or
three to pay their personal respects, as if
attempting to keep a low profile.
Families still hope
China’s ruling Communist Party commonly
clamps down on organized gatherings or collective expressions of anger as it seeks to enforce
stability. Some families still hope their loved
ones could be alive, clinging to conspiracy theories of hijack and kidnapping. Yesterday’s report
said investigators had probed a range of issues
including the jet’s captain and co-pilot’s personal, psychological, and financial profiles, and the
backgrounds of the 10 cabin crew. But although
suspicion had fallen on the cockpit crew of pilot
Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his co-pilot Fariq
Abdul Hamid, the report found no evidence suggesting their involvement.
“There were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect,
drug or alcohol abuse of the Captain, First
Officer and the Cabin Crew,” it said. The report
ticked through a number of the plane’s major
mechanical systems and noted in each case that
according to available data and maintenance
records, nothing alarming was seen. It noted
that as investigators still lack any trace of the jet,
including the “black box” data recorders considered most likely to yield clues, the probe remains
a work in progress. More than 40 percent of a
designated 60,000-square -kilometer zone
believed to be the most likely location of the
crash site has been scanned for wreckage using
sophisticated sonar, but nothing related to
MH370 has been found. Earlier yesterday,
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that
while the current search area is expected to be
completed in May, the operation could be
extended further “as long as there are reasonable leads”. —AFP
Afghan prison rioters set policeman on fire
MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Rioting prison inmates in northern Afghanistan killed two policemen and set another on fire after taking them hostage yesterday, in a
dramatic episode that left 20 others wounded before
they attempted to escape, officials said.
The inmates attacked the police as they were conducting a search for knives, cell phones and other
contraband in a prison in Shibirghan, the capital of
Jawzjan, provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad
Jawzjani said. “They first took three officers hostage
and later killed two of them and mutilated their bodies,” he said. “They burned the third officer alive. He
was taken to the hospital with around 75 percent of
burns on his body and is in a very critical condition,”
Jawzjani said, adding that five officers were wounded trying to rescue their colleagues.
He said one prisoner was also killed and 15
were wounded after the prisoners tried to escape
the compound. Abdulhai Hayat, the head of
Jawzjan’s provincial council confirmed the details
of the incident, and added that the local council
and elders intervened to bring the crisis to an
end. “The situation is now calm, but the prisoners are on hunger strike,” he said. The prison compound holds around 800 inmates, both criminals
and the Taliban from both Jawzjan and neighboring Sari Pul provinces. —AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
NEWS
A Maine coon breed cat sleeps during the ‘Catsburg’ cat exibition in Moscow on Saturday. — AFP
Assembly panel approves draft law for...
Continued from Page 1
The legislation also stipulates a one-month end of
service indemnity for each year of work and introduces
fines on employers for delaying the payment of salaries.
In another development, the National Assembly’s
human resources committee yesterday discussed with
Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh a new pay-scale scheme
sponsored by the government for Kuwaiti government
employees. Secretary of the committee MP Ahmad AlQudhaibi said that the draft scheme envisages that
salaries of 30 to 40 percent of government employees
will be raised by 20-25 percent at an estimated cost of
KD 350 million. Qudhaibi added that 35 percent of the
employees will see their salaries unchanged because
they are already too high. Social allowances being paid
to employees will not be touched, the lawmaker said.
The scheme was prepared by the government in order
to overcome major differences in salaries among over
300,000 Kuwaiti employed in the public sector.
Meanwhile, the Assembly’s budgets committee yesterday reviewed the final accounts of Kuwait Oil Co for
the fiscal year 2013/2014, showing that the company
posted a net profit of KD 1.13 billion. Head of the committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said revenues were KD
5.384 billion while expenditures were KD 1.358 billion.
Lawyers of jailed opposition leader Musallam AlBarrak yesterday filed a petition to the court of cassation
requesting the judge to order his release pending trial.
Thamer Al-Jadaei based his petition on health grounds
and also because there is no fear that Barrak might flee.
Barrak has been in jail for over a week after the court of
appeals sentenced him to two years in prison for allegedly insulting HH the Amir at a public rally.
Opposition groups meanwhile called for a gathering
outside the National Assembly building today to
demand the release of Barrak, besides a number of other demands including an elected government and the
resignation of the government and dissolving the
Assembly. Former Assembly speaker and prominent
opposition figure Ahmad Al-Saadoun said on his Twitter
account that the gathering is to press for the scrapping
of the so-called one-vote electoral law, halting prosecuting of opposition members and the release of jailed
opposition figures.
Separately, the United Arab Emirates said yesterday it
will try a Kuwaiti Islamist ex-MP in absentia for allegedly
“inciting sedition” in remarks he made about Abu
Dhabi’s powerful crown prince. Mubarak Al-Duwailah
has been referred to the Federal Supreme Court, the
UAE’s top court, for “allegedly abusing religion to incite
sedition, harm national unity, (and) disturb social
peace,” WAM news agency reported Attorney General
Salim Saeed Kubaish as saying. The former lawmaker
was also charged with “intentionally” spreading “false
news... rumors... provocative and malicious propaganda”, Kubaish said.
Duwailah is a leading figure in the Islamic
Constitutional Movement, an offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Kuwait. The UAE on Nov 15 published a
list of 83 “terrorist” groups, topped by the Muslim
Brotherhood. The list was criticized by many Sunni
Islamists for not including Lebanon’s powerful Shiite
Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
In a December television interview on the Kuwaiti
parliament’s Al-Majlis television channel, Duwailah
“falsely alleged” that the UAE was against Sunni Islam,
said the statement on WAM. Asked his opinion of the
UAE’s anti-Brotherhood stance, Duwailah had said: “I
don’t think it’s the UAE... it’s a one-man show. It’s Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed (Al-Nahayan) who personally has
this position (towards the Brotherhood) and has managed to impose it on the state. We don’t know why
Mohammed bin Zayed is against Sunni Islam,” he said,
criticizing the lengthy jail terms given to 69 activists in
2013 after they were convicted of links to the Al-Islah
Society, viewed as the UAE branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Duwailah was questioned by Kuwait’s public prosecution in January on accusations that he insulted the
leaders of a friendly country and that he endangered
diplomatic relations with the UAE. He denied the accusations and was released on a KD 5,000 ($16,800) bail.
No charges have so far been pressed against Duwailah
in Kuwait, where he lives. The UAE has not seen any of
the pro-reform protests that have swept other Arab
countries since 2011, including fellow Gulf states
Bahrain and Oman. But authorities have stepped up a
crackdown on dissent and calls for democratic reform.
Most of those targeted have been Islamists.
Saudi Arabia becomes
top defence importer
LONDON: Saudi Arabia overtook India in 2014 as the
world’s biggest importer of defence equipment, fuelled by
tensions in the Middle East, according to a study published
yesterday by respected analysts IHS Jane’s. Global defence
trade currently stands at $64.4 billion, said the report from
the London-based defence specialists. The figure has been
driven by “unparallelled demand from the emerging
economies for military aircraft and an escalation of regional tensions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific,” IHS expert
Ben Moores said.
The report, which examines the defence market across
65 countries, found that Saudi Arabia spent more than $6.4
billion on defence kit in 2014, overtaking India on $5.57 billion. Saudi Arabian imports increased by 54 percent over
the past year and the study predicts that one out of every
seven dollars spent on defence exports in 2015 will be
spent by the Middle East kingdom. Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) together imported $8.6 billion
of defence equipment in 2014, more than the imports of
Western Europe combined.
The United States maintained its position as the top
exporter, shipping $23.7 billion of equipment, ahead of
Russia on $10 billion. “The biggest beneficiary of the strong
Middle Eastern market remains the US, with $8.4 billion
worth of Middle Eastern exports in 2014, compared to $6
billion in 2013,” said the report. Despite Russia’s strong performance, boosted by $2.3 billion of sales to China, the
study predicted tougher times ahead. “A drop-off in
exports is forecast for 2015 as major programs draw to a
close, a trend that could be accelerated by sanctions,” it
said. “Furthermore, falls in the oil price are set to have a
devastating impact on some lead Russian clients who are
vulnerable to low oil prices, such as Venezuela and Iran.”
France was the third biggest exporter ($4.9 billion) followed by Britain ($4.1 billion) and Germany ($3.5 billion).
IHS said China had now become the third largest importer,
up from fifth place earlier. “China continues to require military aerospace assistance from Russia and its total defence
procurement budget will continue to rise very quickly,” said
Paul Burton, director of defence industry and budgets at
IHS. The study pinpointed South Korea a potential regional
leader for defence imports. “South Korea looks set to be
the rising star of the Asia Pacific defence industry,” it concluded. — AFP
Egypt dodges diplomatic flak
CAIRO: Despite months of embarrassment for Egypt over a
series of alleged leaks of sensitive remarks including about
Gulf allies, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi appears to have
avoided a major diplomatic furore. The tapes, aired by Islamist
television channels, purportedly revealed conversations which
followed the military’s overthrow of Islamist president
Mohamed Morsi in 2013 when Sisi was army chief. The recordings, which have not been authenticated, touch on issues
ranging from Morsi’s ouster to development funds that Cairo
needs from Gulf allies.
Sisi, who toppled Morsi and was elected in May to succeed
him, has overseen a brutal police crackdown against supporters of his predecessor that has left hundreds dead. The television channels that broadcast the audiotapes have links to
Morsi’s blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood. In the latest recording
aired on March 1, two aides of Sisi purportedly discuss how the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) gave Egypt’s defence ministry
funds for the anti-Morsi protests which led to his ouster.
In another tape released last month, a man identified as Sisi
and an aide discuss how much money Cairo wanted from Gulf
countries to help rebuild Egypt. “We need 10 to be added to
the army’s account ... We need 10 like them from the UAE, and
from Kuwait 10 like them,” said the voice purported to be Sisi.
“They have money like rice.”
“The leaks are embarrassing with regards to the security
arrangements of communication at these levels of government,” said H.A. Hellyer, an expert with the Washington-based
Brookings Institution. “The questions people aren’t really focusing on is how these leaks managed to get out - and who exists
in such sensitive positions of the state that would be willing to
release them?” Sisi has dismissed the tapes as “information
war,” saying that “anyone could do what he wanted thanks to
technology,” suggesting the tapes were fabricated by Morsi
supporters to embarrass his regime. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
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Focus
Chicken growers
set to pay price
By P J Huffstutter and Lisa Baertlein
M
cDonald’s Corp’s decision last week to phase out
human antibiotics from its US chicken supply will add
to costs of production in a tight-margin business that
are likely to be borne mostly by poultry companies.
McDonald’s, whose top chicken suppliers include giant Tyson
Foods Inc, has given its producers two years to eradicate all
antibiotics used on humans from barns and hatcheries. It’s
going to be expensive and may take longer than planned:
Switching to antibiotic-free chickens could increase on-farm
costs by up to 3 percent. Perdue Farms, a supplier with about a
third the volume of Tyson, told Reuters it’s taken more than a
decade and millions of dollars to make such a change.
McDonald’s will use its purchasing muscle as the world’s
largest restaurant chain to avoid passing extra costs on to customers, increasingly lower income as more affluent diners prefer competitors like Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, said analysts
including Morningstar’s R J Hottovy. Marion Gross, McDonald’s
senior vice president of North America supply chain management, declined to say how much the company’s costs for
chicken could rise. Rather, she told Reuters, the project is “an
investment” to meet customer demand.
While veterinary use of antibiotics is legal, controversy has
grown over routine feeding of antibiotics that are important to
humans to otherwise healthy chicken, cattle and pigs in a bid
to stave off disease and help the animals grow more quickly.
The risk is that overuse could spur the creation of so-called
superbugs that develop cross-resistance to antibiotics used to
treat humans. Reuters found last year that major US poultry
firms were administering antibiotics to their flocks on the farm
far more pervasively than regulators realized.
The poultry industry maintains there is little evidence that
bacteria which do become resistant also infect people.
However, more restaurants and retailers are heeding the concerns of consumers, straining meat supplies. Sandwich chain
Chick-fil-A in 2014 gave its producers five years to meet its
commitment to go antibiotic-free for chicken. Perdue is a
major supplier to Chick-fil-A. Costco Wholesale Corp, the
nation’s third-largest retailer that annually sells 80 million rotisserie chickens, told Reuters Thursday it has a “large” appetite
for chicken free of these medically-important antibiotics. The
company is aware of the supply difficulties and won’t commit
to a timeline, said Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety for
Costco.
Who Pays the Price?
Some of the extra costs of cutting out antibiotics could be
borne by franchisees, which could cut labor hours, waste and
utility costs to offset higher meat prices. But most analysts
expect McDonald’s to push the costs back onto its suppliers,
who may not have the market power to resist. The top four US
chicken processors control about 53 percent of the domestic
market, according to the National Chicken Council. McDonald’s
“carries a lot of clout with suppliers”, and some of them are
dependent on the chain for survival, Hottovy said.
Tyson and Keystone Foods, part of Brazil-based Marfrig
Global Foods SA, both told Reuters they have significantly
reduced medically-important antibiotic use in their flocks and
are positioned to meet McDonald’s and other customers’
needs. However, neither company would answer specific questions about how such drugs are used on-farm and in hatcheries.
Slow Changes
Perdue, the fourth-largest domestic chicken producer,
began removing antibiotics used for growth promotion in
2002 amid consumer questions about what was being put into
the animal feed, said Bruce Stewart-Brown, senior vice-president of food safety, quality and live operations. Now more than
95 percent of the chickens it produces are raised without
antibiotics approved for human use, and more than half are
raised with no antibiotics of any kind, according to the company.
The transition led to unexpectedly high bird mortality
rates, a need for more chicken houses and spending at least $4
million more a year on vaccines than rivals who haven’t made
the switch, among other things. Birds raised without antibiotics also generally take three to nine days longer to reach
their market weight, Stewart-Brown told Reuters - or as much
as 20 percent longer than conventionally raised birds.
McDonald’s two-year deadline is “a really fast timeframe to do
it right and be predictable to your customers and your supply”,
Stewart-Brown said.
Birds raised on farms without antibiotics take longer to
reach optimal slaughter weight, resulting in higher feed costs
and death rates, forcing companies to ramp up with more
eggs at the hatcheries, said Tom Elam of FarmEcon, an agricultural consulting company. “The ones that aren’t quite as good
with keeping up with their biosecurity, it’s going to cause
some issues,” Elam said. “This change is not free.” —Reuters
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Why US health overhaul drama plays on
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
U
S President Barack Obama’s health
overhaul remains an all-consuming
drama for many, even though millions of people are gaining insurance coverage through a law that’s now 5 years old.
During oral arguments last week in the latest Supreme Court case brought by the law’s
opponents, Justice Elena Kagan called it a
“never-ending saga”. Five reasons why the
“Obamacare” epic plays on:
low-income people. Still, Republicans in
Congress remain a wall of opposition.
Administration Stumbles
The president who once said you could
keep your health plan if you liked it was
caught flat-
Political Opposition
Unyielding opposition from conservative voters has made it practically impossible for Republican lawmakers to take a pragmatic
approach to a program with obvious flaws, but also popular
aspects. Few in the United States
want to go back to the days
when insurance companies
could deny coverage to people
with pre-existing health conditions. But Republicans have followed a political game plan that
requires them to first repeal
Obama’s law before trying to
replace it with legislation of their
own, presumably to accomplish similar goals.
A Supreme Court ruling invalidating the law’s subsidies in most states
would give Republicans their best
opening yet. But any “replacement” legislation also would spend taxpayer dollars and spawn new federal regulations.
When former GOP President George W
Bush pushed through new Medicare prescription drug coverage, most Democrats
opposed him, and some even called for
repeal. Yet they also helped constituents
navigate the new program. Some
Republican governors have risked a backlash from the party’s political base by
accepting the law’s Medicaid expansion for
footed by a wave of insurance cancellations
blamed on health law requirements taking
effect in 2014. The HealthCare.gov website,
talked up as the equivalent of Amazon and
Travelocity, broke down the day it was
launched in 2013, and took months to patch
up. That same year, the administration
announced the delay of a major requirement affecting employers on an obscure
government blog just days before the
Fourth of July. This year, HealthCare.gov
sent the wrong tax information to
about 800,000 people, and an
online insurance market geared
to small businesses has disappointed. The administration
keeps resupplying the
law’s critics with ammunition.
Unconventional Path to
Passage
The Affordable Care
Act did not get the legislative equivalent of close
editing by a House-Senate
conference committee.
Congressional committees
worked on different pieces
of the bill and the complete
package was assembled in
negotiations shepherded by
leadership. That could have
made it more likely that glitches would get baked into the
900-plus pages of the law.
Problems emerged soon after
the law was signed. Vague wording of a provision guaranteeing
coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions was cleaned up
through regulations after the insurance industry acquiesced.
The path to passage may be at the
root cause of the current dispute
before the Supreme Court, which centers on whether the wording of the law
allows federal subsidies in states that don’t
set up their own insurance markets. “It was
pushed through on expedited procedures
and didn’t have the kind of consideration by
a conference committee ... that statutes usually do,” noted Justice Antonin Scalia.
Costs of Care
Although premiums are heavily subsidized, people who buy private coverage
through the law’s new insurance markets
may still struggle with costs. Out-of-pocket
expenses, including the annual deductible
and required copayments, can be as high as
$6,600 for an individual and $13,200 for a
family. Faced with a serious illness, a family
making $60,000 a year might have to shell
out more than 20 percent of its income.
That’s on top of living expenses. Average
monthly premiums rose by 8 percent this
year in the states served by HealthCare.gov,
according to preliminary administration
data. After subsidies, the average monthly
premium that consumers pay directly rose
by $23 a month.
It’s Darn Complicated
Obama’s law joined two of the most complicated areas for consumers: Health insurance and taxes. Even now, in the second
year of coverage, enrollment counselors say
many consumers get overwhelmed trying
to understand what plan is best for them. It
can be hard to figure out which doctors are
in what plans, and what is the patient’s share
of the cost for a particular medication. This
tax filing season will reveal the connections
between the law and the tax system, which
is used to deliver carrots and sticks.
Premiums subsidies are packaged as tax
credits and consumers will have to account
to the IRS that they got the right amount.
People who remained uninsured will see
fines deducted from their tax refunds, if
they’re deemed able to afford coverage. If
the last five years are a guide, look for more
surprises as the saga continues. —AP
What has gone wrong at Real Madrid?
By Kieran Canning
E
uropean champions Real Madrid have
been usurped by Barcelona at the top
of La Liga for the first time in five
months. Los Blancos slumped to their
fourth defeat in 14 games in 2015 as Aritz
Aduriz’s thunderous header handed
Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win over Los Blancos
on Saturday, whilst Barca were rampant in
destroying Rayo Vallecano 6-1 on Sunday
thanks to a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. After
ending 2014 with four trophies on the back
of a 22-game winning run, AFP sports looks
at what has gone for Carlo Ancelotti’s men
since the turn of the year.
1. Injuries
Even for the most expensive squad ever
assembled in the history of football, a spate
of injuries to key players, particularly Luka
Modric and James Rodriguez, has left
devoid of options in midfield. Meanwhile,
Sergio Ramos’s leadership in defence has
been badly missed during his month-long
lay-off due to a hamstring problem.
2. Lack of squad depth and rotation
The impact of those injuries have been
exaggerated by Ancelotti’s refusal to rotate
when things were going well at the start of
the campaign and the sale of Xabi
Alonso and Angel di Maria just
before the season got
under way.Fatigue of
playing every game,
particularly after a
World Cup summer,
is beginning to take
its toll on the likes
of Toni Kroos and
Karim Benzema.
3. Ronaldo’s
Ballon d’Or dip
Even by his
own stunning
standards,
Cristiano Ronaldo’s
goalscoring rate in
the first half of the
season was barely
believable. The
Portuguese scored 32
times in 25 games
between August and
December to propel him
towards a third Ballon
d’Or in early January. In
2015 that ratio has fallen to
seven goals in 12 games, two
of which have come from the
penalty spot, whilst Messi’s hattrick means the two are now
level on 30 league goals
apiece when the
Argentine trailed
the Portuguese
by 12 three
months ago.
Ronaldo also saw
his ninth career
red card in that
run for kicking
out at Cordoba
defender Edimar
and suffered a
high-profile split
with long-term
supermodel
girlfriend Irina
Shayk off the
field.
4. Bale’s longest
Madrid goal
drought
Just when
Madrid have most
needed Bale to
step up as
Ronaldo’s form
has dipped,
the Welshman is in the midst of his longest
goal drought since swapping Spurs for the
Spanish capital 18 months ago. Bale hasn’t
found the net in over 720 minutes of football and at times seems hesitant about
going for goal after criticism in the Spanish
press for being too greedy at the start of
the year.
5. Ancelotti not the man
for the long haul
Just three months ago Real president
Florentino Perez was making suggestions
that he wanted the Italian to be Madrid’s
Alex Ferguson, the legendary Scottish manager who led Manchester United for 26
years. Now there are doubts whether
Ancelotti will be in the job 26 weeks from
now if he fails to deliver a major trophy at
the end of the season. Ancelotti responded
to criticism of his easy going management
style on Friday by saying it had helped him
to win three Champions Leagues - including ending Madrid’s 12-year wait for their
10th European Cup last May. However,
Ancelotti is far from as specialised when it
comes to the long-term league format
where he has won just three league titles in
his previous 15 seasons at top clubs like
Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris SaintGermain and now Madrid. —AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
S P ORTS
Brown and Smith take
Puerto Rico Open lead
PUERTO RICO: Americans Scott Brown and Chris Smith pushed into the lead
at the Puerto Rico Open on Saturday, taking advantage of a rough afternoon
for German Alex Cejka, who fell to fifth with a series of bogeys on the final
holes. Brown, the 2013 winner, grabbed a share of the lead with birdies on the
final two holes for a five-under 67 in the third round of the tournament.
Smith shot a 68, leaving him and Brown at a six-under 210, one stroke up
on American Jon Curran and Argentine Emiliano Grillo, who had rounds of 70
and 72, respectively. Overnight leader Cejka, who is still seeking his first PGA
Tour victory, dropped four strokes late in the round, notching
bogeys on the par-5 15th and par-4 17th, and a double-bogey
on the par-5 18th.
A four-time winner on the European Tour and twice a runner-up on the PGA Tour, Cejka had vaulted to the top of the
leader board on Friday with a series of late birdies. He
is tied with four others at four-under. Smith’s strong
performance represents a comeback. His last PGA
Tour win was the 2002 Buick Classic, and his last full
Tour season was 2005. His wife was killed and two
children were critically injured in an automobile accident
in 2009. — Reuters
Sky defend doping rider
PARIS: Servais Knaven remains a Team Sky sports director despite doping
allegations resurfacing against the former Dutch rider, the British outfit
said. “We have taken these allegations very seriously... Handed over the
information presented to us to three independent world-class anti-doping
experts for their analysis and expert opinion,” Sky said in a statement. “Their
view on the basis of what has been presented to us is that there is no proof
of doping and Servais continues to maintain his innocence.”
Knaven was a member of the TVM team, who faced trial in France in
2001 after vials of EPO were found in a team car back in 1998.
The Mail yesterday, who said it had access to court documents, reported
that experts found Knaven had doped.
“It is important to remember that no charges were ever brought against
Servais. This goes back over 15 years and has been looked at several times
during that period,” Team Sky’s statement added. “Servais has played an
important part in the success of Team Sky over the last five years. He
remains a valued team member.”
Team Sky claim they have a zero-tolerance policy against doping, asking staff and riders to sign a statement saying they have never doped.
In 2012, Dutchman Steven de Jongh, also a member of the TVM team in
1998, admitted to doping and subsequently left his job as Team Sky sports
director. — Reuters
Wenger still haunted
by Giggs wonder goal
LONDON: Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United today will
revive bitter memories for manager Arsene Wenger who says he is still
spooked by a Ryan Giggs wonder goal in 1999.
Giggs scored one of the most memorable goals ever in the competition’s
long history when he weaved his way through Arsenal’s defence in extra time
to deliver a knockout blow in a semi-final replay at Villa Park. Arsenal’s Dennis
Bergkamp had missed a penalty in the last minute of normal time
with the score 1-1.
United went on to complete a treble but Wenger says
that night at Villa Park proved pivotal and believes had
Bergkamp not missed a penalty, United’s run to glory
would have been derailed. “I saw the goal again when
Giggs retired,” Wenger said in an interview with The Sun.
“It won them the treble because if Bergkamp had scored it
was game over.
“It was a trauma for us in a negative way and for them
in a positive way. It put them on the road to glory. “I still
can hear the shouts of that team having won (2-1). They
couldn’t believe it, because they were down to 10
men.” —Reuters
Holmes in control in Miami
MIAMI: American JB Holmes had a fivestroke lead at the end of the third round of
the WGC-Cadillac Championship on
Saturday as he and compatriot Dustin
Johnson both made holes-in-one on the
par-three fourth hole.
After Holmes aced the 227-yard hole,
Johnson, playing two groups behind, followed suit 15 minutes later to the delight
of the crowd at Trump-Doral.
The green at the fourth hole on the Blue
Monster course is surrounded by water to
the front and right but that appeared to
only focus the two Americans, who both
found the hole with seven irons.
Holmes is in control, however, after
shooting 70 to move to 11-under for the
tournament, a bogey on the 18th coming
after the 32-year-old birdied the previous
four holes.
“When you’re atop the leaderboard and
you can get a hole in one, that’s awesome,”
said Holmes, who was delighted with his
late flurry of birdies.
“You want to make some birdies, but I
definitely wasn’t planning on making four. I
was just trying to get one or just come in
and make some pars because I did have the
lead.” Johnson also bogeyed the par-four
18th hole as he made 69 to keep within
reach of Holmes while Bubba Watson, the
two-times Masters winner, was tied with
Johnson, five strokes behind Holmes after
shooting a 70. World number one Rory
McIlroy was 10 shots back after his evenpar round of 72 featured four bogeys.
Saturday’s best round came from American
Bill Haas who shot a seven-under 65.
Ryan Moore briefly had a share of the
lead before Holmes’ late birdie run. Moore
had an eagle on the par-four 16th, where
he drove the green with a 293-yard tee
shot and recovered from his triple-bogey
on the third to make 74 and sit six shots
back of Holmes.
South Africa’s Louis Ooosthuizen (67)
and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (72) kept
themselves in the chase, heading into
Sunday’s fourth round, seven shots back.
Britain’s Lee Westwood, Spain’s Sergio
G arcia, Australian Adam S cott and
American Webb Simpson were all tied in
eighth place, eight strokes behind
Holmes. — Reuters
Double victory for Park
SINGAPORE: South Korea’s Park In-bee
picked up a healthy win-double in one of
the world’s biggest gambling cities on
Sunday after a father-daughter wager
helped her focus to success at the HSBC
Women’s Champions in Singapore.
Before the tournament, the five-times
major winner bemoaned the toughness
of the notoriously tricky Serapong
Course on Sentosa Island, home to one
of the citystate’s two casinos, so much
that her father said he would pay her
$500 for every birdie she made.
In return, he wanted $1,000 for each
bogey. Unfortunately for the dad, his
daughter went bogey free over four days
to complete a wire-to-wire success at the
$1.4 million restricted-field LPGA Tour
event thanks to 15 pricey birdies.
“I took the bet thinking maybe even if
I make bogey, he’s not going to take my
money. I think it ended up really nicely,” a
grinning Park told reporters after the
13th title of her career.
“It gave me extra motivation I guess.
It’s so fun and something other to motivate and something else to concentrate
on. “I don’t think I can even believe
myself that I didn’t make any bogeys for
72 holes. I mean, if I thought about
bogeys, when am I going to make bogey,
if I was afraid of the bogeys, I’d probably
make bogeys.”
Park said she didn’t think her father
would be paying up the $7,500 prize yesterday. “He ran out of money since yesterday. I’m lending him money.”
The 26-year-old, though, said she was
indebted to him and the rest of her fami-
ly for their support in Singapore this
week as she claimed one of the few titles
to have previously escaped her clutches.
“Yeah, it’s good to have a family here
and they are big energy,” Park added.
“This week just went so quick. I was just
having dinner with them and chat with
them. Every day went so quick, I didn’t
have to think about so much golf when
I’m not on the golf course, so I think that
was a big help.”
Starting the day with a two-shot lead
over world number one Lydia Ko and
American Stacy Lewis, Park remained
cool and composed as the red-hot New
Zealander drew level after only five
holes.
Ko, 17, however, could not continue
the momentum and struggled from the
tee and with her putter as Park closed
out a two-shot win. World number three
Lewis was four back of the Korean.
Park was confident that after coming
through victorious in the Sunday
shootout between the top three
women’s players she could wrestle back
the world number one spot from Ko,
who won the last two events in Australia
and New Zealand.
“I think so, because I didn’t play so
many times with Lydia, especially in the
final round, I thought she doesn’t make
any mistakes. But I definitely saw her
making a couple of mistakes today and
thought actually she is human. “I’ll probably play a lot more with Lydia, a lot
more often. I just can’t believe that I’m
playing with somebody who can’t even
drink (alcohol).” — Reuters
BOSTON: Philadelphia Flyers’ Brayden Schenn (left) collides with Boston Bruins’ Adam McQuaid (54) during the first period of an NHL hockey game. — AP
Bruins down Flyers
BOSTON: Boston’s Brad Marchand scored the
tying goal late in regulation and added the winner in overtime as the Bruins beat the
Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Saturday
Marchand sent it to OT with 14.1 seconds left
and then won it 3:52 into the extra session.
Zdeno Chara had a power-play goal for Boston,
and Tuukka Rask made 29 saves, including two
excellent stops in overtime. Chris Vandevelde
and Jakub Voracek scored for the Flyers, who fell
five points behind Boston in the chase for the
Eastern Conference’s second wild card.
Steve Mason made 34 saves for Philadelphia.
The Bruins are 4-1-1 in their last six games after
losing six straight (0-4-2).
LIGHTNING 5, STARS 4
Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman scored early
third-period goals, and Tampa Bay rallied to top
Dallas. After Killorn scored from the low slot at
3:40, Hedman gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead 1:51
later. It was just the second time this season the
Lightning have won when trailing after two periods (2-18-2). Anton Stralman, Nikita Kucherov
and Brian Boyle had the other Lightning goals.
Ondrej Palat had three assists. Dallas center Tyler
Seguin scored two goals in his return after missing 10 games due to a sprained right knee. He
was hurt on a hit by Florida defenseman Dmitry
Kulikov on Feb. 13. Vernon Fiddler also scored
twice for Dallas.
AVALANCHE 4, BLUE JACKETS 0
Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt
Duchene scored in the first 10 minutes, and
Semyon Varlamov made 44 saves to lead
Colorado over Columbus.
The shutout was Varlamov’s fifth of the season and the 18th of his NHL career. Three have
come against the Blue Jackets.
Alex Tanguay had a goal and an assist, and
Tyson Barrie had three assists for the Avalanche,
who played their first game without last season’s
rookie of the year, Nathan MacKinnon. The No. 1
overall pick in the 2013 draft broke a bone in his
foot blocking a shot and is unlikely to play again
this season.
PANTHERS 4, ISLANDERS 3
Jonathan Huberdeau scored the deciding
shootout goal to lift Florida over the New York
Islanders. Huberdeau beat Michal Neuvirth in
the first round of the tiebreaker on the stick side.
Huberdeau also scored in regulation, and
Nick Bjugstad and Erik Gudbranson added goals
for the Panthers. Dan Ellis stopped 25 shots in
his second start since being recalled from the
AHL. Ellis turned aside all three shots in the
shootout.
Jaromir Jagr had an assist for Florida. Josh
Bailey, Nick Leddy and John Tavares scored for
the Islanders. Neuvirth made 15 saves in his first
start since being acquired from Buffalo on March
2. Tavares also had two assists. The Panthers won
for the first time in three games. The Islanders
have lost three of four.
SINGAPORE: Inbee Park of South Korea kisses the trophy after winning the HSBC
Women’s Champions golf tournament. — AP
CAPITALS 6, SABRES 1
Curtis Glencross notched a goal and two
assists, Alex Ovechkin returned from a onegame injury absence to score his NHL-leading
44th goal, and Washington routed Buffalo.
Jay Beagle added a goal and an assist for
Washington, which broke a 1 all tie with three
second-period scores. Brooks Laich, Joel Ward,
and Marcus Johansson also scored, and Mike
NHL results/standings
Boston 3, Philadelphia 2 (OT); St. Louis 6, Toronto 1; Tampa Bay 5, Dallas 4; Florida 4, NY Islanders
3 (So); Washington 6, Buffalo 1; Colorado 4, Columbus 0; Winnipeg 3, Nashville 1; Montreal 2,
Arizona 0; Pittsburgh 1, Los Angeles 0 (OT); Vancouver 3, San Jose 2.
Western Conference
Pacific Division
W L OTL GF GA
Anaheim
42 18 7
198 184
Vancouver
37 24 4
187 178
Calgary
36 25 4
187 167
Los Angeles 31 21 13 175 168
San Jose
32 26 8
187 186
Arizona
21 38 7
142 222
Edmonton
18 36 11 146 215
Central Division
Nashville
41 19 7
197 165
41 19 5
204 163
St. Louis
Chicago
39 21 5
190 153
Minnesota
36 22 7
184 165
Winnipeg
33 21 12 183 176
Colorado
29 25 11 174 183
Dallas
29 27 10 207 220
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Montreal
42 18 6
177 146
PTS
91
78
76
75
72
49
47
89
87
83
79
78
69
68
90
Green and Nicklas Backstrom had two assists
apiece. Braden Holtby made 16 saves.
Johan Larsson scored for Buffalo, which has
lost the first four games of a five-game road trip.
Ovechkin, who added an assist, has five goals in
his last three games. Matt Hackett, recalled
Saturday from Rochester of the AHL, stopped 19
of 23 shots before being lifted in the second
period.
CANADIENS 2, COYOTES 0
Carey Price made 29 saves for his seventh
shutout, and Montreal beat slumping Arizona.
Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher scored for the
Eastern Conference-leading Canadiens, who
snapped a three-game losing streak. Montreal
scored six goals during its four-game road trip,
three coming Thursday at Los Angeles. Mike
Smith made 33 saves for the Coyotes, who have
lost 10 of 11 and 12 of 14.
Arizona was shut out for the ninth time this
season, one fewer than Buffalo’s NHL-worst 10.
The Canadiens broke the scoreless deadlock at
4:48 of the second period. Gallagher scored into
an empty net in the closing seconds.
JETS 3, PREDATORS 1
Blake Wheeler scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, and Winnipeg
sent Nashville to its season-worst sixth straight
defeat. Michael Frolik and Drew Stafford also
scored for the Jets, who have won two of three.
Ryan Ellis had the Nashville goal. Before this skid,
the Predators hadn’t lost three in a row all season. Frolik scored the game’s first goal at 14:54 of
the opening period, his 15th of the season.
Frolik’s six-game point streak established a
career high. He has four goals and two assists in
that span.
BLUES 6, MAPLE LEAFS 1
Jori Lehtera and Alexander Steen both had
three assists, and six St. Louis players scored in a
rout of Toronto. The Blues (41-19-5) snapped a
two-game skid and moved within two points of
Central Division-leading Nashville.
Tampa Bay
Detroit
Boston
Florida
Ottawa
Toronto
Buffalo
41 20 6
222 177 88
36 16 11 184 165 83
32 22 10 171 167 74
29 23 14 163 188 72
29 23 11 179 169 69
26 35 5
176 205 57
19 42 5
126 224 43
Metropolitan Division
NY Islanders 42 21 4
214 189 88
NY Rangers
39 17 7
197 155 85
Pittsburgh
38 18 9
188 160 85
Washington 36 21 10 200 165 82
Philadelphia 28 25 13 175 190 69
New Jersey
27 28 10 146 168 64
Columbus
27 34 4
166 207 58
Carolina
24 32 7
145 170 55
Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one
point in the standings and are not included in
the loss column (L).
Toronto has lost 28 of 35. Jonathan Bernier
gave up three goals on 17 shots before being
pulled. James Reimer gave up the other three
goals on 27 shots. Jaden Schwartz, TJ Oshie,
Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Butler, Paul Stastny and
David Backes scored for the Blues. Brian Elliott
was barely tested in making 23 saves. He
allowed just a third-period goal to David Booth.
PENGUINS 1, KINGS 0
Patric Hornqvist scored on a Kings turnover in
the slot 1:44 into overtime, and Pittsburgh beat
Los Angeles for its sixth victory in seven games.
Hornqvist pounced when Jeff Carter made a
curious clearing pass from the corner to Tyler
Toffoli in front of the Los Angeles net. Toffoli
bobbled the puck to Hornqvist, who ended it
with his 22nd goal. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31
saves in his ninth shutout of the season for the
Penguins, who completed a Southern California
sweep after beating NHL-leading Anaheim on
Friday night with two goals from Hornqvist.
