philippines leader apologizes to kuwait for ‘harsh’...

ISSUE NO: 17549

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Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf

RAMADAN 19, 1439 AHMONDAY, JUNE 4, 2018

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Amir receives letter from Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim

Syria’s Assad to meet North Korean leader243 Zverev reaches first

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Ramadan Kareem

IMSAK 03:04FAJR 03:14DHUHR 11:47ASR 15:21MAGHRIB 18:45ISHA 20:16

Philippines leader apologizes to Kuwait for ‘harsh’ words

Ban lifted; Tensions cool after Kuwait, Philippines seal deal

One of the most prominent outcomes of fast-ing the month of Ramadan, especially in thesummer heat, is the development and per-

fection of patience. Nobody can fast without havinga degree of patience, which is mentioned in theQuran as one of the qualities of someone who willgo to Paradise. For example, “I (God) have rewardedthem this Day [with Paradise] for what they haveendured patiently; they are indeed the ones that aretruly triumphant!” (23:111)

As successfully completing fasting in Ramadanrequires patience, so does entrance into Paradise. Infact, Paradise requires two kinds of patience: one isproactive and the other reactive. The proactive typeis striving to adopt a way of life sanctioned by God.It means making the effort to learn what God wantsfrom us and then applying it in our lives. The Quran,which is God’s final message to mankind, tells usexactly what God expects from us, and ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) demonstrated practically itsteachings, making it easier to understand. As it is alifelong process of study coupled with conformanceto God’s teachings and to the example of ProphetMuhammad (PBUH), it will take determination andpatience.

But the reward is worth the effort, according tothe Quran: “The ones who fulfill the covenant withGod and do not break its solemn pledge to Him,who keep joined all the relations and obligationsthat God has commanded to be joined and stand inawe of their Lord, and fear an evil reckoning, whoendure with patience seeking the countenance oftheir Lord, who establish the prayer and spendcharitably from what We have provided them,secretly and openly, and who avert what is evil withwhat is good... the angels will say, ‘Peace unto youfor that you persevered in patience! Now howexcellent is the final Home!’” (13:20-24)

Those who repent, believe, do not bear false wit-ness, pass by vile talk with honor, and heed theverses of God... “those are the ones who will berewarded with the highest place in heaven, becauseof their patient constancy.” (25:75) “Those whobelieve in the unseen, establish prayer and spendout of what We have provided for them, and whobelieve in what has been revealed to you[Muhammad] and what was revealed before you,and of the Hereafter they are certain - those areupon guidance from their Lord and it is those whoare the successful” (2:2-5).

The patience required for Paradise needs a levelof commitment and effort beyond the everydaypatience of the common man. The second kind ofpatience required for Paradise is reactive, and it isdemonstrated by our reaction to things outside ofour control, such as illness, injury, loss, calamity andall circumstances related to our physical vulnerabili-ty and mortality.

Continued on Page 24

Lessons of RamadanBy Teresa Lesher

SEOUL: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apolo-gized to Kuwait yesterday for his “harsh” words at theheight of a months-long diplomatic row over the treat-ment of domestic workers. The spat began in Februarywhen a murdered Filipina maid was found in heremployer’s freezer in the Gulf state, prompting Duterteto lash out at the “inhuman” treatment of migrant work-ers and ban workers from travelling to Kuwait.

“For the first time I would say that I was harsh in mylanguage - maybe because that was a result of an emo-tional outburst. But I’d like to apologize now,” Dutertesaid, addressing Kuwait directly in a speech beforeexpatriate Filipinos living in South Korea. “I’m sorry forthe language that I was using but I’m very satisfiedwith... how you responded to the problems of mycountry.” Authorities in Manila say around 262,000Filipinos worked in Kuwait before February, with manyemployed as household maids.

They are among over two million Filipinos employedin the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to thePhilippine economy. At the height of the diplomaticflap, Duterte alleged Arab employers routinely rapeFilipina workers, force them to work 21 hours a day andfeed them scraps. “Is there something wrong with yourculture? Is there something wrong with your values?”the Philippine leader said then. Kuwaiti authoritiesexpelled Manila’s envoy in April over footage showing

embassy staff helping Filipino workers flee allegedlyabusive bosses in Kuwait. Tensions cooled last monthafter the two nations sealed an agreement on work-place safety guarantees for Filipinos working in


KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince SheikhNawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterdaychaired a National Security Council meeting at SeifPalace. The meeting was attended by DeputyCommander of National Guard Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Other attendees include; First Deputy Premierand Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of InteriorSheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister of State for Cabinet AffairsAnas Al-Saleh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofFinance Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, National SecurityApparatus Chief Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem

Al-Sabah. In the meeting, His Highness the CrownPrince discussed the regional and international devel-opments - underlining the need for effective coordina-tion and cooperation among state bodies to enhancethe security and stability of Kuwait. — KUNA

Crown Prince chairs National Security Council meeting

KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah chaired a National SecurityCouncil meeting yesterday. — KUNA

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures ashe gives his departure speech at the Manila Internationalairport. — AFP

KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and DefenseMinister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah onSaturday visited Kuwaiti army units deployed in thenorth. During his visit, which was marked by a Ramadan

breakfast meal with troops, the minister met withAssistant Commander of the Army Major GeneralMishal Al-Mutairi and other senior officers. Shortlyafter, the minister gave a speech on the occasion, con-

veying the greetings and appreciation of His Highnessthe Amir and Supreme Commander of the Armed ForcesSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH theCrown Prince and HH the Prime Minister. — KUNA

Defense Minister visits soldiers in Northern Kuwait

KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah poses for a group photo with Kuwaiti troops. — KUNA

SINGAPORE: Qatar will not be dragged into anyconflict with Iran, a senior Qatari official said yesterday.Defense minister Khalid Bin Mohammad Al-Attiyahtold an international security conference in Singaporethat even though the two nations had “a lot of differ-ences”, Doha would not “fuel a war” in the region.

“Is it wise to call the US and Israel to go andfight Iran? Iran is next door,” he said. “If any thirdparty is trying to push the region or some countryin the region to start a war with Iran, this will bevery dangerous,” he said. His comments sparkedspeculation that he could have been referring toSaudi Arabia, which has led a year-long blockadeagainst Qatar, accusing the emirate of financing ter-rorist groups and having close ties with Tehran.

Qatar rejects the charges and says the blockadingcountries-which also include the UAE, Bahrain andEgypt-are seeking regime change in Doha.Responding to a question on whether Qatar’s air basescould be used to launch airstrikes against Iran, Al-Attiyah said the country was “not a fan of war”, andcalled instead for engagement and dialogue. “Weshould call Iran, put all the files on the table, and dis-cuss to bring peace, (rather) than war,” he told theShangri-La Dialogue.


Qatar will not ‘fuel a war’ against Iran

DOHA: The year-old acrimonious dispute betweenQatar and its neighbors is forging a “new” Gulf, poten-tially transforming what was a stable region of the Arabworld, experts warn. It has shattered old alliances andrendered the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Councilpractically obsolete, pushing Qatar towards Turkey andIran. And with no sign of a resolution, it is unclear if anyparty has benefitted.

“In its impact on the regional unit in the Arab Gulf,the crisis is likely to be as disruptive and as era-defin-ing as Saddam Hussein’s invasion and occupation ofKuwait was in 1990,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow atRice University’s Baker Institute. “It is very difficult tosee how the Arab Gulf can come back together.” Thecrisis between some of the world’s richest countrieserupted on June 5, 2017 as Saudi Arabia, the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt suddenly cutall ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorismand Iran.

Qatar, a small peninsula nation, found its only landborder closed, its state-owned airline barred from usingits neighbors’ airspace, and Qatari residents expelledfrom the boycotting countries. Doha was handed a listof 13 demands, including closing broadcaster AlJazeera, removing Turkish troops from the country, and

scaling back its cooperation with Iran, with which itshares the world’s largest gas field. Qatar has donenone of these. Instead it has responded defiantly bydismissing the charges and courting new diplomaticand trading links.

The cold war in the desert has lingered, althoughQatar still supplies the UAE with gas. As new axesemerge, Qatar has increasingly tied itself to Turkey-while straining relations between Riyadh and Ankara-and extended its reach far beyond the Gulf. Last month,Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thanithanked Iran for its support during the crisis.


Qatar crisis creates ‘new Gulf’ with no winners, but losers

DOHA: Photo shows portraits of Qatar’s Amir Sheikh TamimBin Hamad Al-Thani on the back of vehicles and text read-ing in Arabic: “Tamim the glorious” in Doha. — AFP

Monday, June 4, 2018

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News in brief

Assembly to debatenew privateeducation billKUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Educationfor Private and Thematic Education Affairs saidSaturday the cabinet will table to the NationalAssembly a new bill on private education in the cominglegislative term. The draft addresses all matters relatingto the private education sector and will help improvethe quality of private education in the country, DrAbdulmohsen Al-Howaila said. He made the pressremarks after attending the graduation ceremony ofgrade 12 at Martyr Asrar Al-Qabandi Bilingual School.Dr Howaila affirmed the Ministry’s keenness on improv-ing the operating system of private education and mod-ernizing its curricula. — KUNA

Guinness World RecordsKUWAIT: The multi-storey parking building annexed tothe new courts complex in Jahra was included in theGuinness World Records Book as the largest of its kindin the world, spread over an area of 5,000 sq m. Thefacility was built by an American company and waschecked by the Guinness team on Oct 17, 2017.

No assets declineKUWAIT: The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) yes-terday quashed reports on a decline in the assets ofKuwait’s Future Generations Fund (FGF), by 11.5 per-cent, about $68 billion. The circulated data and figuresare mere external and erroneous estimates by unin-formed agencies, and do not reflect the real perform-ance of KIA’s assets portfolio, the authority added in astatement. They estimated KIA’s assets at $592 billion in2015, and $524 billion in 2016, claiming a fall of $68 bil-lion. The reserves are at their best since KIA was estab-lished and “no decrease whatsoever has occurred,” KIAstressed. It also slammed attempts targeting the “state’seconomic policy and the reputation of the FGF (Kuwait’sSovereign Fund) through disseminating false data.”KIA’s performance is monitored by relevant controlagencies, and is annually reviewed by the NationalAssembly. — KUNA

Minister opens DVSKUWAIT: Minister of Information Mohammad Al-Jabriopened on Saturday the Descriptive Video Service(DVS) designed to serve the visually impaired people.“The service marks another quantum leap in the chain ofsuccesses of Kuwait TV (KTV) by national cadres,” hesaid at a ceremony, hosted by the National Library. “Byintroducing this service which will help the visuallyimpaired to interact with the TV drama, KTV becomes atrailblazer in the region,” said Jabri who doubles as min-ister of state for youth affairs. “This achievement falls inthe framework of an ambitious plan, set by the Ministryof Information, to modernize the KTV channels and suitthe tastes of all audience,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, Engineer Abdul-Aziz Al-Janahi, advisorto the minister, said the 3D soiree ‘Masrah Al-Jarima’ isKTV’s first performance applying the DVS technique.“The coming stage will see the official introduction ofthe service to the digital transmission and control sys-tems,” he added.

The DVS, also referred to as audio description, videodescription, or more precisely visual description, consistsof a narrator talking through the presentation of what ishappening on the screen or stage. It was first offered bythe American Council of the Blind (ACB) in early 2009,followed by the BBC in August 2009. — KUNA

Photo of the Day

GAZA: A Palestinian protester sets a Kuwaiti flag on barbed wires in a show of appreciation for its support to the Palestinian people, during a demonstration near the border with Israel, east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip on June 1, 2018. — AFP

Sawaber complexcompletelyexpropriatedBy A Saleh

KUWAIT: The finance ministry’s assistant undersecretaryfor expropriation for public interest Fahd Al-Shola said theentire Sawaber complex has been expropriated, even fromcitizens refusing to sell their units. Shola added that allneeded administrative, financial and legal measures hadbeen completed for all units except for one whose ownerdelayed issuing his ownership deed. He also noted that theamount to be paid to the owners of the 528 apartments inthe complex is KD 110 million.

Oil sectorThe percentage of citizens amongst oil sector employ-

ees jumped to 84.8 percent by the end of 2017, beforedeclining to 83.3 percent by the beginning of this fiscalyear, said informed sources, noting that only 19,530 citi-zens worked the sector by the end of 2017 compared to21,509 in the previous year. Civil Service Commission(CSC) statistics show that the total number of stateemployees as per official data is 352,256, while the totalnumber registered in CSC’s email system for the first timeis 70,586 and those registered as seeking job opportuni-ties number 657.

Solar powerThe Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP)

plans to reoffer the Abdaliya solar power plant for biddingafter finishing all needed preparations, said informedsources, noting that the step was taken after the Ministryof Electricity and Water (MEW) requested using the BVsolar board technology instead of the old ISCC one. Thesource added that it had been scientifically proved that the

new technology generates more electricity. Meanwhile, theCentral Tenders Committee (CTC) announced that MEWoffered a tender to build and maintain two 1,600-mmfreshwater pipelines between Mina Abdullah and WestFunaitees complex, in addition to a low sodium linebetween Mina Abdullah and Al-Zour complex for bidding.CTC added that 15 already qualified companies will beallowed to bid. Meanwhile, the MEW development planshowed that the ministry is currently executing 40 proj-ects, on top of which is one to change Southern Zour plantgas turbines into dual system to increase capacity by 500megawatts.

Business environmentMoCI has prioritized issuing seven laws of great impor-

tance to the World Bank’s plans to develop the business

environment in Kuwait, said informed sources. The sourcesexplained that the laws include insolvency, data exchange,voluntary restructuring of debts, family businesses, collec-tive funding and the new insurance and auditors’ laws.

MP suedCEO of the Vietnam refinery Torki Al-Ajmi hired

lawyer Riyadh Al-Sane to sue MP Abdulwahab Al-Babtain, who was one of the lawmakers who grilled theoil minister, for including his name in the grilling motionhe filed. Ajmi stressed that Babtain had hurled viciousand dangerous accusations at him as if he was a gang-ster, especially when he described him as ‘King ofVietnam’ and accused him of dealing with outlaws,planting drugs in the vehicle of his Japanese predeces-sor and expelling Kuwaiti officials.

Sailors tried to smuggle 41 kg drugs Kuwait lawmakerswarn Social Affairs and Oil ministersBy B Izzak

KUWAIT: MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf yesterday warned Minister of SocialAffairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh over her determination to go aheadwith a decision to merge a body overseeing Kuwaitis employed in theprivate sector with the Public Manpower Authority which mainly regu-lates expat workers. Hajraf accused the minister of ignoring theNational Assembly by not paying any attention to a recommendationby the Assembly to delay implementing the merger until the health andlabor committee had studied the issue.

Last week, MPs strongly criticized the decision saying that it is ill-advised to merge the responsibility over 90,000 Kuwaiti employeeswith over two million expatriates working in the private sector. SeveralMPs even warned the minister that they will take action if she wentahead and implemented the decision. Hajraf said that the minister’sstatements that she will implement the merger is a challenge to theNational Assembly and warned her against challenging the lawmakers.

Sabeeh has already been grilled by MPs at least four times. In asimilar development, MP Omar Al-Tabtabai yesterday warned OilMinister Bakhaeet Al-Rasheedi against referring to retirement anyoil executive whose name was mentioned in a grilling a few weeksago. Tabtabai said the minister should not take any action on thoseexecutives until after an Assembly investigation committee com-pletes its probe.

Tabtabai and MP Abdulwahab Al-Babtain grilled the Oil Ministerover alleged mismanagement, graft and squandering of public funds.Rasheedi survived a no-confidence vote. During the grilling, the law-makers charged a number of top oil executives of profiting from theirposts and of violations. They demanded action against those execu-tives. Later, the National Assembly formed an investigation committeeto probe the allegations.

KUWAIT: This archive photo shows Al-Sawaber complex (right) in Kuwait City.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Coastguardsfoiled an attempt to smug-gle some drugs through thesea, said security sources,noting that the force wastipped off concerning threesailors who were planningto smuggle the drugs intoKuwait on their boat. Onraiding the boat, coast-guards arrested the threesuspects with 41 kilogramsof drugs.

Security planThe Interior Ministry’s

relations and security mediadepartment announced thata special security plan hasbeen set to secure allmosques and places of wor-ship during the last 10 daysof Ramadan. The departmentadded that the plan includesthe Grand Mosque and vari-ous other mosques in differ-ent governorates andstressed that measuresinclude security inside, out-side and around mosques, inaddition to fixed and mobiletraffic checkpoints.

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Amir receives letter from Qatar’sSheikh Tamim on regional developments

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah host-ed yesterday Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-KhaledAl-Hamad Al-Sabah and Qatari DeputyPrime Minister and Foreign MinisterSheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul-Rahman AlThani who handed His Highness the Amira letter from Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamimbin Hamad Al Thani on bilateral relationsand recent regional developments. Themeetings were attended by Minister ofAmiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Al-JarahAl-Sabah.

Earlier yesterday, His Highness theAmir met with His Highness the CrownPrince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah at Seif Palace. His Highness alsoreceived National Assembly SpeakerMarzouq Al-Ghanem and His Highness thePrime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-MubarakAl-Hamad Al-Sabah. Meanwhile, HisHighness the Crown Prince met withGhanem at Seif Palace.

In other news, His Highness the Amircongratu lated Egypt ian Pres identAbdulfatah Al-Sisi on Saturday on theoccasion of being sworn in for a secondterm before the parliament. His Highnessthe Amir, in a cable to Sisi, wished theEgyptian President success in his lead-ership of the country to achieve devel-opment and prosperity.

He hoped deep-rooted relations withEgypt would be further strengthened.His Highness the Crown Prince congrat-ulated Al-Sisi for his second term inoffice. His Highness the Prime Ministersent a similar cable. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank(KIB) sponsored the 2018 Institute ofInternal Auditors (IIA) InternationalConference under the theme‘Connecting the World ThroughInnovation’. Held at the DubaiInternational Convention and ExhibitionCentre (DICEC), the conference washeld under the auspices of SheikhMohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice President and Prime Minister ofthe UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and wit-nessed an impressive turnout of over3,000 internal audit professionals andexperts.

On this occasion, General InternalAuditor at KIB, Mohamed Samir AbdelGhany, said: “Our sponsorship of thisconference stems from the strong beliefand continued support of our Chairman,Sheikh Mohammed Jarrah Al-Sabah,

and Dr Haider Hassan Al-Jumaa, BoardMember and Chairman of the AuditCommittee. For this reason, we continueto support the internal audit professionboth locally and internationally, therebystaying up-to-date with the latest devel-opments, international standards, andlatest technology impacting the field.Our commitment to doing so also falls inline with the Central Bank of Kuwait’sgoal of strengthening the role of internalaudit in the local banking sector.”

Abdel Ghany also added that theconference featured over 70 key topicspresented to internal audit profession-als and experts, such as: corporate gov-ernance, corruption, fraud, latest devel-opments in the ever-changing field ofinternal audit, as well as technologicalinnovation and artificial intelligencechanging the internal audit function.

On behalf of KIB, Abdul Ghanyreceived a special tribute from thepresident and CEO of IIA, RichardChambers. The Bank was honored inrecognition of its continued support ofthis conference and its active participa-tion in promoting the value of internalaudit at all professional levels.

Sheikh Sabah congratulates Egyptian President for start of 2nd term

KIB sponsors2018 IIA Int’lConference

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with His Highnessthe Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with NationalAssembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah reads a letter fromQatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, delivered to him by Qatari Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul-Rahman Al Thani. —KUNA photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with His Highnessthe Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Palestinian FMvisits Kuwaitwith message of thanks RAMALLAH: Palestine’s Foreign Affairsand Expatriates Minister Riyad Al-Malikisaid he will visit Kuwait today carrying amessage of “thanks and appreciation” fromPresident Mahmoud Abbas to His Highnessthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah.

In a press statement yesterday, Malikiexpressed thanks and appreciation for therole of Kuwait in supporting thePalestinian people. On behalf of thePalestinian people and the families of themartyrs, Maliki thanked His Highness the

Amir, govern-ment and peo-ple of Kuwaitfor their his-toric and hon-orable posi-tions in supportof the rights ofP a l e s t i n i a npeople andtheir aspira-tions for free-dom and inde-pendence.

During his visit, Maliki will hold deeptalks in Kuwait on the expected steps inthe United Nations, especially after theUnited States vetoed a draft resolutioncalling for the protection of Palestinians.The United States on Friday vetoed adraft resolution calling for the protectionof Palestinians in the occupied territories.The draft resolution won the approval of10 out of 15 members. — KUNA

Riyad Al-Maliki


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Jumeirah Hotel holds Stay Differentghabqa for media, diamond sponsors

KUWAIT: Embodying its brand promise of Stay DifferentTM, Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa hosted aghabqa evening for the media community. Chief Editors,journalists, photographers, television and radio represen-tatives were present including social media influencers notto forget this year’s esteemed Diamond sponsors.

The evening started with a warm welcoming speech byGeneral Manager Savino Leone. He said: “Our annualmedia night has grown to become one of the most excitingand popular networking events of the year. We gatherunder one roof the influential voices from all the communi-cation channels. We celebrate together the spirit ofRamadan and we express our sincere thanks to each andevery media member for carrying our messages to ourguests and the wider community thus, supporting us toreach the level of success we have achieved today.”

Savino also thanked their Diamond Sponsors, CadillacAlghanim, Al Bawader Real Estate LLC, Mqamash exhibi-

tion and Saray Perfumes for partnering with the luxuriousresort “to ensure our guests live a special Ramadan expe-rience with us”.

Hosted in the beautifully decorated Garden Cafe out-door tent, guests were charmed by the refined ambiance ofthe evening as they enjoyed a deliciously prepared buffetby the hotel’s award-winning chefs. Flavored shisha wasalso served on the covered terrace offering scenic views ofthe gardens.

