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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016 JAMADA ALAWWAL 20, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

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Translator

describes

challenges,

experience

Moderates

make big

gains in

Iran polls

Wawrinka wins

Dubai title

after marathon

tiebreak

Kuwait endorses

new regulations

for treatment

abroad

Syria ceasefire takes hold

despite limited violations

Amir welcomes truce in cables to Obama, Putin

DAMASCUS: Fighting subsided across much of Syriayesterday as the first major ceasefire of the devastating,five-year war appeared to broadly hold despite sporadicbreaches in parts of the battle-scarred country. Thetruce, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as acrucial step towards ending a conflict that has claimed270,000 lives and displaced more than half the popula-tion. It faces formidable challenges including the exclu-sion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which controllarge parts of the country.

Meanwhile, HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent yesterday two cables toUS President Barack Obama and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, welcoming the UN Security CouncilResolution 2268 endorsing the US-Russian joint state-ment on cessation of hostilities in Syria. The Amir appre-ciated both leaders’ efforts to adopt this joint state-ment, hailing it as a genuine step and a glimpse of hopefor ceasing several years of hostilities in Syria whichhave so far claimed the lives of hundreds of thousandsof Syrian people.

HH the Amir wished that this could lead to a politicalsolution to the Syrian crisis in order to put an end to thetragic situation and humanitarian sufferings of thebrotherly Syrian people inside and outside Syria, to ful-fill their legitimate demands and to bring security andstability back to Syria. The Amir also hoped that allinvolved parties would stick to the resolution so thatthe international community can focus on fighting anderadicating terrorism.

Continued on Page 15

KUWAIT: HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday paid a visit to the Department of Border SecurityForce on the northern border of the country. He was greeted uponhis arrival by assistant interior ministry undersecretary for bordersecurity Maj Gen Sheikh Mohammed Yousef Al-Sabah, DirectorGeneral of the General Department for land border security Maj GenFuad Al-Athari and senior border security officials.

During the visit, Sheikh Nawaf listened to a detailed explanationon the existing equipment and the monitoring system and extent oftheir readiness, as well as the sophisticated security system, which isthe latest in the world used for border protection. He appreciatedthe tireless work carried out by servicemen day and night during thecountry’s celebration of the glorious national holidays. HH SheikhNawaf praised the great efforts by the border security men, theircompetence, dedication and devotion in their work as they are thewatchful eyes to preserve the nation’s security and stability.

The Crown Prince stressed “the importance of exerting efforts indefending the soil of our dear homeland and preserving its securityand stability and to always be vigilant against anyone trying totamper with the security of the country”.

He explained that he is fully confident in the ability of borderguards in carrying out their duties and responsibilities fully, becausethey will spare no effort in maintaining and protecting the soil ofKuwait and its territorial integrity.

He conveyed the best greetings of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Supreme Commander of the ArmedForces, who has always praised their noble efforts in preserving thestability and security of the homeland. — KUNA

Crown Prince tours northern borders

KUWAIT: HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is briefed by DirectorGeneral of the General Department for Land Border Security Maj Gen Fuad Al-Athari yesterdayduring his visit to the northern borders of the country. — KUNA

By Athoob Al-Shuaibi

KUWAIT: A number of art and media figures, along withsocial media influencers, held a candlelight vigil yesterdaycalling on the owners of the building housing Bayt Lothanto protect this pre-oil structure that is slated for demoli-tion. Bayt Lothan is considered the first nonprofit organiza-tion of its kind to nurture culture, music and the arts in alldomains. The vigil was organized by artisan Lubna SaifAbbas and chef Mariam Al-Nisf through Facebook topeacefully protest against the closure of Bayt Lothan.

“We hope that this is the beginning. What we want isthat people get reconnected to spaces that mean some-thing. Bayt Lothan is a very special place. It’s a place that hasmeaning that ties us to the past, and it’s been vibrant andvery active since the liberation. We thank the family fordoing this because they created something that didn’t existbefore. However, we want it to continue and we’re hopingthat the government creates a trust and issues laws thatwould protect special places like Bayt Lothan. We don’twant to see it go,” said Abbas.

During the vigil, some attendees sang songs, whilemany spoke about their memories. Eman Jamal, a mediaresearcher at Kuwait University, said Bayt Lothan is likeher second home. “I will never forget the days when Iused to practice photography and voluntarily worked forthe Lothan Youth Achievement Centre (LOYAC), whichemerged from the womb of this place. I wish it remainsuntil my grandchildren see it,” she said.

Joseph Shagra, a photographer at Kuwait Times,remembered his days at Bayt Lothan. “Bayt Lothan in theeighties was my high school and was called Al-Manhal.My classmates and I used to bring our swimsuits to schoolbecause the beach was right in front of the building. Atthat time, there weren’t any roads here. It’s sad that it’sgoing to be demolished,” he rued.

Kuwait issued a law in 1961 to preserve heritage anddistinctive buildings that symbolize the history and iden-tity of Kuwait, but this law is not fully and clearlyenforced. The building housing Bayt Lothan was first con-structed in the late 1920s as a palace owned a member ofthe ruling family of Kuwait.

Vigil held to save Bayt Lothan

KUWAIT: Demonstrators hold a candlelight vigil at Bayt Lothan yesterday. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

ZURICH/CAIRO: FIFA’s new president Gianni Infantino yester-day faced the mountainous task of reforming and unitingworld football, with a pile of crises from the scandal-riddenSepp Blatter era needing urgent action. Infantino, an execu-tive at European football confederation UEFA, promised anend to the dark days at FIFA following his convincing electionwin. But the 45-year-old Swiss-Italian national was immedi-ately met with multiple challenges, as football powerful play-ers including key corporate partners must still be convincedthat FIFA can mend its ways.

Infantino will also have to prioritize the interests of devel-oping football nations in Asia and Africa, two continents thatpublicly backed election runner-up Sheikh Salman binEbrahim Al-Khalifa on hopes that a non-European would leadFIFA after Swiss national Blatter’s 18-year presidency. “We willwork tirelessly, starting with myself,” the shaven-headed, mul-ti-lingual new FIFA boss said. “You will be proud of FIFA. Youwill be proud of what FIFA will do for football.”

Continued on Page 15

Challenges face new FIFA boss

Arabs lament missed opportunity

ZURICH: Newly-elected FIFA president GianniInfantino of Switzerland gestures during a pressconference at the extraordinary FIFA congress onFriday. — AFP

LOCALSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

KUWAIT: His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday congratulated the cit-izens and residents of Kuwait on the55th anniversary of the National Dayand the 25th anniversary of theLiberation Day, lauding their joyfulexpression on the two dear occasionsthrough their participation in the vari-ous popular festivals.

His Highness the Amir praised per-sonnel and officers of the Ministry ofInterior, the Ministry of Defense andthe National Guard for securing com-fortable atmosphere for holding thecelebrations. He also lauded the otherofficial authorities and departmentsfor their efforts in preparing for thecelebrations; namely the higher com-mittee for preparing for national cele-brations, the Ministry of Information,the Ministry of Health, the Ministry ofEducation, the Fire GeneralDirectorate, Kuwait Municipality, alsothanking the media for their wide-scale coverage of the activities.

His Highness the Amir Sheik hSabah Al-Ahmad addressed greet-ings to Their Highnesses the leadersof the GCC states, Arab and friendly

states for their participation in thecelebrations. He also recalled thenational martyrs who had sacrificedtheir souls for defending the home-land. He prayed for the mar tyrs’souls, preserving the dear homeland,the bounties of security, safety andprosperity. — KUNA

Amir lauds citizens,residents for the

jubilant manifestations

His Highness the Amir Sheikh SabahAl-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

RIYADH: Saudi ambassador participates in Kuwait’s embassy celebration.

KUWAIT: The State of Kuwait’s foreign missionsworldwide held several events and receptions incelebration of the nation’s 55th National Dayand the 25th Liberation Day. Kuwaiti ambassa-dors and diplomats at foreign missions and con-sulates in Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Tanzaniareleased statements commemorating theircountry’s national celebrations.

The Kuwaiti diplomats congratulated HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, andHis Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on the advent ofthe national festivities. They also took thechance to congratulate the people of Kuwait onthe country’s celebrations.

The foreign diplomats and officials attendingthe celebrations congratulated Kuwait on itsnational days, stressing that their countries wereeager to develop ties with Kuwait. Other coun-tries where Kuwaiti missions held receptionsinclude Venezuela, Oman, Cyprus, Pakistan,Vietnam, Malaysia, Switzerland, Mongolia,Romania, Bhutan, Germany, Czech Republic,Hungary, Indonesia, the Philippines, SouthKorea, and Singapore. — KUNA

Kuwaiti foreign missionscelebrate national holidays

ROME: Kuwaiti ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is seen during the celebration.

CARACAS: Kuwait’s Ambassador is pictured with Deputy ForeignMinister of Venezuela during the Kuwaiti embassy’s celebration.

CARACAS: Staff members of the Kuwaiti embassy in Venezuela.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry with Ambassador Sheikh SalemAbdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his wife. — KUNA

WASHINGTON: Kuwait’s Ambassador tothe United States Sheikh Salem AbdullahAl-Jaber Al-Sabah has expressed Kuwait’sappreciation of the effective US role in theinternational coalition to liberate Kuwaitfrom the Iraqi occupation in 1991.

Speaking at a function held Thursdayevening to mark the 25th anniversary ofKuwait’s Liberation Day, Sheikh Salemacknowledged the role of the then US pres-ident George H W Bush in the US decisionto join the international coalition, describ-ing him as a unique man and a friend to theState of Kuwait.

The function was also attended by USSecretary of State John Kerry, former USsecretary of state and commander of thejoint chiefs of staff retired general ColinPowell and several US diplomats, journal-ists and several other dignitaries.

In his speech, Sheikh Salem recalled thegreat sacrifices of Kuwaiti martyrs, prison-ers of war (POWs), missing as well as the UShuman casualties in the war. The Kuwaitidiplomat said he is proud of the high levelof Kuwaiti-US relations.

He said that Kuwait’s role as an effectivemember in the international communitystems from depth conviction of the needfor global cooperation to achieve securityand prosperity for humanity. He cited theUN proclamation of His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahas a ‘Humanitarian Leader’ and of Kuwait asa ‘Humanitarian Center’ as a proof of this

remarkable role. Sheikh Salem highlightedthe great developments achieved in Kuwaitin various domains since the liberation.

Meanwhile, Powell said that presidentBush senior has opted for the militaryoption to liberate Kuwait after the failure ofall other options. He pointed out that 34countries had contributed to the interna-tional coalition to liberate Kuwait, describ-ing it as the biggest of its kind in post-World War II world. He stressed that the USwould remain a friend to Kuwait forever,and vice versa.

A documentary, themed KuwaitLiberation, was screened during the func-tion. The Kuwaiti embassy published onThursday a letter in the US mass-circulationWashington Post to express Kuwait ’sacknowledgement of the contributionsand sacrifices of all Americans who partookin Kuwait liberation war.

In the meantime, Kerry said that the USis “grateful for the special friendship withKuwait ” as he thanked AmbassadorSheikh Salem Al-Sabah and his wife fortheir efforts. The US is “so grateful for thespecial friendship with Kuwait,” he toldKTV and KUNA. “We cannot thank youenough for your great ambassador here.(Sheikh) Salem Al-Sabah and his wife,Rima, are fabulous. Kuwait and the UnitedStates now have such a linkage throughhistory. We appreciate the strong partner-ship in trying to deal with the troubles ofthe region.” —KUNA

Kuwait appreciative of US rolein liberation war: Ambassador

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, cele-brated the joys of National holidays with the Ministry of Social Affairs’ carecenters and with children in hospitals on the occasion of Kuwait’s Nationalholidays.

Zain showed its keenness to draw smiles on the faces of the less fortu-nate. The company’s Corporate Communications and Relations team dis-tributed national day-themed gifts to people with special needs, the elder-ly, orphans, and children in hospitals in a patriotic and family atmosphere.

The visits witnessed were enjoyed by care centers and children as wellas the administrative and medical staff in care centers and hospitals. Thisparticipation came in line with Zain’s Corporate Social Responsibility pro-gram where the company participated during this patriotic time of year todistribute gifts and celebrate this nationalistic occasion in a family atmos-phere full of joy and happiness. The company went on to state thatFebruary is a special time of the year for the Kuwaiti society, and thus itcommitted itself to sharing the joys of such times with those who are lessfortunate. Zain’s continuous participation with different segments of socie-ty is a testament to the company’s belief that improving the lives of com-munities in which it operates is central to its overall activities. Zain will con-tinue to introduce initiatives that reflect the traditional humanitarian val-ues and principles of the Kuwaiti society; aimed at enriching the art of giv-ing and increasing bonding between individuals.

Zain celebrates National holidays with care centers and children in hospitals

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of the charitable village of Sabah Al-Ahmad in the city ofGarut in Western Java Province celebrated the 55th National Day and the 25thLiberation Day. The celebration embodied appreciation and loyalty to the‘Humanitarian Leader’ His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The celebration was attended by Kuwait’s ambassador to JakartaAbdulwahab Al-Saqr. — KUNA

L O C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Special Report

Kuwait Times: When did you start your career?Dr Emad Abulnsr: I began translating in 1987

after graduating from university in Egypt. I came toKuwait in 1994, and I have been working here since. Ido both written translation and simultaneous inter-pretation from Arabic into English and vice versa inKuwait and other countries too. I also speak someGerman, but not well enough for translation.

Kuwait Times: Describe a typical day?Abulnsr: I start my duty at 8 am at one of the min-

istries as a senior translation specialist, where I dotranslation work myself and also supervise other writ-ten translations done in my department by my col-leagues. I work at the office till 1:15 pm on the dayswhen there are no conferences, otherwise I partici-pate in official conferences taking place there. Afterwork, I run a freelance translation business, where I doboth written translation and simultaneous interpret-ing.

Kuwait Times: What are some of your most sig-nificant works or participations?

Abulnsr: I participated as a simultaneous inter-preter at all three Syria donors’ conferences at BayanPalace. I was also the interpreter at the first AsianCooperation Dialogue Conference, in addition to

many other conferences and meetings with promi-nent figures, the latest of whom was Bill Gates duringhis recent visit to Kuwait. I have also translated most ifnot all IMAX movies and also translated a book aboutmarine environment in Kuwait for the EnvironmentPublic Authority.

In addition, I translated ‘Eureka,’ a science encyclo-pedia published by the Kuwait Foundation for theAdvancement of Sciences, and many others. I am cur-rently working on translating a book about ProphetMuhammad (PBUH), ‘The Gifted Mercy,’ from Arabic toEnglish, which is expected to be published this June.

DifficultiesKuwait Times: What are the difficulties that you

face in your profession?Abulnsr: The most exhausting thing is working

under pressure. This especially happens when theclient gives us a shorter time than what is actuallyneeded to accomplish the task, so we have to workunder pressure and overtime to finish on time andmeet the deadline. Another difficult situation is whenI am hired to interpret at a conference without beingprovided with the material that will be used, such asthe speeches or presentation slides, so I have no cluewhat the event is about. This is important as prepar-ing in advance makes our job easier and more accu-rate. For instance, we can prepare the correct titles ofthe speakers or names of organizations.

Also, some specialized conferences include specialterminology, so preparing in advance is important.

But when we are not prepared, we feel pressure onthe mind as you have to instantly dig up a word. Also,there may be new words and terms that we might notbe familiar with.

Kuwait Times: Any other problems?Abulnsr: In simultaneous interpretation, interna-

tional rules state that there should be two interpretersin the booth at the same time, as each translatorshould translate up to 20 minutes only and then takea break, while the second translator takes over foranother 20 minutes. But unfortunately in Kuwait, thisrule is rarely followed, and only about 10 percent ofevents abide by the same. So usually one interpreterworks alone for four to five hours, with a short breakof 10 to 15 minutes after sessions that can extend upto 90 minutes. Funnily enough, we consume so muchenergy trying to concentrate for a long period of time,that we emerge from the interpretation booth notonly exhausted, but even hungry!

ImprovementKuwait Times: How do you improve your skills?Abulnsr: Self-improvement is very important for a

translator. If a translator does not keep reading andresearching, he will not be aware of new terms. I amalso in contact with translators from all over theworld, and I now have 1,999 connections from variouscountries on LinkedIn, for example. Sometimes I alsoinvite them to join us for interpretation at confer-ences, particularly if rare language pairs are not found

in Kuwait. This allows for exchanging views and expe-riences, which in itself is a credit for both sides. Manytimes, I also comment on some translation mistakes inpublic places, stickers, signboards, etc, some of whichare very humorous.

In addition to reading and following social media,attending Internet webinars is also a very useful toolfor a translator’s training. There are a lot of free webi-nars as well as advanced ones that charge fees. Thosewho can afford it can also attend the annual interna-tional translation conference, where a lot of transla-tion challenges and issues are discussed by specialistsin the field.

Kuwait Times: What do you aim to add to yourwork to improve it?

Abulnsr: I wish to set up an association for transla-tors - such as for other professions - in Kuwait. In othercountries, there are associations for translators, but itis very difficult here due to the bureaucracy. When Iwent to inquire, I was told that signatures of at least150 Kuwaiti translators are needed to set up a society,while during my 25 years of working in Kuwait, I onlyknow two Kuwaiti translators. So we are now usingsocial media instead to keep in contact, exchangeinformation and discuss our problems. I can say thatthere are hardly around 20 quality translators here,but the number is gradually increasing.

Translation specialist describeschallenges, experience in Kuwait

‘I wish to set up an association for translators in Kuwait’By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Obtaining information from all fields and systematically learning new terms is a major part of a translator’s job. Dr Emad Abulnsr, a senior transla-tion specialist and interpreter, spoke to Kuwait Times about his profession. Some excerpts:

Dr Emad Abulnsr

• I participated as a simultaneousinterpreter at all three Syriadonors’ conferences at BayanPalace

• The most exhausting thing isworking under pressure

• Usually one interpreter works alone for four to fivehours, with a short break of 10 to 15 minutes

• Some specialized conferences include specialterminology, so preparing in advance is important

• If a translator does not keepreading and researching, he willnot be aware of new terms

• Self-improvement is veryimportant for a translator

KUWAIT: Celebrators returned to their habit of using water guns during parades held at the Arabian Gulf Road and other streets in Kuwait on this year’s National and Liberation Days celebrations. Water guns (and throwing water balloons) havebecome a customary public way of celebration ever since the government banned foam spray for health reasons in 2011. — Photos by Joseph Shagra and Fouad Al-Shaikh

L O C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

Education reform

Most intellectuals and liberals in the Arab worldagree on the importance of education reform, butno one says what is the goal or the means in

order to reform society and change traditional conceptsand counter extremism.

Talking about education reform is always focused onthe introduction of computers in schools, rehabilitation ofteachers and reviewing their situation to increase salaries,and achieve high results in science exams for example, butno one calls to expunge radical materials or ones thatencourage conservative or extremist ideas and perhapsfalse opinions too. The goal of education should be toupgrade the regional and global standing and future ofthe state.

Reform of education must succeed in building newthinking skills and respect for others’ beliefs and ideas inline with the constitution and its principles. Educationmust be a tool to eliminate the extended influence of theMuslim Brotherhood and encourage others seeking for therenewal and modernization of the curriculum. The teach-ing materials must have a direct impact on the students’daily lives and behaviors.

Education reform has become a need in all Arab coun-tries and not only in Kuwait. In Kuwait, the cost of a stu-dent in the kindergarten stage in 2011/2012 was KD 4,031.Spending on the following three stages of education wasKD 3,262 for primary, KD 3,299 for intermediate and KD4,137 for high school. Public spending and the annual esti-mated budget for the education sector amounted to KD 1billion for 2013, with salaries for the year 2011/2012 at KD776.3 million and spending on buildings, training activitiesand tools not more than KD 250 million. This amount is notenough to have a serious reform process.

I know that drastic reform of education is not an easyprocess and can’t be done in a day. It needs decades andwill as much as decisions to recognize that education isstill in the same place since the past 30 years. Education isnot only the responsibility of the state, but is everyone’smission. The most important question is the philosophyof higher education and what do we want to have -researchers, administrators or intellectuals?

How do we fix education? Firstly, we must make edu-cation a priority in the agenda of any government. Wehave to reject the typical claim that the ministry ishijacked by an Islamist group or others, because thisargument reflects impotence and failure and no one candominate the culture of a society unless they areallowed to do so.

How do Islamist groups work in education? They relyon memorization and repetition as well as a refusal todebate, and of course the concept that democracy is adanger and any new calls for educational reform are athreat. It is common that such education results in peoplewho act like they are programmed and execute any orderwithout the slightest discussion, and so it is normal to seeprofessors and teachers who have college degrees buthold extremist thoughts and are narrow-minded.

Let’s take the vivid example of the number of terroristsin IS, especially those from the Gulf region such as SaudiArabia and Kuwait. Others may have their reasons, such asignorance and poverty, but there is no justification forthose from our region to become terrorists. They havebeen brainwashed and poisoned with ideas of sick peo-ple, probably those who are professors and teachers. It isthe education that allowed them to be an easy prey.

It is our right to demand for education reform. Realeducation reform must encourage the plurality of opin-ions and ideologies and should not be less importantthan mathematics, for instance. There is a need for adop-tion of quality indicators to measure learning standards ofall students and educational staff to follow their perform-ance and monitor the output of the educational system inKuwait according to global performance systems.

Local spotlight

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister andInterior Minister Sheikh MohammadAl-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabahstressed the necessity of implement-ing directives of His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for treating sons ofthe martyr Turki Al-Enezi as Kuwaiticitizens.

Kuwait will never forget the mar-tyr who sacrificed his soul for its sake,the Ministry’s Public Relations andMedia Security Department said in apress statement Friday. The move is

an honor to the martyr’s efforts inserving the country, it added.

The statement referred to theparental feelings of His Highness theAmir towards the martyr, who is aGulf son to a Kuwaiti mother. Eneziwas run over by a motorist Thursdayat Dasman roundabout in KuwaitCity. Several other policemen werewounded in the accident.

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled hadstated during Enezi’s funeral on Fridaythat Kuwait is proud of sacrificesoffered by the martyr. The country’s

soil embraces today a martyr whosacrificed his soul for its sake, theMinistry’s Public Relations and MediaSecurity Department quoted SheikhMohammad Al-Khaled as saying.

The minister prayed to Al lahAlmighty to bless the martyr’s soulw i t h m e rc y i n Pa r a d i s e a n d tobring solace to his family, wishingthose injured speedy recovery, thestatement said. Sheikh MohammadAl-Khaled and some senior officialsat the ministr y took par t in thefuneral. — KUNA

Amir instructs martyr’s sons

to be treated as Kuwaitis

Kuwait endorses

new regulations

for treatment

abroad

KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr Ali Al-Obaidi hasendorsed new regulations for treatment abroad,stipulating in part that applications for treating apatient outside the country must be via the hospitaland not through the department in charge of treat-ment abroad.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statementyesterday that the new regulations stipulated thatresolutions taken by the specialized committeestasked with approving the treatment outside Kuwaitare not final, and that they must be forwarded to thesupreme commission for final approval.

In case an application is turned down by the spe-cial panel, the concerned patient is entitled to lodgea complaint with the supreme commission, onlyonce. He (or she) can re-present the application to aspecial panel at the hospital three months after thesupreme commission’s decision to abstain fromblessing it.

Validity for the treatment abroad spans for twomonths after approval by the undersecretary. It canbe extended by a month, only. In case the patienthas failed to travel as scheduled, he (or she) canrenew the application.

The new rules also say that natural therapy isrestricted to private medical centers in Kuwait,except for the cases that require physical rehabilita-tion or implantation. The MoH will not compensatepatients who have undergone treatment at theirpersonal expense. However, it will examine theemergency or accidents’ cases involving citizensabroad.

The ministry has recently established a specialpanel to re-examine the regulations governing citi-zens’ treatment abroad, in line with the CabinetResolution 152/2012, as well as complementary res-olutions. It is also tasked of enacting regulations fortreatment in the private sector in Kuwait. —KUNA

Couple arrested

for injuring

policemen

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior announced onFriday that it arrested a Syrian resident, whoseemed to be in an abnormal state, and his Kuwaitiwife who tried to escape and consequently hit sev-eral policemen and injured them slightly. Whilepolicemen were on patrol at Sabah Al-Salem area,they suspected a Syrian resident named KhaledHasan, the Ministry’s Public Relations and SecurityMedia Department said in a press statement.

Accompanied by his Kuwaiti wife, he appearedto be in an abnormal state, it said, adding thatwhile she was trying to escape, she ran over severalpolicemen and injured them slightly. The ministryfound out that the Syrian had a criminal recordinvolving fraud and possession of narcotics. He wasarrested in possession of narcotic pills, it said, not-ing that he and his wife were referred to investiga-tions, it concluded. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah participates in thefuneral of martyr Turki Al-Enezi, who was run over by a motorist Thursday at Dasman roundabout in Kuwait City.

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The government does notobject to a request made by ten law-makers to discuss the issue of bedoons(stateless) during the upcoming parlia-mentary session, informed sourcessaid. The government is expected toapprove a proposal made by the par-liament’s defense and interior commit-tee to grant citizenship to 4,000bedoons a year, the sources added. Inanother concern, the sources said thatthe parliament’s legislations commit-tee will hold a meeting to discuss anumber of proposals concerning par-liamentary elections, including addingnew areas to the current electoral con-stituencies so that their residents couldtake part in the 2017 elections.

Strange timingMP Abdulhameed Dashti stressed

that video footage circulating onlinewhich allegedly shows him insultingan Arab country was recorded a longtime ago, adding that it was strangewhy it is “being manipulated at thisparticular time.” He added that hehad been through similar attacks lastyear and urged people criticizing himto verify things before jumping toconclusions. “He who has proof that Ihave violated the constitution shouldtake such proof to legal authorities,”he underlined.

Investments in LebanonThe GCC Chambers of Commerce

Union is currently closely watchingGCC investments in Lebanon afterfour GCC states banned their sub-jects from travelling to Lebanon,which made the business and invest-ment council in the Lebaneseembassy in Riyadh to express con-

cerns of withdrawal of GCC fundsfrom Lebanon. In this regard, Ali Al-Ghanem, Chairman of KuwaitChamber of Commerce and Industry(KCCI), and chairman of the board ofthe GCC union stressed that the situ-ation in Lebanon was being closelywatched and that no such decisionswere made yet.

Live surgeryHead of the cardiology depart-

ment at the chest diseases hospitalDr Mohammed Al-Mutairi said thatthe hospital would take part in aninternational conference on cardiaccatheterization by performing a livesurgery in the hospital and showingit through video conference at a con-ference hall in India. Mutairi addedthat the conference would also viewlive surgeries from India, US, France,UK and UAE.

Govt open to naturalizing

4,000 bedoons a year

Schools in Kuwait

will be open today

KUWAIT: Schools will open as regular today, theMinistry of Education announced yesterday, denyingrumors that they would remain closed post the nationaldays’ holiday. Dr Haitham Al-Athari, the undersecretary,denied in a statement to KUNA, tonight, allegationsthat have gone viral on the electronic social media that“Sunday is an official holiday for the students,” affirmingthat the classes will be open as usual. — KUNA

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry’s Relationsand Security Media Director Brigadier AdelAl-Hashash said that statistics collectedfrom various field operations during thenational celebrations included 1,533 secu-rity measures, filing 11,190 traffic citations,impounding 526 vehicles and 18 motor-bikes and referring 41 juveniles to relevantauthorities. Hashash added that securitymeasures taken during the ceremoniesaimed at protecting both citizens andexpats from any malpractices whileexpressing joy.

Smuggling foiledNuwaiseeb custom inspectors foiled anattempt to smuggle 11 liquor bottles bythree people arriving from a GCC country.Security sources noted that the bottleshad been hidden in secret pockets in theclothes the suspects wore that were dis-covered during inspection.

No injuries in firesHawally and Salmiya firefighters con-trolled a huge fire that started in a store inthe yard of a Hawally building onThursday night. The flames extended to atruck parked outside the building. Noinjuries were reported. Separately, a vehi-cle caught fire in Saad Al-Abdullah onFriday, said security sources, noting thatfiremen rushed to the scene and managedto control the fire without reporting anycasualties.

Flames come out from a building which caught fire in Hawally on Thursday night. Firefighters tackle a blaze which burned a vehicle in Saad Al-Abdullah on Friday.

1,533 ‘security measures’ taken during celebrations

Austerity policy excludes

low income citizens, basic

commodities: Premier

LONDON: The proposed austerity policy, to be worked outby the National Assembly and the Cabinet, will not affectcitizens with low income and would not touch the price ofbasic commodities, said His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah Friday.

Speaking to the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper,Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak affirmed that this was not thefirst time that Kuwait had to address its economic situationin light of the low oil price, stressing that the austerity poli-cy was aiming at cutting unnecessary expenses, improvinggovernance, and creating a responsible consumer culturewithin society. He hoped that the National Assembly andthe Cabinet will come in terms with one another to reachagreement that will be beneficial in the long run.

UnityMeanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak said

that unity and solidarity between the leadership of Kuwaitand its people will help the nation traverse through thealarming developments in the Middle East and Gulf region.Kuwait is keen on having good relations with all countriesin the region, including Iran, he added.

However, he indicated that his country did not approveof the attacks that recently occurred against the Saudiembassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashdad, stressingthat Iran should control extremist elements on its landsand also seek to normalize relations with its Arab neigh-bors. His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak affirmed thatKuwait and the member states in the Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) will always seek measures to defuse tensionin the region. — KUNA

BRUSSELS/ROME: The NATO SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenberg will visit Kuwait onMonday for talks with the Kuwaiti leadership.In an exclusive statement to the Kuwait NewsAgency (KUNA) Friday, Stoltenberg said helooks forward to visiting Kuwait for the firsttime as NATO Secretary General.

“Kuwait is an important regional partnerfor the Alliance, and has played a key role inpromoting closer NATO-Gulf relations. In 2004,Kuwait was the first country to join theIstanbul Cooperation Initiative, or “ICI,” NATO’spartnership framework with Gulf nations,” henoted.

“We face common security challenges, andshare common aspirations for peace and sta-bility. So over the past decade, our politicaland practical cooperation has grown, and wecan do more together,” said the NATO chief.

“For instance, the NATO-ICI RegionalCentre in Kuwait, which will be a hub for prac-tical cooperation with Kuwait and otherregional partners, and allow us to deepen ourclose partnership even further,” he added inhis statement to KUNA. Meanwhile, a NATOpress release here yesterday said during hisvisit, Stoltenberg will have meetings with HisHighness the Amir of the State of Kuwait,

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HisHighness the Prime Minister Sheikh JaberMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First DeputyPrime Minister and Minister of Foreign AffairsSheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah and thePresident of the Kuwait National SecurityBureau, Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah.

The Secretary General will also sign theNATO-Kuwait Transit Agreement with the FirstDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of ForeignAffairs and will pay a visit to site of the futureNATO-Kuwait Istanbul Cooperation Initiative(ICI) Regional Centre.

Tremendous effortsMeanwhile, Sheikh Thamer Al-Sabah has

been admitted into the NATO Defense CollegeFoundation’s advisory council due to histremendous efforts in highlighting his coun-try’s strategic commitment to regional securi-ty, a NATO official said late Friday.

The decision was made on the sidelines ofthe foundation’s international conference onthe geopolitical situation in the Arab world,said Ambassador Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo,head of the foundation and former actingSecretary General of NATO.

Minuto-Rizzo said that choosing Sheikh

Thamer to become member of the advisorycouncil was to acknowledge his decade-longefforts and cooperation with NATO whichcame within the Istanbul CooperationInitiative (ICI), a document regulating coopera-tion between NATO and members from out-side the organization. The official affirmedthat he was looking forward to cooperate withthe Kuwaiti figure to further enhance coopera-tion between NATO and its partners.

In regards to the foundation’s role, Minuto-Rizzo said that this NATO-affiliated structurefocused on bolstering relations on a more flu-id and less formal approach, tackling majorstrategic challenges through direct dialoguewith partners including the ones in the Arabregion.

Touching on the conference, the officialsaid that the event helped to paint a clear pic-ture of what is occurring in the Middle Eastregion, affirming that Sheikh Thamer, alongwith officials form 18 countries, had con-tributed to the success of the conference.Minuto-Rizzo also took the chance to com-mend the Kuwaiti official’s final communiquÈto the conference, indicating that SheikhThamer’s speech reflected Kuwait’s uniquestatus in the region. — KUNA

Kuwait important regional

partner: NATO Secretary General NATO entity includes Kuwaiti official in advisory council

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Sources of income

Al-J

arid

a

In 1990, Kuwait found out that six states and organiza-tions that received most of its aid over years - Iraq, PLO,Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia and Jordan - were the most hos-

tile to it and one of them invaded it, and ever since, GCCstates, EU, US and Russia no longer accept that any of thecountries receiving aid from them act against them. That isexactly what happened with Lebanon by Saudi Arabia andother GCC states.

To start with, there is a huge difference between SaudiArabia’s attitude towards Lebanon and that of other region-al states like Syria. It’s like the difference between good andevil. Saudi Arabia has been known to work for achievingstability, stopping wars, contributing in reconstructingLebanon and employing its people. It even allowed itsnational carrier to operate from Jeddah throughout the civilwar years; which is unlike the Syrian interference that onlycontributed to prolonging the war, shedding more bloodand assassinating Lebanese leaders.

Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia was severely antagonized bythe ‘kidnapped’ Lebanese decision-making to the extentthat the Lebanese FM Gibran Bassil even outdid the Iranianauthorities who condemned the assaults against the Saudiembassy while he did not, with a silly excuse of ‘protectingLebanese solidarity’. The Lebanese government also keptsilent about militias infiltrating through its border to sup-port the murder regime in Damascus that killed hundredsof thousands and displaced millions of its people, whichwould give any future Syrian regime the right to interfereback in Lebanon.

Lebanon seems to be at a crossroads nowadays becauseit can make use of the Saudi and GCC attitude to adjust itsprevious wrong choices and set new rules for politicalgames in Lebanon, including a national project that sub-jects everybody to the authority of a united just Lebanesestate including everyone and controlling its borders toavoid the terrible consequences already taking place inIraq, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen, where armed militiastook over.

Lebanon of tourism, beauty, peace, investments andservices that is compatible with itself and Arabs and thatenjoys stable policies and is open to all parties, has poten-tial to become one of the richest regional countries just likeother service countries worldwide like Luxemburg,Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. This is what SaudiArabia and GCC states want for it and is being fought byother powers’ agendas that only seek more political, eco-nomic and living blockages that would eventually blowthings up and harm everybody. The choice is now for theLebanese people to either choose those seeking recon-struction and those seeking its destruction.

Finally, PM Salam can take immediate measures to undothe problem by a quick reshuffle excluding Bassil from theforeign ministry because his statements and attitudes can-not mend the situation between Lebanon, Saudi Arabiaand GCC states. Salam can also tightly close the borderswith Syria to prevent insurgents going through them.

—Translated by Kuwait Times

To avoid the situation

exploding in Lebanon

Al-Anbaa

By Sami Al-Nisf

Afew months ago, I wrote about a Ministry ofEducation (MoE) application found on the AppStore that belongs to an Israeli company. I

expected MoE or any of its relevant sectors wouldremove, stop or even suspendthe application after I pub-lished my article.Unfortunately, checking theApp Store two days ago, Ifound the application still inuse and even updated on Jan26, 2016, which means thatMoE stubbornly insists onusing an Israeli platform inone of its sectors whilenobody knows about it.

According to the applica-tion’s conditions, it allows theIsraeli company to watch anyuse of the application andreview all the data in it even if it came from a third party,which means that within the privacy rules, the companyhas every right to review all the application’s contentswithout permission from the owner and that any persondownloading and using it would be subject to the sur-veillance of the Israeli company - Como.

The disaster is that the conditions for using this app

clearly state that any dispute resulting because of theapplication or its use would mandate all parties to fullysubject to Israeli laws and courts. WOW! In other words,MoE has indirectly subjected itself to Israeli laws by

using this application thatincludes all ministry informa-tion, officials’ names, MoEnews in the media, specialdirectives and decisions aswell as the names of employ-ees who deserve incentivesand excellent performancebonuses. I know that neitherIsrael nor Como need thisapplication to get the secretsof the ‘Kuwaiti NuclearEducation Ministry’, but thequestion is: Why has MoEchosen this particular Israeliapplication from dozens of

international companies providing similar free applica-tions. Its official could have selected any from hundredsof technology companies providing free smartphoneapplication platforms. More than 43,000 users in Kuwaithave downloaded the application on their smartphonessince its launch two years ago until yesterday!

—Translated by Kuwait Times

MoE and Israeli laws

Al-Anbaa

By Thaar Al-Rasheedi

CrimeR e p o r t

Hyena killed after

attacking campKUWAIT: A hyena was killed after it attacked a Kuwaiti fam-ily’s camp in Kabd, said security sources. Case papers indi-cate that a citizen spending the national holidays in adesert camp in Kabd called the police requesting protec-tion form a hyena attacking their camp. The man informedthe police that he had locked his family in a room insidethe camp to protect them while the hyena was pacing out-side. Arriving at the scene, policemen chased the hyenaout of the camp and shot it to avoid endangering othercampers’ lives. The citizen said that the hyena was beingchased by some vehicles when it entered his camp.

Forgery

A bedoon woman and her two female citizen friendswere arrested on arrival at Kuwait international airportfrom Dubai, said security sources, noting that Dubai air-port authorities found that the bedoon was using thepassport of a friend she resembled and deported thethree to Kuwait. Investigations are in progress to findwhether the suspect received any assistance at Kuwaitairport or the passport authorities did not do their jobproperly and were fooled by the resemblance.

Home robbery

A citizen reported that on returning from celebrating thenational holidays, he found that unidentified robbers hadstolen jewelry and cash from his house. The man said thathe went out by 5 pm and returned by 11 pm to find that adining room window was smashed and that the thievesstole the jewelry and cash. A case was filed.

Families fight

Two Arab families consisting of three men and twowomen fought in Hawally because of problems overtheir children, said security sources. More than 43,000 users

in Kuwait have down-loaded the application ontheir smartphones sinceits launch two years ago

until yesterday!

Drug possession

Narcotics detectives arrested a number of suspects of SriLankan, Egyptian, Indian, Gulf, and Kuwaiti nationalities aswell as stateless people, all in possession of drugs in sever-al separate cases. Security sources said that the total drugsseized included 1.15 kg of hashish, 100 gm of heroin, fivegrams of meth and over 4,000 illicit pills.

False alarm

Jahra security forces were alarmed after receiving areport from a girl crying and claiming that she hadkilled her mother, said security sources, noting that onrushing to the address the girl provided, policemenwere received by the mother who said that her daugh-ter was mentally disabled and had a file with the psy-chological diseases hospital. —Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa

KUWAIT: Will the solutions due to besuggested by lawmakers in a two-hours session to be dedicated to dis-cuss bedoon problems on March 1 beat the expense of expats, by replacingexpats with bedoons and grantingthem more civil and social rights? MP

Ahmed Lari believes that bedoonswould help solve demographic imbal-ances and could replace expats ingovernment jobs, which means layingoff 100,000 expats who are alreadyoverburdening public services. MPAbdulrahman Al-Jeeran stressed that

bedoons’ issues were being studiedby devoted people and that bedoons’files had been studied pending granti-ng citizenship to those who deserveit. MP Fares Al-Otaibi said thatbedoons’ issues would be discussed ina public session. —Al-Rai

Bedoon issues resolved

at expatriates’ expense?

KUWAIT: Investigations with aman who ran over a police officerduring national celebrations lastThursday revealed that the sus-pect’s actions were driven by ‘ter-rorist motives,’ a security sourcesaid. The suspect possesses thesame ideology as a terroristorganization which calls for over-turning the ruling system in thecountry, said the source whoclaims to have knowledge withthe ongoing investigations withthe suspect. He added that theman had planned to carry out acriminal act for a while beforefinally going ahead with his plansduring the celebrations. Thesource also said that the suspect‘spoke normally’ during investiga-tions, which suggest that hemight not be mentally unstable asinitially believed.

Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Interior SheikhMohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabahstated meanwhile that Kuwait wasproud of sacrifices offered by mar-

tyr Turki Mohammad Al-Enezi, apoliceman, who was run over by amotorist on Thursday, anddescribed his killing as an ‘act ofterrorism.’

The minister made the state-ment during Enezi’s funeral onFriday. The country’s soil embracestoday a martyr who sacrificed hissoul for its sake, the ministry’spublic relations and media securi-ty department quoted SheikhMohammad as saying. The minis-ter prayed to Allah Almighty tobless the martyr’s soul with mercyin paradise and to bring solace tohis family, wishing those injuredspeedy recovery, the statementsaid. Sheikh Mohammad andsome senior officials at the min-istry took part in the funeral. Theministry announced on Thursdaythat Enezi was run over by amotorist and several other police-men were injured in the incidentwhen they were on duty atDasman roundabout in KuwaitCity. —Al-Qabas

MoH investigates

citizen’s death,

promises legal

accountability

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MoH)will investigate the death of citizenAbdul Rahman Al-Sultan in one of itshospitals, Assistant Undersecretary forLegal Affairs Dr Mahmoud Al-AbdulHadi stressed. He added that uponinstructions from Minister Dr Ali Al-Obaidi, a special committee had beenformed to conduct the investigationand decide on the cause of death. “Incase of medical error, doctors respon-sible will be subject to legal accounta-bility,” he stressed, reminding that theministry had previously expelled sev-eral doctors for medical errors.

In another health concern, MoHundersecretary Dr Khaled Al-Sahlawisaid that the recent Cabinet’s decisionon the allowances for medical treat-ment overseas would take effect byApril 1. Sahlawi explained that thedecision included paying a dailyallowance of KD 75 for patients receiv-ing treatment in the US and Europeand KD 50 for patients in other coun-tries. He added that patients wouldalso be entitled to flight tickets plusonly one companion. Sahlawi stressedthat MoH was currently conducting astudy on possible alternatives fortreatment overseas. —Al-Anbaa

Candy in local

markets safeKUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality DirectorAhmed Al-Manfouhi hailed the coopera-tion shown by chocolate manufacturerMars on examining and preventing aninedible shipment comprising of 2,700 car-tons from entering the local market.Manfouhi said that a GCC-wide warningwas made concerning a plastic substancein Mars and Snickers brands and that onexamining samples from local markets,they were found safe as the company hadalready prevented the tainted shipmentfrom reaching outlets. —Al-Qabas

Policeman’s run over

‘terror motivated’

KUWAIT: The total cost of tenstrategic projects which are expect-ed to finish this year reaches KD 1.1billion, a Ministry of Public Works(MPW) official announced. Theseprojects are highlighted by theJaber Hospital, Jahra Road, Ministryof Education’s building, theMiseelah project and the CentralPrison, said Abdulmohsen Al-Enezi,Undersecretary Assistant forPlanning and Development.

The KD 264 million Jahra Roadproject is expected to end next

October, he said, adding that theKD 76 Ministry of Education projectis set to end by May while the KD304 million project is set to finish byJune. Meanwhile, Enezi said thatthe ministry plans to conclude theremaining projects included in thedevelopment plan by the begin-ning of 2018. These projects includethe Jaber Al-Ahmad Bridge, the FirstRing Road and the NuwaiseebRoad, he said, adding that construc-tion in each project is going onaccording to schedule. —Al-Anbaa

KD 1.1 billion projects

to end this year

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Uganda’s ‘dictator in a suit’ holds power, but at what cost?

Page 10

Mugabe’s lavish 92nd birthday party angers criticsPage 12

COLUMBIA: Hillary Clinton is eyeing a decisive winin South Carolina’s Democratic presidential nomina-tion race, hoping to gain momentum against BernieSanders before the high-stakes “Super Tuesday”contest. One week after Donald Trump barreled tovictory in the state’s Republican vote, yesterdayDemocrats took center stage in South Carolina,where 55 percent of voters in the 2008 party pri-mary were black.

Clinton is expected to win the southern state,and leads in the national delegate count at this earlystage, having won two of the first three nominationcontests - in Iowa, narrowly, and Nevada. Polling sta-tions opened their doors at 7:00 am (1200 GMT)and were to close 12 hours later, at which point awinner could be announced if one candidate has aclear lead. “It would be a super send-off to do wellhere,” Clinton told several hundred mostly AfricanAmerican voters, who gathered Friday for an oysterroast and fish fry at the county fairgrounds inOrangeburg.

By contrast, Sanders received a cool welcome

from the same crowd when he arrived unexpected-ly at the event on the heels of the former secretaryof state. “In 1963, I was there with Doctor (MartinLuther) King for the March on Washington for Jobsand Freedom,” he said, earning some applause.Later in Columbia, Sanders delivered his finalspeech to an oversized, half-empty auditorium -while in Iowa, he had easily filled an arena with5,000 supporters.

While Sanders has the support of some high-profile African Americans such as film director SpikeLee and the rapper Killer Mike, Clinton is backed bymany local elected officials and black communityfigures. The 68-year-old also has the support ofmany of the same voters who supported her hus-band, Bill, whose popularity as a presidential candi-date rivaled even that of Barack Obama.

Both presidents are men whom Clinton knowswell, and she frequently jokes about being a part oftheir political lineage. “I’m not running to do eitherone of their third terms, but I do think they really dida good job for America, and it would be foolish not

to learn from them,” Clinton said. In South Carolina,Clinton’s campaign has worked hard to hammerhome the message that she is the only candidatewho can break down barriers still preventingminorities from getting ahead.

‘Super Tuesday’ Some Clinton supporters say Senator Sanders, a

transplanted New Yorker and self-declared demo-cratic socialist who now represents Vermont, is littleknown in the south. Although Sanders, 74, was inSouth Carolina Friday, his prospects in the state arepoor and he has invested few resources here.Instead, he is focusing on states like Ohio andMinnesota that vote in March, when a whopping 45percent of the delegates who will attend the nomi-nating convention are up for grabs.

He is to spend Saturday in Texas and Minnesota,while Clinton will be back in Columbia by night.Only three percent of delegates for July’s nominat-ing convention in Philadelphia will be awarded bythe end of the day. But the 11 states that hold

Democratic nominating contests just days later onSuper Tuesday will send a whopping 18 percent ofthe delegates to Philadelphia. Clinton is ahead inmost of the 11 states, but Sanders has the edge inMassachusetts and his adopted home state ofVermont. Since he entered the campaign last year,Sanders has made up some lost ground withminorities in terms of face and name recognition.

Clinton’s Ups and Downs But Clinton’s supporters, minority or otherwise,

invariably say she is “qualified” and “experienced”.Jay Smith, a retired African American, came to thepolls in Columbia yesterday with her son Roy andyoung grandson. Both voted for Clinton. “She’s thestrongest of the candidates. She’s been in it herwhole life,” Smith said. Bernie? “No, he’s too old.”Retired African American teacher Elvira Kennedy,70, also voted for Clinton. “She’s the best candidate,”she said. “We never had a woman president, it’sabout time we give a woman a chance to messeverything. Men have been doing it for 300 years.”

Tessa Blackwell, 29, a white restaurant manager,said she voted for Sanders. “I really love that he’sdoing such a grassroots campaign, and that he’s notbought by any corporation,” she said. “He’s more forthe people by the people.” A win yesterday wouldmark Clinton’s third since Feb 1, and could silencecritics who say she has led a sluggish campaign.Since entering the race last April, Clinton’s campaignhas had its ups and downs. One of its lowest pointswas the FBI investigation into Clinton’s use of a pri-vate email server during her tenure as secretary ofstate. The issue made headlines again on Friday,when the State Department released 1,500 pages ofher emails to meet a deadline to disclose allreleasable portions of her electronic correspon-dence in its possession by Monday night. But thecandidate said she was not worried. “I am, you know,personally not concerned about it, I think that therewill be a resolution on the security inquiry,” she toldMSNBC. Polls carried out last week gave Clinton aclear advantage in South Carolina: About 56 percentcompared to 28 percent for Bernie Sanders. — AFP

CHARLESTON, South Carolina: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Hannibal’s Kitchen, a 3rd generation family owned restaurant serving southern food, on Friday. — AFP

BEIRUT/DIYARBAKIR: Islamic Statemilitants launched an assault on aKurdish-controlled town on Syria’s bor-der with Turkey yesterday, promptingair strikes by the US-led coalition to tryto drive them back. The hardline fight-ers attacked Tel Abyad, which is con-trolled by the Syrian Kurdish YPG mili-tia, and the nearby town of Suluk inthe early hours of yesterday, YPGspokesman Redur Xelil and Turkishsecurity sources told Reuters.

Coalition war planes carried out 10air strikes to try to repel the assault,the Syrian Observatory for HumanRights reported. It said at least 45Islamic State militants and 20 Kurdishmilitia fighters had been killed. Theattack was launched hours after a “ces-sation of hostilities” came into effectunder a US-Russian plan, although thetemporary truce does not apply toIslamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliate theNusra Front, meaning the Syrian gov-ernment, Moscow and the coalitionreserve the right to strike them. Thetruce appeared largely to be holdingacross much of Syria.

Xeli l said the YPG and SyrianKurdish internal security forces wereable to “crush this attack and encirclethe attackers”, although he gave nocasualty toll. The YPG captured TelAbyad from Islamic State last year in an

offensive backed by US-led air strikes.The town lies north of Raqqa and hadbeen a key supply line for the jihadicapital. The Turkish security sourcessaid the attack was launched on twofronts and that the sound of gunfireand explosions, audible from the townof Akcakale on the Turkish side, hadcontinued for several hours.Intermittent gunfire could stil l beheard. The security sources and a wit-ness in Akcakale said war planesthought to be from the U.S.-led coali-tion against Islamic State struck thejihadist positions and that the Turkisharmy had increased patrols on its sideof the border. While not directlyaddressing the Tel Abyad attack, 14Turkish F-16s patrolled the Turkish-Syrian border on Friday, Turkish mili-tary said.

Xelil said some of the attackersinfiltrated from the Turkish border tothe north, reiterating accusations thatTurkey was supporting the group.Turkey has consistently denied thoseaccusations and the security sourcessaid recent measures to stop illegalcrossings meant it was impossiblethat the attackers had entered fromTurkey. Other attackers infiltratedfrom the south, Xelil said. He saiddozens of Islamic State fighters hadbeen killed. — Reuters

SOFIA: A Palestinian who escapedfrom Israeli custody after being con-victed of a 1986 murder has died atthe Palestinian embassy in Sofia,Bulgarian prosecutors said yesterday.Police sealed off the mission buildingin the capital as an investigationbegan into the death of Omar Al-Nayef, who was jailed along with twoother men for killing Jewish ultra-orthodox seminary student, EliahuAmedi, in Jerusalem.

Prosecutors said in an initial state-ment they had been alerted by a rep-resentative of the Palestinian missionin Bulgaria “about a man who died asa result of violence” but a spokes-woman for the prosecutors later saidno signs of violence were found onhis body. She said Nayef was found inthe mission’s back yard and prosecu-tors were investigating whether hewas pushed or fell from a high floor,as well all other possible causes. Themission, which is not guarded byBulgarian security forces or its ownguards and does not have camerasurveillance, confirmed he was OmarAl-Nayef.

“Omar (Al-Nayef ) Zayed is a mar-tyr,” the Palestinian ambassador toBulgaria, Ahmed Al-Mathbouh, told

reporters. “We believe that those whopersecuted him could have carriedout something against him.”Palestinian sources said he had beenshot and a Palestinian prisoners’ asso-ciation and the militant Popular Frontfor the Liberation of Palestine blamedIsrael for his death, while PresidentMahmoud Abbas condemned whathe called a “crime”. The head of theIslamist Palestinian movement Hamasin the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniya, also

denounced what he described as “anew Zionist crime”. An Israeli ForeignMinistry spokesman said it hadlearned of his death in the media andwas studying the information.Amedi’s sister, Yaffa Pinhasi, toldIsrael’s Channel 1 television that shebelieved Israeli agents were behindthe killing. “Whoever did this deservespraise,” she said. Nayef was sentencedto life in prison for the murder butescaped in 1990 while being moved

to hospital after he began a hungerstrike. He first went to the PalestinianTerritories before fleeing to an Arabcountry and then to Bulgaria, wherehe had lived since 1994.

Bulgarian authorities had soughtto detain him following an extraditionrequest by Israel in late December,prompting him to seek refuge at thePalestinian mission and leading to acountry-wide search after Nayef couldnot be found at his Sofia address.Official Palestinian news agencyWAFA said Abbas had ordered aninvestigation into the circumstancesof Nayef’s death. “The president hascondemned the crime in thestrongest terms possible and hasordered the members of the (investi-gation) committee to travel immedi-ately to Bulgaria to discover whathappened,” WAFA said.

Abbas’ spokesman Nabil AbuRdainah said the presidency wouldpursue the issue with Bulgarianauthorities. Bulgarian chief prosecu-tor Sotir Tsatsarov told reporters therewas evidence Nayef had been livingat the embassy. He also said Nayefhad been alive when medics arrivedat the embassy early on Friday butdied shortly after. — Reuters

Clinton eyeing decisive win South Carolina votes in primary elections

SOFIA: In this frame made from AP video, police cars are parkedoutside the Palestinian Authority’s embassy on Friday. — AP

Palestinian wanted by

Israel dies in Bulgaria

IS attacks Kurdish-held

town on Turkish border

I N T E R N AT ION A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

RAMALLAH: At a time of simmeringMideast tensions and rising malaise, agroup of French chefs recently visitedthe West Bank to bring a little joie devivre to Palestinian kitchens. The eightchefs visited restaurants in Ramallah,Hebron, Nablus and east Jerusalem in aweeklong event earlier this month spon-sored by the French government, whichprides itself on culinary diplomacy andhas held similar events in Japan, Brazil,India, Morocco and elsewhere.

A parallel festival began four yearsago and ran concurrently in Israel. ManyIsraeli chefs train in Europe, and in thelast 20 years, a cosmopolitan Israeli cui-sine has emerged, incorporating tech-niques and flavors from across theJewish diaspora - everything fromMoroccan couscous and Libyan fishstews to German potato pancakes andAustrian-inspired chicken schnitzel.

By contrast, Palestinian cooking hasremained steeped in local and MiddleEastern recipes, thanks to a strong agrari-an tradition and a shortage of clientelewith disposable income. Dishes lean onchickpeas, lentils and rice, often spicedwith cumin, drizzled in olive oil andaccompanied by sides like hummus, tab-bouleh and yogurt. Palestinian food alsodraws on Levantine flavors like zaatar - athyme-like herb - as well as sumac andpomegranate molasses.

Ramallah, seat of the PalestinianAuthority, has seen dozens of newrestaurants and cafes open in recentyears, serving Palestinian, Lebanese,Mexican, Japanese and Italian fare. Butmost cooks learn on the job. “Someonewanted to work for us after he camefrom a construction site. Another onedropped out of high school,” said JamalNimer, owner of the Caesar Hotel inRamallah, which opened five years ago.“You have to teach the people how towork.”

Lessons That’s where the French come in. One

of the chefs gave lessons in bakingbread, cakes and macaron cookies to the32 students at the Caesar HospitalityCollege in Ramallah, which Nimeropened earlier this year to train staff. Atthe Orjuwan restaurant nearby, co-own-er Saleem Sakakini said visiting chef AlexDreyer helped his staff master basic tech-niques as they prepared a special menufeaturing salmon in hollandaise sauce, alamb rack served over herb-infusedmashed potatoes and an apple tartetatin.