Jonathan Quick stopped 17 shots for the
Kings, who had won 10 of their previous 13
games. The Kings outshot the Penguins 31-16 in
60 minutes of tense regulation hockey, but got
nothing past Fleury. Los Angeles lost a 1-0 game
for the third time this season, including twice in
its last three home games.
CANUCKS 3, SHARKS 2
Radim Vrbata scored his second goal of the
game to break a tie in the third period and made
an alert defensive play to preserve the lead and
help Vancouver complete the rally from a twogoal deficit to edge San Jose. Vrbata started the
comeback with a goal in the final minute of the
first period and then gave Vancouver its first lead
when he scored on the power play early in the
third. Bo Horvat also scored and Eddie Lack
made 38 saves for the Canucks, who avoided
their first three-game losing streak since early
January. Melker Karlsson and Joe Thornton
scored for the Sharks, who were dealt another
blow in their bid for an 11th straight playoff
berth. Antti Niemi made 31 saves. — AP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
S P ORTS
Marin lifts
All-England crown
BIRMINGHAM: Carolina Marin, the 21-year-old
Andalucian who created one of the biggest sensations in badminton history last year, created
another by becoming the first Spaniard ever to
win an All-England title. Marin did that with a
16-21, 21-14, 21-7 women’s singles win over
Saina Nehwal, the world number three from
India. And it was a remarkable result for someone from a country where until now little badminton has been played, and one which follows
her startling capture of the world title in
Copenhagen last year.
What made it all the more stunning was that
Marin had never beaten Nehwal before and that
she did so this time, having looked headed for
defeat at a game and 6-10 down. But she transformed both the tactical emphasis and the emotion of the match, and well before the end
Nehwal’s skills and movement seemed to have
strangely evaporated.
“This is quite amazing for me,” said Marin. “I
lost to her every time before, so to beat her like
this, and in this tournament, is very special
indeed. “It was special when I won the world
title - so many people met me at the airport and this feels very special too. We shall see how
people react this time.” Nehwal, who now has to
be content with being the first Indian woman to
reach this final, nevertheless started well, moving into a three-point lead at once, and extending it to nine points before consolidating it to
20-11, at which stage it seemed that the match
night become very one-sided.
DECEPTIVE
That was because in the process Nehwal also
showed how she might be tactically superior.
She often kept the shuttle low and flat, away
from Marin’s fine smashing and, when she lifted
the shuttle, she usually moved it from side to
side and was mostly accurate enough.
Nehwal was also often better at the midcourt pushing and jabbing exchanges, and it
became unclear how Marin was going to get
back into the match.
It was not until the Spaniard won the point
which earned her the serve at 9-15 that she
managed to land one of her powerful and
deceptive round-the-head smashes for a winner.
But Marin started to come good when she won
five points in a row before losing the first game.
And from the mid-stage of the second game she
started to hustle and dictate much more,
improving greatly in the mid-court exchanges,
and fighting much harder.
Even then Marin went 6-10 down in the second game, at which point thoughts of winning
the title which had been her childhood dream
might well have come into Nehwal’s head.
But when Marin had hit a trademark smash
followed by a kill to reach 17-13, she showed a
fist and strutted provocatively across the net,
and from the then on the emotions of the contest changed, as well as its tactics.
UNSTOPPABLE
And once Marin had closed out the second
set after a rat-a-tat mid-court exchange she got
completely on top, and Nehwal seemed unable
to respond. “I just lost focus and began hurrying,
which was not right,” Nehwal said.
“Playing against top players anything can
happen at any stage, and you can always get
nervous at some point in time. That’s what happened here.” By the change of ends in the
decider Marin had become unstoppable. She
finished with a fierce sequence of attacks and
when she had won threw herself on the floor
and covered her eyes, before leaping up to
begin a series of embraces.
“At 9-11 in the second I heard my coach calling to me,” she said. “I stuck to my game plan
(speeding the rallies up more) and tried to make
less mistakes. I could feel it was beginning to
work but then it started working very quickly.”
Earlier, the three-year run of Tontowi Ahmad
and Lilyana Natsir as All-England mixed doubles
champions came to an end when they were
beaten by Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, the
Olympic and world champions. The top-seeded
Chinese pair overcame the fourth-seeded
Indonesians 21-10, 21-10, thus maintaining
China’s chances of winning four of the five titles,
as well as Zhang Nan’s hopes of becoming the
first man to win two titles at the same AllEngland championship for 13 years.
Zhang was due to play later in the men’s
doubles, the last final, and China also had players competing for titles in the men’s singles and
women’s doubles. — AFP
PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia 76ers’ Nerlens Noel (right) blocks a shot by Atlanta Hawks’ Kent Bazemore during the second half of an NBA
basketball game. — AP
76ers and Cavaliers roll
PHILADELPHIA: Hollis Thompson and Luc Mbah a
Moute scored 19 points apiece and the
Philadelphia 76ers surprised the short-handed
Atlanta Hawks 92-84 on Saturday night.
Nerlens Noel had 11 points and 17 rebounds to
help the 76ers win for the second time in 11
games. Philadelphia (14-49) entered with the NBA’s
second-worst record. Jeff Teague had 17 points to
pace Atlanta, which had its six-game winning
streak snapped. The Hawks (49-13), who came in
with the best record in the league, rested starters
Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll - taking more than 41 points out of their lineup.
CAVALIERS 89, SUNS 72
LeBron James tied Cleveland’s career assists
record and scored 17 points in the Cavaliers’ victory
over Phoenix. James tied Mark Price at 4,206 assists
in the third quarter. James was 6 for 16 from the
field and had eight assists and six rebounds to help
the Cavaliers win their 13th straight at home and
move into a tie for second with Chicago in the
Eastern Conference. Timofey Mozgov led the
Cavaliers with 19 points, and Tristan Thompson had
15 points with 12 rebounds. Markieff Morris scored
16 points for Phoenix.
HEAT 114, KINGS 109
Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, Tyler Johnson
added 24 and Miami erased a 12-point, fourthquarter deficit to beat Sacramento. Johnson’s 3pointer as the shot clock was expiring with just
under a minute left put the Heat up four. Wade
added a pair of free throws with 31.2 seconds
remaining as Miami won its third straight home
game - almost unbelievably, its longest such
stretch of the season. DeMarcus Cousins had 27
points and 17 rebounds before fouling out for
Sacramento. Rudy Gay scored 27 points, and Ben
McLemore added 20.
BIRMINGHAM: Spain’s Carolina Marin poses with her trophy after beating India’s
Saina Nehwal (not pictured) in their All England OpenBadminton†Championships
women’s singles final match. — AFP
Hamilton feeling
‘stronger than ever’
LONDON: Formula One world champion
Lewis Hamilton says he is going into the
new season mentally stronger than ever
after learning to keep his personal and professional life apart.
Hamilton won 11 of the 19 races last
year on his way to a second title. However,
he and on-off girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger
have separated since she watched him win
the Abu Dhabi season-ender and title last
November.
“I think last year, I adapted ... a mental
attitude that was kind of, I would like to say,
impenetrable,” the Mercedes driver told
British reporters before heading to
Australia for the March 15 season-opener.
“In the previous years it has been the
case where it (personal issues) has affected
my life in general but I feel that I still carry
that kind of mentality from last year.
“Having been in this position before, I
feel stronger than ever so I don’t feel that
it’s going to be a problem.” The Briton started the 2014 season, the first of the new V6
turbo hybrid era, with some pundits suspecting his team mate Nico Rosberg might
get the better of a man who so often wears
Lewis Hamilton in action in this file photo.
his heart on his sleeve and lives in the public glare.
Instead, Hamilton won more of the
mind battles between the two title rivals,
stepping up a gear in particular after they
collided in Belgium.
Everything aligned for the double champion last year and he said that was a rarity.
“It’s like once in a blue moon that it’s all in
line but I still feel like I’ve got enough in
place to do what I need to do and to be the
best I can be,” said the 30-year-old.
“It’s not easy to better a season like last
year. In terms of performance, it was the
best year that I think I’ve ever had, but it
doesn’t mean I can’t beat it so that’s what
I’m trying to do.”
Hamilton is also negotiating his own
contract extension with Mercedes, with the
existing one running out at the end of the
year, and he said that was progressing well.
“Hopefully we’re in the final stages. I
don’t really know what the timeline is for
that but we’re not rushing, but we’re very
much in the last stages of it,” he said. “So for
the foreseeable future, I’m committed to
this team.” — Reuters
ROCKETS 114, NUGGETS 100
James Harden scored 28 points, Corey Brewer
had 24 and Houston Rockets snapped a threegame road losing streak with a victory over Denver.
Trevor Ariza had 19 points and Donatas
Motiejunas added 18 for the Rockets. Wilson
Chandler had 26 points for Denver. The Nuggets
are 2-2 under interim coach Melvin Hunt.
PELICANS 95, GRIZZLIES 89
Tyreke Evans scored 26 points, Anthony Davis
added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and New
Orleans overcame an 18-point deficit to beat
Memphis.
Eric Gordon scored 16 points, including two free
throws with 24.5 seconds left, to help New Orleans
win for the seventh time in nine games and pull a
half-game behind Oklahoma City for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Jeff Green had
20 points for Memphis.
TIMBERWOLVES 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 113
Kevin Martin scored 29 points and Ricky Rubio
hit a big 3-pointer with a minute left to help
Minnesota snap a four-game skid and end
Portland’s winning streak at five games.
Rubio had 13 points, 15 assists and eight
rebounds, and his late 3 gave the Wolves a 109102 lead. Gary Neal scored 27 off the bench and
Andrew Wiggins added 18 points. Damian Lillard
had 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds,
and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and
eight rebounds for Portland in its first game
since losing Wesley Matthews for the season to
an Achilles injury.
PACERS 92, KNICKS 86
Rodney Stuckey scored 17 points, George Hill
made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:34 left, and
Indiana beat New York for its season-best fifth
straight victory. Hill had 15 points and David West
finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for
Indiana. They have won 11 of 13 and came in tied
for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Andrea
Bargnani scored 21 points for the Knicks. They lost
their third straight to drop to 12-49.
BUCKS 91, WIZARDS 85
Khris Middleton scored 30 points and hit a key 3pointer from the corner with 40.8 seconds left, and
Milwaukee beat Washington to snap a four-game losing streak. Middleton had missed a 3 but the offensive
rebound was tracked down by center Zaza Pachulia,
who flipped a pass back to Middleton for a successful
follow. Paul Pierce led the Wizards with 14 points.— AP
NBA results/standings
New Orleans 95, Memphis 89; Cleveland 89, Phoenix 79; Miami 114, Sacramento 109 (OT);
Indiana 92, NY Knicks 86; Philadelphia 92, Atlanta 84; Minnesota 121, Portland 113; Milwaukee 91,
Washington 85; Houston 114, Denver 100.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W
L
PCT
Toronto
38
24
.613
Boston
25
35
.417
Brooklyn
25
35
.417
Philadelphia
14
49
.222
NY Knicks
12
49
.197
Central Division
Chicago
39
24
.619
Cleveland
40
25
.615
Milwaukee
33
29
.532
Indiana
28
34
.452
Detroit
23
38
.377
Southeast Division
Atlanta
49
13
.790
Washington
35
28
.556
Miami
28
34
.452
Charlotte
27
33
.450
Orlando
20
43
.317
GB
12
12
24.5
25.5
5.5
10.5
15
14.5
21
21
29.5
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Portland
41
20
.672
28
.548
Oklahoma City 34
Utah
25
36
.410
Denver
22
41
.349
Minnesota
14
47
.230
Pacific Division
Golden State
48
12
.800
40
22
.645
LA Clippers
Phoenix
33
31
.516
Sacramento
21
40
.344
LA Lakers
16
45
.262
Southwest Division
Memphis
44
18
.710
43
20
.683
Houston
Dallas
40
24
.625
San Antonio
38
23
.623
New Orleans
34
29
.540
7.5
16
20
27
9
17
27.5
32.5
1.5
5
5.5
10.5
Jansrud wins Super-G title
KVITFJELL: Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud clinched
the World Cup Super-G title with victory on
home snow in Kvitfjell yesterday, continuing a
remarkable run for home skiers at the resort.
Jansrud took advantage of the soft snow
conditions to triumph in one minute and
37.44 seconds while several favourites failed
to complete the course.
“It’s the fourth time in succession a
Norwegian wins the Super-G crystal globe.
We’re really the best!,” Olympic champion
Jansrud, whose compatriot Aksel Lund
Svindal won the last three editions, told
reporters. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr was
second, 0.24 behind, with Canada’s Dustin
Cook, who was runner-up at the world championships in Beaver Creek, was 0.33 off the
pace. In the Super-G standings, Jansrud leads
Italy’s Domonik Paris by 123 points and can
no longer be caught with just one event left
at the World Cup finals later this month.
Thanks to his ninth career victory, Jansrud
is now only 52 points behind three-times
World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher of
Austria, who will have a slalom and a giant
slalom next weekend in Kranjska Gora to
stretch his lead.
“I haven’t given up on the overall World
Cup but if Marcel keeps on skiing the way he
has since the start of the season, it will be a little tight,” he said, after emulating his success
on the same piste last year. “It doesn’t really
matter who wins the big globe in the end
because whoever does will really deserve it. I
will go to Kranjska Gora and see what happens,” he added.
Jansrud is also leading the downhill World
Cup standings ahead of Austria’s Hannes
Reichelt. In the women’s World Cup, the races
KVITFJELL: Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud speeds down the course on his way to win an alpine ski,
men’s World Cup super-G. — AP
for the overall globe and the Super-G title
remain undecided after Lindsey Vonn’s victory
in Gamrish-Partenkirchen.
VONN VICTORY
The American took the record number of
World Cup victories by a woman to 65, beating the two leading contenders for the overall
title, Tina Maze and Anna Fenninger.
Slovenian Maze, the 2013 World Cup win-
ner, finished 0.20 seconds behind Vonn and
took 20 points off Fenninger to lead her by 44
points in the standings. “I love this battle. I
can’t sleep anymore. I’m so focused on my
goals but I love it,” Maze said.
Vonn said the victory boosted her confidence that she could lift both the Super-G
and downhill titles this season. “I love to be in
the position of the chaser rather than being
chased. I felt great today,” she said. — Reuters
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
S P ORTS
Thurman, Broner win
on prime time debut
LAS VEGAS: Keith Thurman and Robert
Guerrero gave a prime-time television
audience something to watch Saturday
night. Thurman won a piece of the welterweight title with a bruising decision win
over Guerrero in the debut of a new boxing series on network television. And he
did it with the kind of fight that had the
crowd on its feet and gave a much needed boost to boxing in the first prime-time
fights on NBC in 30 years.
“That’s kind of performance that wins
the hearts of fans even when you don’t
win the fight,” Guerrero said. “The fans
love that and that’s what boxing is all
about.”
The fight was the highlight of a card
that also included a win by Adrien Broner
over John Molina in a super lightweight
bout. But while fans booed that fight for
lack of action, they cheered from the
opening bell as Thurman took apart
Guerrero in a fight that had a little bit of
something for every fan - except a knockout. “I know I was hurting him each and
every round,” Thurman said. “But he’s a
veteran and knew how to pace himself
and stay a little out of my range.”
Thurman knocked Guerrero down in
the ninth round and won easily on all
three ringside scorecards to capture the
WBA version of the 147-pound crown. But
Guerrero fought hard and wasn’t afraid to
trade punches even while bleeding from
a cut over his left eye late in the bout.
Thurman landed 211 of 598 punches
to 104 of 497 for Guerrero, but that didn’t
tell the whole story. Thurman’s punches
were much harder and seemed to shake
Guerrero on several occasions, though
they didn’t deter him from pressing the
fight even after being knocked down and
nearly knocked out in the ninth round.
“I keep fighting my heart out and that’s
what the fans like about me,” Guerrero
said. Thurman won every round on one
ringside scorecard and 10 rounds on the
other two, using thudding punches to
keep Guerrero away. Still, he was never
able to put him away and Guerrero came
back in the 10th round to land some big
punches of his own while Thurman was
on the ropes. “Robert Guerrero was a
tremendous warrior,” Thurman said. “He
was there the whole way.”
It was a signature win for Thurman,
and not only because he was showcased
on the top of the television card. He beat
a fighter who fought Floyd Mayweather Jr.
in 2012, lasting all 12 rounds though
dropping a lopsided decision. And he
remained unbeaten in 25 fights with a
performance that could put him in a big
pay-per-view fight his next time out.
The fight was the first of 20 cards
scheduled this year for the Premier
Boxing Champions series put together by
manager Al Haymon and featuring his
fighters. It was also the first of five scheduled Saturday prime-time bouts on NBC.
And while it was created for television
with an all-star cast of announcers that
included Al Michaels, Marv Albert and
Laila Ali, it also gave the crowd of 10,106
at the MGM Grand something different,
too. Boxers were introduced on a stage at
one end of the arena, and there were new
high definition monitors above the ring to
show the action. Unlike most boxing
events, the fights also went off on time to
accommodate television.
In the first fight, Broner boxed his way
to an easy win over Molina, using his left
jab to pile up points. Despite winning
every round on two of the three scorecards, though, Broner was booed by many
in the crowd at the MGM Grand for not
trying for a knockout in the super lightweight bout.
Broner, trying to re-establish himself
after a loss in 2012 to Marcos Maidana,
used his superior speed to keep Molina
off balance, rarely allowing him to land
more than a single punch at a time. The
former three-time champion was so far
ahead in the final round that he did little
but dance away from Molina, finally raising his hands in triumph with 10 seconds
still left in the fight.
“I know I lived up to the hype,” Broner
said. “He was swinging for the fences and I
stayed dangerous. I felt like I beat all odds
tonight.” Ringside punch stats reflected
both Broner’s dominance and the ineffectiveness of Molina’s attack. Broner threw
twice as many punches (502-249), and
landed four times as many (219-54) in
winning a decision that was never in
doubt after the early rounds. Broner said
he was not concerned about the boos,
something commonplace early in his
career.
“I knew walking into the arena 85 percent of the fans were against me,” he said.
“But I know I made some new fans around
the world.”
Broner, who improved to 30-1, was
paid $1.2 million, while Molina (27-6)
earned $450,000. Copyright 2015 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed. —AP
Diniz sets new 20km
walk world record
LAS VEGAS: Keith Thurman connects with a left to Robert Guerrero during their boxing match, Saturday in Las Vegas. Thurman won by unanimous decision. — AP
Serbia, France sail into
Davis Cup last eight
KRALJEVO: Novak Djokovic spurred Serbia to a 3-0
win over neighbors Croatia in the first round of the
Davis Cup on Saturday and they will be joined in
the quarter-finals by an equally rampant France.
Britain’s progress was put on hold after they lost an
enthralling doubles to the United States on
Saturday. Holders Switzerland, missing Roger
Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, fell behind 2-1 at
Belgium while the Czech Republic hauled themselves back against Australia.
World number one Djokovic, who was a late
replacement for Viktor Troicki, teamed up with
Nenad Zimonjic to blow away Marin Draganja and
Franko Skugor 6-3 6-4 6-1 in Serbia’s central city of
Kraljevo. The home fans, who roared on the Serbs
but also gave the Croatians a warm reception
throughout the tie, were given a scare in the second set when Djokovic received medical treatment
for a cut on his right hand.
But they were relieved to see him carry on and
produce one of his best doubles performances as
38-year-old Zimonjic rolled back the years. “Novak
played unbelievably well today and we are delighted to have sealed a quarter-final spot,” Serbia coach
Bogdan Obradovic said.
Djokovic added: “We decided that I should
come in for Viktor because that was the best combination in this moment.
“Being 2-0 up after the opening day was a massive confidence boost and we did everything right
today, from the first to the last point.”
Having won both their singles against the
Americans after Andy Murray beat Donald Young
and James Ward staged a comeback against John
Isner on Friday, Britain nearly conjured another
impressive fightback in the doubles. Murray’s
brother Jamie and Dominic Inglot found themselves two sets down against the world’s top
ranked pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan but, cheered
on by a boisterous crowd in Glasgow, the British
duo fought back. As American captain Jim Courier
watched on anxiously from the sidelines, the Bryan
twins eventually stretched the tie into a third day
with a 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-7(8) 9-7 victory.
Leading 2-1 ahead of Sunday’s mouth-watering
climax, Britain will now rest the bulk of their hopes
on Andy Murray beating Isner in the first reverse
singles. The winner’s reward will be a last-eight
meeting with France, who dismissed Germany after
Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut brushed aside
Benjamin Becker and Andre Begemann 6-4 6-3 6-2.
Brazil topped Argentina in straight sets, going up
2-1, as Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares beat Diego
Schwartzman and Carlos Berlocq 7-5 6-3 6-4.
Berlocq was playing a day after losing a five-set singles match. The win puts Brazil in position to
advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since
2001 if they can win one of Sunday’s singles matches. Canada went 2-1 up on Japan as Daniel Nestor
and Vasek Pospisil beat Go Soeda and Yasutaka
Uchiyama 7-5 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-3, setting up a Sunday
showdown between world No. 6 Milos Raonic and
No. 4 Kei Nishikori. Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans
and Niels Desein recovered from a set down to
beat Michael Lammer and Adrien Bossel 1-6 6-3 6-2
6-2, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead over the holders
ahead of Sunday’s reverse singles.
Australia missed a chance to seal their tie
against the Czechs after Jiri Vesely and Adam
Pavlasek beat Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth in a 16 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 rollercoaster.
The Australians lost the fourth set tiebreak
before fizzling out in the fifth to hand the Czechs a
lifeline. “This was a tough match but we kept fighting and managed to turn it around,” said Vesely. “At
the end of the fourth set and the whole of the fifth
Adam played perfectly.” Italy took a 2-1 lead at
Kazakhstan. — Reuters
KRALJEVO: Viktor Troicki of Serbia returns the ball against Croatia’s Mate Delic during their
Davis Cup World Group first round tennis match between Serbia and Croatia. — AP
Kwiatkowski clinches
Paris-Nice prologue
ZURICH: A file picture taken on August 15, 2014 shows winner France’s Yohann Diniz
posing on the podium at the end of the Men’s 50km walk. — AFP
PARIS: France’s Yohann Diniz set a new
world record of one hour 17.02 minutes in
the 20km walk at the French national
championships yesterday.
Already world record holder in the
50km (3hr 32.33min) since 2014, Diniz
bettered the previous 20km best of 1hr
17.16min set in September 2007 by
Russia’s Vladimir Kanaykin in the Russian
city of Saransk. The 37-year-old Diniz, a
three-time European champion over the
50km walk, went into the French championships in the sea-level town of Arles
fresh from a high-altitude training camp
in Potchefstroom, South Africa. “Going
through 15km in 58 minutes dead, I was
told about the world record and I knew I
could do it,” Diniz told AFP, hailing the cardio and respiratory benefits he reaped
while in South Africa.
“We were at 1,400 metres altitude, it
was hot and training conditions were ideal.” Diniz will turn his sights later this year
on a 20km-50km walk double at the
World Athletics Championships in Beijing,
where he pulled up in the 50km walk at
the 2008 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergey Bubka on Saturday praised
tighter anti-doping rules imposed on athletes’ entourage in 2013 following a wave
of positive dope tests.
“It’s great that step is done regarding
entourage sanctions. We can see now that
entourage has responsibility,” Bubka told
reporters at the European Athletics
Indoor Championships in Prague.
“We must educate athletes and we
must educate entourage to protect our
sport and highlight that there are honest,
fair and correct athletes,” the 51-year-old
added. Bubka, a vice-president of the
international athletics federation IAAF
and a member of the International
Olympic Committee Executive Board,
vowed “zero tolerance” to doping which
he dubbed the biggest threat to sport in
the 21st century.
“We took a very good step when we
created the (anti-doping agency) WADA,”
said Bubka, who is in contention to
become the next IAAF president later this
year, alongside former British middle distance star Sebastian Coe. “In reality in the
society someone respects the rules,
someone crosses the road on the green
light, someone on the red. And sport is
not staying outside of reality.” “The world
is not ideal and we must be very strict,
very fair and very tough in this.” “This is
one of the priorities for future president,
to pay attention, to work hard, and athletics in this way should take the leading
role. And who cheats there’s no excuse,
anyone should pay the price.
Late last year, a German TV channel
stirred up the doping debate by airing a
documentary alleging Russian athletes
are involved in a massive doping scheme.
“We should fight the criminal networks, which make millions on doping
and we should also punish doctors,
judges, coaches, managers and others if
they are involved in doping and corruption,” Bubka said after seeing the document last December. — AFP
MAUREPAS: World champion Michal
Kwiatkowski of Poland won the prologue of the
Paris-Nice race, a 6.7 kilometre time trial in
Maurepas, south-west of Paris, yesterday.
Riding in his first Paris-Nice, the so-called “race to
the sun”, Kwiatkowski timed 7min 40sec, to finish
ahead of world hour record holder Rohan Dennis of
Australia, who was credited with the same time.
Another time trial specialist, Germany’s Tony Martin,
was third, seven seconds back. In spring sunshine,
race favourite Richie Porte of Australia already
found himself trailing Kwiatkowski by 15 seconds,
the same time as world time trial champion Bradley
Wiggins of Britain.
Another of the expected front-runners, Tejay Van
Garderen of the United States, fared only slightly
better, finishing a second faster than Porte and
Wiggins. “When I knew I was going to be riding the
Paris-Nice, I was really up for it, Kwiatkowski said.
But he added: “We mustn’t get carried away yet,
we’ve only raced 6.7 kilometres and there’s more
than another 1,000 to go until Nice, but I’m very
happy with my performance today. “I don’t know if I
can hold on to the leader’s jersey and I’ve no idea if I
have the wherewithal to win the race.” Today’s first
stage sees the riders tackle the 196.5km ride from
Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse to Contres. — AFP
FRANCE: Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski competes during the 6.7 km individual time-trial and prologue of the 73rd edition of the Paris-Nice
cycling race. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
Maxwell’s century thwarts
Sangakkara’s latest ton
SCOREBOARD
SYDNEY: Completed scoreboard in the World Cup Pool A match between Australia and
Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday:
Sri Lanka
Australia
L. Thirimanne c Haddin b Johnson 1
D. Warner c Prasanna b Malinga
9
T. Dilshan lbw b Faulkner
62
A. Finch st Sangakkara b Prasanna 24
K. Sangakkara c Finch b Faulkner
104
S. Smith c Perera b Dilshan
72
M. Jayawardene run out (Clarke)
19
M. Clarke b Malinga
68
A. Mathews c Haddin b Watson
35
G. Maxwell c Malinga b Perera
102
D. Chandimal retired hurt
52
S. Watson c Chandimal b Perera
67
T. Perera c Doherty b Johnson
8
J. Faulkner run out (Mathews)
0
U.
Tharanga
c
Warner
b
Faulkner
4
B. Haddin c Perera b Mathews
25
S. Prasanna b Starc
9
M. Johnson not out
3
S. Senanayake c Doherty b Starc
7
M. Starc run out (Perera/Mathews) 0
L. Malinga not out
0
X. Doherty not out
0
Extras (b2, lb5, w4)
11
Extras: (b1, lb1, w4)
6
Total (9 wkts, 46.2 overs)
312
Total (9 wkts, 50 overs)
376
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Thirimanne), 2-135
Fall of wickets: 1-19 ( Warner), 2-41 (Dilshan), 3-188 (Jayawardene), 4-201
(Finch), 3-175 (Clarke), 4-177 (Smith), 5- (Sangakkara), 5-283 (Mathews), 6-293
337 (Maxwell), 6-338 (Faulkner), 7-368 (Perera), 7-305 (Prasanna), 8-307
(Watson), 8-373 (Haddin), 9-374 (Starc).
(Tharanga), 9-312 (Senanayake)
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-59-2 (1w); Bowling: Starc 8.2-0-29-2 (1w); Johnson
Senanayake 9-0-59-0; Mathews 7-0-59-1 9-0-62-2 (2w); Watson 7-0-71-1; Doherty
(2w); Prasanna 10-0-77-1; Perera 9-0-87-2 7-0-60-0; Maxwell 6-0-35-0; Faulkner 9-048-3 (1w).
(1w); Dilshan 5-0-33-1
SYDNEY: Australia supplanted Sri Lanka in
second spot in World Cup Pool A propelled by
a ‘big show’ ton from Glenn Maxwell before
they weathered Kumar Sangakkara’s third
consecutive century in Sydney yesterday.
The Australians, aiming for a fifth World
Cup triumph, amassed 376 for nine, Maxwell
lighting up the Sydney Cricket Ground with
102 off 53 balls and then restricted Sri Lanka
to 312 for nine to win by 64 runs. It was a crucial win by the co-hosts, leapfrogging Sri
Lanka into second spot behind New Zealand
with one more group match to play.
Victory secured Australia’s place in the last
eight and made a quarter-final against South
Africa less likely. In a high-scoring match
before almost 40,000 fans, plenty of them Sri
Lankans, Maxwell produced one of his famed
‘big shows’ with a pulsating maiden one-day
international century off 51 balls to leave Sri
Lanka with a massive run chase.
No side batting second have made more to
win a World Cup match than Ireland’s 329 for
seven against England in Bangalore four years
ago. The mighty Sangakkara gave it a big
shake, raising his third consecutive ton at the
tournament off 100 balls and his 24th century
in his 402nd ODI. But the Australians breathed
easier when he holed out to James Faulkner
for 104 giving Aaron Finch a running catch to
end his otherwise chanceless knock. Maxwell
thrilled the SCG full house with his audacious
reverse sweeps, flicks and powerful hitting in
an innings he has threatened to unleash in his
previous 44 ODIs.
‘The Big Show’, as he is known, blasted his
half-century off 26 balls with a pulled six off
Thisara Perera and was particularly brutal with
Seekkuge Prasanna, hoisting the leg-spinner
for 34 off just 12 balls. Maxwell and Shane
Watson, back in the side after being dropped
in Australia’s previous match against
Afghanistan for repeated failures with the bat,
plundered 160 runs off 13.4 overs.
The Sri Lankans were at their wits’ end trying to find ways to stop the run riot as
Maxwell and Watson took the bowlers apart.
MAXWELL REPRIEVE
Maxwell had a life on 93 when he topedged Mathews and wicketkeeper
Sangakkara scurried back and made his
ground only to drop the catch, but he was out
soon afterwards when caught by Lasith
Malinga at mid-on.
Maxwell narrowly missed out on equalling
the 50-ball record for the fastest World Cup
hundred set by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien against
England in 2011. In a solid effort by Australia’s
batsmen, Watson struck 67 off 41 balls, Steve
Smith hit 72 off 88 balls and skipper Michael
Clarke chipped in with a run-a-ball 68.
The 1996 World Cup champions lost Lahiru
Thirimanne for one in the second over,
snapped up behind by Brad Haddin off
Mitchell Johnson. But the experienced pair of
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara set about
taking on the challenge, with Dilshan defiantly smacking Johnson for six fours off one over.
Clarke dropped Dilshan on 46 in a running
two-handed chance as the pair raced along
with home fans clapping dot balls. But
Dilshan fell leg before to James Faulkner’s
slower ball for 62 off 60 balls after putting on
130 with Sangakkara. Mahela Jayawardene
threw away his wicket on 19 attempting a
risky single only to caught short of his ground
by Clarke’s throw from mid-off. Sri Lanka kept
fighting until the end with Dinesh Chandimal
cracking 52 off 24 balls before retiring hurt
with hamstring trouble and skipper Angelo
Mathews gloved Watson to Brad Haddin for
35. Faulkner finished with an impressive three
for 48. — AFP
AUSTRALIA: Sri Lanka batsman Seekkuge Prasanna is bowled by Australian paceman Mitchell Starc during their 2015 Cricket World Cup Group A match. — AFP
Younis wants more balance
between bat and ball in ODIs
KARACHI: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis
has urged the International Cricket
Council and its member boards to sit
down and have a rethink on balancing the
50-over format for the good of the game.
In an interview to Reuters from
Australia, the former test captain said he
had no doubts that bowlers are suffering
in one-day international cricket due to the
change in laws. Improvement in skills, better bats and fielding restrictions have all
contributed to making it a nightmare for
bowlers, according to the 43-year-old former Pakistan fast bowler.
He has no qualms about the shortest
Twenty20 format which according to him
was a “three-hour cinema”. “But for real
cricket which is one-day cricket there is a
need to balance the game,” Younis said.
“Bowlers are suffering as pitches have
gone very flat around the world.
“Bowlers just have an opportunity in
first six to seven overs than it is a batsmen’s game. We are seeing that in this
World Cup. “Cricket has changed since our
times but there is a real need to balance it
and the administrators need to start
thinking again.” The former captain felt
cricket in Pakistan also needed to catch up
with changing times. Younis and captain
Misbah-ul-Haq have come under fire for
not playing wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed
in the first four games of the World Cup
with allegations of nepotism and
favoritism in the dressing room. Younis
said he was used to such flak.
“There is nothing new and we are used
to these sort of things,” he added. “I know
it is an emotional time for the country and
I guess everyone can’t be happy. “We are
trying to do our best and people who
understand the game will appreciate that.
“I am a patriotic Pakistani and I will
never do any harm to my country or team
and we are trying to do everything to
make our people feel proud of us.”
Pakistan have bounced back at the
World Cup with wins over Zimbabwe,
United Arab Emirates and South Africa
after losing their first two games to India
and West Indies by big margins.
But he advised his countrymen to temper their hopes. “I don’t want to give big
hopes to anyone although I am hopeful
for good things to come,” Younis said.
“I don’t want to think too far ahead but
the last week has been good for us and
now we are quietly confident, we have
started to get our self-belief back in the
dressing room and in players that they
have the ability to do well.”
There were no clear favourites too for
Younis and despite the strong starts for
co-hosts New Zealand and holders India,
he felt the knock-outs will be the real
pressure time for teams. — Reuters
Najibullah counter attacks
against New Zealand pace
NAPIER: Najibullah Zadran wrote himself into
cricketing folklore yesterday when he deposited
a delivery from Tim Southee onto the roof of the
Harris Stand at McLean Park, a shot with a distance of close to 100 metres.
It was one of two sixes the 22-year-old hit off
Southee, the World Cup’s joint top wicket-taker
who had destroyed England’s batting line-up
just over two weeks ago with seven for 33.
Najibullah also had a particular liking for
Adam Milne’s express pace, hitting the fast
bowler for four boundaries in his run-a-ball 56.
The left-hander’s aggressive innings rescued
Afghanistan from 59 for six as he combined in a
86-run partnership with Samiullah Shenwari,
who went on to make 54 as the associate nation
were dismissed for 186. “He’s an aggressive player,” Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi told
reporters in Napier of Najibullah. “We put him in
to use him in the last 10 or 15 overs to hit the big
shots.
“We did not give him the platform for him to
do that. Every match he has been under pressure after losing early wickets and low scores,
but today he played really well.”
While Afghanistan eventually lost to New
Zealand by six wickets, they earned some praise
from their opponents, with man-of-the-match
Daniel Vettori stating they had spent a lot of
time analysing Nabi’s side. “There is a lot of
respect for that Afghan team,” Vettori said. “We
scouted them pretty hard. “They have got a nicely balanced lineup and you saw that today with
the way they were able to counter attack. I think
that is the beginning of a very good team.
“They have got firepower all through their
batting order and their bowling line-up, particularly their three fast bowlers are very impressive.
“When you have three guys who run it at 140
(kmph) that is going to give you the ability to
win games at the top-tier level. “They have the
makings of an exceptional side.” — Reuters
Najibullah Zadran
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
World Cup result and standings
Pool A
At Napier
Afghanistan 186 all out (Najibullah Zadran 56, Samiullah Shenwari 54) v New Zealand 188-4
(Martin Guptill 57)
New Zealand won by six wickets
At Sydney
Australia 376-9 (Glenn Maxwell 102, Steve Smith 72, Michael Clarke 68, Shane Watson 67) v
Sri Lanka 312-9 (Kumar Sangakkara 104, Tillakaratne Dilshan 62, Dinesh Chandimal 52
retired hurt)
Australia won by 64 runs
Played
won
lost
tied
no result
points run rate
Pool A
New Zealand
5
5
0
0
0
10+3.090 - qualified
5
3
1
0
1
7+1.597 - qualified
Australia
Sri Lanka
5
3
2
0
0
6
-0.151
Bangladesh
4
2
1
0
1
5
+1.182
England
4
1
3
0
0
2
-1.201
Afghanistan
5
1
4
0
0
2
-1.881
Scotland
4
0
4
0
0
0
-1.423
Pool B
India
4
4
0
0
5
3
2
0
South Africa
Pakistan
5
3
2
0
Ireland
4
3
1
0
West Indies
5
2
3
0
Zimbabwe
5
1
4
0
UAE
4
0
4
0
Note: Top four in each group qualify for quarter-finals.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8+2.246 - qualified
6
+1.462
6
-0.194
6
-0.820
4
-0.511
2
-0.595
0
-1.691
Taylor pulls no punches
after Zimbabwe exit
SYDNEY: Zimbabwe’s elimination from
quarter-final contention at the World
Cup after defeat to Ireland on Saturday
illustrated their continuing struggle to
compete at the top level of cricket in
recent years. For brutal honesty in defeat,
though, stand-in captain Brendan Taylor
has shown himself to be in a league of
his own at the tournament.