To add up to the evening, little children dressed up withtheir finest traditional clothes gleefully singing joyoussongs, made a surprising entrance to present guests withgift boxes marking the traditional festive heritage of gir-gian, which was to the delight of everyone.

The luxurious resort’s sponsors for this year, took partas well in this evening. General Manager MohamedEltalkhawi said: “On behalf of Cadillac Alghanim, we wouldlike to wish all of our customers a blessed Ramadan. As we

are in the month of giving, we will be providing the bestdeals on 2018 Cadillac models.”

Rami Tabbara, Senior Vice President of Damac said:“We are delighted to be sponsoring the Ramadan tent atJumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa. It is the perfectlocation to interact with our Kuwait customers who canbrowse our award-winning portfolio of luxury propertiesin a relaxing and festive environment.”

Khawla Darwish, Owner of Mqamash Exhibition said:“The main role of our exhibition is to support our localentrepreneurs and small businesses and ensure they arepresent on the market. We want to offer them the opportu-nity to promote their unique products and servicesthroughout this holy month.”

Saray Perfumes represented by their CEO, MaissaHamdan, said: “We take pride in our collaboration withJumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa throughout theyear and during Ramadan as this is a blessed month where

we ensure our boukhour, perfumes and oils complementthis occasion”.

Garden Cafe’s tent was adorned with flowers especiallyfor the occasion. Alissar Flowers’ CEO, Alissar Mzayek,was keen to add touches of luxury and elegance to theoverall setting. She expressed: “We craft stories and expe-riences with flowers that bring people closer together andthis evening at one of Kuwait’s most luxurious resorts, weexperienced the warmth of a true Ramadan tradition”.

As Ramadan nights are still on-going, the luxuriouslydecorated Badriah Ballroom opens its doors every eveningfor iftar to offer a lavish spread of famous Arabic andinternational specialties. It is also open for ghabqa offeringan a la carte selection of Ramadan favorites.

Meanwhile, Garden CafÈ tent offers unforgettable pri-vate gatherings for ghabqas and iftar nights for friends andfamilies with an excellent selection of shisha, sumptuousRamadan specialties and a live entertaining program.

Luxurious property surprises guests with girgian celebration

Al-Tijaria celebrates girgian in Symphony Style, Al-Tijaria Tower

As part of the company’s aim for preservationof the original Kuwaiti Traditions and withinthe framework of its social responsibility

under the name, ‘We Care’, Symphony Style Malland Al-Tijaria Tower celebrated their girgian in aspecial way.

On this occasion, the Commercial Real EstateCompany had sent a special invitation to theorphanage and other children along with their fami-lies to come celebrate the joy of girgian, where aspecial girgian band took place walking around themall singing the traditional girgian songs and distrib-uting them to the kids.

Rawan Adnan, Department Manager ofMarketing and Communication said: “Through thisholy month, The Commercial Real Estate Companyaims to create happiness and Joyfulness in the heartsof the orphans and children to provide entertainmentfor people with special cases and help them inte-grate into the society.” In conclusion, Rawan Adnanthanked all the Visitors for coming and being part ofthis joyful event.

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History of Kuwait

A car passes through one of Kuwait Wall’s gates in the 1950s. The picture of the vehicle driving past two camel-riding Bedouins afterpassing through the gate draws a symbolic image to the entrance of automobiles to Kuwait City and replacing traditional means oftransportation. (Source: A collection of commemorative printed images by the Ministry of Information. Prepared by Mahmoud ZakariaAbu Alella, heritage researcher at the Ministry of Information)

By Nawara Fattahova

Kuwait Times celebrates Ramadanin Kuwait with 30 days of theIcons of Ramadan. We highlight

our favorite activities, events, symbolsand foods that are popular during thisholy month, along with Kuwait’sRamadan culture, history and traditions.

The holy month of Ramadan is thehigh season for TV production includingsoap operas, shows, commercials andother series. Producers compete topresent their best productions duringthis month, as they know it has the high-est viewership in the whole year, soevery year, the number of soap operasincreases.

And with a plethora of satellite chan-nels, people are confused what to watch.Some people don’t watch any soapoperas the whole year long, but onlyduring Ramadan. Some people watchcertain soap operas according to whattheir guests are watching, as during thismonth people are always invited foriftar. Also, good soap operas attractmore commercials. Even the timing ofthe show matters. The highest rate ofviewership is during iftar and for thenext two hours, as well as two or threehours before iftar. So producers insist tohave their shows during these timings.

The biggest productions among all

Arab countries are Egyptian andKuwaiti soap operas. Other countrieshave limited productions, but are popu-lar in the Arab world, such as Syria.Other Arab countries may have one ortwo local soap operas that are notbroadcast in other countries. Kuwait hasproduced 11 soap operas only forRamadan, apart from various TV com-petitions, comedy shows, cartoons, talkshows, cooking competitions and others.

Email us at [email protected] your favorite symbols of Ramadanand Ramadan photos.

Ramadan: High seasonfor TV production

KUWAIT: In an effort to demonstrate its commitmentto the community during the holy month of Ramadan,Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) staff in collaborationwith Kuwait Association for the Care of Children inHospital (KACCH) recently visited Ibn Sina andFarwaniya Hospitals to share the joys of Ramadan andgirgian with the children. ABK staff distributed girgianbags and engaged the children through fun activitiesincluding hand painting, coloring books, and a surprisevisit from caricature’s, offering some support to youngpatients during their stay in hospital. Throughout theholy month of Ramadan, ABK have supported the com-munity through similar initiatives.

ABK staff visit children in local hospitals

InternationalAs election looms, popularity of Modi wanes in rural India

New Nicaragua violence kills six, including American manPage 8

MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2018

GAZA: An explosion is seen in Gaza City after an airstrike by Israeli forces late on Saturday. — AFP

GAZA CITY: Israeli aircraft pounded over a dozen mil-itant targets in Gaza, the army said yesterday, afterPalestinian projectile fire shattered a ceasefire reachedjust days ago after the worst flare-up since a 2014 war.The latest escalation came hours after thousands ofPalestinians attended the funeral of a young femalevolunteer medic killed by Israeli fire on Gaza’s border.In a first wave of air strikes, Israeli “fighter jets target-ed 10 terror sites in three military compounds belong-ing to the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip,”the army said in a statement early yesterday.

“Among the targets were two Hamas munitionsmanufacturing and storage sites and a military com-pound,” the army said. The strikes came in retaliationfor rockets fired at Israel, as well as “various terroractivities approved and orchestrated by the Hamasterror organization over the weekend,” the army said.A few hours later aircraft shot at “five terror targets ata military compound belonging to the Hamas terrororganization’s naval force in the northern Gaza Strip,”the army said in a separate statement. There were noreports of casualties in Gaza.

On Saturday evening, militants in the Palestinianenclave fired two projectiles at southern Israel, where

air raid sirens sent residents to bomb shelters. TheIron Dome aerial defence system intercepted one pro-jectile, while the other was believed to have fallenshort of its target and landed within Gaza, accordingto the army. Early yesterday, four more projectileswere separately launched atIsrael. Three were intercept-ed, the army said, with thefourth apparently hitting anopen field.

Mourners call for revenge No group in Gaza

claimed responsibility forthe projectile attacks, whichcame shortly after theSaturday funeral of RazanAl-Najjar, 21, a volunteerwith the Gaza health min-istry, who was fatally shot in the chest near KhanYounis on Friday. Ambulances and medical crewsattended the funeral, where Najjar’s father held thewhite blood-stained medics’ jacket she wore when shewas shot, as mourners called for revenge. Gazans have

since March 30 staged border protests demanding thereturn of Palestinians to land they fled or wereexpelled from during the 1948 war surroundingIsrael’s creation, now inside the Jewish state. Thedemonstrations have been accompanied by smaller

clashes as youths hurlstones at Israeli soldiers andattempt to breach the bor-der fence, at times layingexplosive devices on thefence or throwing grenades.

The demonstrations andviolence peaked on May 14when at least 61 Palestinianswere killed in clashes as tensof thousands of Gazansprotested the US transfer ofits embassy in Israel to thedisputed city of Jerusalem

the same day. Yesterday, Gaza health ministryspokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra announced the death ofMohammad Hamada, 30, who was wounded on May14. Hamada’s death brings the toll of Gazans killed byIsraeli fire since the end of March to 124.

Low-level demonstrations have continued since.Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave have alsoused kites carrying burning cans to set ablaze Israelifields, torching large patches of farmland near Gaza.Following the funeral, several Gazans were wounded inclashes east of Khan Younis, the health ministry said.

The weekend launches were the first since Israelsaid it had struck some 65 militant sites in Gaza earlierthis week in retaliation for a barrage of approximately100 rockets and missiles fired from the territory onTuesday and Wednesday. Palestinian Islamist groupsin Gaza, including the strip’s rulers Hamas, said aceasefire deal was reached after the escalation,although there was no confirmation from Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu onWednesday accused Iran of “encouraging” Hamasand other militant Gaza groups of the violence.Yesterday, Netanyahu said his upcoming talks withkey European leaders would focus “on continuing toblock Iran’s nuclear program” and “blocking Iran’splans for expansion and aggression throughout theMiddle East, especially in Syria”. Netanyahu willhead to Europe today for meetings in Berlin, Parisand London. —AFP

Israel, Gaza militants exchange fire Escalation shatters fragile ceasefire reached days ago

TUNIS: The bodies of 35 migrants have beenrecovered off Tunisia’s southern coast, the country’sdefense ministry said yesterday, revising upwardsan earlier government death toll. As of 1:00 pm(1200 GMT), “35 bodies were recovered and 68migrants rescued,” said Rachid Bouhoula, aspokesman for the ministry. The interior ministryreported a distress call on Saturday night at 10:45pm from “a fishing boat about to sink” with migrantson board.

Tunisians and seven foreigners were among thesurvivors, including nationals from Ivory Coast,Mali, Morocco and Cameroon, said the defenseministry spokesman. “The coastguard and the navycontinue their search with the support of a militaryplane,” the interior ministry said in a statement.“Units of the Sfax Marine Guard and the Navy wentto the boat which was five nautical miles fromKerkennah island and 16 nautical miles from the cityof Sfax,” the ministry added.

Tunisians and migrants regularly try to cross theMediterranean to seek a better future in Europe, butdepartures peaked last September. According tonon-governmental organizations, the uptick reflect-ed frustration among young people hard hit byunemployment. In October, a collision between amigrant boat and a Tunisian military ship left at least44 dead, in what Prime Minister Youssef Chahedcalled a “national disaster”. — AFP

35 migrants dead after boat sinks off Tunisia coast

Page 9

Netanyahu heads

to Europe for meetings

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court yesterday jailed a Frenchwoman for 20 years for belonging to the Islamic Stategroup, as her lawyers accused authorities in Paris of“interference” to prevent her returning to France.Melina Boughedir, a mother of four, was sentenced lastFebruary to seven months in prison for “illegal” entryinto the country, and was set to be deported back toFrance. But another court ordered the re-trial of the 27-year-old French citizen under Iraq’s anti-terror law.

Yesterday she was found guilty of belonging to ISand handed a life sentence - which in Iraq is equivalentto 20 years. “I am innocent,” Boughedir told the judgein French. “My husband duped me and then threatenedto leave with the children” unless she followed him toIraq, where he planned on joining IS, she said. “I amopposed to the ideology of the Islamic group and con-demn the actions of my husband,” she added.

Her Iraqi lawyer, Nasureddin Madlul Abd, urged thecourt to acquit Boughedir, describing her spouse as a“jailkeeper not a husband” who had “forced” her to joinhim in Iraq. Her French defense team - WilliamBourdon, Martin Pradel and Vincent Brengarth - saidthey were “relieved” she had been spared the deathpenalty, but vowed to appeal the verdict. Boughedir,who wore a black dress and a black headscarf, arrivedin the courtroom carrying her youngest daughter in herarms. Her three other children are now back in France.

Hers is the latest in a series of verdicts doled out toforeigners who flocked to join IS in its self-declared“caliphate” after the militant group seized the northernthird of Iraq and swathes of Syria in 2014. On May 22,an Iraqi court sentenced Belgian jihadist Tarik Jadaoun,

also known as Abu Hamza Al-Beljiki, to death by hang-ing - although he pleaded not guilty to a range of terrorcharges. Jadaoun had earned the moniker “the newAbaaoud”, after his compatriot Abdelhamid Abaaoud,one of the organizers of Nov 2015 attacks in Paris.

‘Unacceptable interference’ Even before she was sentenced, Boughedir’s case

sparked anger from her defense team, who had accusedFrench authorities of interfering in the case. OnThursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Driantold French news channel LCI that Boughedir was a“Daesh (IS) terrorist who fought against Iraq” and saidshe should be tried on Iraqi soil. Her French lawyerssent a letter of protest to Le Drian, seen by AFP, inwhich they denounced “pressure on the Iraqi judicialsystem” and “unacceptable interference”.

Bourdon yesterday condemned the verdict, saying ithad been influenced by “extrajudicial reasons”. Duringthe hearing, which lasted about one hour, the judgeasked Boughedir - who was arrested in the summer of2017 in Mosul - to explain why and under what circum-stances she had arrived in Iraq. He then declared that“the proof that has been gathered is enough to con-demn the criminal” to a life sentence.

Bourdon said Le Drian wanted his client to be triedin Iraq to “ensure that she won’t be heading back hometo France any time soon”, as part of efforts to preventthe return of militants. Boughedir’s family and herdefense team want her to face a court in France,Bourdon said. After being sentenced in February toseven months in prison for “illegal” entry, she was set tobe deported back to France. But upon re-examining herfile, an Iraqi court said she had “knowingly” followedher husband to Iraq to join IS.

Second Frenchwoman sentenced Boughedir’s husband is believed to have been killed

during a vast operation by US-led coalition-backedIraqi forces to regain control of Mosul, Iraq’s secondcity and the jihadists’ former stronghold. Yesterday, she

told the court that the man she had been married to forfive years had disappeared one day, walking out andsaying he was going out “to look for water”. Since then,she said, she had received no information about his fateor his whereabouts.

Boughedir is the second French citizen sentenced tolife in prison by an Iraqi court for belonging to IS, afterDjamila Boutoutaou, 29, in April. Boutoutaou also saidshe had been tricked by her husband. Thousands of for-eign fighters from across the world flocked to the blackbanner of the militants after the group seized swathesof Iraq and Syria in 2014. Multiple offensives have sincereduced their “caliphate” to a sliver of desert territoryin the east of war-torn Syria. Iraqi courts have sen-tenced to death more than 300 people, includingdozens of foreigners, for belonging to IS, judicialsources have said. Dozens of French citizens suspectedof having joined IS ranks are believed to be in detentionin Iraq and Syria, including several minors. — AFP

Iraq court sentences Frenchwoman to life for IS membership

BAGHDAD: This photo taken on Feb 19, 2018 showsFrenchwoman Melina Boughedir, carrying her son,arriving in court in the Iraqi capital. —AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Monday, June 4, 2018

7Established 1961

DAKAR: The student demonstrations that haverocked Senegal in recent weeks recall the short-livedbut intense unrest which sprung out of the country’suniversities half a century ago, almost bringing downthe government back in May 1968. The spark this timewas a fatality during a university protest on May 15over the late payment of student grants. Second-yearstudent Mohamed Fallou Sene, 25, was killed as policequelled a protest at Gaston Berger University in thenorthern city of Saint-Louis.

His death sparked further protests near CheikhAnta Diop University in the capital Dakar, while policealso broke up demonstrations in the southern city ofZiguinchor. As the unrest grew a higher educationunion began a strike in solidarity with the studentsbefore President Macky Sall called for an inquiry. Sall,who is expected to stand for re-election nextFebruary, also announced in the aftermath of theprotests that student grants will be raised.

However students at Sene’s university were still onstrike on Friday, demanding “justice” and for politicalheads to roll. Back in 1968, the protests also beganover the issue of grants and also led to the death of astudent. The demonstrations 50 years ago brieflythreatened the administration of then presidentLeopold Sedar Senghor as students took to thestreets, clashing with police and setting up barricades.

At a time when young people were protestingacross the world, over issues such the Vietnam Warand apartheid, students in Dakar accused Senghor,who took office in 1960 on independence from France,of being a “valet of imperialism”. After the studentstrike began on May 27, 1968, police moved in. Onestudent died and several more were hurt, officialrecords show. But, far from growing out of the youthprotests in France, the United States and elsewhere,“these events were sparked by political, economic andsocial crises within Senegal,” says historian and for-mer minister Abdoulaye Bathily.

Workers then declared a strike on May 30 and fora time “the government was tottering,” says historianOmar Gueye, as Senghor condemned what he saw asmalign fallout from the student protests in Europe.Foreign students were repatriated and DakarUniversity closed as unrest worsened - though thepresident could call on support of the army and influ-ential Muslim religious leaders as well as Frenchtroops stationed at strategic points of the capital.

“Peasants came with rifles and arrows to defendSenghor and the country,” recalled academic IbrahimaWone. Within three days the protest ebbed away, for-eign students returned and exams went ahead inDecember. Short-lived though Senegal’s May 1968unrest was, “it contributed to the development ofdemocracy,” says Mbaye Diack, who ran the nationalstudent union at the time. —AFP

Echoes of 1968 unrest in Senegal student protests

Britain mourns on London Bridge attack anniversary

New review of counter-terrorism legislation to be launched LONDON: Britain held a national minute of silenceyesterday, one year on from the London Bridge terrorattack that killed eight people and injured dozens more.Flowers were laid, candles were lit and a religious serv-ice was held at Southwark Cathedral - the spot wherethree men in a van crashed after careening into crowds,before launching a stabbingspree at nearby BoroughMarket. “Today we remem-ber those who died and themany more who wereinjured, and also pay tributeto the bravery of our emer-gency services and thosewho intervened or came tothe aid of others,” said PrimeMinister Theresa May.

She branded the June 3attack “a cowardly attemptto strike at the heart of our freedoms by deliberatelytargeting people enjoying their Saturday night withfriends and family” and noted that seven of the victimswere foreign nationals. “This is a reflection of our greatcosmopolitan capital, whose energy and values bringstogether people from across the world, and a tragicreminder that the threat from terrorism transcends bor-ders and impacts us all,” she said.

Yesterday morning, Home Secretary Sajid Javidannounced that a new review of counter-terrorism leg-islation in Britain would be launched today - including aprovision to recruit up to 2,000 extra security officersin Britain’s intelligence services. “One of the other

announcements I’ll be making tomorrow is that MI5 willbe sharing much more of its information with otherorganizations,” he said on the BBC’s Andrew Marrshow. “Not just with counter-terrorism police butneighborhood police, with local government... to makesure that there is a much higher chance of finding some

of these extremists and dis-rupting plots a lot earlier on.”

Later yesterday, thewords #LondonUnited wasprojected onto the bridgefollowing a minute of silencescheduled at 4:30 pm(1530GMT). Candles were litby relatives of the victimsduring the ceremony beforean olive tree - known as theTree of Healing - was plant-ed in the cathedral grounds

using compost from floral tributes left on the bridge inthe aftermath of the murders.

Preparations Among those visiting the cathedral for the service

on the south bank of the Thames, that included a pro-cession to the bridge, was Frenchwoman ChristineDelcros, 46. She was seriously injured in the vehicle-ramming attack whilst her partner Xavier Thomas, 45,was killed, with his body later recovered from the RiverThames. “On the psychological level, the wounds areinvisible, but they are the most serious,” she told AFPin an interview this week. “I remain traumatized by the

loss of the love of my life, in circumstances beyond mycomprehension.”

On Saturday preparations for the ceremony wereunderway with cleaners working on the bridge - nowfitted with anti-vehicle crash barriers to prevent carsand vans from mounting the pavement. On Friday PC

Wayne Marques, who took on the three attackers solowith his baton and was stabbed in the head, revealed hewas planning to return to work next month after a yearof rehabilitation. “I’m just basically trying to get asmuch of me back as possible,” he said in a videoreleased by the British Transport Police.—AFP

LONDON: Members of various faiths gather with placards on London Bridge prior to a commemoration service onthe first anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack yesterday. -—AFP

National minute of silence held

KANO, Nigeria: A spate of kidnappings for ransom inthe Birnin Gwari district of northern Nigeria’s Kadunastate has left residents afraid to even leave their homes.“When a person travels, his family, friends and neigh-bors gather to pray for his safety because of the kid-nappers,” said local resident Kabiru Mohammed. “It’scelebrations once he returns because kidnapping on thehighway has become the norm. It’s a nightmare thatshould only exist in fairytales,” he told AFP by tele-phone. Mohammed and his neighbors have good reasonto be anxious.

Kidnappings have reached unprecedented levels inthe last two months. In early May, about 100 peoplewere abducted in just two days on a road near the bor-der with Zamfara state. Haruna Musa, who also lives inBirnin Gwari, said the situation has forced people in atleast six villages in the area to abandon their homes.

Last week, an armed gang raided the village ofMaganda and kidnapped three wives of a businessman.Many locals now don’t sleep at night. Instead, theypatrol their communities. “I also join in the night patrolsto encourage others,” said Mustapha Idris, the chiefimam of Maganda. But the creation of civilian militia has

itself had deadly consequences. On May 6, at least 71people were killed in Gwaska village during clasheswith armed bandits.