“I liked the Palestinian food, because Ithink it’s a very specific flavor that any-one can enjoy,” said Dreyer, who works asa chef in Paris. “The flavor is so bold andbeautiful.” Sakakini said he was grateful

his dozen kitchen staff could get a mas-ter class in using the “sous vide” appli-ance, which cooks meat or vegetablesuniformly via a hot water bath. He alsorelished the small touches Dreyer intro-duced. “He poached sliced garlic in milkfor two hours, then dried it and thendeep fried it,” Sakakini said. “And thenused it as a garnish. They looked phe-nomenal. I never tried this before.”

In the southern West Bank town ofHebron, Mahmoud Halaika worked withVincent Lucas - who cooks in a Michelin-starred restaurant in southwesternFrance. The two prepared steak in acreamy mushroom sauce alongside lambneck stuffed with aromatic rice andserved with yogurt - a Palestinian spe-cialty.

Halaika said he loved preparing foodas a child and spent six years cooking inan Israeli restaurant outside Tel Aviv,where he earned a good salary butfeared that authorities would discover hewas sleeping in Israel illegally during theweek. He eventually moved back toHebron and took a job cooking for halfthe pay at the Pasha Palace restaurant,where a local clientele enjoys Palestinianfare in a leafy courtyard.

Techniques Hebron, which has long been a flash-

point for Israeli-Palestinian violence, sees

few tourists, making the chef ’s visit allthe more special. “We learned their tech-niques. Their slow cooking,” Halaika said.Back in Ramallah, Sakakini said the festi-val was a bright spot in a challengingtime, when business has fallen by 30 per-cent due to renewed Israeli-Palestinianviolence.

The last five months have seen near-daily Palestinian attacks, mainly stab-bings in the West Bank and eastJerusalem, which have killed 28 Israelis.Israelis have killed more than 160

Palestinians in the same period, most ofwhom Israel identified as assailants.Israel has blamed the violence onPalestinian incitement, while thePalestinians say it is rooted in frustrationat decades of occupation and dwindlinghopes for independence. “The politicalsituation in the Middle East is very dulland depressing,” Sakakini said. “There’san intifada, we have checkpoints ... Towork with people who are otherwiseunattainable gives us the chance tobelieve in what we are doing.” — AP

Visiting French chefs scramble Palestinian cuisine

RAMALLAH: In this photo taken on Feb 20, 2016, Palestinian chef Jihad Al-Maharmeh prepares a mixed Palestinian French dish, Freekeh lamb rack, atOrjuwan restaurant in this West Bank city. — AP

LA MACARENA, Colombia: Forensic workers unearth unidentified bodies at the cemetery in this town on Feb 24, 2016. —AP

LA MACARENA, Colombia: The stench of deathenvelops the makeshift morgue as Diego Casallasuses a box cutter to slash open a mud-caked bodybag. The unidentified remains are all but decom-posed after more than a decade in the ground, butthere are valuable clues: A pair of brown workboots and a camouflaged backpack. “These areobjects that can lead to an eventual identification,”says Casallas, a forensic anthropologist, as hecalmly inspects a femur bone with the colddetachment required of his profession.

As a deal to end Colombia’s half-century con-flict nears, this lonely cemetery in a former rebelstronghold has become a hive of activity. The pasttwo weeks, criminal investigators have been dig-ging up the dead in hopes of identifying 464 peo-ple buried in unmarked paupers’ graves. So far,they’ve disinterred 66. It’s slow work. Every exhu-mation is documented by forensic anthropolo-gists, topographers and crime scene photogra-phers under the supervision of a prosecutorbefore samples can be sent to Bogota for DNAanalysis, and hopefully, a match with an expand-ing genetic database of thousands of Colombianswhose loved ones disappeared during decades offighting.

If the detective work succeeds on a largeenough scale, it could go a long way in helpingColombians heal from the bloodshed and regainconfidence in the rule of law. In October, as part ofa breakthrough in three-year-old peace talks, gov-ernment negotiators and the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia agreed to establish ahigh-level agency to search for the bodies of theestimated 45,000 people who were believed tohave been slain by one side or the other andwhose bodies were discarded without record dur-ing the conflict. An additional 220,000 people areconfirmed to have been killed.

Authorities for now are concentrating thesearch in the Sierra de la Macarena, a wild, Taiwan-sized region long disputed by government troopsand the FARC. Human rights groups applaud theeffort but say the scope of Colombia’s bloodlettingrequires more resources. Casallas is one of just twodozen forensic anthropologists employed by thechief prosecutor’s office, whose job it is to siftthrough more than 21,000 unmarked tombs andgraves nationwide containing so-called NNs, or nonames, the term used to describe the anonymousdead.

Symbol“If we keep going at the current pace, Colombia

is going to be looking for our disappeared for atleast the next three generations,” said Pablo Cala,an activist who has helped authorities hand overto their families the remains of 108 victims of the2,292 people buried anonymously in the Macarena

region. The cemetery in La Macarena has longbeen a symbol for leftist critics of the government.Its location, a few feet downslope from a militarybase belonging to the elite Omega Task Force, oneof the largest recipients of US counterinsurgencyaid, fueled tales that it held untold numbers ofcivilians killed by the military and dressed up asguerrillas to hide human rights abuses. Colombianmedia took to calling it the world’s largest massgrave.

It is unknown how many of the dead were civil-ians. In a fatal omission that speaks to longstand-

ing institutionalized neglect and corruption inColombia, authorities at the time made almost noeffort to identify the dead or investigate how theywere killed. Such distinctions matter little to JesusAntonio Hernandez, who for three decades wasthe village’s gravedigger. During the worst of thebloodbath starting in 2002, after earlier peaceefforts broke down and the government launcheda major offensive, helicopters would unload asmany as 10 corpses a day on the base’s airstrip,which is the dusty jungle crossroads’ only pavedsurface.—AP

Colombia digs up past in former rebel stronghold

La Macarena cemetery a symbol for leftist critics

MAGDALENA MEDIO VALLEY, Colombia:In their secret jungle camps, Colombia’sMarxist rebels used to learn how to fight.Now their leaders are trying to teach themhow not to. They still carry the rifles andmachetes they have used for half a centuryin their war against the Colombian govern-ment. But now troops of the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are sit-ting down for classes on how life will beonce they lay down their weapons.Thousands of miles away at talks hosted byCuba, their commanders are negotiating apeace accord they hope to sign withBogota in March.

Meanwhile, here in the jungle, FARC sol-dier Tomas, 37, is acting as an instructor,explaining to his fellow recruits what is atstake. AFP was granted exceptional accessby FARC commanders to this mountaincamp in northwestern Colombia. After his14 years spent marching and fighting inthis jungle, Tomas must now convince hiscomrades to work to achieve the FARC’saims by political means. “Some of them arelooking forward to it. They are pleasedabout it, optimistic,” he said. “But others arekeeping quiet about it. They are a bitreserved. “How do we sever ourselves fromthe weapon we have carried for so manyyears?”

Makeshift Classrooms Classes like these are going on in vari-

ous camps around the country that arehome to the FARC’s 7,000 members. At thiscamp in the Magdalena Medio region, amustachioed commander in a green beretorders ranks of troops to sit down side byside. They have built the makeshift class-

room themselves, cutting down trees tomake tables. Among the fighters are youngwomen and boys scarcely out of puberty,with rifles by their sides and pistols on theirhips.

With the sun beating down on him,Tomas sits by his laptop computer andexplains the issues covered by the peacetalks. “The problem, companions, is aboutthe land. Access to the land must bedemocratized,” he said. Some of the youngrecruits yawn and shake their heads as theystruggle to follow the presentation. Oldertroops listen more closely and take notes,occasionally raising their voices to say“excuse me, comrade” and ask a question.

Among the elder members is Cornelio,who has spent 33 of his 55 years fighting inthe FARC. He fears anarchy could break inthe regions it controls, if its fighters disarm.“They talk to us about laying down ourweapons. They talk to us about turning intoa political party,” he said after the class. “Sothe question we ask ourselves is: what willhappen when we put the weapons awayand delinquency breaks out?”

No More Killing The FARC started in the mid-1960s as a

peasant uprising against perceived stateoppression and took over areas where statecontrol was absent. They are classed as a ter-rorist organization by powers including theUnited States and the European Union. Theconflict has ground on for decades as a terri-torial dispute between various armedgroups. Now, as negotiators close in on aMarch 23 deadline to sign an accord, LatinAmerica’s last armed conflict could soon beover. — AFP

In jungle camps, Colombia rebels take peace lessons

Cornelio (right), a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),takes notes during a “class” on the peace process between the Colombian govern-ment and their force, at a camp in the Colombian mountains on Feb 18, 2016. —AFP

‘I’m going to die’: Swedish girl tells of life under IS

STOCKHOLM: Marilyn Nevalainen was just15 years old, and pregnant, when she leftSweden with a jihadist recruit, though shedid not realise what a mistake she hadmade until she was in Iraq. Desperate, shecalled home from the Islamic State strong-hold of Mosul in northern Iraq begging forhelp, and was ultimately rescued byKurdish forces. On Friday, foreign ministryspokeswoman Veronica Nordlund told AFPthat Nevalainen, who is originally from thesouthwestern Swedish town of Boras, has“returned to Sweden with her family”.

She landed Thursday in Stockholm withher parents, who had travelled to Iraq sev-eral times over the past eight months totry to bring her home, according to region-al newspaper Boras Tidning. Police said herboyfriend, a Moroccan who reachedSweden as an unaccompanied minor threeyears ago, was dead. Kurdish forces res-cued the girl near Mosul on Feb 17, accord-ing to a statement from the KurdistanRegional Security Council.

Nordlund would not reveal manydetails of the rescue, though she con-firmed it was the result of “collaborationbetween the Swedish authorities and for-eign governments”. In an interview broad-

cast this week by TV channel Kurdistan 24,the Swede said in broken English that shemet her boyfriend in 2014 and that hebecame radicalised after watching ISvideos. “Then he said he wanted to go toISIS (another acronym for IS) and I said,‘Okay, no problem,’ because I did not knowwhat ISIS meant or what Islam was,” shesaid. She was pregnant when they leftSweden in May 2015, taking trains andbuses across Europe until they finallycrossed the border from Turkey to Syria.They were then driven by IS jihadists toMosul.

‘Very Hard Life’ “In my house we had nothing, no elec-

tricity, no water, nothing. It was totally dif-ferent from how I lived in Sweden, becausein Sweden we have everything, and when Iwas there I did not have anything, did nothave any money either. It was a very hardlife,” she said. “When I got a phone, I startedto contact my mum and I said I wanted togo home. She contacted the Swedishauthorities,” she told Kurdistan 24. Swedishmedia has published desperate text mes-sages she sent her mother while she wasstuck in Iraq. —AFP

SANAA: A Saudi-led air coalition air strike on amarket northeast of the rebel-held Yemenicapital Sanaa killed at least 30 rebels and civil-ians, witnesses said. The air strike targetedthree rebel vehicles as they entered a marketin the town of Naqil bin Ghaylan, killing atleast 30 Houthi insurgents and civilians, onetribal source in the area said. The rebel-con-trolled Saba news agency gave a higher deathtoll, saying that 60 civilians were killed andwounded in the attack but it did not mentionany casualties among fighters.

The attack hit Khulaqa market, which isknown for selling qat, a mild narcotic that ischewed throughout Yemen, witnesses said.The area is part of the Nehm region, wherecoalition-backed loyalists have been advanc-ing against the rebels as they try to close in onSanaa. Rights groups have repeatedly urgedthe coalition to avoid causing civilian casual-ties. Earlier this month, Human Rights Watchaccused the coalition of using US-suppliedcluster bombs. The coalition last monthannounced that an independent inquirywould examine charges of possible abusesagainst civilians in the conflict.

A panel of UN experts says the coalition hascarried out 119 sorties that violated humani-tarian law, and called for an internationalprobe. The coalition launched late March 2015an air campaign against Iran-backed rebels insupport of the UN-recognized PresidentAbedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The Iran-backedShiite rebels have controlled Sanaa sinceSeptember 2014 and had placed Hadi underhouse arrest.

But he escaped, initially seeking refuge insecond city Aden last year before fleeing tothe Saudi capital, Riyadh, as the rebelsadvanced on the southern port. Hadi returnedto Aden after loyalists backed by the coalitiondrove the rebels out of there and four othersouthern provinces in the summer. But Hadi

and senior officials continue to spend most oftheir time in Riyadh against a backdrop ofworsening security in Aden, the temporarybase of the government.

The United Nations warned this month of a“human catastrophe unfolding in Yemen”,where it says more than 6,100 people hadbeen killed in the fighting since last March.The UN said another 3,000 people had beenwounded and 2.5 million people forced to fleetheir homes. Donors at a conference in Qatarpledged Wednesday $220 million of aid toYemen. Hadi’s government accused this weekLebanon’s Hezbollah of sending fighters tosupport the Houthis, saying it had evidence ofthe Shiite militia’s involvement. Also yesterday,the United Arab Emirates, a key member ofthe Saudi-led coalition, said that one of its sol-diers has died in Yemen when his militaryvehicle overturned. The UAE has lost morethan 70 soldiers in Yemen since the launch ofthe campaign. — AFP

Strike on Yemen market kills 30

SANAA: A Yemeni man inspects a damagedvehicle after an airstrike by Saudi-led coali-tion yesterday. —AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

WASHINGTON: US Republicans in Washington arecoming to grips with what many of them not long agoconsidered an unimaginable reality: Donald Trump islikely to be their presidential nominee and standard-bearer. The prospect of Trump winning theRepublican primary had been the stuff of Washingtonjokes, whispered hallway conversations and eye-rolls,even as he led in public opinion polls for months anddominated debate after debate.

But with the brash billionaire now winning threestraight contests in New Hampshire, South Carolina,and Nevada, denial is giving way to a mostly gloomyacceptance that he may have too much momentumto be stopped, especially if wins big in key Southernprimaries next week that look favorable to him. “It fillsall of us with concern and dread,” said Senator JeffFlake of Arizona, who has endorsed fellow SenatorMarco Rubio of Florida, considered the main hope ofthe Republican establishment to derail Trump’s marchto the nomination.

That march was given a boost on Friday when NewJersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presiden-tial candidate who dropped out of the race after a dis-mal finish in New Hampshire, became the first majorestablishment Republican to endorse Trump. “There isno better fighter than Donald Trump,” Christie said at anews conference with Trump in Texas.

Trump has vowed to scrap US trade deals, slap atariff on imported goods and raise taxes on hedge-fund managers, as well as retain some sort of mandateto purchase health insurance - clashing with the free-market principles that have long underpinnedRepublican economic policy. Some Republicans inCongress, such as Flake and Senator Lindsey Grahamof South Carolina, said a Trump nomination would do

enormous damage to the party and predicted a heavyelection defeat in November to the eventualDemocratic nominee. “I am like on the team thatbought a ticket on the Titanic after we saw the movie,”said Graham, contending that Trump would be“slaughtered” in the general election.

In a Republican presidential debate in Houston onThursday night, another Trump rival, Senator Ted Cruzof Texas, challenged him on his electability, citing tiesto Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton such as adonation to the Clinton Foundation. Trump respond-ed by ridiculing Cruz for his inability to win more thanthe early voting state of Iowa and taunted him forbeing behind the billionaire in opinion polls in Cruz’shome state of Texas. Said Trump, “If I can’t beat her,you’re really gonna get killed, aren’t you?”

Another Rubio supporter, Representative CarlosCurbelo of Florida, told Reuters he would not backTrump if he were the nominee. “If the nominee is afraud, and someone who’s offensive, and incapable ofbeing an effective president like Donald Trump, Iwon’t support him,” Curbelo said. Other Republicanstried to be more optimistic. “I don’t think his nomina-tion would be catastrophic,” said Senator Susan Collinsof Maine. She said she did not believe, as some strate-gists fear, that having Trump on the ballot inNovember would hurt Republican chances for hold-ing onto control of the Senate, where the party cur-rently has a 54-46 edge.

Conservative economist Arthur Laffer, an adviserto former President Ronald Reagan who has beencounseling Trump on tax policy, said he was con-vinced the real estate mogul was open to soundadvice. Laffer recalled Trump telling him: “‘Look, ifyou’ve got a better idea than I’ve got, tell me, and I’ll

change.’” Senator John Thune of South Dakota sug-gested Trump’s presence could help by bringing morevoters to the polls. “There’s a lot of energy, a lot ofintensity on our side,” Thune said.

‘Really Freaked Out’Privately, lobbyists, economists, and analysts

expressed deep concern about having Trump, whohas proposed building a wall along the southern USborder and imposing a temporary ban on Muslimsentering the country, as the face of the party. “Thereare a lot of people who are really freaked out,” saidDouglas Holtz-Eakin, who was the chief economic pol-icy advisor to 2008 Republican presidential candidateJohn McCain. “He seems to be winging it.”

Conservative policy-makers worry that Trump’spitch to voters is based on his management skillsrather than conservative principles. Juleanna Glover, aprominent Republican communications consultant,told Reuters that Trump’s ascent “spells the death ofthe party’s sentient and cohesive governing frame-work.” Two Republican business lobbyists, who alsoasked to remain unidentified, told Reuters that theyare very concerned about Trump, chiefly because theydo not know what he stands for.

They said they have no sense of certainty becauseTrump’s positions on issues such as tax, trade, and reg-ulation range from being only vaguely understood tocompletely unknown. By vowing to make America“win” again abroad while going into little detail on hisforeign policy plans, Trump is also stirring concern inWashington national security circles. A high-rankingofficial at a conservative think-tank, who spoke oncondition of anonymity because his job requires himto steer clear of partisan politics, said: — Reuters

Trump’s march stirs growing

sense of dread among Reps

WASHINGTON: The Supreme Court challengeto a Texas law that has dramatically reduced thenumber of abortion clinics in the state is the jus-tices’ most significant case on the hot-buttonissue in nearly a quarter-century. One of thiselection-year term’s biggest cases is beingargued Wednesday before a court altered by thedeath of Justice Antonin Scalia. He was perhapsthe most vociferous abortion opponent amongthe nine justices. The Texas law has been repli-cated across the South and elsewhere, part of awave of state abortion restrictions in the pastfive years.

States mainly led by Republicans have triedto limit when in a pregnancy abortions may beperformed, restricted abortion-inducing drugsthat take the place of surgery and increasedstandards for clinics and the doctors who workin them. The Supreme Court case involves thatlast category. A Texas law enacted in 2013requires doctors who perform abortions to haveadmitting privileges at nearby hospitals. It alsoprohibits clinics from providing abortions unlessthey meet the standards of outpatient or ambu-latory surgical centers. The high court has par-tially blocked those measures. If allowed to takefull effect, all but 10 clinics in Texas would haveto close. There would be no abortion providersin the state’s rural areas or west of San Antonio.The only clinic in the Rio Grande Valley would beallowed to remain open on a limited basis.Before the law was passed, there were roughly40 clinics in the state. About half have closed.

The case offers competing views of how toprotect women’s health. The clinics contendabortions are safer than many other medicalprocedures that are less stringently regulatedand that the clinic regulations have only onepurpose: to reduce the availability of abortions.“These laws are tantamount to an outright banfor too many,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, chiefexecutive of Whole Woman’s Health, whichoperates clinics in Texas and other states.

Defenders of the laws in Texas and elsewhereargue that states have discretion to take steps tomake abortions safer. Alabama and other statesbacking Texas told the Supreme Court thatstates were within their rights to apply healthregulations to clinics for the sake of patients.“Obviously I’m pro-life and I would like to limitthe number of abortions, but here we werelooking at women’s health and safety,” saidRepublican Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, a

doctor who signed his state’s admitting privi-leges law. Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller,who will defend the law at the Supreme Court,said Texas acted in response to the high-profilecase of Philadelphia abortion doctor KermitGosnell. He is serving a life sentence after hisconviction for killing three babies born alive andfor the overdose death of a woman who was aclinic patient. A federal judge in Texas struckdown parts of the law as not intended to pro-mote women’s health and clearly aimed atreducing access to abortion. But the 5th USCircuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans largelyaccepted the state’s argument.

The justices’ June 2015 order putting theappellate ruling on hold at least suggests thatthere is a majority to cut back on the regula-tions. The clinics and abortion-rights groups arehoping for a ruling that might bolster chal-lenges to other restrictions on abortion. To pre-vail, they still need Justice Anthony Kennedy’svote, along with the reasonably certain votes offour more liberal justices, just as they did beforeScalia’s death. Kennedy was part of the 5-4majority to reaffirm abortion rights in 1992, thenwrote the court’s decision in 2007 that upheld afederal law banning a certain procedure thatopponents call partial-birth abortion. That wasalso a 5-4 split.

Teeth A broad high court ruling striking down the

Texas provisions would show that the court’s1992 decision still “has some teeth in it,” saidStephanie Toti, the lawyer who will argue the clin-ics’ case. Without Scalia, the best that supportersof these laws can hope for is a 4-4 tie, whichwould uphold the appeals court’s endorsementof the Texas law and perhaps affect similar laws inLouisiana and Mississippi because they are partof the same judicial circuit as Texas. A trial judgealso struck down Louisiana’s admitting privilegeslaw, but the 5th Circuit has allowed Louisiana toenforce the law as the case makes its waythrough the courts. Two of the state’s four clinicshave closed in response and a third will have toclose soon, said Nancy Northup, president of theCenter for Reproductive Rights. On Friday, theclinics said in an emergency appeal to the highcourt that only a New Orleans clinic wouldremain open if the state is allowed to enforce thelaw. They want the justices to block the rulingand let them stay open. — AP

Abortion returns to Supreme

Court altered by Scalia death

SALEM: A crew of goats brought in todevour invasive plants at a popular park inOregon’s state capital, Salem, have beenfired because they ate indiscriminately,cost nearly five times as much as humanlandscapers and smelled far worse, a cityofficial said on Friday. The 75 billy and nan-ny goats were supposed to eat Armenianblackberry and English ivy and other inva-sive plants choking native vegetationacross the 9.1-acre Minto-Brown IslandPark, the city’s largest, in a pilot programlast fall.

But the program ended in Novemberafter six weeks, and Salem has no plans torenew it, Keith Keever, the city’s parkssuperintendent, said Friday. The goats “hada barnyard aroma” and cost $20,719,including $4,203 for drinking water and aworkers’ toilet, and $2,560 for monitoring,city staff said in a report to the city councilthis week. The cost was nearly five timesthe $4,245 for a normal parks maintenance

man backed by a prison inmate work crewto do the job, the report said.

Rachel McCollum, owner of Yoder GoatRentals, the company that supplied thegoats, praised the work of the animals,adding: “The public response was veryfavorable.” While the goats were “almostuniversally welcomed by park users as apleasant, pastoral addition to the scenery,”they also greedily devoured native floraright along with invasive targets, choosingtasty maple and hazelnut trees. In onearea, they ate all the leaves from blackber-ry stems but left the prickly bramble.

It is not the first time goats have beenused as gasoline-free lawn-mowers. Theyhave been used at Alphabet Inc’s head-quarters in Mountain View, California, andat the Historic Congressional Cemetery inWashington, DC. Keever did say that Salemis not ruling out using goats in the futurefor certain landscaping projects, such asmaintaining steep hills. — Reuters

Oregon city fires goats

with ‘barnyard aroma’

KAMPALA: “In the past you could getaway with imprisoning and killingeveryone,” said Ugandan lawyer andpoet Kabumba Busingye. “Now it hasbecome much more difficult to be adictator.” Under Idi Amin, 1970s Ugandawas a rough dictatorship ruled withbrutal buffoonery, but YoweriMuseveni, a former rebel who helpedoverthrow Amin and his successor toseize power in 1986, is a “sophisticateddictator in a suit” said Busingye.

Museveni swept to his fifth electionvictory this month with 61 percent ofthe vote. Observers said the cards wereheavily stacked against his opponents,as the 71-year-old’s grip on his partyand country - and his access to stateresources - meant the result was neverin any doubt. “In the past there was ruleby decree, abolishing courts and parlia-ment. Now you keep them, you haveelections once in five years but youarrange the system to make sure that

you always get your way,” said Busingye.The cost of getting his may prove

higher this time than in similarly disput-ed elections against the same mainopponent, Kizza Besigye, in the past.Foreign donors are dismayed and, more

importantly, a large chunk of the elec-torate feels disenfranchised and angry.In the days since the vote, armed policeand soldiers have maintained anaggressive, highly visible presence onthe capital’s streets to keep a lid onthings, while Besigye has been prevent-ed from leaving his home by a succes-sion of mob-handed arrests. “The issueof legitimacy is going to be a big one forthe next government,” said LivingstoneSewanyana, chairman of the CitizensElection Observers Network Uganda(CEON-U) which monitored the vote.“There is a general belief that the wholeprocess was not transparent and themood is that the results do not reflectthe will of the people.”

‘Goodwill Exhausted’ While campaigning, Besigye

addressed large rallies in his urbanstrongholds and in rural areas whereMuseveni finds his strongest support.

The president resorted to “rentedcrowds” attracted by freebies and hand-outs, said Sewanyana, and could rely onthe support of an Electoral Commissionthat is widely regarded as partisan.During three decades in charge,Museveni has melded state and party,bending institutions to his will, from thesecurity forces to the judiciary.“Museveni controls all aspects of ourlife,” said Sewanyana. Doing others’ dirtywork abroad has won him gratitudeand a free pass. Uganda’s army is thecore of the US and European-backedfight against Islamist militants inSomalia and its soldiers are deployed invarious UN peacekeeping missions.“Uganda is punching above its weightin the region in terms of security mat-ters, and a number of players both inthe region and outside would be keento have continuity,” said Busingye.“Museveni has very shrewdly workedthis into his calculations.” — AFP

OKLAHOMA CITY: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks on as a Trump supporter reaches for a sign thatreads “Islamophobia is not the answer” at a rally on Friday. — AP

HOUSTON: Marco Rubio unleashed a cam-paign’s worth of harsh criticism on DonaldTrump in the final Republican debate beforeTuesday’s crucial primaries. The problem maybe that it took 10 debates and three Trumpvictories to get Rubio fired up. Rubio, alongwith most of the other Republican presiden-tial candidates, has treated Trump with kidgloves for months, tiptoeing around glaringquestions about the real estate mogul’s busi-ness record, political ideology, brash tem-perament and ambiguous policy proposals.

Only now, with Trump threatening to pullaway from the field, did Rubio aggressivelytry to dismantle the billionaire businessman’sgrip on the Republican race, with occasionalhelp from Ted Cruz, the conservative Texassenator. Rubio accused Trump of shifting hisposition on deportation and staffing hishotels and other businesses with foreignworkers instead of Americans. He alsopunched holes in the real estate mogul’svague proposal for replacing President BarackObama’s healthcare law.

“What is your plan, Mr Trump? What isyour plan on healthcare?” Rubio pressed. The

senator also gleefully pointed out Trump’spropensity for repeating talking points overand over again, the same criticism thattripped up Rubio in a debate earlier thismonth. “Now he’s repeating himself!” Rubioexclaimed. Rubio’s assertive posture was sureto be cheered by the crush of Republican offi-cials who have rallied around his campaign inrecent days, desperate for the senator tobecome a viable alternative to Trump. But pri-vately, many were likely wondering why ittook so long for Rubio to make his move - andwhether his strong showing came too late.

Next week’s Super Tuesday contests markthe biggest single-day delegate haul of thenomination contests. A strong showing byTrump could put the nomination within hisgrasp, raising the stakes for his rivals to stophim. Rubio was sometimes joined by Cruz intag-team attacks on Trump. It was a tacticalshift for two senators who had trained theirfire on each other in recent weeks, both bet-ting that the best strategy was to clear thefield of other rivals before moving on toTrump. But Tuesday’s Nevada caucuses clearlychanged their calculus. Trump dominated

that contest, beating second-place Rubio bymore than 20 points, and pulling ahead sig-nificantly in the early delegate count after vic-tories in South Carolina and New Hampshireas well. Trump appeared rattled at times as hefaced the most sustained, face-to-face attacksof the campaign. Before Thursday, only JebBush had made a real effort to tangle withTrump on the debate stage, though it did lit-tle to help the former Florida governor. Bushended his campaign last week after disap-pointing showings in early primaries and afundraising drought.

Lessons Rubio appeared to have taken lessons from

Bush’s exchanges with Trump. The senator wasprepared for Trump’s frequent habit of inter-rupting and almost willfully refused to backdown when the businessman tried to talk overhim. He also took a page out of Trump’s ownplaybook, lacing his more substantive critiqueswith some sharply personal attacks. During aparticularly biting exchange, Rubio said that ifTrump hadn’t inherited family money, hewould be “selling watches in Manhattan.” — AP

HOUSTON: Republican presidential candidate businessman Donald Trump

pauses as Republican presidential candidate Sen Marco Rubio (center) and

Republican presidential candidate Sen Ted Cruz greet at a break during a

Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston on

Thursday. — AP

Rubio finally makes move on Trump - but too late

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama: In this photo taken Feb 22, 2016, Dr Willie Parker stands ina procedure room for a portrait at the West Alabama Women’s Center. —AP

Yoweri Museveni

Uganda’s ‘dictator in a suit’

holds power at what cost?

I N T E R N AT ION A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

BARCELONA: Half a year after Barcelonalaunched a municipal plan to welcomerefugees fleeing wars in places like Syriaand Iraq, Spain’s second largest city isstill waiting for them to arrive. “This fillsus with rage,” Barcelona Mayor AdaColau, a former activist born out of theanti-austerity Indignados protest move-ment said. “The city is ready at the tech-nical level, all our services are ready andresidents are waiting with open arms.But they don’t arrive.” While EU interiorministers gathered in Brussels this weekto try to hammer out a unified responseto the biggest migration crisis in thebloc’s history, the city detailed its own“Barcelona Refuge City” plan.

When Colau announced the initiativein August, hundreds of residents of theMediterranean, seaside city flooded thecity hall with e-mails volunteering tohelp. The plan was quickly followed byother cities across the country includingMadrid, the Mediterranean port ofValencia and Cadiz in the southwest.Faced with this outpouring of solidarity,Spain’s conservative government agreedto increase to 17,680 the number ofrefugees which the country wouldaccept as part of a broader EU responseto the migrant crisis.

It had initially agreed to accept just2,749. “But since then, just 18 havearrived (in the whole of Spain), a ridicu-lous figure,” said Pascale Coissard,spokeswoman in the northeasternregion of Catalonia for the country’sCommission for Refugee Aid. The agencyhas for months prepared to receive achunk of the over one million peoplewho have arrived in Europe fleeing fromSyria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Eritrea. Itboosted the number of places able towelcome refugees in Catalonia-the capi-tal of which is Barcelona-to 41 from tenand will shortly open 50 more. Theagency has also reinforced its medicaland psychological services and it is train-ing municipalities in the region how bestto deal with newly arrived refugees.

‘Working blindly’The Catalan branch of the Red Cross,

meanwhile, is recruiting social workers,interpreters and employment consult-ants and has set up three reception cen-tres with up to 200 places for emergencysituations. “We are ready,” said OscarBarbero, head of social services for thelocal branch of the Red Cross. “But weare working blindly, without knowingwhen they will arrive, how they will

arrive or how many will arrive.” The mainproblem is that Spain’s central govern-ment “is not providing any information,”said Ignasi Calbo, coordinator of the“Barcelona Refuge City” plan, for which10.5 million euros ($11.6 million) hasbeen set aside.

And Brussels and European nationsare also dragging their feet. In lateSeptember, European leaders agreed ona plan to relocate 160,000 migrants fromthe countries they’re flooding into-main-ly Greece and Italy. But it has so far relo-cated just 600 - an unacceptable situa-tion for Colau. “In the summer we will goto the beach for a swim, in the same seawhere each week people die becauseEurope is not providing safe passage,”she said. “And while it does not, it will bean accomplice to these human traffick-ing mafias and boat sinkings.”

‘Get tired of waiting’ As a result, Barcelona wants European

cities to grab hold of the issue. For thepast few months, it has been workingwith associations representing Europeancities, such as Eurocities or Metropolis, topressure European institutions to act.Now they will move to direct action, saidColau. Barcelona city hall is finalizing

cooperation agreements with munici-palities which have been overwhelmedby the arrivals of migrants, such asAthens and Lesbos in Greece orLampedusa in Italy. “But there will comea time when cities get tired of waiting,”said Calbo, hinting local authorities may

assume some responsibilities in areas ofasylum that belong to the central gov-ernment in Madrid. “It is a state duty butthere is a humanitarian level which wecannot forget. And human rights areabove European legislation,” he added,without giving further details.— AFP

Barcelona waits for refugees - who aren’t coming

BARCELONA: Members of ‘Proactiva Open Arms’ NGO carry a lifeboat as theytake part in the European March for Refugee Rights to demand the Europeanauthorities to take action to secure safe passage routes for refugees. — AFP

GRACANICA: Dozens of breakaway Muslimcommunity groups in Bosnia face shutdown bypolice for rejecting the authority of the moder-ate national Islamic organization and radicaliz-ing young men who have left to join Islamistinsurgents in Syria, officials said. Most of Bosnia’sMuslims, known also as Bosniaks, are moderateswell integrated in its widely secular society,which also comprises Orthodox Serbs andCatholic Croats. But during and after Bosnia’s1990s ethnic war, some came under the sway offoreign Islamist “mujahideen” who slipped in tofight in support of Bosnian Muslims againstnationalist Serbs and Croats, fostering more radi-cal forms of Islam.

Echoing the experience of other Europeancountries with Muslim communities, more than150 Bosnians have gone to fight alongsideIslamist militants such as Islamic State in Syriaand Iraq over the past few years, police say. Morethan 50 have returned to Bosnia and about 30were killed in combat. Bosnian Security MinisterDragan Mektic said this week that police wouldsoon shut down Muslim community groups thatrefuse affiliation with the state-recognizedIslamic Community organization based in the

capital Sarajevo. “It is correct and true that crimi-nals who have made fascist and violent threatsagainst us from the Middle East have beenmembers of these illegal community groups,” aneditorial on the Islamic Community’s websitesaid on Friday. It was referring to death threatssent via the Internet this week to Bosnia’s topIslamic cleric, Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic, by aBosnian believed to be fighting in Syria. The manwho made the threats came from a village adja-cent to a breakaway Muslim community, one of64 in Bosnia, in the northeastern village ofGracanica, according to Bosnian media.

‘No support for caliphate’Fikret Duric, the Gracanica community leader,

acknowledged that it had adopted a fundamen-talist form of Islam but denied any connectionwith radicalized men going to join Islamic Stateor other Islamist insurgents in Syria and Iraq.“They accuse us of organizing departures to for-eign wars, which I absolutely deny,” said Duric,39, sporting a long beard and traditional Islamicrobe. “We don’t support the so-called (IslamicState) caliphate and will not help it in any way.”

The official Islamic Community organization

has agreed to negotiations with dissident localgroups that face having their centers of worshipand study sealed by police in coming days. But itdefended the crackdown as vital to restoringorder and unity among its faithful - who make upalmost half of Bosnia’s population - and allow itto vouch for all its members. “We live in a worldwhere radical Muslims take actions with undesir-able consequences, and the Islamic Communityhas decided to take stock of what we have inBosnia, start a dialogue with them and call onthem to come under our roof,” senior IslamicCommunity official Razim Colic told Reuters.

But Duric said tensions had been raised byrepeated police harassment of his community.He said some members had been forciblyremoved by police from their mosque after theystayed on for Koranic studies following prayers.Dissident Muslims want mosques to be open 24hours, one of their disputes with the mainstreamIslamic Community. “Going back under theIslamic Community roof would mean returningto where we started, but I fear that this time theproblem may be bigger because our believershave got used to the freedom they have here,”Duric said.— Reuters

Bosnia to shut down radical Islamic

centers over links to Syria militants

Breakaway communities ‘breeding Islamic State recruits’

POLYKASTRO, Greece: Migrants and refugees go on with their daily life in a camp staged next to the national road near the town of Polykastro20km away from the Greek- Macedonian borders. —AFP

ATHENS: Greece is fast becoming the “warehouseof human beings” that its government has vowednot to allow. Hastily setup camps for refugees andother migrants are full. Thousands of people waitthrough the night, shivering in the cold at theGreek-Macedonian border, in the country’s mainport of Piraeus, in squares dotted around Athens,or on dozens of buses parked up and downGreece’s main north-south highway. On Thursday,hundreds of frustrated men, women and childrenabandoned their stranded buses or left refugeecamps, setting off on a desperate trek dozens ofkilometers (miles) long to reach a border theyknow is quickly shutting down to them.

About 20,000 migrants were in Greece onThursday, Defense Minister Panos Kammenossaid. Of those, Macedonia allowed just 100 peo-ple to cross over from Greece’s Idomeni borderarea. Another 2,700 people, mostly Syrians andIraqis, were waiting in a camp at Idomeni at night-fall, while another 1,000 people were stuck at agas station in Polykastro, 17 kilometers away.Thousands more were heading north - about 40busloads of people were waiting along Greece’smain highway, while refugee camps in northernGreece and near Athens were full.

Greece is mired in a full-blown diplomatic dis-pute with some EU countries over their border

slowdowns and closures. But to those on the road- and to Greece, a financially struggling nationwith a lengthy seacoast that is impossible to seal -who is responsible for the border restrictionsalmost doesn’t matter. What matters is the result.And that result finds both Greece and themigrants caught in the middle between anincreasingly fractious Europe, where several coun-tries are reluctant to accept more asylum-seekers,and Turkey, which has appeared unwilling orunable to staunch the torrent of people leavingits shores in barely seaworthy smuggling boatsbound for Greek islands.

Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis fleeAdding to the pressure is Greece’s financial

predicament. The country has been wracked by afinancial crisis since 2010 and still depends on aninternational bailout for which it must pass yetmore painful reforms. Those have led to wide-spread protests, including blockades on the coun-try’s highways by farmers who are furious at pen-sion changes they say will decimate theirincomes. The vast majority of those reachingGreece, Europe’s main gateway for migrants, havebeen Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis fleeing war athome. “My only hope is to live in a safe place.That’s enough for me actually,” said 17-year-old

Minhaj Ud Din Wahaj from Afghanistan’s Wardakprovince. “We have been in war since 40 years, so Ihave been raised in war. I was born in war.” InAthens, hundreds of migrants mill around centralVictoria Square, uncertain of where to go next. OnThursday, two men hanged themselves from atree in the square but were rescued bybystanders. Police said the men, who were rushedto a hospital, were trying to draw attention totheir predicament.

In the north, nearly 400 people scrambled outof a former military base set up as a refugee campin Diavata, near the city of Thessaloniki, andbegan walking the 70 kilometers to Idomeni onthe Macedonian border. Dozens more set off onfoot from buses stuck on the highway, wherefarmers’ blockades were hindering traffic. Stillmore people flowed into the country, withdinghies full of migrants arriving on Greece’sislands and hundreds more people piling on fer-ries heading from the islands to Piraeus. “We areescaping from war,” said Rana, an English teacherfrom Syria arriving in Piraeus. She would not giveher last name to protect those she left behind.“Our house is destroyed, and salaries in someplaces stopped. ... I think all the people, most ofthe people, seek the shelter and education fortheir kids.”—AP

Thousands stranded as Greece

becomes migrant ‘warehouse’

DUBLIN: Counting gets under way in Dublin, Ireland yesterday. A detailed exit pollfor Ireland’s election has found that most voters spurned the coalition governmentof Prime Minister Enda Kenny and the country faces either a hung parliament withno workable majority - or an alliance between the traditional polar opposites ofpolitical life. —AP

DUBLIN: Ireland’s two main political foeswere left considering an unlikely allianceyesterday after exit polls suggested votershad rejected established parties- includingthe ruling coalition-in favor of protestgroups and independents. Enda Kenny’sgovernment looked to be the latest victimof European voters’ growing antipathy tomainstream politics even though his pre-miership has seen Ireland bounce backfrom a bailout to become the continent’sfastest growing economy.

Kenny’s centre-right Fine Gael captured25 to 26 percent of the vote, the exit pollssaid. That is far below the 36 percent it wonfive years ago and the 30 percent opinionpoll rating it enjoyed at the start of cam-paigning. With partners Labor in line to winjust 7 to 8 percent of the ballot, the onlyviable option for government appeared tobe a problematic alliance between historicrivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, whose votethe poll showed rose to 23 percent.

“Either we could have another electionnow and do away with the count, or we’lllet them muddle around for a month or soand maybe they can think the unthinkable,”said Michael Marsh, a professor of politicsat Trinity College Dublin. “It’s hard to seeany kind of government without Fine Gaeland Fianna Fail getting together.” No previ-ous Irish election has seen Fine Gael andFianna Fail-heirs to opposing sides in a civilwar almost a century ago-fall below a com-bined 50 percent of the vote. Framed as adebate over how to distribute the profits ofaccelerating economic growth, Kenny’scampaign to “keep the recovery going”rang hollow with many voters yet to feelany impact after years of austerity.

Weeks to form governmentOne Fine Gael junior minister said he

would “of course” be open to a prospective

deal with Fianna Fail after another exit polllate on Friday showed a similar result. Hewas the first senior member of either partyto say so after weeks of rejecting thenotion. While Fine Gael and Fianna Failhave few policy differences, they showedno appetite to team up during the cam-paign with one minister describing theprospect as a “nightmare”. Others fear itwould allow left-wing Sinn Fein, the formerpolitical arm of the Irish Republican Army,which polled at 15-16 percent, to establishitself as the main opposition party.

Fianna Fail party members would haveto back any coalition. The party’s generalsecretary told radio station Newstalk it was“not beyond the bounds of possibility” thatfinal results could see it come out on top.Under Ireland’s proportional representationsystem, candidates capture preferencesfrom eliminated rivals and surplus votes ofthose elected, making seats difficult to call.Working on the assumption that his wouldbe the largest party, Fine Gael strategistMark Mortell said Kenny would “hold offmaking phone calls” until early next week.There was a risk of a second election thisyear if a sensible solution could not befound, he said. Analysts said it could takeweeks for a government to be proposed.

Anti-establishment voteThe exit polls suggested a major trans-

formation had occurred in the party systemin Ireland just weeks before the centenaryof the 1916 Easter Rising, the most dramat-ic chapter of Ireland’s struggle for inde-pendence from Britain. Fine Gael andFianna Fail, which have swapped powersince the state’s foundation, and Labor, thejunior partner in many governments, wereshunned by voters in favor of independentcandidates, smaller parties and the risingSinn Fein.—Reuters

Ireland’s exit poll shows no clear

winners; government hammered

MADRID: After a brief glimmer of hope,Spain’s Socialists look set to fail in their bidto form a government next week, plungingthe country into more political uncertainty.As the country emerges from an economiccrisis and faces an independence threat inthe northeastern Catalonia region, it stilldoes not have a government, nearly 10weeks after elections produced a hung par-liament. Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez hasbeen racing to garner backing for a coalitiongovernment.

But as a March 1 deadline approaches fora crunch parliamentary session in whichlawmakers will vote for or against his gov-ernment program, Sanchez only has thesupport of centrist upstart Ciudadanos andthe regional Canaries’ Coalition-not enoughto see him through. “The most probableresult is that Pedro Sanchez will be defeat-ed,” says Pablo Simon, politics professor atMadrid’s Carlos III University.

What next? If Sanchez fails, a two-month countdown

will start from the beginning of next week

when the vote takes place, during which thewildly diverging parties will try once againto come to an agreement to govern Spain.Failing that, new elections will be called inJune-an issue of concern at what right-wingdaily El Mundo calls “the worst political timefor Spain in three decades”. “We spent somany months hearing that the good thingabout these elections was that it wouldfinally put an end to the two-party system,that this was the moment for dialogue,” saysManuel Cruz, philosophy professor at theUniversity of Barcelona.

“And it may turn out that political forcesaren’t capable of seizing this opportunity...That would be a failure on the part of all par-ties, including the emerging ones,” he addedin a video interview on the El Confidencialnews site. The December 20 elections sawthe ruling, conservative Popular Party (PP)lose its absolute majority. The party’s leader,acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy, gaveup attempts to form a government after hefailed to get support from other parties fedup with austerity and corruption scandalsplaguing his grouping.—AFP

Spain faces long road to

form new government

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Denmark minister resigns, ending government crisis

COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s environment ministerresigned yesterday, ending a crisis of confidence that hadthreatened to topple Prime Minister Lars LokkeRasmussen’s minority centre-right government. “Today Ihave announced to the prime minister that I resign fromthe post as environment and food minister,” Eva KjerHansen said in a statement, saying she did not want to“stand in the way” of the government. The ConservativePeople’s Party, which has just six seats in parliament butwhose support is crucial to Rasmussen’s minority govern-ment, on Wednesday threatened to withdraw its backingif the premier did not sack Kjer Hansen.

Plane crashes in Hong Kong; one person dies

HONG KONG: A man died after a small aircraft he was flyingplunged into the sea in Hong Kong on yesterday, a rare occur-rence in the southern Chinese city. The crash was reportedshortly after 2 pm local time (0600 GMT) and emergencyresponders were seen lifting a body out of the water. “Fireservices found an unconscious man in the vicinity, and hedied at 3:55 pm,” a government spokesman said. A spokesmanfor the Civil Aviation Department said in a statement that theman who died was the pilot, and the plane was a singleengine Zlin Z42. He said the plane fell into the sea near HongKong’s rural Tai Po region, located in the city’s outlying NewTerritories. “There was a pilot and no passengers when thisincident occurred,” the spokesman said, citing informationprovided by the Hong Kong Aviation Club.

Newsi n b r i e f

MASVINGO: Zimbabwean PresidentRobert Mugabe, the world’s oldest leader,hosted lavish celebrations to mark his92nd birthday yesterday at a time ofsevere drought and increasing frictionover his succession. Tens of thousands ofparty loyalists, officials and members ofthe public are expected to attend a day ofconcerts, street parades and parties inMasvingo in the south-east of the country.

“Organizers have been working flat-outto ensure the celebrations are a success,”Simon Khaya-Moyo, spokesman for the rul-ing ZANU-PF party said. “Everything is inplace and we are looking forward totremendous events.” Mugabe, who turned92 last Sunday, has ruled for 36 years dur-ing an era marked by vote-rigging, massemigration, accusations of human rightsabuses and economic decline. On his actu-al birthday, state media poured praise onhis leadership since independence fromBritain.

In its 16-page special supplement, theSunday Mail said on its front cover: “ThankYou Bob, We now have a voice, since 1980”.The main party was held in a large tent at

the Great Zimbabwe ruins, a UNESCOworld heritage site that was built in the13th Century as the headquarters of theMunhumutapa empire. Cattle and wildgame will be slaughtered for the feast,with organizers claiming that as many as50,000 guests are expected. The scale ofthe celebrations, costing a reported$800,000 this year, attract annual contro-versy in Zimbabwe, which recentlydeclared a “state of disaster” due to thedrought and widespread food shortages.

‘Very little to celebrate’“There is very little to celebrate for a 92-

year-old who has presided over the col-lapse of the economy, reducing the coun-try to a nation of vendors and beggars,”Takavafira Zhou, a political analyst atMasvingo State University said. “There willbe wining and dining at the venue whileall around people are starving.” Zimbabwehas suffered a series of food crises andhyper-inflation since Mugabe’s landreforms when farms were seized fromwhite farmers for redistribution. Despitehis advanced age and recent speculation

over his health, Mugabe has avoided nam-ing a successor, fuelling infighting withinZANU-PF. Vice President EmmersonMnangagwa is viewed as the likely nextpresident, but in recent weeks he has beenpublicly criticized by Mugabe’s wife Gracein a sign of growing rivalry. The presidentcontinues to give lengthy speeches, oftenlaunching tirades against his Western foes,but he has become increasingly frail.

He courted ridicule in September byreading the wrong speech to parliament,unaware that he had delivered the sameaddress a month earlier. On Tuesday,scores of young supporters from the mainopposition Movement for DemocraticChange (MDC) party staged a protest inMasvingo. Protest placards read: “No birth-day when children are starving” and “Wewant jobs, not bashes.” Last year, Mugabe’s91st birthday celebrations included a cakethat weighed 91 kilograms (200 pounds).Local media reported that party activistsordered teachers and villagers in the ruraldistricts of Masvingo to make cash dona-tions to help pay for this year’s celebra-tions. — AFP

MANILA: Philippine security forces killedas many as 42 Muslim rebels claiminglinks with Islamic State and captured theirstronghold during five days of fighting inthe mountains of a southern island, anarmy spokesman said yesterday. Three sol-diers were killed and 11 wounded whenthe forces seized the bastion of an affiliateof Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asiannetwork of Is lamist mil itants, in theprovince of Lanao del Sur.

“Our troops were able to seize a strong-hold of the terrorists on Thursday night,”the spokesman, Major Filemon Tan, toldreporters by telephone from the southernisland of Mindanao, estimating that about42 militants had been killed. “We are still

pursuing the rebels, using armored assets.”Tan said the army was shelling rebel posi-tions with 105-mm howitzers on Friday,while air force planes dropped bombs andhelicopters fired rockets near the town ofButig, a base of the country ’s largestMuslim rebel group, the Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF). But the MILFstayed away from the skirmishes andhelped about 8,000 people displaced fromtheir homes when the fighting began onFeb 20, the military said.

The Philippines signed a peace dealwith the MILF in March 2014, ending 45years of conflict that killed more than120,000 people, displaced 2 million andstunted growth in the poor but resource-

rich south. Army and police off icialsbelieve some Muslim rebel factions,including the small but violent Abu Sayyafgroup, have pledged allegiance to IslamicState militants in Iraq and Syria, but saythey have found no evidence to supportthis. Elsewhere in Mindanao, soldiers werealso chasing the Abu Sayyaf group, whichis holding captive several foreigners,including a Japanese, a Dutch national,two Canadians and a Norwegian.

In another development, ThePhilippine defense chief says his govern-ment will sign an accord with Japan toallow Tokyo to supply military equipmentto Manila in the f irst such Japanesedefense pact in Southeast Asia. Defense

Secretary Voltaire Gazmin says the agree-ment he wil l s ign Monday with theJapanese ambassador in Manila is notdirected against any country but aims toaddress gaps in the under fundedPhilippine military’s capabilities. Gazminsaid yesterday that there has been no dis-cussion on what defense equipmentJapan can provide, but added that thePhilippine military currently needs toupgrade its intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance capabilities. The Asianneighbors have increased defense cooper-ation amid separate territorial conflictswith China. They held joint naval rescuedrills near the disputed South China Sealast year. — Agencies

Philippine troops kill

42 Islamist militants Japan to supply Philippines with military equipment

HARARE: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (center), flanked by his wifeGrace Mugabe (left) and daughter Bona, blows candles on his cake during a sur-prise party hosted by the office of the President and Cabinet at State House inHarare to celebrate his 92nd birthday. — AFP

Mugabe’s lavish 92nd birthday party angers critics

TOKYO: Japan’s latest census confirmedthe hard reality long ago signaled by shut-tered shops and abandoned villagesacross the country: the population isshrinking. Japan’s population stood at127.1 million last fall, down 0.7 percentfrom 128.1 million in 2010, according toresults of the 2015 census, released Friday.The 947,000 decline in the population inthe last five years was the first since theonce-every-five-years count started in1920. Unable to count on a growing mar-ket and labor force to power economicexpansion, the government has drawn upurgent measures to counter the fallingbirth rate.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has madepreventing a decline below 100 million atop priority. But population experts say itwould be virtually impossible to preventthat even if the birth rate rose to Abe’s tar-get of 1.8 children per woman from thecurrent birthrate of 1.4. Tokyo’s rush hourtrains are just as crowded as ever: Japan’sbiggest cities have continued to grow as

younger workers leave small towns insearch of work. The census showed Tokyo’spopulation grew to 13.5 million, up 2.7percent since the 2010 census.

But a visit to any regional city will findentire blocks of small shops shuttered, theowners usually either retired or deceased.In rural areas, even just outside Tokyo, vil-lages are mostly empty, fields overgrownand bus and train services intermittentthanks to scant demand. The rate of popu-lation growth peaked in 1950 and has fall-en continuously since 1975. By 2011 it hadhit zero, the census figures show. ThoughJapan is leading this demographic shift,the rest of Asia is following. In South Korea,China and elsewhere in Asia, improved lifespans and falling birthrates are raisingworries over how to provide for the rapidlyexpanding ranks of seniors with shrinkinglabor forces.

A World Bank report issued late lastyear forecast that health and pensionspending will rise sharply at a time whenelders can count on less support from

their families. “The rapid pace and sheerscale of aging in East Asia raises policychallenges, economic and fiscal pressuresand social risks,” the report said. It recom-mended that governments facilitate moreparticipation in the labor force by womenand seniors, provide better childcare andelder-care, and revamp their pension andhealth systems to cope.

For Japan, the demographic crunch isone of the biggest challenges to a postwareconomic model based on rising incomesand consumption. Nearly a third of allJapanese were over 65 years old in 2015.By 2050, almost 40 percent will be olderthan 65, according to projections by theNational Institute of Population and SocialSecurities Research. Richard Katz of TheOriental Economist forecasts that by 2045there will be 13 percent fewer workers perperson in Japan. That means each workerwould need to produce 13 percent morein terms of economic value to offset thedecline and maintain current living stan-dards. — AP

Three die as small ferry sinks in the Philippines

MANILA: Three people have been killed after a small ferry sankin the Philippines, police said yesterday, the latest in a series ofmaritime accidents in the archipelago. The Lady Aime ferry wastravelling to Alabat Island from the coastal town of Gumaca,117 kilometers from Manila, when it sank just 200 meters fromshore at 4.40pm on Friday, said Chief Inspector Juan ByronLeogo. Fishermen on the seashore were able to rescue 60 pas-sengers and four of the crew, but three passengers were killed,said Leogo, the town police chief. He attributed the sinking to“sudden high and strong waves” and possible “overloading”,saying the boat’s maximum number of passengers is less than50. A police report said part of the boat was destroyed by thewaves. Authorities are considering criminal charges against theferry owners.

Car bomb injures seven in Thai rebellious south

BANGKOK: A car bomb detonated outside an urban police sta-tion in Thailand’s restive south yesterday, injuring at least sevenpeople and offering a reminder of the region’s simmering violenceas the ruling junta eyes full peace talks with the insurgents. Theexplosive, hidden inside a passenger car, was set off in the middleof the day in the capital of Pattani province, one of three Muslim-majority states wracked by rebellion in the kingdom’s southerntail. “The bomb was put in a Honda Jazz, which was stolen from anearby village this morning,” provincial police commander MajorGeneral Thanongsak Wangsupa said. More than 6,000 peoplehave died in 10 years of near-daily violence between state securityforces and the loose network of Muslim insurgents, who are seek-ing greater autonomy from Buddhist-majority Thailand, whichannexed the region a century ago. Yesterday’s bomb injured atleast six police officers and one civilian and sent plumes of blacksmoke streaming into the sky.