Taylor had already fired a volley at the
side, talking of “mental flaws” after they
blew a strong position to come up 21
runs short of beating Pakistan in their
previous Pool B match.
And there was no pulling of punches
on Saturday after they went into the final
over against Ireland needing seven runs
to win only to lose two wickets in the
first three balls and fall to a five-run
defeat.
Those results combined with defeats
to South Africa and West Indies, along
with their solitary win over United Arab
Emirates, made Zimbabwe the first test
playing nation to be eliminated from
contention for the knockout stages.
“ We’ve been very disappointing,
there’s no doubt about that, we came
here to win three games and we haven’t
done that,” Taylor said, summing up the
country’s ninth World Cup campaign.
“There’s been positions against South
Africa, against West Indies, against
Pakistan, where we could have got over
the line if we’d been smarter as batters.
“Hold our catches, put our bodies on
the line when we field. And at times
we’ve been very sloppy and that’s come
back to haunt us.
“We’ve played some excellent cricket
for 80 percent of the time we’ve been
here but that 20 percent is why we’re not
going to progress.”
Taylor described the fielding against
Ireland as “below poor” and “shambolic”,
particularly in the two or three “lives”
they gave to Ed Joyce, who won the man
of the match award for his innings of 112.
Taylor’s frustration was particularly
evident over the way the Zimbabweans
gave up such a strong position in the
final over at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
“It’s basically six singles, we weren’t
making smart decisions as batters, we’re
going to be asking ourselves these questions for a long time to come,” he said.
“We were sloppy in many ways, in our
bowling, our fielding and our shot selection. At the very top level, you need to be
on top of these key aspects.”
Even his own fine innings of 121
against the Irish, his seventh one-day
international century, was little consolation to Taylor.
“I hit it nicely, but, again, getting out
at the wrong time,” he said. “New batter
coming in in the power play, all those little things add up, it’s frustrating.”
Taylor said he was hoping skipper
Elton Chigumbura would be back from a
muscle tear to face world champions
India in Zimbabwe’s final match in
Auckland next Saturday.
“It’s another opportunity to try and
get all three departments right and if we
do, we’ve beaten India before back home
so we have that belief we can do it,” he
said. “There’s a lot to play for, a lot of
pride at stake, we want to try and finish
on a high note.” — Reuters
Too hard to choose, says Nabi
NAPIER: Afghanistan skipper Mohammad
Nabi could not separate New Zealand and
Australia when it came to choosing
between the form teams in the World Cup
yesterday.
The Afghans played the two frontrunners and World Cup co-hosts in quick succession and were soundly beaten both
times. After losing to Australia by a massive
275 runs last Wednesday in Perth they suffered a six-wicket thrashing by New
Zealand in Napier on Sunday.
“New Zealand, they’re quite good. Also
Australia,” Nabi diplomatically said when
asked to rate the two sides after comprehensively losing to New Zealand by six
wickets. “I’m not saying that Australia is the
best or New Zealand is the best, both of the
teams are quite good and quite balanced.”
Afghanistan, making their World Cup
debut, scored an historic win over Scotland
and were impressive when losing to Sri
Lanka before falling apart against Australia
and New Zealand.
Nabi believed more substantial per-
formances by the top order Afghanistan
batsman would have made a difference.
Against Australia they were 103-6 and
against New Zealand the situation was
more dire at 59-6. “In the whole tournament, the top five batsmen didn’t click in
five games,” he said.
However, he saw positives against New
Zealand with Najibullah Zadran and
Samiullah Shenwari putting on an
Afghanistan seventh-wicket record partnership of 86.
“Maybe the top order will learn from
that as well-getting in and taking responsibility.” With Afghanistan set to bow out of
the tournament after their last Pool A
match against England in Sydney next
Friday, Nabi felt they would leave without
showing their true potential.
“We expected a lot at the tournament to
play good cricket and to show it to the
world. We showed in the bowling, we have
good fast bowlers and we have good fielders as well. But we didn’t show our talent
on the batting side,” he said. — AFP
SYDNEY: Sri Lankan fans cheer on their team during their Cricket World Cup Pool A
match against Australia. — AP
NAPIER: Afghanistan’s Samiullah Shenwari runs to make his ground while batting against New Zealand during their Cricket World Cup Pool A
match. — AP
Vettori sets up crushing
victory over Afghanistan
NAPIER: Daniel Vettori became the first New
Zealand bowler to take 300 one-day international
wickets as the Black Caps made short work of
Afghanistan to remain unbeaten after five World
Cup matches yesterday. Left-arm spinner Vettori
scythed through the Afghanistan top order, using
his guile on a pitch producing no turn, to finish
with the remarkable figures of four for 18 in 10
overs as Afghanistan were dismissed for 186.
Along the way he became the 12th player, and
only the fifth spinner, to take 300 ODI wickets. On a
run-laden McLean Park pitch in Napier, New
Zealand needed only 36.1 overs to overhaul
Afghanistanís total. New Zealand, who had already
qualified for the quarter-finals, have yet to be taken
the distance in the field and the 47.4 overs bowled
to Afghanistan is the most they have sent down in
any match in the tournament.
But the result was never in doubt when Brendon
McCullum, with his trademark aggressive approach,
blazed away at the top of the New Zealand innings
slamming 42 off 19 deliveries to get the chase off to
a rollicking start. When he was bowled by
Mohammad Nabi, trying to belt his opposing captain out of the ground, New Zealand were already a
quarter of the way to their target after fewer than
six overs. The pace slowed from nine to 5.19 runs an
over after McCullumís dismissal as New Zealand
coasted to victory with their middle-to-lower order
not getting the lengthy time at the crease they
wanted before the knockout phase.
Kane Williamson, in his understated manner,
contributed 33, Martin Guptill reached 57, his highest score of the campaign, and Grant Elliott made
19. Guptill and Elliott were both needlessly run out
when time and runs were not an issue, leaving Ross
Taylor (24 not out) and Corey Anderson (seven not
out) to see New Zealand home.
It was never going to be easy for Afghanistan
who were already jet-lagged having crossed the
Tasman Sea twice in the week to meet their gruelling World Cup schedule ahead of this game.
They won the toss, elected to bat, and then
had few answers to the menacing attack that
greeted them. Trent Boult dismissed Javed
SCOREBOARD
NAPIER, New Zealand: Completed scoreboard in the World Cup Pool A match between New
Zealand and Afghanistan at McLean Park in Napier yesterday:
Bowling: Southee 10-0-43-0; Boult 10-2-34-3
Afghanistan
(2w); Vettori 10-4-18-4; Milne 10-0-38-1 (4w);
Javed Ahmadi lbw b Boult
1
Anderson 6.4-0-38-2 (3w); Elliott 1-0-10-0;
Usman Ghani b Vettori
0
Nawroz Mangal b Vettori
27
New Zealand
Asghar Stanikzai c Guptill b Boult
9
M. Guptill run out (Shenwari)
57
Shenwari c Taylor b Anderson
54
B. McCullum b Nabi
42
Mohammad Nabi c Taylor b Vettori
6
K. Williamson c Shenwari b Shapoor
33
Afsar Zazai lbw b Vettori
0
R.
Taylor
not
out
24
Najibullah Zadran c Vettori b Milne
56
G. Elliott run out (Nabi)
19
Dawlat Zadran c Ronchi b Boult
1
C. Anderson not out
7
Hamid Hassan c Milne b Anderson
16
Extras (lb2, w4)
6
Shapoor Zadran not out
2
Total (4 wkts, 36.1 overs)
188
Extras (lb5, w9)
14
Did not bat: L Ronchi, D Vettori, A Milne, T
Total (all out, 47.4 overs)
186
Southee, T Boult
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Javed Ahmadi), 2-6 Fall of wickets: 1-53 (McCullum), 2-111
(Usman Ghani), 3-24 (Asghar Stanikzai), 4-49 (Williamson), 3-143 (Guptill), 4-175 (Guptill)
(Nawroz Mangal), 5-59 (Mohammad Nabi), 6- Bowling: Dawlat 9-0-51-0 (3w); Shapoor 10-259 (Afsar Zazai), 7-145 (Najibullah Zadran), 8- 45-1; Hamid 7-1-36-0; Nabi 7.1-0-39-1 (1w);
151 (Dawlat Zadran), 9-166 (Shenwari), 10-186 Shenwari 3-0-15-0.
(Hassan)
Result: New Zealand won by six wickets.
Ahmadi in the second over, Vettori removed
Usman Ghani at the start of the third and by the
time the 20th over was completed they were 59
for six. Nawroz Mangal was bowled for 27 to
become Vettoriís milestone dismissal and four
overs later Mohammad Nabi and Afsar Zazai went
in successive balls to give the spinner have four
wickets for five runs. Najibullah Zadran avoided
the hat-trick as he joined Samiullah Shenwari to
rescue the innings with an Afghanistan record seventh-wicket partnership of 86.
The 22-year-old Najibullah reached 56, the second-highest score of his fledgling 15-match career,
before he was caught on the boundary by man-of-
the-moment Vettori at third man.
Afghanistanís leading batsmen at the World
Cup, Shenwari added 54 and was on track to get his
side past 200 until he played a rash shot and was
caught by Taylor off Anderson.
For New Zealand, Trent Boult joined Vettori in
the impressive bowling stakes with three for 34 off
his 10 overs. Although competition debutants
Afghanistan were heavily outclassed they can take
credit in knowing they pushed the tournament cohosts closest to the 50-over limit.
Their innings lasted nine balls longer than Sri
Lanka and more than 70 deliveries longer than
Scotland, England and Australia. — AFP
England in make-or-break clash
ADELAIDE: England face a potential banana skin
when Eoin Morgan’s beleaguered side play
Bangladesh in a make-or-break World Cup clash in
Adelaide today.
England lost to Bangladesh by two wickets in
the last World Cup in 2011 — a match in which
Morgan made 63 — but still survived the shock
defeat to qualify for the quarter-finals.
There will, however, be no second chance this
time as England, with one win in four matches,
must beat both Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval
and Afghanistan in Sydney on March 13 to stay in
contention for the last eight.
Even that may not be enough if Bangladesh,
who have five points to England’s two, upset cohosts New Zealand in Hamilton on March 13 to
squeak through to the quarter-finals from Pool A.
Morgan will be expected to lead from the front
but the gifted left-hander had scored just two halfcenturies in 16 World Cup matches so far, nine of
them playing for Ireland in 2007.
England have been defeated by Bangladesh just
twice in 15 one-day internationals, but a woeful
World Cup record over the last 20 years will have
even their most optimistic supporters worried.
England lost every game against a Test-playing
nation in 1996, were dumped out in the first round
at home in 1999 and again in 2003, and failed to
make the semi-finals in the last two editions in
2007 and 2011.
ANDERSON ANGUISH
England’s lone win this time has been against
minnows Scotland, but their most embarrassing
moment came last Sunday when Sri Lanka chased
down what seemed a reasonably challenging target of 310 with nine wickets and 16 deliveries to
spare. In 2011, England had all but wrapped up the
match in Chittagong when Bangladesh’s ninthwicket pair of Mohammad Mahmudullah and
Shafiul Islam put on 58 off 56 balls to seal victory
with six balls remaining.
There has been a hundred each in the current
tournament from Moeen Ali against Scotland and
Joe Root in a losing cause against Sri Lanka, but just
two other England batsmen have scored half-centuries. Morgan himself has managed just 90 runs at
an average of 22.50, but his biggest worry will be
the ineffectiveness of his two pace spearheads
James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Anderson’s two wickets so far have come at an
unusually high average of 91, while Broad averages
92 for his two wickets. “We certainly are not taking
a win for granted,” said Morgan of Monday’s game.
“Bangladesh have come a long way in the last 10
years. “If we play well, I have every confidence we
can win this game. The illusion of making it a bigger game than it is, is probably the wrong thing to
do.” Bangladesh, meanwhile, have ensured that
sharing points with co-hosts Australia in the rainedoff match in Brisbane has not been wasted.
Having beaten Afghanistan before losing to Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh came up with what skipper
Mashrafe Mortaza described as their “best” run
chase when they overhauled Scotland’s 318 for
eight with 11 balls to spare for the lost of just four
wickets. It was the second-best winning chase in
World Cup history following Ireland’s 329 to defeat
England in a Bangalore thriller four years ago.
Bangladesh will be without batsman Anamul
Haque, who was ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to a dislocated shoulder and has been
replaced by the experienced Imrul Kayes.
Mortaza said the Tigers, who have made it past
the first round just once in the World Cup, are
keyed up for today’s day/night game.
“That win over Scotland has given us a lot of
confidence,” he said. “The whole team is very excited about this England game.” — AFP
ADELAIDE: Bangladesh cricket team players warm up during a training session ahead of their
2015 Cricket World Cup Pool A match against England. — AFP
76ers and
Cavaliers roll
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
16
Maxwell’s
century thwarts
Sangakkara’s
latest ton
18
Double victory for Park in Singapore
Page 16
SPAIN: Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (right) scores a goal during the Spanish League football match against Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium. — AFP
Messi hits 32nd hat-trick for Barca
MADRID: Barcelona moved to the top of La
Liga for the first time since early November
as Lionel Messi struck his 32nd hat-trick for
the club in a 6-1 thrashing of 10-man Rayo
Vallecano yesterday.
Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at Athletic
Bilbao on Saturday handed Barca the
chance to overtake the European champions and Luis Suarez wasted no time in taking advantage as he slotted home his sixth
goal in as many games.
Gerard Pique doubled the hosts’ advantage just after half-time before Messi added
a third from the penalty spot at the second
attempt thanks to a reprieve from the referee after his initial effort was saved by
Cristian Alvarez and Tito had been sent-off
for a second bookable offence.
There was no controversy over the
Argentine’s final two goals, though, as he
moved level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 30
league goals for the season.
Both sides ended with 10 men when
Dani Alves was shown a straight red card for
bringing down Alberto Bueno inside the
area and Bueno converted from the spot.
However, Barca had the final word when
Suarez slammed home his second of the
afternoon from Messi’s through ball. “The
objective is to be the leader when the season ends,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique. “I
have always said the big teams will lose
throughout the course of the season and it
will continue to happen, therefore we have
to be very careful.”
Suarez has found his scoring touch in
recent weeks after a slow start to life at the
Camp Nou and was razor sharp in front of
goal just six minutes in as he rolled his
defender before flicking the ball past
Alvarez with the outside of his right foot.
IMPOSSIBLE TASK
Rayo competed well during the first 45
minutes, but were nearly undone by a
moment of genius when Messi lobbed
Suarez’s lofted pass over the onrushing
Alvarez only to see the ball float into the
side-netting. Enrique’s men didn’t have to
wait long to make the game safe after the
break, though, as Jordi Alba’s header from
Xavi’s corner came back off the post and
Pique was on hand to force the ball over the
line. Rayo’s task became impossible seven
minutes later when Suarez was pulled down
by Tito inside the area and the defender was
shown a second yellow card.
Messi’s yips from the penalty spot continued as, after missing five of his last 10 for
club and country, Alvarez comfortably
saved his first effort.
However, referee Jesus Gil Manzano
ruled there had been encroachment by
Rayo players and gave Messi a second
opportunity which he didn’t pass up.
The four-time World Player of the Year
was in the right place to slot home his second moments later after Alvarez had made
Blackburn put Gerrard’s
Wembley send-off on ice
Misfiring Roma
draw again
MILAN: Misfiring Roma handed
leaders Juventus the chance to
stretch their Serie A lead to 11
points after being held to their
eighth draw in nine consecutive
games yesterday.
Roma travelled to Chievo hoping to end their sorry run of
results that has put champions
Juventus, who host Sassuolo on
Monday, within sight of a likely
fourth consecutive scudetto.
But despite creating a host of
chances at the Bentegodi stadium, Rudi Garcia’s men were
repelled at every turn as Chievo,
who are only six points clear of
the drop zone, held on for a
scoreless draw and a share of the
points.
The result left Roma in second
place, eighth points adrift of Juve
with Napoli only five points adrift
ahead of their home clash against
Inter Milan later in the day.
On an afternoon of dour draws
in Italy ’s top flight-Cesena v
Palermo and Parma v Atalanta
finished scoreless while Empoli
were held at home by GenoaUdinese stuck out from the crowd
thanks to a precious 3-2 home
win over Torino.
Torino travelled to the Friuli
stadium looking to benefit from
the momentum that in recent
weeks has seen the on-form
‘Granata’ qualify for the last 16 of
the Europa League.
Giampiero Ventura’s men
opened the scoring on the quarter hour thanks to former Juve
striker Fabio Quagliarella but the
hosts hit back three times in succession to leave the visitors with a
mountain to climb. Udinese veteran Antonio Di Natale levelled
Quagliarella’s strike only two minutes later and the hosts took the
lead before the half-hour when
Cristian Molinaro turned into his
own net from a corner.
Udinese’s players mobbed
Molla Wague four minutes after
the restart when the Malian
defender took their lead to 3-1
with a bullet header from Di
Natale’s corner to claim his maiden goal in Serie A.
Torino earned a lifeline when
second-half substitute Marco
Benassi met a Udinese clearance
from a corner with a drive which
took a deflection before beating
Orestis Karnezis in the Udinese
net on 69 minutes. The goal was
only validated minutes later after
the referee consulted with his
fourth official following claims
from Udinese’s players the goal
a fine save to deny Suarez.
And Messi completed a 12-minute hattrick with a lovely feint to leave Alvarez on
the floor before rolling the ball into an empty net. The action continued in the final
quarter as Manzano levelled up the numbers by sending off Alves for a foul on
Bueno inside the box nine minutes from
time. The former Real Madrid midfielder
picked himself up to convert the penalty
and extend his advantage as the top-scoring Spaniard in the league.
However, it was Suarez who rounded off
the scoring in style in stoppage time when
he latched on to Messi’s neat pass to round
Alvarez and turn the ball home from a narrow angle. —AFP
ITALY: Roma’s Gervinho (center) is challenged by Chievo Verona’s
Ezequiel Schelotto (right) and teammate Bostjan Cesar during a
Serie A soccer match. — AP
was offside, but it was not
enough to see Torino avoid conceding their first defeat since a 21 reverse to Juventus on
November 30.
Elsewhere, visitors Genoa got
off the mark at Empoli thanks to
on-loan AC Milan striker M’Baye
Niang’s well-taken individual
effort which beat Luigi Sepe at
the ‘keeper’s far post.
But Empoli levelled in bizarre
style in the 66th minute when a
corner curled in from the right
caught Genoa ‘keeper Mattia
Perin unawares on his goalline,
with an alert Federico Barba guiding the rebound from Perin’s fumble over the line with his knee.
Napoli are unbeaten at home
since a 3-1 reverse to Juventus on
January 11 but Rafael Benitez’s
men have suffered two defeats,
away to both Palermo and Torino,
in their past three games. A win
at the San Paolo for Inter, who sit
ninth at 23 points behind
Juventus, would see Roberto
Mancini’s men move to within
sight of the league’s three
Champions League qualifying
places. — AFP
LIVERPOOL: Steven Gerrard’s hopes of a
Wembley send-off were put on ice yesterday after Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw
by Blackburn Rovers in their FA Cup quarter-final.
Gerrard will turn 35 on the day of the
final, but he is not yet guaranteed even a
semi-final appearance at the national stadium after second-tier Blackburn belied
expectations they would be swept aside by
Brendan Rodgers’s in-form Liverpool to
take the game to a replay.
Liverpool are on a run of 12 unbeaten
games in the league, but with Gerrard
absent due to injury and Martin Skrtel
forced off after a heavy early fall, they were
held at bay as Blackburn celebrated 20
years since winning the league at Anfield
with a dogged display.
“Our objective this week was to get four
points out of six in the league and get into
next round of the FA Cup,” said Rodgers.
“We got six points out of six and although
we are not through to the next round, we
are still in the draw.”
With Rudy Gestede a thorn in the hosts’
side, Liverpool failed to impose themselves
in the first half and while they took control
after half-time, they could find no way past
Blackburn goalkeeper Simon Eastwood.
And having already eliminated Stoke City
and Swansea City on home turf in this season’s competition, Gary Bowyer’s Blackburn
will approach the replay at Ewood Park
with understandable optimism. “We carried
out the game plan to a tee and Rudy
Gestede played really well,” said Bowyer,
whose side are currently 11th in the
Championship.
“He was immense and had a few great
opportunities. Unfortunately we just couldn’t convert one.” Despite having returned to
training after missing six games with a
hamstring injury, Gerrard-who leaves for
the Los Angeles Galaxy at the season’s endwas not named in the Liverpool squad,
while the inclusion of Glen Johnson in the
back three saw Emre Can move into midfield. Liverpool were forced to make further
adjustments after Skrtel had to be
stretchered off following a collision with
Gestede that left him needing eight minutes of treatment, with Kolo Toure coming
on.
Rodgers revealed afterwards that Skrtel
was “fine”, but had been taken to hospital
for a check-up. Blackburn, who made seven
changes, were missing Josh King, scorer of
a hat-trick against Stoke in the fifth round,
but in the bruising Gestede they had a
capable replacement.
The Benin striker headed wide after
beating Simon Mignolet to an early freekick and his presence regularly sowed
unease in a hesitant Liverpool defence.
Johnson was obliged to put a cross from
Craig Conway behind his own goal and the
same Blackburn player then shot narrowly
wide after Gestede had dummied Ben
Marshall’s pass.
Both teams might have had penalties on
a different day, Liverpool when Matthew
Kilgallon stepped across Adam Lallana’s run
in the box and Blackburn when Raheem
Sterling allowed a high ball to brush his
right hand. —AFP
Business
KAMCO announces KD 1.96m
net profit for 2014
Page 22
Saudi move to open up bourse
may not affect Gulf markets
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
Page 23
Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Co introduces new Infiniti Q50 to
Kuwait bourse on
threshold of
Kuwait transformation: Minister
Page 26
Page 25
Pakistan moves to widen tax net
Big fish yet to be caught • Govt hopes to add $140m to coffers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has begun chasing
wealthy tax-dodgers who enjoy lives of
extravagance and luxury, but revenue officials
face huge challenges in trying to force the
very richest -and most influential- to pay up.
Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio of 9.5 percent is
among the lowest in the world and the government is under pressure from foreign
donors and lenders, including the
International Monetar y Fund (IMF), to
increase collection to boost the struggling
economy.
Revenue authorities say they have identified about a quarter of a million new taxpayers who they project will add around 14 billion rupees ($140 million) to government coffers.
Broadening the tax base and improving
the economy after years of drift and sluggish
growth under the last government was a key
pledge in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s 2013
election campaign, when he was swept to
power for a third time.
Currently less than one percent of
Pakistanis pay income tax and the government collected just $8 billion in total income
tax in the 2013-14 fiscal year-barely enough
to cover just the country’s defence expenditure of $7 billion. The finance ministry is aiming to boost the tax-to-GDP ratio to 15 percent in the current fiscal year ending June 30.
As part of those efforts, the Federal Bureau
of Revenue (FBR) is compiling lifestyle and
vehicle data to try to trace unregistered taxpayers, including wealthy landlords and businessmen zipping between their luxury homes
in imported Mercedes.
“We are collecting information from the
vehicle registration authority, car manufacturers, utility companies, telecom companies
and property registration offices and tracing
people who are not paying any tax,” FBR
spokesman Shahid Hussain said.
Taxpayer profiles
The data is used to generate profiles of
potential taxpayers, after which demands are
issued for them to pay income tax. “FBR has
already issued notices to 261,250 potential
tax payers,” Hussain told AFP, adding that that
new taxpayers have paid 570 million rupees
since the crackdown started.
It is not just dodgy businessmen who have
been caught-several lawmakers have been
found paying either no tax or very little and
not filing their mandatory annual tax statements. The FBR has taken punitive measures
against some “chronic defaulters”, freezing
nearly 300 bank accounts, seizing more than
100 vehicles, putting 78 properties up for sale
and issuing arrest warrants in 40 cases.
“Employing information technology, the
FBR is creating a central database which
would contain information about all taxpayers and nobody will be left undetected,”
Hussain said. A new FBR department tasked
with broadening the task net started working
in July 2013 and within one year it started
showing results, he added.
But Pakistan is a country where wealth and
political influence go hand in hand. For generations, landowners and industrialists have given patronage to political parties and scant
attention has been paid to their assets by the
taxman.
Changing this privileged arrangement is a
tricky proposition. Umar Cheema, an investigative journalist for Pakistani daily The News
who has done several major exposes on taxdodgers, says the FBR’s commitment is
encouraging, but he does not expect them to
net any big fish.
‘War on tax cheats’
“FBR is after those who can’t influence
them,” Cheema told AFP, citing several wellknown tycoons considered among Pakistan’s
richest whose names were missing from a list
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani residents shopping at a Pakistan’s biggest mall in Islamabad. Pakistan has begun chasing wealthy tax-dodgers
who enjoy lives of extravagance and luxury, but revenue officials face huge challenges in trying to force the very richest - and most influential — to pay up.— AFP
of the country’s top 100 taxpayers. “It can be
done only by waging a war against tax
cheaters without discrimination of good and
bad cheaters,” Cheema said.
Pakistan’s central bank said in a recent
report that tax revenue growth was not keeping up with budget targets. The tax take grew
11.7 percent in the first quarter of the current
fiscal year, against an annual target of 26.9 percent-but this was only half the growth of the
same period during the previous fiscal year,
Greek referendum possible
if debt plan rejected: FM
ROME: Greece could call a referendum or on having early elections should its euro-zone partners reject its debt
and growth plans, Greek Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis said in a newspaper interview yesterday. The
new Greek government, led by Alexis Tsipras, won an
election in January promising to renegotiate a bailout
agreed with the International Monetary Fund and its
European Union partners that requires strict budget discipline and sweeping economic reforms.
The government reached a temporarily deal with its
lenders last month and Athens has until the end of April
to specify the reforms it will make in exchange for further
aid. Euro-zone finance ministers are meeting today in
Brussels to discuss a letter of pledged reforms sent by
Athens last week.
Should Brussels ultimately reject Greece’s proposals,
Varoufakis told Italian daily Corriere della Sera: “There
could be problems. But, as my prime minister has said,
we are not yet glued to our chairs. We can return to elections, call a referendum.”
He did not say what the referendum would be on, but
there has previously been speculation that an impasse
might force the Greek government to hold a public vote
on whether to continue to accept EU strictures, a move
that could raise questions about Greece’s place in the
euro-zone.
In the interview, Varoufakis said that the response so
far by euro-zone partners to his proposals to replace its
current debt with bonds linked to nominal growth is
“silence.”
“I’d like for Europe to understand that this would be a
way of paying back more money, not less,” Varoufakis
said of the growth-linked bonds. With the government’s
popularity level above 40 percent, Varoufakis said “people understand” that the government is fighting the
“establishment that said it was saving Greece while it put
everything on the backs of the poor”.
In 2011, Greece nearly tipped the entire euro zone
into a debt crisis until it accepted the bailout. Now the
concern is that the failure of Greece to reach a new deal
with lenders will throw the euro region back into crisis.
There has been growing uncertainty over Greece’s cash
position. It faces a decline in tax revenues, while aid from
EU/IMF lenders remains on hold until Athens completes
promised reforms.
In the same interview, Varoufakis said that the state
had the money “to pay pensions and public administration salaries” and he said Greece does not need a new,
third loan to pay its bills.
He also criticized the European Central Bank for being
a “disciplinary” in not letting it issue short-term debt, and
said the central bank should buy Greek debt as part of its
bond-buying program right away and not this summer,
as it has said it would. — Reuters
Saudi slips despite Mobily; Egypt up
MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s bourse edged down in early
trade yesterday after Brent oil fell below $60 per barrel, although telecommunications firm Mobily surged
again. Egypt rose after strong economic data.
Brent crude slid 1.2 percent to $59.73 a barrel on
Friday and posted its biggest weekly loss since
January, as a resurgent dollar and fear of a US rate
hike diverted attention from the shrinking number of
rigs drilling for oil in the United States. The main Saudi
index inched down 0.1 percent as stocks in all major
sectors were mixed. Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic
Industries, whose product prices are in many cases
linked to the oil price, fell 0.5 percent.
Makkah Construction and Development fell 0.6
percent after posting its quarterly earnings. The firm’s
net profit rose 19.4 percent but investors who had bid
up the stock 24.6 percent earlier this year may have
hoped for more. Qassim Cement Co dropped 3.7 percent as its shares no longer carried the 2014 dividend
of 6.00 riyals.
Meanwhile Mobily extended its gains, having
surged its 10 percent limit on Thursday after a weeklong suspension. The stock rose 7.5 percent to 41.60
riyals, the highest level since it began plunging in late
January in response to company’s announcement of a
shock fourth-quarter loss.
The appointment of Suliman bin Abdulrahman alGwaiz as Mobily’s new chairman appears to have reassured investors. Gwaiz is also governor of a huge
state-owned fund, the General Organization for Social
Insurance. Egypt’s market edged up 0.7 percent in a
broad rally after the government said on Saturday
that the country’s economy had grown 4.3 percent in
the quarter ended in December.
Also, the government is continuing to announce
new projects that it plans to present at its international investment summit on March 13-15. On Saturday,
the transport ministry said it would present six projects worth $2.5 billion, according to the Daily News
Egypt newspaper.
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
The index rose 0.7 percent to 9,579 points.
DUBAI
The index edged down 0.2 percent to 3,741 points.
ABU DHABI
The index edged up 0.1 percent to 4,594 points.
QATAR
The index inched up 0.04 percent to 12,144 points.
EGYPT
The index climbed 0.7 percent to 9,638 points.
KUWAIT
The index slipped 0.4 percent to 6,514 points.
OMAN
The index was flat at 6,526 points.
BAHRAIN
The index was flat at 1,467 points. - Reuters
according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The central bank has urged the government to simplify tax procedures and do more
to increase the documentation of the economy. A vast amount of business in Pakistan is
done off the books, making transactions hard
to trace and levy dues on. “Although FBR has
taken a number of measures to increase tax
collection,
these focused more on deductions at
source, and/or increasing the tax rates,” a
recent SBP report said, warning such measures
had enjoyed “limited success” in the past.
The IMF, though, has said the government’s
reform program-tied to a $6.6 billion loan from
the Washington-based lender-was on track,
and expects growth to accelerate to 4.3 percent in the 2014-15 fiscal year from 4.1 percent
previously. But even with growth quickening
and officials insisting they are making inroads,
challenges to the government’s efforts to
gather taxes remain considerable. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
BUSINESS
Dimah weekly report
Equities are
still cheap
By Hayder Tawfik
H
ow much cheap or expensive they are,
depends on how you want to value them
and what to compare them with. Cash has
been yielding near zero for a while and will stay
around the zero level for much longer as long as
inflation keeps falling. With cash yielding zero and
some developed economies bond yields negative,
good quality equities may look much more promising than any other alternatives investments. We
have to keep in mind that equity valuation cheapness does not mean they cannot fall a lot when
things turn nasty. The good question we should ask
is how cheap equities are relative to their historical
valuation.
One approach that has been used more often is
the discount rate. This measure is created by using
historical statistics generated from the market.
Theoretically speaking any equity value should be
equal to the sum of the future cash flows, discounted by the appropriate rate, in this case we should
use what we is called Discounted Cash Flow. The difficulty here is in deciding on the right discount rate
to be used. I think the best approach is to take the
forecasts of future cash flows, compares them with
the current share price, and work out the implied
discount rate. A high discount rate implies investor
caution on the valuation and a lower rate means
that equities are still cheap and investors are optimistic going forward.
At present most equities in the developed
economies are trading on the expensive side of the
theory but it does not mean that they cannot go
higher in the coming months. However, if we ignore
the historical statistics on the discount rates and
assume that interest rates stay low for a while then
they may not be that expensive. Discount rates do
not move that much on yearly basis. I think investors
should be more picky on it comes to stock selection
than ever before. The very low rates and falling inflation have huge impact on the profitability of a big
number of companies. May be we have not seen the
worst yet.
The present equity valuation should give
investors some foods for thought. The most likely
chance is that the future return on equity will be
lower than average when the return is above average. Over the past few years the returns have been
high and above the historical averages so going forward, investors should expect low returns if not zero
returns in some years.
Some investors have been alarmed by the high
Price Earnings Ratio multiples valuation in some
markets. But, I recommend that investors use a more
accurate and cyclically adjusted Price Earnings Ratio.
This will smooth out the very lows and the very
highs and give a much better picture for the valuation. Again, at present if investors use this method,
they will find that equities are still cheap. Still measuring valuations against historical statistics may not
be 100 percent correct as a lot of things have
changed i.e. zero interest rates, change in accounting methods etc. but at the end of the day equity
valuations will always rotate around their historical
averages.
If an investor wants to be on the safe side and 100
percent sure about his investment then he should
use the intrinsic value calculation or simply the business replacement costs against cash, plus future
cash generation. I am a strong believer in that the
level of interest rates have big have big implication
on equity valuations. Using present low rates to
reduce the discount rates will show cheap valuation
but rates are low because of the actions of central
banks that are worried about growth and falling
inflation. However, central banks can be wrong
about their forecasts and if this is the case then equity valuation will extend and the rally will go on.
KAMCO announces KD 1.96m net profit for 2014
Board recommends 5% dividend
l
AUM growth at 23%
Despite market drops throughout the
KUWAIT: KAMCO Investment Company (KAMfourth quarter, KAMCO’s total AUM increased
CO) has announced a net profit of KD 1.96 milto KD 3.5 billion ($12.2billion) in 2014, comlion, or 8.2fils per share, for the year ended
pared to KD 2.9 billion ($10.1 billion) in 2013,
December 31, 2014. The company’s Board of
registering an impressive growth rate of23perDirectors is recommending a cash dividend of
cent.
5 percent (or 5 fils per share), subject to the
Commenting on the results, Faisal M
approval of regulatory authorities and the
Sarkhou, CEO of KAMCO, said, “Although the
company’s general assembly.
end of 2014 was undermined by the sudden
KAMCO achieved KD 5.1millionin fee
and severe fall in oil prices which affected the
income in 2014 compared to KD 5.3 million in
investment sector, where security markets
2013.The company reduced its debts by 17perKAMCO CEO
tumbled in the region, KAMCO was able to
cent to KD 24 million in 2014 compared to KD
29 million in 2013.
Faisal M Sarkhou successfully close several IB deals and offering
innovative products and services for its clients”.
Core Operational Profits continued to grow
KAMCO Investment Company is a premier investment
in 2014 compared to 2013. Overall profitability levels (KD
3 million in 2013) was affected in 2014 due to the signifi- company based in Kuwait that is regulated by the Capital
cant fall in oil prices during the fourth quarter of the Markets Authority with one of the largest AUMs in the
financial year, affecting investor sentiment and equity region. Established in 1998 and listed on the Kuwait Stock
Exchange (KSE) in 2003, KAMCO is a subsidiary of United
markets across the MENA region.
Gulf Bank (UGB) and the asset management and investment banking arm of Kuwait Projects Holding Company
(KIPCO). It has become a leading regional company within
its sector offering innovative products and services for its
clients, holding over $12 billion of client AUM and over 82
of successfully completed investment banking transactions worth over $12 billion as of 31 December 2014.
After many years of conducting business in Kuwait’s
dynamic investment industry, KAMCO has successfully
established a robust reputation for solidity, characterized
by its prudent, conservative investment philosophy and
spirit of transparency which has consistently commanded
the goodwill of a wide patron-base. The company will further aggressively build upon its core competencies to
offer MENA-wide investment management consultancy
and services, backed by its proven track-record in stringent risk mitigation, investment product innovation, and
a cautious investment approach towards local, regional
and international capital markets.
Egypt targets FDI
worth $60bn
over four years
CAIRO: Egypt wants to attract foreign direct investments
worth $60 billion and to get an average growth rate of 7
percent over the next four years, the country’s planning
minister said.