Grisly warnings Birnin Gwari is not alone in being affected. In

Zamfara, there have been similar problems from kidnap-ping and cattle rustling gangs. “The mere sound of amotorcycle engine outside your house at night robs youof sleep because it could be a sign that the dreaded ban-dits have come,” said Nuhu Dansadau. Dansadau said hisvillage, also called Dansadau, and others nearby havebeen repeatedly raided. Aliyu Kawaye, who lives in thetown of Anka, said the abductors seize cash and forcefamilies to sell their farm produce to raise the ransompayment. According to the state government, more than10,000 cattle have been stolen in the last seven years.“What is more worrisome is the deliberate attack onfarmers who dare to go to their farms,” said Dansadau.“The bandits amputate their hands from the wrists, putthe severed palms in the farmers’ pockets and send themback to the village as a warning to others.”

Lucrative venture The kidnapping gangs and cattle thieves, who roam

on motorcycles on the hunt for victims, are known tooperate in northern Kaduna and Zamfara. Both regionshave been largely spared by the Boko Haram insur-gency, another of Nigeria’s pressing security problemsalong with a land conflict between nomads and farmers.The kidnappers’ heavily guarded camps dot the Ruguforest, which straddles Kaduna, Zamfara and the north-

ern states of Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger.Abductees whose families don’t pay ransoms are killed

and their bodies dumped, according to security sources.Kidnapping for ransom used to be a phenomenon isolatedto oil-rich southern Nigeria. But it has spread furthernorth and become lucrative because of economic hard-ship. It has also attracted young ethnic Fulani herders whohave lost their herds in unrest with farmers over grazingand watering rights. Young Fulani herders now make upmost of the marauding gangs in northern Nigeria and oth-er West African countries, said Saleh Bayeri, of the GanAllah Fulani Development Association.—AFP

Kidnappers, cattle rustlers spread fear in Nigeria

POZZALLO, Italy: Italy’s new hardline interior ministerMatteo Salvini arrived yesterday in Sicily, one of thecountry’s main refugee landing points, to push the anti-immigration platform that propelled him to power. Thehead of the far-right League is on the road seeking torally support for his party’s candidates in municipal elec-tions later this month, as part of a broader effort toboost the traditionally secessionist party’s profile in thecountry’s poorer south.

But immigration is Salvini’s primary bugbear and thenewly minted deputy prime minister in Italy’s populistcoalition government added a stop in migration hotspotPozzallo. The port town in Sicily’s south is on the frontline as one of the main landing points for refugees flee-ing war, persecution and famine across North Africa andthe Middle East. A controversial agreement betweenItaly’s former center left government and authorities andmilitias in Libya has triggered a fall in overall arrivals ofsome 75 percent since the summer of 2017.

But so far this year Italian authorities have still regis-tered more than 13,500 arrivals. The most recent camelate Friday, just hours after Salvini took his oath of office,with some 158 people, including nine children, landing inPozzallo after being rescued by a humanitarian boat inan operation coordinated by the Italian coast guard.Salvini had said after being sworn in that he would askhis ministry’s experts “how to reduce the number ofarriving migrants and increase the number of expulsions”.“The good times for illegals is over - get ready to packyour bags,” he said Saturday at a rally in Italy’s north.“Countries need to start doing their job and no moresmugglers should be docking in Italian ports,” he said in aswipe at the NGOs organizing rescues at sea, which hehas regularly accused of complicity with people traffick-ers. He added during a stop in Catania that the new gov-ernment would “not take a hard line on immigration butone of common sense.” Salvini’s fellow deputy primeminister, leader of the anti-establishment Five Star move-ment Luigi Di Maio, has also called rescue NGOs “taxison the sea” although his rhetoric on immigration is moremeasured than that of the League.—AFP

BAMAKO: The UN has called for calm in Mali afterdozens of people were hurt during banned oppositionprotests in Bamako, sparking calls for the prime minis-ter to resign two months ahead of a presidential elec-tion. The opposition said some 30 people were hospi-talized - including prominent opposition figure EtienneFabaka Sissoko who was left “in a coma” - after securi-ty forces fired “live ammunition” at protesters onSaturday. The government rejected the claims outright.

“It is absolutely false to say that shots were firedusing live ammunition,” a source close to the securityministry told AFP. Earlier yesterday, the ministry saidthe security forces were bound by three words - “pro-fessionalism, courtesy and firmness” and that the policehad acted to maintain public order. It denounced theprotestors for having injured a policeman in the head. A“transparency” rally outside the party headquarters ofPresident Ibrahim Boubacar Keita attracted severalhundred people.

Police fired tear gas and beat demonstrators withbatons, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.Clashes also took place in other locations. UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Malilast week, called late Saturday for “calm and restraintby all parties”. “(He) calls on the Malian government toensure the protection of fundamental human rights andfreedom of expression to peaceful demonstrations,including in the context of the ongoing state of emer-gency,” a UN statement said.

Mali is one of the so-called “G5 Sahel” states -along with Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger -which have launched joint operations against militantgroups. Most protests are banned as the nation haslived under a near-constant state of emergency sincean attack on a hotel in Bamako in November 2015 left20 people dead.

Terrorize the opposition “In a dozen places, unarmed protesters were

attacked with tear gas and clubs,” the office of oppo-sition presidential candidate Soumaila Cisse said in a

statement. “The headquarters of the ADP (Alliance forDemocracy and Progress) was attacked by policespecial forces, who threw grenades. The prime minis-ter’s security services fired live ammunition at pro-testers gathered” in front of the building, the state-ment charged. “Three opposition leaders were vio-lently beaten on the head with clubs and batons,” itadded. “The intention of the government was clear: toterrorise the opposition and all democratic forces.”The statement also called for “the resignation of theprime minister”.

The demonstrations come ahead of July 29 electionsin which Mali President Keita, 73, will face more than adozen challengers. The opposition has called for equalaccess to public radio and television for campaigning.“The UN secretary-general regrets the government-imposed ban on the demonstrations by opposition par-ties,” the UN said. “(He) urges political actors and thecivil society to favor dialogue in order to maintain anenvironment conducive to the holding of credible andtransparent elections.” Opposition leaders have calledfor new demonstrations next Friday. — AFP

UN calls for calm as dozens injured in Mali protest

Salvini in Sicily to push new hard line on migration

BAMAKO: Civilians gesture and shout slogans as theyprotest against the lack of transparency of the presi-dential election’s campaign on Saturday.— AFP

A picture taken on May 8, 2018 shows a man herd-ing his cattle by a signboard which welcomes visi-tors to the state of Zamfara. — AFP

DAKAR: In this photo taken on May 16, 2018, studentsclash with Senegalese police during a protest outsidethe gates of Cheikh Anta Diop University. — AFP


8I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Established 1961

MASAYA, Nicaragua: Nicaraguan protesters firedhomemade mortars to fend off a police crackdownSaturday in new unrest that left at least six peopledead, including a US citizen, as the opposition renewedcalls for President Daniel Ortega’s resignation. ButOrtega, the man who has dominated the CentralAmerican country’s politics for the past four decades,only appeared to dig in deeper, defying seven weeks ofanti-government protests that have left more than 100people dead and are turning increasingly violent.

In the city of Masaya, once a bastion of support forOrtega’s leftist Sandinistamovement, residents put upbarricades to keep out riotpolice and protect them-selves from what they saidwere police and paramilitarysnipers positioned around acentral neighborhood. Fivepeople were killed in the city,including a 15-year-old boy,according to the NicaraguanAssociation for theProtection of Human Rights(ANPDH). “The blood spilledin Masaya has made it a day of mourning and pain forthose citizens who simply wanted to exercise their rightto protest,” the head of the rights group, Alvaro Leiva,told AFP. “We are facing a situation of profound crisisin terms of human rights violations.” A police intelli-gence officer was also among the victims, he said.

Separately, US Ambassador Laura Dogu said anAmerican citizen had been killed overnight in the capi-tal, Managua. The ANPDH identified him as Sixto HenryViera, 48, and said he was reportedly killed by a pro-government mob. The police meanwhile reported loot-ing, fires and riots in at least six cities, includingManagua and Masaya, blaming “rightwing groups” -though in at least some of the cities, residents said the

security forces themselves were responsible for thedestruction.

Urban battleground Masaya, a city of just over 100,000 people, resonat-

ed with gun and mortar fire as residents vowed to fightback the security forces they blame for killing innocentprotesters, as well as government supporters they sayhave been looting and pillaging. Holed up in a policestation and other strategic spots, police returned firewith tear gas and, allegedly, live ammunition. Jonhatan

Jose, 47, said his neighborwas shot and killed. “Theyare attacking the Nicaraguanpeople. They put a bullet inmy neighbor’s chest thismorning,” he told AFP. “Itwas a sniper... You can tell bythe size of the hole - big... Hemust have been about 23years old, with a son whowas three or four.”

One focal point in theunrest was a burned-outartisans’ market. The govern-

ment said residents had torched it, and that securityforces were sent into the city at the request of smallbusiness owners who lost everything. Residents calledthat a lie; they said riot police burned the buildingthemselves in an attempt to justify the crackdown,which led to 31 arrests. The street battles shut downany semblance of normal life in the city.

As hundreds of youths gathered at the barricadesbrandishing homemade mortars, machetes, rocks andslingshots, other residents sheltered in their homes interror. At her family-owned grocery store, 49-year-oldVanesa - who declined to give her last name, fearing forher safety - choked up as she described hiding out withher three children and grandson. “I’m hopeless, heart-

broken, I don’t have words to describe it,” she said.“The situation is horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible.”

Long fight Protesters have a single demand, said Azhalea Solis,

an opposition leader: “Get rid of Ortega’s governmentimmediately.” But the 72-year-old president looksready for a long fight. On Wednesday, a Mother’s Daymarch in support of mothers who have lost children inthe violence was met with gunfire that left at least 16

people dead. Former Ortega ally Henry Ruiz - who wasa commander in the Sandinista guerrilla army when itoverthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979,bringing Ortega to power - warned the country tobrace for more. “There is abundant evidence thatOrtega will dig in militarily to fight back and strengthenhis hand for negotiations,” he said in an opinion column.Ortega, who was voted out of office in 1990 andreturned to power in 2007, is now serving a third termthat is due to end in 2022. — AFP

New Nicaragua violence kills six, including American man

Ortega digs in deeper, defies anti-government protests

VILNIUS: Some 18,000 troops from 19 mostlyNATO countries began annual US-led military exer-cises in Poland and the Baltic states on Sunday toboost combat readiness on the alliance’s eastern flankas it faces an increasingly assertive Russia. The eighthSaber Strike maneuvers, which run until June 15, comeafter it was revealed Poland is considering a proposalto welcome a permanent deployment of US troops tothe country.

A Polish defense ministry “information document”emerged this week showing that Warsaw could spendbetween $1.5 to $2 billion to help cover the cost ofstationing a US tank unit in Poland. The proposal trig-gered immediate criticism from Moscow, with theKremlin insisting that any such deployment “will notbenefit in any way the security and stability on thecontinent”. The US has ramped up its presence onNATO’s eastern flank and notably Poland sinceRussia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

The United States leads a multi-national NATObattle group in Poland. Germany, Britain and Canadacommand three others in nearby Baltic statesEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania, where Saber Strikemaneuvers are planned. “They (NATO battalions)will be specifically tested during Saber Strike, itdemonstrates the alliance commitment to one anoth-er,” US Brigadier General Richard Coffman told offi-cials at Sunday ceremonies in the Lithuanian capitalVilnius launching the exercises. The exercisesdemonstrate “the enhanced flexibility of ground andair forces to rapidly respond to a crisis. This allowsfor the right presence where we need it,” he said,adding that “we are fully capable to conduct com-bined and joined operations.”

Cementing ties Speaking in Warsaw on Monday, NATO Secretary

General Jens Stoltenberg said he expected leaders ata July NATO summit in Brussels to “make decisionson reinforcement, readiness and military mobility” offorces in Europe, particularly with regard to the fourbattle groups deployed since 2016. The US army alsoset up a new European headquarters in Poland in May2017 to command some 6,000 of its troops deployedin NATO and Pentagon operations in the region.

The move was one of the largest deployments ofUS forces in Europe since the Cold War and wasmeant to reassure NATO’s easternmost allies spookedby Russia’s frequent military exercises near their bor-ders and the Crimea annexation. Further cementingstrong defense ties with Washington, Poland signed a$4.75-billion contract in March to purchase a US-made Patriot anti-missile system, in its largest-everweapons deal.

Moscow complained about the prospect of thedeployment of Patriot systems in Poland and Romania,which it says violates a 1987 arms treaty and could betailored to shoot missiles at Russia. In February,Lithuania accused Russia of permanently deployingnuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles to itsKaliningrad exclave. This year’s Saber Strike maneu-vers will be partly held in this sensitive region. —AFP

US Army launches war games on NATO east flank

MASAYA: A demonstrator fires a home-made mortar against riot police during protests in the Monimbo neighbor-hood on Saturday. — AFP

Masaya residents vow to fight back

security forces

LJUBLJANA: Slovenians voted yesterday in an early elec-tion which was set to see Janez Jansa’s anti-immigrationparty emerge as victor after four years of center-left rule.The last poll published by the Dnevnik newspaper hadJansa’s Slovenian Democrats (SDS) on just over 25 percent,well clear of its nearest rivals the Social Democrats, whowere on 12 percent. Early turnout was slightly up on fouryears ago at 17.3 percent from 15.4 percent just after 0900GMT and an apathetic showing was expected to bolsterJansa’s chances.

However, with more than 40 percent of those surveyedsaying they either had not decided or would not reveal theirpreference, all bets were off in the eurozone country of twomillion. Jansa’s combative personality, strident anti-immigra-tion rhetoric and alliance with Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orban dominated the closing stages of the campaign.In the final TV debate on Thursday, Jansa effectively tradedbarbs with comedian-turned-politician Marjan Sarec.

Sarec’s “anti-system” LMS party is on 11.9 percent inDnevnik’s poll, a weaker showing than earlier in the cam-paign but one which could yet leave him well placed to playkingmaker if borne out. The SMC party of outgoing PrimeMinister Miro Cerar - whose shock resignation in Marchprompted Sunday’s poll - was on just 9.3 percent. Cerarthrew in the towel after months of public-sector strikes and

internal wrangling within his coalition, with the last strawcoming when a supreme court verdict on a flagship infra-structure project went against the government. Some 1.7million Slovenians are eligible to vote for 90 members ofparliament. Polling stations were to close at 7 pm (1700GMT), with the first results expected yesterday evening.

Fear of migrants Even if Jansa’s SDS party comes out ahead, he may still

find it difficult to put together a majority in parliament. Theparties in the outgoing coalition - the Social Democrats, theSMC and the pensioners’ party DESUS - have all ruled outcollaborating with the SDS. Sarec also recently told AFPthat “spreading fear (of migrants) and getting the primeminister of a neighboring country (Orban) involved in ourelections has crossed all red lines and I and our members donot see ourselves in such a constellation”. Last month Orbansaid an SDS victory “would ensure the survival of theSlovenian people”. According to Slovenian media reports,Jansa’s media campaign has also been boosted by invest-ments totalling some two million euros ($2.3 million) fromHungarian media companies in a TV station and newspaperco-owned by SDS. Sarec and other opponents say this maybe a violation of campaign finance laws but SDS insist theinvestments are above board.

Instability ahead? Jansa’s political career stretches back to the country’s

struggle for independence from Yugoslavia and has alreadyseen its fair share of drama. In 2013 he was forced to stepdown from a second term as prime minister over a corrup-tion scandal and competed in the 2014 elections from jail -the verdict was later overturned. Like rightwing leaderselsewhere he has adopted a combative presence on Twitter

and has used it to defend his alliance with Orban. “Thanksto its (migration) policy, Hungary is a safe country whileBelgium, due to its wrong policy, isn’t,” read a recent tweetfrom Jansa, who first served as prime minister from 2004-08. Almost 500,000 migrants crossed Slovenia in late 2015and early 2016 along the so-called Balkan route. During thecampaign, Jansa effectively evoked memories of the crisis tohis advantage despite the fact that all but a handful of themigrants continued to northern Europe. For the first time inover a decade, elections will take place against a backdropof strong economic growth rather than financial crisis orrecession.—AFP

Slovenians vote in early polls with rightwinger in front

CARACAS: Venezuela was freeing a second group ofjailed opponents of President Nicolas Maduro onSaturday after admonishing them for alleged violentcrimes against the socialist government. The releases fol-lowed Maduro’s re-election at a poll last month that wascondemned by Western nations as a farce cementing anautocracy in the South American OPEC member. Castingthem as a peace gesture, the government said 40activists were being released on Saturday, after 39 werefreed on Friday.

Many had participated in protests against Maduro in2014 and 2017 that turned violent killing around 170people. Campaigners say the government inflated the listof releases by adding the names of some people who hadalready been freed and others who are not political pris-oners. Local rights group Penal Forum said only 39activists were among the total freed over the two days.The best-known among Saturday’s releases were politi-cians Wilmer Azuaje and Gilber Caro, plus Raul Baduel,the son of a dissident former general, opposition sourcessaid. “I am so happy, so grateful to God, that this day hascome because after more than a year my family reunites,”Azuaje’s wife Kelly told Reuters. “The battle goes on forall the other separated families, for Venezuela, for a bet-ter future.” Foes of Maduro say the releases, while wel-come, are insufficient given another roughly 300 peopleare in jail on what the opposition says are trumped upcharges intended to stifle dissent.

Some of those released on Saturday were paradedstony-faced at the colonial-era Yellow House that ishome to the Foreign Ministry in Caracas. “We requirefrom you a commitment to abandoning political vio-lence, hatred and intolerance forever,” senior officialDelcy Rodriguez told them in video broadcast onstate TV. —Reuters

Venezuela frees more anti-Maduro activists

PAHOA, Hawaii: National Guard troops, police and fire-fighters ushered the last group of evacuees from homes onthe eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island early on Saturday,hours before lava from the Kilauea volcano cut off roadaccess to the area, officials said. A stream of lava as wideas three football fields flowed over a highway near a junc-tion at Kapoho, a seaside community of rebuilt after adestructive eruption of Kilauea in 1960. The lava flow leftKapoho and the adjacent development of Vacationland cutoff from the rest of the island by road, according to theHawaii County Civil Defense agency.

Also, lava destroyed a freshwater lake, boiling away allof the water in it, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatoryreported late Saturday, local time. “Lava entered GreenLake within Kapoho Crater, producing a large steamplume ... A Hawaiian County Fire Department overflightreported that the lava filled the lake and apparently evapo-rated all the water,” the report said. Authorities sinceWednesday had been urging residents of the area to leavebefore lava spewing from a volcanic fissure at the easternfoot of Kilauea reached the area.

The final phase of the evacuation was carried out lateon Friday and early Saturday by fire and police depart-ment personnel, with help from the Hawaii National Guardand public works teams, county civil defense spokes-woman Janet Snyder told Reuters by email. An estimated500 people live in the Kapoho area, but Snyder said it wasnot immediately clear how many residents, if any, chose tostay behind. Another 2,000 people have already beenevacuated from Leilani Estates, an area further west wheredozens of homes have been devoured or cut off by rivers

of lava streaming over the landscape since May 3. Forthose whose homes have been unscathed, the prolongedstrain of uncertainty has grown increasingly difficult.

Living on edge“We’re waiting for Pele to make the decision,” said

Steve Kirkpatrick, a retired mailman and 14-year residentof Leilani Estates, referring to the volcano goddess ofHawaiian myth. His home was still intact but in harm’s way.“You go for three weeks and you think everything is fine,and then you can still lose your house,” Kirkpatrick toldReuters as he and his wife, Kathy, ventured back to theircommunity to help friends move out. “As the lava expands,so has the anxiety,” she said, the low, jet-like sound of lavaspouting from the ground audible in the distance.

Lava was not the only challenge posed by the eruption.Toxic sulfur dioxide gas emissions have created an addi-tional hazard. So too have airborne volcanic glass fibers,called “Pele’s hair,” wispy strands produced by lava foun-tains and carried aloft by the wind. One resident, NancyAvery, said the glass strands hurt like paper cuts, slicinginto her fingers and feet, toes exposed because she woreonly sandals. She tried to pick up a strand but, “It just kindof melted into my skin and cut me. It’s so sharp, it feels likethe glass is still in there.”—Reuters

Hawaii evacuees leave homes as lava threatens on Big Island

Hawaii Volcano Observatory geologist docu-ments the fissure 8 flow on Hawaii’s Big Islandon June 1, 2018. —AFP

SENTILJ, Slovenia: Janez Jansa, former SlovenianPrime Minister and President of SlovenianDemocratic Party (SDS), flanked by his wife UrskaBacovnik, casts his ballot at a polling station inthis small village near Velenje yesterday. — AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Monday, June 4, 2018

9Established 1961

Nearly half ofAfghan children out of schoolKABUL: Nearly half all children in Afghanistan are outof school due to conflict, poverty, child marriage anddiscrimination against girls, the number rising for thefirst time since 2002, humanitarian organizations saidin a report yesterday. Spreading violence has forcedmany schools to close, undermining fragile gains ineducation for girls in a country where millions havenever set foot in a class room.

Some 3.7 million children between the ages of sevenand 17, or 44 percent, are out of school, 2.7 million ofthem girls, Education Minister Mirwais Balkhi told aseminar, explaining a study conducted by UNICEF,USAID and the independent Samuel Hall think-tank.The Taleban, seeking to oust the US-backed govern-ment and return the country to strict Islamic rule aftertheir 2001 ouster, are adamantly opposed to educationfor girls and threats from Islamic State have forced theclosure of dozens of schools.

Without mentioning the Taleban or Islamic State,Balkhi said there were “many reasons” for children notgoing to school. “Education of children is the mostimportant development in all human communities,” hesaid. “It is the most important tool in fighting war,poverty and unemployment.” In the worst affectedprovinces, up to 85 percent of girls are not going toschool, the aid groups said. They did not give specifictime periods or comparisons.