N Korea rocket turns enemy tanks into ‘boiled pumpkin’

SEOUL: North Korea yesterday boasted of a newly devel-oped anti-tank weapon that its leader said was so pow-erful it could turn the most heavily armored enemy tanksinto “boiled pumpkin”. Pyongyang’s state media saidleader Kim Jong-Un had watched tests of the portable,laser-guided rocket and declared it had the “longest fir-ing range in the world”, and was “as accurate as a sniper’srifle”. “He noted with great satisfaction that even the spe-cial armored tanks and cars of the enemies which boasttheir high maneuverability and striking power are nomore than a boiled pumpkin before the anti-tank guidedweapon”, the KCNA news agency. Kim called for theweapon to go into mass production as soon as possibleand for it to be deployed to frontline units and coastaldefense units. With a siege mentality bordering on para-noia, North Korea maintains a huge military. It has some1.2 million active troops out of a population of around 25million-double the size of the armed forces in SouthKorea, which has twice as many people.

TOKYO: People cross a street in Tokyo. The results of the 2015 census released Friday show the populationdropped by 947,000 people in the last five years, the first decline since the count started in 1920. — AP

Japan population shrinking

Mongolia livestock in

danger after drought,

harsh winter

ULZIIT: The Mongolian herder gazed out of his felt tent at thehalf-eaten carcass of what was his riding horse, now lying inblood-stained snow and being devoured by hungry dogs. “I had700 head of cattle,” Huyag Tserennyam said while staring outinto the white wilderness in the remote mountainous area ofUlziit. “I’ve lost 150 so far.” It has been a harsh winter in Mongoliafollowing an especially dry summer - a weather pattern uniqueto the country and known here as a “dzud” (pronounced“dzuhd”) - decimating tens of thousands of livestock andprompting the Mongolian government this week to formallylaunch a dzud appeal, seeking foreign aid, for the first time in sixyears.

There were indications in the summer that it would be a diffi-cult year, and Tserennyam said he prepared extra grass in antici-pation of a rough winter. He has used up all of the animal feedhe received as aid from his local government, and has nearlyused up his grass reserve. “I really tried, but I still lost - and I keepon losing - my herd,” the 60-year-old said, feeding his oneremaining horse. That horse is now his only mode of transport; itcarried his wife to a recent doctor’s visit. Supplies are runninglow, and the couple’s milk tea is watery. More than 10,000 headof livestock have perished across Tserennyam’s province ofBayankhongor this winter, said Col Munkhbaatar Togoo, head ofthe province’s Emergency Management Division. Temperatureshave dipped as low as minus 46 C (minus 51 F), about 16degrees C (29 degrees F) lower than normal. Snowfall in somemountainous areas reached 70 centimeters (28 inches), he said.“Compared to recent years, this is unusually cold. It’s had bigeffects on herding lifestyles,” Togoo said.

The summer drought meant that cattle had less to graze on,failing to fatten up sufficiently before winter. In addition to thosethat have died, many of the survivors are so thin that their meatis not of high enough quality to sell if they perish, Togoo said.Mongolia’s government announced its dzud appeal on Tuesday.This winter is worse than the last dzud in 2009-2010, and agreater part of the country is affected. Only 45,000 livestockhave died so far this year compared to the 9.7 million attributedto the 2009-2010 winter, but the vast majority of losses typicallytake place in the spring before the grass grows back in May. TheAsian Development Bank is contributing US $3 million in assis-tance toward local infrastructure and risk management plans,including helping districts prepare shelters for herders, as well asemergency training. Further assistance is coming from RedCross societies of Britain, Japan and Finland, said PurevjavJambalragchaa, a coordinator with the Mongolian Red CrossSociety. Many herders are struggling to supply themselveswith food because the snow is often too thick for horses ormotorbikes to pass through. — AP

The United States on Thursdayproposed a draft UnitedNations Security Council resolu-

tion that would dramatically tightensanctions on North Korea followingPyongyang’s recent nuclear test andmissile launch. Here is an overview ofthe draft resolution circulated to the15-member council:

Conventional armsThe draft resolution targets North

Korea’s conventional arms capabilitiesby closing a gap in the arms embargothat had allowed small arms and lightweapons to be sent to North Korea.North Korea would instead be sub-jected to a full arms embargo on allweapons. It has an unprecedentedban on the transfer to North Korea ofany item that could directly con-tribute to the operational capabilities

of the North Korean armed forces,such as trucks that could be modifiedfor military purposes. It bans statesfrom hosting North Korean militaryand policy trainers and advisors.

N Korean proliferation networksThe draft resolution has a new

requirement that states expel NorthKorean diplomats who are involved inillicit activities.

Cargo and interdiction procedures

The draft resolution has a newrequirement that states must inspecton their territory all cargo going to orcoming from North Korea via land,sea or air. Previously states were onlyrequired to do this if they had rea-sonable grounds to believe therewas illicit cargo. It calls upon states tocarry out inspections in a way thatminimizes impact on the transfer ofhumanitarian relief cargo. It wouldban all flights suspected of carryingprohibited items and ban all portcalls by any vessel suspected ofengaging in illicit activities. All ves-sels belonging to Ocean MaritimeManagement Company Limitedwould be banned from entering anyport. It would require states to banthe chartering of their vessels or air-

craft by North Korea, unless the statedetermines those services are for“livelihood purposes” and will not beused by North Korea to generate rev-enue. It also requires states to bantheir nationals from operating NorthKorean vessels or using NorthKorean flags of convenience.

ResourcesThe draft resolution would ban

the supply or transfer to North Koreaof aviation fuel, including rocket fuel.It would ban the export of gold, tita-nium ore, vanadium ore and rareearth minerals. It would also ban theexport of coal, iron and iron oreunless such transactions are for“livelihood purposes” and would notbe generating revenue for NorthKorea’s nuclear and missile pro-grams. — Reuters

Highlights of draft UN North Korea sanctions resolution

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un smiles during the inspection ofthe test-fire of a newly developed anti-tank guided weapon at anundisclosed location. — AFP

I N T E R N AT ION A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Fears of home-grown jihadist

violence mount in Niger

MUMBAI: Several villages in the western Indianstate of Gujarat have banned girls and singlewomen from owning mobile phones, saying thedevices distract them from their studies. A cou-ple of villages in Mehsana and Banaskantha dis-tricts in Gujarat have imposed the ban in recentweeks, with more villages joining the campaign,said Ranjit Singh Thakor, president of theMehsana district council. The ban applies togirls under the age of 18 and unmarriedwomen, he said. “The girls don’t study properlyif they have mobile phones, and they can getinto all sorts of bad situations,” he told theThomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.

“Let them study, get married, then they canget their own phones. Until then, they can usetheir fathers’ phones at home, if necessary.” Thisis not the first time Indian villages have taken

this step. Villages in eastern Bihar state hadimposed a similar ban a few years ago, sayingmobile phones were “debasing the socialatmosphere” by leading young women to elope.Activists protested, calling it an assault on free-dom that could potentially harm women bydenying them access to protection.

India is the world’s second-biggest marketfor mobile phones, with more than 1 billionusers. The ban in villages in Gujarat comes asPrime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails fromthe state, pushes the Digital India initiativethat aims to connect rural areas with high-speed Internet networks. In Mehsana district,offenders will be fined about 2,100 rupees($31) and informants will be rewarded, Thakorsaid. Female students in university are exemptfrom the ban, as they may need the phones

for their studies, he said. The ban is beingadopted by people from the Thakor caste inthe entire state, he said. While more villagesappear to be embracing the ban, villages inBanaskantha district have an informal rule, saidGaurav Dahiya, the district development offi-cer. “It was imposed by village elders in the vil-lages, saying it’s for the girls’ safety,” he said.“But not many people are following it.” Mobilephone ownership has been found to improvethe lives of people in rural areas, who oftenhave poor connectivity. In Tanzania, forinstance, mobile phones were found to have asignificant impact on women’s’ businesses andlives, a study found. Yet there and in India, menoften control phones, especially in rural areaswhere members of a family may share a singledevice.— Reuters

Indian single women banned

from owning mobile phones

Mobile devices ‘distract girls from their studies’

ATHENS: Afghan children pose in the dormitory at the reception centre for migrantsand refugees in Schisto, near Athens where 1300 migrants, mainly Afghans, arestranded in Greece. —AFP

SCHISTO: After risking his life to get out ofAfghanistan, Jamshid is out of luck-hearrived in Greece just as Balkan states fur-ther north shut their doors to Afghannationals. Now he and hundreds of fellowAfghans face an uncertain future at theGreek camp of Schisto, waiting for a path toEurope that may never reopen. “When wearrived at Macedonia border we got thenews that Afghans cannot pass the border,only Syrian can pass the border. This is real-ly a big discrimination,” says the 24-year-oldKabul resident, who says he previouslyworked as an American army translator.

“In Syria there is five years of war, inAfghanistan there is more than threedecades of war. (The Islamic State jihadigroup) exists in Syria, (it) exists inAfghanistan. What’s the difference betweenAfghans and Syria?” he wondered.Thousands of refugees and migrants havebeen stranded in Greece after Macedoniaabruptly closed its border to Afghans lastweek and imposed stricter document con-trols on Syrians and Iraqis, slowing theirpassage to a trickle and rejecting thosewithout valid passports.

Skopje’s move follows decisions bycountries further up the migrant route toturn back groups of Afghans, after reportsthat many were actually Iranians orPakistanis. Jamshid claims he was mistreat-ed after being intercepted by Macedonianpolice. “Around 30 of us tried to cross theborder. The Macedonian police caught us,beat us and put us on a truck.” “They saidthey would leave us on the border withSerbia. But when we got there, we realizedwe were back at the border with Greece,”he said. Mohammad, a 22-year-old engi-neering student says Macedonia policewere not even interested in looking at hispapers.

“They said ‘where are you from’, we said‘from Afghanistan’ (and they said) ‘go out ofhere’,” he said. Another man said seven ofhis group disappeared near the Albanian

border where they heard shots being fired.Austria has also clamped down with a dailycap on asylum-seekers and said it wouldonly let 3,200 migrants pass through eachday, sparking fears of a domino effectalong the Balkan migrant trail. “It’s not ourvision to become the subsidized borderguards of Europe, to become Europe’sLebanon or Jordan,” Greece’s deputy PrimeMinister Yiannis Dragasakis said Friday.

Old army camp An old army camp at the heart of an

industrial storage area near the port ofPiraeus, Schisto was recently refurbished bythe Greek army to accommodate some1,500 people. Army colonel MichalisKlouvas, who supervises operations, saysthe camp could eventually hold 4,000. “Outof 1,300 people here, a third are children,”Klouvas said, adding that he would prefer“for the problem to be resolved soon sothat people don’t have to stay here long.”The hastily-renovated camp houses hun-dreds of families in tents, with separatebuildings acting as a first aid area, a messhall, a place of prayer and shelter for unac-companied minors.

Children sit on the ground, playing withpebbles, and teenagers play volleyball andolder men mill about aimlessly. Many aredesperate to continue their journey north-wards and do not wish to wait, even whentold that Macedonia may not let themthrough. Further north, hundreds ofmigrants and refugees have walked out ofsimilar camps in an effort to get to the bor-der on foot. But others are too weak toeven try. Outside one dormitory, a womanhelps a man in his fifties who is sitting in awheelchair, his feet wrapped in bandages,his head bowed low. Karim Mandi, hasbrought to the doctor his five-year-old son,whose ankles are in pain from walking. “Myson cannot walk (but) the doctor has toldus to wait because there is no more medi-cine,” he says.— AFP

NIAMEY: Increasingly targeted by jihadist fightersroaming its remote northern desert, and Nigeria’sfeared Boko Haram insurgents on its southernflank, Niger fears the emergence of its own brandof home-grown Islamist trouble. In recent yearsforeign-funded aid groups and social media havebrought ideas peddled by Wahhabism-an ultra-conservative form of Islam-to more and more ofNiger’s 19 million people, one of the planet’spoorest nations. The past decade has seen thou-sands of mosques built and the number ofmadrassas, or Quranic schools, soar.

Almost every street in poor parts of the capitalNiamey has a mosque, with the faithful gatheringby the hundreds for prayers. Most women in thewest African nation now wear a headscarf. Nigeris 98 percent Muslim, but the vast majority adhereto the Maliki school of Sunni Islam popular acrossthe region that is viewed as more tolerant thanWahhabism-a fundamentalist school of Islam sup-ported by Saudi Arabia and accused of inspiringthe Islamic State group.

Even this month’s presidential and parliamen-tary elections were marked by religion, with cam-paign rallies invariably opening with the Fatiha, arecital of the opening passage of the Koran wide-ly used before public events. Boubakar SeydouTraore, imam of the Tchangarai district in north-ern Niamey and general secretary of the IslamicAssociation of Niger, welcomed the growingplace of religion. “With the new media, television,Internet, radios, we now have access to moreinformation. This has promoted better practises.Women wearing veils, interrupting universitycourses at times of prayer, this is the emergenceof Islam,” Traore said.

‘Not like this 5 years ago’ “It wasn’t like this five years ago,” countered

Moulaye Hassane an Islamic studies expert atNiamey’s Institute of Research into HumanSciences. But Hassane said Wahhabism is takinghold mainly in the towns, while Maliki Islam pre-vails in rural areas. “The (armed radical) Salafistgroups in the desert don’t have a direct influ-ence. But the danger for Mali, Mauritania andNiger is that a new form of Islam will surface. It’san internal process.

“The day will come when (some) will want anIslamic republic.” The Christian minority oncelived peacefully alongside Muslims, but inJanuary 2015 anti-Christian riots in Niamey andsoutheastern Zinder left 10 dead and 50 church-es razed in an unprecedented flare-up of reli-

gious violence. The riots were sparked by thepublication of a cartoon of the ProphetMohammed by French satirical weekly CharlieHebdo, a week after gunmen killed 12 people ina Paris attack against the paper.

Hassane says religious hardliners got a boostin the 1990s. “Due to bad governance, the WorldBank and the International Monetary Fundimposed regulations that forced the state toslash social spending. NGOs (non-governmentalorganizations) with Wahhabite ideas arrivedwith funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and else-where ... They work in the social sector,” he said.“Students with grants to study in Arab countriestoo learn Wahhabism. After the elections they’llgo into parliament,” he added.

Imans arrested Hassane said politicians were ignoring the

problem and said “the state needs to come back,the administration needs to be present every-where.”With a fast-growing population and aworld record fertiliy rate, Niger lacks education

facilities, with few girls in class and boys fre-quently sent to Quranic schools. Interior MinisterHassoumi Massaoudou meanwhile played downthe influence of Wahhabism, saying it “only con-cerns a small part of the population” and thatmost hardliners come from Mali, Libya andNigeria.

He did acknowledge however that “there is afringe that could become radical” and said theadministration was closely monitoring theIslamist issue. Authorities “watch the mosquesand the prayers”, Massaoudou said, adding thatsome preachers have been arrested. But promi-nent civil society figure Moussa Tchangari saidbad governance and human rights violationswere responsible for the growing Islamist influ-ence. “Wayward politics lay the groundwork forall that. If we fail to establish a democracy, it pro-vides a justification for Islamists who say thatdemocracy is a model imported from the West,”he says. Policies based on tight security are nosolution, he said. The regime “wants to eradicatethe evil without addressing its causes.”— AFP

MARADI: Niger’s children attending a lesson in an Islamic school in Maradi, southern city ofNiger. — AFP

Trapped in Greek camp,

Afghans decry discrimination

at Macedonian border

By Justin Pritchard

The deadly shooting rampage in Kalamazoo,Michigan, raises anew a question that has doggedUber and other taxi competitors: Their rides may be

cheaper and more convenient than a cab, but are they assafe? It’s not just whether Uber’s part-time drivers are bet-ter (or worse) behind the wheel. It’s whether passengersare more likely to be assaulted, kidnapped or raped by anUber driver than a cabbie. The answer is that there seemsto be no reliable answer. Police and transportation authori-ties around the US say they know of no rigorous compari-son of cabbies and Uber drivers.

The taxi industry, facing an existential threat from Uber,has highlighted a series of incidents as evidence that anUber trip is a gamble passengers should not take. Thenagain, taxi drivers have assaulted customers, too. If anyplace might have analyzed which is safer, how about SanFrancisco, where Uber was launched more than five yearsago and keeps its headquarters? Police there can’t saybecause they don’t keep crime data in a way that wouldanswer the safety question. Local transportation regulatorsdon’t know, either. Nor does San Francisco’s district attor-ney, though his office is spearheading a lawsuit thatalleges Uber misled passengers into believing its driverbackground checks are the most comprehensive available.

“We haven’t done a comparison because that is notwhat the case is about,” said Max Szabo, a spokesman forSan Francisco prosecutors. The debate over safety hascome amid rapid growth by Uber and other app-basedride-sharing services such as Lyft, and it flared after thearrest of Uber driver Jason Dalton last weekend in thekillings of six people in the Kalamazoo area. Asked which issafer, Uber’s own head of safety public policy did notanswer directly.

Instead, Dorothy Chou said Uber is enlisting technology“to predict and prevent incidents from happening.” Shepointed out that the app lets passengers share their loca-tion and requires feedback on drivers after every trip. Uberis starting to use its drivers’ phones to track hard brakingand other dangerous driving, she said, as well as whether adriver is holding a phone. “As long as we keep innovating ...eventually it will definitely be safer to take a ride-sharingvehicle,” Chou said. While there is no definitive answer tothe safety question, there are some clues.

Driver Background ChecksThis is where taxi advocates hit Uber hardest, saying

that Uber’s checks fail because they do not include finger-printing of would-be drivers. Many law enforcementexperts say a fingerprint search is the most comprehensiveway to check someone’s background, and taxi regulatorstypically require one. Uber counters that fingerprint checksare imperfect and that its background check process -

which it says includes searches of motor vehicle depart-ment files and several criminal databases going back sevenyears - is excellent. But Uber can no longer claim its meth-ods are “industry-leading.” Uber agreed to pay $28.5 millionto settle a lawsuit (not the one filed by San Francisco) thatalleged such safety claims were false. As part of the settle-ment, Uber’s “safe ride fee” will become a “booking fee.”

Each side can point to troubling findings about the oth-er. In their lawsuit, San Francisco prosecutors detailed howpolice there and in Los Angeles found 25 Uber drivers whohad serious criminal histories that were not flagged duringthe background check or may have been disregarded byUber. Uber says that in 2014, at least 600 active taxi driverswho also applied to Uber in San Diego, Los Angeles andSan Francisco failed its background check for problemssuch as violent crimes.

Reported IncidentsThe national Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit

Association has a website listing news reports of assaults,

rapes and other violence against passengers or pedestri-ans by Uber or Lyft drivers as part of a campaign it calls“Who’s Driving You?” Though Uber has not replied with awebsite in kind, there are plenty of stories of taxi driverscommitting violent crimes. Anecdotes can be evidence;they are not proof. Data that could be used to break downon-the-job crime rates of taxi and Uber drivers may exist,but no one has done that analysis, at least not publicly.

Doing it rigorously would be hard. Amid a fight overwhether Uber drivers should be required to submit tofingerprint checks, Austin, Texas, has released someinformation. According to a document compiled by thecity, in 2015 Uber drivers allegedly were involved in 13sexual assaults and one rape; taxi drivers, five; and Lyftdrivers, six. One sexual assault was listed as Uber or Lyft.But those numbers lack essential context, such as howmany miles, trips or hours on the job cabbies log versusUber drivers. Without that information, it’s impossible totell whether a passenger is more at risk with one or theother. —AP

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A N A L Y S I SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Donald Trump’s candidacy is American politics reducedto the absurd. It is theater in its most stripped downform - a show where the content is not as important as

the event and the raw emotion it evokes. From the earliestdays of his candidacy, pundits have failed to understandTrump. His appeal is not issue-based, since, as his critics havecorrectly observed, he has taken wildly contradictory positionson most core Republican concerns - abortion, immigration,and Obamacare, to name a few. Trying, as some attempted, tofind the hidden logic in his bizarre mish-mash of words is, atbest, a fool’s errand.

And pundits who have compared Trump’s appeal amongRepublicans with Bernie Sander’s appeal with Democrats havemissed the point. Young voters find Sanders authentic andbelievable. Trump’s devotees, on the other hand, are moreattracted to their candidate’s defiant bluster and his cavalier“bull in the China shop” demeanor. He lies about his personallife, his business dealings, positions he has taken and thingshe’s done. His supporters know it, but they don’t care. They areangry, and he feeds their anger. What they care about is theperformance - and this is what the pundits have missed, caus-ing them to underestimate Trump’s appeal and to repeatedlyand mistakenly predict his demise.

During the course of this campaign, Trump has attacked aseries of “icons”, many considered “taboo” for Conservatives -Fox News, Megyn Kelly, Senator John McCain, the Pope, theIraq war. After taking on each of them, his candidacy wasdeclared fatally wounded, until the next polls came out show-ing Trump’s strength undiminished. Trump’s appeal is not in hisadherence to orthodoxy, his consistency, his clarity, or his gen-uineness. Rather it is in his performance. Seeing Trump at oneof his “huge” rallies or observing him at a debate is much likewatching a contemporary wrestling WWE “Smackdown”.

Trump events remind me of this quote that opens a 2014Forbes Magazine article on Vince McMahon, the billionairewrestling promoter: “Subtlety has no place in professionalwrestling. Nuance is for losers. Either you play big - to thesmallest fan in the last row of the arena, to the millions tuningin each week on television - or you go home...[It is] ‘a spectacleof excess’”.

The performance is false - the “bad guys” are as phony asthe “good guys”. Even the blows they deliver are fake. But thecrowds love it, shaking their fists, whooping and yelling as the“drama” unfolds. It is pure “id”, unrestrained. Like McMahon,Trump knows how to appeal to his crowd. He knows what theywant and he delivers. Listen, in the same article, as VinceMcMahon describes his approach to his audience: “I look at itlike it’s a really nice monster. When you feed the monster, themonster is happy. The problem with that is, the monster grows.And as the monster grows, then the monster wants more toeat. And as long as you do that, everything is great. And if youdon’t provide the food, then bad things start to happen”.

Parable McMahon’s little parable is an apt description of the

Republican establishment’s relationship with their Tea Party“masses”. They created the monster, fed and nurtured it, but, inthe end, they were unable to tame it. They fed its anger. Theyentertained it with the crude rants of Sarah Palin, MicheleBachmann, and company - using that anger against PresidentBarack Obama. For a while the establishment was able to con-trol this “monster”, for example, redirecting it to support MittRomney in 2012. But by 2016, this same leadership could nolonger satisfy the hunger of their creation. And when the“monster” would no longer “play ball” with the establishment,it turned on them and looked elsewhere to have its angerentertained and fed.

Enter performance artist Donald Trump. His appeal is asraw as the WWE. Like McMahon, he plays with his audience,with an intuitive sense of what they want to see and hear. He issuccessful - a billionaire, many times over. He has a beautifulwife - or better, a series of beautiful wives. Despite his success,he feigns anger at America’s demise, promising his supportersthat he will deliver greatness. And he appeals to their basestinstincts. He cruelly demeans his opponents. He paints theworld in terms as starkly black and white as the WWE. He is axenophobe and a bigot who targets the Mexicans and theMuslims. He is a bully who threatens to “punch in the face”hecklers who disrupt his events. And he is crude, using obscen-ities and vulgarities designed to incite - to whoops and yellsand shaking fists. In this way, the “monster” is fed and appears,at least for now, to be happy. The danger that Trump poses isnot that he is inconsistent or untruthful or that he lacks acoherent philosophy. It is that he is the reductio ad absurdumof our politics. He is the crude reality TV entertainer, turnedleader - without politics, just anger. He is not a Republican or aConservative - not that it matters to him or his followers. He is abudding fascist using his performance art to mobilize “a mon-ster” that may devour us all.NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute

Washington Watch

Trump: Feeding

the ‘monster’

By Dr James J Zogby

Which is safer - Uber or taxi? No clear answer

By Vladimir Isachenkov

Russian President Vladimir Putin has achance to cash in on his gains in Syriaby scaling down his bombing blitz

when a ceasefire takes effect so he canemerge as a peace broker with internationalstature. The Syrian army’s significantadvances around Aleppo will allowDamascus to negotiate with its foes from aposition of strength, while the cease-fire thatis scheduled to go into effect at midnightFriday offers Putin an opportunity to emergefrom the five-month bombing campaignstronger than when it started.

A halt in fighting could also help avoid alooming confrontation with Turkey, whichhas vowed to stop at nothing to halt aKurdish offensive north of Aleppo. A Turkishincursion would dramatically raise the stakesand could drive Putin into a corner, an esca-lation he wants to avoid. By engaging theUnited States in a direct military-to-militarydialogue in Syria, the Russian president alsofulfills his key goal of making Moscow aglobal player on par with Washington.

Ever since Russia launched its air campaignin Syria on Sept 30, the Kremlin has urged theUS to coordinate military efforts. ButWashington has accused Moscow of hitting

civilians and targeting moderate rebelsinstead of its declared goal, the Islamic Stategroup, and only has agreed to exchange infor-mation on military flights to avoid incidents inthe skies over Syria. Russia has responded bychallenging the US to name the groups andareas its warplanes shouldn’t target.

InformationThe ceasefire agreement now effectively

meets that demand, requiring Russian andUS military experts to exchange informationon opposition units abiding by the ceasefireand extremist groups, such as the IslamicState group, considered fair game. Such aninformation exchange will allow Moscow todeflect criticism over its airstrikes by makingthe rebel groups that fail to commit to thecease-fire a legitimate target. While Assadmust be eager to reclaim full control overAleppo, Syria’s largest city and its commercialcapital before the war, Putin may not seecapturing the city as essential for the successof his Syria strategy.

The Syrian army already has seized keypositions around Aleppo, effectively cuttingrebel supply routes, and in Putin’s view itcould be enough to shore up Assad’s posi-tions ahead of peace talks and make the USand its allies interested in negotiating a com-

promise in prospective Syria peace talks. Thenegotiations in Geneva broke up in Januarybefore starting in earnest, and the opposi-tion demanded an end to Russian airstrikesas a condition to resume them.

The truce agreement envisions, however,that both Russia and the US-led coalition willcontinue their action against the IslamicState group and Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria,Jabhat Al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front. Al-Nusrais a key fighting force around Aleppo and inmany other areas, and numerous smallerjihadi groups are allied with it, so doubtsremain if the declared truce would lead toany significant reduction in hostilities.

Motley CollectionWith a motley collection of rebel units

mixed closely on the battlefield, it alsoremains unclear how Russia and the UScould distinguish between moderate rebelsand Al-Nusra. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and otherGulf monarchies that have backed Assad’sfoes throughout the war in Syria, which hasdisplaced half of its population and killedmore than a quarter-million since March2011, have watched the US-Russian dealwith unease, fearing that it will play intoAssad’s hands.

They have mulled ground action in Syria,

a prospect that would become even morelikely if the ceasefire collapses. Turkey hascast the Kurdish offensive north of Aleppo asan existential challenge, and vowed to halt it.If Turkey sends its troops into Syria, it woulddramatically raise the risks of a clash withRussia. Relations between Moscow andAnkara have been badly strained since aTurkish jet shot down a Russian warplane atthe Syrian border in November. Putin hasordered the military to destroy any targetthat would threaten Russian warplanes, butwhile he could be eager to punish Turkey fordowning the Russian jet, he would try toavoid a dangerous escalation that couldpotentially pit Russia against NATO.

The ceasefire appears to be Russia’s bestbet now, and Putin can be expected to makeevery effort to make sure it holds, includingmostly grounding war planes. He has spo-ken to Assad to secure his commitment tothe ceasefire, and also called the Saudi,Iranian and Israeli leaders this week to dis-cuss it. While Russia has vowed to continueair raids against the Islamic State group andAl-Nusra, Putin can be expected to reduce oreven call off airstrikes in areas where Al-Nusra fighters are closely mixed with US-backed groups to prevent the truce fromimmediate collapse. —AP

Putin can cash in on Syria gains with truce

In this Feb 22, 2016 photo, Uber driver Jason Dalton is arraigned via video before Judge Christopher THaenicke in Kalamazoo, Michigan. —AP

N E W SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Continued from Page 1

“Honestly, I was surprised that the calm lastedthrough the night,” said Ammar Al-Rai, a 22-year-oldmedical student in Damascus. “I think this is the first timewe’ve woken up without the sound of shelling.” UN envoyStaffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume onMarch 7 if the ceasefire prevails and more aid is delivered- a key sticking point in negotiations. A special interna-tional task force, co-chaired by Moscow and Washington,was due to meet behind closed doors in Geneva yester-day to monitor the truce. De Mistura said it was impor-tant that any incidents are “quickly brought under con-trol” and a military response should be the “last resort”.

Russia, which has waged nearly five months of intenseair strikes against rebels in support of Syrian PresidentBashar Al-Assad, said it had halted bombing in all areascovered by the truce. Moscow has vowed to keep strikingIS, Al-Nusra and other “terrorist groups”, but said it wouldground all its warplanes in the Syria campaign on the firstday of the truce to avoid potential “mistakes”.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the lullin fighting was “the first chance to put an end to violenceon the ground and should not be missed”. “If it holds, itwill create the conditions for full, sustained and unim-peded humanitarian access throughout Syria,” she added.Among the limited ceasefire breaches, state media said“terrorist groups” fired a number of shells on Damascusbut caused no casualties. Rebels also accused the gov-ernment of intermittent “truce violations” in parts of thecountry.

In Aleppo, Syria’s second city, two people were killedand four wounded when shells hit the majority-Kurdishneighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud, according to the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.Syrian state media said one person was killed by sniperfire in the same district. Aleppo city is now almost com-

pletely encircled by pro-regime troops after a massiveRussian-backed offensive that has caused tens of thou-sands to flee in recent weeks. But yesterday, childrenplayed in parks. “I hope the truce continues even for alimited time so we can get back part of our old lives frombefore the war,” said Abu Nadim, a father of four.

Jihadists attacked the border town of Tal Abyad inRaqa province, sparking clashes that killed at least 45 ISmembers, 20 Kurdish militia fighters and two civilians,the Observatory said. US-led coalition warplaneslaunched at least 10 air strikes to try to drive back thejihadists, the monitor reported. Twin suicide bombingsmeanwhile killed six people outside the town ofSalamiyeh in Hama province, where IS is present, statenews agency SANA said.

The complexities of a conflict which escalated fromanti-government protests into a full-blown war drawingin rival world powers make brokering a lasting halt to thefighting a huge challenge. Assad has been bolstered bythe support of Russia and Iran while the West, Turkey andGulf states back rebel groups. “The pressure being placedby Russia and the US on regional actors is such that manyof these regional actors can’t reject the political processentirely,” said Firas Abi Ali, an analyst for IHS Country Riskin London. “This is putting them in a bind where they’recompelled to behave as if they’re part of the processregardless of what they actually want from it.”

Syria’s top opposition grouping, the High NegotiationsCommittee (HNC), said Friday that 97 opposition factionshad agreed to respect the truce, for two weeks initially. Ina particularly encouraging sign, a commander in thehardline Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham said his group -allied with Al-Nusra - had not conducted any militaryoperations since the truce started. “But the ceasefire isstillborn, because it began with violations from theregime. It will be very difficult for the ceasefire to hold,”Hussam Salameh warned. — Agencies

Syria ceasefire takes hold despite limited...

Continued from Page 1

Infantino said governance reforms passed just hoursbefore his election win were “groundbreaking” and thatimplementing them would be a priority. They includechanges to FIFA’s management, limiting Infantino’s powerscompared to the authority held by Blatter. There will be a12-year term limit for top officials and salaries will be dis-closed. The all-powerful executive committee will berenamed a FIFA council and football’s multi-billion dollarbusiness activities will be run separately from football poli-tics.

But there was no decision to create an outside watch-dog that has been widely demanded as the only way tosolve FIFA’s corruption crisis. Top World Cup sponsors likecredit-card giant Visa said after the vote that “independentoversight of the reforms” was still the best strategy toensure real change. Infantino has promised to bring in“independent and respected voices” to FIFA but has notgiven details. Experts said that corporate partners - whodemanded an end to the sleaze that came to characterizethe Blatter era - will be watching to see if Infantino’s desireto make changes goes beyond rhetoric.

Jeff Thinnes, a US consultant to global corporations onethics and governance, told AFP that the FIFA vote is “onlya start”. “Given the culture of FIFA, a very corrupt culturedown through the national associations, it is going to be along slog before what is on paper becomes what is in prac-tice,” he said. Infantino downplayed divisions in world foot-ball, saying he had won “an election but not a war”.

Sheikh Salman, a royal from Bahrain, had been the pre-poll favorite, and his defeat was a blow to the ambitions ofAsia and especially the Arab world, where there had beenanticipation of a powerful new voice in sport. “The newFIFA needs to become more inclusive and reflect the diver-sity of world football,” the sheikh said after the vote, pledg-ing to work with Infantino. India, a supporter of SheikhSalman, said it hoped to receive “due importance” underFIFA’s new boss. The new FIFA boss has insisted that he wasnot a European candidate, but “a football candidate” andtouted his relationships across the globe.

Arab football chiefs and pundits said the Arab regionsquandered the chance to help elect their first FIFA presi-dent because their two candidates failed to cooperate,leaving the door open for Infantino to triumph. UEFA’sInfantino got 88 votes in the first round, three more thanAsian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Sheikh Salman ofBahrain, while Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan managed27 and Frenchman Jerome Champagne won seven.

Sheikh Salman would have had a better chance if hisefforts were united with Prince Ali as Infantino won in the

second round with 115 of the 207 votes, which was morethan the required majority of 104, while Sheikh Salman got88 and Prince Ali four. “Some countries gave promises butdidn’t fulfil them. We are all Arabs but unfortunately somesupport the other party (candidate) and we hope thischanges in the future,” Bahrain FA President Ali Al-Khalifasaid in a television interview. “We as Arabs should unite ourefforts and be clear with each other. It appears from thefirst round that some countries have joined the other party(candidate). We have now to look forward and help FIFA’snew president get (the world governing body) out of thecurrent crisis,” he added.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) pledged itsbacking to Sheikh Salman while his AFC said it supportedhim but it seems some of those countries did not give himtheir vote. “Africa has fulfilled its promises but it is clearthat something happened with Asian countries and thiswas behind the final result,” Sudan FA president MutasimJaffar said. “Sheikh Salman was depending heavily onAfrica and Asia and the plan was to get 100 votes in thefirst round. He has to find out what happened to his home(vote).”

This was the second chance for the Arab region to get aFIFA president after Prince Ali lost to Blatter by 133-73votes in the election last May when Sheikh Salmanannounced his support for the Swiss incumbent. “Arabssplit as usual so a historic chance has been wasted and Ithink it will not come again,” Arab journalist Mustafa Aghatweeted. “Infantino won because the Arabs split. If therewas cooperation we could have had an Arab president.”

Whilst cooperation between Sheikh Salman and PrinceAli could have helped the Arab cause in the election, theywould have had to put aside past differences to achieve it.When Sheikh Salman became AFC president in 2013, hemade changes which in effect meant Prince Ali lost his seatas one of Asia’s representatives on the FIFA executive com-mittee. This lack of support continued when SheikhSalman said the AFC would support Blatter against anyother candidate in previous elections, including the votelast May.

Despite the failure of the region’s candidates to triumphin Friday’s vote their efforts were appreciated in the region.“Thank you Sheikh Salman, you were a big competitor...and thank you Prince Ali for your courage. You both haveopened the door for all to compete with the west,” Qatarisports magazine Estad Al-Doha’s editor-in-chief Mahed Al-Khelaifi tweeted. Queen Rania of Jordan also offered hersupport to Prince Ali, tweeting: “It’s not winning thatmakes a leader, but how committed he is to the game.@AliBinAlHussein you will always be a leading light on thefield”. — Agencies

Challenges face new FIFA boss

QOM: Iranian women show their identification cards as they queue in a polling station to vote for the parlia-mentary and Experts Assembly elections on Friday. — AP

TEHRAN: President Hassan Rouhani won a resounding voteof confidence and his reformist allies won 29 out of the 30seats reserved for the capital Tehran in parliamentary elec-tions that could speed Iran’s post-sanctions opening to theworld, early results released yesterday showed. Tens of mil-lions thronged polling stations on Friday for a twin vote tothe 290-seat parliament and the 88-member Assembly ofExperts, which selects the country’s highest authority, thesupreme leader.

President Rouhani, whose reformists allies made gains inthe twin contests for parliament and a leadership body, saidIran’s election had given the government more credibilityand clout. “The competition is over. It’s time to open a newchapter in Iran’s economic development based on domesticabilities and international opportunities,” the official IRNAnews agency quoted him as saying. He added that the gov-ernment would cooperate with anyone elected to build Iran’sfuture. “The people showed their power once again and gavemore credibility and strength to their elected government.”

An initial tally of 1.5 million votes counted in Tehran - few-er than one-fifth of the capital’s eligible voters - showedRouhani and his pragmatic ally, ex-president Akbar HashemiRafsanjani, leading the race for the Assembly of Experts,according to interior ministry figures. A ministry statementsaid senior reformist Mohammed Reza Aref led the race forparliamentary seats among candidates in Tehran. Aref “so farbased on the counted votes is at the top of the list followedby five (other) reformists,” it said. Seventh on the list was asenior conservative, it said.

Aref, a Stanford-educated former presidential candidateand minister, who served as vice-president to the formerreformist President Mohammad Khatami, leads the reformistlist in Friday’s contest in Tehran, where more than 1,000 can-didates are competing for just 30 seats in parliament. Thetwin poll was seen by analysts as a potential turning pointfor Iran, where nearly 60 percent of the 80 million populationis under 30. The elections were the first since a landmarknuclear deal last year that led to the removal of most of thesanctions that have damaged the economy over the pastdecade. Supporters of Rouhani, who championed thenuclear deal, were pitted against hardliners close to SupremeLeader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, who are deeply wary ofdetente with Western countries. The conservative GuardianCouncil had restricted both races by disqualifying mostreformist and many moderate candidates.

However, of the top contenders for Tehran’s 16 Assemblyof Experts seats, the partial count showed 13 were membersof a list led by Rouhani and Rafsanjani, though some wereconsensus candidates also backed by hardliners. The threemost prominent hardliners received lesser scores: AhmadJannati was 10th, the assembly ’s current chairmanMohammad Yazdi came 12th, and arch-conservativeMohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi was teetering on the edgein 16th place.

Even if reformists do not emerge with a majority national-ly in the legislature, dominated since 2004 by conservatives,analysts say they will secure a bigger presence than before.Conservatives usually perform well in the countryside while

young town-dwellers tend to prefer moderate candidates.

High Reformist HopesReformists seeking more social and economic freedoms

and diplomatic engagement voiced high hopes of expand-ing their sway in parliament and easing conservative clerics’grip on the experts’ assembly. Saeed Leylaz, a political ana-lyst and economist who served as an adviser to formerPresident Mohammad Khatami, said initial indications werebeyond reformist expectations.

“It seems the number of candidates who belong to thereformist and independent groups will be the majority inparliament and I am hopeful that the new parliament will beperfect for us,” he told Reuters. “In the Assembly of Expertsour initial expectation was 15 to 20 percent but it seems itwill be beyond that.”

Rafsanjani, 81, a prominent leader ever since Iran’s 1979Islamic revolution, called for national unity now the divisivecampaign was over. “The competition is over and the phaseof unity and cooperation has arrived,” state news agencyIRNA quoted him as saying. “The time after elections is thetime for hard work to build the country.” Asked by Reuters onFriday what would happen if reformists did not win, he said:“It will be a major loss for the Iranian nation.”

Newspapers hailed what they saw as a huge turnout,including many young voters. Polling was extended fivetimes for a total of almost six extra hours because so manypeople wanted to vote. Iran’s Financial Tribune newspapersaid three million first-time voters were among the nearly 55million people aged 18 and over who are eligible to cast bal-lots. Interior Ministry spokesman Hosseinali Amiri said morethan 33 million votes had been cast but that tally was notfinal. It would probably take three days to count all the votes,he said.

Mousavi VotesAuthorities had promised that all Iranians would be able

to vote and on Friday opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousaviand his wife voted for the first time since being put underhouse arrest in 2011, an ally of Mousavi’s told Reuters. Iran,which has the world’s second-largest gas reserves, a diversi-fied manufacturing base and an educated workforce, is seenby global investors as a huge emerging market opportunity,in everything from cars to airplanes and railways to retail.

For ordinary Iranians, the prospect of this kind of invest-ment holds out the promise of a return to economic growth,better living standards and more jobs in the long run. Anopening to the world of this scale - and Rouhani’s popularity- have alarmed hardline allies of Khamenei, who fear losingcontrol of the pace of change, as well as erosion of the lucra-tive economic interests they built up under sanctions.

Whatever the outcome, Iran’s political system placesconsiderable power in the hands of the conservativeIslamic establishment including the 12-member GuardianCouncil, which vets all electoral candidates. It had alreadytried to shape Friday’s vote by excluding thousands of can-didates, including many moderates and almost allreformists. — Reuters

Rouhani, moderates make

big gains in Iran elections

At least 33 million vote in twinned elections

FORT WORTH, Texas: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands with New Jersey Gov ChrisChristie before a rally on Friday. — AP

FORT WORTH, Texas: New Jersey Gov Chris Christie hasa reputation for vengeance. And he delivered it with gus-to on Friday as he shocked many in the political world byendorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump for theRepublican presidential nomination. The surpriseendorsement, the first for Trump from a sitting governorand by far his most prominent, comes as Trump rivalMarco Rubio appeared on the cusp of a breakthroughfollowing a break-out debate performance. And it marksthe second time that Christie has knee-capped theFlorida senator, just as he appeared to be on the rise.

At the news conference in Fort Worth, Texas, Christiedescribed Trump - a man he had previously panned as ill-suited for the White House - as the best Republican can-didate to lead the country and beat Democrat HillaryClinton. “I’ve gotten to know all the people on that stageand there is none who is better prepared to provideAmerica with the strong leadership that it needs both athome and around the world than Donald Trump,” Christiesaid. Reporters covering the event were visibly stunnedwhen the governor, who dropped his own bid for thepresidency earlier this month following a disappointingfinish in New Hampshire, walked into the room.

The endorsement comes at a particularly opportunetime for the real estate mogul, who on Thursday nightfaced a barrage of new attacks from Rubio during thefinal debate ahead of next week’s Super Tuesday con-tests, where large numbers of delegates are at stake.During the debate, Rubio hit at Trump’s business record,history of hiring foreign workers and his vague policypositions. The broadsides clearly irritated Trump andthreatened to provide Rubio with a jolt of new momen-tum as he seeks to turn the contest into a two-man race.

Rubio appeared to be flying high on Friday morning,delivering new Trump attack lines, including mocking hisspelling on Twitter, with newfound glee. But then, incharged Christie to steal the news cycle and momentum.“I think this changes the narrative in a dramatic way,” saidFred Malek, a major Republican fundraiser, of Christie’sdecision.

The timing immediately following the debateappeared to be a coincidence. A former Christie cam-paign official said the governor made his decision to

endorse Trump on Thursday following a meeting inManhattan attended by the two men and their wives.Christie was already on a plane heading to Texas as thedebate was airing, according to the former official, whowas not authorized to speak publically on Christie’sbehalf and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

But it was nonetheless the second time Christie hasmanaged to tear down Rubio just as he was on the rise.During the last GOP debate before the New Hampshireprimary, as Rubio appeared on the cusp of a break-through, Christie set a verbal trap that left Rubio repeat-ing the same practiced line over and over again. It was ahigh moment for Christie’s campaign - and especiallypersonal.

Christie has grown deeply resentful of Rubio. Some ofthat anger stemmed from a super PAC supporting theFlorida senator that was responsible for much of the neg-ative advertising that Christie’s campaign and his allieshave blamed for his loss in the race. Throughout his cam-paign, Christie bashed the baby-faced senator as inexpe-rienced, drawing parallels with another first-term-sena-tor-turned-president, Barack Obama, and blasted Rubiofor his frequent missed votes and Washington insider sta-tus.

Ironically, Christie’s tactic was the same one used soeffectively by Rubio against Trump on Thursday night, ashe forced the billionaire to repeat the same talkingpoints to describe a healthcare plan thin on detail. “I justwatched you repeat yourself five times five seconds ago,”Rubio said.

With his endorsement, Christie is now back in thegame, and his role now appears to be that of attack dog.Christie appeared to embrace the role within minutes ofannouncing his endorsement, painting Rubio as a des-perate man on the cusp of losing the race. And Trumpappeared to relish the attacks, repeatedly mentioningChristie’s take-down of Rubio during that pre-NewHampshire debate. “I gotta tell you, Chris was so - wow,what he did. That was one of the great prosecutions I’veever seen,” Trump raved at a post-endorsement rally. “Iwatched Chris take a man apart,” he added. “And honest-ly, I thought he was going to die, Rubio. He was so scaredlike a little frightened puppy.” — AP

Christie, in about-face,

endorses rival Trump

S PORTSSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PTS Dallas 38 18 6 202 178 82 Chicago 38 20 5 177 151 81 St. Louis 35 19 9 157 152 79 Nashville 30 21 11 162 158 71 Colorado 32 27 4 169 176 68 Minnesota 27 25 10 161 158 64 Winnipeg 26 30 4 158 179 56

Pacific DivisionLos Angeles 36 20 4 161 139 76 Anaheim 33 19 8 149 142 74 San Jose 32 22 6 178 164 70 Vancouver 24 24 12 147 171 60 Arizona 27 28 6 166 188 60 Calgary 26 30 4 162 184 56 Edmonton 22 34 7 153 192 51

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

Florida 35 18 7 167 139 77

Tampa Bay 35 22 4 169 149 74 Boston 34 22 6 194 171 74 Detroit 30 20 11 153 158 71 Ottawa 29 27 6 179 192 64 Montreal 29 27 5 167 168 63 Buffalo 25 30 7 147 168 57 Toronto 21 28 10 145 176 52

Metropolitan DivisionWashington 45 11 4 200 139 94 NY Rangers 35 20 6 175 156 76 NY Islanders 33 19 7 170 146 73 Pittsburgh 30 21 8 155 156 68 New Jersey 30 26 7 139 153 67 Carolina 28 25 10 153 168 66 Philadelphia 27 22 11 148 163 65 Columbus 25 29 8 162 191 58 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one pointin the standings and are not included in the losscolumn (L).

NHL results/standingsTampa Bay 4, New Jersey 0; Washington 3, Minnesota 2; Boston 4, Carolina 1; Anaheim 2, Edmonton 1(OT); Buffalo 3, San Jose 1.

MIAMI: World number five Rickie Fowlerfired another bogey-free 66 on Friday totake a one-shot lead after two rounds ofthe US PGA Tour’s Honda Classic. Fowler’ssecond straight four-under effort on theChampion course at PGA National inPalm Beach Gardens, Florida, gave himan eight-under total of 132. Americangolfer Jason Bohn suffered a mild heartattack during Friday’s round after com-plaining of chest pains on the course.The 42-year-old was transported byambulance to a Palm Beach Gardenshospital for tests and was to remainovernight in stable condition.

Fowler was one stroke in front of fel-low American Jimmy Walker, who cappedhis 66 with a birdie at 17 and an eagle atthe par-five 18th. “I’ve been swingingwell,” said Fowler, whose strong early-sea-son form included a victory in Abu Dhabiand a playoff loss to Hideki Matsuyama inPhoenix.”It ’s nice to hit fairways, hitgreens, especially at a place like thiswhere it’s very demanding tee to green,”added Fowler. “I felt like I didn’t hit it as

good as yesterday, but I hit some reallygood drives through the middle, throughthe end of the round, and made a fewmore putts, which was nice,” he said.

First-round co-leader Sergio Garcia,playing alongside Fowler, signed for a 69for 134, and Australian Adam Scott pow-ered up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 65 that included an eagle and threebirdies and put him in fourth on 135. “Ifelt like I played quite well. Obviously thecourse is not getting any easier as theweek goes on. The wind was not asmuch as yesterday but it was still chal-lenging,” said Garcia. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course got the better of RoryMcIlroy, whose second straight two-over72 included a triple-bogey six at the par-three fifth and saw him miss the cut witha four-over total of 144.

Another disappointment It was another disappointing finish in

a tournament where Northern Ireland’sMcIlroy has experienced wildly fluctuat-ing fortunes. McIlroy’s 2012 victory at

PGA National propelled him to numberone in the world for the first time.Defending his title the following year, hewas struggling when he withdrew com-plaining of a painful wisdom tooth. Aftermissing out in a playoff in 2014, hemissed the cut last year. In fact, Fowlerwas the only one of four top-10 playersto make the cut. Along with world num-ber three McIlroy, ninth-ranked PatrickReed and 10th-ranked Branden Gracewill also miss the weekend.

Playing alongside McIlroy, defendingchampion Padraig Harrington of Irelandrebounded from his opening 73 with agritty two-under-par 68 that had himheading into the weekend on one-over141. Harrington nabbed seven birdies tooffset three bogeys and a double bogey.Fowler became the first player to gobogey-free over the first two rounds ofthe tournament since it moved to theChampion course in 2007. He rolled in a22-foot birdie putt at his final hole andWalker, playing behind him, heard theroar but stayed in touch with his strong

finish. “I think it’s important to be closeto the lead in a tournament like this,

because it’s such a hard golf course,”Walker said.— AFP

Fowler grabs Honda Classic lead, Bohn suffers heart attack

FLORIDA: Rickie Fowler of the United States hits his tee shot on the 13th holeduring the second round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort & Spa -Champions Course in Palm Beach Gardens. — AFP

LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young, right, shoots as Memphis Grizzlies forward PJ Hairston defends during the first half of anNBA basketball game on Friday, Feb 26, 2016.— AP

TORONTO: Kyle Lowry scored a career-high 43points to help the Toronto Raptors beat theEastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers99-97 Friday night. Terrence Ross added 15 pointsfor Toronto, which won its 10th straight at home totie a franchise record previously set betweenMarch 24 and Nov. 4, 2002. Raptors leading scorerDeMar DeRozan had a season-low six points whilebattling flu-like symptoms. LeBron James had 25points and Kevin Love added 20 for the Cavaliers,who had their lead over Atlantic Division-leadingToronto in the East cut to two games. Lowry tiedthe score at 97 with a hook shot with 51.9 secondsremaining. After J.R. Smith’s miss gave the Raptorsthe ball with 28.9 seconds left, Lowry made a pull-up jumper with 3.8 seconds left to put Torontoback in front. Following a Cleveland timeout,James unleashed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer, but it missed the rim complete-ly as time expired. With the win, the Raptorsclinched the season series 2-1.

HAWKS 103, BULLS 88Jeff Teague scored 19 points, Al Horford added

18 and Atlanta snapped a three-game losingstreak with a victory over short-handed Chicago.Paul Millsap had 12 points and 13 rebounds for theHawks, who ended a four-game home skid - theirlongest since April 2007. Atlanta moved into fifthplace in the East. Chicago, which had won threestraight, played without its top three scorersbecause Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and NikolaMirotic were nursing injuries. A sore right ham-string sidelined Rose for the second straight game.Doug McDermott finished with 20 points and PaulGasol had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls.

HORNETS 96, PACERS 95Kemba Walker scored 22 points and hit the

game-winning shot with 2.4 seconds left to liftCharlotte over Indiana. Monta Ellis gave Indianathe lead with a layup over Walker with 16.2 sec-onds to go. Walker then split two defenders abovethe 3-point line to get to the rim and sank a left-handed scoop shot over Paul George. The Pacershad a chance at the buzzer, but George’s shot fromthe top of the key missed. George finished with 32points. Marvin Williams had 26 points and 13rebounds for the Hornets, tied with Chicago forseventh place in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2games ahead of Detroit. Charlotte won for the sec-ond time this month at Indiana after dropping 12straight on the Pacers’ home court. Walker, whoalso had 10 assists, scored nine points in the final5:08 to help fend off a late Pacers charge.

CLIPPERS 117, KINGS 107Chris Paul scored a season-high 40 points and

added 13 assists with eight rebounds to propel LosAngeles past Sacramento. Sparked by the scoringand playmaking of Paul, the Clippers ran off 20consecutive points in the third quarter to breakthe game open. The lead remained in double dig-

its the rest of the way. DeMarcus Cousins had 26points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings.Rudy Gay scored 23. Jeff Green scored 22 pointsand Jamal Crawford had 21 for Los Angeles. TheClippers, who had dropped three of five, havebeaten the Kings seven straight games inSacramento and 19 of 23 overall. Paul missed theteam’s morning shootaround while nursing a soreright forearm, but the injury never seemed tobother his shooting. He made 13 of 20 shots andall 10 free throws in falling three points shy of hiscareer high.

WIZARDS 103, 76ERS 94John Wall had 23 points and 11 assists to lead

Washington past Philadelphia. Jared Dudleyscored 14 points and Ramon Sessions added 12 forthe Wizards. Wall finished two rebounds short of atriple-double. Washington snapped a three-gameroad losing streak while winning for the eighthtime in nine games against Philadelphia. TheWizards began play three games behind Charlottefor the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.Jahlil Okafor scored 21 points for the 76ers (8-50),who lost their seventh straight and 11th in 12games.

KNICKS 108, MAGIC 95Carmelo Anthony had 19 points, 11 rebounds

and six assists, and New York quickly jumped on anOrlando team that appeared to still be staggeredby Stephen Curry. A night after yielding 51 pointsand 10 3-pointers to Curry in a 130-114 loss toGolden State, the Magic were barely in the gameafter the first 10 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis added18 points for the Knicks, who won for only thethird time in 16 games. Nikola Vucevic scored 18for the Magic, and Aaron Gordon had 17 pointsand eight rebounds.

MAVERICKS 122, NUGGETS 116, OTRaymond Felton hit a tying jumper with 10.2

seconds left in regulation and then scored eightof his 16 points in overtime as Dallas rallied from23 down to beat Denver. Chandler Parsons ledthe Mavericks with 27 points, including 15 in thethird quarter when Dallas took a 67-66 lead with5:15 to play after coming all the way back from a55-32 deficit late in the second quarter. DirkNowitzki had 20 points and 13 rebounds for theMavericks, who closed the fourth period on an 8-0run over the final 1:50. David Lee, playing his sec-ond game with Dallas, had 14 points and 14rebounds in 26 minutes. Will Barton led theNuggets with 22 points. Kenneth Faried had 20points and 12 rebounds. Danilo Gallinari injuredhis right ankle in the closing minutes of the thirdquarter and didn’t return. On Denver’s final pos-session of regulation, Barton’s jumper at thebuzzer bounced off the front rim. Wes Matthews’3-pointer gave Dallas the lead for good at 115-114with 3:03 left in overtime.