Ashraf Al-Arabi also said Egypt was targeting lowering
unemployment-now at about 13 percent-to below 10 percent over the coming four years. Egypt is gearing up for a
much-heralded investment conference in Sharm El-Sheikh
later this week. It hopes to attract billions of dollars in
investments to lift the economy, which has been battered
by four years of turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled then-president Hosni Mubarak. —Reuters
News
i n
b r i e f
Egyptian pound steady
on official market
A prosperity decoration is pasted on a restaurant window near a housing construction site in Baoding
in north China’s Hebei province. China announced a lower economic growth target for this year and
promised to open more industries to foreign investors as it tries to make its slowing, state-dominated
economy more productive. —AP
Foreign banks tighten lending
for China’s state-backed firms
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: Some banks are
adopting stricter lending criteria for China’s
state-owned enterprises (SOEs), demanding
collateral from some companies they used to
deem as safe as government debt, as Beijing
tries to reform its bloated firms and the economy slows. Singapore’s DBS Group, which
recently suffered a loss on a bad loan to an
SOE-related firm it had assessed as risk-free,
plans to launch a ‘decision grid’ to assess the
creditworthiness of SOEs, according to draft
internal risk guidelines reviewed by Reuters.
A banker at Taiwan’s Chang Hwa Commercial
Bank said that from the beginning of this year
his bank would only lend to state-owned
Chinese companies that provide collateral, in
recognition that SOEs were no longer risk
free. Such changes in policy suggest some
foreign banks are preparing for a rise in
defaults in the world’s second-largest economy, which is growing at its slowest pace in a
quarter of a century and where the government is trying to make the state sector more
efficient. DBS will now lend more conservatively to SOEs seen as receiving less government support, as China plans to prioritize
SOEs in strategic sectors.
The January-dated DBS document said:
“Not all SOEs receive the same degree of government support. It is our further belief that
the differentiation of such support will widen
in the future as the government continues to
pursue market economy.” DBS will now divide
SOEs into tiers according to their likely level
of government support, with subsidiaries
considered more risky than top-level holding
companies. Group companies that are not
consolidated into the parent SOE’s financial
statements will be evaluated as an ordinary
borrower, the decision grid shows.
DBS effectively acknowledges that
lenders can no longer take for granted implicit support from above. “Compared to ordinary
corporates, implicit support obtained from
the parents of SOEs are subject to higher risks
because of the risk of policy and people
changes,” the document said.
A DBS spokeswoman declined to comment publicly on the specifics of the policy
change. “It is still business as usual for us in
China. With slower regional economic
growth, we continue to be disciplined and
watchful of risks in all the markets we operate
in,” she said in an emailed statement. A
spokeswoman for Chang Hwa Commercial
Bank did not return calls seeking comment.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The changes at DBS and Chang Hwa are
evidence of a broader trend to tighten lending in China among foreign banks, and the
practice of demanding collateral is likely to
increase so they can recover some value
when loans go bad.
Global bank Standard Chartered Plc said
on March 4 in its annual results statement it
had increased the level of collateral it holds
by 4 percent, in response to rising bad loans
in China, India and the commodities sector.
“The requirement for more collateral is essential,” said Jiahe Chen, chief strategist at Cinda
Securities. “As the economy falters and SOEs
become more market-orientated, there will
be more defaults.”
“Perhaps for Chinese banks the government still have some arrangements, but for
foreign banks the impact of the market is
more severe,” he added.
About 70 percent of loans made in the
fourth quarter of last year in China were collateralised, with the borrower typically pledging land or manufacturing plants, according
to a survey of 2006 industrial firms published
by Professor Jie Gan of the Cheung Kong
School of Business. —Reuters
CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank kept the pound steady at
7.53 pounds to the dollar at a foreign exchange auction
yesterday, while the pound also remained stable on the
black market. The central bank said it offered $40 million yesterday and sold $38.4 million at a cut-off price of
7.5301 pounds per dollar CBEO, unchanged from the
last auction on Thursday. The central bank has now kept
the official exchange rate steady for more than a month
after letting the pound weaken in an effort to wipe out
black market trading. The pound was broadly steady on
the parallel market on Thursday. One trader said the
dollar was selling for 7.67 pounds, just slightly weaker
than Thursday’s rate of 7.66. Analysts say the central
bank may have decided to stabilise the currency to stop
it from depreciating too much and because it hopes
other recent measures will have an impact. The rates at
which banks are allowed to trade dollars are determined by the results of central bank sales, giving the
bank effective control over official exchange rates. As
well as letting the pound depreciate, the central bank
gave banks permission late last month to widen the
band around the official rate at which they can trade
dollars and imposed a limit on dollar deposits in banks.
Oman’s Bank Sohar cuts
proposed cash dividend
DUBAI: Bank Sohar, the Omani lender in talks on a possible
merger with larger rival Bank Dhofar, said yesterday it had
revised its proposed dividend for 2014 on the advice of the
central bank. Sohar said in a bourse statement that it had
revised its proposed cash payout to 4 percent from 6 percent, while increasing its bonus share issue to 6 percent
from 4 percent. It did not explain why exactly the central
bank had advised it to preserve cash. Separately, non-banking financial firm Taageer Finance Company said on Sunday
it had been advised to cut its dividend to 10 percent from
15 percent by the central bank, also without providing any
other details. There was no statement on the central bank’s
website on the matter, nor was there any indication that
this was a sector-wide policy by the regulator.
EXCHANGE RATES
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.
Japanese Yen
Indian Rupees
Pakistani Rupees
Srilankan Rupees
Nepali Rupees
Singapore Dollar
Hongkong Dollar
Bangladesh Taka
Philippine Peso
Thai Baht
Irani Riyal transfer
Irani Riyal cash
Saudi Riyal
Qatari Riyal
Omani Riyal
Bahraini Dinar
UAE Dirham
ASIAN COUNTRIES
2.487
4.817
2.915
2.226
3.010
219.740
38.320
3.818
6.755
9.195
61.555
121.740
GCC COUNTRIES
79.306
81.682
772.550
789.690
80.970
ARAB COUNTRIES
Egyptian Pound - Cash
41.250
Egyptian Pound - Transfer
38.877
Yemen Riyal/for 1000
1.388
Tunisian Dinar
154.190
Jordanian Dinar
419.240
Lebanese Lira/for 1000
1.995
Syrian Lira
2.119
Morocco Dirham
31.617
EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES
US Dollar Transfer
297.200
Euro
335.110
Sterling Pound
461.550
Canadian dollar
239.390
Turkish lira
118.380
Swiss Franc
315.160
Australian Dollar
235.090
US Dollar Buying
296.000
20 gram
10 gram
5 gram
GOLD
238.100
121.740
61.560
UAE Exchange Centre WLL
COUNTRY
Australian Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Swiss Franc
Euro
US Dollar
Sterling Pound
Japanese Yen
Bangladesh Taka
Indian Rupee
Sri Lankan Rupee
Nepali Rupee
Pakistani Rupee
UAE Dirhams
Bahraini Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Jordanian Dinar
Omani Riyal
Qatari Riyal
Saudi Riyal
SELL DRAFT
229.42
243.16
313.34
332.63
298.15
457.15
2.52
3.827
4.785
2.230
3.010
2.926
81.04
791.34
38.96
423.63
773.22
82.10
79.42
SELL CASH
Syrian Pound
Nepalese Rupees
Malaysian Ringgit
Chinese Yuan Renminbi
Thai Bhat
Turkish Lira
Bahrain Exchange Company
COUNTRY
Belgian Franc
British Pound
Czech Korune
Danish Krone
Euro
Norwegian Krone
Romanian Leu
Slovakia
Swedish Krona
Swiss Franc
Turkish Lira
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
Rate for Transfer
US Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Sterling Pound
Euro
Swiss Frank
Bahrain Dinar
UAE Dirhams
Qatari Riyals
Saudi Riyals
Jordanian Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Sri Lankan Rupees
Indian Rupees
Pakistani Rupees
Bangladesh Taka
Philippines Pesso
Cyprus pound
Japanese Yen
Selling Rate
297.900
238.315
447.945
328.420
294.020
792.425
81.485
82.650
79.625
420.480
38.967
2.232
4.783
2.925
3.828
6.752
731.225
3.460
2.575
3.990
82.305
47.920
10.165
114.435
SELL CASH
Europe
0.007799
0.446032
0.004081
0.040185
0.321683
0.034692
0.085811
0.008856
0.031845
0.299320
0.116880
SELLDRAFT
0.008799
0.455032
0.016081
0.045185
0.329683
0.039892
0.085892
0.018856
0.036845
0.309520
0.123880
Australasia
0.223448
0.214853
0.234948
0.224353
Canadian Dollar
US Dollars
US Dollars Mint
America
0.232809
0.295050
0.295550
0.241309
0.299750
0.299750
Bangladesh Taka
Chinese Yuan
Hong Kong Dollar
Indian Rupee
Indonesian Rupiah
Japanese Yen
Kenyan Shilling
Korean Won
Malaysian Ringgit
Nepalese Rupee
Pakistan Rupee
Asia
0.003544
0.046405
0.036485
0.004550
0.000019
0.002403
0.003316
0.000262
0.078785
0.003022
0.002769
0.004144
0.049905
0.039235
0.004951
0.000025
0.002583
0.003316
0.000277
0.084788
0.003192
0.003049
Australian Dollar
New Zealand Dollar
Philippine Peso
Sierra Leone
Singapore Dollar
South African Rand
Sri Lankan Rupee
Taiwan
Thai Baht
0.006657
0.000066
0.215325
0.019370
0.001869
0.009405
0.008912
0.006937
0.000072
0.221325
0.027870
0.002449
0.009585
0.009462
Bahraini Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Iranian Riyal
Iraqi Dinar
Jordanian Dinar
Kuwaiti Dinar
Lebanese Pound
Moroccan Dirhams
Nigerian Naira
Omani Riyal
Qatar Riyal
Saudi Riyal
Syrian Pound
Tunisian Dinar
Turkish Lira
UAE Dirhams
Yemeni Riyal
Arab
0.787040
0.037941
0.000083
0.000189
0.417904
1.000000
0.000149
0.021346
0.001227
0.770997
0.081458
0.079137
0.001267
0.148840
0.116880
0.080466
0.001351
0.795040
0.041041
0.000084
0.000249
0.425404
1.000000
0.000249
0.045346
0.001862
0.776677
0.082671
0.079837
0.001487
0.156840
0.123880
0.081615
0.001431
Al Mulla Exchange
Currency
Currency
US Dollar
Euro
Pound Sterlng
Canadian Dollar
Indian Rupee
Egyptian Pound
Sri Lankan Rupee
Bangladesh Taka
Philippines Peso
Pakistan Rupee
Bahraini Dinar
UAE Dirham
Saudi Riyal
*Rates are subject to change
Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
298.550
329.450
454.750
241.100
4.790
39.115
2.237
3.838
6.740
2.922
794.900
81.500
79.700
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
BUSINESS
Saudi move to open up bourse may not affect Gulf markets
KCIC ANALYSIS ON ASIA
By Francisco Quintana
KUWAIT: The Saudi stock exchange, the
Tawadul, is likely to open to foreign
investors in 2015, and Gulf’s governments
and corporates outside Saudi Arabia are
concerned about the impact that it would
have on their countries. They fear that
investors would switch their capital to
Saudi companies, creating rapid outflows
that would impact negatively domestic
stocks. However, if we consider investment patterns in the region, evidence
from previous similar events, and current
cyclical factors, those fears turn up to be
largely unfounded.
Investment
First, the traditional investment
approach in the region reveals that an
abrupt reallocation of assets is unlikely.
Gulf’s institutional investors, the key players in the region, do not shift their allocation by divesting in one country and
investing in another. Their approach is
much more gradual, and, when a decision is made to increase the allocation to
a country, the change is implemented
through additional investments, without
divesting from other markets. Also, these
institutions often follow rule-based allocations: they must allocate their assets
across countries following a rule previously set which, usually, is linked to the
country’s percentage of global GDP. They
are forced to maintain a specific percentage of their portfolio in each country: this
constraint imposed on their strategies
reduces the overall volatility.
Second, similar events in the past did
not provoke a reallocation of capital in
the region. For instance, in June 2014
Qatar and Dubai were upgraded from
“frontier market” to “emerging market”, a
move that was announced early in 2013
and that often implies an increase in
inflows of foreign capital. As a result the
amount of investment coming from “foreign institutional investors” picked up
quite markedly: Dubai inflows rose from
$203 million in 2012 to $709 million in
2013, while in the case of Qatar the
change was more significant, going from
a net outflow of $925 million in 2012 to a
net inflow of $616 million in 2013.
However, these increases did not come
from divestments in other countries. An
example is Kuwait, where the inflows
coming from these investors were only
marginally lower in 2013 ($509 million)
than in 2012 ($639 million). Another
important lesson: the upgrade of these
markets did not increase the presence of
foreign investors in relative terms. In the
year following the announcement, the
percentage of Qatari stocks held by foreigners rose from 8 percent to 9.1 percent while in Dubai, it rose from 17 percent to 17.3 percent and Abu Dhabi witnessed a similar change, with foreigners’
holdings going from 10.4 percent to 11.4
percent. Given that both Qatar and Dubai
saw hefty returns during that period - 55
percent and 119 percent respectively -, it
follows that the increase in demand
came from local investors, which proba-
home.
Third, the fact that most of the additional investment in Saudi Arabia will
probably come from the Gulf, will
smoothen the impact of the regulatory
changes. Regional investors already have
bly shifted resources from other assets
into stocks from these countries. This is
consistent with IMF findings about
investment portfolios in the GCC, which
show a strong domestic bias in the
region. Gulf’s investors prefer to invest at
almost unlimited access to Saudi markets, reducing the likelihood of large reallocation of capital following the change.
GCC investors would be able to gradually
take positions without waiting for the
change in regulation to be formally
approved. Furthermore, the liberalization
is likely to be gradual, with initial restrictions for foreign investors, which will
probably adopt a cautious stance in the
initial stages making again less probable
a hasty adjustment.
Finally, cyclical factors will also reduce
the impact of the opening of the Saudi
stock exchange. The collapse in oil prices
over the last six months has cooled down
sentiment among regional investors. In
spite of the recent timid recovery, oil
price is still 50 percent below its June
2014 level. If oil prices fail to pick up, the
spending capacity of the Saudi government - the main driver of the Saudi economy and a key factor explaining performance of Tawadul’s firms - will be substantially affected. Additionally, Saudi would
have to compete for investors’ attention
with other new important markets such
as China, whose stock exchange is currently classified as emerging market by
MSCI. China is also embarked in a process
of liberalization by which foreign
investors are being gradually granted
easier access to listed firms.
If the Saudi stock market opens up in
2015, it will attract considerable attention
from global investors, but the process is
likely to be gradual and its impact in the
region will be mild. Do not expect immediate sizeable transfers of capital from
Kuwait, UAE or any other GCC country
into Saudi Arabia.
Shifting currencies shake
up tourism landscape
BERLIN: Whether it’s the soaring Swiss
franc, the plummeting ruble or the sliding
euro, recent currency chaos has thrown the
travel sector into turmoil as holiday-makers
dodge costly tourist traps and hunt for bargains. “In principle currencies always have
an impact on travel and tourism,” said Taleb
Rifai, head of the UN World Tourism
Organization, at the Berlin tourism fair (ITB)
this past week.
The rule is simple, he said: “A weaker currency attracts people to your country and
prevents you from travelling. “A stronger
currency encourages you to travel,” Rafai
added, and makes vacationing at home
costlier in relative terms. When the Swiss
franc suddenly soared against the euro
after the Swiss
National Bank abandoned attempts to
hold down the currency in January, leisure
and travel provider Pierre & VacancesCenter Parcs Group soon found that Swiss
customers hunted euro-priced holidays in
France and Germany. “Naturally we had to
react,” said Joachim Quadt, sales director
for Germany and Switzerland. In February
the company offered discounts to tour
operators for Swiss sites, in Swiss francs.
Switzerland Tourism is also seeking to
convince the Swiss to spend their holidays
in their own country. Russia’s recent standoff with the West over Ukraine, and the
punishing impact of sanctions and falling
oil prices, have also made for some cheap
holidays for those undeterred by the
geopolitical tensions.
For only about 90 euros or $100, visitors can buy a three-night package in a
four-star Moscow hotel, with breakfast, a
city bus tour and museum admissions
thrown in.
‘Use chance today’
Sergei Korneyev of the Russian federal
tourism agency said the recent fall of the
ruble is a “rare opportunity” to attract
tourists to Moscow, Saint Petersburg and
the “Golden Ring” of ancient cities northeast of the capital.
“We don’t know what the situation will
be tomorrow, that’s why we have to use
this chance today,” he said, welcoming an
unusual influx of travel professionals to the
Russia stand at the ITB. A major exchange
rate shift “is one element whose effects are
felt quickly,” as the rise or fall in purchasing
power becomes “immediately apparent”,
said Dan Nguyen of Canadian regional
agency Tourism Quebec.
Thus Quebec hopes to take advantage
of the weakening Canadian dollar against
the greenback to attract more US tourists.
To draw visitors from south of the border,
the tourist office has launched advertising
campaigns and joint programs with tour
operators and purchased banner ads on
the websites of major online travel agencies.
Germany too expects American, Swiss
and British travellers to arrive in greater
numbers to take advantage of their currencies strengthening against the euro, which
Friday fell to an 11-year low against the dollar. “But it would be too simple to say that
demand depends solely on the development of exchange rates,” insisted Petra
Hedorfer, head of the German National
Tourist Board.
“We have long-term strategies” which
do not change with every wobble of the
euro, said Hedorfer.
UNWTO chief Rifai advised that “what
you need is a solid industry, to keep moving, keep adjusting (to currency fluctuations), but never be deterred and never try
to make dramatic changes in your strategy
because of this.”
German tour operators argue that some
of the best deals can be had in packages as
the mass-market providers have often
already factored in, or hedged against, currency fluctuations.
“In the current main booking phase for
the summer, these price and exchange rate
developments actually play into the hands
of the tour operators,” said Norbert Fiebig,
president of the DRV federation of travel
agents.
“ The package deals can be offered
through travel agents at low prices as the
tour operators have generally hedged
against fluctuating foreign currencies.
“Individual services such as flights,
hotels or rental cars ... may at times cost
significantly more than the complete
packages of the tour operators. That
means package tourists enjoy a clear
advantage.” —AFP
Syriza will have to ‘sacrifice
their own’ to reform Greece
ATHENS: Xenia takes a deep breath and says, “other
than Germany, there is only one thing keeping
Greece down-corruption, corruption and corruption.” Like many of her friends, the young lecturer
voted for the radical left party Syriza in January’s
elections because they were the only ones with
“clean hands”, and because they promised to sweep
away Greece’s rotten old political system built on
favors and kickbacks. “Only a fool would try to do
things straight”, when dealing with Greek officialdom, she said.
Xenia knows this first-hand. She got her first university post through a friend of her father, a staunch
supporter of the former socialist Pasok government.
“I am not proud to admit it. I would be more
ashamed if it wasn’t the same for half of my colleagues who got their jobs because their families
supported the other side.” Greece’s creditors were
quick to point to its overstaffed public service,
bloated with political appointees, said Theodore
Pelagidis, professor of economics at the University
of Piraeus. While more than 200,000 have since lost
their jobs, the new Syriza-led government of Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras has vowed to find the money
to pay off the country’s massive debt mountain by
cracking down hard on fraud and tax evasion.
Anti-corruption drive
It has appointed a tough former prosecutor,
Panagiotis Nikoloudis, as its anti-corruption tsar,
and he told AFP in a recent interview that “if the
new government has come to see me it’s because
it really wants to act.” On Tuesday the finance min-
istry announced a huge new trawl through bank
accounts and shareholdings looking for billions in
alleged undeclared income.
But according to Pelagidis, co-author of
“Understanding the Crisis in Greece”, any meaningful reform of the Greek state will also have to “get
rid of people who are not doing their jobs. Which
could be a very big problem for Syriza because
public servants are the base of their support.
“Are they really going to sacrifice their own
supporters?” Pelagidis has his doubts, as does
Professor Michael Arghyrou of the Cardiff Business
School, who said allowing power company workers a pay rise this week as the government scrabbles to meet its debts does not augur well. Many,
however, argue that cuts have gone too deep
causing chronic staff shortages, with one health
minister saying he needs an extra 1,700 staff.
The government would do better to hire tax
inspectors, said Arghyrou, to overhaul the “dysfunctional” collection system. While much of
Syriza’s rhetoric has been about making the country’s richest families pay their fair share-with
Nikoloudis claiming in parliament that some
wealthy families “think the state exists to service
their interests”Arghyrou believes the problem cuts right
across society. “Studies have shown the massive
discrepancies between what professional and selfemployed people have in their bank accounts and
what they declare for tax. Seven out of 10 say their
earnings are below the tax threshold, which is
ridiculous,” he said. —AFP
ALLAHABAD: This photograph shows the famous clock tower located in the middle of the old city. —AFP photos
Ancient Indian city hopes
for high-tech expansion
ALLAHABAD: Its roads are clogged with traffic,
the pavements overflow with rubbish and power cuts are a fact of life. But Allahabad, an
ancient settlement on the banks of the Ganges,
is hoping to become one of India’s first techsavvy “smart cities” under ambitious plans being
piloted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We are the spiritual capital of India, this
place is known as king of the pilgrims, of course
we should be a smart city,” Swami Anand Giri
said at a crowded Hindu temple overlooking the
holy river, as devotees filed in to touch his feet
and receive his blessing. Plans for the city have
been gathering pace since Modi signed a memorandum of understanding with US President
Barack Obama during a visit to India in January.
The document promised American assistance,
with a potential tie-up with global firms.
Allahabad, one of India’s oldest cities mentioned in ancient Hindu texts and surrounded by
sacred rivers and farmland, was one of three
selected for the first phase, along with eastern
port Visakhapatnam and Ajmer in the desert
state of Rajasthan. But along with the plans,
which include a power plant run on cow dung
and another on tons of collected plastic rubbish
instead of polluting coal, come the growing
expectations of a city used to neglect.
Saving the Ganges
Giri said technology could be used to clean
up the filthy Ganges, whose confluence with the
Yamuna river in Allahabad draws millions of
devotees, ascetics and foreign tourists for the
Kumbh Mela and other festivals in heaving seas
of humanity. “I’ve seen those machines cleaning
up the Thames in London. We should have them
too,” said Giri. Solar panels in every home could
also help to boost power output, with their
stored energy kicking in when the city’s daily
three-to-four hour blackouts hit, according to
senior professor CK Dwivedi at the University of
Allahabad.
But some have sought to rein in expectations,
with Diane Farrell, acting president of the USIndia Business Council, saying companies would
only become involved in the city’s projects if
there was a clear profit to be made. “Right now
the cities are in a phase where they are putting
all of their aspirations on the table, but then you
have to sit back and work out how to pay for it,”
Farrell, who visited the city as part of a US factfinding delegation in January, told AFP by phone
from Washington. “Cities cannot be reliant on US
companies for funding or foreign governments,
they need to develop successful PPPs (publicprivate partnerships). “They have to take responsibility, maybe additional taxes have to be introduced to fund these projects,” she said.
Shortly after sweeping to power in May, Modi
pledged 70.6 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) this
financial year to kick start his goal of developing
as many as 100 energy-efficient, technology-driven “smart cities”. But with millions of Indians
pouring into cities from poor rural areas every
year, straining already stretched affordable
housing, public transport and basic services,
much more money is needed The government’s
February 28 budget provided little additional
several Indian companies keen to get involved.
Along with the alternative power plants are proposals for optical fiber rollout to create WIFI
hotspots, door-to-door garbage collection with
bigger machinery and manpower to stop dumping in public areas, and food processing plants
to assist farms surrounding Allahabad, which has
little industry. Then there’s a possible new airport for the city which sees only a handful of
commercial flights every week and vies for space
with the air force. “We are at the planning stage,
not the project stage,” Pandey stressed.
“We will try our best and hope for the best.”
As night fell, crowds thronged the market in the
ALLAHABAD: Hindu devotees take a holy dip at Sangam.
funding for the “smart cities” project, despite
Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu’s
estimates that $952 billion worth of investment
is needed over the next 20 years. “When you
look at the challenges facing India’s cities, it’s
easy to start hyperventilating,” said Anil Menon,
responsible for developing smart city strategies
in India at tech giant CISCO. “The key is to get
started on the basics.”
Smart traffic grid
On the couch in his office, Allahabad’s municipal commissioner or chief executive, Devendra
Kumar Pandey, threw down a folder with pages
of ideas proposed so far, including many from
densely-packed old centre, jostling on the roads
with rickshaws, motorcycles and cows for the
approximately two meters of space as traffic
inched forward in both directions. “There needs
to be traffic management,” said clothes shop
owner Mohanji Tandon Bhiya, suggesting traffic
lights, cameras and off-street parking via a central command centre.
“It’s also dangerous,” he said, pointing to a
tangled mess of electrical wires dangling over
the street, as shops snatched power from the
grid. “There hasn’t been any development here
for 40 years,” said Bhiya, a staunch Modi supporter. “But the smart city is sure to come true,
because there is a vision behind it.” —AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
BUSINESS
Chinese cooldown, Greek funding in focus
GLOBAL ECONOMY WEEKAHEAD
MADRID: China’s cooling growth prospects and
an interest rate decision in Russia will shift the
economic agenda away from the euro-zone
next week, although Greece remains firmly in
the spotlight because of its precarious funding
outlook. China should provide further hints of
the challenges it faces after the world’s No 2
economy depicted its “new normal” last week-a
growth target of 7 percent for this year, the lowest for quarter of a century.
Chinese retail sales growth is expected by
some analysts to have slowed slightly in
February, with industrial production and investment growth data due out next week seen
weaker too.
As Chinese leaders try to mould a more bal-
anced long-term growth model, keeping the
breakneck economic expansion of recent
decades in check, all eyes will be on the reforms
they are expected to outline further in the coming days.
“Asia will be firmly in focus,” Standard
Chartered analyst Madhur Jha said. “The
(Chinese) government is likely to emphasize the
need for deeper structural reforms to ensure
more sustainable growth, even if it is likely to be
softer in the near term.”
As markets digest China’s warning shots, the
euro zone’s ups and downs will not be far from
investors’ minds. A four-month respite for
Athens after it extended a bailout program has
done little to ease concerns that Greece may
face a cash crunch before then. Its funding
options will take centre-stage at a Monday
meeting of euro-zone finance ministers, who
will discuss the economic reforms Athens
hopes will help it unlock some financial aid
from international lenders.
The government sent an updated list of
reforms to Brussels on Friday and said it wanted
to start talks with lenders immediately on concluding its bailout and a possible follow-up
deal. It also repaid part of an International
Monetary Fund loan that falls due this month.
With Greece insisting it has breathing space,
the Eurogroup session is unlikely to prompt any
key decisions on Athens’ next steps. Worries
about the country’s prospects beyond June are
adding to tensions, however, as European
officials wrangle over the chances of a
third rescue package.
Greece’s travails come against a rosier
backdrop for the euro-zone, after the
European Central Bank, which kicks off its
$1 trillion government bond-buying plan
on Monday, raised growth forecasts.
Industrial production figures for the single currency area, due on Thursday, are
expected to support this encouraging picture, rising slightly after a year-on-year fall
in December, and echoing a strong start to
the year for German output.
US DATA, RUSSIAN RATES
After strong labor data on Friday from
the United States, attention will shift to
retail sales numbers due on Thursday.
Firmer US consumer spending would further support expectations the Federal
Reserve is braced for a rate hike as early as
June, following a sluggish start to the year
even after a drop in fuel prices.
Retail sales excluding automobiles,
gasoline, building materials and food services-”core” retail sales, considered to the
best gauge of households’ spending patterns-edged up only 0.1 percent in
January. Economists polled by Reuters
expect core sales to have ticked up 0.5
percent in February, while overall retail
sales are seen rising 0.3 percent after slipping 0.8 percent a month earlier. However,
some analysts pointed to soft car sales and
weekly department store data as potential
drags.
US employment accelerated in
February, with non-farm payrolls rising a
higher-than-expected 295,000, fuelling
speculation the Fed will start laying the
ground for a rate hike by altering its
“patient” stance at a March 17-18 meeting.
“Such a blockbusting rate of job creation will encourage the Fed to be more
aggressive, and increase the prospect of
an imminent interest rate rise,” said David
Lamb, senior dealer at foreign exchange
brokerage FEXCO.
A series of interest rate decisions also
pepper the economic calendar, with
Russia likely to hog headlines on Friday. Its
central bank is expected to hold rates
steady at 15 percent, according to a
Reuters poll, even as tumbling oil prices
and sanctions imposed on Moscow for its
role in the Ukraine conflict bite into
Russian economic growth.
The bank, which last cut the rate by 2
percentage points at the end of January, in
a surprise move, is trying to juggle soaring
inflation and the faltering economy. An
interest rate decision from Serbia, under
pressure from the International Monetary
Fund to gradually ease policy, is due on
March 12, the same day as South Korea,
Peru and New Zealand, where the central
bank is expected to hold rates. — Reuters
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
BUSINESS
Select Al Mulla launches
newpromotion on
Chrysler 300L V8
KUWAIT: Select Al Mulla has launched an
all new promotion on the Chrysler 300
Limited V8, providing a great opportunity
to celebrate class at an affordable price.
This exciting offer from Select provides
customer an opportunity to own quality
Chrysler 300L certified cars with an array of
benefits, guaranteed to provide complete
peace of mind to customers.
The promotion affords customers an
attractive price starting KD 6,799 on the
2013 MY Chrysler 300 Limited. The
300Limited is a rear-wheel-drive powered
by a 5.7- litre V8 Hemi engine, mated to an
8-speed automatic with manual capability.
The vehicle is equipped with built in fea-
tures like cruise control, 18-inch alloy
wheels, 6-speaker CD/MP3 stereo and a 4.3inch touch screen, rear parking camera
with sensors, USB port, auto headlights,
intelligent keyless entry. Safety features
include front, side and curtain airbags, ABS,
stability control and tire pressure monitor.
Additionally, as part of the promotional
offer, customers will be provided a “Peace
of Mind” Package offering warranty up to 2
years and free quick services plus free registration. An attractive finance option is available with loan tenure up to 60 months and
monthly installment starting KD 111 subject to finance terms.
It is also important to note that all Select
certified used vehicles pass through a stringent 129 point quality assurance inspection. These strict quality standards ensure
that only the best of vehicles receive the
Select certification.
Select Al Mulla showrooms are open
during week-days from 8:30 am to 8:30pm
non-stop and from 4.30pm to 8.30pm on
Fridays to provide the flexibility required to
customers.
Select continues to redefine the retail
standards in purchase of certified used
cars. Customers who wish to know more
information on Select can call on 1800007
or visit one of their showrooms in Al Rai or
Sharq.
KUWAIT: Speakers Hamad Al-Amiri, Ayman Budai, Ali Al-Bader, and Dr Yousef Al-Awadhi during the first session of the conference
at Sheraton Hotel, Kuwait yesterday. —Photo by Yaseer Al-Zayyat
Kuwait bourse on threshold
of transformation: Minister
‘Way to the financial center’
A child walking on a path built over gold ingots in a shopping mall in
Yichang, central China’s Hubei province. —AFP
China Feb trade surplus
hits record $60.6bn: Govt
BEIJING: China’s monthly trade surplus hit $60.6
billion in February, the government said yesterday,
a new record for the world’s second-largest economy. Exports leapt 48.3 percent year-on-year to
$169.2 billion while imports fell 20.5 percent to
$108.6 billion, Customs said on its website.
The country’s trade surplus, long a source of
tensions with its trading partners, rose above a
previous all-time monthly high of $60.0 billion
recorded in January.
The growth in exports last month was well
ahead of the median estimate for a 14 percent
jump in a Bloomberg survey of economists. But
analysts were pessimistic about the outlook for
exports and blamed the weak imports reading on
falling commodity prices, with stringent bank
financing for traders also a factor.
China is a key driver of global growth but its
economy grew 7.4 percent in 2014, its weakest for
almost a quarter of a century, and recent indicators show signs the slowdown is continuing.
Customs attributed the surge in exports to a
rise in outbound shipments ahead of the Lunar
New Year, which fell on February 19 this year.
“Affected by the Spring Festival factors, export
companies in the country again rushed to export
ahead of the holiday and only resumed working
after it,” the statement said.
The Lunar New Year fell on January 31 in
2014, followed by a week-long national holiday,
leading to a low comparison base for this
February. For the first two months of the year,
China’s trade surplus totalled $120.7 billion, said
the statement. The figure stood at $8.9 billion in
the same period last year, Customs data showed.
“We still see strong headwinds facing China’s
exports this year,” ANZ economists Liu Ligang and
Zhou Hao said in a research note, pointing to a
continuing contraction streak in export orders.
The high increase in February’s exports was
partly led by a low base in the same month last
year, when authorities also cracked down on overinvoicing by traders seeking to disguise capital
flows, they added.
Lower targets
Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday announced a
lowered growth target of “approximately seven
percent” for 2015, and-underscoring concern-the
central People’s Bank of China last weekend cut
benchmark interest rates for the second time in
three months. Li also cut China’s trade growth target for this year to “around six percent”, after trade
expanded 3.4 percent last year, below the 7.5 percent goal and the third consecutive year it had
been missed amid softened domestic and foreign
demand.
China’s huge trade surpluses were long a
source of friction with the United States as the
workshop of the world pumped out manufactured
goods and US debt mounted, but the issue has
receded in more recent years.
In the January-February period, China’s exports
to the European Union, the United States and the
10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), the top three trade partners of
the country, increased by 13 percent, 21.2 percent
and 38.4 percent respectively.
But imports from all three regions declined,
falling 10.3 percent with the EU, 16.7 percent with
the US and 18.2 percent with the ASEAN countries,
indicating domestic demand in China remained
weak.
China’s exports to Japan, with which it is
embroiled in bitter disputes over maritime territory and wartime history, fell 4.1 percent in the twomonth period, while imports from the neighbor
decreased by 13.8 percent. —AFP
CivilisedBank plans
to join UK challenger
banks with 2015 launch
LONDON: A new online British bank expects to
launch for small and medium-sized business
customers later this year after securing its first
phase of funding and starting its application for
a banking license, it said yesterday.
CivilisedBank joins a handful of other socalled “challenger” banks aiming to break the
dominance of Britain’s big five lenders, seeking
to benefit from lower costs, new technology, no
legacy issues and encouragement from politicians. CivilisedBank said it will not have branches
but operate through a network of local bankers
backed by a technology platform being rolled
out for the first time in Britain. Banks using the
software platform include BNP Paribas and
Alpha Bank, it said.
The bank said it will initially target ownermanagers of medium-sized UK businesses by
offering business current accounts with
deposits, transaction banking, overdrafts, foreign currency exchange, investments, savings
and loans. At a later date it plans to target the UK
retail market with specific savings and invest-
ment products. Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group,
HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland have long
dominated British banking, and Santander now
rivals them on the High Street. Those five control
more than 80 percent of the personal current
account market and over 85 percent of small
business banking.
Regulators and politicians have tried to make
it easier for new firms to break that stronghold,
and in recent years Metro Bank, Aldermore,
Shawbrook and OneSavings have launched and
there are more than 20 other firms such as Atom
Bank applying for licences. Many are targeting
specific regions or niche clients.
Most challenger banks are planning to
operate online and use new technology
allowing a quicker and cheaper platform.
CivilisedBank’s chairman is Chris Jolly, who
has held senior roles in real estate and at
Merrill Lynch, Commerzbank and Societe
Generale. Its chief executive is Gordon Dow,
previously managing director for private
banking at Santander. —Reuters
KUWAIT: ‘The Way to the Financial Center’ was
the theme of a one-day conference on the
future of Kuwait’s financial market and developing stock exchange held at the Sheraton Hotel
yesterday under the patronage of Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Commerce and Industry
Abdulmohsen Al-Mudej.
The growth and development of the Kuwaiti
economy is one of the most important agendas
of the ministry as well as the government. “Our
common desire is to see Kuwait getting its leading financial position back and maintain the
international standard to reach the goal of transforming Kuwait into a financial and commercial
center. This vision should strengthen the position of the Kuwait Stock Exchange as it is the
main pillar of the economy that indicates economic performance and reflects the reality
about the economy,” said Fawaz Al-Shalal on
behalf of the minister.
“I’m convinced that we all carry the responsibility of reforming the economy. The government carries the bigger part of this initiative.
It’s a national responsibility over which all pub-
lic and private institutions have roles to play.
The competitive advantage of the Kuwaiti
economy needs changes that transform it into
reality. Now we are facing a new phase in the
Kuwaiti economy after the new commercial law
and the law of founding the stock exchange
authority were issued. The new phase of the
capital market in Kuwait is built on a legal and
regulatory system which will lift the KSE to an
international level,” added Shalal.