In April this year, militants set ablaze two schoolsand widespread violence had led to closure of hun-dreds of private schools. “Business as usual is not anoption for Afghanistan if we are to fulfill the right toeducation for every child,” said Adele Khodr ofUNICEF in the report. —Reuters

As election looms, popularity of Modi wanes in rural India

BJP loses Kairana by-election in Uttar Pradesh stateKAIRANA, India: Indian farmers voted over-whelmingly for Prime Minister Narendra Modiin the 2014 general election that swept him topower. He cannot count on them doing soagain, as a crash in commodity prices andsurging fuel costs stoke anger in the country-side. Four years ago, Modi’s Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) swept Uttar Pradesh, India’s mostpopulous state, winning 73 of 80 seats,as the rural poor - swayed by promisesof higher crop prices - deserted therival Congress party.

Now, facing criticism for not improv-ing living standards in the countryside,where 70 percent of India’s 1.3 billionpeople live, analysts and farm econo-mists said Modi would find it hard torepeat the feat in a general election dueby May 2019. While it is risky to predictelection outcomes in India, where reli-gion and caste remain important issues- not to mention the influence of fickleregional parties - interviews with some of thestate’s millions of farmers suggest rural angstcould cost the government dearly.

“No doubt, there was a wave for Modi in2014, but farmers are disenchanted with himnow,” said sugarcane grower Uday Vir Singh, 53,plonking down on a wicker chair and smokinghis hookah. “Modi promised to double farmers’income but our earning has halved because ofhis apathy and anti-farmer policies.”

Nearly half a dozen farmers sitting withSingh on a hand-woven rope cot, and many ofothers in Kairana - which elected a jointopposition candidate from a small regionalparty in a key by-election this week - accusedModi and the Uttar Pradesh administration,also run by the BJP, of failing to live up to theirpromises and overlooking the concerns of vil-lagers. “Modi is a very good salesman but weare not going to fall prey to his glib talkagain,” said 55-year-old Narendra Kalhande,

who grows cane on his 2.5 acre farm. FarmMinister Radha Mohan Singh defended thegovernment’s record, citing initiatives on irri-gation, crop insurance and electronic tradingplatforms for farmers to sell produce. “Forfarmers, Prime Minister Modi’s 48 months havebeen much better than the Congress’s rule of48 years,” Singh told Reuters, referring to the

main opposition party that dominated Indianpolitics for most of the years since independ-ence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Crisis in countrysideHigher inflation and sluggish growth helped

Modi trounce Congress, which had longcounted the rural poor as its core constituency,in the 2014 election. Small farmers had been hitby rising living costs but benefited little fromrising food prices because of the web of mid-dlemen in India’s agricultural markets. Sincethen the economy has picked up, recording itsquickest pace of expansion in nearly two yearsin the first three months of 2018, helped byhigher growth in the farm sector.

But lower food prices, weaker farm wagesand modest crop procurement rates - the resultof a shift in focus from the subsidies favored byCongress to investment under the pro-businessBJP - have hurt most of India’s 263 million

farmers, who typically own less than 2 hectaresof land. In the past year, Modi’s popularity hasfallen by 12 percentage points among farmers,according to a “Mood of the Nation” surveypublished last week by the Lokniti, part of theCentre for the Study of Developing Societies(CSDS), a research institute.

Next year’s election would be fought onfarmers’ issues, said Yogendra Yadav, a lead-ing academic-turned-politician. Farmerorganizations in some states began a 10-strikeon Friday, in which they have said they willstop selling produce to protest a steep drop inthe prices of an array of farm goods. FarmMinister Singh said his government had yet tohear from farm leaders but was ready to listen.

Commodities crashPrices of pulses, a key crop for Indian farm-

ers, have fallen 25-30 percent below state-setsupport prices, as higher imports and bumperlocal crops bumped up supplies. While the gov-ernment announces support prices for morethan 20 crops each year to set a benchmark,state agencies actually buy only rice and wheatat the support level.

Vegetable prices, especially onions, cab-bage and tomatoes have fallen 25 percentfrom last year, largely because of the lack ofrefrigerated trucks that could take the per-ishables to the consuming big cities. Milkprices have also dived by more than 25 per-cent in the past year as a global glut hasbrought exports to a near halt. Farmers inCharkhi Dadri, three hours’ drive west of thecapital New Delhi, recently dumped toma-toes onto the road in protest after buyersoffered a quarter of a rupee per kilogram fora crop that costs at least 6 rupees ($0.09) akg to produce.

Jai Bhagwan, 54, borrowed 12,000 rupeesto grow onions on a plot of about half acre inJhajjar, an area otherwise famed for pottery.When his crop was ready, Jai Bhagwan could

get only 1,200 rupees. “I could not evenrecover my labour cost,” said Jai Bhagwan,who was in New Delhi recently to participatein a farmers’ meet. Prakash Singh, also fromJhajjar, spent 6,000 rupees to grow greenchilli, but the crop fetched him barely 200rupees. “I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. But Ican’t sit idle, so I’ll have to borrow more togrow something else,” Singh said.

Ashok Gulati, a farm economist whoadvised India’s last government, said therewere three policy options to support farmers:

Building state buffer stocks to soak up excesssupply, acting to boost exports or buildingcapacity for processing farm commoditiesinto end products such as milled, dehuskedpulses or vegetable oils.

Most of those measures would requirelong-term structural changes, however, andanalysts predict in the run-up to the elec-tion Modi is likely to announce more pop-ulist, short-term fixes such as higher guar-anteed prices for crops and farm loanwaivers. — Reuters

Farmers’issues to

dominate polls in 2019

With Cambodia’s free press under fire, ‘China model’ makes inroadsPHNOM PENH: As Cambodia’s once-robust press freedom comes under attack,Chinese-linked outlets have found newfooting ahead of July elections, pushing thecountry’s media toward an authoritarianmodel - and bolstering strongman HunSen’s tight grip on power. Critical coverageis increasingly drowned out by gushingpro-government tirades and pro-Beijingcontent as China extends its influencebeyond business into Cambodia’s press.

At the forefront of this shift is govern-ment-friendly website Fresh News. Theowner Lim Chea Vutha, in a crisp suit andflashy ring, welcomes Beijing’s supportwith open arms, namely in the form ofsponsored trips to China. “As a Cambodiancitizen, I declare that I support China, Isupport Chinese investment in Cambodia,”the 38-year-old told AFP in the company’smodern newsroom, as dozens of youngreporters huddled over computers nearby.

Several of his employees have beentreated to reporting trips on Beijing’s dime,he said, and he travelled there in early June.In February, he launched a Mandarin-lan-guage version of the site, which brims with

articles hailing the Cambodian govern-ment’s achievements and Chinese statemedia coverage. His sentiment reflects thenation’s love affair with its Communistneighbor, which floated $1.4 billion inapproved foreign direct investment in 2017as part of its massive “One Belt, One Road”infrastructure plan - double the previousyear and outspending all other countries.

Chinese loans have relieved PrimeMinister Hun Sen of reliance on the Westernaid that pushed Cambodia’s democratizationafter the Khmer Rouge’s brutal reign in thelate 1970s. That has given Hun Sen, who hasbeen in office for 33 years, room to chokeindependent media he was once under pres-sure to permit, smoothing the path to elec-tion victory on July 29.

China model The unravelling has paralleled a crack-

down on the opposition party, which wasdissolved in November, promptingWestern countries to pull funding for thevote. The combative Cambodia Dailyclosed in September under the weight of amassive tax bill believed to be politicallymotivated, while the US-backed Radio FreeAsia was shuttered and two of its reportersarrested two months later. That left onlythe Phnom Penh Post, which spiralled intomayhem after a Malaysian investor -whose PR firm once worked for the gov-ernment - bought the newspaper in April.

What remains are almost solely gov-ernment-cosy outlets, many owned byHun Sen’s cronies and relatives. Though

far from Beijing’s sophisticated control ofinformation, Cambodia’s media landscapeis starting to echo China’s, according toReporters Without Borders, whichdefines the model as media used to pro-mote government aims and development.“It’s going to be journalism with Chinesecharacteristics,” said Cedric Alviani, headof East Asia for RSF.

A Western diplomat in Cambodia saidgovernment officials have in some casesopenly praised the way Chinese media

operate. It is a shocking turn for a countryonce heralded as a beacon of press free-dom in a region dogged by censorship.Chinese influence also comes in the formof investment into state-run Cambodiamedia. NiceTV debuted last year as aventure between the China-based NICECulture Investment Group and the gov-ernment, delivering news broadcasts andentertainment in the local language Khmerfrom a studio inside the Cambodian interi-or ministry. —AFP

‘Pregnancy rotas’ add to Japan women’s woesTOKYO: Sayako had been trying to con-ceive a second child for two years whenher boss at a Japanese daycare center sug-gested she stop because she had missedher “turn”. Sayako, who spoke to AFPusing a pseudonym, learned her boss hadan unwritten policy that experts say is notuncommon in Japan: an informal “pregnan-cy rota” for employees. “Why don’t youtake a break, you already have one,” herboss said, despite knowing Sayako was sokeen to get pregnant that she was seeing afertility specialist. “I was so shocked andstunned that I couldn’t answer,” the 35-year-old told AFP.

Sayako’s boss told her that an oldernewlywed at her workplace now had prior-ity when it came to having children. Shequit the job and moved to another daycarecenter, recently giving birth to her secondchild. If she had stayed, “I think I’d havesaid ‘I’m sorry’” instead of celebrating thebirth of the baby. The issue of “pregnancyrotas” hit the headlines earlier this yearwhen a man wrote about his wife’s experi-ence getting pregnant “out of turn”.

In a letter to the Mainichi Shimbunnewspaper, he said he and his wife hadapologized to her boss at a nursery. “Howdare you break the rules without asking?”the boss had said, the husband recounted.The letter sparked a debate about thepractice, which experts say is particularlyprevalent in sectors that struggle to find

and retain employees, like the daycareindustry. It represents an intersection oftwo of Japan’s most pressing social issues:a shrinking population and the strugglewomen face balancing a career and family.

‘A normal practice’ A declining birth rate has created labor

shortages, but workplaces often demandlong hours and overtime - a difficultprospect for female employees in a societythat often still expects women to take thelead on housework and childcare. Thisleaves many women feeling forced to quittheir jobs to have children or forego a fam-ily to stay employed and get promoted.“When you have an underlying idea thatthe ideal is a full-time housewife, peoplethink women can just quit (if they getpregnant),” said Kanako Amano, aresearcher at the NLI Research Institute.“They think that if you want to cling toyour job, then you should wait your turn.”

“Pregnancy rotas” have become “a nor-mal practice at workplaces that mostlyemploy young female workers,” she toldAFP. Some women “don’t realize it is unfair,and instead feel apologetic” for takingmaternity leave. Employers argue that thelabor shortage makes it impossible to man-age a business if employees take maternityleave whenever it suits their family. But theresult is a situation that only exacerbatesJapan’s shrinking population, Amano said.“The essence of the ‘pregnancy order sys-tem’ - making couples wait turns - haslowered Japan’s birthrate,” she argues.

Legal experts say that forcing employ-ees to conceive on a rota is against the law,but it has become almost “inevitable” atworkplaces like nurseries and hospitals, saidNaoki Sakasai, a senior official at the

Tokyo-based Research Institute of EarlyChildhood Care and Education. “It is onworkers’ minds, whether it is written or not.”And while some employers frame the policyas “fair”, women told AFP the system hadthe effect of pressuring newlyweds or olderwomen to “hurry up” and get pregnant.

Discrimination The issue is only one of many chal-

lenges for women in the workplace inJapan, which ranks bottom of the G7 coun-tries on female representation in politicsand business. Amano said working mothers

had few role models in managerial postsand women often found themselves dis-criminated against after having children.Mayu, who also spoke to AFP using apseudonym, said “many things disappoint-ed” her after she returned to her job as anurse after maternity leave. “When I askedthe boss to send me to a professional pro-gram as a step towards a future promotion,her reaction was: ‘You took maternity leaveand worked shorter hours. How many morefavors do you want’?” “I have been toldthe same thing by three bosses over thepast five years,” she said. —AFP

PHNOM PENH: This picture taken on May 21, 2018 shows Cambodian onlinenews outlet ‘Fresh News’ founder and CEO Lim Chea Vutha (left) talking with astaff member in their newsroom. — AFP

TOKYO: This picture taken April 23, 2018 shows Sayako, who spoke to AFP using apseudonym, holding her baby during an interview. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils a plaque marking the immersionsite of the ashes of Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi at Clifford Pier. In 1948,after his murder, the ashes of Gandhi’s body were sent to different parts of India and therest of the planet including Singapore. —AFP

Indonesia police raid university over plot to attack assemblies JAKARTA; Indonesian anti-terrorism police have detaineda former student and are questioning two others after araid on a university campus in Pekanbaru, on Sumatraisland, where crude bombs and other explosive materialwere seized, police said. The former student is thought tohave been planning attacks on the Indonesian parliamentin Jakarta and the local assembly in Pekanbaru, the capitalof Riau province, national police spokesman Setyo Wasistotold a news conference yesterday.

An earlier police statement had said all three men hadbeen named suspects, but Wasisto said that applied toonly one and two were being questioned as witnesses.Wasisto said the suspect had links to members of theIslamic State-inspired Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), anumbrella organization on a US State Department terroristlist that is reckoned to have drawn hundreds of Indonesiansympathizers.

During Saturday’s raid on a faculty at Riau University,police found a pipe bomb, a homemade grenade, as well asthe homemade explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP),known as the “Mother of Satan”, Wasisto said. They alsoseized an air rifle and sets of bows and arrows, as well asother material such as fertilizer that could be used to makebombs, he said. —Reuters


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Carmakers including Renault, Jaguar Land Roverand Peugeot have boosted revenues by over $1billion in the past decade by using sophisticated

pricing software, according to sales presentations pre-pared by the software vendor, Accenture, and otherdocuments filed in a court case. The software works,Accenture told prospective clients, by identifyingwhich spare parts in a manufacturer’s range customerswould be content to pay more for, how much to raiseprices by and which prices should not be hiked.

The latter would include, for example, radiators andbody parts that may feature in French automotiveinsurer group SRA’s basket of parts that measuresthem for inflation, according to a court filing by thesoftware creator, Laurent Boutboul. Documents relat-ing to the case were obtained by French news siteMediapart and shared with Reuters and EIC, a net-work of European investigative news outlets. Theclient presentations and court complaints seen byReuters cover the period 2009 to 2015. Jaguar LandRover (JLR) acknowledged still using the Partneo soft-ware but Reuters was unable to determine which othercar makers, if any, currently use it.

Accenture denied its software was unfair to motoristsand said its focus was on increasing clients’ efficiency.“Solutions of this type, which enable companies toassess and manage their products, are commonplaceacross industries. They help companies analyse sparepart visibility and availability,” it said in a statement.Boutboul is claiming 33 million euros from Accentureover what he says is damage to his reputation becauseAccenture broke European competition rules.

He says it did this by using non-public informationtaken from Renault to help configure the pricing sys-tems it set up for PSA and potentially other manufac-turers. His lawsuit did not specify the exact informa-tion. Boutboul’s lawyer said Boutboul could not com-ment on the details of an ongoing legal action.Accenture said it rejected his claims. Renault, JaguarLand Rover (JLR) and Peugeot said their pricingstrategies for spare parts were legal, did not takeadvantage of car owners and were focused on effi-ciency and ensuring availability for motorists.

Peugeot said in a statement its replacement partsstrategy “consists in offering ranges of spare partsthat meet the needs of all customers, regardless oftheir budget, at the highest level of reliability and safe-ty.” Renault said it “strives to provide its customerswith a wide variety of quality spare parts, the price ofwhich is calculated based on parameters that Renaultconsiders fair and equitable”. JLR said it used Partneoto “deliver consistency in pricing across our spareparts range to ensure that we are appropriately pricedagainst our competition”.

France’s competition regulator said it had examinedthe software and did not see a reason to open a fullanti-trust investigation, without explaining its thinking.Renault said it was unaware of any of its non-publicpricing information being shared with other carmakers.PSA said it rejected Boutboul’s accusations, but didnot answer detailed questions about how its softwarewas configured. Accenture said its pricing software,called Partneo “does not share confidential or sensitivedata between clients”.

‘Perceived value methodology’In the past two decades, pricing software has

become widely used. Aaron Roth, Associate Professorof Computer and Information Science at the Universityof Pennsylvania, said using software to try and identifythe highest prices people were willing to pay wasmerely an extension of long-established practiceamong manufacturers and retailers. “Already, pricesfor products are set trying to maximize profits,” hesaid. In a 2013 presentation to BMW, Accentureclaimed its software had, on average, allowed clients toincrease parts prices by 15 percent.

But the recommended increases varied widely fromproduct to product. Accenture recommended in pre-sentations seen by Reuters to six clients, includingPSA, Honda and Volvo, that prices of many replace-ment parts should be doubled. An October 2013 pres-entation to carmaker Volvo said that the software hadled to “yearly gains achieved” at seven car and truckmakers of a combined $415 million a year. Volvo said itdid not use Partneo but declined to comment on thepresentation. PSA declined to comment on whether orhow much it increased prices. Honda did not respondto a request for comment.

Accenture said in its presentations that Partneorelies on a “perceived value pricing methodology”.While manufacturers often seek a specific margin onparts, the software attempts to identify those parts forwhich consumers would be happy to pay above thetypical mark-up. It selected these based on a productappearing to a car buyer to be more valuable or expen-sive to produce, client presentations show. Accenturenoted in a 2009 presentation to France’s PSA that cus-tomer perceptions of the intrinsic value of a part areoften based on factors like size, weight, and material ofan item like a shiny brand badge or a cog. In one pres-entation to Mitsubishi, it suggested the Japanese car-maker lift the price of a silvery model badge from 14.42euros to 87.49 euros, an increase of 507 percent.Mitsubishi declined to comment on whether it used thesoftware or increased its prices. —Reuters

Software and stealth: How carmakers hike spare parts prices

Small glimmer of hope in Catalan crisis with new PMSocialist Pedro Sanchez’s arrival to power in Spain has

brought a glimmer of hope that icy ties will thawbetween Madrid and Catalan separatists, who are

wary of the new leader but happy that veteran conserva-tive Mariano Rajoy has gone. It was Catalan separatistlawmakers-along with Basque nationalists - who swungthe balance in favor of a no-confidence vote broughtFriday against Rajoy due to corruption woes afflicting hisparty. As opposition leader, 46-year-old economistSanchez was deeply critical of Catalonia’s secession bidlast October. He backed Rajoy’s imposition of direct ruleon the region after separatist leaders declared Catalanindependence.

But he softened his tone as Catalan separatist lawmak-ers in the national parliament backed his no-confidencemotion. He has said he wants to “build bridges” with thenew regional separatist government. The fall of the conser-vatives in Madrid, along with the start of a new executivein Catalonia, could allow “the situation to improve,” saysJoan Botella, politics professor at the AutonomousUniversity of Barcelona. Sanchez’s speech in parliamentwas not particularly ambitious where the wealthy dividedregion is concerned, he says.

But he could profit from divisions within the separatistcamp. The more moderate want to ditch the unilateralroute to independence after several separatist leaderswere jailed over their role in the secession bid. Meanwhileradicals like deposed president Carles Puigdemont, who iscurrently in Germany in self-exile, are in favour of keepingthe conflict alive. Sanchez’s swearing-in on Saturday coin-cided with that of new Catalan president Quim Torra’sexecutive, which automatically triggers the end of directrule. “The pro-independence movement is declining, thereare internal divisions and with the new governmentPuigdemont is going to be less important,” says Botella.“So maybe Sanchez will be lucky.”

Lesser evil Things have not gone off to a good start. Torra, a hard-

line separatist, criticized for writing tweets or articlesdeemed offensive to Spaniards, was described by Sanchezas a “racist” and “supremacist.” Sanchez even dubbedTorra the Jean-Marie Le Pen of Spanish politics, referringto the controversial former far-right leader in France.

“The worst insults came from him and people from his(Socialist) party,” said a regional presidency source, whowished to remain anonymous. “We don’t have a goodopinion at all, but Rajoy was clearly worse. At least he’s offresh disposition, and can defuse the situation and allow

some detente.” Since Rajoy came to power in 2011, tiesbetween Madrid and Barcelona have consistently wors-ened. The tensions escalated still further in the autumnwith police violence during a banned independence refer-

endum on October 1, a subsequent failed proclamation of arepublic and the imposition of direct rule.

Even if Sanchez supported Rajoy in his response to theCatalan crisis, generally speaking the Socialists have beenmore attuned to Catalan claims than the conservativePopular Party (PP). Since 2013, they have called for a fed-

eral reform of Spain to give semi-autonomous regionsmore power and Sanchez has even defined Catalonia as a“nation.” “Even if the PSOE (Socialist party) has tried hardto look like the Popular Party... in Catalonia we know thereare differences,” Joan Tarda, a lawmaker with the sepa-ratist ERC party, said this week in the national parliament.

Little room for maneuverAdding to this, the main supporter of the Socialists in

the no-confidence vote was far-left Podemos, whichdefends the right to hold an independence referendum inCatalonia. “There could be a change, maybe not substan-tial but more like an offer for dialogue, the will to reopenchannels to find a negotiated solution to the conflict,” saysBerta Barbet, editor of political analysis website Politikon.But any concessions to Catalan separatists could berejected by members of Sanchez’s own party, the PP andespecially Ciudadanos, the centre-right party that is on therise in opinion polls for its aggressive anti-independencestance. “There will be very strong opposition,” acknowl-edges Barbet. “But if there is a moment when the PSOEcould make a different offer to de-escalate the conflict, it’snow, because part of Spanish society has realized howimportant it is to resolve the Catalan issue.”— AFP

With promises, ports,ships, India asserts its role in SE Asia

Almost lost in the din of the upcoming US-NorthKorea summit and fresh tension betweenWashington and Beijing last week, India cemented

its diplomatic and security ties across Southeast Asia in aclear challenge to China. It’s not clear just how far NewDelhi will take these relationships, given years of promise,and a general election due in 11 months that could be adistraction for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And if Indiais already rattling China, it won’t want to spark open con-frontation.