GRIZZLIES 112, LAKERS 95Vince Carter scored a season-high 19 points

and five of his teammates also reached double fig-ures to help Memphis cruise past Los Angeles.Carter made his first five shots - all 3-pointers dur-ing a 7:48 span - and the 18-year veteran finished7 for 10 from the field in 20 minutes to help theGrizzlies win for the 13th time in 17 games. P.J.Hairston scored 21 points, Mike Conley had 17points and seven assists, and Zach Randolphadded 15 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.Kobe Bryant sat out because of a sore right shoul-der as the Lakers lost their eighth straight and22nd in 25 games. They got 22 points from rookieD’Angelo Russell. —AP

Lowry lifts Raptors to 10th straight win

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GB Toronto 39 18 .684 - Boston 34 25 .576 6 NY Knicks 25 35 .417 15.5 Brooklyn 16 42 .276 23.5 Philadelphia 8 50 .138 31.5

Central DivisionCleveland 41 16 .719 - Indiana 31 27 .534 10.5 Chicago 30 27 .526 11 Detroit 29 29 .500 12.5 Milwaukee 24 34 .414 17.5

Southeast DivisionMiami 32 25 .561 - Atlanta 32 27 .542 1 Charlotte 30 27 .526 2 Washington 27 30 .474 5 Orlando 25 32 .439 7

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Oklahoma City 41 17 .707 - Portland 30 28 .517 11 Utah 28 29 .491 12.5 Denver 23 36 .390 18.5 Minnesota 18 40 .310 23

Pacific DivisionGolden State 52 5 .912 - LA Clippers 38 20 .655 14.5 Sacramento 24 33 .421 28 Phoenix 14 44 .241 38.5 LA Lakers 11 49 .183 42.5

Southwest DivisionSan Antonio 49 9 .845 - Memphis 34 23 .596 14.5 Dallas 31 28 .525 18.5 Houston 29 29 .500 20 New Orleans 23 34 .404 25.5

NBA Results/StandingsCharlotte 96, Indiana 95; Washington 103, Philadelphia 94; NY Knicks 108, Orlando 95; Toronto 99, Cleveland 97;Atlanta 103, Chicago 88; Dallas 122, Denver 116 (OT); LA Clippers 117, Sacramento 107; Memphis 112, LA Lakers 95.

WASHINGTON: Dmitry Orlov scored with5:04 remaining after Alex Ovechkin got atying goal earlier in the period to help theWashington Capitals rally for a 3-2 win overthe Minnesota Wild on Friday night.Ovechkin got his league-leading 40th goal4:35 into the third on a power play, andBrooks Orpik also scored while the NHL-bestCapitals completed a four-game homestandwith three wins. Braden Holtby made 30stops for Washington after he was pulledearly in the second period of a lossWednesday night to Montreal. All fourgames on the Caps’ homestand were decid-ed by one goal. Mikko Koivu and NinoNiederreiter scored for Minnesota. Koivutied a club record by playing in his 743rdNHL game, all with the Wild.

LIGHTNING 4, DEVILS 0Steven Stamkos extended his goal-scor-

ing streak to a season-high five games andthe Tampa Bay Lightning beat the fadingNew Jersey Devils for their fifth straight win.Ben Bishop made 21 saves for his thirdshutout of the season. Alex Killorn, OndrejPalat and Matt Carle also scored as theLightning sent the Devils to their secondloss in as many nights and fifth in six games.Cory Schneider, who was lifted after givingup three goals in the first period of a 6-1 lossto Columbus on Thursday, had 32 saves forNew Jersey.

BRUINS 4, HURRICANES 1Matt Beleskey scored goals in the first

and third periods, leading the Boston Bruinsover the Carolina Hurricanes. It was the388th regular-season victory for Boston

coach Claude Julien, who needs two wins totie Art Ross as the Bruins’ career leader. Itwas only the third regulation loss for theHurricanes in their last 16 home games (10-3-3). Carolina has lost in regulation on back-to-back nights. Patrice Bergeron scored forBoston in the first period, and BradMarchand added an empty-net goal in theclosing seconds. Tuukka Rask stopped 39shots. Noah Hanifin had Carolina’s lone goal.

DUCKS 2, OILERS 1, OTRickard Rakell scored 1:24 into overtime

to give the Anaheim Ducks a win over theEdmonton Oilers. Rakell put a backhanderpast Cam Talbot seconds after a change onthe fly, using some gorgeous puck handlingto keep Oilers center Leon Draisaitl flatfoot-ed and leave the goaltender baffled. RyanGetzlaf scored in regulation and FrederikAndersen stopped 17 shots to give Anaheimits seventh straight win. Jordan Eberle hadthe lone goal for Edmonton, which droppedits sixth in a row.

SABRES 3, SHARKS 1Zach Bogosian scored on a ricochet with

7:24 remaining in regulation and the BuffaloSabres beat the San Jose Sharks for theninth time in 10 meetings. Johan Larssonalso scored and Evander Kane added anempty-netter to help the Sabres extendtheir domination over the Sharks by winningfor the fifth straight time in San Jose. ChadJohnson made 24 saves. Marc-EdouardVlasic scored the lone goal for the Sharks,who lost for just the third time in regulationthis season in the 30 games that they scoredfirst.— AP

Capitals overcome Wild

WASHINGTON: Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals celebrates team-mate Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals (not pictured) goal as goalie DarcyKuemper #35 of the Minnesota Wild reacts during the third period at Verizon Centeron February 26, 2016. —AFP

S P O RT SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Managerless Nigeria

appoint caretakers

Oliseh resigns as coachABUJA: Nigeria’s Olympic team coach SamsonSiasia will take charge for the Super Eagles’upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers afterSunday Oliseh resigned, the country’s footballfederation said yesterday. Nigeria FootballFederation (NFF) technical committee chairmanChris Green announced the appointments inthe capital Abuja in the wake of Oliseh’s depar-ture. The 41-year-old coach quit overnight, cit-ing unpaid wages and contractual breaches,throwing Nigeria’s qualification into doubt fornext year’s AFCON tournament in Gabon.

Siasia will be joined on the bench by nation-al team assistant coach Salisa Yusuf and Under-20 manager Emmanuel Amuneke to prepare forthe double-header with Egypt next month.Shaibu Amodu, who has previously managedthe national team on four occasions, declinedto return on health grounds but will have asupervisory role, the NFF said. “These are tem-porary appointments and they will be reviewedafter the matches against Egypt with thecoaches expected to revert to their primaryassignments,” said one official who was at themeeting. It is understood Nigeria are looking toappoint a full-time foreign coach. Siasia’sappointment is a return to the job he lost in2011 when he was sacked in the wake ofNigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2012 AFCON.

‘Lack of support’ Oliseh was just eight months into a three-

year contract and said he quit because he didnot enjoy the support of the NFF. “Due toContract violations, lack of Support, unpaidwages, benefits to my players, assistant coach-es and myself, I resign as Super Eagles ChiefCoach,” he wrote on Twitter in the early hours of

Friday. The man he replaced in July 2015,Stephen Keshi, had previously complained ofunpaid wages and was later paid the arrears byNigeria’s presidency in 2013.

Players have also protested in the past aboutunpaid bonuses from the state-funded NFF.Nigeria’s game against Egypt is a must-winqualifier in the northern city of Kaduna with thereturn leg two days later in Cairo. Egypt are sev-en-times winners of the tournament and cur-rently head Group G with six points after twomatches. Nigeria are second on four points.Only the overall group winners are guaranteedautomatic qualification to the 2017 finals.Oliseh has complained he has been unable totravel to Europe to assess Nigerian players topick his squad.

‘Abandoning ship’ Nigeria already faced an uphill battle to

defend the title they won in 2013 in SouthAfrica and after failing to qualify for last year’sfinals. Former national team official Ben Alaiyasaid Oliseh’s resignation has further compro-mised the countr y ’s chances of gettingthrough. “It’s a shock. He should not have quit,it was like abandoning the ship in the middle ofthe sea. I t was a big slap to 180 mil l ionNigerians,” he said. “But we must move aheadand look at the options because we have veryimportant games against Egypt next month.”

Former Nigeria international Dosu Josephsaid the NFF must move quickly to appoint asuccessor to stay on track for Gabon 2017.“Many of us saw this coming but we nowneed to move forward because we have tobeat Egypt at least at home or else kiss good-bye to the Nations Cup,” he warned. “The NFF

must now sit up for the matches againstEgypt because it will be a disaster if we failedagain to qualify for the Nations Cup.” Oliseh’srelations with the NFF soured when Nigeriafailed to go past the group stage of the recentAfrican Nations Championships in Rwanda.He vented his frustration in a YouTube videoearlier this month, attacking critics who want-ed him sacked, but later apologized, whilesports minister Solomon Dalung backed himto stay on.— AFP

Sunday Oliseh

TURIN: Juventus’ Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci controls the ball during theUEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Juventus andBayern Munich at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.—AFP

MILAN: Brazilian midfielder Hernanes hassurrendered hope of a free-scoring role butsaid he is committed to the cause asJuventus look to stretch their Serie A leadagainst his former club Inter Milan today.Hernanes hit five goals in 26 appearancesfor Inter in his final full season before mov-ing to Turin for 11m euros ($12.14m) inAugust 2015. Yet with only 13 gamesremaining this season, the 30-year-old fromRecife has been forced to reassess his per-sonal expectations as part of a squad forwhom winning trophies is widely expected.

From the relative freedom enjoyed atInter and, before that, Lazio, Hernanes hasbeen used in several midfield positions bycoach Massimiliano Allegri as the champi-ons continue their bid for a treble of tro-phies this season. “I came to Juventus full ofbounce, with the idea that I would be play-ing up front and scoring lots of goals,” saidHernanes. “But the coach changed my posi-tion and I’ve had to adapt. I’m starting tofeel at ease, but I can still improve.” Despitefailing to cement a regular starting spot,Hernanes’s versatility is quickly becomingan advantage for Juventus and he wasready when it mattered in midweek.

It was half-time at Juventus Stadium,holding midfielder Claudio Marchisio hadgone off injured and Juve were trailing 2-0to Bayern Munich in the ChampionsLeague. Moved into the centre of midfieldalongside Sami Khedira, Hernanes inspireda lacklustre Juve with an energetic yet solidperformance that helped launch a stirringcomeback thanks to goals from PauloDybala and Stefano Sturaro. AlthoughBayern are expected to seal a quarter-finalplace following the return leg on March 16,before then Juventus face Inter twice in theleague and Cup as they bid to at least keeptheir double aims on track.

A win today would see Juventus stretchtheir lead over title-chasing Napoli to four

points ahead of the Azzurri’s much-antici-pated trip to Fiorentina on Monday, whenfellow Europa League opponents Laziotravel to Sassuolo. Inter’s title hopes havefaded since the resumption of hostilities inearly January, since when RobertoMancini’s men have won only three timesin nine outings. Inter boosted flaggingmorale with a 3-1 win over Sampdoria lastweek but Mancini’s men are 10 points offthe pace and four points behind third-placed Fiorentina in the first ChampionsLeague qualifying spot.

Mancini was given a boost on Thursdaywhen league officials accepted an appealagainst Geoffrey Kondogbia’s two-matchban, meaning the French midfielder isavailable. But defeat today would compli-cate the 2010 champions’ bid to return toEurope’s premier club competition after afour-year absence. “It’s a very importantgame for us and we’ll give everything to tryand win,” Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisictold Inter Channel. But the odds are allagainst the visitors. A struggling Juventusheld Inter to a scoreless draw earlier thisseason and, once they had found theirrhythm, stunned Mancini’s men 3-0 in theopening leg of their Italian Cup semi-final.

Inter host Juventus in the second leg onWednesday, and Perisic added: “It won’t beeasy to overturn the score from the firstgame but we’ll keep fighting until the lastminute.” Elsewhere, Roma will move provi-sionally up to third place with a win atEmpoli where Luciano Spalletti’s visitorswill target a sixth consecutive win for thefirst time this season a week after a 5-0 routof Palermo. AC Milan, who held Napoli 1-1last week, will look to stretch their unbeat-en run to nine games when they hostTorino looking to close the gap on theEuropean places. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men sitin sixth, 14 points behind Juventus andeight behind Fiorentina.—AFP

Hernanes committed

as Juventus face Inter

ITALIAN LEAGUE PREVIEW

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain defender SergeAurier has been banished to the club’sreserve team as punishment for insultingcoach Laurent Blanc in a video on socialmedia. Aurier, 23, will spend three weekstraining with PSG’s reserves, who play inFrance’s amateur fourth tier, with theIvorian then set to return to the first-teamsquad on March 21. PSG said the decisionwas made to “protect the group from anypotential problems” after Aurier drew theire of the French champions following hisappearance in a video on the social mediasite Periscope in which he directed homo-phobic insults at Blanc and also appearedto insult several team-mates. Aurier, whojoined Paris on an initial loan deal fromToulouse in 2014 before the move wasmade permanent last summer, will missPSG’s Champions League last-16 second

leg at Chelsea on March 9.

Bastia climb upBastia continued their climb up the

Ligue 1 table on Friday with a 2-0 victoryaway to Champions League hopefuls Nice.Hosts Nice, who have now won just once insix outings, were reduced to 10 men beforethe hour when Paul Baysse was dismissed,and Bastia took full advantage with goalsfrom Sadio Diallo and Floyd Ayite shortlyafter. Nice remain in third spot above Saint-Etienne on goal difference in the race forFrance’s third Champions League berth,while Bastia moved up to 10th after regis-tering a third straight win. Paris Saint-Germain, unbeaten in 36 league matches,will aim to continue their march towards afourth successive Ligue 1 title on Sundaywhen they visit fifth-place Lyon.— Agencies

Aurier banished to PSG

reserves after insults

Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier

INDIANAPOLIS: The most coveted players in the NFLdraft are, of course, the franchise-caliber quarterbacks.The most important prospects might be the pass rush-ers. Just ask the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncoshow they snagged that shiny trophy. “That’s prettymuch the whole example I have to give. Defense wonthat game, 100 percent. Von Miller, he really showedwhat a pass rush can do for a team,” said Joey Bosa, theOhio State defensive end who’s first in line to be thenext Miller.

Widely pegged for the first pick, held this year by theTennessee Titans, Bosa’s 6-foot-5, 269 pound frameought to fit well in the lineup for some team at the topof the draft seeking an instant impact for the defense.He was an end in a 4-3 scheme in college, but he saidFriday at the league’s scouting combine that he hasincorporated pass-coverage drops into his offseasontraining to prepare for possibly playing outside line-backer in a 3-4 system. “I never could have dreamed tobe in this situation, being considered the No. 1 pick,”Bosa said. “It’s kind of mind blowing.”

Taking an outside pass rusher with the top slot in thedraft would hardly be startling. Miller, voted the SuperBowl MVP less than three weeks ago, was the No. 2 pickin 2011 by the Broncos. Defensive end JadeveonClowney was the first selection by the Houston Texansin 2014. These days, the role is even more in demand.“Von Millers aren’t just falling out of the sky, all over theplace,” said Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano,whose team could use one.

Once elite quarterbacks are established, they rarelygo anywhere until retirement. Plus, only one can play ata time. With pass rushers, teams can’t have enough.Miller wouldn’t have been nearly as dominant had theBroncos not had DeMarcus Ware pressuring the pocketfrom the other side. “Only so many people are walkingthe earth with the skill set to be big enough, athleticenough and have the traits to be able to rush the pass-er,” Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said.“That’s generally why they are either drafted high or getoverpaid in free agency.”

The players realize this, too. “Watching the SuperBowl, it was evident that the pass rushers took over thatgame,” Northwestern DE Dean Lowry said. “Even withCam Newton and Peyton Manning, the guys on thedefensive lines decided to take over. Von Miller andDeMarcus Ware won that game. That just shows howimportant pass rushers are and how important defen-sive line pressure on the quarterback is. That focus is notjust in the Super Bowl. It’s all the way back into the col-lege game.”

In a deep draft for defensive linemen, tackles includ-ed, Bosa is the consensus leader of the pass-rushingpack on a list highlighted by UCLA outside linebackerMyles Jack, Oregon end DeForest Buckner, Clemson endShaq Lawson, Ohio State outside linebacker Darron Lee,Notre Dame outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, andEastern Kentucky end Noah Spence. Spence started atOhio State before being kicked off the team due to adrug problem.

Bosa, whose father and uncle were each drafted inthe first round by the Miami Dolphins in the late 1980s,came from the football factory St. Thomas Aquinas inFort Lauderdale, Florida, which had the most alumni ofany high school on NFL rosters last season. His youngerbrother, Nick, signed with Ohio State for 2016. Bosa’ssack total dropped from 13 1-2 as a sophomore to justfive as a junior last year, but he pointed to the excess ofdouble-teams he faced. “If I was double-teamed and notgetting there, I knew somebody else was going to,” Bosasaid. “As long as we’re succeeding as a defense, I washappy.”

He was suspended for the season opener, too, for anunspecified violation of athletic department policy. “Ireally took that opportunity and didn’t let it affect menegatively and let it help me grow as a person, as aleader, and as a player,” Bosa said. “But I’ll discuss thatwith the teams. I’m sure it’ll be a little uncomfortable,but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.” After springbecomes summer and summer turns to fall, Bosa will beback on the edge of the formation, making tackles - andquarterbacks uncomfortable.—AP

Bosa leads pass-rush

pack as teams seek

next Miller

INDIANAPOLIS: Wisconsin offensive lineman Tyler Marz (left) and UCLA offensivelineman Alex Redmond run a drill at the NFL football scouting combine on Friday,Feb 26, 2016. —AP

INDIANAPOLIS: Jack Conklin walked to thepodium in Indianapolis, glanced down atthe surrounding crowd and shook his headin disbelief. Four years ago, Conklin hadonly one scholarship offer and was ready toattend prep school. Now the left tacklefrom Michigan State, who started his col-lege career as an invited walk-on, is one ofthe most coveted offensive linemen in thenation. “It’s crazy just to see how far I’vecome,” Conklin said at the NFL scoutingcombine. “It’s hard to think about to gofrom being four years ago to have no idea ifI was going to be on a Division I teamgoing into the fall. It’s hard to take in howfar I’ve come as a person and a player.”

The odds were certainly stacked againstConklin making it this far. He played for hisfather, Darren, at a small Michigan highschool, where the staff was not wellschooled in the art of selling recruits to col-lege coaches. The book on Conklin was hewas too light and not strong enough to bea college lineman, and his resume support-ed the notion. He played mostly defensiveend and tight end in high school and couldlift only 225 pounds on the bench pressabout 10 times in succession.

His skill set appeared to be translatedbetter to basketball, where he averaged17.1 points and 10.4 rebounds as a senior,and if he had taken up Wayne State on itsscholarship offer, Conklin might have fallenthrough the cracks in Division II football.Instead, Conklin bet on himself - just like asurprisingly high number of other big-name players in this year’s draft class. “Itwas always a dream,” North Dakota Statequarterback Carson Wentz said. “I didn’tthink that today, this is where I was goingto be. I didn’t think like that. It was a goal.”

Wentz was lightly recruited after movingfrom receiver to quarterback as a highschool senior. His only FBS offer came fromCentral Michigan, so he wound up stayingin his home state and playing for a schoolthat has won five straight FCS nationalchampionships. Wentz could be the firstquarterback taken in April, but he won’t bethe only one with this kind of story. Theonly scholarship offers fielded by ConnorCook, Conklin’s college teammate, camefrom Michigan State, Miami (Ohio) andAkron. He wound starting three years and

played on two Big Ten championshipteams. Paxton Lynch initially drew interestfrom schools such as Bethune-Cookman,Florida Tech and Florida A&M until he waschosen MVP of the 2011 Central Florida All-Star game. Then Indiana and Floridajumped on board, but his home stateGators only wanted him as a walk-on. Sowhen Lynch got a late scholarship offerfrom Memphis, he took it.

Both could be first-round picks in April.It ’s not just a quarterback thing. Somethought Derrick Henry would move todefense in college. Alabama coach NickSaban kept him at running back and aftertwo seasons as T.J. Yeldon’s backup, Henrybecame the school’s second HeismanTrophy winner and led the Crimson Tide tothe national championship. Receiver JoshDoctson wanted to play college football inhis native Texas, but spent his freshmanseason at Wyoming. He transferred to TCU,going from walk-on to All-American andnow to one of the top receivers in thisyear’s draft.

To Doctson, the chance of a combineinvite seemed so remote he didn’t evenconsider it until he played his final collegegame. “I’m not supposed to be standinghere in this stadium ... not really beingrecruited out of high school,” Doctson saidFriday. “I’m fortunate to be standing here inthese shoes.” Sure, there are stories like thisat every combine. This year, they are morecommonplace, more compelling and moreeye-popping to those evaluating theprospects, who put a premium on thesteady progression in college.

“It’s a positive evaluation,” Hall of Fameexecutive Bill Polian said. “What it tells youis that the guy has tremendous drive, andin some cases, you see that on tape. What’sthe difference between Jack Conklin and(former Colts center) Jeff Saturday? Jack’sgoing to get drafted a little higher becausehe’s a little taller.” Four years ago, such acomparison seemed improbable. Today,Conklin just smiles, nods his head andappreciates how much has changed. “Fouryears ago, I was thinking, I had no ideawhere I was going to be,” he said. “To behere now four years later, training for thecombine and possibly being a first-roundpick, it’s crazy.” —AP

Lightly recruited players now

turning heads at NFL combine

S P O RT SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

HONG KONG: Asian football leaders puta brave face on AFC boss Sheikh Salmanbin Ebrahim Al Khalifa’s FIFA presidentialdefeat yesterday and pledged to workwith the world body’s new head GianniInfantino. Asian Football Confederation(AFC) head Sheikh Salman, gunning tobecome FIFA’s first Asian leader, hadbeen the pre-poll favorite but he lostout in the second round of voting. TheBahraini royal had repeatedly deniedclaims of complicity in human rights vio-lations during a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in his home coun-try, calling them “nasty lies”. He warmlyembraced Swiss-Italian Infantino afterthe election result and later said in astatement that the AFC “looks forward toworking with the new-look FIFA”.

He added: “The new FIFA needs tobecome more inclusive and reflect thediversity of world football. I trust GianniInfantino will provide the leadership toachieve this, as well as the rest of thereforms that are now urgently needed.”Sheikh Salman’s defeat is a blow to theambitions of Asia and especially theArab world, where there had been antic-ipation of a powerful new voice in sport.

The AFC has been a staunch supporterof the Qatar 2022 World Cup, whosecontroversial bidding process was at theheart of the crisis which engulfed FIFAand prompted Friday’s poll.

Sheikh Salman enjoyed strong back-ing among the Asian voters, includingthe 10-member East Asian FootballFederation which confirmed its supportjust before the election. The East Asianbloc includes powerhouse China, whichaspires to host and even win a WorldCup and has been splashing out on topplayers for the Chinese Super League.China’s Xinhua news agency saidInfantino had pledged that FIFA’s newsecretary-general wouldn’t be fromEurope, in a possible sign of hope forAsia. And sports.163.com calledInfantino a “lucky star” for China after hepromised to expand the World Cup from32 to 40 teams, which would give thenational team a better chance of qualify-ing.

‘Mood for change’Meanwhile India, another supporter

of Sheikh Salman which hosted theannual AFC awards in November, said it

hoped to receive “due importance”under Infantino. “I am sure FIFA underthe able leadership of Infantino wouldcontinue to give India its due impor-tance and co-operation for the develop-ment and promotion of football,” AllIndia Football Federation vice-presidentSubrata Dutta said.

Infantino’s election was warmly wel-comed by Australia, an AFC membersince 2006, despite its earlier announce-ment that it would vote for Jordan’sPrince Ali bin Al Hussein. “Today was thebest day FIFA has had in many years,”Football Federation Australia chairmanSteven Lowy said in a statement. “Themood for change was in the air and thecongress voted overwhelmingly tomove forward with a new structure andnew leadership to implement it.”

New Zealand, from the 11-memberOceania Football Confederation, con-firmed that it voted for Infantino aftermeeting the candidates in Zurich beforethe vote. “The New Zealand Football del-egation is delighted Gianni Infantinowas elected and we firmly believe he isthe right person to lead the next periodfor FIFA including the reform agenda,”

said New Zealand Football presidentDeryck Shaw. The election result madeheadlines around the region, with Hong

Kong’s Apple Daily splashing “End of theBlatter dynasty”, referring to suspendedformer leader Sepp Blatter.— AFP

Asia puts brave face on Salman defeat

MANAMA: Bahraini supporters of FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman binEbrahim Al-Khalifa (portrait), react following the news of Salman’s defeat in theelections, at the Rotana hotel, in the capital Manama. —AFP

ZURICH: New FIFA president Gianni Infantino, of Switzerland, waves to delegates after his election, during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress2016 in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday, Feb 26, 2016. —AP

ZURICH: Six months ago Gianni Infantino was alow-profile right-hand man to European soccerboss Michel Platini. He was the striking, shaven-headed character who pulled balls out of glasspots during televised UEFA competition draws.Barely-known by the general public, he was alsothe man behind a complex attempt to forceEurope’s clubs to rein in their spending, butwhich ended up leaving fans and even clubdirectors confused.

On Friday, Infantino was chosen as the newpresident of FIFA, a position which made hispredecessor Sepp Blatter as instantly recogniza-ble as some of the world’s leading statesman. Itwas a remarkable leap for the affable Swiss-Italian. The polyglot lawyer only entered the FIFArace in late October, one day before the dead-line, as a stop-gap candidate after Platini hadbeen placed under investigation for ethics viola-tions. When Platini failed to clear his name andwas banned from football for six years, Infantinowas left carrying the hopes of European football.

In the intervening time, he has visited severaldozen countries, clocking up by his own calcula-tions enough air miles to have flown around theworld three times. “On October 27, I started myjourney in Cairo, and last Monday I finished inCape Town, so it was a kind of Cape to Cairo inreverse,” he said during his presentation to theFIFA congress on Friday. “It was destiny whichbrought me to start the journey, an excitingjourney, a fantastic journey,” he said. “Fivemonths ago I was not thinking of being a candi-date but many things have happened.”

Changing fortunesAt the same time as he was delivering his

speech in Zurich, almost three hours’ drive awayin Nyon the draw was being held for the EuropaLeague, Europe’s second-tier club competition.Had the dice fallen differently, Infantino wouldhave been conducting that draw. Having joinedUEFA in 2000, Infantino rose to become its gen-eral secretary in 2009, just as Platini announcedhis break-even rule known as Financial Fair Play.Designed to stop rich owners buying success byploughing unlimited amounts of cash into theirclubs, the rule banned them from spendingmore than their generated revenue.

Infantino has said it saved European clubsfrom spending themselves into oblivion but crit-ics argued it prevented smaller clubs from grow-ing and cemented a status quo in which thesame teams dominate. There was also confusionover the way it was implemented. UEFA initiallysaid that clubs who did not comply would bekicked out of European competition, no matterhow big. In the event, clubs were allowed tonegotiate settlements and, while some weresubjected to financial penalties and squadreductions, no big clubs were expelled fromEuropean competition. “Financial Fair Play is avery important tool and the only thing (prob-

lem) is that it’s not all that easy sometimes tounderstand how the system works, and maybeUEFA has to do it more transparently,” said BayernMunich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.Infantino’s watch has also seen the EuropeanChampionship expanded from 16 to 24 teamsand the innovative move of staging the 2020tournament in 13 cities around Europe ratherthan a single host nation. Although it is hopedInfantino’s election will mark a clean break withFIFA’s past, his rise to the top bears some similari-ties to that of his disgraced predecessor Blatter,

who has been banned for six years for ethics vio-lations. Both were raised in the same Swiss valley,only 10 km (six miles) from each other, both weremodest amateur footballers and both speak thesame five languages. Each went to university andthen began their careers in the French-speakingpart of Switzerland. During the campaign,Infantino often had to fend off suggestions thathe is too Eurocentric. “I’m not the European can-didate, I’m not the UEFA candidate,” he respond-ed at one point. “I’m a football person, so I feelthat I am the candidate for football.”— Reuters

Infantino goes from stop-gap

to soccer most powerful man

FIFA elects Gianni Infantino as president

LONDON: When Raheem Sterling gazes outthe window of Manchester City’s coach onthe road to Wembley today, it will be no sur-prise if the winger’s dreams of League Cupglory are interrupted by a flashback to hischildhood. Sterling’s presence amid thepomp and circumstance of City’s League Cupfinal showdown with Liverpool represents aremarkable triumph in the face of adversityfor the 21-year-old. Only 11 years ago,Sterling was facing an uncertain future as anew arrival at Vernon House, a school for chil-dren with behavioral difficulties which is situ-ated less than a mile from Wembley.

Transplanted from Jamaica when hismother was forced to move to London toimprove her financial situation by working asa nurse, Sterling was struggling to adapt tothe bleak surroundings of the west Londonestate that became his home from age five.Sterling, who had no contact with his fatherbefore he was killed in a gang-related inci-dent in Kingston when he was nine, was indanger of earning a potentially ruinous labelas a disruptive pupil.

“He was a tiny little ball of energy, andsometimes that would tip over into angerand he would get aggressive with other kids,”his Vernon House teacher Chris Beschi toldBBC Sport. But, crucially, Sterling found anoutlet for his growing pains whenever he hada ball at his feet and by the time he was 11 hehad caught the eye of youth coaches at near-by QPR. Unlike so many of his pampered con-temporaries in the Premier League, who arewhisked away to plush academies to learntheir trade, Sterling’s football education hadinitially come on the streets, where he wouldplay with a juice carton or a can if no ball wasaffordable.

Mean streets“He was a street footballer,” former QPR

academy chief Steve Gallen told BleacherReport. “And he lived in Stonebridge, so thesewere mean streets. They didn’t mess aboutthere. “It helped develop his mentality. Hewas so small the bullies thought they couldintimidate him. “They couldn’t get close. He’dride tackles and when they did hit him, it nev-er bothered him for an instant. He had nofear.”

It wasn’t long before that tenacious atti-tude blended with Sterling’s innate talent toproduce a player so promising that Liverpoolsigned him when he had yet to make a singleprofessional appearance. He quickly becamethe third youngest player in Liverpool’s histo-ry, making his debut aged 17 in 2012, andwas just 17 years and 341 days old when hebecame the fifth youngest player to repre-sent England later the same year. Sterling’soff-the-cuff excellence in the maelstrom ofLiverpool’s unsuccessful bid to win thePremier League in 2013-14 secured his repu-tation as the most gifted youngster of hisgeneration.

But, with the Reds slumping a year laterand City keen to sign him, Sterling infuriatedLiverpool by rejecting a new contract, pro-voking an ugly dispute before he finallyforced a move to Eastlands in July 2015 in a£49 million ($67 million, 62 million euros)deal that made him the most expensive play-er in the world aged 21 or younger. Sterling’snaked ambition drew plenty of criticism, but,shrugging it off in the same way he hurdleschallenges on the pitch, the winger has grad-ually established himself as one of City’s keyfigures. And if he delivers an influential dis-play to win the first major silverware of hiscareer against his old club, Sterling will havegraduated with honors in the most fittingvenue.— AFP

Sterling’s road to Wembley

brings City star back home

Celtic boss blasts

wasteful champsGLASGOW: Celtic manager Ronny Deilasaid his side need to start taking theirchances after the Hoops were held to a 1-1draw by Hamilton at New Douglas Park onFriday. Leigh Griffiths had given his side a35th-minute lead from the penalty spotbefore teammate Dedryck Boyata saw redseven minutes later for a lunge on CarltonMorris. Gary Mackay-Steven and Griffithsboth spurned chances to double Celtic’sadvantage before the Scotland striker sawhis second penalty of the match saved byHamilton stopper Michael McGovern.

Hamilton then grabbed a superb 73rd-minute equalizer through substituteEamonn Brophy as they gained someredemption for their 8-1 humbling by theHoops back in January. It ends a run ofthree successive wins for Celtic and theParkhead club’s manager was angry at hisside’s lack of composure in front of goal.“It’s disappointing that we went down to10 men and we didn’t win this game,” Deilasaid. “We started well but in the secondhalf things were more open. You have totake your chances especially when you aredown to 10 men. “We had three very bigchances and didn’t score and they gottheirs from a set play and that was disap-pointing.

“I think we defended in the second halfbetter than we have with 10 men beforeand they didn’t have a lot of chances andwe had a lot of control. But we needed towant the ball more and create morechances and maybe have been braver onthe ball. “Leigh missed the penalty and hewas two times alone with the goalkeeper

as well so that’s hard to swallow. We hadthree very big chances and should havewon the game.” Boyata’s red card for bring-ing down Morris had a big influence on thegame and television replays appeared tosuggest the Belgian defender got some-thing on the ball first.

However, Delia said he had no argumentwith referee Craig Thompson’s decision.“The sending off is an okay decision. Hedoesn’t take the ball and we have to startlearning that you have to stay on your feetand run with the player in those situations,”the Norwegian manager said. “I’ve seen itone more time and he doesn’t take the ballso it’s a red card.” The point means Celticopen a seven-point gap at the top of thetable over Aberdeen, who could cut thedeficit if they can defeat St Johnstone yes-terday. “There are 11 matches left and a lotto play for. Nothing is finished here and Isay that all the time,” said Deila, whose sidehost Dundee on Wednesday.

“But we are going to fight to the lastgame and already on Wednesday we havea game where we want three points.”Hamilton manager Martin Canning wasproud of the progress his side had madesince their 8-1 humiliation at Celtic Park.“ The team worked ever so hard anddeserved something from the game,”Canning said. “Michael McGovern kept usin it with the penalty save and then we gotour goal but with a bit of luck we mighthave got all three points. “I’m proud of theboys as it’s such a big effort to take some-thing off Celtic, albeit with ten men, butyou have to put in the work.”— AFP

Manchester City’s Chilean managerManuel Pellegrini

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Kloppwill be bidding to secure his first trophy forthe club and Manchester City counterpartManuel Pellegrini potentially his last intoday’s League Cup final. Klopp, 48, is lessthan five months into his mission to restoreLiverpool to former glories, whereasPellegrini, 62, has only three months left inthe City saddle before handing the reins toPep Guardiola. City are the favorites, butformer Liverpool captain Steven Gerrardhas claimed that the nous Klopp demon-strated by leading Borussia Dortmund tofive trophies will give the underdogs theedge at Wembley.

Responding to Gerrard’s prediction,made in the Daily Telegraph, Klopp said: “Iam not sure I am the difference, but I knowthe way. There is absolutely no reason atthis moment to have a doubt. “I have toshow it as clear as possible so there is nomisunderstanding between my mouth andthe ears of the players. “We do this job inprofessional football. We only want to winthings: titles, cups, whatever. “A lot of man-agers work their whole lives and can bereally successful, but have never the chanceto win something. Now, everything is possi-ble.”

Having fallen nine points below fourth-place City in the Premier League,Liverpool’s hopes of Champions Leaguequalification are fading and they wererecently eliminated from the FA Cup byWest Ham United. They will faceManchester United in a tantalizing last-16Europa League tie, but it is today’s gamethat offers Klopp the best chance to make amark in his maiden campaign. With eight

trophies, Liverpool are the League Cup’smost successful club, but they have notprocured any silverware since they last wonthe tournament in 2012. Klopp’s tenure todate has been a tale of feast and famine,with dreary displays interspersed by stun-ning results such as slick away wins at Cityand Chelsea, a breathless 5-4 victory atNorwich City and six-goal thrashings ofboth Southampton and Aston Villa.

Big guns return Liverpool won 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium

in November when they last faced City, butKlopp and Pellegrini have attempted toplay down the significance of that result.Perhaps significantly, both men have sincerecovered key personnel-notably captainVincent Kompany and playmaker DavidSilva for City and skipper Jordan Hendersonand striker Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool.

Liverpool’s starting XI has been largelyunchanged since the 6-0 Valentine’s Daydemolition of Villa, with Klopp making justone change across that game and the two-legged Europa League win over German sideAugsburg. His key decision regards his cen-tre-back pairing, with fit-again duo MartinSkrtel and Dejan Lovren back in contentionalong with Mamadou Sakho, Kolo Toure andconverted midfielder Lucas Leiva. Pellegriniis hopeful that Kompany, Liverpool old boyRaheem Sterling and right-back BacarySagna will be fit despite training away fromthe main group on Friday. Eliaquim Mangala,Jesus Navas and Wilfried Bony are all avail-able for selection again, while cup goalkeep-er Willy Caballero is expected to take overfrom Joe Hart.—AFP

Klopp, Pellegrini cross paths

in a League Cup showdown

S PORTSSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

PakistanMohammad Hafeez c Dhoni b Nehra 4Sharjeel Khan c Rahane b Bumrah 7Khurram Manzoor run out 10Shoaib Malik c Dhoni b Pandya 4Umar Akmal lbw b Singh 3Sarfraz Ahmed b Jadeja 25Shahid Afridi run out 2Wahab Riaz lbw b Jadeja 4Mohammad Sami c Raina b Pandya 8Mohammad Amir b Pandya 1Mohammad Irfan not out 0Extras: (4lb, 11w) 15TOTAL: (all out) 83Overs: 17.3.Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-22, 3-32, 4-35, 5-35, 6-42, 7-52, 8-70, 9-83, 10-83.Bowling: Ashish Nehra 3-0-20-1 (2w), JaspritBumrah 3-2-81, Hardik Pandya 3.3-0-8-3, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-11-1,Ravindra Jadeja 3

0-11-2 (4w), Ravichandran Ashwin 3-0-21-0 (5w).

IndiaRohit Sharma lbw b Amir 0 Ajinkya Rahane lbw bAmir 0 Virat Kohli lbw b Sami 49 Suresh Raina cRiaz b Amir 1 Yuvraj Singh not out 14 HardikPandya c Hafeez b Sami 0 MS Dhoni not out 7Extras: (1b, 3lb, 8w, 2nb) 14 TOTAL: (for 5 wickets)85 Overs: 15.3.Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-8, 4-76, 5-76.Did not bat: Ravindra Jadeja, RavichandranAshwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra.Bowling: Mohammad Amir 4-0-18-3 (6w),Mohammad Sami 4-0-16-2, Mohammad Irfan 4-0-16-0 (1w, 1nb), Wahab Riaz 3.3-0-31-0 (1w, 1nb).Result: India won by 5 wickets.Toss: India.Umpires:, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sri Lanka, and, Sharfuddoula, Bangladesh.TV umpire: Enamul Haque, Bangladesh. Matchreferee: Richie Richardson, West Indies.—AFP

DHAKA: Scoreboard yesterday in the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan at Sher-e-BanglaNational Cricket Stadium:

SCOREBOARD

LONDON: West Ham United’s Cheikhou Kouyate (right) and Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole (left) battle for the ball, during the English PremierLeague soccer match between West Ham United and Sunderland FC yesterday. — AP

LONDON: Michail Antonio struck as West HamUnited enhanced their European qualifyinghopes and snuffed out Sunderland’s recent mini-revival with a 1-0 victory yesterday. The formerNottingham Forest midfielder scored in the 30thminute, clinically punishing a loose clearance byPatrick van Aanholt to take his tally for the eastLondon club to five goals. Slaven Bilic’s sideclimbed to fifth place in the Premier League,supplanting Manchester United in the EuropaLeague berth, and closed to within four points ofthe Champions League places. Sunderland man-

ager Sam Allardyce met with defeat on hisreturn to Upton Park and has now seen his teamgo 14 matches without a clean sheet in all com-petitions.

Sunderland, who had drawn 2-2 at Liverpooland beaten Manchester United 2-1 on their twoprevious outings, remain a point from safety. Asleepy game leapt to life in the 19th minutewhen Manuel Lanzini teed up Mark Noble for afirst-time drive that Sunderland goalkeeper VitoMannone brilliantly tipped onto the visitors’ bar.Mannone’s opposite number, Adrian, gave thehome fans a scare when he elected to performsome kick-ups after receiving a back-pass, allow-ing Wahbi Khazri to charge down his attemptedclearance.

Moments later, Khazri almost embarrassedthe Spaniard with an opportunistic free-kickfrom deep on the right that hit the top of thecrossbar. But it was West Ham who made thebreakthrough after Van Aanholt failed to getenough purchase on the ball as he attempted to

clear Sam Byram’s hopeful pass down the hosts’right flank. Antonio picked up the pieces, leav-ing Van Aanholt trailing by languidly draggingthe ball onto his left foot and then curling a lowshot into the bottom-left corner. Like Allardyce,Jermain Defoe was up against his former cluband he spurned a chance to equalize early in thesecond half when he lashed wide after JamesCollins had misjudged Lee Cattermole’s lobbedpass.

Van Aanholt and Yann M’Vila also shot off-tar-get as Sunderland began to make inroads, whileAdrian saved sharply with his feet from JackRodwell. West Ham substitute Andy Carrollalmost made the game safe when he metByram’s knock-down with a full-blooded volley,but the ball cannoned back into play off the bar.Back at the other end, Byram thwarted Rodwelland Adrian saved one-handed from DameN’Doye, before Dimitri Payet went close toswelling the hosts’ lead by flashing a left-footvolley narrowly wide.— AFP

West Ham’s Antonio keepsSunderland in trouble

West Ham 1

Sunderland 0

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Aston Villa’s desperatehopes of a lifeline at the bottom of thePremier League foundered on yet anothermiserable away-day yesterday as MarkoArnautovic struck twice for Stoke City. Aftera dismal first half low on quality, Arnautovic

buried his fierce penalty straight down themiddle and into the net early in the secondhalf after Phil Bardsley had been broughtdown in the box by Ashley Westwood.Within five minutes the Austrian interna-tional bundled in his second, winning aheader and then chesting the ball over theline himself, before Villa gave themselveshalf a chance with a 79th-minute LeandroBacuna reply. The result left Remi Garde’smen still seven points adrift after a gamewhich epitomised why they are theleague’s lowest scorers. They have beenunable to win an away league game all sea-son since their opening-day victory atBournemouth.—Reuters

Arnautovic’s double sinks struggling Villa

Stoke 2

Villa 1

LONDON: Watford and Bournemouthplayed out a turgid 0-0 draw in the PremierLeague yesterday that left the visitorsembroiled in the battle to avoid relegation.Watford striker Odion Ighalo forcedBournemouth keeper Artur Boruc into anearly save as the hosts started well.Heurelho Gomes made a fine stop to denyHarry Arterís sweet strike for Bournemouth

in the second half before striker Ighalowasted an excellent chance for the hostswhen he headed over the bar from anunmarked position.

Daniels extends contractBournemouth left back Charlie Daniels

has committed his future to the south coastside by signing a new three-and-a-half yearcontract, the Premier League club said onFriday. The 29-year-old, who has claimedfive league assists this campaign, morethan any other defender apart fromTottenham Hotspurís Danny Rose, hasmade more than 150 appearances for club.Daniels, who joined from fourth tier LeytonOrient in 2012, has started 25 ofBournemouthís 26 league matches thisseason, scoring two goals.— Agencies

Watford andBournemouth

in stalemateWatford 0

Bournemouth 0

MADRID: Antoine Griezmann scored a goalearly in the second half to give AtleticoMadrid a 1-0 win over Real Madrid at SantiagoBernabeu Stadium yesterday, keepingAtletico’s title hopes alive and virtually endingits rival’s chances in the Spanish league. TheFrench forward scored with a left-footer in the53rd minute after a cross by Brazilian left backFilipe Luis, helping visiting Atletico pull withinfive points of leader Barcelona, which hostsSevilla today to close out the 26th round. RealMadrid could drop 12 points behindBarcelona if the Catalan club wins today.

It was Real Madrid’s first defeat at homesince a humiliating 4-0 loss to Barcelona inNovember. The team had won seven straightat Bernabeu. Fans loudly jeered Real Madridpresident Florentino Perez, calling for his res-ignation. After the final whistle, many fanswaved white “goodbye” handkerchiefs toshow their displeasure with the president.Some protested outside the stadium, prompt-ing police to intervene to disperse the crowd.“The league is over for us,” Real Madrid coachZinedine Zidane said. “To lose to Atletico athome is very difficult to overcome.”

It’s the third season in a row that Atleticobeat Real Madrid at Bernabeu in the Spanishleague. “This win gives Atletico Madrid fansreason to feel very proud of their players,”Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “Atleticokeeps improving. We are going through agood moment.” Simeone said it remains diffi-cult to catch up to Barcelona, which againstSevilla has a chance to tie Real Madrid’s recordof 34 unbeaten games in all competitions setin 1988 and 1989. “The truth is that Barcelonais very good, it will be difficult for them to losethree games,” Simeone said. “Of course youalways want more, but we have to keepfocused on our goal, which is to finish in thetop three.”

Griezmann got the winner in a breakawaythat started near midfield. He carried the ballto the top of the area, fed Luis on the left flankand the Brazilian passed it right back forGriezmann’s shot from near the penalty spot.“It was crucial victory for us,” Griezmann said.“We will keep fighting.” Atletico had notscored a goal in its last two games. It hasn’tconceded in four straight matches. RealMadrid started pressuring and controlled theearly parts of the game but Atletico improvedand didn’t allow the hosts to create manychances. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scoredseven goals in his last three games at theBernabeu, came close to equalizing with aheader in the 68th but the ball went straightinto the hands of Atletico goalkeeper JanOblak.

“It was a game we had to win and wedidn’t,” Ronaldo said. “It was already compli-cated to win the league before this loss, nowit’s even harder. We have to keep our focus onthe Champions League.” Ronaldo’s best oppor-tunity with the game tied came just threeminutes into the second half when he enteredthe area free from markers but sent his lowshow just wide of the far post. He had anotherchance from a free kick in the 32nd but hisswerving shot was saved by Oblak. One ofAtletico’s best chances in the first half hadbeen a long-range shot by Griezmann, forcinggoalkeeper Keylor Navas to make a difficultsave in the 40th.

Madrid wanted a red card for Atleticodefender Diego Godin pulling KarimBenzema’s jersey when the French strikerheaded toward the goal in the 31st but thereferee only showed Godin a yellow card.Madrid also sought a penalty on Danilo in the75th. The game match marked the encounterof the league’s best offense and the topdefense.—AP

FRANKFURT: Kingsley Coman and Rober tLewandowski scored in the second half to giveBundesliga front-runner Bayern Munich a 2-0 win inWolfsburg yesterday. The defending champion stayedon course for an unprecedented fourth straight titleand provisionally increased its lead over BorussiaDortmund to 11 points. Dortmund hosts Hoffenheimtoday. In other matches, Claudio Pizarro scored a lategoal to salvage a 2-2 draw for Werder Bremen againstDarmstadt, bottom-place Hannover ended a five-match losing streak under new coach Thomas Schaafwith a 2-1 win in Stuttgart and Hamburger SV settledfor a 1-1 draw at home against Ingolstadt.

Lewandowski raised his league-high tally to 23goals to secure Bayern’s win in Wolfsburg. PepGuardiola’s team did just enough to win against lastseason’s runner-up. There were no other matches yes-terday, with four matches scheduled unusually forSunday due to Europa League matches two days ago.In Wolfsburg, the host team wasted the better chancesin the first half despite Bayern’s dominance.

Franck Ribery came on 11 minutes into the secondhalf for Arjen Robben and the French winger played arole in both Bayern goals. He dribbled past threeWolfsburg players before getting the ball toLewandowski, whose shot was deflected. The ball fellkindly to Coman, who slotted it home from closerange in the 66th. The same three players also createdBayern’s second in the 74th. Coman broke through onthe right and crossed into the area. Ribery chested theball down and Lewandowski drove it inside the postwith the outside of his right foot. Lewandowski scoreda Bundesliga-record five goals inside nine minuteswhen Bayern won 5 1 at home in the fall.

“These are a very important three points for us,”Lewandowski said. “We were patient. Wolfsburg wasdefending and waiting for the counter.” Guardiola saidit was difficult to play four days after the intense 2-2draw with Juventus in the Champions League. “Westarted very well but we are not resolute enough inour attacks,” the outgoing Bayern coach said. “Once wescored, it became easier for us. Ribery was importantwith his one-on-one skill.” In Stuttgart, Hannoverearned its first win after eight straight losses withJapan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake setting up bothgoals with free kicks for captain Christian Schulz.

Timo Werner scored the opening goal for Stuttgart,which had several chances foiled by Hannover goal-keeper Ron-Robert Zieler and lost for the first timeafter an undefeated run of eight matches. The winrestored some hope for Hannover in the battle againstrelegation. Werder didn’t help its cause by failing towin at home against promoted Darmstadt, which led2-1 on goals from Sandro Wagner’s penalty and AytacSulu before Pizarro struck in the 89th. Werder, whichled on a goal by Anthony Ujah, has only one win in 11home matches. Newly signed Josip Drmic gaveHamburg an early lead before Lukas Hinterseer struckin the 61st for Ingolstadt’s first goal away from homein five matches.— AP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUELiverpool v Everton 15:00beIN SPORTSNewcastle v Man City 15:00beIN SPORTS Man United v Arsenal 17:05beIN SPORTS 2 HDTottenham v Swansea 17:05beIN SPORTS 7 HD

SPANISH LEAGUEReal Sociedad v Malaga 0:05beIN SPORTS 7 HDVillarreal v Levante 14:00beIN SPORTS 3 HDValencia v de Bilbao 18:00beIN SPORTS 3 HDDeportivo v Granada 20:15beIN SPORTS 3 HDBarcelona v Sevilla 22:30beIN SPORTS 3 HD

ITALIAN LEAGUECitta di Palermo v Bologna 14:30beIN SPORTS 4 HDUdinese v Hellas Verona 17:00beIN SPORTS 9 HDChievo Verona v Genoa 17:00

beIN SPORTS 4 HDSampdoria v Frosinone 17:00beIN SPORTS 10 HDCarpi v Atalanta 17:00beIN SPORTS 8 HDJuventus v Inter Milan 22:45beIN SPORTS 4 HD

GERMAN LEAGUEAugsburg v Monchengladbach17:30beIN SPORTS 5 HDDortmund v Hoffenheim 19:30beIN SPORTS 5 HDMainz 05 v Bayer 04 19:30beIN SPORTS 4 HDEintracht Frankfurt v Schalke 21:30beIN SPORTS 1 HD

FRENCH LEAGUENantes v AS Monaco 16:00beIN SPORTS 6 HDAjaccio v de Marseille 19:00beIN SPORTS 6 HDSaint Etienne v Caen 19:00beIN SPORTS 8 HDLyon v Paris Saint-Germain 23:00beIN SPORTS 6 HD

MADRID: Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann (bottom) celebrates with teammates afterscoring during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and AtleticoMadrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid yesterday. — AP

Griezmann keeps Atletico’s title hopes alive; beat Real

Bayern wins inWolfsburg as Stuttgart

loses to Hannover

DHAKA: Virat Kohli scored a confident 49to prop up India in a tricky chase as theydefeated neighbors Pakistan by five wick-ets in a low-scoring Asia Cup match yester-day. India, who will host the WorldTwenty20 next month, will be boosted bythe performance of their bowlers ahead ofthe March 8-April 3 tournament after theyskittled Pakistan for 83 inside 18 overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoniopted to bowl first on a green-tinged pitchat the Shere Bangla National Stadium inMirpur and his bowlers responded brilliant-ly, extracting good movement out of thewicket. Medium paceman Hardik Pandyawas the most successful among the Indianbowlers, picking up three wickets for eightruns, while Pakistan did not help their owncause with Khurram Manzoor and captainShahid Afridi running themselves out.

Wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed’s 25 wasPakistan’s highest individual score whileManzoor, making his T20 debut, was theonly other batsman to reach double figures

with 10. India’s chase also began on a sorrynote with left-arm paceman MohammadAmir dismissing both openers RohitSharma and Ajinkya Rahane leg before inthe first over before they had opened theirscoring. Suresh Raina fell in Amir’s nextover as India were reduced to 8-3 withKohli and Yuvraj Singh at the crease.

Yuvraj struggled against the Pakistanpace attack initially but managed to stay atthe crease with Kohli as the duo added 68for the fourth wicket to take India in sightof their target. Kohli looked assured and oncourse for his 13th T20 fifty but was givenlbw against paceman Mohammad Samithough he seemed to have got an edge onthe ball. Pandya fell two balls later for aduck, edging Sami to Mohammad Hafeezat first slip where the fielder managed tohold on after juggling the ball a few times.India were still eight runs away from theirtarget but southpaw Yuvraj (14 not out)and Dhoni took them home with 27 balls tospare.— Reuters

Kohli props up India after bowlers skittle Pakistan

16Lowry lifts

Raptors to 10th

straight win

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 201619

Arnautovic’s

double sinks

struggling Villa

Infantino goes from stop-gap to soccer most powerful man Page 18

LEICESTER: Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez (center) is tackled by Norwich’s Alexander Tettey (left) during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Norwich City at the King Power Stadium in Leicesteryesterday. — AP

LEICESTER: Leicester City eked out acritical win against strugglingNorwich City with a very late winnerfrom substitute Leonardo Ulloa thatopened up a five-point lead at the topof the Premier League yesterday.Following their crushing stoppagetime defeat at Arsenal last time out,the Foxes had, according to managerClaudio Ranieri, been “ready for thefight” but for most of the matchseemed curiously becalmed asNorwich enjoyed the best openings.

Yet Ulloa’s 89th-minute winner, fol-lowing one of Leicester’s flattest per-formances of their surreal season,demonstrated to him that his side hasthe patient, determined make-up ofchampions. “The conclusion I havedrawn from this is that my playersbelieve until the end,” a delightedRanieri told the BBC. “That, for me, isvery important. If the other teamsstart to win, they can win all thematches. But for us, the next match isalways the final match. That is ourmentality.”

Ranieri reckoned he had been par-ticularly worried about this matchwith his players having had twoweeks since the deflation of theirArsenal loss to reflect on what mighthave been. “I was so worried aboutthis match, because after two weeks,your players can lose their tempo, butnow I am very relaxed, and now I start

to think about the West Brom match(on Tuesday). It is a derby and a very,very, very tough match.”

Cameron Jerome had squanderedthe outstanding chance of the gamefor the Canaries just before halftime,glancing a header wide, but thoughthey labored unimaginatively throughmuch of the second half, Leicestersent the King Power Stadium wild inthe dying seconds. For once, it was notJamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez whodelivered the goods but unsungArgentine striker Ulloa, who wasbrought on in the 77th minute asRanieri’s final gamble to take thepoints. It proved an inspired change,with the 29-year-old sliding in at theback post to latch on to MarcAlbrighton’s cross and earn the resultwhich leaves Norwich, who wereworth at least a point, still in peril justabove the relegation zone. — Reuters

Leicester surge clear as Ulloa shinesLeicester 1

Norwich 0

SOUTHAMPTON: Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (left) shoots but doesn’t score asSouthampton’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk (right) defends during the English Premier League foot-ball match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton yesterday. — AFP

SOUTHAMPTON: Late goals from Cesc Fabregas andBranislav Ivanovic saw an impressive Chelsea come frombehind to beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary’s Stadium inthe Premier League yesterday. Southampton took thelead on 41 minutes through Shane Long, but Fabregasdrew the champions level in the 75th, as Chelsea becamethe first team to score against Southampton in sevengames.

Ivanovic headed the winner in the 89th minute follow-ing a corner taken by Willian. Chelsea extended itsunbeaten league run since interim manager Guus Hiddinkreplaced Jose Mourinho in December to 11 games. Thatlevel of form could yet salvage Chelsea’s season, with theteam moving up to 11th in the standings, 11 pointsbehind fourth-place Manchester City. Southampton,which had not conceded in six games before Saturday,

dropped to seventh place in the table - dealing a blow toits own hopes of European football next season.

In a surprise move, given Southampton’s recent fineform, made Ronald Koeman made two changes, givingstriker Charlie Austin his first league start in place ofGraziano Pelle, as well as recalling right-back Cedric forJames Ward-Prowse. Chelsea, which was still withoutinjured captain John Terry, remained unchanged after lastweekend’s 5-1 victory against Manchester City. The visi-tors were however forced into an early change after Pedropulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury, withOscar taking his place.