This conference is an ideal opportunity for
the investors and specialists from the field to
formulate the future vision and set priorities in
order to develop the Kuwaiti financial sector.
“The investment climate in Kuwait is conducive
for global investment, especially after issuing
many important legislations from the Ministry
of Commerce and the Central Bank,” he pointed
out.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange is one of the oldest in the region. “The KSE underwent several
phases in its development, but it has not fully
evolved into a complete financial market yet.
But we hope to establish a regional stock
exchange that will set a benchmark for regional
capital markets and will meet the investment
expectations of local and global investors. It
will also support the economic aspirations of
Kuwait,” stated Shalal.
He also highlighted the priorities of the next
phase. “We should work on correcting the
course of the capital market in Kuwait to regain
the trust of the investors. We should also
encourage the creativity and innovation of
investment companies through launching
modern financial tools that encourage competition and attract international investment
banks and companies to launch their operations from the Kuwait market. Finally, we aim to
generate more awareness in the community
regarding investment opportunities in the
country, because safeguarding the interest of
investors is also our priority by providing
knowledge and information and not just legislation,” concluded Shalal.
The conference held two sessions led by
speakers from various public and private institutions and companies.
Divergence between CBs
puts pressure on the euro
NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT
KUWAIT: United States employment levels
improved in February and the jobless rate
dropped to a 6-1/2 year low of 5.5 percent,
giving more room for the Federal Reserve to
consider hiking interest rates in June. United
States Nonfarm payrolls rose 295,000 last
month after rising 239,000 in January. The
data came well above market expectation of
240,000 Increase.
In Europe, the European central bank
announced last week that it would start the
quantitative easing program as soon as
March 9. The ECB also left the benchmark
interest rate unchanged at a record low of
0.05percent. In addition, the Bank revised
downwards the inflation outlook for the
euro-zone area for 2015 due to persistent
decline in oil prices. The Central Bank now
expects consumer inflation to be flat in 2015;
a downward revision from December’s forecast of 0.7percent. Draghi’s statement
demonstrated more optimism over the
European economic growth outlook. The
central bank revised its GDP growth projection to 1.5percent in 2015 up from 1.0percent
estimated in December. On the foreign
exchange side, the US dollar traded near its
highest point in almost twelve years against
the major currencies amid positive economic
indicators emerging from the US especially
with the very upbeat number coming out of
the labor market. The data has generated further optimism over the strength of the country’s recovery, while raising expectation of an
early rate hike this year.
The euro on the other hand started the
week at 1.1186 and rallied slightly to a high of
1.1240 where it found major resistance. The
currency started to drop on Wednesday
reaching an eleven-year low of 1.0840 after
the ECB president indicated that he would
start the QE program this Monday.
Divergence in central bank activities has put
pressure on the euro against all the majors.
On one hand, the European central bank
slashing interest rates and launching a massive money-creating stimulus, and on the
other hand, the US Federal Reserve preparing
to raise interest rates following its decision
last year to bring an end to its multi-year
monetary stimulus. The Sterling Pound started the week at 1.5435 against its US dollar
counterpart; however dropped sharply reaching a low of 1.5058 after the BOE indicated
they would not raise rates any time soon.
Reasons cited were mainly the low inflation
environment in Europe and the UK.
US manufacturing
The US Manufacturing PMI expanded in
February for the 26th consecutive month. The
data registered 52.9percent, lower by 0.6percent from the January’s reading of 53.5percent (A reading above 50 percent indicates
that the manufacturing economy is generally
expanding). However, most components of
the index declined, suggesting a slowdown in
the pace of growth in the factory sector for
the first quarter of 2015.
ISM non-manufacturing PMI
Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector on the other hand grew in
February for the sixty-first consecutive
month. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Business
Survey registered 56.9percent in February,
0.2percent higher than the January reading
of 56.7 percent. The rise in the overall index
came from a strong rebound in business
activity.
Yellen praises reforms
At the Annual Citizen Budget
Commission meeting, the US Federal Reserve
Chair Yellen spoke about the most important
regulatory changes that occurred since the
financial crisis. Yellen stated that all banks are
required to hold significantly more capital
with higher standards applied to the largest,
most systemically important firms. Large
institutions have also been required to substantially increase their liquidity. As required
by Basel III, the US authorities’ demands have
gone even further to raise capital requirements for the largest firms. Under the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Congress authorized a new
regime, known as “resolution,” to manage the
failure of large firms in an orderly manner and
reduce the chances that such a failure would
threaten financial stability.
European inflation
The euro-zone Consumer Prices Index fell
by less than expected in February while
unemployment eased in January for the third
month in a row, offering signs that the risks of
economic stagnation and deflation in the
Euro area could be diminishing.
The unemployment level fell for the third
month in a row to 11.2percent in January
from 11.3percent in December while the
inflation rate fell 0.3percent year-on-year in
February after a 0.6percent annual drop in
the previous month.
Mandated to keep medium term inflation
close to 2percent, the ECB will start implementing the quantitative easing program
that would release 60 Billion Euros a month
into the economy. The ECB President Mario
Draghi said “By September next year, more
than 1 Trillion euros will have been created
under the quantitative program.
UK construction activity
UK construction companies indicated a
further acceleration in output growth during
February. The UK Construction Purchasing
Managers’ Index rose a full point to 60.1, defying expectations for a slight fall to 59.0 and
reaching its highest level since October.
The strong number demonstrates
renewed vitality within the UK construction
sector according to analysts. Housing, commercial and civil engineering activity all
expanded at the quickest rates since last
October, thanks to the sharp rises in new
business volumes and an improving economic backdrop.
UK Manufacturing PMI Improves
The growth rate of the UK manufacturing
sector continued to improve since the beginning of the year, leading to further job creation across the United Kingdom.
Companies benefited from solid inflows of
new business from the internal market, which
offset lower new export order volumes. The
Purchasing Managers Index rose to its highest level in seven months, marking a high of
54.1 in February, up from 53.1 in January.
According to analysts, the UK manufacturing sector is reviving in early 2015 after the
slowdown seen late last year, as growth rates
of both production and new orders continued to strengthen in February. This reinforces
the picture of a broader growth revival in the
UK so far in the opening quarter.
UK services
The UK service sector continued to
expand at a strong pace during the month
of February, helped by another sharp rise in
volumes of incoming new business.
Business Activity Index recorded 56.7 in
February, compared to January’s 57.2.
Sharper growth in new business has been
driven by an upward swing of activity in
both the domestic and international markets, with a mix of new business and higher
levels of interest from existing customers
showing an overall improvement. The
length of backlog indicated that the recovery may now be sustainable following the
rapid growth of last year.
BOE bank rate unchanged
During the MPC meeting, the Bank of
England’s members voted to maintain the
Bank Rate at 0.5percent. The Committee also
voted to maintain the stock of purchased
assets financed by the issuance of central
bank reserves at £375 billion.
UK interest rates remained unchanged at
their record low of 0.5percent for six years.
Interest rates were initially cut to 0.5percent
in March 2009 as the Bank sought to lift economic growth amid the credit crunch.
Recent growth in the economy has encouraged speculation that rates will start to rise
again in the near future. However, continuing
low inflation environment, now at 0.3percent, gives policymakers little reason to raise
rates. Inflation across the UK is remains low,
and could even turn negative, thanks largely
to the large drop in energy prices.
Australia rates unchanged
At the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting
held last week, the Board of Directors decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at
2.25percent. “The Board judged that, having
eased monetary policy at the previous meeting, it was appropriate to hold interest rates
steady for the time being”, RBA Governor
Glenn Stevens said after the bank’s monthly
policy meeting. “Further easing of policy may
be appropriate over the period ahead. The
Board will further assess the case for such
action at forthcoming meetings.”
Australia’s economy grew slightly last
quarter, supported by a large improvement
in consumer spending performance, which
helped offset softness elsewhere. The
Australian Gross Domestic Product expanded by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous quarter 0.4 percent
rise. The Australian economy grew 2.5percent for all of 2014, but slightly below the
expected 3.25 percent.
Kuwait
Kuwaiti dinar at 0.29830
The USDKD opened at 0.29830 yesterday morning.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
BUSINESS
Zain Group to extend GSMA’s Mobile Connect service across ME
BARCELONA: Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom innovator
across eight markets in the
Middle East and Africa, has confirmed that it will develop Mobile
Connect services across the
region in cooperation with other
regional operators. The confirmation was made during the Mobile
World Congress in Barcelona last
week. The GSMA’s Mobile
Connect service enables customers to create and manage a
universal identity that will securely authenticate them and allow
them to safely access mobile and
digital services such as e-commerce, banking, health and digital
entertainment, as well as e-government portals, via their mobile
phones.
Commenting on the plans to
bring Mobile Connect to the
region, Zain Group CEO Scott
Gegenheimer said, “Zain has been
proactive with respect to mobile
commerce, online identity, and
digital services, and we view the
GSMA’s Mobile Connect initiative
as being completely aligned with
our own efforts.” He continued,
“ The success of our industry
reminds us that there are greater
chances for the entire market to
advance and succeed if there is
cooperation leading to the mass
adoption of technologies. We
shall play our role in collaboration
with our peers in the region to
extend the reach of this program.”
Operators are leveraging
Mobile Connect to simplify the
log-in and account management
of their own customers and the
service is now in commercial use
by a wide range of digital service
providers including e-commerce,
insurance, email, online travel and
classified sites.
“Mobile Connect is designed
to simplify consumers’ lives by
offering a single, trusted, mobile
phone-based authentication
solution that addresses the vulnerability of online passwords,
while also respecting online privacy,” said Anne Bouverot,
Director General, GSMA. “ The
industry has made important
progress in rolling out the service
around the world, giving users
control over their own data and
enabling consumers, businesses
and governments alike to interact
and access online services in a
convenient, private, and trusted
environment.” The GSMA is working closely with operators globally to support further Mobile
Connect deployments. In the
United States, for example, the
GSMA has been awarded a grant
by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST)
as part of the US government’s
National Strategy for Trusted
Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC)
initiative, to fund a technology
proof-of-concept pilot of a
mobile-based identity service.
Zain Group CEO Scott
Gegenheimer
Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz
Al-Babtain Co introduces
new Infiniti Q50 to Kuwait
Al-Mazaya reports net profit
of KD 8.09 million for 2014
6% distributed as cash dividends to shareholders
KUWAIT: Al-Mazaya Holding held its Ordinary
General Assembly Meeting of 2014 yesterday at AlMazaya Tower 1, Al-Murqab District -Sharq, which
is one of its 3 towers located at the heart of the
Capital of Kuwait, where 77.72 percent of the
shareholders attended the meeting.
Rashid YaqoubAl-Nafisi, Chairman of the Board
called the meeting to order with the presence of
the shareholders, members of the board, CEO, Eng
Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al-Soqabi, a representative
of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and representatives of the Company External Auditors.
Additionally, Chiefs of the Company Divisions and
investors were present along with elite media representatives from both printed and audio media in
Kuwait and the GCC providing full coverage of the
event.
Al-Nafisi initiated the General Assembly
Meeting reciting the Board of Directors Report for
the Fiscal Year ending on December 31 2014 assuring that Mazaya has fulfilled its pledge taken at the
end of the lapsed year maintaining steady growth
resting on solid intrinsic and extrinsic strengths
ultimately resulting in positive leaps in profits. The
Company resumed expanding its operational performance achieving positive financial results moreover, uniquely releasing its Financial Statements
prior to equivalent real-estate companies.
Al-Nafisi added, Al-Mazaya successfully
achieved a net profit of KD 8.09 million by the end
of 2014, compared to KD 6.0 million by the end of
2013, with 13.05 fils earnings per share, compared
to 9.69 fils earnings per share representing an
increase of 34.7 percent by virtue of the company’s
focus on operational activities; increasing the occupancy rate in its income-generating projects in
Kuwait and a number of the GCC countries as the
KSA and UAE, which ultimately lead to an increase
of 33.7 percent in the Rental Revenues of the
Company.
Speaking of the company’s Financial Results
accomplished, they evidently reflect the sharp
vision and strong commitment of the Company to
its performance standards. The steady growth of
the Company’s performance and profit lead to a
considerable increase in total assets by 14.8 percent amounting to KD 261.889 million, compared
to KD 228.116 million during 2013. The shareholders’ Equity added up to KD 107.755 million at the
end of 2014, compared to KD 97.167 million for
2013, representing a 10.9 percent increase.
The Board of Directors decided to distribute 6
percent of the paid-up capital as cash dividends;
equivalent to Kuwaiti 6 fils per share to the shareholders registered as of the date of the General
Assembly Meeting expressing gratitude to the distinguished shareholders.
Al-Nafisi concluded stating, by the grace of
Allah, Al-Mazaya is now stronger than before. He
further expressed his deepest gratitude to the distinguished Board Members, all Mazaya employees,
executives, administrative and technical staff for
their dedicated effort contributing to the
Company’s success and promised that the
Company will continue to lead the real-estate sector in the region.
The Agenda of the general assembly meeting:
During the meeting, Al-Nafisi presented the agenda of the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting of
2014 and the audience reviewed the Auditor’s
Report and the Financial Statements of the fiscal
year ending on Dec 31st 2014 and approved the
same. The Board’s recommendation to distribute 6
percent of the paid-up capital as cash dividends;
equivalent to Kuwaiti 6 fils per share to the shareholders registered as of the date of the General
Assembly Meeting was approved as well as Board
Members remuneration.
The General Assembly further permitted the
Chairman and the Members of the Board to trade
for their own accounts or others’ accounts at any
of the Company’s branches/offices. The above is in
accordance with Article no 228 of the Companies
Law no 25 of 2012; as well as article 20 of the
Statute of the company. Moreover, the Board was
authorized to purchase or sell Company shares at
no more than 10 percent of the total shares as per
Article no (175) of the Companies Law no 25 of
2012, as well as the Regulations of the Capital
Market Authority with regard to regulating the
purchase of company shares (Treasury Shares) and
utilizing the same.
Finally the General Assembly approved to relief
/ discharge the Board Members from their legal
liability of the Fiscal Year ending on December
31st, 2014; to assign or reassign the External
Auditors for the Fiscal Year 2015 and to authorize
the Board to determine their fees provided that
the Auditors are already registered at the Capital
Market Authority.
Company accomplishments:
CEO Eng.Ibrahim Al-Soqabi delivered a presentation to highlight the accomplishments AlMazaya has achieved in 2014 stressing that these
accomplishments were in line with the Company
strategy, willingness and elements of success
brought together to leverage Al-Mazaya’s position
in real-estate sector.
The CEO proudly stated the Company was able
to maintain its robust financial position and strong
operational performance, in line with its carefully
designed smart objectives and viable strategy.
During 2014, Al-Mazaya reaped the fruit of its penetration to the Turkish market and the investment
opportunities available in there signing an
Alliance with Dumankaya, one of the giant realestate development companies in Istanbul,
whereby Al-Mazaya executes rewarding projects
of great benefit to the parent company. As a part
of this alliance, Al-Mazaya launched
“RitimIstanbul” Project commencing its joint venture with the Turkish Company.
2014 also gave birth to four new projects imitating the Lingo middle-class accommodation
project in Dubai Land, Clover Medical Centre at
Sabah Al-Salim, Mazaya Residence in Oman, and
Ritim Project in Istanbul; all in line with the company strategy and its 5-years forthcoming Financial
Plan.
Al-Mazaya has pushed forward the timetable
for all under-implementation projects in all countries the company operates therein; in 2014,
Mazaya Logistics Project in Bahrain was 100 percent completed, Queue Point Project in Dubai was
80 percent complete, Sedra Residential Project
was 60 percent complete and 100 percent of the
foundation works of Marina Mall in Lousil, Qatar
were complete where Al Mazaya is managing
these projects on behalf of Mazaya Qatar.
Taking another step forward to support AlMazaya brand within real-estate markets, AlMazaya expanded and rooted its marketing tools
promoting the corporate identity of Al-Mazaya
Holding and its subsidiaries therein in Kuwait and
in the region.
As for our internal systems, Al-Mazaya has
upgraded its operations to utilize the latest information technology systems and successfully econnected all subsidiary companies through the
ERP System; lease payments can now be collected
online, and CRM system was launched mainly to
serve our clients.
Al-Soqabialso referred to the financial results
Al-Mazaya has achieved which are clearly reflected
in the Company announced profits. During 2014,
Al-Mazaya succeeded in reducing the cost of
funds by 5.52 percent not to mention that 81 percent of Company loans are now Islamic Loans. AlMazaya released 261 million shares retained as
pledge, and hence, the company can obtain new
credit facilities. Also, the Company succeeded in
rescheduling its loans at the group level (Mazaya
and its subsidiaries) resulting in new credit facilities received amounting to KD 32 million therefore
improving company solvency and its ability to
enter into new investments.
There is no room here to elaborate on the total
accomplishments Al-Mazaya has achieved. Yet,
once again, we assure you that the Board
Members and all Al-Mazaya employees shall continue their journey to achieve the best results and
continue to lead the real-estate market in Kuwait
and the region.
Zain launches new postpaid
plans offer for a limited time
KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait,
announced the launch of an exciting promotion that adds extra new
benefits to postpaid smartphone
plans. The promotion reinforces the
company’s customer-centric strategy that focuses on introducing the
latest industry offerings.
The new offer, which is available
for a limited time only, introduces
extra added benefits , including a
KD 100 voucher or a free second
smartphone.
Zain continues to reinvent its
offers with the aim of fulfilling customers’ aspirations, as they are considered the country’s largest family
of subscribers. The company introduces the latest promotional campaigns and offers to reinforce its
position as the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait.
Existing and new postpaid cus-
tomers are eligible to join this promotion. Those who subscribe to the
KD 30 package will receive a free KD
100 voucher in addition to the existing free smartphone that comes
with the package. Those who subscribe to the KD 40 or KD 57 packages can receive a free KD 100
voucher or a second free smartphone on top of the existing smartphone that comes with the package.
By launching the new postpaid
offer, Zain aims at creating a new
concept for the services it offers, as
well as offering convenience with
flexible and handy plans that meet
the different needs of customers.
Through this exciting limited time
offer, Zain continues to reinforce its
leadership position and its pledge in
offering the best services and offers
to meet customersí professional and
personal telecommunications
needs.
GENEVA: Infiniti signaled further intentions
to grow in the premium compact segment
with the world premiere of the QX30
Concept at the Geneva International Motor
Show.
The QX30 concept is Infiniti’s design
vision for a new premium compact
crossover, targeting at a new generation of
individualistic premium customers.
Bringing together the sleek lines of the
coupe with the command sitting and allwheel drive of a crossover, the QX30
Concept promises to be just as capable navigating city streets as it is exploring weekend getaways.
“With the QX30 Concept, we’re showcasing a distinctively contemporary alternative
in the premium compact segment for those
who want something more than the status
quo,” said Roland Krueger, Infiniti President
and CEO.
An international team designed the
QX30 Concept to appeal to the global customer. Complementing the vehicle’s higher
stance, the designers added visual cues
which instantly identify the concept as a
crossover such as 21-inch wheels, large tires,
lower bumper, sculpted skid plates, and
very distinctive roof racks.
“We’ve used expected materials in an
unexpected way, and given functional elements an artistic twist,” said Albaisa. “It is the
unconventional execution of a conventional
element that makes the QX30 Concept a
design leader.”
In addition, the Q60 Concept made its
European debut at the show, hinting at
Infiniti’s next sports coupe. The stunning
two-door concept is a unique combination
of eye-catching contours, the promise of
heart-pumping dynamics, and highestquality finishes, giving premium customers
a fresh and expressive design icon to which
they can aspire.
Infiniti Motor Company Ltd is headquartered in Hong Kong with sales operations in
over 50 countries. The Infiniti brand was
launched in 1989. Its range of premium automobiles is currently built in manufacturing
facilities in Japan, the United States and
China. Production in the UK will start in 2015,
bringing with it significant expansion of the
brand’s portfolio. Infiniti plans to also expand
manufacturing into Mexico by 2017.
As the Title Partner and Vehicle
Performance Partner of Infiniti Red Bull
Racing, Infiniti has a far-reaching technical
collaboration with the four-time FIA
Formula One World Championship winning
Team.
Select Al Mulla launches new
promotion on Chrysler 300L V8
KUWAIT: Select Al Mulla has launched an
all new promotion on the Chrysler 300
Limited V8, providing a great opportunity
to celebrate class at an affordable price.
This exciting offer from Select provides
customer an opportunity to own quality
Chrysler 300L certified cars with an array of
benefits, guaranteed to provide complete
peace of mind to customers.
The promotion affords customers an
attractive price starting KD 6,799 on the
2013 MY Chr ysler 300 Limited. The
300Limited is a rear-wheel-drive powered
by a 5.7- litre V8 Hemi engine, mated to an
8-speed automatic with manual capability.
The vehicle is equipped with built in features like cruise control, 18-inch alloy
wheels, 6-speaker CD/MP3 stereo and a 4.3inch touch screen, rear parking camera
with sensors, USB port, auto headlights,
intelligent keyless entry. Safety features
include front, side and curtain airbags, ABS,
stability control and tire pressure monitor.
Additionally, as part of the promotional
offer, customers will be provided a “Peace
of Mind” Package offering warranty up to 2
years and free quick services plus free registration. An attractive finance option is available with loan tenure up to 60 months and
monthly installment starting KD 111 subject to finance terms.
It is also important to note that all Select
certified used vehicles pass through a stringent 129 point quality assurance inspection. These strict quality standards ensure
that only the best of vehicles receive the
Select certification.
Select Al Mulla showrooms are open
during week-days from 8:30 am to 8:30pm
non-stop and from 4.30pm to 8.30pm on
Fridays to provide the flexibility required to
customers.
Select continues to redefine the retail
standards in purchase of certified used
cars. Customers who wish to know more
information on Select can call on 1800007
or visit one of their showrooms in Al Rai or
Sharq.
Al-Tijari announces winners of
Najma, Base Account draws
KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held
the Al Najma Account and ASAS Base
Account draw on 8th March 2015. The draw
was held under the supervision of the
Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani.
The winner of the Base Account is:
Mohammad Hussain Al Jedi
The winners of the Al Najma daily draw
are: Ibtisam Abdulmohsen Al-Shimari —
KD 7000, Mohammed Shah Baza — KD
7000, Anwar Abdullah Ali — KD 7000,
Nawal Hassan Mohammed— KD 7000,
Zaheruddin Saleh Al-Mayahe — KD 7000.
The Commercial Bank of Kuwait
announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait
with the launch of the new Najma account.
Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD
7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the
country and another 4 mega prizes during
the year worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr,
Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th of June which
is the date of the bank’s establishment.
With a minimum balance of KD 500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw
provided that the money is in the account
one week prior to the daily draw or 2
months prior to the mega draw. In addition,
for each KD 25 a customer can get one
chance for winning instead of KD 50.
Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this
opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry for
their effective supervision of the draws
which were conducted in an orderly and
organized manner.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
technology
Being at the big game-without actually being there
NEW YORK: Imagine sitting on Center
Court at Wimbledon, ringside at a Las
Vegas heavyweight boxing title fight, or
amongst the VIPs at an NBA game-all
from the comfort of your own home.
Far-fetched? Maybe. But in a few
years, sports fans more accustomed to
watching sport on television may be
able to don virtual-reality headsets that
allow them to experience the action
closer than ever before.
“Someone is going to be able to sit at
home on the couch and feel like they’re
sitting courtside at a basketball game,”
said David Blitzer, a co-owner of the
Philadelphia 76ers NBA team.
“It’s amazing.”
The futuristic vision of home entertainment was just one example of how
technology is changing the face of sport
and showcased at this week’s Sport
Business Summit in New York.
The theme of the conference was
unmistakeable. Big data and digital
technology are transforming professional sports as never before as innovations
provide new tools for superstars and
keep fans happy. Technology companies
can now mine millions of social media
posts for comments about a player and
show that the intensity of an athlete’s
following merits a fatter endorsement
contract.
Participants in New York described
changes remaking all levels of sports,
from the way teams pick and train players to the manner in which leagues and
media companies negotiate broadcast
rights.
Drones as cameras?
The event drew more than 500 attendees, from the Nascar racing league to
women’s professional golf association
and prominent European football teams.
Mixed in were agents and a slew of technology providers. “Especially in the context of other media, sports just outshines everything else,” said Eric Shanks,
president of Fox Sports Media Group.
Shanks was bullish on the use of drones
as a filming tool, describing plans to
broadcast a Supercross cycling race that
way to give viewers a whole new experience. Shanks also sees growth if more
gambling is permitted on professional
sports. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
last year expressed support for legal
gambling as a way to boost fan engagement. Silver said more legal gambling is
“inevitable” in the US, given that much
already takes place under the table.
But the Fox executive also alluded to
some of the challenges facing established market players. Broadcast systems
that let fans log in and watch games
from mobile devices have boomed,
reaching some 80 million Fox fans in the
US, Shanks said.
Yet there are open questions surrounding what this means for long-term
deals such as the NBA’s nine-year contract with broadcasters TNT and ESPN,
unveiled in October. “Who is going to be
bidding for those rights” in 10 or 12
years, said Blitzer of the Philadelphia
76ers. “You’re going to see different
names.”
Fan bases revealed
Athletes too face sophisticated new
technology challenges and opportunities. Wearable technology gives
unprecedented insight into an athlete’s
heart rate and other body signals, giving
teams key information that can affect
which players play and how they train.
General Sentiment, a New York data
analytics firm, scrutinizes Twitter and
other sites to analyze whether there are
any patterns within a player’s fan base
that might interest advertisers.
A disproportionate preference of
Twitter followers for a particular car
brand could be used in endorsement
discussions, said Asher Feldman, a director of Strategic Analytics.
Other big data efforts are geared at
fans, as when broadcasters or websites
upload past results for viewers who
want to know how many times a quarterback has been intercepted or the
number of double-faults by a tennis
player. Fan engagement could be taken
to new levels if the virtual-reality headsets become commonplace.
For the time being, the sheer bulk of
headsets meant it was still “very early
days” for the technology, said Jens
Christensen, chief executive of Jaunt VR.
But if a viable, comfortable headset is
developed it could revolutionize the
way people watch sport at home. “It
makes it almost a new medium,”
Christensen said. But Boston Celtics coowner Wyc Grousbeck said there were
limits to where technology could take
fans, as when a particularly heroic effort
by a hometown hero gets a roar from an
adoring crowd.
“It’s in the personal connection, it’s
walking the streets in your own city,” he
said. “It’s an event that transcends the
phone.” — AFP
Cash may be king, smartphones
seek to rule at the register
BARCELONA: Using your smartphone to
make payments in shops or public transport
should become more widespread this year,
but its supremacy will depend on how successful retailers are in enticing people to keep
their cards or cash in their pockets.
The stakes are high for phone manufacturers and operators, not to mention banks, as
the success of contactless systems where
consumers sweep their smartphone over a
reader could shake up the lucrative retail payments market.
But the chief executive of Ingenico, a leading manufacturer of payment card terminals
as well as new contactless systems, doesn’t
see people as ready to give up their debit
cards just yet. “Smartphones will be a small
part of the market but the main payment
mechanism will remain the traditional (card)
terminal which will continue to see growth,”
said Philippe Lazare, whose company manufactures more than one in three payment terminals in use worldwide.
That view didn’t stop Ingenico from
announcing this past week at the Mobile
World Congress trade show in Barcelona a
contactless payments system compatible
with Apple Pay.
Apple of retailer’s eye?
Apple’s adoption last year of NFC, or the
near field communication standard, was a
major step towards this becoming the dominant technology. Google has had a similar
service, Google Wallet, available for a couple
years. NFC allows smartphones or other
devices to communicate with one another
within a distance of several centimetres (inches). This means consumers can quickly sweep
their phones over readers rather than having
to pull out a card, insert it into a terminal and
wait to punch in a code. “It was a decisive step
towards the creation of an ecosystem but
that may not be sufficient as several solutions
are available,” said Anne Bouverot, head of
the GSMA trade association for mobile operators that organises the Barcelona event.
She said that it is also important to get
people accustomed to using their phones for
making payments by using them elsewhere,
such as with public transportation systems
that have adopted contactless technology
like in London or Paris.
In launching Apple Pay, the US tech giant
was again demonstrating its longstanding
role as a trendsetter, rather than responding
to consumer demand. It has yet to be rolled
out anywhere except in the United States.
But Apple’s initiative has pushed its competitors to also move forward. All high-end
smartphones are now coming equipped with
NFC. Some are coming with added security
features, like the new Samsung Galaxy S6
unveiled at Barcelona that has a fingerprint
scanner. Google last month bought Softcard,
a rival to its Google Wallet co-founded by US
mobile operators AT&T, T-Mobile USA and
Verizon in 2011. And Samsung recently
acquired LoopPay, whose technology links up
with the magnetic strip readers in existing
payment terminals instead of NFC.
This system transmits card details via
secure magnetic signals to the reader when
held up against it. It has the advantage over
the Apple and Google systems of being
immediately compatible with more than 30
million payment terminals in use in the
United States.
Cash still king
US banks are watching nervously as the
emergence of contactless payment systems
comes just as they are investing to upgrade
payment cards and terminals from magnetic
strips to chip cards.
US banks lost out in the Internet payments
market to Paypal, which announced during
the Mobile World Congress that it was getting
into the contactless payments game with the
purchase of Paydiant. This US company works
with merchants to develop loyalty and incentive programmes as part of mobile payment
systems to help them boost sales.
Many experts see retailers offering discounts and promotions tailored to each client
as an important element in encouraging consumers to make the switch to contactless
payments with their smartphones. Not everyone is expecting a boom in the use of smartphones for making payments.
“For several years now an explosion of that
of kind of payment has been expected but
one should not forget that 85 percent of all
the transactions in the world are still made
via cash,” said MasterCard’s chief executive
Ajay Banga. He expects adoption of contactless payment systems to instead grow steadily over several years. —AFP
Apple’s hotly-anticipated smartwatch
Apple takes leap into new
territory with smartwatch
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple’s hotly-anticipated
smartwatch is expected to debut today as the
trend-setting firm sets out to make stylish wristworn computers must-have accessories for modern lifestyles. Industry trackers say Apple Watch
will star at a media event being held at the same
San Francisco theater where the California tech
giant introduced the iPad.
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has revealed
little about the sophisticated wrist wear, but has
said that he “can’t live without it.”
The company announced its plans for Apple
Watch last year to much fanfare and has said it
would begin shipping in April. It will mark
Apple’s first new product type since the iPad in
2010. Apple has indicated that the entry price
would be $349 in the United States, and that
two different sizes would be available in three
collections, including the “Apple Watch Edition,”
featuring 18-karat gold cases in yellow or rose,
sapphire crystal and finely crafted bands and
closures. The Apple device will connect with the
iPhone, and also have a range of apps and sensors, notably for health and fitness.
The watch is also expected to include map
software that guides people to destinations with
gentle “taps” on the wrist. Fitness apps on the
Apple Watch and its rivals could spell trouble for
makers of fitness bands from companies like
Jawbone, Fitbit and Nike.
“Apple is poised to once again show how
computing platforms are won or lost on the
one-two punch of eager consumers and hungry
ecosystem partners,” said Forrester Research
analyst James McQuivey. Apple reportedly had
to scale back health tracking features on the
watch after some sensors didn’t rise to the challenges.
Catalyze, dominate the market
It remains unclear whether Apple — a latecomer to the wearables segment would do for
smartwatches what the iPod did for MP3 players
and the iPad did for tablet computers. Apple
enters a segment crowded with vendors ranging
from South Korean giants Samsung and LG, to
Japan’s Sony and startups such as Pebble.
Motorola, acquired by Chinese giant Lenovo
last year, also produces a smartwatch, and
China’s Huawei introduced its version at the
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.
Pebble, which burst on the scene with a
crowd-funded smartwatch in 2012, this month
broke the record on the Kickstarter platform
with more than $16 million raised.
Research firm Strategy Analytics predicts
Apple will set fire to the market from the outset,
projecting sales of 15.4 million units worldwide
in 2015, to give Apple a 55 percent market share.
“The Apple Watch is the catalyst to ignite the
global smartwatch market,” said Strategy
Analytics executive director Neil Mawston.
“Apple’s famous brand, loyal fan base, deep
retail presence and extensive apps ecosystem
will ensure healthy uptake for its watch.”
Still, he said Apple may see a few glitches that
need to be ironed out. “Apple’s first-generation
Watch is not yet perfect,” Mawston said in a
statement. “Apple will need to upgrade tangibly
its second-generation watch to stay ahead of
competitors later this year.”
He noted that rival models are more attractive, have a longer battery life and offer more
affordable prices. But Deutsche Bank analyst
Sherri Scribner predicted an even bigger splash
for the Apple Watch, with sales of 17.6 million
units this year.
By 2018, Scribner said, one of every four
iPhone users will also have an Apple Watch,
making the segment worth some $26 billion for
the company.
In a research note, Scribner said the Apple
Watch should be a “catalyst” to expand the market, with wrist-worn devices gradually becoming
a complement to smartphones.
The next big thing?
Others say it’s not yet clear if the smartwatch
will become the must-have accessory for consumers, particularly if the pricing remains at current levels. Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint
Technologies Associates, said Apple’s loyal consumer base will deliver a certain number of sales
but won’t guarantee widespread adoption.
“There will be 10 million people who will buy
it because it’s from Apple,” Kay said. “But the larger question is whether this category really has
legs.” A key question is whether Apple can create
the same kind of buzz and energy around a new
product without its legendary leader Steve Jobs,
who died in 2011. “Steve could distort reality
and tell everyone it was the next big thing, and
people would believe it,” said Kay. “They’ve never
done it without Steve. So this is the challenge for
Tim Cook.” —AFP
Boom in journalist drone
use flies into legal obstacles
BARCELONA: Visitors test Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphones during the opening day
of the 2015 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on March 2. Phone makers
will seek to seduce new buyers with even smarter Internet-connected watches and
other wireless gadgets as they wrestle for dominance. — AFP
Hackers threaten
phone in pocket
BARCELONA: The boom in smartphones
among often careless users has made happy hunting for hackers, whose virus attacks
and hijacking of unprotected mobiles are
multiplying, experts warn. Security analysts
and companies at this week’s Mobile World
Congress, a top wireless telecom fair in
Barcelona, Spain, said phone makers and
users must be on guard to stop hackers
getting into your pocket. “With smartphones we are going through what we
went through 15 years ago with personal
computers,” said Tanguy de Coatpont, head
of the French branch of international antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab.
“ There are more and more security
problems because with their processing
power they are really like little computers,
permanently connected.” Kaspersky’s most
recent study showed that 28 percent of
users were ignorant of the risks of cyberattack on their smartphones. Just over a
quarter of users in that study said they
knew of the risk but were not worried
about it. Analysts said that attitude had
fuelled attacks on smartphones by hackers
over the past two years.
“We are seeing an increase in volume (of
attacks) of sometimes more than 400 percent quarter on quarter,” said David Grout,
southern Europe director of Intel Security, a
global software protection firm. That is
small compared to the scale of attacks on
personal computer operating systems such
as Windows, but “it is a bigger and bigger
risk,” he said. “Hackers have to hand lots of
personal information contained in a smartphone, particularly financial details.”—AFP
PARIS: Flying over the flaming barricades of the
Maidan protests in Kiev, the camps of Auschwitz or
hurtling down a ski slope-drones have become a
vital tool for cameramen, but they are increasingly
running into legal and practical obstacles.
Many news networks such as the BBC, Russia
Today and France’s TF1 have bought their own
drones in recent years and trained their cameramen to become remote-control pilots.
“We’ve used them all over the world, from Togo,
for a report about the Aral Sea, to the Brazilian rain
forests,” said Thomas Hannen, a producer at the
BBC World Service.
Simple to use and able to capture views way out
of the reach of traditional technology, drones are
also increasingly affordable, with basic models
starting at just a few hundred euros (dollars).
That compares with shelling out some 20,000
euros a day to get helicopter shots, said Pierre
Fourtillan, head of Aliothcam, a French business
that specialises in aerial photography.
Although some shots are still better achieved
with a cameraman in a helicopter, drones provide
some novel options.
Tightening up the rules
“We can kiss the rooftops and sides of buildings,” enthused Nicolas Charbonneau, an assistant
director at TF1. Storms, avalanches and traffic jams
have all become filmable in a way that would have
been impossible just a few years ago, he added,
and the station is keen to use them more for
extreme sports. Drones have also made it easier to
cover hard news topics. “They enable us to tell stories that would be out of reach, particularly
when there are safety concerns, for example in
war zones or natural disasters,” said Lizzie Phelan, a
journalist at Russia Today, which made pioneering
use of drones to cover the Ferguson riots in the
United States last year.