But Modi took several concrete foreign policy and secu-rity steps in Southeast Asia in recent days. He signed anagreement with Indonesia to develop a port in the city ofSabang that would overlook the western entrance to theStrait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest waterways,and agreed a pact with Singapore on logistical support fornaval ships, submarines and military aircraft during visits.Modi also flew to Kuala Lumpur for a late-scheduled callon Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who wonlast month’s general election, effectively cementing ties withthree of the most influential Southeast Asian nations.

On Friday, Modi told the Shangri-La Dialogue inSingapore, Asia’s premier defense forum, that India wouldwork with the Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) to promote a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. “We will work with them, individually or informats of three or more, for a stable and peaceful region,”

he said in the keynote speech at the forum. Several dele-gates, including US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, voicedsupport. At the end of the forum on Sunday, SingaporeDefense Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “I am sure many coun-tries are delighted that India has indicated its firm commit-ment to the region.”

China coolThe term “Indo-Pacific” has grown in usage across

diplomatic and security circles in the United States,Australia, India and Japan in recent years, shorthand for abroader and democratic-led region in place of “Asia-Pacific”, which some people have said places China toofirmly at the centre.

In a nod to India’s growing regional stature, the USmilitary’s Pacific Command in Hawaii formally changed itsname to the US Indo-Pacific Command in a ceremony onWednesday. Despite an outward show of friendshipbetween China and India, and Modi’s comments about thestrong relations between them, Beijing gave a distinctlycool response to his strategy.

The state-owned Global Times warned in an editoriallast week: “If India really seeks military access to thestrategic island of Sabang, it might wrongfully entrap itselfinto a strategic competition with China and eventuallyburn its own fingers.” Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhou,research fellow at the Institute of War Studies Academy ofMilitary Sciences of the People’s Liberation Army, toldreporters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue thatModi “made some dedicated comments on what hethought of the Indo-Pacific concept”. He did not elaboratebut the Global Times quoted him as saying: “The Indo-Pacific strategy, and the quasi-alliance between the US,Japan, India and Australia will not last long.”

Wider footprintIndian foreign ministry officials said there was a strong

element of self-interest in New Delhi’s efforts to secureopen access to the Malacca Strait, since it carries about60 percent of its foreign trade. But India’s intended foot-print looks to be wider. Late last month, three Indianwarships staged exercises with the Vietnamese navy forthe first time in the South China Sea, which is claimedalmost wholly by China. Vietnamese submariners aretrained in India, while the two sides have significantlyincreased intel l igence sharing and are exploringadvanced weapons sales.

To the west, India signed an agreement for access tothe port of Duqm on Oman’s southern coast, during a visitby Modi earlier this year. Under the agreement, mediareports said, the Indian navy will be able to use the portfor logistics and support, allowing it to sustain long-termoperations in the western Indian Ocean. In January, Indiafinalized a logistics exchange arrangement with Franceunder which it can use French military facilities in theIndian Ocean. Analysts said a more assertive India wouldanswer concerns in Southeast Asia about expandingChinese influence in the region and a fear that the UnitedStates was disengaging.

The United States’ trade spat with China and a per-ceived U-turn in its foreign policy as it pursues peace withNorth Korea had shaken many assumptions in the region,they said. “There is some pressure (in ASEAN) for diversi-fication of security relationships, taking insurances,” said CRaja Mohan, director of the Institute of South AsianStudies at the National University of Singapore. “An activeIndia then actually fits into this situation.” But althoughModi has started strongly, it was not clear how well hisstrategy would be sustained, he added. “Implementationhas always been a major challenge for India. (Modi is)struggling to improve the capacity of Delhi to do thingsoutside borders. There’s been some advance but that is astructural challenge that will remain.” — Reuters

MADRID: This combination of pictures shows Spain’s outgoing premier Mariano Rajoy taking the oath of office with a Bibleand a crucifix on October 31, 2016 and Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez being sworn in on June 2, 2018 withoutthe two religious symbols-the first to do so. Spain’s Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez was sworn in as prime minister, a day afterousting Mariano Rajoy in a historic no-confidence vote sparked by fury over corruption woes afflicting the conservativeleader’s party. —AFP

Catalan separatists

wary of new leader

Global trade war looms as Italy crisis takes back seat 1412 12

BusinessEstablished 1961


Merkel offers Macron concessions on reforms

Al Mulla Exchange opens recordfour new branches in one day

DOHA: In this file photo taken on June 12, 2017 a Qatar Airways plane lands at the Hamad International Airport in the Qatari capital. —AFP

India urges global plane makers to ‘Make in India’ MUMBAI: India wants to encourage aircraft makers tomanufacture in the country, starting with components andmoving eventually to complete aircraft, Aviation MinisterSuresh Prabhu said yesterday. In a series of messages onTwitter, Prabhu appealed to Airbus and Boeing Co to par-ticipate in the push as part of the government’s flagship“Make In India” campaign, highlighting the growth potentialof the booming market, which has been adding passengersand cutting fares. India’s booming aviation market andeconomy needs more than 1,000 passenger planes and“many more” cargo planes, Prabhu, who last week visitedan Airbus facility in Toulouse in France, wrote in the Twitterpost. Airbus said last year it expected Indian carriers toorder 1,750 aircraft over 20 years. Boeing predicted up to2,100 planes would be sold in the same period.

In other news American Airlines warned airline passen-gers may eventually face higher ticket prices if oil pricesremain high, prompting carriers to remove seats from themarket. Oil prices have risen around 50 percent comparedto the levels seen last year and that is putting pressure onairline profits. “If it becomes clear this is the new normalyou would see over time less capacity and growth in theindustry and therefore higher prices, but I don’t think that’sgoing to happen in the near term,” CEO Doug Parker toldreporters on the sidelines of the annual IATA meeting of air-line executives in Sydney. —Reuters

DUBAI: Qatar has weathered the economic impacts of a sti-fling Saudi-led blockade, maintaining healthy growth, butsome sectors continue to pay the price a year after the crisiserupted. On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United ArabEmirates and Bahrain-all partners of Qatar in the GulfCooperation Council (GCC) — along with Egypt, severedties with Qatar.

Accusing Doha of supporting radical Islamist groups,they imposed a land, sea and air blockade. Gas-rich Qatartapped into its massive wealth to absorb the early shocks toits financial system, and secure alternative food supplies,maritime routes and ports, reports said. The blockadingnations, already under economic hardship from low oilprices, have also suffered losses from the ongoing standoff,analysts argue.

Economic integration programs among the six-nationGCC, which were progressing at a snail’s pace, have suf-fered the most and the future of the regional alliance hasbeen thrown into doubt. “The latest data from Qatar reiter-ate that the worst of the hit to the economy from its diplo-matic crisis with Saudi Arabia and its allies has now passed,”said Capital Economics in a report in May.

Doha injected tens of billions of dollars to offset a dropin banking deposits at the start of the crisis and succeeded

in bringing the banking sector back to normal operations.Growth performance remains resilient. The direct economicand financial impact of the diplomatic rift between Qatarand some countries in the region has been manageable,” theInternational Monetary Fund said in a report onWednesday.

Crisis ‘opportunity’ Despite the drop in oil rev-

enues, Qatar achieved a growthrate of 2.1 percent in 2017,almost unchanged from the pre-vious year, and is forecast to riseto 2.6 percent this year, accord-ing to the IMF. “Qatar’s econo-my has suffered on severalfronts as new logistics linksproved to be more expensive inthe short term,” Andreas Krieg,a professor at King’s CollegeLondon, told AFP. “However, Qatar has been able to trans-form this crisis into an opportunity.”

Economic diversification has made a huge leap, such asthe opening of Hamad Port to bypass Jebel Ali in Dubai. The

multi-billion-dollar mega projects connected to the 2022football World Cup have continued unabated, said Krieg. Inaddition, Doha’s gas and crude oil exports have not beendisrupted, providing a revenue lifeline.

Despite the rift, Qatari gas continues to flow into theUAE through the Dolphin pipeline. Since the blockade

began, Qatar-home of Al-Udeid,the largest US base in theregion-has agreed a raft of mili-tary purchases worth tens of bil-lions of dollars with the UnitedStates and Europe. “Qatar madea large drawdown of its reservesand investment assets when theblockade began,” said MiddleEast commentator Neil Partrick.

Although it sustained lossesin tourism revenue, it hasenjoyed “economic success”assisted by Iran, Turkey and

Oman, Partrick said. The blockade’s negative impacts onQatar were in real estate, tourism and Qatar Airways,which is expected to announce large losses because oflonger routes. According to Capital Economics, in the first

six months of the blockade, visitors to Qatar dropped by20 percent, flights into Doha by 25 percent, and QatarAirways flights by 20 percent. It estimated loss in tourismrevenue during the same period at $600 million, and realestate prices fell by 10 percent. Mandagolathur Raghu,head of research at the Kuwait Financial Centre, said hiscompany estimates Qatar Airways has lost around $3 bil-lion in revenues.

Regional hit The blockading nations also suffered from the diplomatic

crisis, though to a lesser degree. “I think that the economicimpact of the blockade on the entire region should not beunderestimated. The loss due to the disruption of free tradeis in the tens of billions of dollars for all countries,” Kriegsaid. Dubai in particular has suffered billions of dollars inlosses due to Qatari companies no longer being able towork there, he said.

Lost Qatari investments in the UAE real estate sector areworth hundreds of millions, while both Saudi Arabia and theUAE have taken a blow worth billions after cutting foodexports to Qatar. Capital markets suffered as a whole andGCC economic programmes will be delayed further. “Projectsthat require GCC-wide coordination could be shelved ortimelines indefinitely postponed,” Raghu said. —AFP

Qatar economy weathers blockade stormsSome sectors continue to pay the price a year after the crisis

Zain launches first integrated 5G network in KuwaitKUWAIT: Zain, the largest telecommunications company inKuwait, has launched the first integrated 5G technology onits network, which will provide high-speed communicationswith high efficiency. Fifth-generation technology repre-sents a quantum leap in the operational efficiency of itsnetwork which will make it one of the first companies inKuwait and the region to adopt this solution to meet theever-growing digital needs of its individual and enterprisecustomers.

Zain extends an invitation to its customers to experience5G technology during the month and enjoy the high speedsthat will be available in several prominent locations, an ear-ly initiative for its customers to benefit from the greatmobile experience of 5G services. Zain will continue devel-oping and expanding the 5G network gradually acrossKuwait until the devices are available, expected during thecourse of 2019.”

Zain Kuwait’s Chief Technology Officer Nawaf AlGharabally said: “Telecom services are one of the mostimportant sectors in accelerating economic growth andpromoting trade. Obviously, existing mobile networks willnot be able to satisfy the future needs of the telecommuni-cations sector. 5G technologies will contribute to the digitaltransformation and prosperity of Kuwait, supporting theleadership’s future vision for the country and its people.”

‘Digital lifestyle’ Al Gharabally continued, “The launch of this new tech-

nology will help Zain to unleash its full potential in the dig-ital community, enhance ICT cooperation on multiplefronts and stimulate the company’s efforts to become the

leading provider of digitallifestyle”. He explained thatthe practical applicationsoffered by these new tech-nologies will expand thescope of the company’sservices in the enterprisesector and B2B companies,who benefit enormouslyfrom high speeds, as well asenhancing the customerexperience, and the creationof new business. This movewill take the company’s cus-tomer base to next-genera-tion technology in datatransfer and Internet usage.The coverage will start in some areas in succession, withthe plan covering the most important places and vitalareas in the country soon.

“The fifth-generation services will provide a compre-hensive change in the use of the Internet and will helpintroduce and deliver unique products and services in thebusiness, smart cities, and Internet sectors. The technologysolutions will also meet the growing demand for data serv-ices,” said Al Gharabally.

The technology will provide real value to digital infor-mation, as the world telecom community will count on thetremendous potential that will be provided by the fifth gen-eration technology, and the capabilities it will offer to leadthe digital conversion, IoT, high-volume data, especiallysince the design of the fifth generation technology willimprove the rapid growth of smart phones, data servicesand video services over the Internet, and the fifth genera-tion will provide customers with high quality Internet serv-ices to allow them to enjoy movies and programs, as well aslive and online gaming, online shopping and more.

Advanced vehicle technologies will contribute to theintroduction of new safety and traffic efficiency systems

that will include self-driving vehicles. Future generations ofvehicles will need advanced wireless communication capa-bilities through the fifth generation to connect with eachother, with local traffic center systems and vehicle manu-facturers.

The fifth-generation technology will enable industries toadopt new models of technologies that can help reducecosts, enhance efficiency and improve public health. At thesame time, the fifth generation can provide many commer-cial services to consumers to track and monitor data wire-lessly. Zain has been one of the first companies interested inacquiring the latest technological applications. It confirmsthe great interest it attaches to the convenience of the cus-tomer in providing its services and its keenness to providethe best products to suit the different needs of its cus-tomers to be accessible to all.

Growth performance

remainsresilient

Nawaf Al Gharabally


12B u s i n e s s

Established 1961

EXCHANGE RATES

BAHRAIN EXCHANGE COMPANY WLL

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.398565 0.412465Czech Korune 0.005739 0.016039Danish Krone 0.043612 0.048612Euro 0. 346506 0.360206Georgian Lari 0.138716 0.138718Hungarian 0.001142 0.001332Norwegian Krone 0.033174 0.038374Romanian Leu 0.064880 0.081730Russian ruble 0.004877 0.004877Slovakia 0.009039 0.019039Swedish Krona 0.030477 0.035477Swiss Franc 0.300694 0.311694

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.221522 0.233522New Zealand Dollar 0.205831 0.215331

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.228876 0.237875US Dollars 0.299000 0.303400US Dollars Mint 0.299500 0.303400

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.002999 0.003781Chinese Yuan 0.045824 0.049324Hong Kong Dollar 0.036869 0.039619Indian Rupee 0.003853 0.004580Indonesian Rupiah 0.000017 0.000023Japanese Yen 0.002702 0.002882Korean Won 0.000272 0.000267Malaysian Ringgit 0.072605 0.078605Nepalese Rupee 0.002734 0.003074Pakistan Rupee 0.002004 0.002774Philippine Peso 0.005621 0.005921Singapore Dollar 0.221330 0.231330Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001557 0.002137Taiwan 0.010400 0.010580Thai Baht 0.009126 0.009676

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.797090 0.805590

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Egyptian Pound 0.014304 0.020022Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000196 0.000256Jordanian Dinar 0.422896 0.431896Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000156 0.000256Moroccan Dirhams 0.021231 0.045231Omani Riyal 0.780955 0.786635Qatar Riyal 0.078964 0.083904Saudi Riyal 0.079740 0.081040Syrian Pound 0.001285 0.001505Tunisian Dinar 0.113821 0.121821Turkish Lira 0.060955 0.071255UAE Dirhams 0.081098 0.082798Yemeni Riyal 0.000985 0.001065

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 302.740Canadian Dollar 234.495Sterling Pound 405.585Euro 354.565Swiss Frank 301.675Bahrain Dinar 805.100UAE Dirhams 82.825Qatari Riyals 84.060Saudi Riyals 81.625Jordanian Dinar 428.276Egyptian Pound 16.939Sri Lankan Rupees 1.913Indian Rupees 4.515Pakistani Rupees 2.616Bangladesh Taka 3.624Philippines Pesso 5.760Cyprus pound 18.015Japanese Yen 3.760Syrian Pound 1.590Nepalese Rupees 2.828Malaysian Ringgit 76.965Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.595Thai Bhat 10.455Turkish Lira 65.520

VERSAILLES: In this file photo taken on March 06, 2017 (From L) Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy,German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Premier PaoloGentiloni visit the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace during an informal summit of the heads of conti-nental Europe’s biggest economies focusing on the Brexit. —AFP

NBK Weekly Market Report

KUWAIT: Trade war was the dominating theme last week asthe Italian political crisis took a back seat after the populistgovernment was formed. The US had given temporaryexemptions for the EU, Canada and Mexico, which expired atthe end of last week. Afterwards, the US imposed tariffs of25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. This elevates the stakeconsiderably in global trade tensions and will be unquestion-ably followed by measures being publicized by these threeimportant trading partners of the US. Canada has alreadyconfirmed that USD 12.8bn worth of tariffs on US steel, alu-minum and other imports will take effect on July 1st.Moreover, Mexico has promised action and EU CommissionPresident vowed imminent response.

However, the impact in the currencies market has beenmarginal so far. It seems from the initial reaction that there isa strong consensus that this may not result in any large scaletrade war. The likely reason for such a lack of volatility in theFX market is that the US may not respond to actions imposedby other trading partners.

Other nations that were hit by the initial placement ofthese tariffs in April did retaliate with no action followed fromthe US, so there is some logic in this assumption for now. Still,the risks of a more damaging escalation in trade conflict isnow higher than before and that may potentially extend theperiod of recent positive performance in safe haven curren-cies. The recent surge in the two and ten year dated Treasuryyields took a U-turn and have fallen in five of the last six ses-sions, reversing an uptrend that has been in place for the lastcouple of months. Demand for safe haven assets such as USgovernment bonds, CHF and JPY are on the rise.

A robust labor reportThe American economy added 223K jobs last month and

the unemployment rate edged to an 18-year low to 3.8%. Thedata indicates that the US labor market continues to tightenfurther and may cause inflation to increase even more as laborsupply diminishes. As for wages, the average pay rose0.3%after edging up by 0.1% in April. That lifted the annualincrease in average hourly earnings to 2.7% from 2.6% in April.All of the above three indicators beat forecasts and this givesroom for the FOMC to hike a further two times this year.

In the private sector, the US economy is experiencingmore difficulty in attaining new employees in an era ofrecord number of open positions. It seems that the labormarket tightness and an unemployment rate that is consider-ably low is part of the story. Moreover, the below trendnumbers for the past two months may have been impactedby worries of trade wars with America’s trade partners and ashortage of qualified workers. In details, the private segmentadded 178K jobs in May, below the expected forecast of190K and the number for April was revised downward from204K to just 163K.

As for the US dollar, the buck began its weekly session ona strong footing and appreciated to the highest level sinceNovember 2017. The Dollar received support from risk aver-sion and a weaker EUR/USD. However, the greenback’supward momentum failed to uphold as the Italian crisis fadedout of the picture and the euro recovered due to positiveeconomic data. At the last trading day of the week, the USDdollar index gained ground after the strong labor report data.The DXY closed slightly higher by 0.22% over the past week.

US GDP eases slightlyThe second preliminary estimate of Q1 2018 GDP was slightly

revised lower by 0.1% to 2.2%. The latest growth figure is sub-stantially lower than the final three months of 2017, when theeconomy expanded at a 2.9% annual pace. The two main factorsfor the moderate downward reassessment were a sharp slow-down in consumer spending from 4% in Q4 2017 to 1% in Q12018 and the value of newly added inventories was slashed to$20.2 billion from an original $33.1 billion. Moreover, exportsincreased slower at 4.2% vs the first estimate of 4.8%, whileimports remained unchanged.

Nevertheless, the outlook for the US economy remainsresilient, when other economies like the EU, UK and to someextent China are experiencing a slowdown in economic momen-tum. The broader indicators suggest the US economy remains ona firm footing so far in 2018, and the recent figures haven’t nega-tively altered the FED’s monetary strategy of increasing interestrates and slowly shrinking the money supply in the economy.Several economists still anticipate that the $1.5 trillion income taxcut package, which came into effect in January, will spur fastereconomic growth this year and lift annual GDP growth close tothe Trump administration’s 3% target.

US Core PCE maintains the 1.8% LevelThe Federal Reserve’s preferred measure on price growth

rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in April. In annual terms, the corepersonal consumption expenditures index, rose 1.8%, holdingsteady from a downwardly revised 1.8% in March (previously1.9%), according to the US Department of Commerce. As for theheadline PCE, the index also remained unchanged at 2% on anannual basis. Overall, inflation in the US has been improving onseveral fronts from CPI to wages and on the PCE index too. Thisindicates inflation momentum is not one off, is also becomingmore consistent and broad-based. The probability of an interestrate hike from the FED on June the 13th currently stands around85%.Treasury yields ticked higher after the data reached themarket. The yield on the two-year Treasury regarded as mostsensitive to Fed policy expectations, was up 1.2 basis points to2.4234%.

Consumer confidence improves in AmericaUS consumer sentiment recovered in May after a modest

decline in the previous figure. The confidence level came in asexpected at 128 from 125.6 recorded in April. Looking at the innercomponents, consumers’ valuation of current conditionsincreased to a 17-year high, while their prospects for future con-ditions rose less robustly. May’s robust data is correlated to ahealthy labor market and higher after-tax paychecks.Nonetheless, US citizens face headwinds such as elevated gaso-line costs and mortgage rates in a period of political uncertaintyregarding trade tensions. In addition, wages are somewhat mod-est even as the unemployment rate is at the lowest level since late2000. The overall picture suggests that the level of economicgrowth in Q2 may have improved from Q1 as consumers’ assess-ment of current conditions improved.

UK & EUROPEMonths of political uncertainty in Italy and last week’s nega-

tive movements in the country’s markets came to a halt as thepopulist coalition government was sworn into power on Friday.The Five Star Movement and the League face difficult constraints

from Italy’s fragile public finances to the EU rules that Rome mustabide by. It’s only fair that the two parties have their shot at gov-erning, but it’s hard to see how they can deliver on their promisesto decreases taxes and increase welfare spending without beingin conflict with the EU. Moreover, risks for the single currencywould intensify if evidence began to emerge that public opinionin Italy was materially shifting against maintaining membership inthe EU. Although, the European Commission’s latest indicatorrevealed that 59% of Italians surveyed were in favor of the singlecurrency compared to nearly 30% against and 11% unsure. Inconclusion, Italy’s political and economic difficulties are still inplay, but they may very well be a contained problem and less of aglobal risk than they were at the start of the week.