But just as Chelsea was beginning to grow into thegame, Southampton took the lead following a mistake byBaba Rahman. The young defender headed the ballstraight into the path of Long, and Southampton’s topscorer was able to race into the penalty area before beat-ing Thibaut Courtois with a highly composed close-rangechip. However, Chelsea produced a vastly-improved per-formance in the second half and got its reward with a for-tuitous equalizer, when Fabregas sent over a 75th minutecross that crept past goalkeeper Fraser Forster. The goalgave Hiddink’s side renewed hope, with Willian goingclose from the edge of the area. Willian then followed upby providing the corner kick for Ivanovic’s match-winningheader. — AP

Chelsea sink SouthamptonSouthampton 1

Chelsea 2

DUBAI: Stan Wawrinka edged out Cypriot MarcosBaghdatis in a nerve-jangling, near-30 minute tiebreak tosecure the Dubai Duty Free Championship with a 6-4 7-6(13) triumph yesterday. Wawrinka’s path to victory hadbeen eased by the retirements of world number one NovakDjokovic and Australian prospect Nick Kyrgios in the earlierrounds but the Swiss often toiled against surprise finalistBaghdatis, whom he beat for a sixth successive time.

World number four Wawrinka was gifted the first set bya Baghdatis double fault-his third of that game alone-and atepid second set was notable for not featuring a singlebreak point. But then followed a 28-point tiebreak in whichtwice grand slam champion Wawrinka saved five set pointsbefore a Baghdatis backhand drifted long to give the Swissa second title of the year following his victory in Chennai inJanuary. “It’s been an amazing year. I’m playing my besttennis since a few years now so hopefully I can keep thislevel,” Wawrinka said.

Baghdatis initially played serve and volley with aplomb,while Wawrinka’s stinging backhand was lethal from thebaseline, but that early assurance proved fleeting as bothplayers made a catalogue of errors. Wawrinka affordedBaghdatis two break points after whipping a forehandwide and the Cypriot converted following another way-ward Swiss forehand for a 3-2 first-set lead. Wawrinka, whowas within two points of suffering opening-round elimina-tion at the Aviation Club, immediately broke back with acrosscourt winner past the advancing Baghdatis, who wasseeking a first title since 2010.

The pair were content to trade half-paced shots from

the back of the court and when either did up the tempo itusually failed. World number 57 Baghdatis, serving at 4-5,saved four set points but his serve deserted him again ashe conceded the set. The second set went with servebefore an attritional tiebreak in which Baghdatis fluffedchances to square the match and Wawrinka threw his rack-et in frustration after missing an easy forehand. “It was acrazy tiebreak,” added Wawrinka. “Until 6-6 I was always upwith a mini break ... I did two or three quick mistakes. Thenit starts to be all about nerves. You try to play simple,aggressive and it was good to finish in two sets.” — Reuters

Wawrinka wins Dubai title after marathon tiebreak

DUBAI: Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland holds thetrophy after he beats Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprusduring the final match of the Dubai TennisChampionships in Dubai yesterday. — AFP

PARIS: France’s annual farm fair kicked off yesterday withdramatic displays of anger by farmers facing ruin, with pro-testers heckling President Francois Hollande and tearingdown the agriculture ministry’s pavilion. Five members ofthe main farmers’ union FNSEA were arrested after the pro-testers destroyed the stand’s walls and furniture, the unionsaid. They wanted to “say loud and clear at the stand... thatthis country’s agricultural producers don’t feel like citizens,”FNSEA secretary-general Dominique Barreau told AFP.“That’s the exasperation, that’s where we are!”

Earlier, l ivestock farmers booed and whistled asHollande and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll arrivedto start the fair, when the countryside comes to Paris toshow off the cream of French produce.

As the pair made their way through the vast exhibitioncentre in southern Paris, they walked past a large bannerreading: “I am the best in my profession but my passion isno longer enough.”

Livestock farmers, some wearing black T-shirts reading“I’m a livestock farmer, I’m dying”, heckled Hollande, callinghim “good for nothing” and “manure” who should resign.

One shouted: “He couldn’t care less about us.” “I hear thecries of distress,” said Hollande, who plans to seek re-elec-tion in 15 months despite dismal approval ratings. “If I amhere today it’s to show that there is national solidarity.”

France has seen months of protests across the country,with farmers blocking roads with their tractors and dump-ing manure outside government offices. Hollandeacknowledged that the crisis facing farmers is “exceptional-ly hard, exceptionally long, exceptionally generalised.”

He added: “To come and exhibit in the context of somuch difficulty and pain is a lovely act of patriotism. It isnot compliments that farmers want but lasting policies.”

Laurent Pinatel, spokesman of the national small farm-ers group Confederation Paysanne, told AFP earlier that theFrench farm sector “is experiencing its worst crisis ever.”

“There is a lot of worry on the farms, a lot of people arequitting (because) they feel there is no future,” Pinatel said,noting that 5,000 farmers are leaving the sector each year.

The government says more than 40,000 farms are inextreme distress. The beef, pork and milk sectors have seenprices collapse because of declining sales to China andespecially a Russian embargo on most Western foodimports in retaliation for sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Grain and vegetable farmers are also feeling the pinch,especially wheat producers hit hard as world prices nose-dive. In addition wholesalers, who have been engaged in aprice war for several years, are demanding ever deeper cutsfrom suppliers, who are in turn squeezing farmers.

Hollande pledged yesterday to review the law govern-ing relations between wholesalers and suppliers.

Meanwhile, a mild winter has upset the apple cart formany growers, who are bringing produce to the marketbefore they can find buyers. Disease has heaped furtherwoe on livestock farmers, with bluetongue ravaging cowsand an outbreak of bird flu leading to several countriesbanning imports of foie gras.

‘Extremely fragile’ The Salon de l’Agriculture is a must on the calendar of

any ambitious politician, and ahead of next year’s election,the glad-handing-and the “stroking of cows’ behinds” madevirtually compulsory by the earthy president JacquesChirac-is the order of the day.

But the FNSEA warned: “It’s out of the question for the

fair to become a political beauty contest once again.”Nevertheless, Hollande did not fail to make a stop toadmire the fair’s mascot, a Bazadais cow from southwest-ern France named Cerise (Cherry).

Nearly 700,000 visitors-a third of them children under12 encouraged to pet the animals and enjoy the ruralatmosphere, with cocks crowing and hay strewn in thealleyways-are expected to descend on the vast Porte deVersailles exhibition centre for the nine-day fair.

Despite the widespread despair, exhibitors were loathto boycott the event. “We are here even if our heart isn’t init,” said Florent Dornier of the Jeunes Agriculteurs union.“It’s often the only week off for farmers, but they areextremely fragile.” —AFP

PARIS: A general view shows cows and a placard with the inscription “I am a breeder and I am dying” on theopening day of the “Salon de l’Agriculture” (Agriculture Fair) in Paris yesterday. —AFP

BusinessSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

India sees growth above 7% despite ‘grim’ global outlook

Page 22

UK’s Osborne warns of deeper spending cuts

Page 23Toyota reshapes thefuture of sustainablemotoring

Page 26US consumer spending, prices data keep rate hikes on table

Page 25

SHANGHAI: The world’s 20 top economieswill use all policy tools available to lift slug-gish global growth, they said yesterday,despite German disquiet over fiscal and mon-etary stimulus.

The G20 finance ministers and central bankchiefs meeting in Shanghai said in a commu-nique that while the global recovery was con-tinuing, “it remains uneven and falls short ofour ambition for strong, sustainable and bal-anced growth”.

The gathering came amid fears driven byslowing growth in host nation China, steepfalls in world financial markets, and US inter-est rates having risen for the first time in nineyears-while Japan has adopted negative rates.The OECD last week cut its 2016 globalgrowth forecast from 3.3 percent to 3.0 per-cent.

The G20 communique cited a list of specif-ic risks the world faces, including volatile capi-tal flows, falling commodity prices and risinggeopolitical tensions, along with “the shock ofa potential UK exit from the European Unionand a large and increasing number ofrefugees in some regions”.

But disagreements about the right remedyemerged on Friday, the first day of the meet-ing, after Germany ’s Finance MinisterWolfgang Schaeuble said attempts to boosteconomies with monetary loosening could becounterproductive and fiscal stimulus-gov-ernments spending more or cutting taxes-hadrun its course.

“Fiscal as well as monetary policies havereached their limits,” he said. “If you want thereal economy to grow there are no shortcutswithout reforms.” As the European Union’s

largest and richest member, Germany some-times has different economic priorities to oth-er countries and Schaeuble was at odds withthe United States, Britain and China, which allbacked the use of monetary and fiscal tools tofight a downturn, as well as structural reforms.

Berlin does “not agree on a G20 fiscal stim-ulus package”, the German minister said.

In the event the communique acknowl-edged: “Monetary policy alone cannot lead tobalanced growth,” and said fiscal policy wouldbe used “flexibly”, while giving a nod to theimportance of structural reforms. But France’sFinance Minister Michel Sapin told AFP earlierthat while “no-one” was suggesting a co-ordi-nated global stimulus package, those in a“better situation” should use it in an “intelli-gent” way to “support global demand”.

Asked about the German stance, he said

some countries might be “reluctant for his-toric, cultural reasons, which can be under-standable... but today we are in an economicsituation which requires all the policy toolsthat exist to be used”.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew toldreporters Friday that “it’s increasingly impor-tant to use all the levers of policy that areavailable, and that means using fiscal levels aswell as monetary policy and structuralreforms”.

‘Market volatility’ While the US Federal Reserve raised inter-

est rates in December, many analysts believeit will delay any more tightening givenrenewed risks for the US recovery. This yearthe Bank of Japan and the European CentralBank (ECB) adopted negative interest rates

and huge quantitative easing programs.But the document did not express any

explicit concerns over China, where growthhas slowed to its weakest in 25 years. In thecommunique the group reaffirmed their pre-vious commitments to “refrain from competi-tive devaluations” or “target our exchangerates for competitive purposes”.

There are widespread concerns Beijingcould lower the value of its yuan in order tolift its struggling export sector-at its competi-tors’ expense-though Chinese officials denyany such plans.

“There is no basis for persistent renminbidepreciation from the perspective of funda-mentals,” People’s Bank of China chief ZhouXiaochuan said Friday. “We will not resort tocompetitive devaluations to boost our advan-tage in exports.” —AFP

G20 nations pledge all tools to lift growth Germany raises furor over fiscal and monetary stimulus

SHANGHAI: Officials led by host country officials Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei (center left in front) and People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, center right in front, pose for a family photo of G20Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel in Shanghai yesterday. —AP

Angry protests as France’s farm expo opens

SHANGHAI: British finance minister GeorgeOsborne pushed to include the risk of Britain leav-ing the European Union onto the list of risks to theglobal economy agreed by financial leaders of thetop 20 economies yesterday, G20 officials said.

Britain will vote in a referendum in Junewhether it wants to remain part of the 28-nation EU.

British Prime Minister David Cameron negotiat-ed a special status for Britain in the bloc last weekto help convince Eurosceptics that continuedmembership would benefit the United Kingdommore than leaving. The risk of Britain exiting theEU, dubbed “Brexit”, was not in the original draft ofthe communique of finance ministers and centralbankers of the top 20 economies, but was addedon the insistence of Britain, G20 officials said.

The final G20 communique, seen by Reuters,lists “a shock of a potential UK exit from theEuropean Union” as one of the risks to the globaleconomy, alongside with volatile markets, cheapcommodities and the migration crisis.

“It was the British who called for it, but it didnot meet with opposition,” one G20 official said.“Everyone around the table would rather avoid ashock of that sort at such a fragile time for theglobal economy,” the official said.

Some G20 officials also saw the inclusion of theline on Britain in the communique as a way todraw attention to the negative consequences ofexiting the EU to support Cameron’s campaign tostay in.

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan saidthat a decision by Britain to leave the EU wouldhave negative global consequences.

“We would classify a UK exit from the EU as apowerful geopolitical shock, a negative shock,”Padoan told reporters in Shanghai.

The City of London is a major financial centre forworld finance, accounting for roughly 10 percentof Britain’s GDP and some bankers believe thatleaving the EU could disrupt business and forcemany financial institutions to move out. —Reuters

Osborne pushes Brexit

onto G20 list of risks

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 25.562Indian Rupees 4.394Pakistani Rupees 2.865Srilankan Rupees 2.087Nepali Rupees 2.741Singapore Dollar 214.230Hongkong Dollar 38.655Bangladesh Taka 3.826Philippine Peso 6.303Thai Baht 8.430

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 80.136Qatari Riyal 82.548Omani Riyal 780.535Bahraini Dinar 798.060UAE Dirham 81.817

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 35.250Egyptian Pound - Transfer 38.423Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.402Tunisian Dinar 148.320Jordanian Dinar 423.540Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.002Syrian Lira 2.142Morocco Dirham 31.124

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 300.350Euro 332.190Sterling Pound 421.240Canadian dollar 218.360Turkish lira 102.510Swiss Franc 304.000Australian Dollar 217.450US Dollar Buying 299.150

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.411552 0.420552Czech Korune 0.004276 0.016276Danish Krone 0.040473 0.045473Euro 0.324126 0.332126Norwegian Krone 0.030910 0.036110Romanian Leu 0.086185 0.086185Slovakia 0.008916 0.018916Swedish Krona 0.031429 0.036429Swiss Franc 0.295256 0.305456Turkish Lira 0.096854 0.107154

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.206471 0.217971New Zealand Dollar 0.193484 0.202984

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.217202 0.225702US Dollars 0.296530 0.300850

US Dollars Mint 0.296850 0.300850

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003442 0.004042Chinese Yuan 0.044474 0.047974Hong Kong Dollar 0.036665 0.039415Indian Rupee 0.004181 0.004571Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002584 0.002764Kenyan Shilling 0.003006 0.003006Korean Won 0.000234 0.000249Malaysian Ringgit 0.067711 0.073711Nepalese Rupee 0.002848 0.003018Pakistan Rupee 0.002715 0.002995Philippine Peso 0.006230 0.006510Sierra Leone 0.000067 0.000073Singapore Dollar 0.211367 0.217367South African Rand 0.013326 0.021826Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001737 0.002317Taiwan 0.008929 0.009109Thai Baht 0.008105 0.008565

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.780066 0.798066Egyptian Pound 0.033474 0.037810Iranian Riyal 0.000083 0.000084Iraqi Dinar 0.000196 0.000256Jordanian Dinar 0.419746 0.427246Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000150 0.000250Moroccan Dirhams 0.020405 0.044405Nigerian Naira 0.001234 0.001869Omani Riyal 0.773970 0.779650Qatar Riyal 0.081815 0.083028Saudi Riyal 0.079233 0.080183Syrian Pound 0.001273 0.001493Tunisian Dinar 0.145251 0.153251Turkish Lira 0.096854 0.107154UAE Dirhams 0.080820 0.081969Yemeni Riyal 0.001357 0.001437

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 201.91Canadian Dollar 219.82Swiss Franc 306.95Euro 336.85US Dollar 299.90Sterling Pound 431.04Japanese Yen 2.67Bangladesh Taka 3.817Indian Rupee 4.375Sri Lankan Rupee 2.083Nepali Rupee 2.732Pakistani Rupee 2.860UAE Dirhams 0.08161Bahraini Dinar 0.7970Egyptian Pound 0.03819Jordanian Dinar 0.4265Omani Riyal 0.7788Qatari Riyal 0.08269Saudi Riyal 0.07994

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 300.600Canadian Dollar 224.390Sterling Pound 417.695Euro 329.915Swiss Frank 300.685Bahrain Dinar 795.235UAE Dirhams 82.085Qatari Riyals 83.290

Saudi Riyals 80.840Jordanian Dinar 423.450Egyptian Pound 38.278Sri Lankan Rupees 2.081Indian Rupees 4.374Pakistani Rupees 2.867Bangladesh Taka 3.823Philippines Pesso 6.310Cyprus pound 572.540Japanese Yen 3.630Syrian Pound 2.365Nepalese Rupees 3.725Malaysian Ringgit 72.335Chinese Yuan Renminbi 46.310Thai Bhat 9.380Turkish Lira 100.703

GOLD20 Gram 244.53010 Gram 125.1905 Gram 63.440

DUBLIN: From Celtic Tiger to collapse andback to growth again, Ireland’s recent eco-nomic history has shaped its election as vot-ers looked to have punished Enda Kenny’scoalition for years of austerity despite arecovery. Here is a breakdown of the mainevents over the past decade:

Celtic TigerThe boom years which led to the econo-

my being nicknamed the Celtic Tiger beganin the mid-1990s and reached their peak adecade later. This period transformed anisland that had been one of Europe’s poorest

countries and caused a property bubble thatsaw house prices quadruple between 1996and 2006. Ireland saw average annual growthof six percent between 1995 and 2007,slashed unemployment and doubled its GDPin a decade. But as an international financialcrisis took hold in 2008, the property bubbleburst, taking much of the economy downwith it, while banks which had given largeloans on property began to totter.

The economy slumped 3.5 percent in2008 and almost eight percent in 2009, whilethe failure of Anglo Irish Bank summed upmany of the problems which led to the bust.

Fianna Fail, long Ireland’s dominant politi-cal force, suffered a historic defeat in the elec-tion of 2011 due to anger over the propertycrash and economic crisis on their watch.

Austerity As turmoil roiled international markets in

September 2008, the Irish government guar-anteed the debts and deposits of six Irishbanks. Ireland was forced to accept aEuropean Union and International MonetaryFund bailout deal in 2010 under which thegovernment received loans in return forimposing cuts and reforms.

A series of austerity budgets stripped bil-lions from spending, cutting sectors includ-ing public sector pay and pensions, socialwelfare, the health service, and education.

At the same time, taxes were raised,including a new property tax and a water taxthat crystallised anger over austerity, spark-ing mass protests and refusals to pay.Unemployment hit 15 percent in 2012, andover twice that level for young people.

Emigration, long a feature of Ireland’s pastthat was banished by the Celtic Tiger,returned with about 240,000 people movingabroad.

Recovery Ireland became the first eurozone country

to exit its bailout in 2013. Economic growthreturned with a rate of 4.8 percent in 2014,the highest in the European Union. Thisshowed signs of speeding up further in 2015as seven percent growth was registered inthe first nine months. Average wages, whichfell or were stagnant since 2008, began to tickupwards. At the election, Prime Minister EndaKenny campaigned for a second term on hiseconomic record, promising to “keep therecovery going” and attract 70,000 Irish peo-ple to return home this year. — AFP

Rollercoaster Irish economy key to election

NEW DELHI: India on Friday offered a cautious fore-cast for economic growth to exceed 7 percent in thenext financial year, as the government prepares topresent its budget with clamor for promised reformsgrowing. The Economic Survey, a yearly reportreleased by the finance ministry ahead of the nationalbudget on Monday, said gross domestic product(GDP) would expand between seven percent and7.75 percent in 2016-17.

The relatively upbeat prediction comes despite aweak global economy, with a slowdown in China thathas worried investors, other major emerging marketsin recession and sinking global stocks.

India’s GDP likely grew 7.6 percent over the 2015-16 financial year, the government said, making it theworld’s fastest-growing major economy. However,

Friday’s forecast represents a paring back of expecta-tions from last year’s survey which predicted growthwould top eight percent this year.

“We’ve learnt from the experience of last year. Theforecast for last year went wrong, maybe it was over-optimistic,” said Arvind Subramanian, the govern-ment’s chief economic adviser.

Last year’s survey did not anticipate how muchweak global demand would hurt India’s exports, northe impact of a second bad monsoon on its vast agri-cultural sector, he said. “This year’s assessment is real-ly based on looking out at the external environmentwhich seems to be very grim,” Subramanian toldreporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made ita priority to boost India’s economic growth, vital forlifting millions out of poverty, since sweeping to pow-

er in a general election in May 2014.But investors have raised concerns about the pace

of promised reforms needed to create jobs for India’stens of millions of young people. Economists said thewide range of the growth forecast for 2016-17 indi-cated the government may be hedging its bets.

“What jumped out at me is that the government’sestimate has become more cautious,” HannaLuchnikava, senior economist, Asia Pacific at IHSEconomics in Munich, told AFP. “We do not expectany acceleration (in growth) next year, in fact the risksare to the downside,” she said.

Challenges ahead While its growth has outpaced that of power-

house China in recent quarters, Asia’s third-largesteconomy still faces challenges.

After cooling from previously high levels, India’sonce exorbitant inflation has ticked up again overthe past few months, with prices rising 5.7 percent inJanuary. India’s main stocks index has lost a fifth ofits value over the past year, private investment isweak and the rupee is trading at near-record lowsagainst the dollar. The Economic Survey forecast con-sumer price inflation would ease to 4.5 to 5 percentin 2016-17.

It also said India’s services sector remains one ofthe main engines of growth, expanding more thannine percent in the current fiscal year.

Services make up more than half of India’s econo-my although the government is pushing to increasemanufacturing through its Make in India campaign.Investors will be looking to Monday’s budget for con-crete reforms from the business-friendly government.

There are hopes it will move to overhaul a com-plex corporate tax regime seen as off-putting toinvestors. The Economic Survey also said the govern-ment probably succeeded in reducing its fiscal deficitto 3.9 percent of GDP in 2015-16 as economistsexpect.

It remains to be seen whether Finance MinisterArun Jaitley will look to relax the stringent fiscaldeficit reduction target for next year when he pres-ents the budget. — AFP

India sees growth above 7%

despite ‘grim’ global outlookGovt gears to present reform-oriented budget

RANCHI: Indian construction laborers work on a building site on the outskirts of Ranchi yesterday ahead of the country’s annual Budget. India’sFinance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present annual Budget for the financial year 2016-2017 in the Parliament tomorrow. — AFP

LONDON: Global regulators may proposerules to prevent “fintech” innovations fromdestabilising the broader financial system,the G20’s Financial Stability Board said yes-terday.

FSB Chairman Mark Carney said in a let-ter to central bankers and finance minis-ters from the Group of 20 economiesmeeting in Shanghai that assessing thesystemic implications of fintech innova-tions would form part of the task force’score policy work this year.

It marks the first time that regulators atthe global level have begun scrutinisingfintech, a sector that includes blockchain,the distributed ledger technology under-pinning bitcoin that proponents say couldradically change payments systems. So farregulators have been treading carefully ascountries such as Britain are wary of crimp-ing a sector that is still tiny compared withbanking, but could create many new jobsin future. “The regulatory framework mustensure that it is able to manage any sys-temic risks that may arise from technologi-cal change without stifling innovation,”Carney said.

The FSB will discuss its findings inMarch and consider its next steps, headded.

Carney, who is also Governor of theBank of England, said the more difficulteconomic and financial conditions sincethe start of this year partly reflect weakergrowth prospects.

Banking shares have come under pres-sure, reflecting concerns that lenders haveto do more to adjust their long-term busi-ness models to a lower growth, lowernominal interest rate environment, Carneysaid.

Carney said the FSB will report inSeptember on whether there has been areduction in market liquidity and, if so, itsextent, drivers and likely persistence.

Banks and central bankers have lockedhorns over why liquidity in secondarybond markets has thinned, with bankersblaming tougher regulation introduced bythe FSB and others since the 2007-09financial crisis.

Central bankers say much of the heavierliquidity in markets before the crisis was“illusory” with insufficient evidence so farto show that some of the new rules needrolling back.

ASSET MANAGERS IN SIGHTLinked to the liquidity issue is a worry

that asset managers could not cope withheavy redemptions, or investors pullingmoney out of bond funds en masse.

“We have prioritised work to analysestructural vulnerabilities in asset manage-ment activities and to identify risks thatmay merit policy responses in four areas,”Carney said.

The FSB, which sets global standardsimplemented by G20 member countries,will issue policy recommendations inSeptember after looking at leverage infunds, and their operational risks and secu-rities lending activities.

“An over-optimistic ‘liquidity illusion’may have been reinforced by the growthof investment products offering redemp-tions at very short notice,” Carney said.

Policies to reduce “fire-sale” risks inopen-ended investment funds may alsohelp, he said.

Carney said IOSCO, which groups globalsecurities markets regulators, will publishby December a “toolkit” of measures topromote proper conduct by individualsand firms in markets. Global regulators willalso consult on more detailed rules to pre-vent clearing houses, which standbetween two sides of a derivatives trade,from becoming “too big to fail” due to theirsize and reach, Carney said. — Reuters

Global regulators may propose

rules for fintech: Carney

SHANGHAI: Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos (left) shakes hands with Bankof England Governor Mark Carney (right) as they pose for a photo after sessions ofthe G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the PudongShangri-la Hotel in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s inflation rate fell to zero in January,government data showed Friday, in another blow toPrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s three-year attempt toput an end to a years-long battle with falling prices.Japan has suffered deflation-a debilitating drop inprices-off and on since the late 1990s and authori-ties have introduced various policies to fight it,including record low central bank interest rates.

Abe came to power in late 2012 vowing to fixthe problem for good through an array of policiesdubbed “Abenomics” that include governmentspending and a massive central bank bond-buyingprogram. The government’s internal affairs ministryannounced that Japan’s growth in core consumerprices, which exclude volatile fresh food prices, wasunchanged in January from a year ago after twomonths of tepid 0.1 percent growth.

Falling oil prices-resource-poor Japan is a majorenergy importer-and a recent rise in the value of theJapanese yen are seen as further hampering efforts

to achieve moderate price growth.The latest figure underscores Abe’s challenge

with the outlook being for further price weakness.“In light of falling import prices and sluggish

economic activity, we think that the slowdown inunderlying inflation has further to run,” said MarcelThieliant, senior Japan economist at CapitalEconomics.

While offering pro-business policies, Abe hasalso pushed Japan Inc to share profits with con-sumers via wage hikes, saying such a move wouldbe key to boosting consumption, prices and over-all growth. Despite incentives, Japanese business-es have remained cautious to invest in their busi-nesses and offer meaningful wage increases, cit-ing the uncertain economic outlook. Last month,the government said Japan’s inflation rate stoodat 0.5 percent in 2015, far short of the 2.0 percenttarget that the BoJ had promised to achieve byearly last year. — AFP

Japan inflation falls

back to zero in Jan

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

LONDON: A wall of consumer and busi-ness angst is standing in the way ofeurozone economic recovery and thereare renewed signs of deflation in thebloc’s biggest countries to worry theEuropean Central Bank.

Data from across the 19-member cur-rency bloc on Friday will put pressure onthe ECB to take strong additional policyactions at its meeting in March on top ofthe unprecedented stimulus it is alreadygiving. Reports of falling prices inGermany, France and Spain along withan array of weak sentiment surveys forthe bloc as a whole will also provideammunition to those arguing that gov-ernments must now loosen their budg-ets to stimulate growth.

The data contrasted with somerecent, tentative signs of revival andboosts from cheap energy and a com-petitive euro. “The eurozone currentlyresembles a 50-year-old overweightsmoker: there are a lot of downside risks,but the base case for the short termremains fairly decent,” said Bert Colijn,economist at ING.

Even this modest confidence doesnot appear to be shared by businessesand consumers.

The European Commission reportedthat overall eurozone economic senti-ment deteriorated by far more thanexpected in February, falling to 103.8 inFebruary, just above the long-term aver-age, from a slightly upwardly revised

105.1 in January. Business sentiment -not numerically comparable - came in at0.07 from 0.29 in January, below eventhe most bearish projection in a Reuterspoll and barely in positive territory.

The consumer confidence index,meanwhile, dropped to -8.8 from -6.3 inJanuary, down from -5.7 in December - apoor harbinger for future spending, lastyear’s bright spot.

Sarah Hewin, chief economist atStandard Chartered, said some of thedecline may have come from a beliefthat improvements to growth andemployment may be waning.

But she also cited falling stock mar-kets and broader concerns about howthe European Union manages the hun-

dreds of thousands of migrants andrefugees entering its borders.

PRICE GUIDANCEThe biggest blow from Friday’s euro

zone data may have been to the ECB,which is already buying assets to thetune of 60 billion euros ($66 billion) amonth and effectively charging banks todeposit money. Both are attempts topush money out into the economy toboost inflation, which it wants at justbelow 2 percent. But inflation, draggeddown in part by falling oil and commodi-ty prices, is not playing ball.

“We now expect euro area headline ...inflation to decline to -0.1 percent inFebruary,” Barclays said, referring to a

bloc-wide release on Monday.Germany data set the tone on Friday,

showing prices falling 0.2 percent year-on-year, having been up by 0.4 percentin January. Spain was deep in deflationwith prices down 0.9 percent year-on-year.

In France they were down 0.1 percentand Italy reported flat month-on-monthwage inflation. It all points to moreaction from the ECB on March 10, partic-ularly as markets appear to have givenup any hope of near-term inflation.

Eurozone long-term inf lat ionexpectations - as measured by thef ive -year, f ive -year eurozonebreakeven forward - are at record lowsbelow 1.4 percent. — Reuters

LONDON: British finance minister GeorgeOsborne warned that he might cut publicspending more deeply than he previouslyplanned after the country’s economic growthfell short of the pace foreseen in his plans towipe out the country’s budget deficit.

Osborne, due to make an annual budgetstatement on March 16, said official growth fig-ures announced on Thursday showed Britain’seconomy was smaller than he had hoped for.

He also said in an interview with BBC televi-sion, which was broadcast on Friday, that “stormclouds” had gathered over the global economyand could hurt Britain further. Osborne’s com-ments stood at odds with an appeal by theInternational Monetary Fund to finance minis-ters attending a Group of 20 nations meeting inShanghai this week. The IMF urged countries toboost global demand through fiscal means.

Osborne, who is considered a front-runner toreplace Prime Minister David Cameron as theleader of Britain’s Conservative Party, has staked

his reputation on turning the country’s still largebudget deficit into a surplus by the end of thedecade. “(We) may need to undertake furtherreductions in spending because this country canonly afford what it can afford and we willaddress that in the budget,” Osborne told theBBC during a visit to Shanghai for the G20 meet-ing.

“I think everyone accepts that things havegot more difficult since the start of the year asmore information comes in, we make sure that...Britain lives within its means.”

Finance spokesman for Britain’s main opposi-tion Labour party John McDonnell saidOsborne’s comments represented “total humili-ation”. “Far from paying our way, Osborne’sshort-term economics means Britain is deeperand deeper in hock to the rest of the world,” hesaid.

Britain’s economy expanded by 2.2 percent in2015, according to official data, weaker thangrowth of 2.4 percent which was pencilled into

the forecasts of the Office for BudgetResponsibility which underpin Osborne’s budg-et plans. The latest figures for nominal grossdomestic product - a key metric for governmentdebt when expressed as a percentage of eco-nomic output - also fell short of the OBR’s fore-cast and left Osborne with more work to do ashe works towards his goal of a budget surplusby the end of the decade.

“We’ll set it out, if we need to, how we’llreduce spending, but the first place I look to isfurther efficiencies in government,” Osbornesaid. Britain has withstood the recent ructions inthe global economy so far. But a sharp fall inconsumer confidence this month could be a badomen given the country’s reliance on householdspending to drive growth. Some economistsargue that Osborne should use record low levelsof government borrowing costs to fund invest-ment and stimulate the economy as the globaloutlook darkens, rather than cut public spend-ing further. — Reuters

UK’s Osborne warns of

deeper spending cuts Economic growth falls short of expectations

Eurozone economy hits wall of worry, deflation concern

Confidence indexes fall, prices drop in Germany, France, Spain

SHANGHAI: (From left): Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Jose Angel Gurria, US FederalReserve Board Chair Janet Yellen and British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne talk during a family photo of the G20 FinanceMinisters and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel in Shanghai. — AP

NEW YORK: Beware the underdog. JCPenney Co delivered strong fourth-quar-ter results, wrapping up a year when itstole market share from rivals. The com-pany, based in Plano, Texas, offered anupbeat sales outlook, as efforts to spruceup its merchandise are winning overshoppers. It also pledged that it wouldreturn to a profit this year, on an adjustedbasis. Investors cheered, pushing sharesup nearly 15 percent Friday.

The results were a bright spot in anotherwise dismal holiday quarter, wheredepartment store rivals like Macy’s andKohl’s offered disappointing outlooksafter struggling with weak sales.

It was a reversal of fortunes this criti-cal holiday season for Penney, which isclawing its way back from a failed rein-vention plan that caused catastrophiclosses and plunging sales.

And the latest performance offersencouraging news that a transformationby CEO Marvin Ellison is in the works.Ellison officially took the helm in August2015, after a nine-month transition peri-od working closely with Myron Ullman,who returned to the top CEO spot inApril 2013 when the board fired RonJohnson. Johnson got rid of most promo-tions and replaced them with everydaylow prices and swapped basics for trendyassortments in a bid to grab higher-income, younger shoppers.

Ullman stabilized the business bybringing back discounts and restoringstore-label merchandise. Ellison’s goal isto expand sales and remake the retailerto be more nimble.

The company is playing catch up in e-commerce, including rolling out servicesthat allow online shoppers to pick uporders in stores. It’s using its store-labelofferings as a key weapon to fightagainst pricing pressures from onlinerivals. It’s also testing appliances and justrolled out a new campaign called “GetYour Penney’s Worth,” which will offercertain store-label items for pennies.Ellison noted that the Penney campaignshould help to broaden its demographic,which centers on middle-income shop-pers with an annual average householdincome of $60,000.

JC Penney still has a long way to gobefore it can claim a full recovery. Thecompany posted annual sales of $12.6billion for the year ended Jan. 30, up 3percent from the prior year. Still, that’s farbelow the nearly $18 billion in annual

revenue once booked right beforeJohnson came to the helm in November2011.

But Penney is making some goodprogress given a tough environment,particularly in department store arena,where shoppers are being selective.Ellison told investors during a conferencecall Friday that it’s evident that Penneygained market share in 2015.

“Our ability to gain share in a relativelyflat to negative retail market is not acci-dental,” he said. He also assured analyststhat the company is testing different ini-tiatives before rolling them out. Penneyhad learned painful lessons fromJohnson who rolled out the bold pricingstrategy without testing in the stores.Ellison said the re-establishment of keyprivate brands like St. John’s Bay andRoyal Velvet have helped win shoppersback. The company is also acceleratingthe rollout of shops within its storesdevoted to the Sephora beauty brand. Itadded 28 last year for a total of morethan 500 shops, a big chunk of the 800-store fleet. This year, it plans to add 60.

Sephora was a top-selling area for theholiday shopping season as well as hand-bags, home and furnishings and shoes.

Elllison noted all of its clothing busi-nesses enjoyed positive results despiteunseasonably warm weather thatplagued many retailers including Macy’s.

Penney posted a 4.1 percent increasein revenue at stores opened at least ayear. In comparison, the metric rose just0.4 percent at Kohl’s, dropped 4.3 percentat Macy’s and declined 3.2 percent atupscale Nordstrom.

Penney said it lost $131 million, or 43cents per share, in the fourth quarter.That compares with a loss of $35 million,or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.Results were weighed down by pensionand restructuring costs. Excluding thoseadjusted results amounted to a profit of39 cents per share, which matched esti-mates from FactSet. Revenue rose nearly3 percent to $3.99 billion, and toppedthe $3.97 billion FactSet estimate.

Penney said that it expects revenue atstores opened at least a year to rise any-where from 3 percent to 4 percent thisyear, and that adjusted profits should bepositive. Penney’s shares rose $1.23 toclose at $9.59. Still, the stock is wellbelow the $43 it hit in February 2012when enthusiasm for Johnson’smakeover was high. — AP

JC Penney’s shares rise after

upbeat revenue outlook

SHANGHAI: China’s normally reclusive central bankchief Zhou Xiaochuan is an unusually prominentpresence at the G20 finance ministers meeting inShanghai, racing from seminar to news conference tospread positive messages about the world’s second-largest economy.

After months of silence, the governor of thePeople’s Bank of China (PBoC) wants investors toknow that the yuan currency-also known as the ren-minbi (RMB) — will be stable despite the slowestgrowth in a quarter of a century.

“The fundamentals of China’s economy remainstrong. There is no basis for persistent renminbidepreciation,” Zhou told a conference on Friday,before delivering a similar message half an hour laterat a rare media briefing by the central bank, all afterhe gave respected business magazine Caixin alengthy interview earlier this month. Chinese officialsare mounting an unprecedented charm offensive inan attempt to convince global investors that its econ-omy and currency are healthy, but doubts over theirmessage remain despite the public statements. Thedrive comes after senior officials from around theworld-among them IMF chief Christine Lagarde andUS Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew-urged Chineseauthorities to communicate better.

“China is ramping up public relations in what willbe a difficult 2016,” China economist at IHS GlobalInsight, Brian Jackson, said in a research note.

“During the second half of 2015, a vacuum of pub-lic statements raised market uncertainty, which offi-cials are now trying to fill, itself a positive develop-ment regardless of their exact messaging.” A stockmarket slump and shock currency devaluation inmid-2015 raised worries about Beijing’s ability toavoid a hard landing. Policymaking is secretive in theCommunist-ruled country and state-backed mediatoe the party line, restricting the free flow of informa-tion that modern capital markets need, analysts say.

“It is important that they (Chinese officials) stick tothe reform agenda that they have set out and thatthey communicate their policies clearly in a world

that is very much anxious to know the reasons foractions that are taken,” US treasury chief Lew toldreporters in Shanghai.

Water and oil For an official who was appointed in 2002 but still

speaks in public only a few times a year, Zhou seemsto be everywhere at the G20 gathering, where 19countries and the European Union are meeting toconfront slowing global growth. But at the openingceremony, he waved off an invitation from FinanceMinister Lou Jiwei to speak in public for what wouldhave been the third time that day-causing watchingjournalists to burst into laughter.

The economic situation is more serious. China’seconomy expanded an annual 6.9 percent in 2015,

the slowest in 25 years. Its foreign exchange reserveshave fallen to $3.2 trillion as nearly $200 billionflowed out of the country in December and Januaryalone.

Zhou sought to explain: “It isn’t like an oil fieldwith fixed reserves that won’t remain after you drainit. It’s like a reservoir with water coming in fromupstream and flowing out downstream.”

But investors have been confused by seeminglycontradictory statements that pledge to movetowards greater exchange rate flexibility while at thesame time promising the currency will remain “basi-cally” stable. “From the standpoint of currency marketplayers, this is not a credible position,” Arthur Kroeber,head of research for Gavekal Dragonomics, told thesame seminar that Zhou addressed. — AFP

China CB tries to reassure

world over slowing growth

BEIJING: Shoppers walk past a patriotic mural on the streets in Beijing on Thursday. Chinafaced pressure to reassure nerve-wracked world markets over how it is steering its slowingeconomy and managing its currency at Friday’s gathering of finance ministers and centralbankers from the United States, Europe and other major economies in Shanghai. —AP

OMAHA: The United States’ economy is inbetter shape than the presidential candidatesmake it seem, investor Warren Buffett saidSaturday, even though businesses like his stillface challenges.

In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathawayshareholders, Buffett didn’t name specificcandidates or issues, but noted that the neg-ative drumbeat about the economy, healthcare reform and income inequality may getvoters down about the future.

“It’s an election year, and candidates can’t

stop speaking about our country’s problems(which, of course, only they can solve),” hesaid, adding later, “that view is dead wrong:The babies being born in America today arethe luckiest crop in history.” Buffett noted thatthere will still be economic troubles as busi-ness evolves, but that the country needs tomake sure it has a solid safety net to helppeople who lose jobs.

“The answer in such disruptions is not therestraining or outlawing of actions thatincrease productivity. Americans would notbe living nearly as well as we do if we hadmandated that 11 million people should for-ever be employed in farming,” he wrote.

Buffett pointed out that change also cre-ates challenges for Berkshire’s businesses. Forinstance, its BNSF railroad is certain to haulless coal in the future and Geico insurancecould be hurt by driverless cars.

He assured shareholders that Berkshire’sbusinesses will adapt just as the company didwhen its original Berkshire Hathaway textileoperation failed.

Buffett’s letter is one of the most well-readdocuments the business world each yearbecause of his successful track record and hisknack for explaining complicated subjects insimple terms.

Buffett said the book value of Berkshire’sbusinesses improved 6.4 percent last yeareven as its stock price fell 12.5 percent. Whendividends are factored in, the S&P 500 gained1.4 percent by comparison. Buffett haswarned that it will be increasingly hard forBerkshire to continue beating the marketbecause the company is so large.

Berkshire Hathaway employs more than360,000 people at its eclectic mix of compa-nies, including insurance, utilities, railroad,manufacturing and retail firms. Berkshire alsoholds significant stakes in Coca-Cola, WellsFargo, American Express, IBM and other com-panies.—AP

Buffett: US economy better

than presidential hopefuls say

OMAHA: Berkshire Hathaway Chairmanand CEO Warren Buffett speaks duringan interview with Liz Claman on the FoxBusiness Network in Omaha, Neb.Buffett says the United States’ economyis in better shape than the presidentialcandidates make it seem. Buffett saidyesterday in his annual letter toBerkshire Hathaway shareholders thatany baby born in the country today willlive better than their parents, even withthe current slow economic growth. —AP

NEW YORK: Traders Edward Curran (left) and John Santiago (right) work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. — AP

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) endedlast week in the green zone. The Price Indexclosed at 5,174.69 points, up by 0.66 percentfrom the week before closing, the WeightedIndex increased by 1.87 percent after closingat 356.37 points, whereas the KSX-15 Indexclosed at 838.19 points up by 1.86 percent.Furthermore, last week’s average dailyturnover increased by 25.09 percent, com-pared to the preceding week, reaching KD11.19 million, whereas trading volume aver-age was 134.89 million shares, recording anincrease of 9.16 percent.

Kuwait stock market’s three indicatorsclosed with different gains by the end of theweek, as the random purchasing operationsthat included many small-cap stocks contin-ued in controlling the trading activity, whichenabled the Price Index from realizing somegains by the end of the week; and both of theWeighted and KSX-15 indices’ performanceimproved due to the support received by theactive purchasing operations executed onthe large-cap and operational stocks, whichenabled it to close in the green zone.

As per the daily trading activity, the mar-ket initiated the first session of the week withmixed closing to the three indicators, as thePrice Index declined affected by the sellingand speculative operations executed on thelow-priced stocks, while the Weighted andKSX-15 indices received support from thepurchasing power that concentrated onsome heavy stocks, especially in theTelecommunication and Banks sectors,among a large drop in the trading activityespecially the cash liquidity, which decreasedby 36.13 percent. On the second session ofthe week, the fluctuation continued in con-trolling the market indices’ performance, withchanging positions, whereas the Price Indexwas able this time to increase as a result tothe quick speculative operations that concen-trated on the small-cap stocks in particular,whilst the selling for profits pressures forcedthe Weighted and KSX-15 indices to close inthe red zone, among an increased tradingactivity, especially the volume.

On Tuesday’s session, the three indiceswere able to close in the green zone, support-ed by the strong purchasing operations wit-nessed by most of the previously tradedstocks of different sectors, in light of a gener-al state of optimism after the dividends distri-butions announced by most of the compa-nies that disclosed its 2015 financial results,which motivated the traders and pushed thetrading activity to increase, especially thecash liquidity, which grew by 114.58 percent.The market indices ended the last session ofthe week in the green zone, as the quickspeculative operations returned in control-ling the trading direction, among a limited

fluctuated performance, and contracted trad-ing activity.

By the end of the last week, the number oflisted companies that disclosed its 2015financial results reached 74 company, repre-senting 38.95 percent of the total 190 listedcompany in KSE. The disclosed companiesrealized around KD 1.34 billion, increasing by5.11 percent from the same companies’results for 2014 financial year. On the otherhand, the market capitalization for KSEreached KD 23.62 billion by the end of lastweek, increasing by 1.47 percent from its lev-el in a week earlier where it was KD 23.28 bil-lion; however on an annual level, the marketcap for the listed companies in KSE declinedby 6.51 percent from its value at end of 2015,as it reached then KD 25.27 billion.

As far as KSE annual performance, theprice index ended last week recording 7.84percent annual loss compared to its closingin 2015, while the weighted index decreasedby 6.64 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded6.91 percent loss.

Sectors’ IndicesSeven of KSE’s sectors ended last week in

the green zone, while the other five recordeddeclines. Last week’s highest gainer was theTelecommunications sector, achieving 4.97percent growth rate as its index closed at

592.94 points. Whereas, in the second place,the Technology sector ’s index closed at857.91 points recording 4.36 percentincrease. The Health Care sector came in thirdas its index achieved 2.91 percent growth,ending the week at 1,016.55 points.

On the other hand, the Consumer Servicessector headed the losers list as its indexdeclined by 0.87 percent to end the week’sactivity at 959.10 points. The Industrial sectorwas second on the losers’ list, which indexdeclined by 0.48 percent, closing at 962.92points, the least declining sector was the RealEstate sector, as its index closed at 824.17points at a loss of 0.30 percent.

Sectors’ ActivityThe Financial Services sector dominated a

total trade volume of around 229.69 millionshares changing hands during last week, rep-resenting 42.57 percent of the total markettrading volume. The Real Estate sector wassecond in terms of trading volume as the sec-tor’s traded shares were 24.69 percent of lastweek’s total trading volume, with a total ofaround 133.21 million shares.

On the other hand, the Banks sector’sstocks were the highest traded in terms ofvalue; with a turnover of around KD 17.33million or 38.73 percent of last week’s totalmarket trading value. The Financial Services

sector took the second place as the sector’slast week turnover was approx. KD 10.02 mil-lion representing 22.39 percent of the total

market trading value. — Prepared by theStudies & Research Department, BayanInvestment Co.

New optimism perks up KSE stocksBAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

NEW YORK: US stocks ended a strongweek on a flat note as lower oil prices andutility stocks offset encouraging econom-ic news. Still, the market ended Fridaywith a second straight weekly gain.

The Dow Jones industrial averageclosed down 57.32 points, or 0.3 percent,to 16,639.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500index lost 3.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to1,948.05 and the Nasdaq compositeadded 8.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to4,590.47. All three indexes finished theweek up by 1.5 percent or more. Oil,despite Friday’s decline, was up 3.6 per-cent for the week.

On Friday the market was buoyed ear-ly by a strong rally in overseas stocks trig-gered by word from China that it wouldnot devalue its currency to make itsimports more competitive.

Also, the Commerce Department saidUS gross domestic product, the broadestmeasure of economic health, grew at anannual rate of 1 percent in the fourthquarter, an improvement from the firstestimate of 0.7 percent. Economists wereexpecting a reading of 0.4 percentgrowth.

“We are finally seeing some stabiliza-tion in the economic data - durable goodsnumbers, retail sales, and this secondreading on GDP - that will hopefully endthis debate on whether the US economyis heading toward recession,” said QuincyKrosby, a market strategist withPrudential Financial.

Voya Market Strategists Douglas Coteand Karyn Cavanaugh, in a note toinvestors, said the GDP data could

increase the likelihood of an interest rateincrease at the Federal Reserve’s meetingin March.

But the stronger economic newskicked interest rates up sharply. That inturn hit relatively safe investments likegovernment bonds and stocks that areattractive for their dividends, like utilitiesand consumer staples, hard. Coca-Colawas the biggest decliner in the Dow, slip-ping 2.3 percent, followed by Wal-Martand IBM. All three stocks have a dividendyield of 3 percent or more.

The Dow Jones utility index, a basketof 15 utility companies, fell nearly 3 per-cent, and the sector was the biggest loserin the S&P 500. Utility stocks tend to dobetter at times of low interest rates oreconomic uncertainty because their busi-ness is relatively stable and they pay ahigh dividend. Government bond pricesfell, pushing the yield on the 10-yearTreasury note up to 1.76 percent from1.72 percent the day before. Gold pricesalso fell, closing down $18.40 to $1,220.40an ounce.

Oil was unable to hold gains it had ear-ly in the day, and closed down 29 cents,or 1 percent, to $32.78 a barrel. Brentcrude, the global benchmark, fell 19 centsto close at $35.10. In other energy com-modities, heating oil fell 1.9 cents to$1.051 a gallon. Wholesale gasolinefutures fell 3.9 cents to $1.017 a gallonand natural gas rose 0.6 cents to $1.791per 1,000 cubic feet.

In other metals, silver fell 49 cents to$14.71 an ounce and high-grade copperrose 5 cents to $2.125 a pound. — AP

US stocks end strong week on flat note

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

SHANGHAI: With little hope for theworld economy picking up pace soon,governments must tackle reforms athome to kickstart growth, the OECD saidon Friday. Promoting entrepreneurship,labor mobility and higher productivitywere all on the menu of the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation andDevelopment’s (OECD) recommenda-tions to policymakers.

“Global growth prospects remainclouded in the near term,” it said in its“Going for Growth” interim report,

released ahead of a G20 finance ministersmeeting in Shanghai. “The case for struc-tural reforms, combined with supportingdemand policies, remains strong,” it said.

The OECD chided governments fornot doing more, pointing out that cut-ting red tape could help stoke growthand create jobs at a time when the worldeconomy is stuttering. Removing barriersthat stifle entrepreneurship and limit thecapacity of firms to make good use ofknowledge and technology is a “reformpriority”, it said.

It also recommended making it easierfor new entrants in services where thereis pent-up demand, such as taxis, reform-ing health and pension benefits andhelping workers to become more mobile.

“It’s up to (G20 finance) ministers tolook at the situation and give the signalto governments that there’s no way out,”Alain de Serres, author of the report, toldjournalists in Shanghai.

Southern European countries havebeen more pro-active than their northernneighbors in tackling reform, the OECD

said, also praising Japan, China, India andMexico. But others had not done enough,the report said, adding: “Governmentsaround the world need to address deepstructural weaknesses that the crisis laidbare, but which in many cases originatedwell before.”

Acknowledging that many govern-ment budgets are tight, the OECD saidparticularly cash-strapped countries mayneed “to prioritize on high short-termreturns or on low-cost measures”.

Some measures could actually save

governments money quickly, it said,including making unemployment bene-fits conditional on training schemes orattracting private investment into publicinfrastructure. China, which holds thepresidency of the G20, also stressed theimportance of structural reforms.

“We might be standing at the edge ofa cliff with two options: whether to fall orwhether to... push forward the painfulreform process,” Chinese Finance MinisterLou Jiwei told a news conference tolaunch the report. —AFP

OECD calls for reforms to wake up growth

SHANGHAI: (L to R) Jin Liqun, president of the Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB), Bank of Korea Governor Lee Juyeol, South KoreanFinance Minister Yoo Il-ho and Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso greeteach other as they take part in a ‘family photo’ for the G20 Finance Ministersand Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel inShanghai yesterday. —AFP

WASHINGTON: US consumerspending rose solidly in Januaryand underlying inflation picked upby the most in four years, keepingFederal Reserve interest rateincreases on the table this year.

The upbeat data on Friday addedto reports on manufacturing andthe labor market in suggesting eco-nomic growth regained momentumearly this year after slowing in thefourth quarter.

The growth outlook was fur-ther bolstered by steady con-sumer sentiment in Februar ydespite a recent stock market sell-off. That should help ease fears ofa looming recession and probablyallow the Fed to hike rates thisyear. The US central bank raisedrates in December for the firsttime in nearly a decade. “Growth isrebounding, inflation is picking upand stocks have recovered abouthalf the loss posted this year.Condit ions are moving backtoward supporting a rate hike,”said Joel Naroff, chief economistat Naroff Economic Advisors inHolland, Pennsylvania.

The Commerce Depar tmentsaid consumer spending increased0.5 percent, the largest gain in 10months, as households ramped uppurchases of a range of goods anda return to normal winter temper-atures boosted demand for heat-ing.

Consumer spending, whichaccounts for more than two-thirdsof US economic activity, rose byan upwardly revised 0.1 percent inDecember. Economists polled byReuters had forecast consumerspending advancing 0.3 percentlast month after a previouslyunchanged reading in December.

The dollar rose against a basketof currencies on the data, whileprices for US Treasury debt fell. USstocks were trading higher. Thepick-up in consumer spendingstimulated price pressures lastmonth, which wil l most l ikelyincrease Fed officials’ confidencethat inflation will move toward theUS central bank’s 2 percent targetdespite low inflation expectations.

A price index for consumerspending edged up 0.1 percentafter dipping 0.1 percent inDecember. In the 12 monthsthrough January, the personalconsumption expenditures (PCE)price index rose 1.3 percent, thelargest increase since October2014, after advancing 0.7 percent

in December.Excluding food and energy,

prices rose 0.3 percent. That wasthe largest increase since January2012 and followed a 0.1 percentgain in December. The so-calledcore PCE price index increased 1.7percent in the 12 months throughJanuary, the largest rise since July2014.

The core PCE, the Fed’s pre-ferred inflation measure, rose 1.5percent in December. Last month’sincrease in the core PCE pushed itpast the level that central bankpolicymakers expected it to be by

year-end. “It has to make the Fedmore confident in their course ofaction going forward,” said OmairSharif, rate sales strategist at SGAmericas Securities in New York.“The bar for rate hikes is relativelylow. Unless there are significantfurther shocks in financial mar-kets, I think we will probably gettwo or three rate hikes this year.”

Financial markets see almostno chance of a rate hike in Marchand low probabilities of furthermonetary policy tightening forthe rest of the year.

SENTIMENT STEADYSeparately, the University of

Michigan said its consumer senti-ment index rose to 91.7 in Februaryafter slipping to 90.7 early in themonth. It was slightly down fromJanuary’s 92.0 reading.

Consumer spending last monthwas supported by a 0.5 percent risein income as the labor market con-tinued to tighten. That was thelargest increase since June andadded to a 0.3 percent rise inDecember. Wages and salaries shotup 0.6 percent in January, as mini-mum wage increases came into

effect in some states, and were up0.2 percent in the prior month.

Earlier, the CommerceDepartment said gross domesticproduct increased at a 1.0 percentannual rate in the fourth quarter asbusinesses were less aggressive intheir efforts to reduce unwantedinventory.

The economy was previouslyreported to have grown at a 0.7percent pace in the fourth quarterand economists had expected thatGDP growth would be reviseddown to a 0.4 percent rate. The

economy expanded at a 2.0 per-cent pace in the third quarter andgrew 2.4 percent in 2015.

Businesses accumulated $81.7billion worth of inventory in thefourth quarter rather than the $68.6billion reported last month. As aresult, inventories subtracted only0.14 percentage point from GDPgrowth instead of the previouslyreported 0.45 percentage point.

The bigger inventory build isbad news for first-quarter GDPgrowth because it means business-es will have little incentive to placenew orders, which will continue to

hold down production.“The weaker drag from invento-

ries in the fourth quarter means thatany rebound in the first quartercould be slightly more modest thanwe previously expected,” said PaulAshworth, chief US economist atCapital Economics in Toronto. First-quarter GDP growth estimates areabove a 2.0 percent rate, but therisks are tilted to the downside amidslowing world economies, a strongdollar and the recent global stockmarket sell-off that tightened finan-cial market conditions. —Reuters

US consumer spending, prices

data keep rate hikes on table

Fourth-quarter GDP growth raised to 1% rate

MIAMI: Shoppers stop to look in the window of a lighting store in the Design District of MiamiBeach, Florida. The Commerce Department issued the second of three estimates of how the USeconomy performed in the October-December quarter. —AP

SHANGHAI: A new $100 billion bank for majoremerging nations will sign agreements toestablish its headquarters in China yesterday,the latest step in Beijing’s efforts to re-engineerthe world’s financial institutions.