But there are limits, particularly as the spike in
their use makes governments jittery about the
security implications.
France and Spain already have strict laws banning their use over populated and high-security
areas without special permission. Three BBC journalists were arrested in Switzerland in February
after flying a drone over a restricted zone. Three
more from Al-Jazeera were detained for an unauthorised flight over a Paris park last month.
The US is struggling to come up with clear rules.
California passed a law in September preventing
paparazzi from using drones, after celebrities such
as Miley Cyrus raised concerns about drones hovering over her home. Such restrictions are not seen
as a great loss by all paparazzi, however. “On a
drone, you can only put a wide-angle lens,” said
Sebastien Valiela, whose photos last year revealed
President Francois Hollande’s affair with actress
Julie Gayet. “You need to be within a few metres of
the people to get a usable picture. You get spotted
Valiela did buy a drone, and tried to use it last
year for the marriage in France of Kim Kardashian
and Kanye West. “But when I saw how the place
was set up, I decided to take a helicopter instead,”
he said. After that, he sold his drone. — AFP
BRUSSELS: People listen on as a man shows a drone during a show at ‘Drone-Days’, the first fair
on drones in Belgium, at Tour and Taxi in Brussels, on March 7. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
H E A LT H & S C I E N C E
US heroin overdoses shifting to young, white, Midwestern
NEW YORK: The people who die from
heroin-related overdoses in the US now
tend to be young, white and live in the
Midwest, according to a government
report. That’s a shift from 15 years ago
when the death rate was highest among
older blacks and the West and Northeast
had the biggest heroin problems. The
report released yesterday examines the
rising trend in fatalities involving heroin.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention report, based on death cer-
tificates from 2013, tallied drug overdose
deaths across the US in which heroin
was a contributing factor. More from the
report:
Overdose count
There were 8,257 heroin-related
deaths in 2013, compared to 5,925 the
previous year. The rates have increased
significantly since 2010, when deaths
numbered about 3,000. Heroin-related
deaths increased in both men and
women, in all age groups, and in whites,
blacks and Hispanics.
Changing demographics
A few of the increases were particularly striking, said Dr. Holly Hedegaard of
the CDC, one of the authors of the
report. In 2000, the highest death rate
from heroin overdoses was in blacks
ages 45 to 64. But in 2013, whites ages
18 to 44 had the highest rate. Whites in
that age group accounted for more than
half of the heroin-related overdose
deaths that year. And the region with
the largest heroin overdose problems
shifted to the Midwest. The West and
Northeast had the same highest rate in
2000. The report did not provide state
breakdowns.
Gap is closing
Overall, there were about 44,000 drug
overdose deaths in 2013. More than
16,000 of them involved a type of pow-
erful prescription painkillers, such as
Vicodin and OxyContin. Those deaths
were nearly twice as high as the heroinrelated deaths in 2013. However,
painkiller-related deaths held steady for
two years while those involving heroin
climbed. The report didn’t explore why
heroin deaths are increasing. Other
experts have said recent restrictions on
prescribing painkillers may be reducing
supplies at a time when the heroin supply has been increasing.— AP
Sweet cravings will make
sugar curbs hard: Experts
PARIS: UN recommendations to curb sugar intake may face an uphill battle for
acceptance, experts say-confronted by an
ingrained human yearning for sweetness.
Sugar is laden with energy, which we are
genetically geared to want-a craving the
food industry has cultivated to keep consumers coming back for more, they point
out. On Wednesday, the World Health
Organization (WHO) reiterated its advice
that added sugar should comprise less
than 10 percent of daily calorie intake, but
said consumers should ideally strive for half
that amount. Experts question the attainability of these goals given that sugar is
added to everything these days from tomato-based sauces and bread to charcuterie.
“There is a collusion between manufacturers and consumers,” said Jean-Michel
Lecerf, head of nutrition at the Pasteur
Institute in Lille, northern France-pointing
to a “shared responsibility” for the sharp
rise in added sugar in food.
“Manufacturers like to sell their products
and consumers like the taste of sugar.”
The UN guidelines apply to so-called
“free sugars” added to food and drink by
the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and
naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit
juices and fruit juice concentrates.
These are said to have contributed to a
global rise in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
Food manufacturers will be hardpressed to find a cheaper, easier and more
popular flavour-booster, say the experts.
Not only does sugar provide a quick energy
boost, it is also a natural mood-lifter.
‘Miracle ingredient’
“We want it because we get pleasure
from it,” said Lecerf. “It has a psychotropic
effect when you have the blues.”
Michael Moss, awarded a Pulitzer prize
for his book: “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food
Giants Hooked Us”, calls sugar the “miracle
ingredient for the food companies”.
“They use it to save money. When you’re
making a tomato sauce, instead of using
naturally red, sweet tomatoes, you can buy
cheap, green tomatoes and add sugar to
make up for the natural flavour,” he said.
The food industry has developed a “bliss
point” measure for the ideal sugar contentnot too little and not too much, said Moss,
to make sure consumers are always left
wanting more.
One of the biggest problems for consumers, he added, was the hidden sugar in
savoury products like bread and processed
meat. “What it does is create the expected
wish that everything you eat is sweet.” The
UN advice does not cover sugar in fresh
fruit or vegetables. According to Nita
Forouhi, a nutritional epidemiology
researcher at the University of Cambridge,
sugar-sweetened beverages may be the
“low-hanging fruit” for achieving the UN’s
objective. The 10-percent goal amounts to
about 50 grammes (1.8 ounces) or 12 teaspoons of sugar for an adult consuming
2,000 calories per day.
The average can of soda packs up to 10
teaspoons, so switching to water or a nonsweetened beverage will swiftly cut sugar
intake. The tougher five-percent ideal,
aimed at reducing tooth decay, will be
“much harder to meet,” said Tom Sanders, a
professor emeritus on nutrition at King’s
College London.
“It would involve not eating cakes, biscuits, confectionary and all sugar-sweetened beverages, including fruit juice,” he
told Britain’s Science Media Centre.
Tailored approach
Sugar consumption patterns vary hugely
between countries. It accounts for about
seven or eight percent of the adult daily
calorie intake in Norway and Hungary, for
example, but in Spain and Britain, it is more
than double that. On average, South
America consumes two-and-a-half times
the WHO’s 10-percent recommendation,
and sub-Saharan Africans less than the 50gramme goal. —AFP
Thomas Edison’s ‘lost’ idea:
A device to hear the dead
PARIS: One of Thomas Edison’s little known ambitions was to build a device to
hear the voices of the dead, according to a
nearly lost chapter of the inventor’s memoirs which is being republished in France
this week.
The American, who developed the
phonograph and is often cited, inaccurately, as being the first to come up with the
light bulb, wanted to create a sort of “spirit
phone” that recorded the utterances of
departed souls.
Edison (1847-1931) detailed his efforts
and they were published posthumously in
1948 as the final chapter of his “Diary and
Sundry Observations”.
Strangely, though, his account of dabbling in what would today be considered
the occult was expunged in subsequent
English-language editions of the book.
Some in America thought the idea was
maybe a hoax or a joke by Edison, as no
design for a “spirit phone” has ever been
uncovered.
But in France, the 1949 French translation of inventor’s original “Diary” was preserved intact-with the missing final chapter. French readers from Thursday will be
able to rediscover Edison’s unusual quest in
a book titled “Le Royaume de l’Au-dela”
(The Kingdom of the Afterlife) that republishes the text.
It may not be as he conceived it, but in a
way the book channels Edison’s words from
beyond the grave.
The work is presented with commentary
by Philippe Baudouin, a French radio presenter and trained philosopher, who told
AFP: “This little-known episode in the history of talking machines was of special interest to me, as I’m a radio man.”
The chapter shows how Edison tried in
late 1870 to find a basis for his “spirit
phone” invention by amplifying the sound
from his phonographs, the precursor of
gramophones and record players.
He even made a pact with an engineer
working with him, William Walter
Dinwiddie, that the first who died would
“would try to send a message to the survivor from beyond,” Baudouin said.
Edison believed not only that ghosts
existed but but also that they were very
talkative.
He “imagined being able to record the
voice of another being, to be able to make
audible that which isn’t-the voice of the
dead”, Badouin said. — AFP
ADDIS ABABA: People take pictures of a piece of jawbone, that was uncovered in Ethiopia and is the earliest known fossil of the genus Homo, as
it is displayed in Addis Ababa. A piece of jawbone with teeth attached, uncovered in Ethiopia, is the earliest known fossil of the genus Homo, to
which humans belong, researchers said.— AFP
Jawbone fossil in Ethiopia
sheds light on human origins
Fossil sheds light on the time when early hominids diverged
MIAMI: A piece of jawbone with teeth attached,
uncovered in Ethiopia, is the earliest known fossil
of the genus Homo, to which humans belong,
researchers said.
The discovery suggests that humankind’s ancestors were living in what is now the Ledi-Geraru
research area of Afar Regional State, Ethiopia, in
open grassland environments, near lakes, rivers,
and active volcanoes, about 2.8 million years ago,
or 400,000 years earlier than previously thought.
“It is the first fossil we have on the branch that
leads toward us,” said Brian Villmoare, assistant professor at the University of Nevada, lead author of
the study in the journal Science.
The jawbone, known as LD 350-1, is the lower
left side of a mandible with five teeth, and was
found in fine sediment near the surface of the
research site in 2013.
The fossil has not yet been assigned to a particular species, but its slim molars and dental arch
proportions indicate an advancement that is not
seen in the more ape-like Australopithecus afarensis, dating just a few hundred thousand years earlier. Experts described the fossil as a very early representative of the species that led to modern
humans, though not a direct ancestor of our particular species, known as homo sapiens.
Researchers are particularly intrigued because
the fossil dates to a period when few such artifacts
have been found, and sheds light on the time
when early hominids diverged, as the ancestors of
homo sapiens split from the more ape-like australopithecus, which walked upright but had smaller brains. “The fossil record in east Africa between
two and three million years ago is very thin and
there are relatively few fossils that can inform us
about the origins of the genus homo,” said
Villmoare.
“However this is one of the most interesting
periods in human evolution.”
Link to ‘Lucy’
The last known fossil of most recent member of
Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”) comes from the
nearby Ethiopian site of Hadar and is about 3.2 million years old. Meanwhile, the oldest known Homo
fossil was, until now, believed to be about 2.3 or 2.4
million years old. The refinement seen in the new
fossil “suggests that the transition itself was relatively rapid,” said Villmoare.
“Of course this specimen raises many more
questions than answers, and those questions will
only be resolved by further fieldwork.” With few
trees around, and a climate that was likely hot and
dry, this creature had likely adapted in ways that
ARIZONA: This undated photo obtained March 4, 2015, courtesy of Brian Villmoare and
Arizona State Univerity, shows a close up view of the mandible just steps from where it was
sighted by Chalachew Seyoum, Arizona State University graduate student, who is from
Ethiopia. A piece of jawbone with teeth attached, uncovered in Ethiopia, is the earliest known
fossil of the genus Homo, to which humans belong, researchers said. — AP
were different than Australopithecus. “This early
homo could live in this fairly extreme habitat and
that apparently Lucy’s species could not,” said Kaye
Reed, a co-author on the paper from Arizona State
University.
The journal Science’s deputy editor Andrew
Sugden described the findings as opening a “major
new chapter in the story of human evolution in
Africa, which expands our understanding not only
of human origins, but also of the environments in
which our ancestors emerged.”
A related paper in the journal Nature described
how state-of-the-art computer reconstruction of
the pieces of a Homo habilis fossil-declared in 1964
to be the earliest known member of our human
evolutionary lineage — shows that this so-called
Handy man’s jaw was actually more primitive than
previously thought. The fossil Olduvai Hominid 7,
or OH 7, included a lower jaw, parts of a braincase
and hand bones from an individual found in 1.8
million-year-old sediment in Tanzania.
Researchers used computed tomography (CT)
and 3D imaging technology to digitize and
reassemble the bone fragments on a computer
screen. The result was a lower jaw that was more
narrow, and more like the older species
Australopithecus afarensis, than the more closely
related Homo erectus. The braincase of the Handy
man however was larger than previously estimated
and looked similar to that seen in Homo erectus.
Researchers now understand that were vast differences in the jaws of three different early Homo
species that lived between 2.1 and 1.6 million years
ago: Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo
rudolfensis. “The Ledi jaw helps narrow the evolutionary gap between Australopithecus and early
Homo,” said William Kimbel, director of Arizona
State University’s Institute of Human Origins. “It’s
an excellent case of a transitional fossil in a critical
time period in human evolution.” — AFP
FDA finds little evidence of antibiotics in milk
NEW YORK: Undated file portrait of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (18471931), who created great innovations as the electric light bulb and the phonograph.
As stated in a story released one of Thomas Edison’s little-known ambitions was to
build a device to hear the voices of the dead, according to a nearly lost chapter of the
inventor’s memoirs which is being republished in France, later in the week. — AP
WASHINGTON: In an encouraging development for consumers worried about antibiotics in
their milk, a new Food and Drug Administration
study showed little evidence of drug contamination after surveying almost 2,000 dairy farms.
In response to concerns, the agency in 2012
took samples of raw milk from the farms and
tested them for 31 drugs, almost all of them
antibiotics. Results released by the agency
Thursday show that less than 1 percent of the
total samples showed illegal drug residue.
Antibiotics and other drugs can end up in
milk when they are used on dairy cows to keep
them healthy. Small levels of some drugs are
allowed in milk, but residues that go beyond
certain thresholds are illegal.
“Overall this is very encouraging and reinforces the idea that the milk supply is safe,” said
the FDA’s William Flynn, who led the study. He
said the agency will use the findings to try and
reduce the drug contamination even more.
Public health groups are concerned about
the levels of animal antibiotics that make it into
food because consuming the drugs could potentially be harmful to humans. Repeated exposure
to antibiotics can lead germs to become resistant to the drugs so that they are no longer effective. Drug residues can also be harmful if they
prompt allergies or other reactions.
The industry does regular testing for some of
the drugs the FDA tested, but public health
advocates had expressed particular concern
about milk that had come from dairy farms that
had repeatedly tried to sell older cows for
slaughter with illegal levels of antibiotic residue
in their tissue. So the FDA study focused on
those farms with previous violations, with about
half of the samples coming from them and half
from a control group.
FDA said 11 of the samples from the group
with previous violations showed illegal levels of
drug residue and four from the control group
showed illegal residue. Flynn said the illegal
drug residues found in the study were from
unapproved drugs, so any level is illegal.—AP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
H E A LT H & S C I E N C E
Maker of device in
‘superbug’ outbreak
lacked FDA clearance
WASHINGTON: The manufacturer of a
medical instrument at the center of a
recent “superbug” outbreak in Los Angeles
did not receive federal clearance to sell an
updated version the device, according to
officials from the Food and Drug
Administration.
The FDA confirmed that Olympus Corp.
did not seek agency clearance for the
redesign of its specialized endoscope,
which it began selling in 2010. FDA clearance is required for all substantive updates
to medical devices sold in the US.
Despite the lack of clearance, the FDA
said doctors should continue using the
device because it’s not clear that a federal
review would have prevented the recent
infections in patients.
Olympus said in a statement that it
determined in 2010 that it didn’t need to
submit its changes for FDA review. The
company has since filed an application that
is now pending at the FDA. The company’s
hard-to-clean device is believed to be
responsible for infections in seven people two of whom died - who contracted an
antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria after
undergoing endoscopic procedures at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
between October and Januar y. Two
Olympus devices used at the UCLA hospital
were found to have “embedded” infections
even though they had been cleaned
according to manufacturer’s instructions.
The specialized device, known as a duodenoscope, is a flexible fiber-optic tube
that is inserted down the throat into the
stomach and small intestine to drain fluids.
Infections of the “superbug” carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE,
have been reported at hospitals around the
country, and some have been linked to the
type of endoscope used at UCLA.
Investigation
On Wednesday, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center reported that four patients at its
hospital had also been infected with the
“superbug,” possibly transmitted through
the same Olympus device. The Los Angeles
hospital launched its own investigation
after learning of the UCLA outbreak two
weeks ago.
Revelations about the lack approval for
Olympus’ device came as lawmakers in
Congress questioned the FDA’s performance overseeing the safety and design of
the instruments. In a letter Wednesday, 10
members of Congress asked the FDA to
answer nearly a dozen questions about
oversight of duodenoscopes, including
when the agency first learned about problems with infections.
“It appears that if a superior cleaning
procedure cannot be developed, the best
solution will be to develop a new device,”
states the letter, signed by six Democrats
and four Republicans in the House of
Representatives.
An FDA spokeswoman said that the
agency informed Olympus last March that
the company must submit an application
for its redesigned device, which the company filed last October. That application is still
pending because the FDA asked the company for additional information.
Shortage of devices
In an online posting, the FDA said it
does not plan to withdraw Olympus’ TJFQ180V duodenoscope, because it could
cause a shortage of devices used in about
500,000 procedures per year.
The agency also noted that FDA has
received reports of infections with similar
devices made by two other manufacturers,
Pentax Medical and Fujifilm. The FDA says it
is trying to determine what more can be
done to reduce infections and plans a
meeting of outside advisers for later this
year. A date for that meeting has not yet
been set.
The FDA said last month that the duodenoscope’s complex design, intended to
improve usability, also makes the device
extremely difficult to clean. Bodily fluids
and other particles can stay in the device’s
crevices even after cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning instructions issued by manufacturers of the devices may not adequately disinfect the devices, according to the
FDA. Nevertheless, the agency recommends hospitals follow the instructions
and also consult cleaning guidelines issued
by several medical societies in 2011.
Olympus Corp. of the Americas said in a
statement the company “continuously
strives to improve our products for safe and
effective use. This includes changes to
device design.” —AP
MANILA: A dog owner queues for a blessing from Roman Catholic priest for her pet
in suburban Manila, during a free vaccination, castration and blessing of pets event.
The yearly event, which also offers free rabies vaccines is sponsored by the Quezon
City government in an effort to eradicate rabies from the Philippines. — AFP
WESTPORT: In this photo taken Feb. 26, 2015, and provided by NOAA Fisheries, newborn Orca calf L121 swims with its mother, L94, off
Westport, Wash., with the NOAA research ship Bell M. Shimada in the background. Researchers aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration vessel returned to Oregon earlier this week with a wealth of new data about the whales and their ocean environment. The information was gained after NOAA Fisheries researchers followed the giant marine mammals for 21 days to find out where they go during the winter, what they eat, and what risks they encounter.— AP
States on edge about future
of health insurance markets
Justices divided in latest challenge to Obama’s law
MIAMI: Mixed signals from the Supreme Court
have states on edge about the future of health
insurance subsidies for millions of Americans.
And a summer decision from the justices leaves
little time for backup planning.
Many governors, especially Republicans,
want the federal government to craft a contingency plan and at least one governor - in
Pennsylvania - is pursuing a state exchange,
which would make sure his state was able to
receive the subsidy.
During oral arguments Wednesday, the justices appeared divided in the latest challenge to
President Barack Obama’s law. Opponents of the
law argued that only residents in about a dozen
states that set up their own insurance markets
can get federal subsidies to help pay their premiums. The administration says the law provides
for subsidies in all 50 states. The case sets up an
intriguing political backdrop for states like
Florida and Texas, both led by Republican governors staunchly opposed to the law. The states
now find themselves with the most at stake with
large numbers enrollees who could take their
anger to the ballot box if they lose coverage.
Florida has more people on the health care
plan than any other state and most of the 1.6
million people receive the subsidy, along with
many of Texas’ 1.2 million enrollees.
Austin, Texas, resident Donna Allen, a parttime community college student who also runs a
house cleaning service, worries what will happen if she loses the her $400 monthly tax credit.
She pays $85 for health insurance she bought on
the federal exchange.
“We just don’t make the money rich people
do, so what am I supposed to do, die?
Disappear?” Allen said. Florida Gov. Rick Scott
echoed the sentiments of many Republican governors when he said Wednesday that the White
House should outline what actions it would take
under any outcome in the court case. He and
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have not said what steps
they would take if the burden fell back to the
states. “In the absence of leadership from the
president, the new Republican-led Congress
should quickly propose solutions to undo the
federal exchange monopoly,” Scott said in a
statement.
The “let the federal government figure it out”
attitude may not serve Republicans well politically on the eve of a presidential election year if
the court rules against the subsidies.
“As far as I’m aware the governor doesn’t have
a contingency plan and that’s really not surprising considering Republicans have really had
their head in the sand on this issue for so long.
People are dying as a result of our inaction,” said
Florida Democratic minority leader Rep. Mark
Pafford. Several states, including Tennessee and
Missouri, are proposing laws that would ban or
eliminate state exchanges.
North Carolina’s Republican-led Legislature
passed a law forbidding agencies from putting
any resources toward a state exchange, but
Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat
mounting a gubernatorial campaign, joined
with 21 other states and the District of Columbia
asking the Supreme Court to uphold the subsidies on the federal exchange.
They argue that state leaders chose not to
establish their own exchange based on the
understanding that using the federal marketplace wouldn’t penalize their citizens. More than
half a million people in North Carolina bought
plans on healthcare.gov.
Auto repair shop owner John Phillips of
Decatur, Illinois, is not a fan of the health law,
but worries about the outcome of the case. He
and his wife, a preschool teacher, rely on a $400
monthly subsidy to pay for the Blue Cross Blue
Shield insurance they bought on healthcare.gov.
They pay $249 a month. “If the subsidy goes
away and rates stay where they’re at, I will not be
able to afford health insurance, at least not anything decent,” Phillips said. Some states that are
successfully running an exchange have talked
about opening their marketplace to neighboring
states, although it’s unclear such partnerships
were permitted under the new law.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican,
signaled he’s open to working with Utah and
other neighboring states. Colorado Gov.
Hickenlooper said he talked with at least one
other governor about creating a regional
exchange. California runs the nation’s largest
exchange, with roughly 1.4 million enrollees, but
Gov. Jerry Brown’s spokesman, Jim Evans, said
it’s too early to comment on opening enrollment
to neighboring states.
Pennsylvania’s newly elected Democratic
Gov. Tom Wolf is working with the federal government to set up a state-based insurance
exchange, but GOP-controlled state Legislature
would need to approve any funding.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has said it would
be up to the federal government to deal with
the fallout. A Texas Democrat has filed two bills
that would create a state exchange, but the
chances of those passing look grim.
The Obama administration has said they’ve
taken no steps in preparation for defeat. But
Congress might feel pressured to act if millions
lose insurance in big Republican-led states like
Florida and Texas.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said it’s not
easy to set up an exchange. The federal government and the states that chose to run their own
exchange spent hundreds of millions of dollars
and a few years choosing vendors, setting up
call centers and testing the website and still had
well publicized hiccups. “The concept of moving
just to a state exchange is much more complex
than just saying move to it the next day,”
McCrory said. “Even if it works, there are states
where it’s been a total disaster.”
In Florida, Theresa Patrick and her husband
bought health insurance for their 32-year-old
son shortly after he suffered a stroke in January
and was hospitalized for several days. Jesse
Patrick, who works as a pet store cashier, hasn’t
had insurance since he was 18. The Patricks pay
$38 a month and the government kicks in $255.
“After the stroke there was no way he could
not have health insurance. That was just not an
option,” said Patrick. “If we had to pay $255
above and beyond what we already help him
with, I don’t know how, I don’t know.” —AP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
W H AT ’ S O N
6abebat holds annual bazaar to
mark International Women’s Day
By Faten Omar
Chairman of Kuwait Society
for Ideal Family holds talks
with Bangladesh ambassador
M
ajor General Mohammad Ashab
Uddin, ndc, psc, (retd.)
Ambassador of Bangladesh met
H.E. Sheikha Fariha Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, the Hon’ble Chairman of Kuwait
Society for Ideal Family.
The Ambassador was received by Her
Excellency the Chairman at her office and
exchanged words of courtesy and pleasantries. The ambassador extended his gratitude for the call and expressed the greetings on behalf of Bangladesh govt and
community in Kuwait. During the meeting
the ambassador reiterated the excellent
bilateral relations between Bangladesh and
Kuwait since the inception of Bangladesh
in 1971.
Ambassador handed over an invitation
to H.E. Sheikha Fariha to attend the national day program on 26 March. He also invited her to visit Bangladesh at her convenient time. Sheikha Fariha expressed her
kind willingness to visit the brotherly country, Bangladesh at a mutually convenient
time. She showed her keenness to know
about women welfare, especially elderly
women, widows, handicapped people of
common class and rural areas. She mentioned to see for herself the beauty of rural
Bangladesh, its culture and heritage.
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Women Doctors (6abebat)
held its annual bazaar to mark International
Women’s Day at Bayt
Lothan on Saturday.
With dozens of vendors, a lineup of
prominent Kuwaiti
women speakers and
hundreds of visitors,
the event aimed to
showcase inspiring
women in Kuwait and
raise awareness about
the organization and
its role in supporting
women’s issues in
Kuwait.
Kuwaiti Women
Doctors is an independent, non-profit
organization for
female doctors and
health care professionals in Kuwait that Dr Naela Al Mazeedi
aims to support networking, enlightenment and empowerment for
their members and all women in Kuwait. They
are a growing group of female doctors of different ages and specialties across Kuwait to create
a better home and career environment.
Dr Naela Al Mazeedi, co-founder, CEO and
President of the Kuwait Women Doctors, opened
the speeches of the day - labeled the White
Circle - by explaining how she developed the
idea for the group and the importance of
—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
women working for something they are passionate about.
The lineup of women speakers included: Eng.
Sarah Akbar, founder of Kuwait Energy and a
prominent engineer; Lulwa Al Mulla, secretary
general of Kuwait’s Women’s Social Cultural
Society; Doctors Kefaya Abdul-Malek; Saud Abul
and Hala Al-Oudah as well as speakers from the
Kuwait Moms Guide, Kuwait Children’s Rights
Society; Masar Consulting and Little Moms
Group among others.
“We are proud to honor a group of outstanding women in Kuwaiti society in the humanitarian and medical fields, said Dr Fatma Al-Failkawi,
member of 6abebat group.
During the event, Noor Al-Nebari, 6abebat’s
bazaar coordinator, spoke about the various
wonderful activities of the bazaar, which the
event started with art activities for kids by
Funhouse Kuwait.
TSC participates in
February festivities
with Kuwait community
I
Malabar Gold & Diamonds opens 127th outlet
T
he leading jewellery retailer from IndiaMalabar Gold & Diamonds opened its latest
outlet Umm Al Quwain, marking its presence
across all the 7 Emirates. Conveniently Located
beside Lulu Center, Umm Al Quwain, this showroom
was inaugurated by H.E Sheikh Saood Bin Abdul
Aziz Al Mualla on 5 March 2015 in the presence of
Col. Khalifa Salim Al Shamsi - Ministry of Interior;
Shamlal Ahamed M P, Managing Director International Operations, Malabar Gold &
Diamonds; Abdul Salam K P, Group Executive
Director - Malabar Group, other Directors, personalities from media and well-wishers.
Entry to Umm Al Quwain is a double delight to
Malabar Gold, as they are the only Indian Jewellery
Group that marks their presence in all the 7
Emirates. Malabar Gold & Diamonds, who has started its international journey by opening its first outlet in Sharjah is also the first Indian jewellery that
marked its presence in the entire GCC. Their new
outlet in Umm Al Quwain is its 50th retail outlet outside India.
Malabar Gold is all set to make this occasion
memorable by announcing exclusive inaugural
offers. As a part of these offers, customers who purchase diamond jewellery worth AED 5,000 will get 1
gm. gold coin free and for every purchase of gold
jewellery worth AED 3,000, they will get a free gold
coin free.
The group also offers ‘Zero Deduction
Exchange’ facility through which customers can
update their old ornaments to the latest collection of Malabar Gold & Diamonds without any
loss. Any 22 ct old gold ornaments can be
exchanged with the latest Malabar Gold &
Diamonds designs by paying only making charges
ensuring they don’t lose any value on the rate of
gold.
All these offers are valid until 31 March 2015 at
their outlet in Umm Al Quwain only.
Their latest showroom will display a wide
range of collection in gold, diamond and platinum from different parts of the world at attractive prices to cater the needs of its diverse customers. This showroom will also participate in
their ongoing campaign-’Studs & Drops Festival’
showcasing an extensive collection of earrings,
giving their customers a unique chance to witness
and own studs and drops from over 20 countries
in gold, diamond and platinum.
The jewellery group with its presence in all
Middle East countries plans to add more show-
rooms in GCC to strengthen its presence in the
region. The retail chain that has 127 outlets worldwide operates 47 showrooms in the GCC countries, out of which 23 are in UAE.
Recognizing their potential in the Middle East,
they have embarked on expanding their footprints across the region and are planning to add 2
showrooms in UAE, 3 in Oman and 1 each in
Qatar, KSA and Bahrain in the next two months. In
UAE, they are all set to unveil new outlets in Abu
Dhabi and Ajman by the mid of April 2015.
The group represents Far East with 3 outlets in
Singapore. They are planning to expand their
presence in the Far East by entering into Malaysia
in the month of April. The jewellery group also
plans to roll out into retail markets like and Hong
Kong and to spread their operations into USA and
UK for immediate expansion.
The group is in the forefront when it comes to
CSR activities as well. The group sets apart a fixed
percentage of its net profit to the benefit of needy
and the charity projects of Malabar Gold &
Diamonds have touched the lives of thousands of
people across the world. They focus primarily in
five priority areas such as health, education, environment, housing and women empowerment.
McDonald’s, MasterCard announce 3-year
collaboration across ME and Africa
M
asterCard and McDonald’s yesterday
announced a strategic collaboration to introduce innovative electronic payment solutions
at McDonald’s restaurants in Kuwait and across other
key markets in the Middle East and Africa. The
announcement, which highlights the iconic quick-service brand’s ongoing commitment to convenience,
aims to leverage the power of both brands to bring
customers innovative payment solutions that are safe,
simple and secure.
As consumers continue to demand more convenient ways to make purchases, whether on location or
online, there is an increasing need for simpler and
faster payment solutions. With MasterCard’s latest technology, McDonald’s customers will soon be able to
swipe, insert or even tap their payment solutions to pay
for purchases, enhancing their payment experience. In
addition, MasterCard’s innovative digital wallet solution, MasterPass, will be available for McDonald’s
online ordering in countries where the option is available.
Yousif Abdulghani, Vice President & International
Relationship Partner at McDonald’s Middle East
Development Company, commented: “Our alliance
with MasterCard comes as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing our customers’ experience with
McDonald’s, providing not only great quality food, but
best in class services and solutions too in an inviting
and enjoyable environment. This integration of
MasterCard’s state-of-the-art smart payment technologies across our restaurants will accept all major credit
cards, and will add to our customers’ convenience and
ease of accessibility.
Raghu Malhotra, Division President, Middle East
and North Africa, MasterCard commented: “Teaming
up with McDonald’s is a great opportunity for us to
offer consumers innovative payment options that are
safe, simple and secure. As a technology company in
the payments industry, MasterCard remains committed
to providing the innovation, expertise and flexibility
needed to give cardholders the option to pay for purchases anytime, anywhere, and using any device.”
In time, cardholders will be able to use a range of
devices - including contactless cards, mobile phones,
and other NFC-enabled wearable products - to pay for
their meals at McDonald’s restaurants. These solutions
are ideal for quick-payment environments where speed
and convenience matter most.
The in-store and online payment technologies will
be rolled out in phases in all McDonald’s restaurants
across the Middle East and Africa . Additionally, the two
world-renowned brands will be combining marketing
efforts to offer customers priceless experiences and
rewards.
CGS to host 2nd Gulf studies symposium
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T
he Center for Gulf Studies (CGS) at the
American University of Kuwait (AUK) is hosting its 2nd Gulf Studies Symposium (GSS) on
13-15 March 2015. The GSS is held on a biennial
basis at AUK, and brings together local, regional,
and international scholars of the Gulf to engage in
interdisciplinary discussions on important topics
that are timely to both the region and the field of
Gulf studies.
The theme of the 2015 GSS is “KnowledgeBased Development in the Gulf.” Arab Gulf states
increasingly utilize the phrase “knowledge economy” in their development strategies, and emphasize the need to move away from natural resource
dependency towards “knowledge-based” development, where knowledge, skills, and innovation
drive economic success and competitive advan-
tage. To this end, significant investment in higher
education has become a principal strategy across
the GCC states. However, what exactly constitutes
“knowledge economy” is not always clear, and
there is limited research about the on-the-ground
negotiations, experiences, challenges, successes,
and failures that go into this form of development.
During the three-day public symposium, leading historians, ethnographers, political scientists, theorists, and
educators will draw on their original qualitative research,
as well as on their own experiences teaching and/or
researching within the Gulf, to address key questions
related to knowledge-based development in the region.
The Symposium will be conducted in English and is
open to the public, though advanced registration is
required as seating is limited. To register, and to view the
full program, please visit: www.auk.edu.kw/cgs/gss.
n celebration of Kuwait’s National and
Liberations Day, The Sultan Center (TSC)
arranged several festive occasions.
Inspired by Kuwait’s culture and traditions,
TSC put together a sequel of events with
various themes highlighting the spirit of
February festivities. A significant and major
part of TSC series of events is sharing the
joyous celebrations of the national month
among communities within Kuwait.
In order to integrate the communities
into the national festivities, TSC organized a
festive morning for a group of adults with
special needs, whereby they enjoyed a
hearty breakfast at the Jeans Grill
Waterfront Restaurant. The group took
delight in enjoying the carnival theme setting which created a fun experience ablaze
in national spirit.
TSC further took the initiative to bring
the celebrations to children confronted
with the struggles of cancer at the NBK
Children Hospital department in Al-Sabah
hospital. TSC hosted a gathering for all the
children combating cancer for an uplifting
time filled with laughter, entertainment,
games, and special gifts. TSC aimed to provide the children with encouragement dur-
ing their treatment.
In continuance with its national celebrations, TSC revived Kuwait’s history and traditions across all of its branches, letting
customers experience Kuwait’s rich heritage through handicrafts and cultural
activities. Sharing past cultural practices
and traditions offered customers a glimpse
of Kuwait’s past.
To celebrate the occasion with Kuwait
youth, TSC provided young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs with a venue to showcase their
business ideas. These young entrepreneurs
are an integral part of today’s society and
will be tomorrow’s business owners. TSC
was delighted to have provided a platform
in which these youths could display their
products in order to flourish and develop
their new business ventures.
Commenting on the TSC initiatives, Lisa
Al Gharib, Marketing Manager at TSC stated, “We hope all of those who celebrate
with us, enjoyed it as much as we did. We’re
also very proud to have had the community join us in our celebrations especially during the National Day holiday celebrations.”
TSC is committed to giving back to the
communities in which it operates.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
W H AT ’ S O N
General view of the event held at the Radisson SAS Hotel. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
IWG celebrates International Women’s Day
The International Women’s Group committee in Kuwait yesterday celebrated the International Women’s Day at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Dasman Ballroom. —Photos by Yasser Al Zayyat
R-L Adam, Camelea Al-Mutawaa, Isaac, Narjes Al-Shatti, Vera Al-Mutawaa,
Yousef.
R-L Oyun, Narjes, Aiesya, Atian, Luu.
Group picture
Camelya Al-Mutawaa speaking
Honoring Camelya Al-Mutawaa
Savinj and Mahsa
R-L Shamsa Ali Abbas, Narjes Al-Shatti, Hasel Bona, Bathobile AlAmini.
R-L Ida Pelland, Afi Khan, Jasmine Shuhaiber, Narjes Al-Shatti, Farah Attai,
Aziza Khan.
Jasmine Shuhaiber speaking
Nadya Al-Shaar
R-L Nasrah Al-Naqi, Jasmine Al-Zeer, Feryal Faraj
Alexya Lodge
Patricia
Jannah, Sevinj
R-L Christine Khoraibet, Faredah Yaseen,
Zahedah Mohammad
Brandone Dhamiya
Hala Al-Yassini
R-L Deborah, Effat, Barbara, Stefania, Joy
Elessa Al-Duaij
Erfinda Gusti
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
TV PROGRAMS
ANIMAL PLANET HD
00:50 Gator Boys
01:45 Gator Boys
02:40 Man, Cheetah, Wild
03:35 River Monsters
04:25 Tanked
05:15 Alaskan Bush People
06:02 Man, Cheetah, Wild
06:49 River Monsters
07:36 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife
Warriors
08:00 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife
Warriors
08:25 Too Cute!
09:15 Man, Cheetah, Wild
10:10 Call Of The Wildman
10:35 Call Of The Wildman
11:05 Gator Boys
12:00 Too Cute!