Inflation roars in the single economyOn an annual basis, consumer price growth in the euro-zone

inflated to 1.9% last month from 1.2% in April. Eliminating volatileof energy and unprocessed food prices, inflation rose to 1.3%from 1.1%. Another core inflation measure, which excludes alco-hol and tobacco, came in at 1.1% from 0.7% seen in April.Moreover, there was a significant rise in headline inflation acrossthe big four. German price growth soared from 1.4% to 2.2%.French inflation was elevated from 1.8% to 2.3%. Spanish pricesjumped from 1.1% to 2.1%. Lastly, in Italy, inflation rose from0.6% to 1.1%. The above data indicates inflation in the singleeconomy was mostly broad based.

The robust upward momentum in prices was mainly due toenergy prices, which shot up by a significant 6.1% in May com-pared to 2.6% the month before. The headline inflation rate isnow back at the ECB’s target of below, but close to 2%. On theother hand, some of the surge in prices could only prove tempo-rary, as it is energy correlated.

Therefore, in the absence of further oil price increases, theeffect of higher energy-related inflation could drop out in thenear future. After years of trying to attain the inflation target, itcould not have come at a more difficult time. Political issuesthroughout Europe (Italy, Spain and Brexit) could reignite marketturbulence in the block and derail the Bank’s exit strategy. Despitethe political concerns, officials at the ECB have long debated thatthe Bank’s mandate is to oversee inflation, not help countries out

of difficulties, suggesting little appetite now to give up plans tonormalize policy. The ECB’s monetary meeting is set for June 14when it publishes fresh economic projections, but a decision onwhether to wind down the asset buys is more likely to come atthe July 26 meeting.

Looking at the euro, the EUR/USD depreciated to a 10 monthlow on Tuesday as negative sentiments over the Italian politicalturmoil spilled onto the FX market. The euro fell to a low of1.1506 versus the Dollar. Afterwards, the single currency recov-ered its losses thanks to a robust European consumer inflationand receding tension in Italy. The EUR/USD opened the week at1.1688 and closed on Friday at 1.1658.

ASIAChina’s manufacturing sector defies economic slowdown

China’s manufacturing industry defied market expectationsand further entered into growth territory as the PMI rose to an 8-month high in May. The manufacturing PMI data came in at 51.9from 51.4 recorded in April and was above the median forecastcompiled by Reuters of a decline to 51.3. The manufacturing PMIhas been hovering around 50 to 52, suggesting a moderateexpansion in production activities. Strong supply-demand factorsand inflated global commodity prices contributed to the improve-ment in May’s manufacturing PMI reading. Meanwhile, the serv-ice industry also didn’t disappoint to the downside and rose by0.1 to 54.9. China continues to defy prospects of a slowdown inspite of the fact that it’s clear the government is delivering on thepromise of maybe sacrificing a little bit of economic strength forstability. However, uncertainty over trade remains the key risk togrowth in the near term. As for the World Bank’s projections,China’s economic development is projected to moderate to 6.5%in 2018 and 6.3% in 2019-20.

The safe haven Japanese yen was in demand throughoutlast week as investors rushed into safety assets due to politicaltensions in Italy and an increasing possibility of a global tradewar. The green back declined to a low of 108.10 against the yenon Tuesday and consolidated till Friday. On the last trading day,the US currency recovered its losses saved by the robust laborreport. The USD/JPY pair ended the week almost unchangedat 109.53.

Global trade war looms as Italy crisis takes back seat

Boursa Kuwait adoptsFTSE Russell Industry Classification BenchmarkKUWAIT: As part of its ongoing commitment to attractand facilitate international investments to Kuwait, BoursaKuwait will adopt the FTSE Russell Industry ClassificationBenchmark (ICB) for all equity stocks listed on its markets,starting this month, June 2018.

The FTSE Russell ICB is a comprehensive, globally rec-ognized standard, categorizing companies and securitiesacross four levels of classification. Each company is allo-cated to the subsector that most closely represents thenature of its business, determined by its primary source ofrevenue and other publicly available information. BoursaKuwait CEO Khaled Abdulrazzaq Al Khaled hailed theadoption, saying, “Adopting the FTSE Russell IndustryClassification Benchmark ensures that our bourse willadhere to international standards and increase transparen-cy as well as adopt universal benchmarks, allowing theexchange to flourish and expand.

Our goal of achieving worldwide status and becoming

a regional leader just became a little closer with this step,an important milestone on our journey and goal of devel-oping a liquid, reliable and sound capital market providingissuers with efficient access to capital, and investors withdiverse return opportunities, evolving into a leadingregional exchange.”

Gary Rynhoud, FTSE Russell’s Head of the Middle Eastand Africa, also welcomed Boursa Kuwait’s adoption ofthe ICB, stating, “Boursa Kuwait’s adoption of ICB’s glob-ally recognized classification standard will support thelocal bourse in offering increased transparency, structure,and standards to meet the needs of the global investmentindustry and support increased international awarenessand investment into Kuwait.

“The ICB is a rigorous and transparent rules-basedmethodology and we are delighted that Boursa Kuwaithas chosen ICB to assist it in bringing their services in linewith the practices of the global investment community.”Since its establishment in 2014, Boursa Kuwait has beencommitted to raising the international standards of theKuwaiti market, facilitating the development of a sound,internationally recognized, leading regional exchange. InSeptember 2018, Kuwait will be promoted to SecondaryEmerging market status, after undergoing FTSE Russell’sAnnual Classification Review in September 2017.

CBK launches travel campaign KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK)recently launched its ‘Your Trip, Your Way Tickets, Cash& One Kilo of Gold’ campaign, which entitles CBK cardholders chances to plan a trip and win flight tickets,cash prizes and gold. In this regard, CBK’s assistantmanager for individual banking services, HameedSalman stressed that CBK had always rewarded its

clients in appreciation for selecting it and that this timeCBK clients spending KD 10 using their credit cards inKuwait would get one chance to enter the monthly andthe final draws whereas each KD 10 spent abroad enti-tles the card holder to three chances ( three entries) inthe monthly and the final draws. Salman added that thecampaign includes four draws to be held on July 8th,August 12th while the third and fourth would be held onSeptember 9th to select 12 winners to win travel vouch-ers valuing KD 1,750- 2,750 each in addition to addi-tional KD 250 cash in the third and fourth draw. “Onelucky winner will get a chance to win one kilo of pureGold”, Salman added.

Merkel offers Macron concessions on eurozone reformsBERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered along-awaited answer to French President EmmanuelMacron’s call for ambitious European Union reformsyesterday, offering olive branches on investment andhelp for debt-mired eurozone member states. More thana year after Macron took office with the stated missionto bolster the EU and make it more responsive to its cit-izens, Merkel’s counter-offer comes at a time of height-ened concern about the future of the bloc due to politi-cal turmoil in Italy and Spain and transatlantic tensions.

Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine

Sonntagszeitung ahead of a crunch EU summit thismonth that Germany as the eurozone’s top economywould support an investment budget whose total wouldbe “at the lower end of the double-digit billions of eurosrange”. She said the “rainy day fund”, as it has beendubbed, would serve to help even out economic imbal-ances between richer and poorer European countries“which need to catch up in the areas of science, technol-ogy and innovation”.

“We need quicker economic convergence betweenthe member states,” she said. “To do that we have tostrengthen investment capability with the help of addi-tional structural policies,” she said, adding that the fundwould be phased in gradually and then evaluated interms of its effectiveness. Although Merkel’s budget tar-get falls short of the range proposed by Macron, it rep-resents a concession of sorts to his view that excessiveausterity has undermined faith in the bloc.

B u s i n e s s Monday, June 4, 2018

13Established 1961

KUWAIT: There was downward pressure on the region’s marketsled by oil price volatility, international geopolitical issues and FXrelated volatility. Almost all the GCC markets declined during themonth, with the only exception of Bahrain that posted marginalgains. Dubai witnessed the biggest monthly decline of 3.3%, fol-lowed by Qatar and Oman.

On the international front, the to and fro related to the USNorth Korean summit and US China trade relations, with the USmoving ahead with tariffs on Chinese goods and limits on Chineseinvestment in the US also affected market trends. This came inaddition to the pressure on the Euro that declined to a 10 monthlow, following uncertainty related to Italian elections. As a result,the MSCI World index was almost flat at 0.3% for the month,while the Emerging Market index was down by 3.6%.

In the oil market, after touching a 3.5 year high during earlyMay-18, crude prices remained volatile touching multi-weeklows after it was reported that Saudi Arabia and Russia mayincrease oil production to fill up the gap created by a decline inproduction by Iran and Venezuela. Although analysts pointed tocontinued positive demand fundamentals in the market, coupledwith a decline in OECD inventory that reached the targeted 5-year average, crude prices remained on the edge, as opening upthe tap earlier than the original target would once again floodthe market with oversupply.

In terms of sector performance, the decline in GCC duringthe month primarily reflected weakness in the Utilities and RealEstate stocks. A majority of the large-cap real estate stocks werein the red across markets. On the other hand, the resilient bank-ing stocks took a break during May-18 and remained flat m-o-m, but the aggregate banking index was still up more than 15%during YTD-18.

Boursa KuwaitKuwait’s headline indices continued to decline for the second

consecutive month in May-18. The decline was broad-based as allthe indices declined during the month with the Premier marketindex sliding the most by 1.8% indicating relatively larger selling inlarge-cap stocks. The All Share Index declined at a slightly slowerpace of 1.3% while the Main Market Index declined by at a mar-ginal rate of 0.4%.

Nevertheless, Kuwait continues to record positive perform-ance for YTD-18 as tracked using the Thomson Reuters KuwaitTotal Return Index that was up 2.8% since the start of the year. Interms of sector performance, the Technology Index witnessed thesteepest decline of 13.8% primarily on the back of a 20.5%decline in shares of Automated Systems Co in addition to a 2.4%decline in shares of Osos Holding. The Industrial Index recordedthe second highest monthly decline of 4.3% followed by theTelecom Index and the Consumer Goods Index with declines of3.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

Most of the large-cap stocks in the Industrial sector witnessedmonthly declines that dragged down the overall index. The declinein the Telecom sector came as a result of a decline in all the con-stituent stocks in the index, which was also the case with theConsumer Goods index. The large-cap Banking index also wit-nessed marginal decline during the month at -0.7% as gain inshares of CBK (+24.6%) and Boubyan Bank (+3.1%) were morethan offset by decline in other Kuwaiti banking stocks. Shares ofCBK got a boost after the bank reported a significant improve-ment in Q1-18 profit (KWD 10.1 Mn in Q1-18 vs. KWD 0.8 Mn inQ1-17) despite a decline in operating income as impairment andprovisions were significantly less during Q1-18 as compared toQ1-17. On the other hand, the Oil & Gas was the only index thatreported noticeable gains during the month at 5.8% after a major-ity of the constituent stocks reported positive performance duringthe month.

Trading activity declined owing to the month of Ramadan.Total monthly volume traded declined by 11% to 1.2 Bn shares ascompared to 1.35 Bn shares during the previous month, whilemonthly value traded declined at a slightly higher pace of 15% toKWD 204.8 Mn as compared to KWD 240.8 Mn during April-18.Shares of NBK (-3.1%) garnered the most interest in terms of val-ue traded recording total trades worth KWD 31.6 Mn followed byKFH (-0.6%) and Zain (-3.8%) at KWD 31.2 Mn and KWD 16.2Mn, respectively. In terms of monthly volume, KFH topped the

chart with 60.3 Mn traded shares followed by shares of AayanLeasing and Gulf North Africa Holding recording 53.7 Mn and52.8 Mn shares traded during the month, respectively. The month-ly gainers chart was topped by Al Madar Finance & Investmentwith its shares gaining almost two times after the company report-ed profits for Q1-18 as against a loss during Q1-17 in addition tosigning a KWD 17 Mn debt settlement.

Saudi Arabia (Tadawul)Saudi Arabia’s TASI declined marginally during May-18 by

0.6% and closed above the psychologically important 8,000points after briefly trading below this level. The index closed at8,161.1 points after recording gains in three consecutive tradingsession at the end of the month with a cumulative gain of 2.5%and steep surge of 1.9% recorded at the last day of the month.Overall, the index remained range bound during the month but thedirection largely followed the trends in oil price.

The monthly sector performance chart clearly showed thatlarge-cap sectors pulled up the market but declines in smaller sec-tors more than offset those gains. Merely three sectors recordedpositive gains during the month that included the Telecom indexwith the biggest gain of 7.2% followed by Materials and Banksindices with gains of 5.0% and 1.4%, respectively. On the otherhand, the Media index was recorded the biggest decline of 19.3%followed by Real Estate Management & Development andInsurance indices with declines of 15.6% and 12.3%, respectively.

Trading activity during the month declined by almost a quarteras compared to the previous month. Total monthly volume tradedon the exchange declined by 23.4% to 3.7 Bn shares as comparedto 4.8 bn shares during April-18. Total value traded during themonth also declined at a slightly lower pace of 22.3% to reachSAR 83.9 Bn as compared to SAR 108 Bn during the previousmonth. Dar Al Arkan Real Estate topped the monthly volumeschart with 850.4 Mn shares traded during the month followed byAlinma Bank and Saudi Kayan recording 492.8 Mn and 200.2 Mntraded shares, respectively. In terms of the value of shares traded,SABIC once again topped the list with SAR 13.5 Bn worth ofshares changing hands in May-18 followed by Alinma Bank andDar Al Arkan Real Estate recording trades worth SAR 10.2 Bn andSAR 10.1 Bn, respectively.

The monthly gainers chart was topped by Saudi Real Estatewith a return of 45.7% after the company reported higher rev-enues for Q1-18 although net profit declined by 6.7% y-o-y.Nama Chemicals stood second on the monthly best performerslist with a gain of 34.2% followed by Etisalat and TakweenAdvanced Industries with returns of 16.2% and 15.0%, respec-tively. The decliners side was topped by Saudi Enaya with adecline of 43.2% followed by Saudi Indian Coop Insurance andAmana with declines of 39.7% and 27.9%, respectively.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange The ADX index declined by 1.4% m-o-m in May-18, after

improving by 1.8% in the previous month. The index closed at4605.04 points and sectoral performance included both gainersand decliners. The Energy sector continued to remain the bestperforming index in May-18, similar to Apr-18, as oil prices roseduring the current month, which led the sectoral index to close3.5% m-o-m higher. The outperformance of the sector was driv-en by a 9% increase in the share price of Dana Gas, while a 1.2%increase was witnessed by ADNOC Distribution.

Services companies also gained by 2.8% m-o-m in May-18,driven by Abu Dhabi Aviation and National Corp for Tourism &Hotels, as their share prices moved up by 5.1% and 3.9% respec-tively. Agthia Group was responsible for the positive performanceof the Consumer Staples index, which moved up by 9.1% for themonth of May-18. Industrials was the worst performing sectoralindex, as it declined by 6.0% m-o-m, led by a 9.9% m-o-mdecline in the share price of Gulf Pharma and 4.8% move downfrom Ras Al Khaimah Ceramic. Telecoms were also down by 5.5%in May-18, as all stocks receded for the month, led by Etisalat (-5.5%), while Ooredoo (-10%) witnessed double digit declines.

Real Estate developer Aldar reported revenues of AED 1.47Bn in Q1-18, as compared to AED 1.57 Bn in Q1-17. Developmentsegment sales for Q1-18 came in at AED 681 Mn, driven by thesales of existing developments under construction, as the compa-

ny mentioned that over 80% of all projects under developmentwere sold as of 31 March 2018. The company reported a netprofit of AED 668 Mn in Q1-18, up 4% from AED 641 Mn in Q1-17. Energy company ADNOC reported Q1-18 revenues of AED5,158.7 Mn, an increase of 12.6% over Q1-17. The increase wasdriven by higher fuel prices resulting from increases in oil pricesin 2018, and due to a 0.9% increase in total fuel sales volumes.Net profit for Q1-18 was AED 542 million, up 12.1% compared toQ1-17. Dana Gas reported Q1-18 gross revenues of AED 440 Mn,as compared to AED 432 Mn in Q1-17.

Dubai Financial Market After declining by 1.4% in Apr-18, the DFM index continued

to decline in the month of May-18, and was the worst performingindex in the region. The index declined by 3.3% m-o-m andclosed at 2964.1 points, as most sectoral indices barringConsumer Staples, Financial & Investment Services andInsurance closed lower during May-18. Real Estate was the mainlaggard yet again after receding by 8.3% in May-18, and is oneof the worst performing indices YTD (-19.7%).

Emaar Properties plunged by 10.2% m-o-m along with otherstocks of the group - Emaar Malls and Emaar development, asthey dropped by 7.7% and 4.5% respectively m-o-m in May-18.Consumer Staples which remains the worst performing index onthe DFM YTD (-35.5%), was amongst the best performingindices in the month of May-18 (+7.8%), driven singlehandedlyby DXB Entertainment, as the stock went up by 8.6% m-o-m.MSCI delisted DXB Entertainments from the emerging marketsindex to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) index.Financial & Investment Services was the best performing index inMay-18, as it went up by 8.5% m-o-m. DFM and DubaiInvestment were the main drivers for the positive performance, asthe stocks jumped by 10.2% and 8.4% respectively m-o-m bythe end of the month.

Qatar ExchangeAfter ending Apr-18 as the best performing market, Qatar

exchange slipped in to the red for the month of May-18. TheQE 20 index receded by 2.5% m-o-m to close at 8,880.51points in May-18. The Qatar All Share index which maps thebroader market, declined by a higher 4.2% m-o-m, as sec-toral performance was mostly negative for the month. Marketbreadth however was skewed towards decliners, as 31 com-panies lost ground during the month, while 14 companies sawhigher levels. The Transportation index was the best per-forming index during May-18, as it gained by 11.1% m-o-m.

Qatar Navigation was the key driver for the sector’s out-performance, as its share prices rose by 12.1% m-o-m. Banks& Financial Services names also gained by 2.2% m-o-m, aslarger banks-Qatar National Bank (+5.1%), Qatar IslamicBank (+7.3%) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (+4.4%) allclosed in the green for the month. Real Estate was the worstperforming index, falling by 15.7% m-o-m, as Ezdan plungedby over 24% for the month. Telecoms also fell significantlyby 14.3% m-o-m as both Ooredoo (-15.3%) and Vodafone(-12.8%) witnessed double digit declines.

In earnings releases, Vodafone Qatar’s Q1-18 revenuesstood at QAR 532 Mn, representing an increase of 2.8%compared to Q1-17, led by growth in postpaid subscribersand handset sales. Total mobile customers were 1.4 Mn byQ1-18, due to a strong growth in postpaid subscribers(+25% y-o-y), led by the popularity of Vodafone Qatar’sFLEX and Enterprise plans . The company’s Mobi leTelecommunication license has been extended by an addi-tional 40 years to 2068, resulting in an amortization bene-fit of QAR 80 Mn per quarter. Due to this saving and high-er EBITDA, net profit came in at QAR 17 Mn, representinga significant improvement from the loss of QAR 74 Mnfrom Q1-17.

KAMCO Monthly Market Report

Performance of GCC markets muted amid thin trading owing to Ramadan


14B u s i n e s s

Established 1961

KUWAIT: Al Mulla Exchange is now more near tocustomers by opening a record four new branchesin a day, taking their total tally to 81. All the newlyopened outlets are in prime locations. The branchesopened are in Salmiya, Mahaboula and two branch-es in Jahra. The outlet in Salmiya is in Block 10, nextto Sagar Restaurant and the outlet in Mahaboula isin Block 1. The branches in Jahra are located at theAliya Center, Block 2 and near Al-Massa market,Block 4 respectively.

Speaking at the occasion, R Shankar, the GeneralManager of Al Mulla Exchange had this to say “Wehave now taken the tota l count of Al Mul laExchange branches to 81. We at Al Mulla Exchangehas taken very special care about opening theselocations at areas where there is maximum cus-tomer reach. Now customers need not go far insearch of transferring their money. Not only do wehave the most technologically advanced remittanceservices inside our outlets, we were also the first to

launch the Remittance Application on Android andiPhone quite recently’.

With the opening of the new branches, the totalcount of branches in each area also has gone up sub-stantially. The total count in Salmiya is now 9 branch-es, Mahaboula 6 branches and in Jahra 5 branches.Adding to his previous statement, Shankar continued“Our digital platforms in addition to the branches arequite active. We are currently running an excitingmarketing promotion with the ultra-luxurious car,

Alfa Romeo as the grand prize. So I will stronglyurge all to use Al Mulla Exchange for the maximumbenefit for their precious transfers”.

Al Mulla Exchange has been leading from theforefront in the highly competitive remittance mar-ket. Apart from introducing innovative and effectiveremittance solutions, customers are attracted tosome of the best offerings available including freeinsurance coverage, bonus loyalty points andextended branch working hours.

Al Mulla Exchange opens recordfour new Branches in one day

FedEx celebratesseven years of the B-777F USA-UAE flightKUWAIT: FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp.(NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express trans-portation company, is celebrating seven years of itsMemphis-Dubai direct Boeing 777F flight, whichenables customers in the UAE to import from theUnited States in just two days. FedEx has unrivaledexpertise in shipping from and to the USA, and since2011, the FedEx Boeing 777F freighter flight has pro-vided unparalleled access to boost trade between theUS and the Middle East. Over the past decade, tradebetween the UAE and USA has doubled. Since 2009,the UAE has been the top export market for US goodsin the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In2017, total trade between the two countries was $24.3billion, with the US exporting $20 billion to the UAE.