The New Development Bank (NDB), set upby the so-called BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia,India, China and South Africa, has been viewedas a challenge to Washington-based institu-tions.

Its website explicitly describes it as an “alter-native to the existing US-dominated World Bankand International Monetary Fund” which willaddress needs for infrastructure and sustainabledevelopment. It comes after the formal estab-lishment in December of the Chinese-led,Beijing-headquartered Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank, a $100 billion institution thatcounts several major European countriesamong its members after they signed updespite Washington’s objections.

Earlier, following a long campaign by Beijing,the IMF announced China’s yuan will be includ-ed in its elite Special Drawing Rights reserve cur-rency basket.

The NDB represents an attempt to put finan-cial meat on the bones of the BRICS grouping,whose members represent more than 40 per-cent of the world’s population but who onlybecame an acronym courtesy of a GoldmanSachs economist in 2001.

Establishing the bank at the financial heartof the world’s second-largest economy is anoth-er landmark in China’s efforts to have a greatersay in global institutions, and to exert greaterfinancial and diplomatic influence despite aslowdown in growth.

Societe Generale China economist ClaireHuang in Hong Kong, speaking to AFP, said thatthe new bank will offer loans with fewer stringsattached than existing multilateral lenders.“Borrowing from NDB won’t have as many obli-gations as borrowing from the

IMF,” she said, saying the institution wouldact as “a small IMF” and discussions will be morestreamlined because of the limited member-ship. But NDB president KV Kamath, a formerprivate banker from India, insisted on Fridaythat the institution “will function like a prudentbank should” and offer loans on the basis of thecost of funds and an appropriate margin.

The first approvals are expected in April andhe expects 10 to 15 projects to be given the go-ahead this year, he added, more than half ofthem in green energy. Each country has a 20

percent share in the bank, with none holdingveto power, and it will confine its loans to them.

One Belt, One Road As well as the development banks, President

Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road plan calls forboosting the country’s loans and investment ininfrastructure projects from Central Asia and theMiddle East to Europe. Railway links now con-nect Chinese cities such as Suzhou to Warsaw,and Zhengzhou to Hamburg. Xi paid his firstofficial to the Middle East this year as Beijingseeks to deepen its ties in the oil-rich region,which it depends on for energy imports, andwhich it hopes to develop into new markets forits oversupply of steel, aluminium, and industri-al goods.

But sceptics say the plan’s ambitions toexport China’s excess may outstrip reality. “Themagnitude of the overcapacities and the size ofOne Belt One Road is a complete mismatch, itwill not put even a minor dent in the overcapac-ities in China,” said Joerg Wuttke of the EUChamber of Commerce in China. The belt-and-road vision “remains a grandiose and abstractwish list rather than a coherent blueprint ofinterconnected international investments”,wrote analysts Michal Meidan and Luke Patey ina report for the Danish Institute of InternationalStudies.

“Once it is set into motion many of the infra-structure projects will encounter financialuncertainties as well as political and securityrisks.”

The NDB faces challenges of its own. It for-mally opened last year, but has yet to begin dis-bursing funds or move into its permanentoffices. Bank representatives will sign formalagreements with the Shanghai governmentand the People’s Republic of China on Saturdayto establish its headquarters in the city. But itcomes with several of its member nationsslammed by rock-bottom oil and commodityprices and global shortfall in demand. Like theAIIB, the bank will have authorized capital of$100 billion, with initial subscriptions set at $50billion. But it said Friday members have onlypaid in $1 billion so far. Asked whether the tur-moil facing its members would hinder the bank,its chairman Anton Siluanov, Russia’s financeminister, told reporters in Shanghai:

“On the contrary, in a period of some diffi-culties... the bank has become particularlyimportant in terms of raising investmentresources”. —AFP

New bank another BRICS in

Beijing’s diplomatic wall

FRANKFURT: Falling energy pricesbrought inflation in Germany back downto zero percent this month, data showedon Friday, turning up the heat on the ECBto avert possible deflation in the widereuro area. Germany’s national inflationyardstick, the consumer price index, stoodat zero percent in February, compared with0.5 percent in January, the federal statisticsoffice Destatis said.

And using the Harmonised Index ofConsumer Prices (HICP) — the barometerused by the European Central Bank-theinflation rate stood at minus 0.2 percent inFebruary, compared with plus 0.4 percentin January.

The last time the German HICP indexwas in negative territory was in September2015, when it reached minus 0.1 percent.And the last time it was lower than minus0.2 percent was in January 2015, when itstood at minus 0.4 percent. The data werestill only preliminary, calculated from con-sumer price data for six of Germany’s 16regional states. But final data based on all16 states were scheduled to be publishedon March 11.

The ECB regards annual inflation ratesof close to but just under 2.0 percent as

conducive to healthy economic growthand in recent years has launched a raft ofmeasures to kickstart prices and push area-wide inflation back up nearer that level. Acontroversial program of sovereign bondpurchases, known as QE or quantitativeeasing, was rolled out last year and initiallyappeared to work.

Stimulus measures in March? But the economic slowdown in China

and depressed oil prices have pushed infla-tion expectations back down again. At theECB’s first policy meeting this year, presi-dent Mario Draghi suggested additionalmonetary easing could be on the cards asearly as March if inflation expectations donot pick up soon.

Analysts said the German inflation datawould fuel speculation that the ECB willlaunch new stimulus measures when itsgoverning council meets on March 10.“Pressure for appreciable ECB stimulus inMarch has been ramped up by early euro-zone consumer price data for Februarywhich suggests that a return to deflation ishighly probable as a consequence of loweroil, commodity and food prices,” said IHSGlobal Insight analyst Howard Archer. —AFP

Zero-percent inflation in

Germany turns heat on ECB

SHANGHAI: Germany objectedFriday to launching a G20 fiscal andmonetary stimulus package to boostglobal growth, as the major eco-nomic powers split over how to bat-tle a menacing downturn.

Government attempts to boosttheir economies with monetary loos-ening could be “counterproductive”,Wolfgang Schaeuble said at a Groupof 20 finance chiefs meeting inShanghai.

And he said that fiscal stimulus-essentially governments spendingmore or cutting taxes-had run itscourse, and the main recourse tobattling a global slump was reform.Schaeuble had backing from France,but was at odds with the UnitedStates, Britain and China, which allbacked the use of monetary and fis-cal tools to fight a downturn, as wellas structural reforms. US TreasurySecretary Jacob Lew told reporters:“It’s increasingly important to use allthe levers of policy that are avail-able, and that means using fiscal lev-els as well as monetary policy andstructural reforms.”

World economy under assault The G20 gathering comes with

the global economy assailed on mul-tiple fronts, from slowing growth inhost nation China to weak commod-ity prices. The OECD last week cut its2016 global growth forecast from 3.3percent to 3.0 percent.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang toldthe opening ceremony that themeeting came amid “sluggish worldeconomic recovery and growth.”

“Destabilising factors and uncer-tainties are on the rise,” he said in avideo message. China came under

pressure ahead of the meeting topush forward with structural reformsto sustain its growth. Lew told hisChinese counterpart Lou

Jiwei that it was crucial for Chinato support household income andrebalance the economy toward con-sumption-led growth, according to areport on their meeting from the US

Treasury Department.Lew and Lou “also discussed the

importance of China making its tran-sition to a market-determinedexchange rate in an orderly andtransparent way, while clearly com-municating its policies and actionsto the market,” the Treasury state-ment said. With the yuan currency,

also known as the renminbi, underpressure from speculation of a loom-ing devaluation, the governor of thePeople’s Bank of China sought toreassure markets, saying in Shanghaithat China’s economic fundamentals“remain strong”.

“There is no basis for persistentrenminbi depreciation from the per-

spective of fundamentals,” ZhouXiaochuan said. “We will not resortto competitive devaluations toboost our advantage in exports.”

Zhou said China still has somemonetary policy space and tools toconfront challenges, and that fiscaland structural steps should also beused.

‘No crisis’ says France The meeting of finance ministers

and central bank governors of theadvanced and emerging-marketeconomies comes after the Bank ofJapan and the European Central Bank(ECB) have adopted negative interestrates and huge quantitative easingprograms.

While the US Federal Reserve hasrecently moved in the opposite direc-tion, raising interest rates in December,many analysts believe it will delay anymore tightening given the frailty of theglobal economy. But Schaeuble’sstance challenged the representativesof the world’s top 20 economies, whowere also urged by the InternationalMonetary Fund this week to take“bold” action to boost growth and con-tain risk in a “highly vulnerable” globaleconomy. Berlin does “not agree on aG20 fiscal stimulus package”, theGerman minister said. “Monetary poli-cy is extremely accommodating to thepoint that it may even be counterpro-ductive in terms of negative sideeffects. “Fiscal as well as monetary poli-cies have reached their limits-if youwant the real economy to grow thereare no shortcuts without reforms.”

He insisted that reforms were moreimportant and “thinking about furtherstimulus just distracts from the realtask at hand”. Bank of England gover-nor Mark Carney criticised negativeinterest rates as a “zero-sum game” thatexported problems to other countries.But he argued that monetary stimulus“can buy time for structural adjust-ments” and the challenges “demandthat our firepower is well-aimed”.“Several commentators are peddlingthe myth that monetary policy is out ofammunition,” he said. —AFP

Germany against G20 stimulus as ministers meet

SHANGHAI: Chief of Germany’s Federal Bundesbank JensWeidmann (left) and German Finance Minister WolfgangSchaeuble (right) hold a press conference after sessions of theG20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting atthe Pudong Shangri-la Hotel in Shanghai yesterday. —AFP

B U S I N E S S

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

The fourth generation Prius is here, unveiling thelatest version of this global green icon, whichtakes the hybrid concept further than ever, with

striking design, higher expected fuel economy ratingsand greater ride comfort. The arrival of the Prius,Toyota’s first hybrid vehicle in the region, reflectsToyota’s mission in engaging with local communitiesand continuous efforts to contribute to society by mak-ing automobiles that lead to a cleaner environment.

Toyota’s hybrid technology marks a breakthrough inautomobile fuel consumption and reflects the compa-ny’s commitment to utilizing the technology in drivingsustainability forward. The Prius will raise awarenessaround the premium performance of hybrid technologyand will assist in cementing the leading position ofalternative energy vehicles.

Commenting on the arrival of the Prius to the region,Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative of MiddleEast & North Africa Representative Office, Toyota MotorCorporation, stated, “At Toyota, we firmly believe thattechnology is a vital enabler for sustainable develop-

ment. Driven by this belief, Toyota has been working onthe future of sustainable motoring by heavily investingin introducing vehicles that are environment friendlyand fun to drive. Toyota’s hybrid experience will beextremely rewarding for our customers. Great looks,comfort and space combined with advanced technolo-gy, finely tuned aerodynamics and lightweight materi-als ensure an exhilarating driving performance, world-class efficiencies and ultra-low CO2 emissions. We seegreat potential in the Middle East for the Prius. We alsosincerely appreciate the unwavering support from ourcustomer base for our initiatives to make more environ-mentally friendly vehicles.”

In 1993, automotive brands were launching standardcars with basic features. The same year, Toyota investedheavily in developing vehicles with the future in mind.The three environmental challenges that Toyota hadaddressed included introducing alternative energysources as opposed to oil, reducing CO2 emissions andpreventing pollution. In December 1997, Toyotalaunched the first generation Prius, the world’s first

mass-produced hybrid vehicle. In 18 years after rollingout the first Prius, Toyota has sold more than 8 millionhybrid vehicles worldwide. Today with the launch of the2016 Prius, Toyota celebrates 56 years of fruitfulresearch and development efforts.

The two power sources of Toyota’s hybrid technology

Toyota’s hybrid vehicles provide high performancewithout wasting gasoline, propelled by the synergybetween two power sources, which are the gasolineengine and the electric motor. When accelerating, thevehicle uses an electric motor that does not requiregasoline to accelerate efficiently and powerfully. Inresponse to driving conditions, the system efficientlycombines power from the electric motor and gasolineengine automatically. When the vehicle has stopped,the system also automatically shuts down the engine toavoid wasting fuel during idling. The cumulative effectof preventing gasoline wastage in this manner meansToyota’s hybrid technology can provide dramatically

better fuel efficiency than any other vehicle in its class.There is no need to charge the hybrid system batteryusing external equipment. The hybrid system automati-cally charges the battery by using electricity generatedeach time you apply the brakes. Please click on the fol-lowing link which explains the two power sourceshttps://youtu.be/i6fFwQaftac

Toyota hybrid not only fits the region’s sustainabilityagenda, but is also in line with the global directiontowards more sustainable and greener communities.The Prius, as a symbol of Toyota’s hybrid technology, willcontribute to achieving the new MillenniumSustainable Development Goals, which strive for ahealthy lifestyle, taking urgent actions to combat cli-mate change, and ensuring access to affordable, reli-able, sustainable and modern energy for all. The align-ment between what is delivered with Toyota’s hybridtechnology and the efforts exerted globally to sustainthe planet’s resources makes the Prius the perfect carfor responsible drivers who are aiming to adopt a moreeco-friendly approach towards our planet.

Toyota reshapes the future of sustainable motoring

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announces thewinner for February’s KD 125,000 Al Jawhara monthlyprize, Dunia Abdulaziz Salboukh. The draw was held underthe supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.The winner’s name was announced live on Marina FM.

NBK has doubled customers’ chances to win in theweekly, monthly and quarterly draws when they do notwithdraw or transfer from their accounts.

NBK customers have chances to win KD 5,000 weekly,KD 125,000 monthly and a grand prize of KD 250,000quarterly. Each KD 50 in a customer’s account entitlesthem one entry into the draw, thus more money in anaccount means more chances into each draw. This newadded feature enables al Jawhara Account holders’ to dou-ble their chances when maintaining their balance withoutwithdrawing.

Al-Jawhara is the most popular prize-giving account inKuwait. Al-Jawhara account entitles account holders toenter the weekly, monthly and quarterly Al-Jawharadraws. All prizes are automatically credited to the winners’accounts the day after the draw.

Al-Jawhara account is available for both Kuwaitis andexpats and can be opened at any of NBK’s numerousbranches around Kuwait, or safely and easily throughNBK’s website for existing customers.

Dunia Abdulaziz Salboukh wins

KD 125,000 in NBK’s Al-Jawhara

monthly draw for February

FUJAIRAH: Co-partners and main sponsors,Fujairah based Oryx Industries, Bahrain’s FirstEquity Partners and Qatar’s State Holding,participated at the 4th International Forumfor Industrial Rocks and Mining Expo(IFIRME), and held at the Fujairah ExhibitionCentre on 23 - 25 February.

Held under the patronage of SheikhHamad bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi, Memberof the Supreme Council and Ruler ofFujairah, IFIRME’s fourth edition held underthe title “Innovation for EconomicDevelopment and Sustainability in theMining Sector”.

Organized by the Fujairah NaturalResources Corporation, in cooperation withthe UAE’s Ministry of Energy and the ArabIndustrial Development and MiningOrganization, IFIRME has proven to be ahighly effective platform for professionals tomeet and discuss industry issues. These canrange from investment opportunities andexpansion into new markets to how theregion’s burgeoning real estate sector is driv-ing a need for high quality rock products.

Industrial materials and rocks are used asa base material in a variety of industriesacross the world and are essential to the suc-cess of many others. Industrial rocks areoften used for their physical or chemicalproperties for various manufacturing orcommercial usages.

For IFIRME 2016 Oryx Industries, the lead-

ing construction material producer in theGCC region, joined its stakeholders FirstEquity Partners (FEP) and Qatar’s StateHolding on a shared stand where they show-cased a full range of their products and serv-ices.

The IFIRME has attracted hundreds ofregional and international delegates and vis-itors.

Speaking of their joint participation atthe expo, the three partners expressed theirsatisfaction of this event. Nasser Barakat,CEO of Oryx Industries said: “IFIRME 2016 is agreat platform for Oryx Industries to exhibitand share our products and services withpotential industry partners and customers,including our transportation and logisticsservices. Our participation came on the backof a very successful year for Oryx Industries,during which we have achieved double-dig-it growth across all our business lines. Thestrategic partnership that was formed lastyear with FEP and State Holding has allowedus to look at expanding on our dominancein the region’s industry sector and we haveconducted talks with other key industryplayers at the expo to help further grow ourbusiness into new markets and new indus-tries.”

FEP’s Director of Investments, Hasan Al-Mansoor, added: “As a private equity player,FEP along with a consortium of investors,acquired a stake in Oryx Industries in 2015

and we have been extremely happy with thecompany’s continuing success as an industryleader. We are also excited with the fact thatOryx Industries has expanded its geographi-cal presence in the GCC which includes thetop three main markets of quarry products:Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and has estab-lished itself as a key player in the Fujairahquarry export market. Having realized thebenefit of taking part in the expo before, wewere eager to participate in the IFIRME 2016to identify yet more opportunities and deals,and we have achieved these goals.”

State Holding’s Deputy CEO, Badr Al-Kashti, concluded: “With development andsustainability at the core of our investments,we view the construction materials sector asone of many industries in our diverse portfo-lio that we hold long-term confidence in. Wehave been particularly impressed with OryxIndustries growing its production capacityof quarry products to more than 8 milliontons annually through the installation ofstate of the art production lines in OryxCrushers, as well as expanding its produc-tion facilities in Al-A’ali Crushers. As a keyshareholder in Oryx Industries we are awareof its experience and dominance within itsindustry and IFIRME 2016 was anotheropportunity for us to support the company,as well as to explore additional investmentopportunities in Fujairah, the UAE and inter-nationally.”

Oryx Industries, First Equity Partners

and State Holding attend IFIRME

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced yesterday thethird draw winners of its “Spend More, WinMore” with Gulf Rewards promotional cam-paign for its credit card holders. The cam-paign runs until 29 February 2016. All GulfBank credit cards holders are automaticallyenrolled in this campaign.

The daily winners are:Russell Martin Loughland —100,000, Gulf

Points 15-02-2016Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed

Abdulsalam — 100,000 Gulf Points Abdulla Dhawi Obaid Abdullah— 100,000

Gulf Points Abdulaziz Sadeq Mohammed Sadeq

100,000 Gulf Points Yousef Abdulla Yousef Al-Ghunaim

100,000 Gulf Points Mohammed Nasser Abdulredai Marfi

100,000 Gulf Points Ali Jamil Hijazi 100,000 Gulf Points

This new campaign is part of GulfRewards, the fastest and most rewardingpoints program in Kuwait. Gulf Rewards

includes Gulf Points for free flights and hotelsredemptions, as well as Gulf Bank“Entertainer,” Kuwait’s first geo-locator mobileapplication offering exclusive deals in Kuwait,UAE, and London.

There will be 30 lucky winners, 29 dailywinners each receiving 100,000 Gulf Points,and one grand prize winner of 1,000,000 GulfPoints. For each 10 KD spent locally, onechance will be earned, and for each 10 KDspent internationally, three chances will beearned.

100,000 Gulf Points can be redeemed in amultitude of ways. For example, they can beredeemed for 5 roundtrip tickets to Dubai, or3 roundtrip tickets to Beirut, or 2 roundtriptickets to Europe, or even 1 roundtrip ticket tothe USA, depending on how you to chose touse them. Or you can use your Gulf Points forfree hotel stays in one of 300,000 hotelsworldwide. With all these ways to use yourpoints, imagine what you could do with 1Million Gulf Points.

To ensure the redemption procedure is asstraight forward as possible, Gulf Bank has

created a dedicated webpage on its websiteat www.e-gulfbank.com/gulfpoints-en wherecustomers can view their points, check theirbalance, redeem points instantly online forflights and hotel stays, or benefit from fre-quently advertised special offers.

Customers can earn additional chances towin the Gulf Points draw by using the GulfBank “Entertainer” app. This exclusive appoffer instants deals on your mobile phonewhich can be used at restaurants, hotels, spas,as well as on children’s activities and interestsat participating merchants in Kuwait, UAE,and London. If you use your Gulf Bank creditcard to pay for any Entertainer, ‘Buy One, GetOne Free’ offer, you will earn Gulf Points oneach of those transactions and have morechances to win in the “Spend More, Win More”campaign.

The Gulf Bank ‘Entertainer’ app is availablefree for existing Gulf Bank credit card holdersto download from App Store for iOS/iPhoneand the Google Play Store for Android. Youcan also visit www.e-gulfbank.com/entertain-er-en to receive an activation code.

Gulf Bank announces winners of ‘Spend

More, Win More’ Gulf Rewards campaignCARACAS: Venezuela is in advanced talks for a $5 bil-lion loan from international banks and investmentfunds, the head of the central bank said on Friday,potentially providing an influx of cash for the OPECmember country, which faces heavy debt paymentsthis year. The operation would provide $3 billion in liq-uidity for the government and $2 billion to finance agold mining joint venture with Canada’s Gold ReserveInc, Nelson Merentes, the central bank president, saidin an interview.

On Wednesday, Venezuela and Gold Reservesigned a memorandum of understanding to jointlydevelop the Las Brisas and Las Cristinas gold mines,ending an arbitration dispute. “We hope within amonth to constitute the company, and in parallel weare seeking the loan,” Merentes said. “I can’t say for sureif it will be in a month, in two months. But it will defi-nitely be this year. We are moving quickly.” GoldReserve was not immediately available for comment.Merentes said the loan would be repaid with gold pro-duced from the mines, which would serve as the guar-antee for the loan. A spokeswoman for Gold Reservedeclined to comment, saying that the companyplanned to issue a statement in the “near future.”

Merentes said banks from Germany, Canada andChina had come to Caracas to participate in a govern-ment-sponsored mining sector event. It was notimmediately clear whether these banks would be

involved in providing the loan.

DEBT PAYMENTSInvestors have grown more concerned that

Venezuela or state oil company PDVSA could defaultthis year, pushing the country’s bond yields to thehighest level of any emerging market nation.

Venezuela’s international reserves fell to a 17-yearlow of $13.5 billion on Friday after the governmentpaid in full its $1.5 billion Global 2016 bond, accordingto central bank data. Merentes vowed Venezuelawould meet all debt commitments, adding thatauthorities were willing to use instruments such as oilor gold warrants in efforts to refinance. “These arecommodities that can be sold in the future or in thepresent,” he said. “We are going to continue doingmodern financial architecture to seek liquidity.”

Obtaining the financing may be difficult given thatGold Reserve is a tiny exploration company with noassets in production. It had $2.2 million in cash onhand as of the end of September. In its third-quarterresults it warned of “substantial doubt about the com-pany’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Banks have been leery of funding the advancedprojects of major players in the sector, and preciousmetal exploration companies have largely fallen out offavor with investors, stung by the extended slide inbullion prices.—Reuters

Venezuela in advanced

talks for $5bn loan: CB

By Islam Al-Sharaa

DUBAI: In line with Microsoft’s efforts to impartthe latest cloud knowledge and empower IT pro-fessionals to achieve more, the Cloud Roadshow2016 was held on Feb 22 and 23 at the HyattRegency Dubai Creek Heights. The event aimed atreiterating the cloud presence in the market byhosting two-day trainings held by Microsoftexperts who shared valuable techniques andsound practices that allow organizations and indi-viduals to leverage the most suitable technologysolutions for their needs. It also provided a uniqueopportunity for IT leaders and professionals tomeet and collaborate in an engaging platform.

The first day opened with keynote speakerJames Philips, Corporate Vice President, BusinessIntelligence Group, highlighting the essence ofcloud computing and imparting basic tips on howleveraging modern cloud technology can lead toorganizations reinventing themselves. During thesessions, further stress was placed upon buildingand deploying of applications with the MicrosoftApp Platform, with emphasis on the fundamentalsof Office 365, Windows 10 infrastructure and bring-ing power of data to organizations.

Kuwait Times spoke to Philips about Microsoft’scloud offerings and other services. Some excerpts:

Kuwait Times: How secure is our information onthe cloud. Who should have access to it, andmore importantly, who can have access to it?

James Phillips: We have invested heavily in securi-ty and privacy. It’s a core success. Ensuring our cus-tomers are able to trust our cloud is an importantpart of our success and our interests are complete-ly in line. If you look at the investment that we havemade and all the certificates that Microsoft has,clearly it’s important to us. Plus we are at a globalscale the best in global security.

KT: In this age of Internet of Things, sharingeconomy and driverless cars, what is Microsoft’sshare and vision in these emerging concepts?Phillips: The IoT is the most interesting thing thatis happening in our industry. It is sort of a majornext wave of innovation. We’ve seen personal com-puters give way to mobile computers, giving way

now to intelligent devices. Everything has softwarein it and that is what IoT is about - supporting theability to execute the software in whatever deviceone wants to interact with backed by a cloud capa-bility that can provide the ability to collect data,process that data and then provide a better experi-ence to these clients. This is where most of thegrowth is going to come for us and for any othercloud provider in the next couple of decades.

KT: Tell us something more about MicrosoftAzure and new projects.Phillips: We recently introduced Azure, which mar-ries our business intelligence capabilities and datavisualization with learning in advance analyticswith the ability to create applications. It’s a moveaway from simply providing a bunch of disaggre-gated infrastructure parts to providing completebusiness applications and complete infrastructureor service offerings that get customers closer to thesolution they’re trying to build with other clouds.With Azure cloud, you start closer to somethingthat looks like a complete solution.

We are moving into a world where software iseverything, that provides compelling opportuni-ties to make our lives easier and our businessesmore efficient. The cloud really comes into its ownin that world, when you have trillions of devicesaround the world that are all admitting data and allcapable of delivering back experiences based onthe processing of that data which is fundamentallytransformative and impossible without a globalcloud infrastructure behind it. That’s when thecloud starts to change the world we’re living in andchange the lives of the people that live in thisworld.

KT: How secure is our information on the cloud.Who should have access to it, and more impor-tantly, who can have access to it?Phillips: The ability to permit the end users ofdevices to control their own policy with regardswhich information they are comfortable storing orsharing is an important part of Microsoft’s strate-gies. If you compare what we do to what some ourcompetitors do, it is pretty clear that we land verystrongly on the side of giving users control overtheir data and their information. We are in a busi-ness that provides great technology to allow ourcustomers to build solutions.

One of the things that Microsoft does which isunique in this industry is to provide you an option.We give you a choice between using your owndata centers or our cloud. How you decide what isright for you is going to vary depending on theindustry that you’re in and the problem that you’retrying to solve. In general, the cloud gives you ahigher degree of cost efficiency in order to startusing infrastructure. If you have a global applica-tion and you need to have a footprint across theearth, the cloud will certainly be a better solutionfor you.

The evidence is that the worst breaches thatoccur are not in the public cloud, but for the peo-ple that are trying to do it for themselves. The oth-er reality is that if you’re trying to compete intoday’s world and you’re trying to transfer yourbusiness, the cloud provides you with the oppor-tunity to do that. It’s impossible to alter any onecompany to lay down a global footprint of datacenter capacity to go facilitate building kinds ofapplications that are driving these changes. Thecloud is a safer bet than trying to do it yourselfand the cloud provides you a unique opportunityto go do things that you could never do yourself.

KT: What about cost-effectiveness?Phillips: If you look at the evolution of our pricingstructure, it’s pretty clear that we refuse to be beaton price. The most important thing to think aboutis the value someone is getting - the price is onecomponent of the value. Microsoft has what reallysets us apart from other competitors is full stackoffering. You might find infrastructures that pro-vide raw source and raw networking, like fromAmazon, but what you don’t find starting at thetop is a complete business application integratedwith a comprehensive data stack and analyticcapabilities integrated with rich center developertools and services riding the top infrastructure andservers with a global footprint which enables ourcustomers to build solutions that are differentiated.

Price is obviously one component but ulti-mately what matters is can you go and serveyour customers and deliver unique solutions thatallows you to drive revenue into growth revenuethat remains relevant in a world in which theeconomy is fundamentally changing acrossindustries, and I think this is where the differenti-ation lies.

t e c hnolo g ySUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Keynote speaker James Philips, Corporate Vice President

Microsoft Cloud Roadshow 2016 leads towards cloud innovationCorporate VP highlights essence of cloud computing

James Philips, Corporate Vice President, Business Intelligence Group (right) withIslam Al-Sharaa, IT Director Kuwait Times.

James Philips, Corporate Vice President (left), Samer Abu Ltaif, Regional General Manager of Microsoft Gulf (second left)

BARCELONA: Bendable mobile phones,quick-charge batteries and unbreakabletouch screens - technology firms are racingto harness the potential of graphene, a won-der material which scientists say could trans-form consumer electronics. A fine sheet ofpure carbon, graphene is as thin as an atom,making it the skinniest material known. Atthe same time though, it is 100 timesstronger than steel, hugely pliable and canconduct electricity and heat better than any-thing else. “There are other materials whichdo have one of those properties each,” physi-cist Kostya Novoselov - who first isolatedgraphene in 2004 - said at the Mobile WorldCongress, the sector’s biggest trade fair, inBarcelona. “What is amazing here is that allthose qualities are combined in one simplecrystal.”Of course that immediately leaves uswith a number of possible applications.”

Graphene Patents Soar Novoselov, a Russian-born British citizen,

and his colleague at Manchester UniversityAndre Geim won the Nobel Prize for theirwork with graphene, sparking a flurry ofinterest in the new material. The number ofpatents involving graphene soared fromunder 50 in 2004 to around 9,000 in 2014,according to Andrew Garland of researchfirm Future Markets, who puts out a twice-yearly report on the material. “Most are inelectronics,” he said.

Samsung, the world’s number one smart-phone maker, has taken out the mostgraphene patents - over 490 - followed byChina’s Ocean’s King Lighting and IBM. Whileits real-world uses so far remain modest,research into possible applications for thematerial picked up steam in Europe after theEuropean Union set aside one billion euros($1.1 billion) in 2013 to be spent over tenyears to investigate. “We believe we requireanother ten years to get to the point where a

lot of devices will start being on the market,”said Andrea Ferrari, director of theCambridge Graphene Centre at theUniversity of Cambridge. The trade fair inBarcelona for the first time had a paviliondedicated to graphene research centres andstart-ups, a sign of the growing importanceof the material to the mobile industry.

‘Can Support an Elephant’ Graphene is so pliable scientists predict it

will one day make flexible phones possible.British firm FlexEnable showcased a smart-watch prototype made using graphene thatwraps around a user’s wrist and features a fullcolour LCD display that is capable of runningvideo content. “This sort of display technolo-gy is basically ushering in a completely newgeneration of mobile devices because wecan start folding electronics,” said the compa-ny’s technical director, Mike Banach. Britishtech firm Zap&Go, meanwhile, displayed agraphene charger for mobile phones andtablets that takes just five minutes to fullyload with power.

The company is making 2,000 versions togive to journalists and to people who pre-order them, said the company’s marketingdirector, Simon Harris. “What we have hereultimately could replace the lithium-ion bat-tery in billions of devices. It needs to comedown in size and up in power,” he added.Graphene is so strong and thin thatresearchers believe they will one day be ableto use it to make unbreakable screens formobile devices.

“With just a few kilos you can replace allthe touchscreens in the word. With just a fewlayers on top of each other you can supportan elephant,” said Vittorio Pellegrini, directorof the Italian Institute of Technology’sGraphene Labs. “Graphene is really a materialthat allows our imagination to fly. There is nolimit to what you can do,” he added. — AFP

Wonder material sparks rush to develop new electronics

Second day presentations elaborated oncloud solutions that can lead to more collab-orative and cohesive workspaces. Microsoftsolutions like Office 365, SharePoint, Azureand Internet of Things (IoT) were expounded

upon, with prominent speakers emphasizingtheir role in creating more competitiveadvantage for businesses, and how best toleverage these solutions for managing work-place processes.

NEW YORK: The fight between Apple and the FBI overaccess to a San Bernardino killer’s iPhone isn’t the firsttime industry and government have tangled over pri-vacy and security. Every revolution in communicationstechnology has sparked new battles over its use thatchanged the course of law enforcement, surveillanceand civil liberties. Here are a few famous cases thathelped establish the rules that govern the govern-ment’s access to our conversations and other personaldetails:

THE TELEGRAPHThe telegraph upended nineteenth-century

notions of time and distance, making possible same-day - and sometimes faster - communication wherepreviously it had taken days or weeks for a mailed letterto arrive by train or steamer. Its users, though, had littleexpectation of privacy. All messages passed throughthe hands of telegraph operators, and the telegramsthemselves were easily accessible to governmentagents.

Many states had privacy laws forbidding the tele-graph company to let others read a telegram meant foryou, according to a Mississippi Law Journal article byWesley MacNeil Oliver, a Duquesne University law pro-fessor. But it was far less clear what evidence the gov-ernment needed to present a court to justify a wiretap.

Western Union, eager to let customers know it waslooking out for their privacy, jumped at the opportuni-ty to object to government subpoenas in the mid-to-late 1800s. The company would argue that the govern-ment’s requests for information were too broad andthat they were unreasonable searches not permittedby the Constitution. The company’s efforts helped set astandard for telegram subpoenas, Oliver wrote. Forinstance, the government had to provide a “reasonablyaccurate description of the paper wanted, either by itsdate, title, substance, or the subject it relates to,” insteadof just requesting an “indiscriminate search” for infor-mation contained in a broad swath of telegrams, hesaid.

THE TELEPHONELaw enforcement efforts soared with Prohibition,

leading to a confrontation with phone technology. Aparticularly famous case revolved around RoyOlmstead, a former Seattle police officer who becameknown as “King of the Northwest Bootleggers” for run-ning a ring of liquor importers and distributors in the1920s. Federal agents tapped the phone company’swires outside Olmstead’s company offices and by hishome in an era when there was no warrant require-ment for doing so, said Richard Hamm, a history pro-fessor at the State University of New York at Albany.Evidence gathered from the taps was crucial toOlmstead’s conviction.

The case went to the Supreme Court, where four ofthe then-major phone companies filed briefs in sup-port of the convicted bootlegger, arguing that the war-rantless wiretaps violated constitutional prohibitionson unreasonable searches and self-incrimination. TheSupreme Court upheld Olmstead’s conviction in 1928,ruling the wiretap evidence allowable since Olmstead’sphysical house wasn’t searched nor his papers seized.But the decision galvanized legislative efforts to banwiretapping by federal agents, Hamm said. The 1934Communications Act, which regulated telecommuni-cations and set up the FCC, also criminalized wiretap-

ping and barred the use of wiretap evidence in court.Almost 30 years later, another Supreme Court case

involving the FBI bugging of a public telephone boothlargely overturned the Olmstead decision. The highcourt used the case to lay out the broad principle thatthe Fourth Amendment protects individual privacy,said Washington University Law professor NeilRichards, and not just the “physical sanctity of thehome.”

THE TELEPHONE RINGS TWICEA 1977 Supreme Court case, United States v New

York Telephone Co, features prominently in the JusticeDepartment’s case against Apple, largely because itrevived and reinterpreted a law as old as theConstitution for the modern age. In that case, a region-al AT&T subsidiary gave FBI agents information butrefused to lease them phone lines to install a “pen reg-ister” - a device that records the numbers dialed on aphone - to investigate a gambling ring. The companyargued that it couldn’t do so with a warrant underthen-current wiretap law. A federal judge, backed byan appeals court, forced the company to provide tech-nical assistance to the government. — AP

From Western Union to Apple: When tech battled government

This May 16, 1944 file photo shows a device used by Western Union which translates atelegram into holes on a tape, and then passes it along to the box-like apparatus at left. — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E N C ESUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

SYDNEY: An Australian icebreaker that ranaground in Antarctica during a blizzard has beenrefloated, officials said yesterday as they work tobring the vessel’s expeditioners home.

The Aurora Australis ran aground with 68people on board after breaking its moorings onWednesday and was stuck on rocks atHorseshoe Harbour, close to Australia’s Mawsonstation.

“The Aurora Australis was successfully refloat-ed and is now out of Mawson harbour,” directorof the Australian Antarctic Division Nick Galestold reporters in Hobart. “It is going to remain inthe vicinity of Mawson harbour for a few dayswhile the P&O crew conduct a very thoroughassessment of any damage that has occurredduring the event.”

“Importantly there is no evidence that any oilhas been spilt or any pollution event hasoccurred,” he added. The 37 expeditionersonboard were rescued by barge Friday and tak-en to Mawson station, while the crew remainedto refloat the ship, which is owned by P&OMaritime Services, using its ballast system andwork boats.

Shaun Deshommes, P&O Maritime’s opera-

tions manager, said it would take up to threedays to fully assess the damage to the boat’shull, including using underwater cameras.

“ The breach is relatively small,” he toldreporters at a press conference with Gales,adding that only a small tank had been dam-aged. “It is not affecting in any manner the sta-bility or the safety of the vessel.” It is expectedthat the boat, which is capable of breaking iceup to 1.23 metres thick, will journey back toAustralia for repairs.

‘International jigsaw puzzle’ Gales said the Australian Antarctic Division

was engaging with other Antarctic programmeson how to bring the expeditioners back toAustralia. The United States Antarctic pro-gramme has already agreed to take more than30 expeditioners from another of Australia’s sta-tions, Davis, to Casey station, some 1,500 kilo-metres (950 miles) away, by plane later yester-day.

That group had been scheduled to return toAustralia on the Aurora Australis after a southernhemisphere summer in Antarctica. They are nowexpected to be flown home on an AAD plane in

the coming days. Gales said Australia would con-sider the assets of other countries active in theregion-including France, the United States,South Africa, China and Japan-before decidingon the best option to bring the expeditioners atMawson home.

Saying it was like an “international jigsawpuzzle”, Gales said Australia would seek to min-imise disruption to other nation’s programmes.

“We really try and look for the most efficientand effective and safe way to respond to the sit-uation that minimises impact on other programsas well as is able to give us the assistance weneed,” he said.

Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Huntthanked the “broader Antarctic community” forits help given the dangerous and hostile envi-ronment.

In a statement, Hunt also thanked “the manynations which have been quick to offer logisticalsupport to the Australian Antarctic program”.Several countries have territorial claims onAntarctica, viewed as a potential future source ofhuge mineral resources, although under a 1949agreement the frozen continent is designated ascientific preserve. — AFP

MEXICO CITY: The monarch butterfly popu-lation has soared in its Mexican winter sanctu-ary this season, marking a recovery for thethreatened species that migrates acrossNorth America, officials said Friday.

The orange and black butterfly covered4.01 hectares (9.9 acres) of pine and fir forestin the 2015-2016 season, more than triplinglast year’s figure of 1.13 hectares, Mexican, USand Canadian officials said. While researchersmeasure the population by the area it covers,it estimates that there were 140 million but-terflies this year in the mountains of centralMexico.

But officials and conservationists warnedthat they must sustain their efforts or riskreversing this progress. “The area occupied bythe monarchs in the Mexican sanctuaries hasincreased in the last two seasons, which sug-gests the start of a recovery of this butterfly,”said Omar Vidal, Mexico office director for theWorld Wide Fund for Nature.

“It’s very good news. At the same time, wecan’t lower our guard in any of the threecountries and we must redouble our effortsto ensure this migratory phenomenon tran-scends this and the next generation.”

The rebound comes after the population

hit an all-time low of 0.67 hectares in 2013-2014.

The decline has been blamed on illegallogging in their Mexican wintering groundsand the drop in milkweed on which they feeddue to the use of pesticides in the UnitedStates and Canada. The butterflies travel morethan 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) fromCanada to spend the winter in a mountainreserve straddling the states of Mexico andMichoacan.

They usually arrive at their nesting groundbetween late October and early Novemberand head back north in March. Alejandro delMazo, the head of Mexico’s office for protect-ed areas, credited the recovery to the “greatresults” of the joint actions taken by theMexican, US and Canadian governments toreverse the decline.

The goal, which follows a mandate givenat a 2014 North American summit, is toincrease the area to six hectares by 2020. Thiscompares to a high of 18.19 hectares in 1996-1997.

Plant milkweed Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and

Wildlife Service, said his country has restored

more than 100,000 hectares of fields withoutpesticides in the past year, with an investmentof $20 million.

“I am encouraged by the good news com-ing out of Mexico, an indication that we havethe ability to save the North Americanmonarch butterfly and with it one of the mostremarkable wildlife migrations on the planet,”Ashe said. “But there is much more we needto do and it will take a coordinated citizeneffort on a scale never before seen.” Asheurged people across the region to help thebutterfly thrive by planting milkweed, andreach the goal of having 250 million mon-archs by 2020. “A simple stand of native milk-weed can make every backyard, school, com-munity center, city park and place of worshipa haven for breeding or migrating monarchs,and together we can bring about the greatestcitizen conservation victory of our genera-tion,” he said.

But Vidal of WWF warned that herbicidesare still a major problem in the United States,along with illegal logging in Mexican sanctu-aries. “The threats to the monarch remain andif they are not dealt with, if actions are not fol-lowed through, the migratory phenomenonwon’t recover,” he said. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States hascompleted its first uterus transplant sur-gery, following on a technique alreadyproven in Sweden that could helpwomen suffering from infertility, theCleveland Clinic said Thursday. The nine-hour surgery took place on February 24,and the 26-year-old patient-whose iden-tity was not revealed-was in stable con-dition, the hospital said in a statement.

The transplanted uterus came from adeceased donor. More details about thesurgery are expected during a pressconference with the medical team to bescheduled next week in Cleveland, Ohio.

Late last year, Cleveland Clinic beganenlisting candidates for uterine trans-plants as part of a clinical trial thataimed to offer the procedure to 10women.

Women potentially eligible to receivea uterine transplant include those whosuffer from an irreversible conditionknown as Uterine Factor Infertility (UFI),which affects between three and fivepercent of women worldwide, the hospi-tal said.

Sweden’s University of Gothenburgachieved its first birth via a transplanteduterus in September 2014. — AFP

US performs its first

uterus transplant

Australian icebreaker refloated

in Antarctica after grounding Rescuers working to bring vessel’s expeditioners home

A kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies cling to tree branches, in the PiedraHerrada sanctuary, near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Monarch butterflies have madea big comeback in their wintering grounds in Mexico, after suffering seriousdeclines, investigators said Friday. — AP

Monarch butterfly population surges in Mexico

Australia’s flagship icebreaker Aurora Australis sailing from Australia’s Mawson research station in Antarctica. The icebreakerthat ran aground in Antarctica during a blizzard has been successfully refloated, officials said. — AFP

CHARLESTON, W.Va: Doubt over man’scontribution to global warming, particularlythrough burning coal for power, is fueling apush by West Virginia lawmakers to blocknew science standards in schools.

In a state defined by a coal industry thatis now on life support, the Republican-ledHouse of Delegates voted 73-20 on Fridayto delay the new science standards relatedto Common Core.

Discussion on the measure Thursdayfocused on concerns, largely by coal propo-nents, that teaching the standards aboutglobal warming would follow a “politicalagenda” and an “ideology.”

The vast majority of peer-reviewed stud-ies, science organizations and climate scien-tists say global warming stems largely frommanmade sources. A major source of car-bon emissions is burning coal.

“In an energy-producing state, it’s a con-cern to me that we are teaching our kids,potentially, that we are doing immoralthings here in order to make a living in ourstate,” said Del. Jim Butler, R-Mason.

The science standards, set to take effectJuly 1, would be blocked for at least a yearand existing standards would remain intheir place. The measure next heads to theGOP-controlled Senate, where the educa-tion chairman says he has no issue with thebill. “As it stands right now, I have no prob-lems with it at all,” said Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston.

“I’m going to work it and send it rightthrough.” It’s unclear how the full Senatewould act on the proposal. In April 2015, thestate Board of Education made somechanges to the standards that global warm-ing doubters favored; for example, adding

“natural forces” to the list of climate-changedebate topics, which already includedgreenhouse gases; human changes inatmospheric concentrations of greenhousegases; and relevant laws and treaties.

Climate change only appears in a hand-ful of places in the standards. In one exam-ple, ninth-graders are tasked with analyzing“geoscience data and the results from theglobal climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of globalor regional climate change and associatedfuture impacts to Earth systems.”

The full bill passed Friday also wouldchange standards for other subject areas.Experts appointed by the House speakerand Senate president would suggest newmath and English standards to be put inplace by the 2017-18 school year.

Last year, the Board of Educationstripped its Common Core-related stan-dards for math and English and replacedthem. But some lawmakers say the newstandards still resemble Common Core tooclosely.

Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin saidthe state shouldn’t keep changing its educa-tional standards year after year. He also criti-cized lawmakers for the change on the sci-ence standards. “Those are things that oureducators should be making those deci-sions on, as opposed to somebody becauseof a belief they have,” Tomblin said.

Some delegates said it would be danger-ous to start limiting the information pre-sented to students by blocking the sciencestandards. “It’s a bigger world than just WestVirginia that many of these students aregoing to live in,” said Del. Dave Perry, D-Fayette. — AP

Global warming doubts spur

push to block science norms

ORLANDO, Florida: SeaWorldacknowledged that it sent its ownworkers to infiltrate an animal rightsgroup which opposed the practices ofthe theme park. The developmentcomes months after People for theEthical Treatment of Animals accuseda SeaWorld employee of trying toincite violence while posing as a fel-low animal rights activist.

SeaWorld Entertainment CEO JoelManby vowed Thursday to end thepractice, but said that it had sent itsemployees to protect the safety of itsemployees and customers.

“We recognize the need to ensurethat all of our security and other activ-ities align with our core values andethical standards,” Manby said.

However, the company refused tosay who had authorized the infiltra-tion, how long it had been going on,or how many workers were used toinfiltrate animal rights groups or otheropponents. SeaWorld spokeswomanAimee Jeansonne Becka cited theconfidential nature of its security prac-tices.

The employee at the center of theaccusations by PETA, Paul McComb, isstill employed by SeaWorld but work-ing in another department, the com-pany said Thursday. PETA said lastsummer that its own investigation

revealed that McComb, a humanresource worker, attempted to inciteprotesters and had posted incendiarycomments on social media while mas-

querading as an animal-rights activistsince 2012.

PETA officials said Thursday thatSeaWorld’s refusal to fire McComb

shows that it condones corporate spy-ing. The group has been especiallyvocal in its criticism of SeaWorld sincethe 2013 documentary, “Blackfish,”suggested the treatment of captiveorcas provokes violent behavior. Parkattendance dropped after the releaseof the documentary, which chronicledevents at the park leading up to thedeath of a SeaWorld trainer in 2010.

“The tawdry orca sideshows anddespicable spying tactics are sinkingSeaWorld’s ship,” said Tracy Reiman,PETA’s executive vice president.

SeaWorld could face civil, and evencriminal, legal exposure depending onthe information it obtained fromMcComb about PETA and what thecompany did with the information,said Sharon Sandeen, a law professorat Mitchell Hamline School of Law inSt Paul, Minnesota.

If any information SeaWorld gotfrom McComb met the definition of atrade secret - it was secret, had valuebecause it was secret and there wasan effort by PETA to keep it secret -then PETA could have a claim of tradesecret misappropriation, she said.“PETA would have to identify informa-tion that they said was misappropriat-ed,” Sandeen said. “They would haveto show they had policies in place tokeep the information secret.” — AP

SeaWorld acknowledges planting

worker in animal rights groupNEW ORLEANS: Abortion services inLouisiana will be restricted to one clinic inNew Orleans unless the US Supreme Courtreverses an appellate court ruling, an abor-tion rights group said. On Wednesday, a rul-ing by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appealsallowed a Louisiana law to take effect thatrequires doctors providing abortions to haveadmitting privileges at a hospital within 30miles.

Supporters say the law’s provision requir-ing admitting privileges at area hospitals ismeant to protect women’s health. Opponentssay it’s meant to make it essentially impossi-ble for women to get abortions and would dojust that. The Center for Reproductive Rights,which is representing abortion clinics anddoctors, said only one clinic in Louisianawould be able to provide abortions unlessthe Supreme Court reverses the ruling.

The center said the Women’s Health CareCenter in New Orleans will remain openbecause it has doctors with admitting privi-leges. But the group said two other two clin-ics - one in Baton Rouge and one in BossierCity - were forced to stop providing abortionsThursday. Meanwhile, a fourth clinic inShreveport would have to stop providingabortions unless the Supreme Court stopsLouisiana’s law from going into effect, thegroup said. “The fourth clinic is hanging on bya thread, with one physician who will have tocease providing services unless we can getimmediate relief from the Supreme Court,”said David Brown, a staff lawyer with the

Center for Reproductive Rights.A fifth clinic in Metairie, a suburb of New

Orleans, closed recently. Abortion clinics andtheir doctors sued Louisiana to block the law.In late January, US District Judge JohndeGravelles in Baton Rouge barred the statefrom enforcing that requirement, but hisdecision was overturned by the appellatecourt.The same appellate court in NewOrleans allowed a similar law to go into effectin Texas last June. The Supreme Court is slat-ed to hear arguments in the Texas case onMarch 2.

The clinics did not respond to messagesseeking comment and confirmation of thestatus of abortion services at their facilities.“The effect (of the ruling) is proving devastat-ing on women’s ability to access safe andlegal abortion services in Louisiana,” Brownsaid.

Louisiana Department of Health andHospitals Secretary Rebekah E. Gee said in astatement that the law now in effect ensures“facilities and physicians that perform abor-tions are operating in the safest manner pos-sible and have ready access to emergencycare.” A violation carries a fine of up to $4,000and the loss of a clinic’s license, she said.Doctors who perform an abortion withoutadmitting privileges could also face licensingsanctions, she said.

Ruth Wisher, press secretary for LouisianaAttorney General Jeff Landry, said that “ifabortion clinics are in compliance with thelaw, they may remain open.” — AP

Ruling may leave Louisiana

with one abortion clinic

This photo made in summer 2015 and provided by Jesica Wallershows a three-week-old baby lobster at Bigelow Laboratory forOcean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. Her photograph won aNational Science Foundation visual media award and also appears inthe March/April 2016 edition of Popular Science. — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E N C ESUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

NEW YORK: A number of airlines haveraised concerns that the rapidly spread-ing Zika virus may be discouraging travelin the Americas, the International AirTransport Association’s Director Generaland CEO Tony Tyler told reporters in NewYork.

His comment on the sidelines of anevent hosted by the global airline tradegroup marks one of the industry’s firstacknowledgments that the mosquito-borne virus could hit revenue.

“A number of members haveexpressed concern that they may alreadybe seeing some effect on travel, particu-larly in the Americas,” he said. “When wepublish (traffic) numbers, particularly Ithink the regional numbers for January,perhaps there will be the first indicationof that.” Tyler could not comment onwhat kind of impact the airlines wereseeing, whether destination switches bytravelers or lower bookings overall.

Bookings to Zika-hit parts of theAmericas fell 3.4 percent from a year agobetween Jan. 15, when the U.S. Centersfor Disease Control and Preventionissued a travel advisory for pregnantwomen, and Feb. 10, according to areport last week by travel data analysiscompany ForwardKeys.

Scientists are investigating a potentiallink between Zika infections of pregnantwomen and more than 4,300 suspectedcases in Brazil of microcephaly, a condi-tion marked by abnormally small headsize that can result in developmentalproblems.

Other travel companies, such ascruise ship operators Carnival Corp andNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd ,have yet to report a hit from the virus.

Top airlines have said identifying anybookings shift from Zika would be diffi-cult because unit revenue already isdown to places such as Brazil because of

the country’s economic crisis. Some airticket prices are falling nonetheless. Thelowest fares to debt-strapped San Juan,Puerto Rico have fallen 22 percent onaverage from a year ago, according to anearly February analysis of six of thebusiest US domestic routes to theisland’s capital by Harrell Associates.

Puerto Rico is one of 28 countries andterritories in the Americas battling Zika.At least three conferences at majorPuerto Rican hotels were recently can-celed and one postponed because ofconcerns over the virus.

Much remains unknown about Zika,including whether the virus actuallycauses microcephaly in babies. Brazilsaid it has confirmed more than 580 cas-es of microcephaly, and considers mostof them to be related to Zika infectionsin the mothers. Brazil is investigating anadditional 4,100 suspected cases ofmicrocephaly. — Reuters

Yellow fever death

toll rises to 125

in Angola

LUANDA: An ongoing yellow fever epidemic in Angola haskilled 125 people out of 664 suspected cases since December30, government statistics show, despite attempts to quell theoutbreak.

The centre of the health crisis remains the capital Luanda,where 92 people have died, the health ministry said onFriday. There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viralhemorrhagic disease which is transmitted by infected mos-quitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and LatinAmerica’s Amazon region.

Authorities launched a mass vaccination campaign earlierthis month. The government has also urged residents to ster-ilise stagnant water before drinking it.

Yellow fever vaccinations are routinely recommended fortravellers to Angola, though the country had not previouslyseen a signif icant outbreak since 1986. World HealthOrganization figures show there are an estimated 130,000 casesof yellow fever reported yearly, causing 44,000 deaths world-wide each year, with 90 percent occurring in Africa. — AFP

CHICAGO: A study of nine pregnant womenfrom the United States who traveled to coun-tries where the Zika virus was circulatingshows a greater-than-expected number offetal infections and brain abnormalities, UShealth officials said on Friday.

Two of the women had miscarriages, twohad abortions, two had apparently healthychildren, and one child was born with severemicrocephaly, the US Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention said.

Doctors are still following the two remain-ing pregnancies, which so far appear to beprogressing without complications, the CDCsaid. “We did not expect to see these brainabnormalities in this small case series of USpregnant travelers,” said Dr. Denise Jamieson,a birth defects expert serving on CDC’s ZikaVirus Response Team.

She said it was “greater than we wouldhave expected.” Brazil is investigating thou-sands of cases of babies born with abnormally

small heads thought to be linked with Zika, amosquito-borne virus circulating in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean.

In the nine US cases, Zika virus infectionduring pregnancy was associated with arange of outcomes, including early pregnancylosses, congenital microcephaly, and appar-ently healthy infants, the CDC said.Microcephaly is a birth defect associated withundersized heads and developmental prob-lems. More information will be available in thefuture from a new CDC registry for US preg-nant women with confirmed Zika virus infec-tion and their infants. An analysis of some cas-es showed the virus had crossed the placentaand affected the fetuses.

In one, a woman traveled to a Zika-affect-ed area when she was five weeks pregnant.Antibody testing confirmed a recent Zikainfection. The mother miscarried at eightweeks, and an analysis of the fetus detectedZika virus. “Our lab identified Zika in the pla-

cental tissues. That is suggestive that Zika mayhave caused the miscarriage,” CDC Director Dr.Thomas Frieden told reporters on a confer-ence call. But he cautioned that 10 percent to20 percent of all pregnancies end up in mis-carriage, so it was not certain that Zika was toblame. In another case, a woman in her 30shad traveled to a Zika-affected area when shewas about 12 weeks pregnant. Shortly afterher return, she developed a fever, eye pain,body aches and a rash. Testing confirmed arecent Zika infection.

The woman got a routine ultrasound atabout 20 weeks gestation, and doctors notedthat the fetus was missing its corpus callosum,tissue that connects both halves of the brain.It also had fluid in the brain and there was evi-dence the brain had shrunk in size. The Zikavirus was detected in the amniotic fluid. Thewoman chose to abort the fetus.