12:55 Man, Cheetah, Wild
13:50 Treehouse Masters
14:45 River Monsters
15:40 Tanked
16:35 Man, Cheetah, Wild
17:30 Gator Boys
18:25 Treehouse Masters
19:20 The Wild Life Of Tim
Faulkner
19:50 The Wild Life Of Tim
Faulkner
20:15 Tanked
21:10 Secret Creatures Of Jao
21:40 Secret Creatures Of Jao
22:05 Treehouse Masters
23:00 The Wild Life Of Tim
Faulkner
23:30 The Wild Life Of Tim
Faulkner
23:55 Rogue Nature With Dave
Salmoni
00:00 Antiques Roadshow
00:50 Come Dine With Me
01:40 New Scandinavian Cooking
02:05 New Scandinavian Cooking
02:30 Bargain Hunt
03:15 Bargain Hunt
04:00 Bargain Hunt
04:45 Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
06:05 New Scandinavian Cooking
06:30 Bargain Hunt
07:15 Bargain Hunt
08:00 Fantasy Homes By The Sea
08:45 Come Dine With Me
09:10 Beat My Build
10:00 Antiques Roadshow
10:50 Come Dine With Me
11:40 Masterchef: The
Professionals
12:10 Nigel Slater’s Simple
Suppers
12:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea
13:20 Come Dine With Me
13:45 Beat My Build
14:35 Antiques Roadshow
15:25 Come Dine With Me
16:15 Masterchef: The
Professionals
16:45 Nigel Slater’s Simple
Suppers
17:15 Fantasy Homes By The Sea
18:00 Come Dine With Me
18:25 Beat My Build
19:15 Beat My Build
20:10 Valentine Warner Eats
Scandinavia
20:35 Come Dine With Me
21:25 Masterchef: The
Professionals
22:20 Antiques Roadshow
23:10 Come Dine With Me
23:35 Rachel’s Favourite Food For
Living
00:45 Overhaulin’
01:35 Overhaulin’
02:25 Overhaulin’
03:15 Overhaulin’
04:05 Overhaulin’
05:00 The Carbonaro Effect
05:30 The Carbonaro Effect
06:00 Yukon Men
06:50 Fifth Gear
07:40 Fast N’ Loud
08:30 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop
Edition
08:55 The Liquidator
09:20 Backroad Bounty
09:45 How It’s Made
10:10 How It’s Made
10:35 Overhaulin’
11:25 Overhaulin’
12:15 Fantomworks
13:05 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop
Edition
13:30 The Liquidator
13:55 Backroad Bounty
14:20 Yukon Men
15:10 Fifth Gear
16:00 Fast N’ Loud
16:50 How It’s Made
17:15 How It’s Made
17:40 Alaska: The Last Frontier
18:30 Gold Rush
19:20 Gold Divers: Under The Ice
20:10 The Liquidator
20:35 Backroad Bounty
21:00 Gold Rush
21:50 Gold Divers: Under The Ice
22:40 Alaska: The Last Frontier
23:30 Alaska: The Last Frontier
00:40 How It’s Made
01:05 How It’s Made
01:30 Curiosity: Can We Survive
An Alien...
02:20 Through The Wormhole With
Morgan Freeman
03:10 How Do They Do It?
03:35 How Do They Do It?
04:00 Man vs The Universe
04:48 Alien Mysteries
05:36 Close Encounters
06:00 Close Encounters
06:24 Alien Encounters
07:12 How The Universe Works
08:00 Weird Connections
08:25 How Tech Works
08:50 X-Machines
09:40 Food Factory
10:05 How It’s Made
10:30 How Do They Do It?
10:55 How Do They Do It?
11:20 Brave New World
12:10 How Do They Do It?
12:35 How Do They Do It?
13:00 Weird Connections
13:25 How Tech Works
13:50 X-Machines
14:40 Food Factory
15:05 How It’s Made
15:30 How Do They Do It?
15:55 How Do They Do It?
16:20 Brave New World
17:10 How Do They Do It?
17:35 How Do They Do It?
18:00 Through The Wormhole With
Morgan Freeman
18:50 How It’s Made
19:15 How It’s Made
19:40 Food Factory
20:05
20:30
21:20
22:10
22:35
23:00
23:50
Food Factory
Invent It Rich
Invent It Rich
How Do They Do It?
How Do They Do It?
Invent It Rich
Invent It Rich
00:00 Violetta
00:45 The Hive
00:50 Art Attack
01:15 Art Attack
01:40 Jungle Junction
01:50 Jungle Junction
02:05 Jungle Junction
02:15 Jungle Junction
02:30 Violetta
03:10 The Hive
03:20 Art Attack
03:45 Art Attack
04:10 Jungle Junction
04:25 Jungle Junction
04:35 Jungle Junction
04:45 Jungle Junction
05:00 Art Attack
05:25 Art Attack
05:50 Mouk
06:00 Kim Possible
06:25 Binny And The Ghost
06:50 Girl Meets World
07:15 H2O: Just Add Water
07:40 Jessie
08:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place
08:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place
08:55 Hannah Montana
09:20 Hannah Montana
09:45 Suite Life On Deck
10:10 Suite Life On Deck
10:35 Good Luck Charlie
11:00 Good Luck Charlie
11:25 American Dragon
11:50 American Dragon
12:15 Kim Possible
12:40 Kim Possible
13:05 Good Luck Charlie
13:30 Dog With A Blog
13:55 Dog With A Blog
14:20 H2O: Just Add Water
14:55 Liv And Maddie
15:20 Binny And The Ghost
15:45 Girl Meets World
16:10 Violetta
17:05 Cow Belles
18:40 Dog With A Blog
19:05 Dog With A Blog
19:30 Violetta
20:20 Binny And The Ghost
20:45 H2O: Just Add Water
21:10 Austin & Ally
21:35 Jessie
22:00 Gravity Falls
22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of A
Teenage Witch
22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A
Teenage Witch
23:10 Wolfblood
23:35 Wolfblood
00:00 The Soup
00:30 The Drama Queen
01:25 The Drama Queen
02:20 E! News
03:15 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
03:40 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
04:10 E!ES
05:05 THS
06:00 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
06:55 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
07:50 Style Star
08:20 E! News
09:15 Giuliana & Bill
10:15 Giuliana & Bill
11:10 Eric And Jessie: Game On
11:35 Giuliana & Bill
12:05 E! News
13:05 Extreme Close-Up
13:35 The E! True Hollywood Story
14:30 Style Star
15:00 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
16:00 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
17:00 Christina Milian Turned Up
18:00 E! News
19:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take
The Hamptons
20:00 House Of DVF
21:00 Fashion Bloggers
21:30 Fashion Bloggers
22:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
22:30 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
23:00 THS
00:05 Chopped SA
00:55 Siba’s Table
01:20 Siba’s Table
01:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
02:10 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
02:35 Amazing Wedding Cakes
03:25 Chopped
04:15 Chopped
05:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
05:30 Siba’s Table
05:50 Siba’s Table
06:10 Sweet Genius
07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin
07:25 Roadtrip With G. Garvin
07:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
08:15 Chopped
09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
09:30 Farm Kings
10:20 Roadtrip With G. Garvin
10:45 Easy Chinese
11:10 Reza, Spice Prince Of India
11:35 The Big Eat...
12:00 Chopped
12:50 Siba’s Table
13:15 Guy’s Big Bite
13:40 Guy’s Big Bite
14:05 Guy’s Grocery Games
14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
15:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
15:45 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity
Coo
16:35 Chopped
17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco
17:50 Guy’s Big Bite
18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
18:40 Siba’s Table
19:05 The Big Eat...
19:30 Chopped
20:20 Guy’s Grocery Games
21:10 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity
Coo
22:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
22:25 Barefoot Contessa - Back To
Basics
22:50 Jenny Morris Cooks The
Riviera
23:15 Jenny Morris Cooks The
Riviera
23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
00:00 The Chase
00:25 The Chase
01:30 Come Dine With Me Ireland
02:00 Emmerdale
02:25 Emmerdale
02:55 Coronation Street
03:25 Who’s Doing The Dishes
04:20 Sunday Night At The
Palladium
05:15 Lewis
06:10 Take On The Twisters
07:05 Come Dine With Me Ireland
07:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes
08:25 Sunday Night At The
Palladium
09:20 The Jonathan Ross Show
10:15 Lewis
11:10 Emmerdale
11:35 Emmerdale
12:00 Coronation Street
12:30 Ade In Britain
13:25 Take On The Twisters
14:20 Come Dine With Me Ireland
14:45 Lewis
15:35 The Chase
16:30 Get Your Act Together
17:30 Paul O’Grady: For The Love
Of Dogs
17:55 Paul O’Grady: For The Love
Of Dogs
18:20 Take On The Twisters
19:10 Coronation Street
19:35 The Chase
20:30 Get Your Act Together
21:30 Paul O’Grady: For The Love
Of Dogs
21:55 Paul O’Grady: For The Love
Of Dogs
22:20 Coronation Street
22:50 Emmerdale
23:15 Emmerdale
23:45 Lewis
00:00 Apocalypse: The Second
World War
01:00 Dangerous Encounters
02:00 Situation Critical
03:00 Air Crash Investigation
04:00 Wild Sri Lanka
05:00 Swamp Men
06:00 America’s Lost Treasures
07:00 Last War Heroes
08:00 Apocalypse: The Second
World War
09:00 Dangerous Encounters
10:00 Situation Critical
11:00 Wild Sri Lanka
12:00 Is It Real?
13:00 Animal Intervention
14:00 Armageddon Outfitters
15:00 Car SOS
16:00 Animal Impact
17:00 Alaska Wing Men
18:00 Perilous Journeys
19:00 Car SOS
20:00 Animal Impact
21:00 Alaska Wing Men
22:00 Perilous Journeys
23:00 Wild Sri Lanka
00:00 Veep
00:30 The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart
01:00 The Nightly Show With Larry
Wilmore
01:30 Married
02:00 Married
03:00 Enlisted
03:30 Melissa & Joey
04:00 Community
04:30 The Tonight Show Starring
Jimmy Fallon
05:30 My Name Is Earl
06:00 Til Death
06:30 Dads
07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers
08:00 Community
08:30 My Name Is Earl
09:00 Enlisted
09:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
10:00 Men At Work
10:30 Dads
11:00 The Tonight Show Starring
Jimmy Fallon
12:00 Til Death
12:30 Community
13:00 My Name Is Earl
13:30 Dads
14:00 Melissa & Joey
14:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
15:00 Men At Work
15:30 The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart
16:00 The Nightly Show With Larry
Wilmore
16:30 Til Death
17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers
18:00 Hot In Cleveland
18:30 Melissa & Joey
19:00 Two And A Half Men
19:30 Two And A Half Men
20:00 Mulaney
20:30 Veep
21:00 The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart
21:30 Last Week Tonight With John
Oliver
22:00 Girls
22:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm
23:00 Sarah Silverman: We Are
Miracles
01:00
02:00
04:00
05:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
12:00
12:30
14:00
16:00
16:30
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
Better Call Saul
House Of Cards
Scandal
Castle
Franklin & Bash
Castle
Scandal
Emmerdale
Coronation Street
Franklin & Bash
Emmerdale
Coronation Street
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Franklin & Bash
Bones
Revenge
Bates Motel
Banshee
True Detective
02:00
03:00
04:00
06:00
07:00
07:30
09:00
10:00
10:30
12:00
13:00
14:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
Good Morning America
Supernatural
Sons Of Anarchy
Good Morning America
Emmerdale
Coronation Street
Switched At Birth
Emmerdale
Coronation Street
Intelligence
Killer Women
Live Good Morning America
Switched At Birth
Intelligence
Killer Women
Switched At Birth
Intelligence
Killer Women
Supernatural
Sons Of Anarchy
00:00 Kill Em All
02:00 Chained
04:00 Knuckle
05:45 Marvel’s Doctor Strange
07:15 The Mortal Instruments: City
Of Bones
09:30 Escape From L.A.
11:15 The Lone Ranger
13:45 Fatal Instinct
15:30 The Mortal Instruments: City
Of Bones
17:45 Escape From L.A.
19:30 The Lone Ranger
22:00 Flightplan
00:00 Chained-18
02:00 Knuckle-PG15
03:45 Marvel’s Doctor Strange-PG
05:15 The Mortal Instruments: City
Of Bones-PG15
07:30 Escape From L.A.-PG15
09:15 The Lone Ranger-PG15
11:45 Fatal Instinct-PG15
13:30 The Mortal Instruments: City
Of Bones-PG15
15:45 Escape From L.A.-PG15
17:30 The Lone Ranger-PG15
20:00 Flightplan-PG15
22:00 2 Guns-18
00:00 Chalet Girl-PG15
02:00 Three Men And A BabyPG15
04:00 So Undercover-PG15
06:00 Son Of Rambow-PG
08:00 See Spot Run-PG
10:00 Chalet Girl-PG15
12:00 Fred 2: Night Of The Living
Fred-PG
14:00 So Undercover-PG15
16:00 See Spot Run-PG
18:00 Scary Movie 5-PG15
20:00 The Hangover 3-18
22:00 Go-18
01:30
03:30
05:30
07:00
09:00
11:00
13:00
15:00
17:00
19:00
21:00
23:00
Won’t Back Down-PG15
The Immigrant-PG15
Grand Piano-PG15
There Be Dragons-PG15
Playing For Keeps-PG15
Grand Piano-PG15
Knife Fight-PG15
Centre Place-PG15
Playing For Keeps-PG15
Pawn-PG15
Disconnect-PG15
Her-18
00:45
02:30
05:00
07:00
09:00
11:15
13:00
15:45
17:30
19:45
22:00
Drive-18
Network-18
Unstrung Heroes-PG15
Life Happens-PG15
Quiz Show-PG15
Bully-PG15
The Insider-PG15
Faces In The Crowd-PG15
Quiz Show-PG15
The Fifth Estate-PG15
Promised Land-PG15
01:00 A Single Shot-18
03:00 Temptation: Confessions Of
A Marriage Counselor-PG15
05:00 Great Expectations-PG15
07:15 Step Up Revolution-PG15
09:00 The Nut Job-FAM
11:00 Alfie Boe: The Bring Him
Home Tour-PG15
13:00 Horizon-PG15
15:00 Madea’s Witness ProtectionPG15
17:00 The Nut Job-FAM
19:00 The Secret Life Of Walter
Mitty-PG15
21:00 Girl Most Likely-PG15
23:00 Carrie-18
01:00 The Missing Lynx
02:45 Barbie And The Magic Of
Pegasus
04:30 The Happets
06:00 Skateboy And The Voyage
To Monster Island
08:00 Twigson
09:15 Barbie Of Swan Lake
10:45 Speed Racer
13:00 Barbie And The Magic Of
Pegasus
14:30 Tony Hawk: Boom Boom
Sabotage
16:00 Ploddy Police Car
18:00 Barbie Of Swan Lake
20:00 Dudley Do Right
22:00 Tony Hawk: Boom Boom
Sabotage
23:30 Ploddy Police Car
00:00
02:00
04:00
05:45
08:00
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
20:00
22:00
Holidaze-PG15
Peeples-PG15
Last Vegas-PG15
The Host-PG15
Muppets Most Wanted-PG
Saving Santa-PG
Last Vegas-PG15
Quartet-PG15
Muppets Most Wanted-PG
Man Of Tai Chi-PG15
Admission-PG15
The Details-18
02:00 PGA Tour - Puerto Rico
Open
07:00 Golfing World
11:00 Live NRL Premiership
13:00 Top 14 Highlights
13:30 Golfing World
16:00 Snooker Shootout
18:00 Golfing World
19:00 World Golf Championship
Highlights
20:00 PGA European Tour
Highlights
21:00 Super Rugby Highlights
2 GUN OSN MOVIES ACTION HD
DRIVE ON OSN MOVIES FESTIVAL HD
02:30 Super Rugby Highlights
04:30 Super Rugby Highlights
09:00 Golfing World
10:00 World Golf Championships
19:00 WWE Experience
20:00 WWE Afterburn
21:00 WWE This Week
21:30 World Golf Championships
Highlights
22:30 PGA European Tour
Highlights
04:30
AFG
05:30
SL
06:30
BAN
18:00
18:30
BAN
22:00
ICC World Cup H/L: NZ v
ICC World Cup H/L: AUS v
Live ICC World Cup: ENG v
ICC Cricket 360
ICC World Cup H/L: ENG v
ICC Cricket 360
00:20 Cake Boss
00:45 Bakery Boss
01:35 Extreme Couponing
02:00 Mob Wives
02:50 Say Yes To The Dress
03:15 Little People, Big World
03:40 Craft Wars
04:30 Cake Boss
05:00 Sister Wives
05:30 Sister Wives
06:00 18 Kids And Counting
06:25 World’s Worst Mum
07:15 Say Yes To The Dress
07:40 Little People, Big World
08:05 Say Yes To The Dress: The
Big Day (Specials)
08:55 Sister Wives
09:45 Cake Boss
10:10 Sister Wives
10:35 Sister Wives
11:00 Craft Wars
11:50 Cake Boss
12:15 Cake Boss
12:40 World’s Worst Mum
13:30 Cake Boss
13:55 Cake Boss
14:20 Bakery Boss
15:10 Cake Boss
15:35 Little People, Big World
16:00 Hoarding: Buried Alive
16:50 Say Yes To The Dress
17:15 18 Kids And Counting
17:40 Sister Wives
18:05
18:30
19:20
20:10
21:00
21:50
22:40
23:05
23:55
Sister Wives
Craft Wars
Bakery Boss
World’s Worst Mum
Breaking Amish
Secret Eskimo Escape
Extreme Couponing
Mob Wives
Breaking Amish
00:40 Extreme Forensics
01:30 Solved
02:20 Most Evil
03:10 Devil In The Details
04:00 Blood Relatives
04:45 Extreme Forensics
05:30 Solved
06:20 Forensic Detectives
07:10 Forensic Detectives
08:00 Nightmare Next Door
08:50 Fatal Encounters
09:40 Murder Shift
10:30 I Was Murdered
10:55 Stalked: Someone’s
Watching
11:20 Forensic Detectives
12:10 American Greed
13:00 Disappeared
13:50 On The Case With Paula
Zahn
14:40 Who On Earth...
15:05 Who On Earth...
15:30 American Greed
16:20 I Was Murdered
16:45 Stalked: Someone’s
Watching
17:10 Murder Shift
18:00 Disappeared
18:50 Fatal Encounters
19:40 Forensic Detectives
20:30 On The Case With Paula
Zahn
21:20 The Will
22:10 Who On Earth Did I
Marry?
22:35 Who On Earth Did I
Marry?
23:00 Blood Relatives
23:50 Extreme Forensics
00:10
00:25
00:35
00:50
01:15
01:25
01:40
01:50
02:05
02:15
02:25
02:50
Zou
Mouk
Jungle Junction
Art Attack
Julius Jr.
Calimero
Henry Hugglemonster
Zou
Mouk
Jungle Junction
Art Attack
Julius Jr.
03:00 Calimero
03:15 Henry Hugglemonster
03:25 Zou
03:40 Mouk
03:50 Jungle Junction
04:00 Art Attack
04:25 Julius Jr.
04:35 Calimero
04:50 Henry Hugglemonster
05:00 Zou
05:15 Mouk
05:25 Jungle Junction
05:35 Art Attack
06:00 Julius Jr.
06:10 Calimero
06:25 Henry Hugglemonster
06:35 Zou
06:50 Mouk
07:00 Jungle Junction
07:10 Art Attack
07:35 Julius Jr.
07:45 Calimero
08:00 Jungle Junction
08:10 Zou
08:25 Henry Hugglemonster
08:35 Julius Jr.
08:50 Mouk
09:00 Calimero
09:15 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
09:40 Doc McStuffins
10:05 Art Attack
10:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
11:00 Sofia The First
11:25 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West
11:50 Calimero
12:05 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
12:30 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
12:55 Handy Manny
13:05 Justin Time
13:20 Sofia The First
13:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
14:10 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West
14:35 Julius Jr.
14:45 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
15:15 Doc McStuffins
15:40 Henry Hugglemonster
15:55 Zou
16:05 Justin Time
16:20 Sofia The First
16:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
17:15 Lilo & Stitch
17:40 Adventures Of The
Gummi Bears
18:05 Chip n Dale Rescue
Rangers
18:30 Ducktales
19:00 Art Attack
19:25 Sofia The First
19:55 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
20:20 Jake And The Never Land
Pirates
20:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
21:25 Sofia The First
21:50 Adventures Of The
Gummi Bears
22:20 Chip n Dale Rescue
Rangers
22:45 Ducktales
23:15 Art Attack
23:40 Calimero
23:55 Henry Hugglemonster
00:00 Programmes Start At
7:00am KSA
07:00 Phineas And Ferb
07:25 Phineas And Ferb
07:50 Supa Strikas
08:15 The 7D
08:40 Ultimate Spider-Man
09:05 Lab Rats
09:30 Kickin’ It
09:55 Ultimate Spider-Man:
Web Warriors
10:20 Phineas And Ferb
10:45 Zeke & Luther
11:10 I’m In The Band
11:35 Camp Lakebottom
12:00 Mighty Med
12:30 Lab Rats
12:55 Marvel Avengers
Assemble
13:20 Phineas And Ferb
13:40 Japaneezi Going Going
Gong
14:05 Zeke & Luther
14:30 Pair Of Kings
14:55 Randy Cunningham: 9th
Grade Ninja
15:20 Marvel Avengers
Assemble
15:45 Phineas And Ferb
16:10 Supa Strikas
16:35 Pair Of Kings
17:00 Lab Rats
17:30 Mighty Med
18:00 Phineas And Ferb
18:50 Supa Strikas
19:15 Cars Toons
19:20 Phineas And Ferb
19:45 The 7D
20:10 Ultimate Spider-Man
20:35 Phineas And Ferb
Classifieds
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
CHANGE OF NAME
Kuwait
SHARQIA-1
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
FOCUS
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
FOCUS
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
SHARQIA-2
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
SHARQIA-3
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
AMERICAN HEIST
MUHALAB-1
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
FOCUS
OUTCAST
FOCUS
OUTCAST
11:45 AM
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
6:00 PM
8:00 PM
10:15 PM
12:15 AM
12:45 PM
3:30 PM
6:15 PM
9:00 PM
11:45 PM
12:00 PM
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
6:00 PM
8:15 PM
10:30 PM
12:45 AM
12:45 PM
2:45 PM
4:45 PM
6:45 PM
8:45 PM
10:45 PM
12:45 AM
KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY
(05/03/2015 TO 11/03/2015)
FANAR-4
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
1:30 PM
3:45 PM
6:00 PM
8:15 PM
10:30 PM
12:45 AM
FANAR-5
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
12:45 PM
2:45 PM
4:45 PM
7:30 PM
10:15 PM
12:15 AM
MARINA-1
AMERICAN HEIST
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
11:30 AM
1:15 PM
4:00 PM
6:45 PM
9:30 PM
12:15 AM
MARINA-2
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
AMERICAN HEIST
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
AMERICAN HEIST
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
AMERICAN HEIST
11:45 AM
2:00 PM
3:45 PM
6:15 PM
8:00 PM
10:15 PM
12:30 AM
MARINA-3
OUTCAST -3D
1:00 PM
OUTCAST
3:00 PM
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D)5:00 PM
OUTCAST
7:00 PM
FOCUS
9:00 PM
OUTCAST -3D
11:00 PM
OUTCAST
1:00 AM
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
OUTCAST -3D
NO THU
Special Show “FOCUS”
THU
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
2:30 PM
4:45 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
9:15 PM
11:30 PM
AVENUES-6
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
11:30 AM
1:45 PM
4:00 PM
6:15 PM
8:30 PM
10:45 PM
1:00 AM
12:15 AM
360º- 1
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
FOCUS
12:30 PM
2:45 PM
5:00 PM
7:15 PM
9:30 PM
11:45 PM
360º- 2
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
12:00 PM
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
6:00 PM
8:00 PM
10:00 PM
12:05 AM
360º- 3
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
1:00 PM
3:00 PM
5:00 PM
7:00 PM
9:00 PM
11:00 PM
1:00 AM
AL-KOUT.1
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
11:30 AM
1:45 PM
4:30 PM
7:15 PM
9:30 PM
11:45 PM
11:45 AM
2:30 PM
4:30 PM
6:15 PM
8:00 PM
10:00 PM
12:45 AM
MUHALAB-2
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
1:15 PM
4:00 PM
6:45 PM
9:30 PM
12:15 AM
MUHALAB-3
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
CUT BANK
11:30 AM
1:30 PM
3:30 PM
5:30 PM
7:30 PM
9:45 PM
12:05 AM
AVENUES-1
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
AMERICAN HEIST
12:15 PM
2:15 PM
4:15 PM
6:15 PM
8:15 PM
10:15 PM
12:15 AM
FANAR-1
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
FOCUS
ALIEN OUTPOST
FOCUS
ALIEN OUTPOST
FOCUS
ALIEN OUTPOST
11:45 AM
1:30 PM
3:15 PM
5:15 PM
7:15 PM
9:15 PM
11:00 PM
1:00 AM
AVENUES-2
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
11:45 AM
2:00 PM
4:15 PM
6:30 PM
8:45 PM
11:00 PM
1:15 AM
AL-KOUT.2
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
ALIEN OUTPOST
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
FANAR-2
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
CUT BANK
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
CUT BANK
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
CUT BANK
12:30 PM
2:30 PM
4:30 PM
6:45 PM
8:45 PM
10:45 PM
12:45 AM
12:00 PM
2:45 PM
5:30 PM
8:30 PM
11:15 PM
FANAR-3
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
OUTCAST
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL-KOUT.3
OUTCAST
Digital (2D)
OUTCAST
OUTCAST
FOCUS
OUTCAST
FOCUS
OUTCAST
2:15 PM
4:15 PM
6:30 PM
8:30 PM
10:30 PM
12:30 AM
12:15 PM
3:00 PM
5:45 PM
7:45 PM
9:45 PM
12:30 AM
AL-KOUT.4
CUT BANK
AMERICAN HEIST
CUT BANK
AMERICAN HEIST
11:30 AM
1:30 PM
3:30 PM
5:30 PM
AVENUES-3
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AL TIJARA SHATARA (Kuwaiti Film)
AVENUES-4
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
FOCUS
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
FOCUS
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic)
12:45 PM
3:30 PM
5:45 PM
8:15 PM
10:30 PM
1:00 AM
AVENUES-5
OUTCAST -3D
12:15 PM
I, Nainan Polachirackal
Cherian, holder of Indian
Passport No. F6168416,
issued at Cochin and having residence at Manathatil
House Cheruparambathu
Rd., Kadavanthra P.O.,
Ernakulam, Kerala, Pin
682020, hereby declare
change my name to Anil
Cherian Polachirackal.
(C 4942)
9-3-2015
ACCOMMODATION
Sharing accommodation
(separate room & bathroom) is available in
Salmiya for vegetarian
Indian small family or a
working lady near Al Rashid
Hospital. Shara Amman
round about Salmiya in a
central A/C flat from March
20th onwards with a separate room & bathroom, big
hall etc at a good location.
Contact: 99838117 or
99315825. (C 4940)
8-3-2015
MATRIMONIAL
Proposals invited for
Marthomite girl, 28 years,
BSc nurse working in MOH
Kuwait, from well-settled
graduate/postgraduate
Marthomite boys employed
in Kuwait.
Email:
rakhigeorgepanicker@gmail.com
(C.4937)
5-3-2015
SITUATION WANTED
12:15 PM
Management level IT
Engineer (B.Tech.-VCAP5VCP4-CCNACCNP-MCPPMP-BS7799), 14 Years
experience, technical
expert in entire IT functions
including infrastructure
storage, network, systems,
virtualization & cloud pioneer with transferable Visa.
Contact 99154727 or tijojose@yahoo.com
(C.4941)
9-3-2015
112
LOST
Original document policy
No:633003884-3 Sher
Muhammad DV the State
Life Insurance Corporation
of Pakistan Gulf Zone is
reported to have been lost.
Anyone finding the same or
claiming any interest in it
should communicate with
the Manager Kuwait State
Life office Ph: 22452208.
(C 4938)
Prayer timings
Fajr:
04:47
Shorook
06:05
Duhr:
11:59
Asr:
15:21
Maghrib:
17:52
Isha:
19:09
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34
stars
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
CROSSWORD 836
STAR TRACK
Aries (March 21-April 19)
A little extra energy is available today to sort through some of those relationship problems you have been pushing aside for another day. Two things to remember at this time are first, to think before speaking; and second, to listen. You may be able
to better understand a situation from the other side of the coin, so to speak. You are flexible and find pleasant surprises at every turn today. Professionally speaking, your conduct
is exemplary and can be mentor quality. A pleasant environment at home this evening
fills you with the desire to just enjoy what you have, stay home and love your family or
friends. It may be your turn to cook or . . . You will probably find a loved one is willing to
please you with a special type of meal this evening.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
A balancing act continues when you report to a place of business and have
dreams of being in a completely different type of business. Patience . . . For now, the bills
get paid and soon, you will be able to move in a different direction, one that you will like.
There are a few scattered energies but as you plan a new path you will be able to leave
the old path without any problems. Creating a goal calendar will help you begin to see a
realistic timing. Now concentrate on three things you can do at this time that will help
you to succeed with your goals. You are moved to appreciate and discover the beauty in
your life this afternoon and that may take place with a bit of gardening or an artistic project. Someone special wants to return a favor this evening.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
ACROSS
1. The 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.
4. Deep-bodied percoid fishes of the open
seas.
12. A tight-fitting headdress.
15. An edge tool used to cut and shape
wood.
16. A sudden uncontrollable attack.
17. A loose sleeveless outer garment made
from aba cloth.
18. A workplace for the conduct of scientific
research.
19. Type genus of the Sialidae.
20. A member of a Turkic people of
Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.
22. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian
mythology.
24. An inhabitant of Lappland.
26. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its
mother and raised by hand.
27. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked
on a skewer usually with vegetables.
29. A small Asian country high in the
Himalayas between India and Tibet.
30. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.
32. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.
36. Swedish theologian (1688-1772).
39. Being one more than one.
40. Large burrowing rodent of South and
Central America.
42. South African plant widely cultivated for
its showy pure white spathe and yellow
spadix.
43. A state in New England.
44. Being one hundred more than two hundred.
46. An adult male person (as opposed to a
woman).
47. A member of the Siouan people inhabiting the valleys of the Platte and Missouri
rivers in Nebraska.
50. United States painter born in Germany.
52. A reproach for some lapse or misdeed.
53. A white metallic element that burns
with a brilliant light.
54. A particular environment or surrounding influence.
56. A tall perennial woody plant having a
main trunk and branches forming a distinct
elevated crown.
58. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within
a fleshy wall or pericarp.
61. Of time long past.
62. Any taillike structure.
64. Being five more than one hundred.
66. A preparation used in cleaning something.
69. In an unnatural eery manner.
74. A victory cheer.
75. Feeling or showing anger.
78. The cry made by sheep.
79. Any division of quantity accepted as a
standard of measurement or exchange.
80. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.
82. A hotel providing overnight lodging for
travelers.
83. Serving as or forming a base.
84. Growth from increase in cell size without cell division.
85. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on the sea or ships.
DOWN
1. The basic unit of money in Western
Samoa.
2. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.
3. A member of a Turkic people of
Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.
4. (computer science) The rate at which
data is transferred (as by a modem).
5. An Indian side dish of yogurt and
chopped cucumbers and spices.
6. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.
7. The girl friend of a gangster.
8. A monocotyledonous genus of the family
Iridaceae.
9. Not breathing or able to breathe except
with difficulty.
10. A very poisonous metallic element that
has three allotropic forms.
11. Any of various systems of units for
measuring electricity and magnetism.
12. A clique that seeks power usually
through intrigue.
13. In bed.
14. Especially one side of a leaf.
21. The skin that covers the top of the head.
23. Intrude in other people's affairs or business.
25. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).
28. A small cake leavened with yeast.
31. A new embodiment of a familiar idea.
33. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).
34. Not enough.
35. Norwegian explorer of the Arctic and
director of the League of Nations relief program for refugees of World War I (18611930).
37. Run away secretly with one's beloved.
38. A nucleic acid that transmits genetic
information from DNA to the cytoplasm.
41. Make amendments to.
45. (Greek mythology) The Muse of history.
48. A woman's headscarf folded into a triangle and tied under the chine.
49. Resinlike substance secreted by certain
lac insects.
51. (Norse mythology) God of light and
peace and noted for his beauty and sweet
nature.
55. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of
rubberized fabric.
57. A card game for 2 players.
59. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit
juice.
60. Type genus of the Carangidae.
63. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.
65. Italian operatic composer (1813-1901).
67. The goddess of the moon.
68. (Greek mythology) Goddess of discord.
70. An unfledged or nestling hawk.
71. Wading birds of warm regions having
long slender down-curved bills.
72. A narrow way or road.
73. A member of an extinct North American
Indian people who lived in the Pit river valley in northern California.
76. The compass point that is midway
between north and northeast.
77. The state of matter distinguished from
the solid and liquid states by.
81. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent
and univalent) metallic element.
Do not stay to yourself today–others benefit from your presence and you
benefit from being in the presence of others. Ideals and a sense of belonging to something bigger than the merely personal become a greater focus. You may begin to attach
more importance to friendships and taking part in group activities that center on group
goals. You also may want to join a group of people from an audubon society or a similar
group and go hiking or wild herb hunting. Teach, learn, communicate–social contact have
a way of outlining new directions in your life and there is much involvement with these
kinds of issues. You may be able to unravel a mystery of your own today. Enjoy an afterdinner walk with a loved one tonight.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
A little extra energy is available today and you will need it because a friend or
family member may need your help. This could involve the care of animals or children or even
your help to make a move easier to handle. Close relationships take on more emotional importance. Feeling cared for and needed is comfortable; the lack of these things can cause an
instinctive feeling of uneasiness. You could find that you are appreciated or valued for your
abilities to act and get things done. Someone understands how you feel and is sympathetic
today. Your willingness to help others endears you to them–take care of yourself this evening.
Perhaps bathing with bubbles, surrounded by a few good smelling candles–relaxation is good.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
Deal with the phone calls or they will spill over into next week–patience. You
may feel that you are in touch and in harmony with others; the lines of communication are
open. Your personal magnetism is at a high. This is a great time to be with others in work or
in play. If a short-term project is needed to help or aid in some neighborhood project, you
could take the lead. You are entering into a cycle of mental development that emphasizes
the past and your roots in life. Curiosity about such things may lead to study and research.
Real estate or home and family planning take on greater importance for you. You will find
this a time of nostalgia, of thinking about security and permanence. Now is a good time to
keep in touch with friends.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
A volunteer service or your effort to help in a religious setting may take up
most of your morning. You set an example of giving that others could follow. You enjoy giving as well as having a diversion from your usual routine. This afternoon you may choose to
enjoy a bit of relaxation. Steam baths and a good massage will help you to feel at the top of
your energy and pampered–increase your drinking water intake. You are excellent at
research and may find yourself in the public library or some other facility where you can
study and research a subject that is important to you. This period also represents an excellent time to enjoy the company of friends, and a card game or game of charades would be a
fun way to end a very busy day.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Health is of interest to you and you may become more and more involved in
learning and helping others with healthy foods and exercise. You may spend some time
today in an elaborate health-food store. Good for you–take in the good smells–ginger, cinnamon, etc. You have also made some big forward strides with self-confidence and faith in
your abilities. Now is the time to learn and to live life to its fullest. Your psychological and
mental growth will depend on your ability to keep a balance in all your affairs. Others certainly reflect their confidence in you, as they rely more and more upon your insights.
Movies, books and all forms of escape could prove enjoyable this afternoon. A young person or small animal may come to your attention this evening.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
You are not usually the one that others have to tell to go with the flow. Today
would be the best time to be in the mode of going-with-the-flow. Taking care of the necessary ingredients for the support of life may become the greater preoccupation of your
mindset now. Sorting things out and getting them organized to utmost efficiency keeps
you busy. This could mean running errands, or dealing with store clerks or disgruntled
neighbors. It could be especially important that you concentrate on becoming more practical and conscientious today. Trying to convince someone of a needed change may be difficult for some people, but you take great pleasure in disclosing a truthful picture. This
evening would be a good time for a movie with the family.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
Energy, excitement and the opportunity for new discoveries rule the day. You
will rise early tomorrow to do the chores. Take advantage of your heightened
good feelings and the world around you. You will enjoy good relations with your family or
your spouse’s family today. Relatives take on a greater importance than usual. You could be
most persuasive with others just now. Someone previously emotionally cold to you is beginning to warm. Intellectually stimulating conversations are rewarding. There is a good opportunity to get many things done. Interaction with friends is encouraged this evening and may
find you having fun around town today. Leisure activities with friends create good opportunities for pictures.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
You are tuned in and turned on to the vibrations around you and you enjoy talking
and listening to your family or friends today. This increase in communication also applies to business friends as well as your close relationships. The frequent phone calls today may be fringed
with levity. This day can bring spiritual development with it. However, you should be aware of
tendencies to believe too quickly, too deeply, or to become dependent on things or people that
seem to offer quick and easy answers to life’s deepest yearnings. You will enjoy just about everything today, whether it is work or play. It is just that sort of day. You may decide to do a little meditation this evening . . . Consider writing in a diary for about six weeks . . . List your insights.