“The launch of the first scheduled all-cargo directflight from the United States to Dubai was a milestonefor FedEx, and a game-changer for the region,” saidJack Muhs, president of FedEx Express Middle East,Indian Subcontinent and Africa. “By enhancing accessbetween the United States and the UAE, we enabled

companies locally, and across the Middle East, to bene-fit from faster transit times, and stronger trade links.”

With its long-range capabilities, the Boeing 777Foffers an ideal blend of performance and efficiency. Theaircraft represents FedEx efforts to reduce its carbonfootprint, burning 18 percent less fuel per pound ofpayload and with 18 percent fewer emissions comparedto the MD-11 it replaced. This is in line with FedExcommitment to connecting the world in responsible andresourceful ways. The company aims to expand theworld’s ability to connect more efficiently, while mini-mizing its impact on the environment. FedEx has ambi-tious goals to reduce its carbon footprint, such as byreducing aircraft emissions from a 2005 baseline by 30percent by 2020, on an emissions per available-ton-mile basis, and sourcing 30 percent of its jet fuel fromalternative fuels by 2030.

Burgan Bank supports Al Hamra Real EstateCo’s ‘Spread the Joy’initiativeKUWAIT: Burgan Bank, one of the leading contribu-tors to society in Kuwait, recently participated inthe nationwide Ramadan campaign themed ‘Spreadthe Joy’ by Al Hamra Real Estate Co that was initiat-ed to create a memorable experience for orphanchildren. Burgan Bank through its continuous contri-bution has established itself as a strong advocatethat promotes happiness and betterment of vulnera-ble groups in Kuwait.

Fall ing in l ine with Burgan Bank’s dynamicCorporate Social Responsibility strategy to deliverpositive change across all segments of society, thebank’s support demonstrated appreciation for theartistic skills of orphan children during the campaign.Held in collaboration with the Children’s Home, anorphanage run by the Ministry of Social Affairs andLabor, young boys and girls aged 4 - 15 years tookpart in a drawing competition, images of which wereused to design Girgian boxes, displayed at an exhibi-tion held at Al Hamra Luxury Center. A limited numberwas also sold through social media platforms to raiseadditional funds for the orphanage. The meaningfulinit iative that rewards creative talent was wellreceived by the Burgan Bank employees who con-tributed by purchasing Girgian boxes to enjoy withtheir families.

Committed to its role as a key player in strengthen-ing the social fabric of the Kuwaiti society, BurganBank’s long term mission to ensure the overall wellbe-

ing and development of children in need and the widercommunity. It is worth mentioning that Burgan Bankhas been working with the Ministry of Social Affairsand Labor for over a decade and is instrumental inbringing joy and smiles to many by conducting severalevents and sponsorships for the elderly, orphans andspecial needs.

Burgan Bank’s support to this initiative falls underits recently launched full-fledged community programentitled ‘ENGAGE’ - Together to be the change. Thisprogram sheds light on important aspects affectingevery segment of the society by promoting social wel-fare through educational, cultural, social and healthinitiatives. Burgan Bank’s approach to ‘ENGAGE’begins with a vital principle that as a Kuwaiti financialinstitution, its conduct and policies should be alignedwith the needs and interests of the Kuwaiti society.

Al Tijari announceswinners of Al-Najmaprize program drawsKUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait announcedthe winners of the weekly and monthly draws as fol-lows - Monthly Draw prize KD 20,000 - Minor /Aziza Hashim Abulhasan

Weekly Draw prize KD 5000 - Minor / HamadFaisal Al Sarraf

The draw was conducted in the presence ofMinistry of Commerce and Industry representativeMr. Jassim Al Otaibi. Al-Najma Account was recentlyrevamped by adding several benefits to the prizeprogram through which now the account provides itscustomers the chance to win the biggest annual cashprize offered by a bank in Kuwait and over the globeas much as 1 million and half Kuwaiti dinar(1,500,000) so that customers’ dreams can easilyturn to reality.

The bank stated that the account prizes this yearis featured by the highest cash prize and diversity ofprizes throughout the year clarifying that Al-NajmaAccount will offer weekly prize of KD 5,000 &monthly prize of KD 20,000 and a semi-annual prizeof KD 500,000 for which the draw will be held on 1stJuly 2018 in addition to the grand prize (the biggestprize in the world) of KD 1,500,000 for which thedraw will be held in January 2019.

Al Najma Account can be opened by depositingKD 100, and customer should maintain a minimumamount of KD 500 to be eligible to enter all draws onAl-Najma Account prizes. As for the chances of win-ning, the more balance a customer maintains in AlNajma Account, the more chances the account holderwill get to win, where each KD 25 will give the cus-tomer one chance to win, the account also offersadditional benefits like the ATM card, a credit cardagainst customer’s account and all CBK banking

services that customer can enjoy. Now CBK existing customers can open Al-Najma

Account through Al-Tijari Online and enter all drawswithout visiting the Bank branch. However, CBKnon-customers can submit account opening applica-tion via the Bank’s website where the Bank’ SalesUnit will call them to arrange visit to the customersto complete the account opening formalities.Customers can obtain further information on Al-Najma Account by either calling the Service Centeror by visiting the Bank’s website www. CBK.com andthey can also visit their nearest CBK branch wherethe Bank staff will be ready to serve them andrespond to their queries. It is known that all details& information related to the latest offers & serviceslaunched by the Bank is also available on the Bank’ssocial sites.

Mazda celebrates50m vehicles made in JapanHIROSHIMA: Mazda Motor Corporation hasannounced that cumulative production in Japanreached 50 million units on May 15. The company helda commemorative ceremony yesterday at its Hofu Plantin Yamaguchi prefecture. Representative Director,President and CEO Masamichi Kogai, executive officersand union representatives were in attendance. The 50million-unit milestone was achieved 86 years and sevenmonths after Mazda produced its first three-wheeledtruck in October 1931.

“Mazda began making cars 86 years ago, and nowwe’ve reached 50 million units of production in Japan.Even making 1 million cars a year, it would take 50years to reach this milestone, showing just how longMazda’s history is,” said Kogai at the ceremony.“Moving forward, Mazda will continue to build a strongbrand through a variety of initiatives. Our plants in Hofuand Hiroshima will continue to evolve and act as parentfactories, rapidly deploying their technologies and skillsto our overseas plants. I’d like us all to work together toensure these plants continue to embody the kind oftechnical prowess that does justice to Japan’s proudhistory of Monotsukuri.”

Mazda began its journey as an automaker in 1931,when it started producing three-wheeled trucks inHiroshima. In 1960 it commenced production of theR360 Coupe micro-mini, marking a bold entry into thepassenger car market. Vehicle manufacture started atHofu Plant in Yamaguchi in 1982, and domestic produc-tion duties have since been shared between the Hofu

and HiroshimaPlants. The produc-tion techniques andflexible productionsystems developedat these plants havehelped Mazda togrow its business.

Mixed produc-tion lines capableof producing differ-ent models on asingle line enable

manufacture of multiple models at low volumes, abreakthrough in the traditional tradeoff between prod-uct variety and competitiveness and volume efficiency.In 2016 and 2017, the company took steps to increaseits production flexibility for crossover models and cre-ate a framework capable of responding quickly tochanges in demand. The domestic plants take the leadwith Mazda’s global car-making; production techniquesand technologies established in Japan are then rolledout to overseas facilities.

Mazda aims to sell 1,660,000 cars this fiscal year,the final year of its Structural Reform Stage 2 medium-term business plan, and plans to establish a global pro-duction framework capable of manufacturing two mil-lion units annually by fiscal year ending March 2024.Mass-production of vehicles featuring next-generationtechnologies and design is slated to start in 2019, andthe company will continue expanding its productionframework in an effort to get cars to customers asquickly as possible. Aspiring to create a world in whichcars can co-exist sustainably with people, society andthe earth, Mazda will continue to enrich people’s livethrough various touch points, including the manufac-ture of high-quality cars, and become a brand withwhich customers feel a strong emotional bond.

Te c h n o l o g y Monday, June 4, 2018

15Established 1961

Best Al-YousifiElectronics Kuwait launches Razergaming laptops

Best Al-Yousifi Electronics, one of the pio-neers in consumer electronics retail busi-ness in Kuwait with around 12 Showrooms

across Kuwait as well as a onl ine storewww.best.com.kw launched The Razer GamingLaptops few days back at their Hawally BESTAl-Yousifi Showroom and also on the Onlinestore. The Razer Blade Stealth Laptop is craftedto deliver incredible performance in an impossi-bly thin form factor. Powered by an Intel(r)Core(tm) i7 processor, the Razer Blade Stealthlets you perform at your best, wherever youchoose to be. The range is available in 14 inchesand 17 inches monitor sizes and the Brand car-ry1 year warranty from Best Al-Yousif iElectronics.

The incredibly thin 14” Razer Blade laptop isthe gamer’s ult imate travel companion.Experience faster, smoother and more immer-sive gameplay with NVIDIA(r) GeForce(r) GTX1060 VR Ready graphics and get powerful per-formance with a Quad Core 7th Gen Intel(r)Core(tm)i7 processor. Setting a new standardfor desktop replacement laptops, the 17” RazerBlade Pro is remarkably thin and amazinglypowerful with Quad-Core Intel(r) Core(tm) i7processor, NVIDIA(r) GeForce(r) GTX 1080Series graphics, and dual-drive storage.

KUWAIT: Ooredoo Kuwait announced the launch of5G Network for its customers starting this week fromthe key location of its head office at Soor Street in theheart of Kuwait City. The launch comes as the compa-ny prepares to release the biggest network of the rev-olutionary internet of the future across Kuwait in2018. This comes in tandem with the internationalOoredoo Group’s plans to launch this technologyacross its markets, after it launched the new highcapacity 5G in Doha through Ooredoo Qatar. In astatement to the press, Ooredoo Kuwait’s GeneralManager and CEO Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah AlThani underscored that the launch embodies the com-pany’s core values of caring, connecting, and chal-lenging, and demonstrates its commitment to enrichingpeople’s digital lives.

He added, “Over the years, we have worked tire-lessly to deliver the best in-class services to ouresteemed customers, no matter their needs. Throughthis, we are exercising our role as a private sectorentity in the New Kuwait Vision 2035, and we aspireto deliver comprehensive telecom services with inter-national standards in the Kuwaiti market under oneroof.” Ooredoo Kuwait’s Acting Chief TechnologyOfficer Shaimaa Al-Najdi explained that the companylaunched 5G in test sites, which delivers a speed of upto 10 Gbps, as Ooredoo gears up to launch the serviceacross select areas around Kuwait before startingnationwide expansion starting from next year.

Al-Najdi added, “Ooredoo Kuwait’s TechnologyDepartment works to deliver the most innovative tech-nologies and modalities in a highly competitive mar-ket, despite the many challenges, because we areaware that Kuwaiti consumers are very quick to adoptthe latest international trends. We’re happy to launch

5G gigabit internet services in test sites as we prepareto deliver this service to all our esteemed customers.”

She noted that using the technology will depend onthe users’ devices and their readiness to connect tothis new network, which comprises of the future of hi-speed internet around the world. She added that atestament to the fact that the world’s leading technol-ogy innovators are creating flagship smart and IoTdevices that are ready for 5G, in preparation of theservice’s launch across the world. In addition to pro-viding high-speed internet, the new 5G network willbroaden the horizons of customers as the worldembraces digitalization, serving customers and busi-nesses alike. The trends that benefit from this technol-ogy include virtual reality, ultra-high definition multi-media, in addition to supporting the infrastructure ofsmart cities, wireless sensor networks, Internet ofThings (IoT), connected cars, and the automation ofseveral key industries.

Towards the end of last year, Ooredoo announcedthe completion of a major network upgrade operationin more than 1100 locations across Kuwait, aimed atincreasing network capacity by upgrading the currentinfrastructure. The major project was completed in arecord time of 5 months, without compromising theservices provided to customers.

Ooredoo announced that the upgrade of its net-work utilizes the advanced technologytrends availablein the market to increase performance and capacity,

and therefore deliver the best results to customers.Ooredoo Kuwait used the latest technologies provid-ed byleading telecommunications technology solu-tions provider. The same technologies and deviceswere used in all newly built areas and developmentprojects across Kuwait, with more than 120 sites builtby the end of last year. Ooredoo has also increasedthe sites with updated LTE-A bandwidth to betterserve the latest and upcoming models of routers andsmartphones.

The vision for Kuwait in 2035:Ooredoo launches 5G Network

Huawei features in BrandZ’s most valuable globalbrands DUBAI: Huawei yesterday announced that it hasincreased its brand value by 22% in the past year andnow ranks 48th in the Top 100 Most Valuable GlobalBrands according to the latest BrandZ report. Theannual brand study compiled by WPP and KantarMillward Brown, notes that Huawei has now featured inthe Top 50 global brands for the third consecutive year,as Chinese brands outperform their US counterpartsfor the first time in the study.

Huawei is one of the world’s leading global technolo-gy brands today and with its increasing brand influ-ence, it is the fourth consecutive year for Huawei on theBrandZ(tm) Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. Thecompany’s brand value and ranking have grown steadilyyear-on-year thanks to the strong performance ofsmartphones, tablets and the brand’s global expansion.

The total brand value of BrandZ Top 100 reachedUS$4.4 trillion seeing an increase of 204% over thepast twelve years. The total net growth of all listedbrands is now close to US$750 billion with all cate-gories achieving full growth for the first time on record.Technology companies by far lead the global list takingeight out of ten places in the Top 10, with a combinedbrand value of more than half (56%) of the total brandvalue of the Top 100 companies.

Chinese brands are undeniably the most eye-catch-ing group in this year’s edition of the BrandZ report,now in its thirteenth year. Tencent, Alibaba and Huaweiare just some of the leading names among the fourteenChinese companies whose total brand value increasedby 47% year-on-year. China’s brands have also seentheir growth rate surpass that of their US counterparts

for the first time in the study. The rising influence of Huawei has not gone unno-

ticed in other major brand studies. Last week, Forbesrevealed its Most Valuable Brands of 2018 list in whichHuawei, with a value of $8.4 billion, ranked 79th in theTop 100 as the sole Chinese brand. Earlier in Februarythis year, Huawei was listed 25th on the Brand FinanceTop 500 Global Brand Value of 2018 with a brand valueof US$38.046 billion.

According to IDC, there were 336.1 million unitsshipped globally in the first quarter of 2018, down 2.4%year-on-year, showing an overall downturn in the glob-al smartphone industry. However, despite an overalldecrease in smartphone shipments, the average sellingprice of smartphones increased year-on-year by 21%to 374 US dollars, as reported by GFK.

As the third largest smartphone supplier in theworld, Huawei did not only outperform the market, but

also grew the market share steadily (11.7%). Moreover,the market share of Huawei’s high-end models (above$500 US dollars) increased to more than 10% driven inpart by the breakthrough growth in key high-endregions such as Europe and the Middle East. Alongwith the global launch of the P20 series, Huawei hasfirmly established itself in the global high-end marketand its brand influence has further improved.

According to Ipsos, in 2017, Huawei’s global brandawareness and consumer consideration increased to86% making it the fastest growing brand among globaltechnology companies in the past six years. Brand per-ception and attributes such as technology leadership,design and trustworthiness have all gradually surged.With its high-quality products and trend-setting tech-nological innovations, Huawei is bucking the interna-tional industry trends as it gradually moves towardsbecoming a global iconic technology brand.

Google retreatsfrom military AI projectSAN FRANCISCO: Google workers gotword that the internet titan will retreatfrom a deal to help the US military useartificial intelligence to analyze dronevideo following an outcry from staff,according to reports. The collaborationwith the US Department of Defense wassaid to have sparked rebellion inside theCalifornia-based company.

An internal pet i t ion cal l ing forGoogle to stay out of “the business ofwar” garnered thousands of signatures,

and some workers reportedly quit toprotest a collaboration with the military.The New York Times and tech newswebsite Gizmodo cited unnamedsources as saying that a Google’s cloudteam executive announced told employ-ees on Friday that the company wouldnot seek to renew the controversialcontract after it expires next year.

The contract was reported to beworth less than $10 million to Google,but was thought to have potential tolead to more lucrative technology col-laborations with the military. Googledid not respond to a request for com-ment. Google has remained mum aboutProject Maven, which reportedly usesmachine learning and engineering talentto distinguish people and objects in

drone videos for the DefenseDepartment.

“We bel ieve that Google shouldnot be in the business of war,” theemployee petition reads, according tocopies posted online. “Therefore, weask that Project Maven be cancelled,and that Google draft, publicize andenforce a clear pol icy stat ing thatneither Google nor i ts contractorswill ever build warfare technology.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, aninternet rights group, and theInternational Committee for Robot ArmsControl (ICRAC) were among those whohave weighed in with support. “As mili-tary commanders come to see the objectrecognition algorithms as reliable, it willbe tempting to attenuate or even remove

human review and oversight for thesesystems,” ICRAC said in an open letter.“We are then just a short step away fromauthorizing autonomous drones to killautomatically, without human supervisionor meaningful human control.”

Google has gone on the record sayingthat its work to improve machines’ abili-ty to recognize objects is not for offen-sive uses. The EFF and others stressedthe need for moral and ethical frame-works regarding the use of artificialintelligence in weaponry. “The use of AIin weapons systems is a crucially impor-tant topic and one that deserves aninternational public discussion and likelysome international agreements to ensureglobal safety,” the EFF said in a blogpost on the topic. —AFP

Mohammed bin AbdullahAl-Thani Shaimaa Al-Najdi

Telegram accusesApple of blocking its updatesMOSCOW: Secure messaging app Telegramaccused Apple of blocking its updates for usersworldwide after Russian authorities imposed aban on Telegram for refusing to hand over keysto decrypt messages. “Apple has been prevent-ing Telegram from updating its iOS apps globallyever since the Russian authorities ordered Appleto remove Telegram from the App Store,” saidthe founder of the app, Pavel Durov, on hisTelegram feed.

In April, a Moscow court banned the popular freeapp following a long-running battle between author-ities and Telegram, which has a reputation forsecurely encrypted communications. Telegramrefused to provide Russian authorities with a way toread communications over its network as Moscowpushes to increase surveillance of internet activities.

“We believe we did the only possible thing, preserv-ing the right of our users to privacy in a troubledcountry,” said Durov. “Unfortunately, Apple didn’tside with us.”

Russian authorities have ordered domestic inter-net service providers to block the app, causing dis-ruption of other services but failing to shut downTelegram in the country. Last Monday, Russia’s com-munications watchdog said it had requested Appleblock push notifications for Telegram users in Russia,which would mean users would not receive alerts fornew messages and thus render it less useful.

It also requested Apple no longer make the appavailable for download in Russia. Telegram is stillavailable for download both inside Russia and therest of the world, but it is a version that has not beenupdated since the Russian court ruling. Durov saidApple’s position means that it has been unable tocomply with the new EU data protection and privacythat came into force last week. Telegram lets peopleexchange messages, stickers, photos and videos ingroups of up to 5,000 people. It has attracted morethan 200 million users since its launch by Durov andhis brother Nikolai in 2013. —AFP

Uganda slaps tax onsocial media users KAMPALA: Ugandan users of Whatsapp, Facebook,Skype and other social media will from July have to pay adaily tax, according to a new law which rights activistssaid was a bid to stifle free speech. Uganda’s parliamentpassed a law late Wednesday imposing a tax of tax of 200shillings ($0.05, 0.04 euro) a day on users of so-called“over the top” services which publish content bypassingtraditional distributors.

The new law does not spell out how the tax would beapplied and collected in practice. Finance Minister DavidBahati said the aim of the legislation was only to raise rev-enue for public services. However, President YoweriMuseveni wrote to the finance ministry in March urgingthe introduction of the tax as a way to deal with the con-sequences of online “gossip”.

Journalist and activist Lydia Namubiru said thatMuseveni sees online communication as a threat to his 32-year rule. “The president... said it was to stop young peo-

ple from gossiping but what’s ironic about that statementis that it comes after Bobi Wine became a member of par-liament through an online campaign,” Namubiru told AFP,referring to a musician turned opposition politician whohas proved wildly popular with Uganda’s frustrated youth.

“It’s actually political speech and online organizingwhich has real life implications for him and his power. Theoverarching intention is to stifle free speech, especially nowthere is evidence that online organization works.” Despitethe small daily levy, Namubiru said he thinks it will beeffective in curtailing social media use, as most Ugandansbuy data in small bundles of 500-1,000 shillings.

In April, Uganda’s communications regulator instructedinternet service providers to suspend unlicensed onlinenews websites, and during the 2016 presidential electionsaccess to social media was shut down. The new law alsoimposes a new tax of one percent on mobile money trans-actions. With little access to formal banking services, manyUgandans rely on mobile telephone companies to storeand transfer money electronically. “Only five millionUgandans countrywide can access the banking sectorleaving the rest to mobile money services,” said WinnieKiiza, the opposition leader in parliament as she opposedthe move. —AFP

H e a l t h Monday, June 4, 2018

16 Established 1961

France extends cheese recall after more E.coli casesFRANCE: More Reblochon cheese from a factory in the French Alpswill be removed from the market after children were infected by E.colibacteria linked to the raw milk-based product with one child possiblydying from it, health authorities said on Friday. French food retailerLeclerc had already issued a recall of Reblochon products producedby cheesemaker Chabert and sold in its own shops under the “Nosregions ont du talent” (“Our regions have talent”) brand.