In another case, a woman who had lived inBrazil gave birth to an infant with severe

microcephaly. The CDC did not release detailson where the baby was born. In January, aCDC spokesman confirmed that a U.S. womanwho had lived in Brazil gave birth to a micro-cephalic baby in Hawaii.

“It’s more evidence to me that this associa-tion is continuing to look stronger andstronger,” said Dr. Richard Beigi, president ofThe Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetricsand Gynecology, who had seen the reports.

“We want to be cautious because it’s asmall group of women, but from what I saw, itis suggestive that the effects look to be moresevere in the early part of pregnancy,” saidBeigi, an obstetrician at the University ofPittsburgh Medical Center.

The CDC is also investigating another 10cases of Zika infection in pregnant travelers.On Jan. 15, the CDC issued an advisory tellingpregnant women to consider postponingtravel to areas with active transmission of Zikavirus. — Reuters

Study of 9 pregnant travelers

raises new worries about Zika Number of fetal infections and brain abnormalities

SAN JUAN: Workers from the Puerto Rico Health Department and CDC review Zika related data collected by the island’s health dept and the US Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Officials have barred local blood donations, ramped up efforts to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito andare trying to monitor every pregnant woman on the island due to fears Zika might cause birth defects. — AP

Airlines worry Zika may be hurting Americas travel

GENEVA: Tarun Dua, Expert on Mental and Brain Disorders of the World HealthOrganization, WHO, speaks during a press conference about the Guillain-Barresyndrome in the context of Zika virus, at the European headquarters of theUnited Nations, in Geneva on Friday. — AFP

Canada lawmakers

to present new

assisted dying rules

OTTAWA: Canada’s parliament will present new rules for doctor-assisted dying by June 6, in compliance with a high court rulingissued a year ago, the attorney general said. The government will“take an empathetic approach” toward the legislation, balancingthe rights of individuals and medical professionals while protect-ing the vulnerable, Jody Wilson-Raybould told reporters.

The Supreme Court a year ago quashed a section of theCriminal Code, clearing the way for consenting adults with serioushealth problems to seek help from a medical practitioner to endtheir life. The court gave the government until June to bring thelaw into compliance with its ruling, allowing lawmakers time tocome up with new rules for doctor-assisted dying.

A parliamentary special committee tasked with putting for-ward recommendations for the law said in a new report thatassisted dying should be an option available to people with debili-tating and irreversible illness, including competent minors andpeople with mental illness.

A person diagnosed with a serious health problem could alsomake arrangements in advance to die, in situations where demen-tia or other illness could prevent them from making the decisionlater. Conservatives on the committee challenged the recommen-dations, saying they go far beyond what the court had ordered.

In December, Quebec became the first Canadian province toroll out its own set of rules for doctor-assisted dying, in responseto strong public demand.

Some form of physician-assisted dying is legal in Belgium,Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and in a handful of USstates. — AFP

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

VIVA lanuches

Snapchat Geo-filter

for Kuwaiti

Students in USA, UK

KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most devel-oped telecom operator, launched an exclusive and specialGeo-filter on Snapchat on National and Liberation Days’occasion, for Kuwaiti students in United States of Americaand United Kingdom.

Commenting on this significant achievement,Abdulrazzaq Bader Al-Essa, said: “VIVA is considered as thefirst Leader Telecom Company in Kuwait that created adepartment specialized in Social Media, which endeavorsto reach accomplishments, therefore our professional teamworked hard throughout months to read such achieve-ment and launch this filter on Snapchat.” He added: “Weaim to share the Kuwaiti students in USA and UK theseannual national celebrations, and offer this gift for them touse it in their photos and videos on Snapchat and share itwith their families and friends.” In Addition, Kuwaiti touristswho are planning to visit USA and UK during the holidaycan use this Geo-filter on Snapchat.

KUWAIT: Within its Kuwait national holidays’celebration program, Ahli United Bank (AUB)organized a special celebration in the JointBanks Complex area in Kuwait City. Theevent featured the traditional Kuwaiti ArdaGroup that performed amongst a largecrowd of attendees in a nationalistic, festiveatmosphere.

The celebration came as a very pleasantsurprise to the Bank’s customers, employeesand passers-by who gathered to take photosand be part of AUB’s celebration, which waslaunched to encourage everyone to join inthe joy of celebrating the national holidays of

our beloved Kuwait.In addition, a team of the Bank employees

distributed Kuwait’s flag and Kuwaiti sweets toeveryone sharing with them the happiness ofthis very special occasion.

Ahli United Bank has always been a leaderin communicating with its customers and thepublic. The Bank is keen to engage with thepeople of Kuwait, through its diversified activi-ties and banking services. and this is amplydemonstrated through its competitive rangeof products of services available at Head Officein the Joint Banks Complex and through itsbranch network throughout the country.

Ahli United celebrations

for the National days

KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) suc-cessfully concluded its Golden sponsorship ofthe Special Needs Operetta, which was organ-ized by the Ministry of Social Affairs on theoccasion of the National and Liberation days.The event was held under the patronage ofthe Undersecretary of Ministry of Social Affairs

and Labor Dr Mutar Al-Mutairi, on 23 February,2016 at the Ministry’s theatre located inSulaibikhat.

The Bank’s sponsorship of the Operetta is inline with its Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) strategy, which focuses on supportingthe special needs segment in Kuwait.

The event was held to shed light on theimportance of involving those with specialneeds, and to encourage the integration ofthese individuals with the members of society,especially at a time where the nation comestogether to enjoy the blessing of liberty.Children with special needs and children from

care homes participated in the operetta, fur-ther strengthening the sense of nationalismand joy on this special occasion.

ABK Representative, Ali Al-Baghli -Corporate Communications Manager washonored by the Undersecretary of Ministry ofSocial Affairs and Labor Dr Mutar Al-Mutairi,

for the Banks support and commitment tomaking a difference in the community.

For more information on Al Ahli Bank ofKuwait please visit www.eahli.com or contactan ABK representative via ‘Ahli Chat’ or by con-tacting a customer service agent via ‘AhlanAhli’ at 1899899.

ABK concludes sponsorship of Special Needs Operetta

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s management and staff celebrated Kuwait’s National and Liberation Days by releasing balloons colored with theKuwaiti flag’s colors.

Members of the Kuwaiti Positivity Voluntary Group visited Nepal recently, where they presented aid to children at a local orphanage.

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Health awareness campaigns held in Hawally

As part of Hawally Governorate Health Zone’s efforts to spread awareness on different medical issues and diseases, Dr Hala Abdullouze from south Hawally polyclinic along with her colleagues organized anopen day recently to bring such awareness to the public. Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya was among the companies contributing, as it promoted skin care products through its German principle Sebamed.Meanwhile, Bayan Health Center held its women’s awareness day, concentrating on breast cancer diagnoses and other health issues such as diabetes, blood pressure, and obesity. The awareness campaigns

also includes activities in which doctors provide medical advice on disease prevention and treatment, particularly chronic diseases such as diabetes and blood pressure.

11:30 Siba’s Table12:00 Chopped13:00 Guy’s Big Bite13:30 Guy’s Big Bite14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives16:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives16:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives17:00 Chopped18:00 Siba’s Table18:30 Siba’s Table19:00 Dinner At Tiffani’s19:30 Dinner At Tiffani’s20:00 Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers20:30 Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers21:00 All Star Academy22:00 Follow Donal... To Europe22:30 Follow Donal... To Europe23:00 Australian Food AdventuresWith Matt Moran

T V PR O G R A M SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

CHEF ON OSN MOVIES HD COMEDY

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00:00 Idiocracy02:00 Chef04:00 You Again06:00 The Misadventures Of TheDunderheads08:00 Renaissance Man10:15 Chef12:15 Grudge Match14:15 Garfield’s Pet Force15:45 Renaissance Man18:00 50 First Dates20:00 A Case Of You22:00 The Trip To Italy

01:00 Hours03:00 Tracks05:00 At Middleton07:00 Yellow Rock09:00 Mr. Pip11:00 At Middleton13:00 Late Bloomers15:00 Still Mine17:00 Mr. Pip19:00 The Trials Of Cate McCall21:00 Goodbye World

02:00 The Doctor04:00 Out Of The Furnace06:00 Upside Down08:00 When A Man Loves AWoman10:30 The Alamo13:00 What Dreams May Come15:00 Safe Haven17:00 When A Man Loves AWoman19:30 Gattaca21:30 The Color Of Money23:30 I Origins

01:00 Sugar Daddies03:00 Life Of A King05:00 Parkland07:00 Non-Stop09:00 Life Of A King11:00 Big Game13:00 The Single Moms Club15:00 Song For Marion17:00 Step Up All In19:00 The Other Woman21:00 Careful What You Wish For23:00 Paranormal Activity: TheMarked Ones

00:55 Night Manager01:55 Breaking Bad02:55 Equus05:10 The Hills Run Red06:40 The Great Escape09:30 Mannequin11:00 One Summer Love12:40 It Runs In The Family14:05 Waking Up In Reno15:40 Les Miserables (1998)17:50 Miracles19:15 Groundhog Day21:00 Doubt22:45 Annie Hall

00:50 Gator Boys01:45 Gator Boys02:40 Africa’s Super Seven03:35 Cute To Killer04:25 Gorilla Doctors05:15 Tigerfish: Africa’s Piranha06:02 Elephants In The Room06:49 Wildest Islands07:36 Swamp Brothers08:00 Swamp Brothers08:25 Treetop Cat Rescue08:50 Treetop Cat Rescue09:15 Wild Capture School09:45 Wild Capture School10:10 Rugged Justice11:05 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet12:00 Big Fish Man12:55 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster13:50 Wild Capture School14:20 Wild Capture School14:45 Wildest Latin America15:40 Wild Hawaii16:35 Wildest Middle East17:30 Wildest Islands18:25 How Sharks Hunt19:20 Wild Capture School19:50 Wild Capture School20:15 Rugged Justice21:10 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet22:05 Treetop Cat Rescue22:35 Treetop Cat Rescue23:00 Wild Capture School

00:00 Naked Soldier02:00 Outpost: Rise Of TheSpetsnaz04:00 Falcon Rising06:00 Transit08:00 The River Wild10:00 R.I.P.D.12:00 Big Ass Spider!14:00 Transit16:00 Biker Boyz18:00 R.I.P.D.20:00 The Quick And The Dead22:00 Death Race

00:00 Programmes Start At7:00am KSA07:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil07:25 K. C. Undercover07:50 Supa Strikas08:15 Annedroids08:40 Lab Rats09:10 Kirby Buckets09:35 Gamers Guide To PrettyMuch Everything10:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil10:25 K. C. Undercover10:50 Supa Strikas11:20 Lab Rats11:45 Mighty Med12:10 Mighty Med12:35 Mighty Med13:00 Mighty Med13:30 Mighty Med: The Mother OfAll Villains14:20 Kickin’ It14:45 Kickin’ It15:10 Disney Mickey Mouse15:15 Rocket Monkeys15:40 Wander Over Yonder16:05 Star vs The Forces Of Evil16:30 Kirby Buckets16:55 Gamers Guide To PrettyMuch Everything17:25 K. C. Undercover17:50 Supa Strikas18:15 Lab Rats18:40 Mighty Med: The Mother OfAll Villains19:35 Star vs The Forces Of Evil20:00 Kirby Buckets20:25 Gamers Guide To PrettyMuch Everything20:55 K. C. Undercover21:20 Supa Strikas21:45 Lab Rats22:10 Mighty Med: The Mother OfAll Villains23:05 Super Matrak

00:00 Eastenders00:30 Father Brown01:20 Dickensian02:05 Dickensian02:50 Unforgotten03:35 Eastenders04:05 Eastenders04:35 Doctors05:05 Father Brown05:55 The Cafe06:20 Eastenders06:50 Eastenders07:20 Death In Paradise08:20 Dickensian09:05 Doctor Who10:00 Eastenders10:30 Eastenders11:00 Death In Paradise11:55 Dickensian12:45 Dickensian13:35 Doctor Who14:25 Eastenders14:55 Eastenders15:30 Starlings16:20 Call The Midwife17:15 Doctor Who18:00 Doctors18:30 Doctors19:05 Death In Paradise20:00 Silent Witness21:00 Silent Witness22:00 Ripper Street22:55 Death In Paradise

00:00 Brilliant Ideas00:30 Charlie Rose01:30 Bloomberg Businessweek02:00 Encore02:30 High Flyers03:00 Charlie Rose04:00 Charlie Rose

00:00 News Update00:30 Dialogue01:00 News Update01:15 China 2402:00 The Heat02:30 News Update03:00 Global Business04:00 News Update05:00 News Update06:30 Dialogue07:00 News Hour08:00 Global Business09:00 News Update10:30 Sports Scene11:00 Global Business12:00 News Update12:30 Culture Express

00:00 Managing Asia00:30 First Class01:00 Inside China01:30 CNBC Conversation: vSantiprabhob02:00 Inside China02:30 CNBC Conversation: vSantiprabhob03:00 Managing Asia03:30 First Class04:00 Inside China04:30 CNBC Conversation: vSantiprabhob05:00 Managing Asia05:30 First Class06:00 Inside China06:30 CNBC Conversation: vSantiprabhob

00:00 They Took Our Child, WeGot Her Back01:00 My Haunted House02:00 Curious & Unusual Deaths02:30 Curious & Unusual Deaths03:00 Crimes That Shook Britain04:00 Frenemies04:30 Frenemies05:00 They Took Our Child, WeGot Her Back06:00 My Haunted House07:00 Fred Dinenage: MurderCasebook08:00 Fred Dinenage: MurderCasebook09:00 Fred Dinenage: MurderCasebook10:00 Frenemies13:00 Campus Nightmares16:00 Crimes That Shook Britain17:00 Nightmare In Suburbia20:00 Private Crimes20:30 Private Crimes21:00 Private Crimes21:30 Private Crimes22:00 Private Crimes22:30 Private Crimes23:00 Killer Kids

00:20 Deadly Dilemmas00:45 Fast N’ Loud01:35 Fast N’ Loud02:25 Fast N’ Loud03:15 Fast N’ Loud04:05 Fast N’ Loud05:00 Fast N’ Loud06:00 Flying Wild Alaska06:50 Kings Of Crash07:40 Fast N’ Loud08:30 Storage Hunters08:55 The Liquidator09:20 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition09:45 How It’s Made: Dream Cars10:10 How Do They Do It?10:35 Edge Of Alaska11:25 Alaska: The Last Frontier(Season 5 Specials)12:15 Railroad Alaska13:05 Storage Hunters13:30 The Liquidator

00:40 Deadly Women01:30 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion02:20 California Investigator02:45 California Investigator03:10 True CSI04:00 Surviving Evil04:45 Deadly Women05:30 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion06:20 The Will07:10 The Will08:00 Fatal Encounters08:50 Disappeared09:40 Disappeared10:30 True Crime With AphroditeJones11:20 True Crime With Aphrodite

00:35 Mythbusters01:20 Mythbusters02:08 Mythbusters02:55 Mythbusters03:42 Weird Or What?04:29 Weird Or What?05:16 Weird Or What?06:03 Weird Or What?06:50 Weird Or What?07:37 How Do They Do It?08:00 How Do They Do It?08:23 Food Factory08:45 Food Factory09:08 Food Factory09:30 Food Factory09:53 Food Factory10:15 Food Factory10:38 Food Factory11:00 Food Factory11:23 Food Factory11:45 Food Factory12:08 How Do They Do It?12:31 How Do They Do It?12:53 How It’s Made13:15 How It’s Made13:38 How It’s Made14:00 How It’s Made14:23 How It’s Made14:46 How It’s Made15:10 How It’s Made15:33 How It’s Made15:57 Strangest Weather On Earth16:44 Strangest Weather On Earth17:06 Strangest Weather On Earth17:31 Strangest Weather On Earth17:56 Strangest Weather On Earth18:18 Strangest Weather On Earth18:40 Strangest Weather On Earth19:05 Strangest Weather On Earth19:27 Strangest Weather On Earth19:50 Mythbusters

01:30 Solved02:20 Solved03:05 Dive To The Bottom Of TheWorld03:50 Codes And Conspiracies04:35 Codes And Conspiracies05:20 Codes And Conspiracies06:05 Codes And Conspiracies06:50 Codes And Conspiracies07:35 Origins08:00 JFK: Inside The Target Car08:50 Dive To The Bottom Of TheWorld09:40 Mega Predators10:30 Lost Temple To The Gods11:20 Flight 370: The MissingLinks12:10 Extreme Engineering13:00 Extreme Engineering13:50 Extreme Engineering14:40 Extreme Engineering15:30 Extreme Engineering16:20 Deadliest Catch17:10 Deadliest Catch18:00 Deadliest Catch18:50 Deadliest Catch19:40 America: Facts vs. Fiction20:05 America: Facts vs. Fiction20:30 The Kennedy Detail22:10 American Guns23:00 The Kennedy Detail

12:45 Jessie13:10 Liv And Maddie13:35 Liv And Maddie14:00 Austin & Ally14:30 Austin & Ally14:55 I Didn’t Do It15:20 I Didn’t Do It15:45 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug & Cat Noir16:10 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug & Cat Noir16:35 Best Friends Whenever17:00 Girl Meets World17:25 Girl Meets World17:50 I Love Violetta18:00 Zapped19:30 Gravity Falls19:55 Dog With A Blog20:20 Mako Mermaids20:45 Good Luck Charlie21:10 Good Luck Charlie21:35 H2O: Just Add Water22:00 Binny And The Ghost22:25 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch22:50 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch23:10 Hank Zipzer23:35 Binny And The Ghost

13:00 Africa Live14:00 News Update14:30 Dialogue15:00 News Update15:15 China 2416:00 News Update16:15 Global Business17:00 News Update17:15 World InSight18:00 Asia Today18:30 Culture Express19:00 News Update19:30 The Heat20:00 Africa Live21:00 Global Business21:30 Dialogue22:00 News Update22:15 China 2423:00 News Update23:15 World InSight

00:00 New Money00:30 Fashion Bloggers00:55 Fashion Bloggers01:25 Stewarts And Hamiltons02:20 E! News03:15 Sex With Brody03:40 The Grace Helbig Show04:10 E! Entertainment Special05:05 E! Entertainment Special06:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians06:55 Keeping Up With TheKardashians07:50 Style Star08:20 E! News09:15 House Of DVF10:15 House Of DVF11:10 Fashion Bloggers11:35 Fashion Bloggers12:05 E! News13:05 Keeping Up With TheKardashians14:05 Keeping Up With TheKardashians15:00 Dash Dolls16:00 Dash Dolls17:00 Botched18:00 E! News19:00 Fashion Bloggers19:30 Fashion Bloggers20:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians21:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians22:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry

00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:00 Chopped02:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives02:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives03:00 Man v Food03:30 Man v Food04:00 Save My Bakery05:00 Chopped06:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives06:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives07:00 Man Fire Food07:30 Man Fire Food08:00 Chopped09:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes10:00 The Pioneer Woman10:30 The Pioneer Woman11:00 Siba’s Table

00:10 Coronation Street00:35 Coronation Street01:10 Blue Go Mad In Ibiza02:00 More Tales FromNorthumberland...02:30 Coronation Street02:55 Coronation Street03:20 Coronation Street03:40 Coronation Street04:05 Coronation Street04:40 The Jonathan Ross Show05:30 Vera07:10 Murdoch Mysteries08:05 Murdoch Mysteries08:55 Murdoch Mysteries09:50 Murdoch Mysteries10:40 Murdoch Mysteries11:30 Shetland12:25 Cilla13:15 More Tales FromNorthumberland...13:45 Ant & Dec’s Saturday NightTakeaway15:00 Seven Days With‚Ķ15:55 Royalty Close Up16:45 Royalty Close Up17:40 Cilla18:35 More Tales FromNorthumberland...19:00 Seven Days With‚Ķ19:55 Ant & Dec’s Saturday NightTakeaway21:10 More Tales FromNorthumberland...21:35 Blue Go Mad In Ibiza22:25 Seven Days With‚Ķ23:15 Who’s Doing The Dishes?

02:00 Trans World Sport03:00 Inside The PGA Tour03:30 European Tour Weekly04:00 Live NHL07:00 Inside The PGA Tour07:30 European Tour Weekly08:00 Live PGA European Tour12:00 Trans World Sport13:00 PGA Tour18:10 Live Top 1420:30 Inside The PGA Tour21:00 Live PGA Tour

00:30 Suburgatory01:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore01:30 Saturday Night Live02:30 It’s Always Sunny InPhiladelphia03:00 The Muppets03:30 Dr. Ken04:00 I Hate My TeenageDaughter04:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon05:30 Modern Family06:00 $#*! My Dad Says06:30 Community07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers08:00 I Hate My TeenageDaughter08:30 Breaking In09:00 The Muppets09:30 Last Man Standing10:00 Life In Pieces10:30 Community11:00 The Tonight Show Starring

00:00 Chicago Fire01:00 Criminal Minds02:00 The Blacklist03:00 Minority Report04:00 C.S.I. Cyber05:00 Good Morning America06:00 Stitchers07:00 The Whispers08:00 C.S.I. Cyber09:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show10:00 Criminal Minds11:00 The Whispers12:00 Coronation Street12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 Stitchers15:00 The Whispers16:00 Live Good Morning America17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 C.S.I. Cyber19:00 Bones20:00 Suits21:00 Scandal22:00 How To Get Away WithMurder23:00 The Last Kingdom

01:00 NHL03:00 Live Monster Energy AMASupercross06:00 Live AFL NAB Challenge08:30 Live AFL NAB Challenge11:30 World Rugby12:00 The Weber Cup13:00 Live Louis Vuitton America’sCup World Series14:30 Inside Sailing15:00 Monster Energy AMASupercross18:00 Gillette World Sport18:30 Bellator MMA 150 - Kongo vQueiroz20:30 Live NHL23:30 Formula-E ChampionshipSound Of The Future

00:00 Violetta00:45 The Hive00:50 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:15 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:40 Hank Zipzer02:05 Binny And The Ghost02:30 Violetta03:15 The Hive03:20 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch03:45 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch04:10 Hank Zipzer04:35 Binny And The Ghost05:00 Violetta05:45 The Hive05:50 Mouk06:00 Lolirock06:25 Sofia The First06:50 Gravity Falls07:15 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug & Cat Noir07:40 Jessie08:05 Shake It Up08:30 Shake It Up08:55 That’s So Raven09:20 That’s So Raven09:45 Jessie10:15 Violetta Recipes10:25 Home On The Range12:00 I Love Violetta12:15 Whisker Haven Tales WithThe Palace Pets12:20 Jessie

00:05 Henry Hugglemonster00:20 Calimero00:35 Zou00:50 Loopdidoo01:05 Art Attack01:30 Henry Hugglemonster01:45 Calimero02:00 Zou02:15 Loopdidoo02:30 Art Attack02:55 Henry Hugglemonster03:05 Calimero03:20 Zou03:30 Loopdidoo03:45 Art Attack04:10 Henry Hugglemonster04:20 Calimero04:35 Zou04:45 Loopdidoo05:00 Art Attack05:25 Henry Hugglemonster05:35 Calimero05:50 Zou06:00 Loopdidoo06:15 Art Attack06:35 Henry Hugglemonster06:50 Calimero07:00 Zou07:20 Loopdidoo07:35 Art Attack08:00 Calimero08:10 Zou08:25 Loopdidoo08:40 Miles From Tomorrow09:05 Sofia The First09:30 Goldie & Bear09:45 Jake And The Never LandPirates10:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:35 Doc McStuffins11:00 Sofia The First11:30 Goldie & Bear12:00 Miles From Tomorrow12:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse12:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse13:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse13:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse14:00 Sofia The First14:25 Goldie & Bear14:50 Doc McStuffins15:15 Zou15:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse15:55 Loopdidoo16:10 Miles From Tomorrow16:35 Jake And The Never LandPirates17:00 Sofia The First17:25 Jungle Cubs17:50 Aladdin18:15 Gummi Bears18:40 Goldie & Bear19:05 Miles From Tomorrow19:30 Sofia The First19:55 Doc McStuffins20:10 Jake And The Never LandPirates20:35 Miles From Tomorrow21:00 Goldie & Bear21:30 Sofia The First22:00 Jungle Cubs22:25 Aladdin22:50 Gummi Bears23:20 Lilo And Stitch23:45 Cars Toons23:50 Zou

05:00 The Great Disrupters06:00 Leaders With Lacqua06:30 Leaders With Lacqua07:00 High Flyers07:30 Studio 1.008:00 Studio 1.008:30 Mark Carney: An ExclusiveConversation09:00 Encore09:30 Encore10:00 Worldwide Business WithKathy Ireland10:30 Worldwide Business WithKathy Ireland11:00 High Flyers11:30 High Flyers12:00 Charlie Rose13:00 Bloomberg Best14:00 Mobil 1: The Grid

13:55 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition14:20 Flying Wild Alaska15:10 Kings Of Crash16:00 Fast N’ Loud16:50 How It’s Made: Dream Cars17:15 How Do They Do It?17:40 Street Outlaws18:30 Extreme Car Hoarders19:20 Close-Up Kings20:10 The Liquidator20:35 Auction Hunters: Pawn ShopEdition21:00 Incredible EngineeringBlunders: Fixed21:50 Incredible EngineeringBlunders: Fixed22:40 Wheeler Dealers: Top 523:30 Kings Of Crash

Jones12:10 The Will13:00 The Will13:50 California Investigator14:15 California Investigator14:40 Dr. G: Medical Examiner15:30 True Crime With AphroditeJones16:20 True Crime With AphroditeJones17:10 Disappeared18:00 Disappeared18:50 California Investigator19:15 California Investigator19:40 I Almost Got Away With It20:30 I Almost Got Away With It21:20 I Almost Got Away With It22:10 I Almost Got Away With It23:00 House Of Horrors:Kidnapped23:25 House Of Horrors:Kidnapped23:50 Deadline: Crime With

00:20 Ax Men01:10 Alaska Off-Road Warriors02:00 Ice Road Truckers02:50 Aussie Pickers03:40 Outlaw Chronicles: HellsAngels04:30 Duck Dynasty05:00 The Curse Of Oak Island06:00 Ice Road Truckers06:50 Duck Dynasty07:40 Shark Wranglers08:30 Storage Wars08:55 Big Rig Bounty Hunters09:45 Ice Road Truckers10:35 American Pickers11:25 Hoard Hunters12:15 Pawn Stars12:40 Pawn Stars13:05 Shipping Wars13:30 Shipping Wars13:55 Shark Wranglers14:45 Pawn Stars15:10 Pawn Stars15:35 Storage Wars16:00 American Pickers16:50 Ice Road Truckers17:40 Duck Dynasty18:30 Hoard Hunters19:20 Shipping Wars19:45 Shipping Wars20:10 Pawn Stars20:35 Pawn Stars21:00 Pawn Stars21:25 Pawn Stars21:50 Pawn Stars Australia22:15 Pawn Stars Australia22:40 Hunting Hitler23:30 Pawn Stars23:55 Pawn Stars

00:10 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita00:35 Sara’s New Nordic Kitchen01:00 Hook, Line And Sisters01:25 Miguel’s Feasts01:50 Valentine Warner’s WildTable02:15 Valentine Warner’s WildTable02:40 David Rocco’s Dolce India03:05 Food School03:30 American Food Battle03:55 Chefs Run Wild04:20 World’s Biggest Festival:Kumbh Mela05:10 Charlie Luxton’s Homes ByThe Sea06:00 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen06:25 Get Stuffed06:50 Fearless Chef07:40 Eat Street08:05 Eat Street08:30 Cesar To The Rescue09:20 Food School09:45 The Best Job In The World10:10 World’s Best Chefs10:35 World’s Best Chefs11:00 World’s Best Chefs11:25 World’s Best Chefs11:50 Maverick Chef12:15 Maverick Chef12:40 Maximum Foodie13:05 Miguel’s Feasts13:35 Valentine Warner’s WildTable14:00 Valentine Warner’s WildTable14:30 Fearless Chef15:25 American Food Battle15:50 World’s Best Chefs16:20 World’s Best Chefs16:45 World’s Best Chefs17:15 George Clarke’s AmazingSpaces18:10 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen18:35 Get Stuffed19:05 Food School19:30 American Food Battle20:00 World’s Best Chefs20:25 World’s Best Chefs20:50 World’s Best Chefs21:15 George Clarke’s AmazingSpaces22:05 Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen22:30 Get Stuffed22:55 Maximum Foodie23:20 Miguel’s Feasts23:45 Valentine Warner’s WildTable

Jimmy Fallon12:00 $#*! My Dad Says12:30 I Hate My TeenageDaughter13:00 Breaking In13:30 Community14:00 Dr. Ken14:30 Last Man Standing15:00 Life In Pieces15:30 Suburgatory16:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore16:30 $#*! My Dad Says17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers18:00 New Girl18:30 Mr. Robinson19:00 Grandfathered19:30 Hot In Cleveland20:00 Comedians20:30 Community21:00 Suburgatory21:30 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore22:00 Family Guy22:30 Comedy Central Stand-Up23:30 Comedians

p32.qxp_Layout 1 2/27/16 8:44 PM Page 1

ClassifiedsSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Kuwait

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

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Sunday 28/2/2016Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 415 Sohag 00:05KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40FDB 069 Dubai 00:55RJA 642 Amman 01:05THY 772 Istanbul 01:05SAI 441 Lahore 01:30DLH 635 Doha 01:35ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00UAE 853 Dubai 02:30GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30OMA 643 Muscat 02:55FDB 067 Dubai 03:05MSR 612 Cairo 03:10QTR 1076 Doha 03:15KKK 6507 Istanbul 03:20ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:25LMU 510 Cairo 04:05QTR 8511 Doha 04:40DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40THY 770 Istanbul 05:55FDB 5061 Dubai 06:30JZR 503 Luxor 06:35BAW 157 London 06:40JZR 529 Asyut 06:50PAL 668 Manila/Dubai 06:55KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:20MEA 406 Beirut 07:30KAC 204 Lahore 07:40QTR 1086 Doha 07:40FDB 053 Dubai 07:45KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50KAC 382 Delhi 08:00KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25KAC 352 Kochi 08:30KAC 346 Ahmedabad 08:30KAC 344 Chennai 08:30THY 6676 Istanbul 08:30UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 362 Colombo 08:50KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:50IRA 667 Esfahan 09:00ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00KAC 284 Dhaka 09:10ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20QTR 1070 Doha 09:25FDB 055 Dubai 09:40OMA 641 Muscat 10:05IRM 1180 Mashhad 10:10IRA 673 Ahwaz 10:10FDB 8057 Dubai 10:15GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40SYR 341 Damascus 10:55UAE 873 Dubai 11:05RBG 553 Alexandria 11:15JZR 165 Dubai 11:30NIA 151 Cairo 11:55MEA 404 Beirut 11:55FDB 8061 Dubai 12:20FDB 075 Dubai 12:25MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30JZR 561 Sohag 12:45JZR 241 Amman 12:50UAE 871 Dubai 12:50MSR 610 Cairo 13:00THY 766 Istanbul 13:45FDB 8059 Dubai 13:50KNE 460 Riyadh 13:50JZR 1361 Al Najaf 14:00FDB 057 Dubai 14:10QTR 1078 Doha 14:10

AXB 393 Kozhikode 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KAC 672 Dubai 14:45KAC 788 Jeddah 14:50KAC 538 Sohag 14:50GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00KNE 472 Jeddah 15:05NIA 251 Alexandria 15:30OMA 645 Muscat 15:30KAC 562 Amman 15:40ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45UAE 857 Dubai 15:45JAD 301 Amman 15:55JZR 535 Cairo 16:10JZR 779 Jeddah 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:10JZR 257 Beirut 16:30FDB 051 Dubai 16:30KNE 474 Jeddah 16:35ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:40KAC 542 Cairo 16:55RJA 640 Amman 16:55JZR 787 Riyadh 17:00SAW 701 Damascus 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:50MSR 614 Cairo 17:50KAC 118 New York 17:55JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55UAE 875 Dubai 18:00KAC 502 Beirut 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:05JZR 177 Dubai 18:20FDB 8055 Dubai 18:25KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30ABY 123 Sharjah 18:45QTR 1080 Doha 18:55KAC 742 Dammam 18:55KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10KAC 774 Riyadh 19:25GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 618 Doha 19:35KAC 104 London 19:40KAC 674 Dubai 19:45KAC 154 Istanbul 19:45KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 19:55MSR 618 Alexandria 20:05KNE 480 Taif 20:10JZR 189 Dubai 20:15FDB 061 Dubai 20:20OMA 647 Muscat 20:20ABY 121 Sharjah 20:35FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:55JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55QTR 1088 Doha 21:00MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:25UAE 859 Dubai 21:40GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45FDB 8053 Dubai 21:50JZR 125 Bahrain 21:55QTR 1082 Doha 22:00KLM 417 Amsterdam 22:05AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:25KAC 564 Amman 22:25FDB 059 Dubai 22:30JZR 185 Dubai 23:15PIA 205 Lahore 23:40FDB 071 Dubai 23:45THY 764 Istanbul 23:50JAI 574 Mumbai 23:55MSC 403 Asyut 23:55

Departure Flights on Sunday 28/2/2016Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05JZR 528 Asyut 00:05BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10JZR 502 Luxor 00:15FDB 072 Dubai 00:40MSC 404 Asyut 00:55JAI 573 Mumbai 00:55MSC 416 Sohag 01:00KLM 411 Amsterdam 01:35THY 773 Istanbul 02:30SAI 442 Lahore 02:30DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:35ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45UAE 854 Dubai 03:45PGT 859 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55FDB 068 Dubai 04:00MSR 613 Cairo 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:15KKK 6508 Istanbul 04:20QTR 1077 Doha 05:00LMU 511 Cairo 05:05THY 765 Istanbul 05:15QTR 8512 Doha 06:10JZR 560 Sohag 06:10FDB 070 Dubai 06:30JZR 164 Dubai 06:55RJA 643 Amman 07:05THY 771 Istanbul 07:05FDB 5062 Dubai 07:10GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15JZR 240 Amman 07:15JZR 1360 Al Najaf 08:00KAC 537 Sohag 08:20FDB 054 Dubai 08:30MEA 407 Beirut 08:30QTR 1087 Doha 08:40BAW 156 London 08:45SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50JZR 256 Beirut 09:05JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40UAE 856 Dubai 09:55KAC 101 London/New York 09:55KAC 541 Cairo 09:55IRA 668 Mashhad 10:00KAC 561 Amman 10:00KAC 671 Dubai 10:05THY 6676 NBO 10:15ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:25KAC 501 Beirut 10:30JZR 778 Jeddah 10:30FDB 056 Dubai 10:35KAC 153 Istanbul 10:40KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50QTR 1071 Doha 11:00FDB 8058 Dubai 11:00KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:00OMA 642 Muscat 11:05IRA 672 Ahwaz 11:10IRM 1181 Mashhad 11:25GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25SYR 342 Damascus 11:55RBG 554 Alexandria 12:00JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20UAE 874 Dubai 12:30MEA 405 Beirut 12:55NIA 152 Cairo 12:55KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00FDB 8062 Dubai 13:05FDB 076 Dubai 13:10MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30JZR 176 Dubai 13:45

JZR 786 Riyadh 13:45MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15THY 767 Istanbul 14:45KNE 481 Taif 14:50PAL 669 Manila 14:55KAC 673 Dubai 15:00FDB 8060 Dubai 15:05QTR 1079 Doha 15:10FDB 058 Dubai 15:10AXB 394 Kozhikode 15:20JZR 188 Dubai 15:40GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45KAC 617 Doha 15:45KAC 741 Dammam 15:50KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50KAC 613 Bahrain 15:50SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00KNE 473 Jeddah 16:05ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25OMA 646 Muscat 16:30NIA 252 Alexandria 16:30JAD 302 Amman 16:40KAC 563 Amman 16:45JZR 266 Beirut 17:05KNE 475 Jeddah 17:25ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:30FDB 052 Dubai 17:35QTR 1073 Doha 17:40UAE 858 Dubai 17:45JZR 538 Cairo 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55SAW 702 Damascus 18:10SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:40MSR 615 Cairo 18:50JZR 238 Amman 18:50JZR 124 Bahrain 19:10JZR 554 Alexandria 19:10FDB 064 Dubai 19:20FDB 8056 Dubai 19:20ABY 124 Sharjah 19:25UAE 876 Dubai 19:30GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15KAC 283 Dhaka 20:35KAC 353 BLR 20:40QTR 1081 Doha 20:50KAC 351 Kochi 20:50KAC 543 Cairo 20:55KAC 343 Chennai 21:00MSR 619 Alexandria 21:05KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10ABY 122 Sharjah 21:15OMA 648 Muscat 21:20FDB 062 Dubai 21:20DLH 634 Doha 21:45DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55QTR 1089 Doha 22:00KAC 381 Delhi 22:00ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:10KAC 301 Mumbai 22:10MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30UAE 860 Dubai 22:55QTR 1083 Doha 23:05KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05KAC 205 Islamabad 23:10ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:15FDB 8054 Dubai 23:15FDB 060 Dubai 23:35KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:35KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:40

SHARQIA-1HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 12:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 2:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 4:30 PMCONTAINMENT 6:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 8:15 PMCONTAINMENT 10:15 PMCONTAINMENT 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2BARBIE: SPY SQUAD 1:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 3:00 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 5:00 PMBACKTRACK 6:45 PMBACKTRACK 8:45 PMBACKTRACK 10:45 PMBACKTRACK 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3THE DRESSMAKER 12:15 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 2:45 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 5:15 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 7:30 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 9:45 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-1HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 1:15 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 3:15 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 5:15 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 7:15 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 9:15 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 11:45 PM

MUHALAB-2THE DRESSMAKER 12:30 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 2:45 PMCONTAINMENT 5:00 PMCONTAINMENT 6:45 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 8:30 PMCONTAINMENT 10:45 PMCONTAINMENT 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-3THE FINEST HOURS 1:00 PMBACKTRACK 1:30 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 3:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 6:00 PMBACKTRACK 8:00 PMBACKTRACK 10:00 PMBACKTRACK 12:05 AM

FANAR-1THE DRESSMAKER 11:30 AMTHE DRESSMAKER 1:45 PMCONTAINMENT 4:00 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 5:45 PMCONTAINMENT 8:00 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 9:45 PMCONTAINMENT 12:05 AM

FANAR-2HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 12:30 PM

HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 2:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 4:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 6:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 8:30 PMSHAKET DABOUS 10:30 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 12:30 AM

FANAR-3THE FINEST HOURS 1:00 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 1:30 PMCOLONIA 3:30 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 5:30 PMCOLONIA 8:15 PMCONTAINMENT 10:15 PMCOLONIA 12:15 AM

MARINA-1HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 1:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 3:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 5:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 7:00 PMCONTAINMENT 9:00 PMCONTAINMENT 10:45 PMCONTAINMENT 12:30 AM

MARINA-2THE DRESSMAKER 12:15 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 2:30 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 4:45 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 7:15 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 9:30 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 11:45 PM

MARINA-3BACKTRACK 12:00 PMBACKTRACK 2:00 PMBACKTRACK 4:00 PMBACKTRACK 6:00 PMBACKTRACK 8:00 PMBACKTRACK 10:00 PMBACKTRACK 12:05 AM

AVENUES-1BARBIE: SPY SQUAD 1:15 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 1:30 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 3:15 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 5:15 PMFITOOR - Hindi 7:15 PMSHAKET DABOUS 10:15 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 12:05 AM

AVENUES-2COLONIA 12:00 PMCOLONIA 2:15 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 4:30 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 7:00 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 9:45 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 12:15 AM

AVENUES-3HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 11:30 AMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 1:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 3:30 PM

HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 5:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 7:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 9:30 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 11:30 PM

AVENUES-4THE DRESSMAKER 11:30 AMTHE DRESSMAKER 2:00 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 4:30 PMSpecial Show “THE FINEST HOURS” 4:30 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 7:15 PMSpecial Show “BACKTRACK” 7:15 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 9:45 PMCRIMINAL ACTIVITIES 12:15 AM

AVENUES-5BACKTRACK 1:00 PMBACKTRACK 3:00 PMBACKTRACK 5:00 PMSpecial Show “CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES” 5:00 PMBACKTRACK 7:00 PMBACKTRACK 9:00 PMBACKTRACK 11:00 PMBACKTRACK 1:00 AM

AVENUES-6BACKTRACK 12:00 PMBACKTRACK 2:00 PMBACKTRACK 4:00 PMBACKTRACK 6:00 PMBACKTRACK 8:00 PMBACKTRACK 10:00 PMBACKTRACK 12:05 AM

AVENUES-7ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 11:45 AMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 2:00 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 4:15 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 6:30 PMCOLONIA 8:45 PMCOLONIA 11:00 PMCOLONIA 1:15 AM

AVENUES-8CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES 11:30 AMSYNCHRONICITY 1:30 PMFITOOR - Hindi 3:30 PMSHAKET DABOUS 6:15 PMSHAKET DABOUS 8:15 PMCRIMINAL ACTIVITIES 10:15 PMCRIMINAL ACTIVITIES 12:15 AM

360º- 1THE FINEST HOURS 12:00 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 2:30 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 5:00 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 7:30 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 10:00 PMTHE FINEST HOURS 12:30 AM

360º- 2ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 1:00 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 3:15 PM

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 5:30 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 7:45 PMSHAKET DABOUS 9:45 PMSHAKET DABOUS 11:45 PM

360º- 3THE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 1:15 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 3:45 PMSYNCHRONICITY 6:15 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 8:45 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 11:15 PM

AL-KOUT.1BACKTRACK 12:30 PMBACKTRACK 2:30 PMBACKTRACK 4:30 PMBACKTRACK 6:30 PMBACKTRACK 8:30 PMBACKTRACK 10:30 PMBACKTRACK 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.2HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 1:00 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 3:15 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 5:45 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 7:45 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 9:45 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.3HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 11:30 AMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 1:30 PMCONTAINMENT 3:30 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 5:15 PMCONTAINMENT 7:00 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 8:45 PMCONTAINMENT 11:00 PMCONTAINMENT 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1BACKTRACK 11:45 AMBACKTRACK 1:45 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 1:45 PMBARBIE: SPY SQUAD 3:45 PMALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP 5:45 PMBACKTRACK 7:45 PMBACKTRACK 9:45 PMBACKTRACK 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2HELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 11:45 AMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 2:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 4:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 6:00 PMHELP, I SHRUNK MY TEACHER 8:00 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 10:00 PMTHE DRESSMAKER 12:15 AM

BAIRAQ-3THE DRESSMAKER 11:30 AMTHE DRESSMAKER 1:45 PMFITOOR - Hindi 4:00 PMCONTAINMENT 6:30 PMTHE HOUSE ON PINE STREET 8:15 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (25/02/2016 TO 02/03/2016)

Fajr: 04:56Shorook 06:15Duhr: 12:01Asr: 15:19Maghrib: 17:46Isha: 19:03

Prayer timings

112

Aasiyah Zariwala, PassportNo. K3390434, residing at 7,Najam Marg, Bohrawadi,Udaipur - 313001,Rajasthan, India, shallhenceforth be known asINSIYA ZARIWALA. (C 5137)28-2-2016

CHANGE OF NAME

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Healthy stores licenseLand space - stores Kirby

FOR RENT

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2 Truck mechanics1 Truck electrician1 Body repairs and painter2 Tire repair technicians• With transferable visa• Holding heav y- dut y dr iv inglicense an advantage.

Tel: 55444279

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

A do-it-yourself project has your attention this morning. It could be a friendhas begun to put this project together. You pitch in and are helpful and your

expertise, along with your friend’s enthusiasm and expertise, creates a most positiveresult. This could be a chair, a clock, a baby bed or any sort of needed project. This is a timeof year when much of the world is under a blanket of drizzle in one form or another-snow,sleet, rain, etc. Family and security are things that get your attention. If you are not repair-ing something or tending to chores this afternoon, you may find yourself just naturally tin-kering around the house. Let yourself dream. These days do not come too often-let your

imagination loose. Music can be enjoyed this evening.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Restlessness today may have you exercising out-of-doors. You have toomuch zeal to stay indoors. Neighbors and friends that visit early are included in early after-noon activities. You may enjoy some form of group competition. Speak less and listenmore, all the way through this day-you will learn things about your friends that you didnot know before. Connections with people on a grand scale play a big part in your lifenow: chatting over the internet, writing articles, etc. Education, advertising and travelcould also play a part in this. Law and philosophy or religion has much potential to affectyour lifestyle. You may feel that you are in touch and in harmony with others-the lines ofcommunication are open.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

A community program may call for your ability to negotiate. Others enjoybeing around you and you know just what to say and how to help. If you want to havesome time for yourself today, you may have to go for a walk. You and a friend may findsome time to enjoy a nearby gym. Of course, exercise of this sort can help your stamina.An instinctive urge to get serious about taking care of yourself at many levels is empha-sized. You have a good routine of diet, exercise and work. You want to feel good aboutyourself and the way you do things. This evening is a good time to write letters and makephone calls. It may get warmer before it gets cold again but for now . . . Heat up that fire-place, heat up a cup of cider and enjoy your loved ones.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You may find yourself working by choice today, but it is likely to be insideyour home. If you are good at negotiating, you could just be spending a bit of time on thephone. If you create proposals or make sales, you will probably be using some high-techequipment. Ambitious schemes and the pursuit of success take on high priority. Thisbrings a focus on the practical, the successful, the pragmatic-whatever it takes to get youahead. The meek may inherit the earth, but the shrewd will collect the rent. Any financialgain now would be best set aside for a rainy day at the end of this year. Rain, cold, snowand all sorts of reasons to stay inside could create friction if too many people share thesame space. Take an opportunity to socialize and play.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

You may be alone most of this day-people just seem to drain your ener-gies at this time. You may find yourself shopping, but not necessarily to purchase items-perhaps to investigate the new technical items on the market. Later this afternoon, youwill feel more like being with others and perhaps, talking about all those new high-techproducts you saw this morning. Ideas and technologies that change the way people liveare a major new focus in your life. Uphold any obligations now-promises, errands, chores,etc. Someone is really depending on you to come through with your promises. Althoughyour finances will look better later this year, it would be a good idea to tread lightly when itcomes to any financial questions.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You find ways to show others just how much you appreciate them. If youneed to have an up-close-and-personal conversation with a loved one-any time today isthe right time. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results of your efforts to revise anold friendship. You also seem prepared for just about any unexpected event that mighthappen. This is a time when your path of expression becomes more positive and firm. Thenew, the futuristic, the high-tech are the hallmarks of your lifestyle as this cycle getsunderway. You may become fascinated with the weather system trends and could beencouraged to learn or follow future storm systems. Controlling the weather is somethingof a curiosity. It may become a happening in the future.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Seeking employment, taking a vacation and obtaining a loan are the activi-ties most favorable to this weekend. You can make anything happen that you set yourmind to accomplish. You may decide to clean up or finish things left undone from yester-day. Friends are best friends when they encourage you to stay focused. Later, they willwant you to go with them to a play or see a movie. You and your friends often enjoy someform of exercise for a fun get-together: a game of hockey, racket ball, line skating, wallclimbing, etc. Proper gear for these sports activities is very important and will guaranteeyou the enjoyment of many safe and fun times. Family members may vote for your atten-tion this evening. Keep the young people around you busy.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

A change of residence is possible soon-perhaps a long-distance relocation.Educational plans may need changing: you now realize that they do not suit you as well asyou would like. Anything connected with publishing, advertising or broadcasting requiresreexamination just now. A change of plans or perspectives gives you the upper hand. Thisfebruary will be full of opportunities for you to fulfill your wishes and to gain that focus youhave wanted to achieve. A successful adventure today may include a camping trip, a spe-cial date, being included in a party, travel, etc. Today is the first day of some excitingchanges. The only warning just now is to know that it would be easy to overindulge. Goodfeelings come from friends and family.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

An urge to be independent could find you moving off in a different direc-tion from the crowd. Your behavior could provoke others; easy does it. Look

at the way you view others. It could just be difficult to stretch your imagination when theelements outside keep you captive inside-relax. This may be a good time to trade readingmaterial, organize a closet in a new style or play board games. Helping others maybecome very important to you this afternoon. You could help provide shoes to a home forchildren or make a friendly visit to a home for the elderly. The quality of your energies isupbeat this afternoon-an attitude of gratitude takes hold. You may teach about predict-ing the future. This would be a good time to order a personal forecast.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Learning what makes people tick is fun for you. Your instinctive orientationat this time is toward getting down to the basics and starting over from scratch. However,trying to figure things out when it comes to romance just now may be a bit premature.You may want answers, but the universe and perhaps the gal or guy in question, may notbe ready to give up the answers. Keep your mind busy on those hobbies you wanted toorganize. Of course, until the weather clears . . . This is certainly a good time to do the taxreport. It is best to stay within your own little world today-tomorrow will be a better day tounderstand the people around you-including that special love relationship. Some kind of

healing process is at work in your life now.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

You may spend some time this morning making changes in your livingsurroundings. Nothing will block you from whatever you set out to do

today. You will make a great deal of progress when you take that first step. Depending onthe weather, you may be planning or working on a spring garden today. You have a desireto rise above the everyday expectations and move into regions of the unusual. This maymean expressing yourself in some artistic way: decorating, dance, music, acting, photogra-phy, etc. Today you will make large strides toward your dreams. You may be counseling orteaching this afternoon in some volunteer group. A social affair this evening will put you in

the limelight-everybody wants your attention.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Climbing up to fix something that needs repair, you may discover that it istime to repair your own body. You may have discovered that you are out of shape, are outof breath or have some other function that needs care taking. Many people find that anexercise routine helps them become more energetic and improves their outlook on life ingeneral. Check with your doctor before making any drastic changes. Obtaining andexchanging information takes on importance. You may become more involved withneighbors or siblings at this time. Communicating feelings becomes important. A lover orchild who is bright and articulate plays a big role in your life. If you are not babysittingtonight, you could be tutoring a young person.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1180

ACROSS1. A constellation in the southern hemisphere

near Telescopium and Norma.4. Any of various long-legged carrion-eating

hawks of South and Central America.12. The universal time coordinated time when

a transmission is sent from Earth to aspacecraft or other celestial body.

15. (Irish) The sea personified.16. Lacking gonads.17. The cry made by sheep.18. Either extremity of something that has

length.19. Hairy perennial Eurasian herb with yellow

daisylike flowers reputed to destroy ordrive away fleas.

20. Being one more than two.21. A genus of Bothidae.23. Disposed of to a purchaser.25. Of or relating to the language of the

Hebrews.27. Destruction of heart tissue resulting from

obstruction of the blood supply to theheart muscle.

29. Relatively small fast-moving sloth.30. (formal) Ordinary and not refined.34. A Chinese breed of small short-legged

dogs with a long silky coat and broad flatmuzzle.

37. A health resort near a spring or at the sea-side.

39. A period of time containing 365 (or 366)days.

40. Antibacterial drug (trade name Nydrazid)used to treat tuberculosis.

41. The capital and largest city of Japan.44. A short labored intake of breath with the

mouth open.46. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.47. Grown for its thickened edible aromatic

root.49. (South African) A camp defended by a cir-

cular formation of wagons.51. Seed of amaranth plants used as a native

cereal in Central and South America.53. A language unit by which a person or

thing is known.54. Title for a civil or military leader (especially

in Turkey).56. Great merriment.57. A silvery ductile metallic element found

primarily in bauxite.59. The blood group whose red cells carry

both the A and B antigens.61. Singing jazz.64. Only the bowfins.68. An accidental happening.71. Greek mythology.73. The compass point that is one point south

of due west.74. A large estate in Spanish-speaking coun-

tries.76. A defensive missile designed to shoot

down incoming intercontinental ballisticmissiles.

77. How long something has existed.78. A great raja.79. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle

where driver sits.

DOWN1. The 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabet.2. A liquid preparation used on wet hair to it a

tint.3. A unit of dry measure used in Egypt.4. A woman's dress style that imitates the caf-

tan cloaks worn by men in the Near East.5. (Greek mythology) One of the three Graces.6. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.7. Type genus of the Anatidae.8. Alternatively, a member of the family

Nymphaeaceae.9. A port city in southwestern Turkey on the

Gulf of Antalya.10. The basic unit of money in South Africa.11. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to

but heavier than beer.12. The capital and largest city of Georgia on

the Kura river.13. Radioactive iodine test that measures the

amount of radioactive iodine taken up bythe thyroid gland.

14. A female domestic.22. Consistent with fact or reality.24. The basic unit of money in Romania.26. Eurasian pigeon with white patches on

wings and neck.28. The capital and largest city of Poland.31. City in Sudan.32. A colorless liquid hydrocarbon extracted

from petroleum or coal tar and used inmaking synthetic resins.

33. (criminal law) A pleading describing somewrong or offense.

35. Swelling from excessive accumulation ofserous fluid in tissue.

36. A member of a formerly tribal people nowliving in south central India.

38. A civil or military authority in Turkey orEgypt.

42. A period marked by distinctive characteror reckoned from a fixed point or event.

43. Division of a usually pinnately divided leaf.45. (plate tectonic theory) A hypothetical con-

tinent including all the landmass of theearth prior to the Triassic period when itsplit into Laurasia and Gondwanaland.

48. Upright in position or posture.50. A formal association of people with similar

interests.52. Genus of South and Central American

heathlike evergreen shrubs.55. A person who gains weight.58. Wood of a larch tree.60. The capital and largest city of Yemen.62. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage

is opened and a section of a blood vesselis grafted from the aorta to the coronaryartery to bypass the blocked section ofthe coronary artery and improve theblood supply to the heart.

63. A domed or vaulted recess or projectionon a building especially the east end of achurch.

65. Type genus of the Majidae.66. Having nine hinged bands of bony plates.67. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed

syllables.69. A master's degree in theology.70. A plant hormone promoting elongation of

stems and roots.72. Committee formed by a special-interest

group to raise money for their favoritepolitical candidates.