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
You could be teaching spiritual lessons this sunday. You have a great interest in guiding young people and there are several students that enjoy having you as their
teacher. Everything works well today! Your self-confidence and courage enable you to pursue any objective with ease–you will finish anything you start. This afternoon could be set
aside for the beginning of a spring cleaning. Do not forget to bag the still useable items for
your community shelter or charity organization. You may find yourself being put to good
use by your friends, or it could be that circumstances give you the drive to reorganize and
become more conservative. All of this should go rather smoothly. You will express your
emotions through a creative endeavor this evening.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Communications, in general, may be clouded this morning. You could be
immovable and resistant to others’ ideas as you go about your routine at home, knowing
exactly what you want and where you want it. Some sort of stress could be pushing in on
you. You may be spending more energy than necessary in planning for a party later today.
You could have a great deal of fun in the preparation, particularly since you have all the
ingredients necessary for great success. This party will run smoothly because of your ability
to organize . . . So, relax. Music, poetry or some other fun occasion at your house is usually
a lot of fun. Your creative side is uppermost. Smile! There is time after the party or gathering for meditating on the day’s activities.
Yesterday’s Solution
Yesterday’s Solution
Daily SuDoku
Yesterday’s Solution
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
i n f o r m at i o n
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MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
lifestyle
G o s s i p
Smith
teaching son how to drive
T
he ‘Focus’ star’s 16-year-old son Jaden has recently got his learner’s permit and has revealed his “awesome” dad is teaching him “a lot” about driving. He said: “My dad is awesome. I wouldn’t be where I
am right now if it wasn’t for all of the things he’s taught me. “He’s taught me a lot about driving and
just about life. And I love his songs; I go back and re-listen to those songs and the newer songs he’s made
in the studio too.” Whilst Jaden takes musical inspiration from his dad, his 14-year-old sister Willow
revealed she takes inspiration from her mother Jada Pinkett Smith. She shared: “When I was younger, my
brother and I toured with my mom’s band, Wicked Wisdom, so heavy metal was one of the first types of
music I heard a lot and I’m still really inspired by it. “I’m into Lolawolf, Tune-Yards, the Runaways, Pink Floyd,
and I freaking love Bikini Kill! My mom listens to my playlists on Hype Machine all the time and I listen to
hers - that’s how I found out about Radiohead and Lamb of God.” And when it comes to music, the ‘Whip
My Hair’ singer is insistent on not using any auto-tune on her tracks because she feels it masks “true emotion”. She told Billboard magazine: “I don’t like having any effects on my voice; I feel like putting a lot of
auto-tune on it really covers up the essence of you and is like putting a cloud over real true emotion.”
Fisher urges Ford to take a break Dame Dench
still gets ‘starstruck’
T
T
he ‘Star Wars’ actress has made a plea to her co-star
to relax for a bit following the incident. Addressing
Harrison, she told PEOPLE magazine: “I know you
have incredible bounce back, please take a bounce break
for awhile. Can I drive next time?” The 72-year-old star has
himself to thank after a “textbook landing” ensured he
cheated death. The actor was forced to ground his twoseater vintage World War II training plane on a golf course
in Venice, Los Angeles after it suffered from engine failure
on Thursday. He escaped with his life but is currently in
hospital recovering from the accident, which left him with
“multiple gashes” on his head. Mark Hamill, who plays
Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi flick also tweeted his well
wishes to the actor. He wrote: “Glad to hear Harrison is
doing well. Get well soon. May all his future flights be
green-screen!” A spokesperson confirmed that whilst
Harrison was a bit “banged up” following the incident, he
is expected to make a “full recovery”. They said: “Harrison
was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which stalled upon
take off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. “He was banged up
and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries
sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to
make a full recovery.”
he ‘Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ star has admitted her and her
daughter Finty Williams constantly find themselves not behaving in
“grown up” ways when they attend events together. Speaking about an
award show she attended with the 42-year-old actress, Judi said: “We’re always,
‘Oh, look at that!’ ‘Over there!’ We don’t behave in grown up ways at all. “Antonio
Banderas came up to ask Finty for a light - well, I thought she was going to disappear into the ground! Shaking, shaking!” The 80-year-old actress also opened
up about her vision loss - which is caused by macular degeneration - and admitted she finds painting very therapeutic. She shared: “I paint a lot and now I find
it very, very difficult because if I look at something and then look back here, my
eyes don’t adjust quickly enough to actually transfer that. “Then I thought,
‘That’s what’s painting is about. You should paint what you see.’ And therefore it
doesn’t matter - don’t translate it literally, translate it in the only way you can. It’s
a different system.” Judi also joked her poor eyesight has lead her to get in trouble with a few other actors who think she has a bigger part during a readthrough but it’s only because she requires the typeface to be bigger. She
quipped to PEOPLE magazine: “So, if six of us were coming in to read a sonnet
they’d all have one piece of paper and I’d have two or three. “They’d think, ‘Why
does she have a bigger part?’ when it’s all the same!”
Delevingne
was never into fashion
T
he 22-year-old model admits she was never “into” fashion when she was younger
and favored wearing no clothes at all. She said: “Growing up I wasn’t into fashion - I
kind of liked being naked. “There are so many people who dress amazingly. I actually really like Charlie Chaplin’s style.” Cara - who has been romantically linked with Harry
Styles, Michelle Rodriguez and St Vincent since finding fame - also claimed people are
not attracted to her because her career is so intimidating to others. Asked if she has
been attracting more mature guys, she said: “No not at all - I think as models you scare
them away. So there’s no one.” As well as modeling and acting, Cara is keen to launch a
music career and though she is grateful to call on celebrity pals for help, she insists she is
in no rush to debut her singing. She told Star magazine: “Music is always going to be
something I do for the rest of my life. “It’s just going to take a long time. There’s no rush
with it “I have the best people [like Rihanna] to ask for critique and see if they like it.”
Simpson and Ross collaborate on a song
The couple - who tied the knot last August -have been spending time together in the studio, recording a track called
‘Permission to Love’. He said: “We did an amazing song together, and we’re trying to figure out what to do with it because I
feel like it’s got its own feel to it... “It’s a real powerful song and we’re going to keep making music together. We love doing
that. It would only make sense because we sing together all the time. “It’s unbelievable how talented Ashlee is, and her writing is amazing. She just has such an ear, and I know she’s working on music now and she’s going to be deciding how she
wants to put it out, but yeah, she’s incredible.” Evan - who is the son of legendary singer Diana Ross - also admitted he finds it
“frightening” releasing music because of his family background but insists he doesn’t feel any “pressure” from his mother. He
told PopCrush.com: “It can be a frightening thing, putting your music out - especially with the family I come from, you know?
“[My mom] never gives me pressure. Whatever I’m doing - music, acting - it doesn’t make a difference to her, as long as I’m
happy. “But I think in general there’s always a feeling of, ‘It’s got to be the best’ and I feel like people look at it like that, and
you definitely get judged a lot more. “But it’s not the scariest thing, because I grew up with it so it’s kind of normal.”
Woodley
doesn’t have time
for social media
T
he ‘Insurgent’ actress believes spending time on
Twitter and Instagram is painful for her “poor thumb”
if she keeps scrolling away. She told Entertainment
Tonight: “I feel like I don’t have enough time. “It takes up so
much time! And your poor thumb... like the dexterity of
your finger, to constantly be scrolling on your phone.” It
was not always this way for the 23-year-old actress who
previously admitted she was addicted to photo-sharing
site Instagram and she feels as though she’s got control of
her life again after giving it up. She said previously: “I did
have an Instagram before and I realised that I was just constantly doing this at a stoplight or when I was waiting for
something. “And then one day my thumb, I held it still, and
it started shaking and it was always shaking. And I was like,
‘I’m 22 years old! That is not OK!’ And I think it was literally
from typing so much and scrolling. “So getting rid of
Instagram for me was huge [and] my phone in general. I
got to know me again and I got to wake up and be like,
‘What do I want to do today?’ “I don’t have a device to be
like, ‘What should I do today?’ It was like, ‘What do I want to
do today?’”
Paltrow’s hates
getting her son to
do his homework
T
he ‘Mortdecai’ actress - who has eight-yearold Moses with her former husband Chris
Martin - has joked that she struggles to get
her youngest kid to do his schoolwork. She said:
“Definitely getting Moses to do his homework,
that’s my toughest job for sure.” Not only does
Gwyneth - who also has 10-year-old Apple with the
Coldplay front man - have to work hard as an
actress, she also runs her own successful lifestyle
website Goop. She admits, though, that she was a
“fool” at the beginning but has since found it
“incredibly rewarding” having created her own digital business. She said: “I was a fool and I had no
idea what I was getting myself into. But I have to
say it’s been incredibly rewarding. “I learn so much
every day and we’re in a really exciting time in the
business right now and it’s amazing to be the creative force and also to understand what’s going on
the fiscal side and with raising money and all of
that.” The 42-year-old actress also hopes one day
her children will take over the reigns of the business and is slowly making her part in the website
less “essential”. She told Bloomberg’s Market
Makers program: “I very much want Goop to be its
own standalone brand. I know at this point it’s
inextricably me but we are a team of amazing people who bring incredible ideas to the site and it’s
not only me and my dream would be that in 20
years people would sort of recollect that I had
something to do with it at one point and my
involvement would be less essential. “I never wanted to do a proprietary brand. I wanted it to be its
own thing that my children can run one day if they
want to.”
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
lifestyle
Fergie ‘loves to eat’
Kardashian would host
‘Fashion Police’ for free
G O S S I P
Lewis
‘dealt with mania’ all her life
T
he ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star is reportedly so desperate
to beat rival Amber Rose to the role that she would do anything she
could to secure the post. A source shared: “She would do ‘Fashion
Police’ for free if it made E! not select Amber Rose for the job.”It is now more
important for her to not have Amber Rose on the show than being on the
show herself.” The vacancy came after Kelly Osbourne quit her position on
the series just days after her co-host Giuliana Rancic apologized for making
“offensive” comments towards Zendaya Coleman. Meanwhile, KhloÈ is
believed to be “dying” to find a job away from the Kardashian reality show
circuit and is worried about losing out to another possible candidate, NeNe
Leakes. An insider told HollywoodLife.com previously: “She’s dying to find a
gig outside of the family reality show... “KhloÈ is feeling the pressure and
losing her mind that ‘Fashion Police’ producers are considering the ‘Real
Housewives Of Atlanta’ star. Whilst producers are buzzing over Nene, KhloÈ
is bugging.” Meanwhile, a show spokesperson recently confirmed “no decisions have been made” in relation to finding a new host for the show.
T
he ‘Secrets and Lies’ actress, whose co-star
Ryan Phillippe recently revealed depression
“has been a huge obstacle” for him since he
was a child, admits she also went through a very
dark time when she was younger. Asked about his
comments, the 41-year-old star said: “I can tell you I
have dealt with mania my whole life.” She jokingly
added: “I’m gonna top his depression. I am manic
and crazy!” The actress, who romanced Brad Pitt
and Johnny Depp in the past, says she managed to
get her life on track by quitting drugs and now surrounds herself with positive influences. She told
PEOPLE.com: “I quit drugs at 22. I travelled a lot, I
dealt with my priorities. I have such a beautiful,
strong family and friends and they are like everything to me.” Ryan, 40, revealed earlier this week
that his depression has decreased with age, but
admitted he is worried his 14-year-old daughter,
Ava, with ex-wife Reese Witherspoon has inherited
it. He said: “I see it in my daughter. She has it, and I
wish to hell she didn’t. It’s just, some people do
have this pervading sort of sadness, or they’re so
analytical that they can kind of take the fun out of
things because they think too much.” Ryan also has
11-year-old son Deacon with Reese and daughter
Kailani, three, with his ex-girlfriend Alexis Knapp.
Madonna won’t say ‘no’
to her children
T
T
he 39-year-old singer is enjoying getting
back into shape after having her 18-monthold son Axl but feels as though she has to
exercise harder because of her love of fried sandwiches. Issuing advice to those who want to get
fit, she said: “Find your local gym and get into different classes. That makes it exciting [and] you’re
doing new moves. You don’t even realize you’re
working out it because you’re focusing on ‘How
do I get this right?’ But you have to control muscles so it’s making you sweat. “Keep it interesting...
I have [to do] treadmill, elliptical, bike and dance. I
do the bands - I do it all. I have to work out
he ‘Living for Love’ hitmaker - who has four children,
Lourdes, 18, Rocco, 14, David, nine and Mercy, eight would rather advise her kids than give them rules.
Speaking about her eldest daughter, she said: “I’m not a fan of
taking drugs, but I’m not gonna tell my daughter not to do
things. I’m just telling her to be careful. “[I tell her] never take a
drink that you haven’t seen somebody pour in front of you.
Don’t mix alcohol. Your basics, like be safe, do everything in
moderation. That’s it. That’s all I can do.” The 56-year-old star
also believes it is important not to be “judgmental” of her children because she feels it is discouraging for them.
When asked if she talks about sex with her children, she told
Access Hollywood: “It’s just a fact of life isn’t it? Somehow, it’s
gonna happen sometime. It happened to you, so it’s gonna
happen to [Lourdes]. “All you can do is [stress] safe sex. Have
discussions about it and encourage her to be open with you
about it and not judgmental. “Because then they won’t feel like
they can come to you and talk to you - ask you for your advice
and stuff.”
because I love to eat - I had two Double-Doubles
last weekend!” The former Black Eyed Peas star who is married to Josh Duhamel - took her postbaby exercise “slowly but surely” to ensure she
could meet the needs of her little boy first and
foremost. She told E! News: “I just slowly but surely
got back into it. I wanted to make sure that Axl
came first, and figuring that out came first. “And
you know I have it all figured out now, so that’s
done.”
Kourtney
orders Scott Disick to come home
T
he ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star reportedly sent an
angry message to her partner of nine years telling him to
come back to the United States after he cancelled a string of
appearances at nightclubs in the UK. A source shared: “She has
been calling and texting him, ordering him to come home. She’s at
the end of her rope and if he doesn’t come back ASAP she’s changing the locks!” The 35-year-old television personality is “exhausted”
after looking after their three children - Mason, five, Penelope, two,
and two-month-old Reign - and was believed to be “beside herself”
when she realized Scott had flown to Paris to be with her sister Kim
Kardashian West and brother-in-law Kanye West as well as step-sister Kendall Jenner. The source added to HollywoodLife.com: “She’s
absolutely exhausted. She’s not sleeping well, the kids have been
sick and she’s completely overwhelmed. She needs help. She needs
her partner to be there. The kids miss him too - it’s so sad...
“Kourtney is beside herself. She cannot believe Scott blew off work
and went to Paris to party with Kendall, Kim and Kanye. She wasn’t
thrilled with the UK party tour in the first place but at least he was
making money working. But now he’s just being incredibly selfish.”
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old model took to Twitter to apologize to
fans after failing to show at clubs in Bournemouth, Southampton,
Croydon and Brighton. He wrote: “Sorry to all my UK fans had to cut
my UK trip short , love u and miss you already London. Can’t wait to
come back soon!”
Brown plans on buying
a baby-proof home
T
he ‘Loyal’ hitmaker - who is rumored to have a nine-month-old child, Royalty, with
31-year-old Nia Amey - thinks his current bachelor pad is too dangerous for his
baby daughter and wants to purchase something that is more “conducive” for
bringing up a kid. A source shared: “[This] house isn’t set up for a baby. There’s marble
everywhere, sharp corners and edges. It’s not conducive for raising a baby. “He wants to
get out of the Valley now and move to a new house in the city where he’s centrally located, with everything he and the baby would need at their fingertips.” The 25-year-old
singer is also believed to be considering moving after admitting his current home
reminds him too much of his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran. The source added to
HollywoodLife.com: “Chris doesn’t really want to be there much longer anyways. “With all
Karrueche’s stuff there, the memories he’s made since he moved in, he’s not really trying
to bring his baby into that.” The 26-year-old model appeared to confirm the baby news
when she took to Twitter to reveal the couple had split for good so she could avoid any
“baby drama”. She wrote: “Listen. One can only take so much. The best of luck to Chris
and his family. No baby drama for me.” Chris Brown has yet to comment on the claims.
— bangshowbiz
Dornan is a ‘complicated dude’
T
he ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ actor is attracted to roles that “challenge”
and “scare” him and loves learning more about himself through his
work. He said: “I’m a pretty complicated dude myself. “I just mean
that you want roles that challenge and scare you a little and that you
can really discover something, maybe about yourself, that maybe you
didn’t understand. “I’ve been lucky recently to have that.” Jamie has had
a number of intimate scenes in both ‘Fifty Shades...’ and TV drama ‘The
Fall’ and does his best to make things as comfortable as possible for his
co-stars. He said: “You have to keep the intensity there and stuff, but
you’re still human beings, and it’s still a bizarre position to put people in.
“It can be uncomfortable. I just do everything in my power to make the
moments before and after the take very light. I make jokes.” When he
isn’t working, the 32-year-old hunk loves cozying up to wife Amelia
Warner, with whom he has 15-month-old daughter Dulcie, to binge
watch TV box sets. He told the new issue of Loaded magazine: “My wife
and I have things... We’re both very busy with work and we have a
young daughter. “You think you don’t have any time and then we watch
a whole series of something in two nights. “I did that with ‘Breaking Bad’.
We hadn’t seen any of it and then everyone was talking about the finale
so much, we caved in and watched the whole of it in two months.”
Cumberbatch and wife spent honeymoon relaxing
T
he couple - who tied the knot last month - jetted off to
Tahiti in the French Polynesia to enjoy their first holiday as a married couple. An eyewitness shared: “They
were completely relaxed and didn’t do much of anything
other than read and swim in the water. “Benedict did a little
bit of snorkeling and really enjoyed the fact that he could
just put on his flippers and his mask and jump off the deck
into the turquoise water. He also spent a good deal of time
reading scripts and taking pictures of everything with his
professional camera, especially Sophie.” The ‘Imitation Game’
star ensured his new wife got a bit of rest and relaxation and
he was regularly spotted showering her in adoration. The
insider continued: “Sophie spent most of her time taking
naps and resting. “Benedict always made sure she was taken
care of. He was always rubbing sunscreen on her back and
kissing her neck.” The couple also enjoyed breakfast on the
terrace outside their little villa and cooled down with dips in
the sea whenever the heat got to much. The source told Us
Weekly magazine: “They had breakfast every morning
together on their patio. They were very leisurely with their
time and just sipped their drinks and watched the water.
“Whenever they got hot, they went into the ocean and
swam, but most of the time they just stayed at their bungalow.” Benedict and Sophie - who met on the set of ‘Burlesque
Fairytales’ in 2009 - are expecting their first child together.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
lifestyle
Autumn
looks
fashion
Kenzo
dark leggy
For bloggers, the
real show isn’t
on the catwalk
W
T
and
hile most of the northern hemisphere is eagerly awaiting spring
and summer, on the Paris catwalks right now it’s already about the following autumn and winter - and that season is forecast to be dark and leggy. Such
is the predominant look unfurled by some
of the top brands including Dior, Kenzo,
Lanvin, Balenciaga and Nina Ricci during
Paris Fashion Week. Givenchy, Stella
McCartney, Hermes, Chanel, Valentino
and Louis Vuitton were expected to confirm the trend before the event wraps up
on Wednesday.
What to wear?
If you’re looking to capture the essence of
what the major stylists are getting at, a
black outfit with a thigh-length jacket, or
short dress maybe cinched with a belt
and worn over pants or bare legs and
black half boots will do the trick. Gloves
are also in - again, preferably black and
long and holding any of the smaller handbags from the elite labels. Alexandre
Vauthier, Dior, Dries Van Noten, Guy
Laroche, Lanvin and Maison Margiela all
pushed that aesthetic in their collections.
Dress Like the Stars
Celebrity endorsement is a mighty mover
to sell high-end clothes to the public, and
there was no lack of star power at the
Paris shows. What were the brighter fashion flames attracting these mediatised
moths? Kim Kardashian lent her aura to
Lanvin and Balmain - an appearance
made all the brighter by the reality TV
star’s transformation from brunette to
platinum blonde. At Balenciaga, Lady
Gaga made the photographers’ shutters
click to a crescendo with her presence.
Dakota Johnson, star of the erotic melodrama “Fifty Shades of Grey ” movie,
flashed her blue eyes at Dior. And British
designer Vivienne Westwood, who
eschewed all the rules to present a raucous show replete with male models in
“unisex” drag, attracted Solange Knowles
and Bond girl Naomie Harris to her front
row.
he catwalk parades at Paris Fashion
Week and similar events might steal
the global media limelight, but street
style on the sidelines is the real star for a
group of increasingly influential fashionista
bloggers. These amateur snappers and writers hang on the periphery of the big shows
in Paris, Milan, London and New York, and
some are making lucrative livelihoods
showcasing innovative looks worn by noncelebrities and non-models who attend.
The emphasis is on the affordable and
the individual. And it has struck a chord
with the part of the buying public that can’t
or won’t splurge on pricey designer duds
but still wants to be fashionable. “It’s not
really difficult to do, you just need a bit of
preparation and that gives an image of
accessible fashion, far from the sometimes
improbable clothes from the big designers,”
said French blogger Benoit Wojtenka who
was stalking the Paris Fashion Week for his
site bonneguele.fr.
Attendees are willing participants in the
process, keen to stand out - and to play the
role of muse, if only for mouse-clicks.
Specialised sites and magazines focusing on
fashion have come to depend on these
improvised photos to add an unpredictable
flair to coverage of European and US fashion
weeks. The designers themselves are also
drawn to this grassroots coverage to sniff out
possible trends and canny mash-ups, creating a cycle in which the street influences
fashion which in turn influences the street.
American photographer Scott Schuman
is one of the blogging pioneers. He became
famous though his site “The Sartorialist”,
where he posted images of New York people with stand-out looks he spotted on the
street. Launched in 2005, his blog has
soared from 10,000 page views to 12 million
in 2012. In 2007, Time magazine named
Schuman as one of the 100 most influential
people in the world. Another big name,
Canadian blogger Tommy Ton, built a reputation around taking snaps of random, welldressed people on the go, not posing. His
lively, action-filled technique has brought
him paid gigs for Style.com, GQ.com and
various brands.
Backing Tracks
Real life doesn’t have a backing track,
unless you’ve got earbuds tucked in
all the time. But the fashion shows
do, and music is a big part of the
spectacle. Probably the most highprofile bit of musicking was from
Kanye West, Kardashian’s rapper
husband, who announced in the
middle of Paris Fashion Week that
he was doing four charity concert performances in the city, featuring some
tunes from his new album.
Others bringing live performance to the
stage included Westwood, who found a
punk band to channel Sex Pistol-style
anarchy at her liberated show. At Kenzo,
stylist duo Humberto Leon and Carol Lim
enlisted a British synthe-pop band, Saint
Etienne, for their event. “Carol and I met
when we were 18 listening to Saint
Etienne so we’re so excited that they
came and made two new songs for us,”
Leon told reporters after the show on
Sunday. — AFP
Emanuel Ungaro
Celine
But, of course, black isn’t the colour for all
occasions or tastes. And so Balmain
brought out some cheerful oranges and
yellows, Issey Miyake offered loose-fitting
fall colours like khaki and blue, and Loewe
seemed to be determined to carry beachfriendly pastels into the coldest months.
Trying to ‘Stand Out’
Andreas Krueger, a photographer for a
London image consultancy, has gone for a
niche: Jewellery. Posted in front of the Arab
World Institute, one of the Paris Fashion
Week venues, he ignored the clothes on the
catwalk and focused on the glittering accessories on attendees’ fingers, throats and
ears. “Even if the big jewellery brands have
their own designers, they are hungry for
these photos to inspire their own collections,” the 36-year-old German told AFP as
he zoomed in on an oriental-style necklace.
“People sometimes tell me they picked up
their jewellery on a trip to Pakistan or
Morocco. But there are also jewellery design
students who come to the shows with their
creations with the aim of being photographed and seen by the brands,” he said.
And what works for accessories also
works for the clothes, as fashionistas fluttering around the bright lights of the catwalk
try to out-do each other. Outfits come in
leather, in feathers, in black or in multicolours, long, short, gloved or not, many
sunglasses and a general studied air of having thrown complex ensembles together
without thinking twice. “It’s a bit like the
Cannes film festival. There are stars on the
red carpet but also unknowns whose only
goal is to stand out by the way they look,”
said Matthias Gurtler, the chief editor of the
French magazine Gala.
A few dedicated souls, the ones who persist in their dress-up, have succeeded in
being invited to the coveted first row of the
fashion shows, rubbing shoulders with
prominent magazine editors, actresses,
musicians and executives. Among them can
be found Chiara Ferragni, a 27-year-old
Italian whose online pictures (of herself )
and musings about fashion earned her the
title of “the most influential fashion blogger
in the world” by the specialist publication
Fashionista. Ferragni’s site, The Blonde
Salad, attracts more than a million visitors a
month - a number that places her up there
alongside traditional publications. — AFP
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
lifestyle
Olympia Le Tan
Chloe
Maison Rabih Kayrouz
Sweetening gloomy Russia,
one chocolate bar at a time
W
hen days are dark, friends are few and
the state of your bank account makes
you want to weep, there is only one
thing you can do in bleak, crisis-hit Russia. Keep
calm and eat some very expensive chocolate.
That was the message from artisanal chocolatiers in Moscow who attended this past week
the capital’s first chocolate fair in seven years, in
a sign that even as their wallets are battered by
Models display dresses with parts made with
chocolate and sweets at the opening event of
the “Salon du Chocolat” show in Moscow on
March 4, 2015. — AFP photos
the dismal state of the ruble, there are some luxuries Russians are not willing to give up.
“It’s surprising but, even though there is a crisis, the demand for artisanal chocolate has
increased,” said Vitaly Ponomarev, a chocolatier
with Russia’s upmarket Confael. Known for
boosting the happiness hormone serotonin in
the brain, chocolate “is apparently helping
Russians to deal with the crisis in a lighter way, to
not fall into depression,” he added. And it isn’t
hard to see why Russians would be down in the
dumps.
Western sanctions for the country’s role in
backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine,
combined with falling prices of oil - a key pillar of
Russia’s economy - led to a dramatic crash of the
ruble in December. And Russians have seen their
grocery bills skyrocket as inflation rose to nearly
17 percent in February, with the prices of fruit
and vegetables alone jumping 22 percent in one
month. The price of cocoa has also soared.
But while they may rein in spending on certain items, when it comes to chocolate some
Russians insist on enjoying the melt-in-yourmouth treat, even though its often exorbitant
price may melt their savings. “The crisis has in no
way affected the sale of artisanal chocolate,” said
Dmitry Abrikosov, owner of one of Russia’s oldest
chocolate brands Abrikosov Sons. “A bar of artisanal chocolate at 1,000 rubles ($16) gives a
completely different sensation” to an industrial
chocolate bar which sells for about 70 rubles, he
said. “And people are willing to pay for that.”
A Chocolate a Day
Russia’s chocolate industry has taken off in
recent years, with several artisanal chocolate
companies setting up shop in Moscow and other
cities. “Many people in Russia are currently
investing their money and knowledge in the
industry,” said Abrikosov. Of about 30 participants at the Chocolate Fair in Moscow, 20 were
local chocolatiers who could boast that even if
cocoa beans were imported, their final products
were made at home, an important point at a
time that many items are no longer available in
the countr y due to a retaliator y ban that
Moscow slapped on western imports in August.
And with the current pall of pessimism hanging over the country, chocolatiers at the fair
highlighted the depression-fighting qualities of
their product. “Chocolate is an extraordinary
food ... even in difficult times it gives a bit of happiness,” said Francois Jeantet, the French founder
of the fair. Abrikosov said that luxury artisanal
chocolate was also much loved by Russians
through freezing winters as it “lifts spirits and
boosts immunity”. “Chocolate is the best way to
fight depression,” said fair organiser Yevgeny
Trostentsov. “And in the current situation it
appears one should eat some every day not to
lose one’s optimism.” — AFP
Sweetening
gloomy Russia,
one chocolate
bar at a time
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015
39
A picture taken on Dec 19, 2014
shows an expatriate and a Emirati
man trying to pull one of their 4x4
vehicles out of the sand during an
off-road trip in the desert of
Swaihan, east of the United Arab
Emirates. Scores of expatriates
spend their weekend in the desert
away from the hustle and bustle
of Dubai. — AFP photos
Expats
chill with Dubai
desert off-roading
M
ohammed Iqsaan runs a real estate
company in Dubai but off-roading
over desert dunes on weekends is his
escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The glitzy Gulf emirate’s skyline is dominated
by skyscrapers, topped by the world’s tallest
tower, while the emptiness of the Arabian
desert lies only a short drive away. And as the
city-state attracts droves of tourists with its
luxury resorts and grandiose malls, many
expats opt instead for the tranquility of the
vast sands.
“The desert has a different charm,” said
Iqsaan, a South African, standing at a camping
spot after a day of driving near Swaihan, in the
east of the United Arab Emirates of which
Dubai is a member. Iqsaan reached Swaihan in
a convoy of all-terrain vehicles that are a must
to navigate in the soft sands. Fans of desert
driving go through a briefing: places are
assigned for vehicles within the convoy, tyres
deflated to gain traction and seat belts must
Expats gather at night around a fire during the off-road trip in the desert of Swaihan.
Expatriates set up their picnic spot during the off-road trip.
be worn at all times.
Sinking in the sand is not a problem, recovery is part of the weekend fun. If shovels fail to
dig the vehicle out, another car comes to the
rescue with a strap. The desert outings are a
“getaway from the hustle and bustle, the life of
the city and traffic”, said Anthony Alan, a US
aircraft engineer. “It’s just a great place to be,”
he said, setting up a barbeque. Autumn and
winter are the best seasons for desert trips in
the UAE, when the temperature drops to
pleasant levels.
For Liudmyla Pykhtina, the temperatures
are perfect compared with the freezing winters of her native Ukraine. “I like the weather,”
she said, sporting a thin fleece on a chilly
pitch-black evening. “You can see the stars,”
she said, compared with the light pollution in
the city where the skies are often hazy.
‘Beautiful and Calm’
Several companies organise dune-bashing
desert safaris for tourists, while expats prefer
to join off-road clubs, keeping updated on
excursions through social media. “Our website
brings us all together,” said Islam Mantawy, cofounder of an Abu Dhabi club which organises
driving and camping trips. Mantawy is a vice
president at a local bank. At weekends, he
drops the suit and tie to don the black-andorange outfit of a desert marshall and lead
novice off-roaders on desert trips. “The desert
is beautiful... calm,” he said, adding that his
club boasts now 5,000 members who make
regular trips across the UAE.
His convoys motor through the desert in
search of a quiet spot, then set up camp. At
night, families gather around a crackling log
fire as the mercury falls. Such trips can however pose an environmental threat to the ecosystem of the desert, just like any off-road activities. According to the US-based website
“Defenders of Wildlife”, off-road vehicles, as
well as military activities, cause “extensive, lasting damage to the fragile desert cover”.
Leaving rubbish in desert areas after camping trips and picnics endangers grazing
camels, who can choke to death from swallowing plastic bags. “We avoid driving over grown
grass that is grazed by animals and carry away
our leftovers,” said Hadeel Balbissi, a woman
off-roader and human resources head at a
local firm. Iqsaan highlighted the draw of offroading for expats. In the desert, “all the noise
pollution is left behind in the city. It just resets
your whole biological clock. You get back to
work revitalised,” the realtor said. — AFP
Blind kids defy ‘bad karma’
to play in Thai orchestra
D
eftly feeling their way along the bumps
of the braille score, the young players
of Thailand’s first blind orchestra memorise scales, defying both their impairment
and ingrained negative attitudes towards disability. It is rehearsal time just hours ahead of a
concert at an open-air auditorium in a national
park, and around 30 fledgling classical musicians enthusiastically strum, pluck and bow
instruments they have held but never seen. “At
first it was really hard for me... I wanted to
stop,” said Joe a 14-year-old budding cellist
who picked up the stringed instrument ninemonths ago. “But when I realised that others
could do it, I gave it another try,” he told AFP,
smiling broadly.
Official figures show that Thailand is home
to 1.8 million disabled people, of whom
around 180,000 are blind, in a population of
more than 64 million. Yet campaigners say
state provision for disabled people is poor,
compounding a widely held Buddhist belief in
karma that, in the minds of many, links physical impairments with the supposed ‘misdeeds’
of a past life. The Thai Blind Orchestra, made
up of players aged between eight and 15 years
old, offers a rare positive platform for disabled
Thais. The orchestra, who use donated instruments, were brought together by a professional classical musician whose day job is looking
after elephants in the Khao Yai national park in
northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province.
‘The Kids are Happy’
The seeds of the idea were planted when
the blind students met their soon-to-be maestro, Alongkot Chukaew, at his conservation
classes in the park. Teaching with the help of
audible aids, including his guitar, the 43-yearold Alongkot noticed music caught the attention of the children. He asked his music teachers to play different instruments and encouraged the youngsters to follow the sound they
liked best. As their affinity with their chosen
instrument mushroomed, Alongkot introduced a braille system for the students to
learn to read classical music.
Shown one-on-one how to position their
fingers on their instruments, the children then
memorise both the notes and the correct
placement to make the right sounds. “It was
hard because they cannot see the demonstration of where to put their fingers or hold the
bows,” Alongkot told AFP. “But it was fun.”
“Some people might not like their performance, but the kids are happy and have fun with
it,” he said, adding they are not looking to
compete. Attitudes towards disability across
Southeast Asia are often shaped by a sense of
karmic destiny.
The same philosophy that encourages people to do good deeds so they may be rewarded on reincarnation also leads people to
believe that the disabled suffer their impediments because of their actions in a past life. It
is something that holds back progressive policies and leaves many of the region’s disabled
in poverty or hidden at home by ashamed
families.
“Disabled people are the poorest of the
poor,” explains Suporntum Mongkolsawadi, a
Thai double-amputee from childhood who
now campaigns for improved rights. “The
belief in karma makes disabled people think
they should just surrender and accept their
fate,” added the 48-year-old, who heads the
Redemptorist Foundation for People with
Disabilities.
This picture taken on Jan 31, 2015 shows Joe (center) playing his instrument during a concert at the Thai Elephants Research and Conservation Fund in Khao Yai national park 180
km northeast of Bangkok. — AFP photos
Tang Gwaa of the Thai blind orchestra plays
with an elephant after the rehearsal.
Art (right) of the Thai blind orchestra
laughs with fellow musicians before the
rehearsal.
The Thai blind orchestra performs.
‘My Gift is Music’
Activists say other countries in the region
such as Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines
tend to have a better track record of rolling out
disability aids and policies. Suporntum blames
Thailand’s lag on years of political instability
and short-lived governments for hampering
policy changes to transport, education and
health. While the law codifies equality, in practice life remains at best complex for many disabled Thais. Most public transport lacks wheel-
chair access, few state offices have ramps and
there are no braille signs and few voice signals.
Jobs are also sparse while social opprobrium
runs high. But Suporntum sees some reasons
for hope, saying the ruling Thai junta is well
placed to drive through change, after it vowed
to make society more inclusive and include
rights for all in its reform agenda. In January, a
Bangkok court ordered that lifts be installed at
19 more stations of the capital’s elevated skytrain service within a year - up from four currently - an issue Suporntum has campaigned on
for eight years.
But for real change to take place Thailand
must first shed its preconceptions on disability,
says Rosalina Alexander McKay, an activist from
the Rainbow Room Foundation in Bangkok. “You
don’t have to change the belief system but you
have to change your ways of looking at things,”
adds Rosalina, who has a seven-year-old daughter with Down’s Syndrome. As sighted volunteers
prepare to lead the orchestra to their seats - and
instruments - on the open-air stage, cellist Joe
says he refuses to be held back by received
notions of karma. “I cannot see but I have good
ears... that is my gift in music,” he says, the outline
of trees overhead as the stage lights catch his
crisp white shirt. “When we lose one thing, there
will always be a substitute.” — AFP