75. A person who announces and plays popu-lar recorded music.

Yesterday’s Solution

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p34_p34 stars 2/27/16 8:42 PM Page 1

informat ionSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

INTERNATIONALCALLS

Afghanistan 0093

Albania 00355

Algeria 00213

Andorra 00376

Angola 00244

Anguilla 001264

Antiga 001268

Argentina 0054

Armenia 00374

Australia 0061

Austria 0043

Bahamas 001242

Bahrain 00973

Bangladesh 00880

Barbados 001246

Belarus 00375

Belgium 0032

Belize 00501

Benin 00229

Bermuda 001441

Bhutan 00975

Bolivia 00591

Bosnia 00387

Botswana 00267

Brazil 0055

Brunei 00673

Bulgaria 00359

Burkina 00226

Burundi 00257

Cambodia 00855

Cameroon 00237

Canada 001

Cape Verde 00238

Cayman Islands 001345

Central African 00236

Chad 00235

Chile 0056

China 0086

Colombia 0057

Comoros 00269

Congo 00242

Cook Islands 00682

Costa Rica 00506

Croatia 00385

Cuba 0053

Cyprus 00357

Cyprus (Northern) 0090392

Czech Republic 00420

Denmark 0045

Diego Garcia 00246

Djibouti 00253

Dominica 001767

Dominican Republic 001809

Ecuador 00593

Egypt 0020

El Salvador 00503

England (UK) 0044

Equatorial Guinea 00240

Eritrea 00291

Estonia 00372

Ethiopia 00251

Falkland Islands 00500

Faroe Islands 00298

Fiji 00679

Finland 00358

France 0033

French Guiana 00594

French Polynesia 00689

Gabon 00241

Gambia 00220

Georgia 00995

Germany 0049

Ghana 00233

Gibraltar 00350

Greece 0030

Greenland 00299

Grenada 001473

Guadeloupe 00590

Guam 001671

Guatemala 00502

Guinea 00224

Guyana 00592

Haiti 00509

Holland (Netherlands) 0031

Honduras 00504

Hong Kong 00852

Hungary 0036

Ibiza (Spain) 0034

Iceland 00354

India 0091

Indian Ocean 00873

Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098

Iraq 00964

Ireland 00353

Italy 0039

Ivory Coast 00225

Jamaica 001876

Japan 0081

Jordan 00962

Kazakhstan 007

Kenya 00254

Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965

Kyrgyzstan 00996

Laos 00856

Latvia 00371

Lebanon 00961

Liberia 00231

Libya 00218

Lithuania 00370

Luxembourg 00352

Macau 00853

Macedonia 00389

Madagascar 00261

Majorca 0034

Malawi 00265

Malaysia 0060

Maldives 00960

Mali 00223

Malta 00356

Marshall Islands 00692

Martinique 00596

Mauritania 00222

Mauritius 00230

Mayotte 00269

Mexico 0052

Micronesia 00691

Moldova 00373

Monaco 00377

Mongolia 00976

Montserrat 001664

Morocco 00212

Mozambique 00258

Myanmar (Burma) 0095

Namibia 00264

Nepal 00977

Netherlands 0031

Netherlands Antilles 00599

New Caledonia 00687

New Zealand 0064

Nicaragua 00505

Nigar 00227

Nigeria 00234

Niue 00683

Norfolk Island 00672

N. Ireland (UK) 0044

North Korea 00850

Norway 0047

Oman 00968

Pakistan 0092

Palau 00680

Panama 00507

Papua New Guinea 00675

Paraguay 00595

Peru 0051

Philippines 0063

Poland 0048

Portugal 00351

Puerto Rico 001787

Qatar 00974

Romania 0040

Russian Federation 007

Rwanda 00250

Saint Helena 00290

Saint Kitts 001869

Saint Lucia 001758

Saint Pierre 00508

Saint Vincent 001784

Samoa US 00684

Samoa West 00685

San Marino 00378

Sao Tone 00239

Saudi Arabia 00966

Scotland (UK) 0044

Senegal 00221

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Kendall Jennersays Caitlyn Jenner

is lucky After Caitlyn - who was previously known as Bruce

Jenner - admitted that her gender transition hadbeen hard on all of her children, especially Kendall

and her younger sister Kylie, 18, the supermodel told herhow lucky she is. Caitlyn said: “All my kids, but especiallyKendall and Kylie - having to deal with a father transition-ing, it’s very, very difficult process with all this history youhave in your life.” Telling Caitlyn “you got pretty lucky”,Kendall, 20, added: “We’re all pretty open, accepting, non-judgmental people. Our whole family.” In an upcoming clipfor Caitlyn’s reality TV show ‘I Am Cait’, her close friendChandi Moore said: “I know this has not been the easiestthing for you guys to wrap your heads around, but youguys are being real troopers about it. We appreciate thelove you give Cait and our full community. Because weneed it.” Caitlyn revealed last year that she was transgenderand while her children and former wiveshave been supportive, she recentlyadmitted that she will always be“haunted” by not telling herlate father about her gen-der identity.

The 83-year-old singer-and-artist wastaken to Mount Sinai West Hospital inNew York - the same hospital where

her widow John Lennon was pronounceddead in 1980 - on Friday on the advice ofdoctors. Her son Sean Ono Lennon hassince confirmed that she was taken in dueto “tiredness and dehydration” and did notsuffer a stroke. Sean - who is the son of thelate Beatles legend - said his mother isdoing “fine” and even joked that the onlystroke she had was a “stroke of genius”.Taking to his Twitter account yesterday, he

wrote: “Hey guys it was only rumors fromthe press: was NOT a stroke, just dehydra-tion/tired. She is FINE. Thank you everyonefor your concern. @yokoono ... Only Stroke@yokoono had was a Stroke of Genius!She’s really fine. Thanks for all the wellwishes! Big Love, Sean (sic).” A spokesper-son confirmed that an ambulance wascalled to Yoko’s apartment on 72nd Streetin Manhattan yesterday at around 9pm.

YOKO ONO HAS BEEN ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

G o s s i p

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

l if e s t y l e

The ‘Hotline Bling’ hitmaker and 27-year-old beauty’s romance lookedto be back on track after they were

spotted dancing and kissing at London’sLibertine nightclub last Monday besot-ted” with the R&B superstar. A source toldThe Sun newspaper: “ They ’re backtogether and Drake is totally besotted.His team has been teasing him about itbut nothing can wipe the smile off hisface.” And of their behavior at the club onMonday, an onlooker added: “They werelike a couple of teenagers - snogging andfollowing each other around the club. Itwas like watching scenes from their new

video when they danced together.” Thelovers are believed to have been insepa-rable even since they arrived in Londonfor the BRIT Awards, where they did ashow-stopping performance of theirsong ‘Work’ and showed millions of view-ers their sexy dance routine as Rihannatwerked on Drake. Rihanna, 27, has hadseveral relationships over the yearsincluding a serious romance with rapperChris Brown, which ended abruptly afterhe was found guilty of assaulting her in2009.

Drake and Rihanna are back together

The 37-year-old actress - who was married to Tom Cruise for sixyears - has recalled her three older sisters advised her against anymessy food during her first ever romantic meal with a guy, when

she was around 14 or 15, to avoid an awkward encounter. She said: “Myolder and wiser sisters told me not to order spaghetti. “They said thatwould be embarrassing because noodles could fly all over the place.” The‘Giver’ star also remembers her siblings giving her a makeover and film-ing the moment she got ready for her dinner date. She added to Britain’sHELLO! magazine: “I was a freshman in high school and I went to home-coming. My sisters videotaped me getting ready - the transformation

from the real me to the glammed-up whatever they did to me.We went out to dinner.” The raven-haired beauty - who has nine-year-old daughter Suri with Tom - keeps in contact regularly withher sisters but admits she texts her family a lot more than callsnowadays. She said: “I used to call all the time. Now I may text themmore to keep in touch.”

Katie Holmes’ sisters told her not to order spaghetti on first date

The 43-year-old singer - who celebrated his birth-day yesterday is keen to have long flowing lockslike the superhero, who is played by Chris

Hemsworth in the Marvel film franchise, but his tressesare currently at an “awkward stage” of growth. He wrote:

“I’ve decided to grow my hair to epic proportions. “I’mthinking Thor. It’s at that really awkward stage at themoment, so I apologize now if you see me wearing a lotmore hats.” Peter admitted his wife Emily MacDonagh -the mother of his two-year-old daughter Amelia - hasalready given her seal of approval to his plans, and he iseven considering going for a man bun hairstyle whenhis locks grow long enough. He added: “I really fancied achange and wifey is a fan of the rugged look, so it’s adouble whammy. “Will I do the man bun? Me? Never.Well, maybe...” As well as his own new look, Peter admit-ted he loves it when his eight-year-old daughterPrincess - who, along with son Junior, 10, he has withex-wife Katie Price - puts her hair in braids. He wrote inhis column for new! magazine: “I love it when she putsher hair in braids. She looks awesome!”

Peter Andre is growing his hair to look like Thor

Liam Payne dating Cheryl

Fernandez-Versini

The One Direction hunk has been in a secret rela-tionship with the ‘X Factor’ judge, who is 10 yearshis senior, for the past three months, according to

The Sun. A source told the newspaper: “Cheryl and Liamare in a relationship. It was unexpected but they’veboth made each other incredibly happy. “Liam was real-ly struggling with the idea of life after the band to beginwith - being in the spotlight and that level of fame hadstarted to get to him. “But he’s been so happy withCheryl. He’s been telling people close to him that he’smadly in love.” Sources close to the heartthrob evenclaim that the new rose tattoo on his hand is a tribute toCheryl’s floral inking which covers her lower back andbum. Liam and Cheryl first met five years ago when heauditioned for ‘The X Factor’ as a solo artist beforeSimon Cowell formed One Direction with Liam, NiallHoran, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.Cheryl, 32, recently filed for divorce from her secondhusband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, although thecouple split in August. And last year, 22-year-old Liamand his girlfriend of two years, Sophia Smith, broke up.

Kieran Haylertraining to become

a magician

The former stripper - who is married toKatie Price - is working on a new side proj-ect after being wowed by one of conjurer

Dynamo’s live shows in Brighton, South EastEngland, and the 28-year-old personal trainerhas already mastered several illusions. He said:“We went to see Dynamo perform in Brightonlast week and I was so impressed that i justwanted to become a magician. “So I wentonline and bought some stuff and now I’ve gotfive tricks under my belt.” Katie - who marriedthe hunky star in 2013 - joked she is planning tomake some commission from Kieran’s magicacts at various events. She quipped: “He’s sogood. I’m going to tout him out to do magic atweddings and I’ll take a 10 per cent cut.” Thecouple - who celebrated the first anniversary oftheir wedding vow renewal on February 21 -are planning to host a talent show party thisyear where Kieran will perform some of his lat-est tricks. Katie, 37, explained to Britain’s OK!magazine: “Kieran’s going to be able to his mag-ic tricks. We’ll get a stage and do it all properlywith people judging.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

l if e s t y l e

There are two sayings that come along with the EddieAikau big-wave surfing invitational: “The bay calls theday” and “Eddie would go.” For the first time in six years,

the bay - and event organizers - gave the nod Thursday as apowerful and sustained swell produced huge surf on Oahu’sNorth Shore. Eddie, a famed lifeguard and big-wave surferwho once protected these shores, most certainly would havegone. Before the sun came up over the horseshoe-shapedWaimea Bay, organizers huddled together to make the finalcall on the event, which has only run nine times in its 31-yearhistory.

Eddie Aikua’s brother, Clyde, announced to a large crowdearly Thursday morning that his brother’s namesake surfingcontest was on. “I’ve been riding Waimea Bay for over 40 years,and today has to be one of the best days I’ve ever seen,” Aikausaid. “It is a go!” he added as the crowd came alive with whis-tles, cheers and applause. They got what they hoped for ashuge sets of monster waves crashed onto the outer reef of the

bay, producing some waves that organizers estimate were 60feet tall.

Clyde Aikau is the only competitor to surf in all eight previ-ous competitions and is the oldest at 66 to compete in thisyear’s event. Thursday will be his last time surfing in the con-test, he said. Clyde said the event isn’t really about competi-tion, fame or money. It’s about honoring his brother’s legacyof helping others and his passion for the ocean. “We are hum-bled and privileged,” he said. One competitor, Ramon Navarro,the son of a fisherman from south Chile, embodies Eddie’sspirit, said event spokeswoman and longtime Aikau familyfriend Jodi Wilmott.

Navarro is a “very unassuming, a very humble character,”Wilmott said. “He has a higher vision.” In 2009, when Navarrowas invited to his first Eddie competition, he awed the crowdwhen he rode the biggest wave of the day, scoring a perfect100 on the monster breaker that towered over him. “Eddie wasa higher-vision guy, too,” Wilmott said. “He had loftier goals for

humanity, and he understood the power of relationships. Thatis just the spirit Ramon has tapped into.”

Navarro came to the North Shore and worked his way intothe surfing community by building mud brick ovens and sell-ing empanadas to beachgoers, Wilmott said. Navarro surfed inthe first heat of the morning on Thursday, and despite onlycatching one wave out of a possible four, earning him a mere5 points out of 100, Navarro said he was just happy to beinvolved in the event. “This is my dream,” Navarro said afterdrying off from his hour-long session. “I can die happy now.”

Looking forward to his second heat of the day, Navarrosaid he hoped that Eddie would “look at (him) and send (him)some good waves.” “I’m going to try my best and enjoy it, I’mjust happy to be here,” he added. Local Hawaii surfer JohnJohn Florence won Thursday’s event, catching four massivewaves for a total score of over 300 points. Australia’s RossClarke-Jones took second, and Hawaii’s Shane Dorian finishedthird. The competition began in 1984, six years after Eddie

Aikau died.As a lifeguard, Eddie Aikau is said to have never had a fatal-

ity while on duty. When the surf was too big for most inWaimea Bay and the crowds cleared out, Aikau would grab hissurfboard and take on the biggest waves around. Ultimately,however, Aikau gave his life to the ocean in a final attempt tosave others. The 31-year-old Aikau was part of a team that wasattempting to trace the route of their Polynesian ancestorsfrom Hawaii to Tahiti aboard the traditional Hokulea canoe in1978. The vessel encountered rough seas and capsized. Aikautook his surfboard and paddled away for help. He was neverseen again, though the rest of the crew was eventually res-cued.— AP

Mark Healey of Hawaii takes a spill down the face of a large wave in the second heat of The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf contest at Waimea Bay located on the north shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. — AP

Surfers get once-in-a-lifetime 60 foot swells off Hawaii

Professional surfer Ramon Navarro (left) makes the drop on a wave while professional surfer Jamie Mitchell loses control and wipes out at Waimea Bayin Waimea, Hawaii. —AFP

Professional surfer Jeremy Flores flashes a ‘shaka’ sign after exiting the water at WaimeaBay in Waimea, Hawaii.

Home Centre, the largest home retailer inthe Middle East, was awarded theService Hero CSI award in the Home

Furniture category. The brand was recognizedfor its commitment to providing outstandingservice and value to its customers at theCustomer Service Assessment Awards held on15th February 2016 at JW Marriott, Kuwait.

Service Hero is the Arab world’s only 100%consumer powered customer satisfactionindex which rates 16 industry categories suchas cafÈs, retail banks, mobile operators, homefurniture, electronics, airlines among others forcustomer service. After nominating leadingbrands in every category, Service Hero beginsthe voting process which lasts for a year.Launched in 2010, this index has measuredover 100,000 consumer voices covering morethan 300 private sector companies in Kuwaitand has also recently expanded to UAE.

Competing against 15 large multinationalbrands in the home furniture category, HomeCentre, which has 5 stores in Kuwait, was hon-ored by Service Hero based on votes whichwere placed by customers in Kuwait from 2015to 2016. Mederic Payne, CEO of Home Centresaid: “We are honored to have received thisprestigious award by securing the maximum

number of votes. Customers have always beenour prime focus and this recognition reflectsour long-standing dedication to providingexceptional customer service. This win moti-vates us to sustain our customer satisfactionindex as we strive to remain the preferredhome shopping destination in the region.”

Votes are placed based on the servicedimensions of reliability, speed, product quali-ty, value, location, staff quality, call center andwebsite quality. Customers were also asked tomake a comparison between the expectedand actual experience of the service and ratefactors including overall satisfaction and loyal-ty. Service Hero has partnered with AmericanCustomer Satisfaction Index and members ofEuropean Society of Opinion & MarketResearch, ensuring results are impartial, objec-tive and accurately reflect the voice of the con-sumer. Recently, Home Centre won the MostAdmired Retailer of the Year award in theHome and Housewares category at the 5thAnnual Images RetailME Awards 2015, where itwas also conferred with the 2015 - 2016 GlobalInnovation Middle East Award.

At a certain point in “Gods of Egypt,” an extrava-gantly silly foray into Afroasiatic mythologyfrom the director Alex Proyas, one wounded

deity begs another to show him mercy-a futile requestas far as his enemy is concerned, but one that maystrike a more receptive chord with the compassionateviewer (which is to say, any viewer who would buy aticket to “Gods of Egypt”). Since the film enters the-aters already in its death throes-undone by toxic wordof mouth, much criticism of its predominantly whitecast, and an opening-weekend box office projectionof about 10% of its $140 million production budget-perhaps a little kindness would not be misplaced.

So here goes: Yet damned if Proyas doesn’t put it allout there with a lunatic conviction you can’t help butadmire, immediately earning this Lionsgate release aplace in the 2016 pantheon of gloriously watchablefollies. With its burnt-yellow cinematography, its exces-sively gilded production design and its blinding flash-es of sunlight, “Gods of Egypt” at times doesn’t suggesta movie so much as a giant cinematic tanning salon-allthe better, perhaps, to darken the pearlescent skintones of most of the actors on display (an effect thatcan be further enhanced with your purchase of murk-maximizing 3D glasses).

The opening scene sweeps us over the streets,roofs and pyramids of a prosperous ancient Egypt, akingdom ruled over by the wise and compassionateOsiris (Bryan Brown). For centuries Osiris has allowedhis lowly mortal subjects to dwell in harmony with thegods, who tower over everyone thanks to the latestadvances in digital height-modification technology.Everything changes, however, at the coronation ofOsiris’ son, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), also knownas the lord of the air.

Shortly before the crown can pass, in storms Osiris’jealous brother, the desert god Set (Gerard Butler),who promptly murders the king in full view of the hor-rified public, then defeats his nephew Horus in a dueland gouges out his eyes. It all happens so quickly, andwith such dynamic “Virtua Fighter”-style whooshingsof the camera, that you barely have time to registersuch head-scratching details as, say, the fact that Set isway too young to be Osiris’ brother, or the hilariouslyunexplained provenance of Butler’s Scottish accent.But don’t think too hard about it. It’s magic!

Related Box Office: ‘Gods of Egypt’ Falling Flat,‘Deadpool’ Still King Some time later, Set has estab-lished a new reign of terror in which mortals, once freeto enter the afterlife, must now buy their way in withtreasure. Meanwhile, said mortals have now been sen-tenced to a lifetime of hard labor, including Bek(Brenton Thwaites), a wily, handsome and quite boring

young thief who dreams of freeing Horus from his self-imposed exile. And so, with the help of his fetchinglover, Zaya (Courtney Eaton), and under the nose ofSet’s right-hand man, Urshu (Rufus Sewell), Bek breaksinto the palace’s booby-trapped vault and steals backone of Horus’ eyes.

Now sporting a sexy eyepatch, the lord of the airdetermines to seize his revenge against Set and takeback the crown. First, however, Horus must address afew complications, such as the fact that his formersqueeze, Hathor (Elodie Yung), is now bedding downwith his nemesis, their love nest strategically posi-tioned next to a towering obelisk that underscoresSet’s lust for conquest and his nagging infertilityissues.

Hathor, incidentally, is described in the productionnotes as “the goddess of love, music and alcohol,”which means that she presumably would be in a posi-tion to do something about Marco Beltrami’s epicallytumescent score, or at least to ensure that no onewalks into “Gods of Egypt” without a beer in hand. In amovie where the deities transform at will into winged,animal-headed Hasbro figurines, or where GeoffreyRush’s white-robed sun god Ra reliably bursts intocraptacular CG flames, the drinking games prettymuch write themselves.

Coming off “I, Robot” and “Knowing,” Proyas hasn’texactly been in his element for a while, but every sooften the elaborate kitsch and clutter of his visualdesign clears away for the sort of striking effect thatreminds you of the impassioned fantasist who gave us“The Crow” and “Dark City”-a small sandstorm thatbecomes a portal between the lands of the dead and

the living, or the enormous proto Starship Enterprisethat Ra navigates through the heavens, every nightdoing battle with what appears to be a thunder cloudwith teeth. At times the camera stays still long enoughfor you to take in the ornately bejeweled details of LizPalmer’s costumes, though unfortunately, this alsogives you time to study the almost surreal disconnectbetween foreground and background in every artifi-cial-looking frame.

As ever, Proyas doesn’t skimp on spectacle, thoughit’s a disappointment when the Sphinx inevitablyshows up and disgorges her riddle; you want to tellher to either slow down and enunciate or get the hellback to Vegas. The movie’s action highlight finds twoevil goddesses, Astarte (Abbey Lee) and Anat (Yaya

Deng), chasing after Horus and Bek on enormous fire-breathing cobras, forcing our mismatched heroes toput their heads together. Coster-Waldau and Thwaitesmanage a passable, bickersome on screen chemistrythat drives the movie toward its big moral epiphany,which is the importance of treating even one’s so-called inferiors with compassion and decency, asHorus slowly learns to see the worth of his mortal sub-jects and the entwined nature of their destinies.

But really, who is “Gods of Egypt” kidding? Like somany of Hollywood’s sword-and-sandal offerings, thisinterminable ersatz epic consigns most of the humanrace to a sea of digital extras while subjecting itsimmortal characters to more than two hours’ worth ofbig-screen deification. —Reuters

Home Centre receives Service Hero Award for superior customer service ‘Gods of Egypt’ Film Review

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

l if e s t y l eF a s h i o n

Italy’s Prada blended military, nautical and 1940s looksfor women next fall at Milan Fashion Week and joined inon the “see now, buy now” retail model by offering two

new styles of bag at selected outlets from Friday. MiucciaPrada, regarded as a trailblazer by fashionistas, mixedprints with luxurious fabrics to create glamorous, colorful,layered outfits, for her collection.

The designer, 66, put fur on sleeves and linings of checkor leather jackets and cloaks, embroidery on slinky velvetdresses and played with an array of prints - cactus plants,flowers and fruit - on tops, skirts and dresses. Brocade alsofeatured heavily in the collection - namely in gold on jack-ets and skirts. Dark coats reminiscent of an elegant militarystyle were teamed with white nautical hats and thicktights. Dresses and slinky jackets had big shoulders, a nodto 1940s silhouettes, and some were worn with chunky,

elbow-length gloves.Nearly all looks were teamed with wide corset-like

belts, tie-up boots, buckled sandals or peep-toe shoes andhandbags, some with charms, others so small they wereworn around the neck. The brand, known for its luxuryleather goods with handbags costing as much as 6,000euros ($6,600), presented its latest addition to the itsaccessories range at the show: the new PionniËre andCahier bags. The small, shoulder-strap bags retail for about1,750 euros and 2,400 euros respectively, with the round-shaped PionniËre inspired by hunting, uniforms and traveland the more expensive Cahier reminiscent of old bookbindings and notebooks.

The bags will be on sale from Friday in selected Pradastores in Milan, London, Paris and New York. With cus-tomers living in different climates, several fashion houses

have announced they want to bridge the usual six-monthgap between catwalk presentation and retail availability,by offering runway items in shops or online sooner. Pradareported nearly flat net revenue of 3.55 billion euros in theyear to Jan. 31 last week, with earnings hit in recent quar-ters by costly shop investments and slower demand forluxury goods, notably from major market China.

— Reuters

Prada offers ‘see now, buy now’ bags straight off Milan catwalk

A model wears a cre-ation for Prada women’s

Fall-Winter 2016-2017 col-lection as part of the Milan

Fashion Week. — AP

The Italian fashion industry is deeply tied to its manufactur-ing base, with the textile mills that populate northern Italykey to helping designers realize their particular visions. This

could explain the fashion world’s fascination with reclaiming dis-used industrial spaces to show off the finished product. The thirdday of Milan Fashion Week for next spring and summer startedwith the fashion herd thronging past bemused Italian postalworkers preparing the day’s deliveries as the well-heeled andfreshly caffeinated crowd filled an old depot that became thebackdrop for Diesel Black Gold’s Milan womenswear debut.

The space even came with its own, complementary, industrial-sized “No Smoking” sign, which once safeguarded the daily mailbut now protects high fashion. Gucci has adopted a former raildepot nearby, while Giamba and No 21 showed off their wears inan abandoned factory set in a middle-class neighborhood in ajuxtaposition that demonstrates how integrated work and life inItaly are, despite stereotypes to the contrary. Some highlightsfrom Friday’s womenswear previews for fall/winter 2016/17:

Female powerDonatella Versace’s woman is an urban powerhouse. The col-

lection turns on daywear, from power suits to athletic-trimmedribbed knits. Versace said that “every single piece is wearable,desirable, real.” Men’s jackets are feminized, deconstructed into adress with a plunging back, or finished with a jagged hemline cov-

ered with sequins. Pants are slim fitting, flaring to a cropped ankleor finishing in stirrups, while dresses have hidden zippers thatwith a simple pull can reveal or conceal thighs and more.

Gigi Hadid didn’t need a zipper to flash the crowd, inadvertent-ly or not, from the low-cut knit evening dress she was modeling.She got a high-five from the designer as she left the runway. Thecollection also marked the return of Baroque elements to Versace,with black and white swirls set against psychedelic acid prints.Outerwear ranged from serious dark trenches with leather trip toladylike pastel tinged white furs.

Synthetic pleasuresMarco de Vincenzo indulged in synthetic pleasures for his next

collection. The designer, who has the backing of LVMH, plays theserious business of fashion at the highest levels of technology,creating lustrous fake furs out of hand-woven Lurex jersey andshiny textiles with a watery finish from organza mixed with silkand nylon. “It is important with the fabrics that I define as a littleborderline, like fake furs in Lurex, are done very well. And hereMade in Italy makes the difference,” de Vincenzo said backstage.

The result was a lush, shimmery, peluche coats with graphicpatterns in bold color combinations, like a light blue jacket withred amoeba-like spots that suggest an exaggerated animal print,and snug, gathered and knotted sheath dresses in shiny prints fullof asymmetry. Put together, the collection conveyed a nostalgiathat comes with long-loved pieces retrieved from the attic, butwith a colorful modern edge that created a world all unto itself.Take for example, a sheer smocked purple dress fitted with anaccordion peplum at the waist, combing elements both modernand bygone.

Shoes featured neat rows of ruffles up the front of booties orcovering open-toe sandals. And de Vincenzo created his first bag,a ladylike piece with a twist, a bear paw flap. Binding the collec-tion was the persistent, unflinching use of bright, clashing colors:bright green, yellow and purple blurring together, electric blue,and red. “It takes courage, it takes a lot of things, to do fashiontoday,” de Vincenzo said. “I am following my route, without rush-ing.”

Back in black diesel goldRenzo Rosso has repatriated his Diesel Black Gold fashion label

to Milan from New York, in a victory for the Italian FashionChamber, which under new management is working to energizethe national fashion system. Rosso brought menswear to Milanseveral years ago. “Together we want to make Milan the mostimportant fashion week in the world,” Rosso said backstage.Texture defined the clean, youthful looks, with a velvet top withpuffy short sleeves tucked into a quilted mini, or a soft turtlenecksweater paired with a stud-laden leather mini.

The latest Diesel Black Gold collection combined power withutility: Jackets were inventive combinations of a standard leatherbiker front finished with a billowing quilted hoodie in the back.Trousers were high-waisted, including Diesel’s trademark jeans ina version with stripes of contrasting stripes of velvet, leather andsparkling brocade. Footwear included lace-up military-style boots.The color palette was rigorously blue, black and gray with a fewwhite contrast pieces.

Pop goes EmporioAt 81, Giorgio Armani shot a youthful wink at the fashion

crowd from his Emporio Armani line. The designer embraced thedigital language of today’s youth, creating his own off-skew emo-jis out of circles, triangles and squares in yellow, pink and green -the season’s motifs. One of the winking pieces, a cropped stripedsweater, best belied an understanding of the digital generation’sdesire to transform this global communication form into wearablemascots - that is the desire to make the virtual concrete.

Armani dubbed the collection “New Pop.” And his Emporiofall/winter 2016/17 geometrical motifs graced handbags, were

printed on blouses and became colorful broaches. Armani’s indul-gence in whimsy never comes at the expense of the brand’syouthful elegance. Short trousers were loosely pleated, resem-bling skirts, and skirts were mini but not micro. Jackets werecropped and disciplined, with a double-breasted pea coat gainingsophistication from a green high-neck sweater that peeked fromthe hem and pixelated print trousers. Evening looks sparkled,including sheer cropped tops with a collage of shapes protectingthe wearer’s modesty worn with Bermuda shorts that were as softas a skirt.

Kinky girlsShe’s a very kinky girl, the Giamba girl’s a super freak. The looks

for Giambattista Valli’s signature Giamba line are made of lace andleather, sheers and furs, graffiti prints and zebra patterns for anurban jungle feel inspired by Nan Goldin’s photographs of 1980sGreenwich Village subculture. Italian-Brazilian socialite and

Instagrammer Bianca Brandolini D’Adda purred at a photo back-stage of a black bustier dress with a bodice of a repeating cat facepattern, declaring: “That one!” The Giamba girl is glam-thuggish ina hoody pulled over a baseball cap, baggy leather shorts overmatching leggings and finished with a sequin jacket. Alternatively,she’s coquettish in a long lacey and a sequin dress that runs thegamut from transparent to frilly ribbon-covered numbers. Suchtouches as sheer lace and images of an open mouth being fed araspberry lent a kinky expression to the collection.

Fashion is all about inspiring girls to express themselves “in aruthless way,” Valli said backstage, even if they “do it at home, withpieces from their wardrobe or buying vintage.” The discussionabout rushing looks into stores misses the point, he said. “I think itis nice to inspire and if we bring the things right to the stores weare never going to be billionaires like Zara, Mango and H&M,”Giamba said. “I do fashion, of course, to sell. It’s a priority. But thebiggest priority is to inspire people with a new look.”

Four eyes for fashionFendi’s finishing touch for its latest collection was shades with

wavy blue-striped accents, echoing the looks. For Prada, eyewearcame with ornate twirling stems. While eyewear, particularly sun-glasses, have long been a fashion trend, and more and more amainstay on fashion runways, the promotional pairing has been atthe whim of the fashion designer. Now the government is back-ing plans to create more of a unified fashion system, bringingtogether federations promoting shoes, handbags, jewelry andfurs with Italy’s ready-to-wear apparel sector for commercialevents. The project could launch as soon as next year, officials said.

In a taste of things to come, this year, the annual Mido eyewearfair, the world’s largest, was held during Milan Fashion Week, a rarecoincidence. “We need to work more to demonstrate that we are agreat country in terms of style,” Mido president Cirillo Marcolin saidin an interview. “We have to work a little bit more together to com-pete with the big power of French conglomerates.” Italy is the No 1producer of premium eyewear in the world, and fashion houselicenses are one of the segment’s main components alongsidemore architecturally oriented frame design. Revenues for Italianeyewear producers grew 12 percent last year to 3.5 billion euros,according to figures released Thursday. That compares with rev-enues of 62 billion euros for Italian ready-to-wear last year. — AP

Emporio Armani, Versace, Diesel headline Milan fashion

Models present creations for fashion house Bottega Veneta as part of the Women Autumn/ Winter 2016 Milan FashionWeek yesterday.

Models present creations for fashion house Blumarine as part of the Women Autumn/Winter 2016 Milan Fashion Weekyesterday. — AP/AFP photos

Fashion designer Donatella Versace (right) salutes modelGigi Hadid at the end of the Versace women’s Fall-Winter2016-2017 fashion show.

A model presents a creation for the show for fashionhouse Versace as part of the Women Autumn/Winter 2016Milan Fashion Week.

A model presents acreation for theshow for fashionhouse Versace.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

l if e s t y l e

In director Basil Khalil’s Oscar entry for best short film,Palestinian nuns in a convent in the Israeli-occupiedWest Bank face a dilemma when stranded Jewish set-

tlers seek their help. The Palestinian-French-German pro-duction “Ave Maria” tells how Orthodox Jewish settlerscrash into a statue of the Virgin Mary near a small remoteconvent with their car as the sabbath-and the Jewish reli-gious ban on using the phone to seek help-begins. Theyseek assistance from five nuns who belong to a silent orderand who are therefore forbidden to contact anyone to fixthe settlers’ car.

The two groups find themselves in “their own worstnightmares as their rules and regulations for life are tested,”says Khalil, who was born to a Palestinian father and aBritish mother in the northern Israeli Arab city of Nazareth.In the film, which runs for less than 15 minutes, the Jewish

settler family discuss among themselves whether they canaccept a glass of water from the nuns’ kitchen-where for-bidden pork is being prepared. The events appear to theviewer as “both amusing and absurd”, Khalil said from hishome in London, but they do not mock the settlers or thenuns.

The subject of the film, shot in Hebrew, Arabic andEnglish, is not religion but something broader, Khalil said.“When a child is born in Israel/Palestine it is assigned itsfriends and enemies and is told to fight for one side or theother.” The film has so far won 16 awards and has beenscreened in over 30 countries, including at 75 festivals. “AnOscar would be a wonderful acknowledgement of my workas a director, the icing on the cake,” Khalil said.

Although Palestinian cinema is still trailing behind in theArab world, it has made its mark at the Oscars. In 2014,

Hany Abu Assad’s “Omar” scored a nomination in the bestforeign-language film category. Omar, a tale of love, betray-al and struggle in the Israeli-occupied territories also won ajury prize in the “Un Certain Regard” category at the Cannesfestival and two top awards at the Dubai International FilmFestival. In 2013 “Five Broken Cameras” - a Palestinian-Israelico-production - was an Academy Award nominee in thedocumentary section. Directed by Palestinian Emad Burnatand Israeli Guy Davidi, the film documents the story of Bilinvillage and the struggle of its residents to protect their landfrom Jewish settlers and Israel’s giant West Bank separationbarrier.— AFP

Oscar hopeful features Jewish settlers and Palestinian nuns

Basil Khalil nominated, for ShortFilm (Live Action) ‘Ave Maria’,

attends the Oscar Week: Shortsevening in Beverly Hills. — AFP

Indonesia’s first film production to benominated for an Oscar is at once asource of national pride and of shame

for the world’s third-largest democracy.“The Look of Silence” centers on one of theworst massacres since World War Two,when at least 500,000 people died in vio-lence that raged after then-generalSuharto and the military took power fol-lowing an abortive coup in 1965. A millionor more people were jailed, suspected ofbeing communists.

Up for best documentary at Sunday’sAcademy Awards ceremony, the film hasforced many to confront one of the darkestperiods in Indonesia’s history and remainsbanned from commercial cinemas.“Successive governments have failed toaddress the events of 1965 as a lesson thatneeds to be learned by the nation,” saidMuhammad Nurkhoiron of the nationalcommission on human rights. “There needsto at least be official recognition but thathasn’t happened. But we feel happy thisfilm has been nominated so the world cansee those events are finally being ques-tioned.”

Government officials did not respond torepeated requests for comment on thefilm. Despite the ban, “The Look of Silence”,which has an Indonesian co-producer, isavailable online and had hundreds of pri-vate screenings across Indonesia. Thisyear’s nomination will be the second fordirector Joshua Oppenheimer, whose simi-larly-themed “The Act of Killing” lost out in

the best documentary category in 2013.While the first film unveiled some of 1965’sunrepentant killers who still remain free,“The Look of Silence” tells the same talethrough the eyes of a victim’s family.

In the film Adi Rukun comes face to facewith the alleged torturers and killers of histhree siblings. “It was the hardest thing I’vedone in my life,” Rukun said in a telephoneinterview. “What I wanted was to hear aconfession, but I saw them feel noremorse.” The films go beyond tracking thecathartic journeys of those involved toshow how many continue to turn a blindeye to past crimes. “I hope the films willenergize the movement in Indonesiaagainst impunity and against a systembased on fear and intimidation,”Oppenheimer told Reuters by telephone.

Indonesia began a transition to democra-cy in 1998 after more than three decades ofauthoritarian rule. The 2014 election of JokoWidodo as president, the first leader tocome from outside the country’s politicaland military establishment, offered hope tohuman rights activists that past violationswould finally be addressed. That has nothappened, and last year Indonesia censoredseveral events to mark the 50th anniversaryof the 1965 killings. “The hope is small,” saidNurkhoiron. “But these films are a step toreconciliation with the past.”— Reuters

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made history bywinning Pakistan’s first Oscar four yearsago. Now she’s back in Hollywood, hoping

to scoop a second Academy Award for her har-rowing film about a teenage girl shot in the faceby her own family. But while other Oscar nomi-nees obsess about hair and make-up, the 37-year-old filmmaker has a much bigger fight onher hands: how to stop honor kill ings inPakistan, where she says more than 1,000women are murdered each year by male rela-tives for allegedly bringing shame on the family.

“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”tells the story of 19-year-old Saba who was beat-en, shot and thrown into the river after she ranoff to marry her fiance, whom her family initiallyaccepted-and then decided was too poor. The40-minute film goes head to head with four oth-er nominees in the documentary short subjectcategory at Sunday’s Oscars in Hollywood.Survivors of honor killings are rare and the filmoffers a stark look at the pain-physical and emo-tional-inflicted on Saba, her extraordinaryresilience and ultimate failure to see her fatherand uncle convicted.

They beat her, shot her in the face anddumped her in a burlap sack in the river. At thelast moment, she tilted her head, meaning thebullet grazed her cheek instead of shattering herskull. Somehow she managed to cling to thebushes and pull herself out of the water. Shewent to police and to hospital. Obaid-Chinoy,who read about her ordeal one morning in thenewspaper, tracked her down and filmed Saba’sstory over eight to nine months in 2014. InPakistan, a loophole in the law allows the perpe-trators of so-called honor killings to get off scot-

free if they are pardoned by their family.

Change law Saba initially seeks a conviction, but eventu-

ally relents under the weight of pressure fromher brother-in-law and community elders whosay it is better to resolve enmity than let it fester.Obaid-Chinoy wants to change that. PakistaniPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif hosted a screeningof the film in Islamabad last week and has prom-ised to rid Pakistan of the crime by tightening upthe legislation. The filmmaker said she hadhoped for a positive response but admitted suchan unprecedented reaction had taken her bysurprise.

“If we get this law passed, it will be all worthit,” she said by telephone from Los Angeles afterflying in from Pakistan, battling jet lag and anavalanche of pre-Oscar publicity. “The biggestvictory would be to get the legislation passed-totake forgiveness off the table, to have a law thatdeters killing women in the name of honor andfor people to realize that this is a serious crime.”Obaid-Chinoy has been here before. In 2012, shebecame an instant celebrity in Pakistan for win-ning an Oscar for “Saving Face,” a documentarythat exposed the horrors endured by womenwho survive acid attacks.

Her success helped boost awareness aboutthe particularly horrific crime, and the govern-ment in Punjab province started processing acidcases through anti-terrorism courts to offerwomen speedy justice, she said. Obaid-Chinoygrew up in Karachi and studied in America, but isproud to live in Pakistan, believing the onus ison people like her to help the country improve.Last year she started Pakistan’s first animated

feature film studio and she says she will wear anoutfit by Pakistani label Sana Safinaz to theOscars.

Abuse from clericHer Academy Award stands next to the televi-

sion at home-with an Emmy on the other side.So has she dusted off a spot for a second Oscar?“It’s a very tough year, I have to say, and thereare some fantastic films in contention,” she said.Nor is it always smooth sailing at home. Just thisweek she said a video went viral of a prominentcleric accusing her of being immoral and callingher a prostitute. “I think if the film were to win anAcademy Award, then the issue of honor killing,which doesn’t just affect women in Pakistan butaffects women around the world, would reallygain traction,” she said. Obaid-Chinoy expectsofficials to start work on revising the honorkilling legislation within weeks.

Punjab-Pakistan’s most populous province-has just passed laws protecting women’s rightsand taking violence against women seriously. “Ithink society is in a flux,” she said. “While thereare very promising indicators... you also findpockets in Pakistan where violence againstwomen is rising,” she said, listing southernPunjab, Baluchistan and the tribal belt. In thefilm, Saba’s father Maqsood is unrepentant. Sabasays she has not truly forgiven him. She now hasa baby boy and has not travelled to Hollywood.“She thought we were going to the World Cup,”Obaid-Chinoy said. Her office is helping Sabaand when they last spoke, Saba asked if she hadwon. Not yet. — AFP

Pakistan Oscar hope eyes bigger prize - law reform

Adi Rukin (left), Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sorensen who made the Oscarnominated documentary ‘The Look of Silence’ attend a reception for documentary film-makers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. — AFP

In Indonesia, an Oscar-nominatedfilm reopens old wounds

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speaks during a screening of ‘A Girlin the River: the Price of Forgiveness’ by Pakistani filmmaker SharmeenObaid Chinoy at Prime Minister Office in Islamabad. — AFP photos

Oscar-winning Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy poses for aphotograph with the award during a press conference in Karachi. PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif vowed Pakistan would eradicate ‘evil’ honorkillings as he congratulated director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on her sec-ond Oscar nomination for a harrowing documentary on the practice.

Costume design is one of those arts that’s often taken forgranted during awards season. There’s an old saying in thebelow-the-line crafts that if you’re noticing their work, it’s

only because there’s a problem. But for the designers behind thescene and the directors and actors they support, they couldn’t bemore essential. This year, the Oscar nominees for best costumedesign span a wide variety of genres, from action and fantasy toromance. The Associated Press spoke to each of the nominateddesigners about their process and their work.

PACO DELGADO, ‘THE DANISH GIRL’Spanish costume designer Paco Delgado actually had a wealth

of information about transgender artist Lili Elbe for “The DanishGirl,” thanks to photographs and the portraits done by her partnerGerda Wegener. “In those times, society and etiquette for dressingwas much more rigid. To wear a skirt wasn’t a fashion statement, itwas a gender statement,” Delgado said. “You wore skirts if youwere a woman and you wore trousers if you were a man.”

The most powerful costume for Delgado was thus the gender-bending suit Lili wears in Paris on the day she goes to researchfemale organs and then gets beat up in the park by some toughs.Ambiguity is particularly powerful concept for Delgado, and noth-ing captured that quite like that suit that Redmayne wears in thiscrucial moment of transition, with the soft fabrics, silk shirt, high-waisted trousers, and unmistakably feminine jacket. “Sometimesambiguity is more offensive to certain people than assurance of asort of assigned gender.”

JACQUELINE WEST, ‘THE REVENANT’Jacqueline West had an unlikely mix of inspirations in costum-

ing fur trapper and frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio)in “The Revenant”: a picture of a Russian monk and a Karl Bodmerpainting of a hunter-trapper for the Arikara Nation. “All the stagesof mankind had to be in that costume - the ego and the disinte-gration, and how nature strips the ego from everyone,” West said.

“I wanted all of that to be part of this costume. When you’re cloth-ing philosophical ideas it’s quite a challenge.

There are few fabrics more controversial than a fur, but Westdid have control over how she obtained the real skins and furs.With the help of a fur trading company that buys everything fromnatives and even the Parks department - which provided her withthe bear skin - she was able to do so in the most responsible waypossible. Unsurprisingly, the infamously brutal conditions of the

shoot took its toll on costuming too, but sometimes in unexpect-ed ways. When Glass has to hide away in a body of water, Westhad to design a replica of the fur he wears throughout that wastwo sizes bigger, so that it would fit a dry suit underneath. “If Leowent in that water he would have frozen to death,” West said.

‘MAD MAX: FURY ROAD’To create the post-apocalyptic world of “Mad Max: Fury Road,”

costume designer Jenny Beavan went straight to the trash.George Miller had been developing “Mad Max: Fury Road” for overa decade by the time Jenny Beavan was called on to start workingon the costumes, so she had his vision and Brendan McCarthy’sgraphic novel to get her started. In this world of scarcity and war,Beavan imagined that the characters’ clothes would be decoratedby the everyday items that were no longer useful in that world,whether it was car parts, kitchen utensils or just junk, making eachits own visual feast of everyday detritus.

‘CAROL’ AND ‘CINDERELLA’Sandy Powell got to create two memorable entrances for Cate

Blanchett this year - one behind a dark, wide-rimmed black hat asthe wicked stepmother in the live-action reimagining of the clas-sic fairy tale “Cinderella” and the other as a lonely housewife in a1950s department store, catching the eye of a pretty young thingfor the first time in “Carol.” “Someone’s first appearance in a film orin a story is really important,” Powell said. “There’s a restraint to(“Carol”) which is completely opposite of “Cinderella” ... In ‘Carol,’she had to stand out, but not in a really obvious way. She had tolook like one of the shoppers.” Powell decided on a pale fur coatfor Blanchett’s character Carol, accented by coral accessories. “It’s avery flattering color for fair skin and blonde hair and it’s a fresh col-or for winter,” Powell said. “There’s something a bit optimisticabout those colors.” — AP

Fantasy, imagination and craft inform Oscar worthy costumes

Painted in gold Oscar statues boundfor the stage stand in Hollywood,California amid continuing prepara-tions for this weekend’s 88thAcademy Awards. — AFP

39Oscar hopeful

features Jewish settlers and Palestinian nuns

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2016

In this photograph, students from East London Youth Dance Company pose holding mobile phones displaying slang words that they use in daily life at the University of East London. A group of teenage dancers laughed about howquickly their language changes, rattling off ‘old’ words still unfamiliar to many older English speakers. — AFP

Sitting on the floor of a rehearsal room in east London inleggings, T-shirts and headbands, a group of teenagedancers laughed about how quickly their language

changes, rattling off “old” words still unfamiliar to many olderEnglish speakers. “Safe” meaning good, “boomting” or “chungt-ing” meaning good-looking, and “a lie!” as an exclamation ofagreement were all deemed to have “died down”. “That wasbefore. What else was there? Moist?” asked 19-year-old TafoteAkerejola.

“No I never used that one! That one annoyed me!” saidAdanna Lawrence, 16, explaining that “Moist meant you’re dry.Like you’re dead up, you’re nothing.” “Then that moved on towet,” added Akerejola. “But I wouldn’t say someone who is bor-ing is moist or wet cos I have my own slang. You personalise itas well.” The language used by the members of the EastLondon Youth Dance Company, whose ages range from 14 to19, is an example of what has been termed “MulticulturalLondon English” (MLE) by academics-a way of speaking bornfrom the melting pot of immigrant communities in the capitaland spreading rapidly throughout Britain.

Though it emerged only in the last three decades, amongyoung people the dialect has largely replaced the traditionalLondon Cockney famed for its rhyming slang. It includes ele-ments from sources as varied as the Caribbean, West Africa,Britain’s grime hiphop movement and the ex-colonial Englishof Pakistan. Words are often used to mean the opposite oftheir traditional meaning, with “sick”, “bad” and “wicked” allmeaning good, according to the teenagers.

To address friends they say “fam”, a short version of “family”,and pepper their sentences with “like”, drawing out the vowelto sound like an “a”. MLE is distinct to other urban dialectsaround the world because it is impossible to know the ethnicbackground of speakers by their accents alone, according toacademics. “The speakers of MLE are governed not by class orby race or by color, but by age,” said slang expert JonathonGreen. “People between about 15 and 30. They could bewhite, they could be black, they could be brown.”

‘Everyone mixing together’Experts say that the London lingo could indicate the way

that other languages will evolve in the future. Linguists usethe term “multiethnolects” to describe such tongues, whichhave also begun to emerge in other European countries likeFrance and the Netherlands. MLE’s dominance among allkinds of young Londoners may be due to mixed communi-ties, an emphasis on multiculturalism over integration, andan attitude that English is elastic, according to Birkbeck,University of London professor Penelope Gardner-Chloros,who led a study comparing MLE to its counterpar t“Multicultural Paris French”.

“In France there is a much bigger divide between secondand third generation migrants and what you might call the‘long-term indigenous’, and this is reflected in the language,”Gardner-Chloros said. In contrast to France, where theFrench Academy decides the language’s official vocabularyand rules, Britain’s attitude to English is much more flexible.“English is a notoriously malleable, open, changable, vari-able, even welcoming language. It always has been,” saidGreen.MLE has attracted some negative reporting in theBritish press, where it was dubbed “Jafaican” or fake-

Jamaican when it was first noticed. It has also been seizedon by right-wing groups as an example of the dangers ofimmigration. I t didn’t help when young LondonerMohammed Emwazi or “Jihadi John” appeared in IslamicState group beheading videos, delivering threats to Britainand the United States in a distinct MLE accent.

But some have turned the language to their advantage,even building careers from it like rapper Dizzee Rascal, whobegan his release “Pagans” with the line: “I don’t speakqueen’s English but I’m still distinguished”. Akerejola, thedancer, said she was proud of the language she said madeher feel “we have our own thing, we’re a family”. “There aresome slang words that come from Jamaica, some fromNigeria. It’s everyone mixing together,” Akerejola said. “Weadapt. It’s flavorful,” she added. “It’s a good thing.”— AFP

Sick, bad, wicked: London’s colorful slang on the rise

Apretty 15-year-old girl strikes a pose and pouts at the cam-era on her phone, so far so Generation Z, but unlike herteenage counterparts in the West, she stops short of post-

ing the photo on social media, restricted in part by Pakistan’ssocial mores. It is a confusing time for the nation’s youth-thearrival of 3G and 4G in Pakistan in 2014 and a massive surge in thesale of smartphones has seen social media use surge, makinginformation about largely taboo subjects such as love, dating,even sex more accessible than ever.

Young people can communicate online in relative freedom,and the country even has a Kim Kardashian type figure-QandeelBaloch, who has become famous through her tireless self-promo-tion and suggestive “selfies” posted on social media, amassingtens of thousands of followers. But for the many in the deeplyconservative Muslim nation, strict religious and familial controlsstill dictate behavior-the “duck-face” selfie shot, which is almostubiquitous on the social media pages of teens in the West, canpresent a hazard in Pakistan.

“In my pictures, I cannot pout anymore, I’ve stopped doingthat, because otherwise people judge,” the young girl told AFP oncondition of anonymity. “You cannot post a picture outside withyour friends, because your relatives, or friends, or teachers will crit-icize you. They will say: ‘You look like a slut. Why are you smiling?’”she explained. “So now, I barely change my profile picture any-more. When I started using social media, I thought I’d be a prettygirl with a lot of friends online. But I’m just an awkward girl withfive friends.”

The story is echoed by some of her classmates at a middle-income private school in Islamabad, where teenage boys and girlsspoke candidly to AFP about their online experiences, butdeclined to be named. “It all comes back to religion. We are in anIslamic state. People here will judge you because Islam doesn’tencourage girls to show their legs, or arms, and it doesn’t encour-age boys and girls to interact,” said one 14-year-old boy whodescribed being scolded by relatives after posting a picture ofhimself with a girl.

Growing defianceGlobally the perils women face online are well-documented

but Pakistan’s teenage girls face multiple issues-not only can theirbehavior be judged as tarnishing the families’ reputation or honor,there are rising incidents of cyber-misogyny and harassment.“When I post pictures I get these creepy stalkers who send mecreepy pictures. It really messes you up,” said the 15-year-old girl,adding she no longer talks to boys online because of this.

A male classmate agreed: “I don’t like selfies. And it’s not safefor girls, because it can attract some boy stalkers.” But there is alsoa sense of growing defiance in the country, where around two-thirds of the population-roughly 180 million people-is believed tobe under the age of 30. On Valentine’s Day, social media starletBaloch donned a plunging scarlet dress and posted a messagedefying the country’s president, who had issued a stern warningagainst the “Western” holiday.

“They can stop people from going out, but they can’t stop

people from loving,” she declared in a Facebook video, going on tobranding politicians “idiotic and disgusting”. Baloch is derided andfeted in equal measure in Pakistan, but the message appeared totap into the frustrations of many young people tired of being toldhow to behave-the footage has been viewed more than 830,000times, and garnered 7,000 likes and counting. She shot to fame inPakistan in 2014 after a video of her pouting for the camera andasking “How em looking?” went viral. “People are going crazy-especially girls. I get so many calls where they tell me I’m theirinspiration and they want to be like me,” she said.

‘Don’t just blame society’ Cyberspace can turn society’s rules upside down, said one 13-

year-old boy. “Online, guys write to girls ‘hey baby, let’s hook up,’”he said to a roar of laughter from his classmates. Once, he admit-ted to more scandalized giggles, it was the other way around. “Agirl asked me to be friends in an online message. I was scared todeath.” Another 15-year-old girl added social media providedthem a unique platform for expression. “It’s useful to us, it’s ourown identity. In school you can’t always speak your mind. Onsocial media, you can be more open about what you like. You getto be yourself.”

Some of AFP’s interviewees said they knew of teenagers usingfictitious profiles in order to protect their identities and behavemore freely. One young girl commented: “In a Muslim country, it’sbad to talk to guys face to face so girls do it online. But it’s veryrisky, some people have fake accounts.” Despite halting the pout-ing photographs, the 15-year-old girl called on her peers to bemore confident online, instead of hiding behind Pakistani culturalrestrictions. She said: “You can’t blame society for everything... Youcan’t be a wimp all your teenage life and do nothing. And you cando (something) on social media.”— AFP

London bids

farewell to young

street rebels

Once the crucible of youthful rebellion, London’s streetshave been emptied of punks, skinheads and rude boys bythe rise of the Internet, a lack of public spaces and protec-

tive parents. Punk was born in fashion designer VivienneWestwood’s clothes shop “Sex” 40 years ago, bringing anarchy tothe posh Chelsea neighborhood. “The police used to have to waitat Sloane Square and round up all the punks as they got off theTube,” recalled Westwood in her memoirs.”Once they had about200 of them, they would escort them in a procession down theKing’s Road to the shop”.

This was 1976, when Britain only had three television channels,families were large and parents wanted teenagers out of their hairand out the house. But urban tribes are today a rare breed on thecapital’s streets, a trend echoed across Britain. “People still go outand want to be seen, they have that urge to be looked at. The onlychange is that people have access to a lot more media,” photogra-pher Derek Ridgers, author of “78-87: London’s Youth” told TheDaily Telegraph.

According to an Ipsos Mori survey published in December, 68percent of British 15 year-olds spend 10 hours a day on weekendsengaged in non-physical past times such as watching television,playing video games, surfing the Internet or reading. At the sametime, crime and alcohol consumption have decreased significant-ly, although a link has not been proven. In 2013/2014, nearly22,400 young English people were convicted or reprimanded forthe first time, a 75 percent decrease over 10 years.

‘Constant pings’ “Young people still can be found on the streets and other pub-

lic outdoor spaces at certain times and places, but it is probablytrue to say their overall presence has been reduced,” said PaulHodkinson, a sociology professor at the University of Surrey.“Societies and authorities have become increasingly intolerant ofyoung people hanging out in public spaces,” while parents aremore preoccupied with the safety of their children, he said. “If theInternet disappeared, I would see my friends much more,” saidSpencer, 16, from Chesham, a town northwest of London.

“It’s easier,” countered 15-year-old Nathan, from Chiswick insouthwest London. “It’s more fun to play videogames, and we cantalk and have a coffee while doing it.” “I would choose to be withmy friends and have fun. However, this is not a possibility becausewe have too much work,” added Phoebe, 16. “On Facebook ouryear group have a chat so that we can ask each other abouthomework which is extremely helpful,” she said.

Ivy, 15, from London neighbourhood Queen’s Park, said shewould “prefer to hang out with my friends on the street” thanspend time on the web, but admitted she would “panic” withoutthe Internet. However, her mother Liz Corcoran bemoaned theincessant interruption of the virtual world, complaining “there areconstant messages and pings.” But for Hodkinson, the popularityof social networks is “more a symptom of the lack of possibilitiesto congregate in physical space” rather than a cause of the exodusoff Britain’s streets.— AFP

A file photo shows British designer Vivienne Westwoodduring the finale of her catwalk show at theAutumn/Winter 2016 London Fashion Week in London.Once the crucible of youthful rebellion, London’s streetshave been emptied of punks, skinheads and rude boysby the rise of the Internet, a lack of public spaces andprotective parents. — AFP

Pakistani internet consumers look at images of QandeelBaloch, who has become famous through her tireless self-promotion and suggestive ‘selfies’ posted on social media,in Islamabad. — AFP

To post or - not to post: Defiant Pakistan teens’ growing dilemma