That was extended in mid-May to concern all distributors of the sus-pect cheese, including retailers Carrefour and Intermarche, which sold thecheese produced in Cruseilles in the Haute-Savoie region under their ownbrand. The move came after health authorities linked seven cases of E.coli026 bacteria among children between one-and-a-half and three years oldto the cheese, which is a creamy specialty of the French Alps. On Friday,the national public health center extended the recall after 14 suspectednew cases of children between one and five were discovered. Six of the 14cases of infection involved hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) with E.coli026 bacteria, a potentially serious condition that can cause kidney failureamong young children. “The traceability survey conducted by healthauthorities after a new infection case ... enabled the identification of newbatches of Reblochon that were not targeted by the original recall,” theMinistry of Agriculture said in a statement. — Reuters

TAMPA: The majority of women with a common form ofbreast cancer may be able to skip chemotherapy after sur-gery, based on their score on a genetic test, researcherssaid yesterday. As many as 65,000 women in the UnitedStates alone could be impacted by the study, described asthe largest breast cancer trial to date, released at theAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting inChicago. Until now, women have faced a great deal ofuncertainty about whether to add chemo to hormone ther-apy after a diagnosis with hormone-receptor positive,HER-2 negative breast cancer when found at an earlystage before it has spread to the lymph nodes.

“With results of this ground-breaking study, we now

can safely avoid chemotherapy in about 70 percent ofpatients who are diagnosed with the most common form ofbreast cancer,” said co-author Kathy Albain, an oncologistat Loyola Medicine. “For countless women and their doc-tors, the days of uncertainty are over.” A 21-gene testcalled Oncotype Dx that has been around since 2004 hashelped guide some decisions, post-surgery. A high recur-rence score, above 25, means chemo is advised to ward offa recurrence while a low score, below 10, means it is not.

The current study involved more than 10,000 womenand focused on those whose scores were in the middlerange, from 11 to 25. Patients, aged 18 to 75, were random-ly assigned to receive chemotherapy followed by hormonal

therapy or hormone therapy alone. Then, researchers stud-ied the outcomes, including whether or not cancerrecurred, and overall survival. “For the entire study popu-lation with gene test scores between 11 and 25 — andespecially among women aged 50 to 75 — there was nosignificant difference between the chemotherapy and nochemotherapy groups,” said the findings, published in theNew England Journal of Medicine.

The results show that all women over 50 with a recur-rence score of 0 to 25 can be spared chemotherapy and itstoxic side effects. For women under 50 with a score of 0to 15, chemo could be skipped. However, among youngerwomen with scores 16 to 25, outcomes were slightly better

in the chemotherapy group, so in those cases doctors mayurge patients to consider a chemo regimen. The results“should have a huge impact on doctors and patients,”Albain said.

“We are de-escalating toxic therapy.” According to firstauthor Joseph Sparano of Montefiore Medical Center inBronx, New York, “any woman with early stage breastcancer 75 or younger should have the test and discuss theresults” with her doctor. Breast cancer is the leading causeof cancer death in women worldwide, causing some 1.7million new cases annually and over half a million deaths.The study’s primary funding came from the US NationalInstitutes of Health.—AFP

Gene test shows more breast cancer patients can skip chemo

Novartis readies anti-sexism message formigraine drugZURICH: With women hardest hit by migraineheadaches, Swiss drugmaker Novartis is gearing upits marketing message to counteract sexism that itworries might become a barrier to adoption of itsnew medicine Aimovig. The injectable monoclonalantibody that Novartis has developed with Amgenwon approval in the United States this month and onFriday bagged a recommendation from a keyEuropean panel, clearing the way for likely approvalon the continent. The drug is expected to be highpriced, though countries negotiate their own termswith the company. In the United States, the drug ispriced at $6,900 a year. Novartis is also consideringnew pricing models for Aimovig.

Novartis’s top neuroscience developer Dan Bar-Zohar said he is keenly aware that most migraine suf-ferers are women. The Basel-based company hasdata to combat skepticism about the severity ofmigraines in women. “We are tailoring quite a lot ofour messages to this relevant population. We areextremely aware of this gender bias,” Bar-Zohar said

in an interview with Reuters. “We have science-based evidence to show this is not just a headache.”

To reflect the community of migraine suffers,Novartis said that about 85 percent of those whotook part in its clinical trials were women. TheEuropean Medicines Agency’s Committee forMedicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) onFriday recommended the drug for treating migraineheadaches in adults. The European Commission’sbacking usually follows in just a couple of months.

The medicine, also called erenumab or AMG334,is the first in a new class of treatments designed toprevent migraine by interfering with calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is involved in theprocesses that kick off the severe headaches, such asdilation of blood vessels in the brain. In the UnitedStates, Amgen and Novartis are pricing the self-injection drug at $575 a month, before discounts.

‘Pay, fire and forget’There, prescription benefits managers had taken

aim at the drug, announcing in advance that theysaw it as a test case to help rein in prices. Bar-Zohar did not give details on potential pricing inEurope, where cost can differ widely from countryto country. But he did say that Novartis is consider-ing a variety of models - including an approach inwhich it would quickly identify patients whorespond to the treatment - to help determine reim-bursement levels. “We are exploring some innova-tive methods in order to price it right,” he said,adding Novartis wants to avoid the traditional “pay,

fire and forget” model where it is reimbursed by thepill, in favor of an approach that delivers more valueto health care systems and patients.

Studies of the Amgen-Novartis drug includedpatients who were new to migraine treatments, aswell as patients who had tried other therapiesunsuccessfully before abandoning them. A late-stage trial of Aimovig found that it reduced episodicmigraines by at least half in 30 percent of patientswho had failed up to four previous treatments.“These people live literally in the dark,” Bar-Zoharsaid. “This is a breakthrough.” Though Aimovig hasa head start, competition from makers of would-berival medicines could eventually become fierce.

Companies including Teva PharmaceuticalIndustries <TEVA.TA,>, Eli Lilly & Co and AlderBiopharmaceuticals Inc are developing similar treat-ments. Analysts, on average, have forecast annualAimovig sales of nearly $1 billion by 2022, accordingto Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, with Novartis sharinga smaller piece of the proceeds. —Reuters

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide


17W h a t ’ s O n

Established 1961

Martyr Asrar Al-Qabandi Bilingual School helda graduation ceremony for grade 12 studentson Saturday. The ceremony was held under

auspices of Minister of Education and Minister ofHigher Education Dr Hamed Al-Azmi. Undersecretaryof the Ministry of Education for Private and ThematicEducation Affairs Dr Abdulmohsen Al-Howaila attend-ed the event.

Chairperson of Kuwait Women’s VoluntaryAssociation for Community Service Sheikha FadiaSaad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said Martyr Asrar Al-Qabandi Bil ingual School, an affi l iate of theAssociation, is keen in keeping abreast of the latestdevelopments in education.

The school took great strides towards moderniza-tion over the last seven years thanks to the honorarychairperson of the Association Sheikh Latifa Al-SalemAl-Sabah, she told reporters. The school is committedto contributing to the development of the educationalprocess and building the capacity of the local cadres,Sheikha Fadia added. — KUNA

Asrar Al-Qabandi Bilingual Schoolhosts grade 12 graduation ceremony

Ahli United Bank (AUB) honored thewinners of its annual Holy Quranrecitation competition, which was

organized throughout the month ofRamadan at the Bank’s headquarters. Thecompetition included eight categories:male staff and female staff who recite Al-Mursalat verses, staff children who reciteAl-Nabaa verses and also younger partic-ipants, whilst the other five categorieswere for the wider public participationand were as follows: category four andfive: children boys and girls age groupstage between 6 years to 10 years whorecited Al jinn verses; category six andseven: boys and girls age group stagebetween 11 years to 17 years old whorecited Al-Hashr verses; and finally thecategory of men with impaired hearing inmemorizing Al-Fatihah, Al-Shamas andAl-Balad verses.

Winners were honored and rewardedduring a special ceremony that was held atthe bank’s main building and was attended

by Sheikh Dr Khaled Al-Mathkour, AUB’sChairman of Sharia Supervision Board,and Abdullah Al Shuaib, AUB’s Head ofinternal Sharia Audit Department.

The bank said in a press release, “theBank continues its Ramadan Quranrecitation activities every year to instill

enthusiasm and competition among thecontestants. AUB’s management andorganizing committee were impressedwith the competitive and positive spiritportrayed by all participants, and inreturn congratulated all winners and all ofthose who made this unique event a suc-

cess. The Bank added, “Such activitiesaim to reflect a positive contribution andcollaboration across all members of soci-ety to truly understand the values of theHoly Quran and apply its principlesthroughout their daily lives. The bank’s

commitment to similar initiatives is a coreelement of its comprehensive socialresponsibility approach that includes abroad range of activities that help tospread more awareness and encourageeducation around positive values.”

AUB honors winners of annual Holy Quran competition

For the male employees and the children of AUB employees: Finally, for men impaired hearing category:

For the winners from outside the bank as follow:

Dr Abdulmohsen Al-Howaila with Sheikha Fadia Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah

Choose your company wisely but go ahead and spread yourwings and be the social butterfly you have been wanting to be. Scratch thatitch and hit the town. There is a fine line between friend and foe for you today.Enjoy the great mood and harmony you are feeling. Keep that ambitious focusand stay cool, calm, and collected. This will pay off in the workplace for you.You will be admired by your peers for how natural things happen for you andthe common sense you always exhibit. Aries, today is a day to let your hairdown and just be yourself.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

This is a great to climb out of that rut you have been feeling as ifyou are in. It may take a bit of soul searching and some restructuring of yourhabits but your determination and focus on what is within will lead you whereyou wish to be. Start that diet, go for that walk, or join the gym. Working onyour physical appearance has never seemed more appealing to you. Old habitsdie hard, but this is the perfect time for you to put them to rest. Success isright around the corner.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You have a special place in your heart for those close to you. Youseem to be the one the younger generation in your life look up to

and admire. Your advice and guidance maybe sought from someone who looksto you as a mentor. You may feel as if your greatest growth comes when youare helping others. Today may be one of those days you are spinning yourwheels getting physical tasks accomplished. Before frustration takes hold, stopand realize your shoulder to lean on and your listening ear and wonderfuladvice may be a much greater accomplishment that a completing a simplechore. Gemini, be proud of who you are and what you mean to others.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You tend to be a very private person. Someone or possibly some-thing that happens today seems to reveal you on a deeper level

than you comfortably have ever allowed. This may cause great conflict andcause you to feel as if you are struggling to stay in control. This is a very emo-tional time for you and tempers may flare. This may leave you in deep thoughtand analyzing who you really are. You feel as if someone has opened the doorand exposed all the skeletons in your closet. Keep your emotions in check andthink before you speak about this issue.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

This may be the perfect time for you to step back and take sometime for yourself. It seems as if everyone around you is on edge. This is affectingyour mood as well and you are feeling more and more stress. Take a breather.This is not a great time for big decisions. You should take a more relaxed butanalytical approach when it comes time for change. Do a bit of soul-searchingto prevent making any mistakes that could affect your future. You may feel iso-lated and a sense of loneliness, but this is best for you at this time. Work onbeing at peace with yourself and you will soon find others drawn to you.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Your dedication and devotion to your career could bring up some issuesin your personal life. Someone close to you may feel as if they are no longer a priori-ty in your life. They may feel ignored and left out. It is a sticky situation for you asthe drive to climb to the ladder will be very rewarding in the end. The questionweighing on your mind is will it be worth the risk of losing someone close to you.You are able to realize this is just temporary but unable to convince those aroundyou who are not fond of the amount of focus and time you have placed on yourcareer. It is a time to learn to juggle your focus and time so not only does yourcareer prosper but also your personal relationships with others. Libra, use cautionas you begin to perform this juggling act.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You may be feeling a strong sense of independence today. Thismay be a feeling of overall strength. This feeling is not only concerning youphysically but also emotionally. You have somewhat of a rebellious spirt today.You are leaning a bit towards the mischievous side. You may find that thisstrong sense of independence has come as you have stepped out of your com-fort zone and the actions you have been taking are for from your norm. Scorpio,remember, change can be good.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

This a great time for a bit of soul-searching. Analyzing what broughtyou to this point in life and how you feel about where you are. You

may have find that not only are you very in touch with your own emotions butalso with the emotions of those close to you. Today finds you very empathic andunderstanding to all who cross your path. You may tend to become too emotion-ally invested in the lives of those around you. Sometimes you need to sit back andkeep your focus on you and yours. Taking on the weight of the world may be toomuch for you to handle and keep your focus far from where it needs to be. Youmay discover this causes tension in your home life.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Listen to your hunches. Now is a great time to go with the flow.You may find your creative juices flowing and those around you

seem very impressed with your talents. You are very intuitive when it comes tothe feelings of others. You read people well. This is a talent that is admired byyour peers and people are drawn to you. You are starting to appreciate your-self as a person and work hard to be good to others. This is a great time forfacing your problems head on. Solutions could come easy and you will findgreat peace after any issues are worked through. Pisces, this is a great time inyour life. Enjoy.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

You may find yourself focusing on that which intrigues you. Seems you findbroadening your horizons as a priority. You are seeking answers. You have ayearning to broaden the horizons and want to gain as much knowledge as pos-sible. Aquarius, you want to be in touch with the universe on a grander scale.You are full of curiosity. Travel and furthering your education may be twoavenues that would assist you in accomplishing these goals.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1926

ACROSS1. A light touch or stroke.4. Not openly expressed.12. Experiencing or showing sorrow orunhappiness.15. Title for a civil or military leader (espe-cially in Turkey).16. A mild comatose state.17. Electronic equipment that providesvisual images of varying electrical quanti-ties.18. Without fat or fat solids.20. (rugby football) The method of begin-ning play in which the forwards of eachteam crouch side by side with locked arms.21. The month following July and precedingSeptember.22. A soft white precious univalent metallicelement having the highest electrical andthermal conductivity of any metal.23. Flesh of any of several primarily fresh-water game and food fishes.25. A song that was formerly popular.28. Electro-acoustic transducer for con-verting electric signals into sounds.30. Footwear usually with wooden soles.32. A person who announces and playspopular recorded music.33. A port in southwestern Scotland.34. United States tennis player who was thefirst Black to win United States and Englishsingles championships (1943-1993).38. A small spiked wheel at the end of aspur.40. Belonging to or on behalf of a specifiedperson (especially yourself).42. A state in northwestern North America.44. A period of time spent sleeping.45. The compass point midway betweennortheast and east.46. The craniometric point at the lowestpoint on the lower edge of the orbit.49. 100 avos equal 1 pataca.50. Acknowledge a new land owner asone's landlord, of tenants.52. A city in northeastern Ohio.54. United States athlete who won Olympicgold medals in the decathlon (born in1930).56. A state in midwestern United States.58. Type genus of the Alcidae comprisingsolely the razorbill.59. A period of time containing 365 (or366) days.60. Being nine more than ninety.61. A grouping of a number of similarthings.65. The 18th letter of the Greek alphabet.66. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.70. A period marked by distinctive charac-ter or reckoned from a fixed point or event.72. Type genus of the Triglidae.74. Above the surround or above the nor-mal position.76. Type genus of the Tetraonidae.78. Used of a single unit or thing.80. Jordan's port.81. Pleasant or pleasing or agreeable innature or appearance.82. A bar of sand.85. (British) Your grandmother.86. A condition (mostly in boys) character-ized by behavioral and learning disorders.87. Capable of being added or added to.88. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.2. Highly excited.3. A decree that prohibits something.

4. North American republic containing 50states - 48 conterminous states in NorthAmerica plus Alaska in northwest NorthAmerica and the Hawaiian Islands in thePacific Ocean.5. Having open interstices or resembling aweb.6. Before noon.7. A piece of armor plate (with eye slits)fixed or hinged to a medieval helmet toprotect the face.8. Someone who lives at a particular placefor a prolonged period or who was bornthere.9. Having worth or merit or value.10. Any of various systems of units formeasuring electricity and magnetism.11. The friend of Phintias who pledged hislife that Phintias would return (4th centuryBC).12. Any of a number of fishes of the familyCarangidae.13. Wild sheep of northern Africa.14. Formerly the chief magistrate in therepublics of Venice and Genoa.19. Furnace consisting of a special hearthwhere metal is heated before shaping.24. The seventh month of the Moslem cal-endar.26. A unit of length of thread or yarn.27. English classical scholar noted for histranslations of Plato and Aristotle (1817-1893).29. Using speech rather than writing.31. Tall fan palm of Africa and India andMalaysia yielding a hard wood and sweetsap that is a source of palm wine and sugar.35. A vicious angry growl.36. Violent and needless disturbance.37. (possibly Roman) Goddess of horsesand mules and asses.39. Former name for the order Crocodylia.41. Being one more than two.43. Large brownish-green New Zealandparrot.47. A nucleic acid that transmits geneticinformation from DNA to the cytoplasm.48. Discrimination against middle-aged andelderly people.51. A midwestern state in north centralUnited States in the Great Lakes region.53. The eighth month of the Hindu calendar.55. Interface consisting of a standard portbetween a computer and its peripheralsthat is used in some computers.57. Essential oil or perfume obtained fromflowers.62. An atom or molecule or radical or ionthat forms a complex around a centralatom.63. A landlocked republic in eastern Africa.64. All the loaves of bread baked at thesame time.67. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in thepractice of Yoga).68. Cubes of meat marinated and cookedon a skewer usually with vegetables.69. A city in southern Turkey on the SeyhanRiver.71. Scottish philosopher of common sensewho opposed the ideas of David Hume(1710-1796).73. Large genus of erect or climbing pricklyshrubs including roses.75. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.77. Having any of numerous bright orstrong colors reminiscent of the color ofblood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies.79. A gradual decline (in size or strength orpower or number).83. A public promotion of some product orservice.84. A silvery ductile metallic element foundprimarily in bauxite.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s SolutionDaily SuDoku

Wordsearch Puzzle

Don’t be alarmed if you feel as if the hair on the back of your neckis standing on end. Something is leaving you with an unsettled feeling.Suspicions are high. Your mind is in overdrive and you will find your wordscome quick and sharp. You may find yourself in some type of conflict today.This could be with someone or just a feeling of conflicting emotions. You havea deep insight emotionally and may find yourself lost in your thoughts. Youmay find friends are not very supportive of the mood you are in and youractions today.

All that sparkles may not be gold, but it sure does catch your eye.You have deep appreciation for the beauty surrounding you and

find it hard to pass by any sparkling treasure in your path. Admire it and moveon Capricorn and this could be a very good financial period for you if you canresist the urge to spend. This may be a time of change in your life. The changesyou are about to make or may be making may not be supported by those closeto you. You may experience conflict or major pushback. You are longing tobroaden your horizons, a longing to grow and have new experiences.Remember, Capricorn, these things cannot occur without change.

Yesterday’s Solution


18S t a r s

Established 1961


Established 1961

Lifestyle

In this photo an Afghan Muslim reads the Quran outside a mosque during the holy month of Ramadan in Herat Province. — AFP

The passage of time seems to have sloweddown at Zarif Mukhtarov’s paper mill in avillage not far from ex-Soviet

Uzbekistan’s silk road city, Samarkand. Here inthe countryside, where rulers of the TimuridEmpire once sought a verdant sanctuary fromtheir bustling capital, geese sidle by in pairs andtourists feast on pilau made with local rice fromclay-rich soil. Mukhtarov, a 62-year-oldSamarkand native, was a potter like his fatherbefore he set about reviving a paper-makingtechnique coveted for centuries by much of theknown world. Nowadays, he says, the legendarypaper once produced in Samarkand has beenconsigned to history by the bland, white, indus-trial-made stuff and, of course, computers.

But that doesn’t stop thousands of guestsarriving at his door every year in the village ofKoni Ghil, which has become a must-stop on thecountry’s growing tourist trail. “Foreign guestscome here to learn more about our traditionsand our history,” said Mukhtarov. “Local peoplecome here to learn about themselves,” he added,as his kite-flying, eight-year-old granddaughterMekhrubon tore around the workers’ yard in ablur of color.

A riveting tale The story of how Samarkand emerged as a

global paper-making center is a favorite amonghistorians who study the rise and fall of ancienttrade routes linking East Asia and Europe, evenif they admit the precise details are hazy.Production there began sometime in the secondhalf of the eighth century AD after Chinesetroops invaded Central Asia but were defeated

by forces under the control of Abu Muslim, ageneral of the Arab Abbasid caliphate. “Amongthe Chinese (prisoners) captured were mastersin the art of making paper,” says MakhmudNasrullayev, a historian at the University ofSamarkand.

“In return for their lives being spared, theybrought to Samarkand their secret of paper,” saidNasrullayev. What separated Samarkand’s paper

from the Chinese version and saw it gradually dis-place papyrus across Europe and the Middle Eastin the coming centuries was its smooth, glossy fin-ish. This meant that it absorbed less ink and couldtherefore be used for writing on both sides. Thepaper produced in Samarkand’s mills was also farmore durable than papyrus. “Samarkand paperwas polished with the help of an agate stone,”said Mukhtarov, the mill owner, whose paper is

the superior of three kinds produced atSamarkand’s mills until the 19th century, when thecity fell under tsarist control. “The Chinese didn’tneed to polish their paper because they usedbrushes to write instead of quills,” he added.

From pulp to paper Mukhtarov’s paper comes from the branches

of young mulberry trees that are indigenous to

Uzbekistan and also used in the production ofsilk. The branches are cleaned of their bark andpeeled into long, fibrous strands that are boiledin a cast-iron pot for four to five hours. Themixture is then pounded to pulp by a trip ham-mer powered by a quaint, wooden watermillbefore it is dried and polished. “For thickerpaper you need more fibres, for thinner paper,fewer,” Mukhtarov said. This grueling process insome way reflects Mukhtarov’s own journey tobecome an off-the-beaten-track gem on theUzbek tourism circuit, dominated by strikingIslamic architecture in cities like Samarkand andits sisters Bukhara and Khiva.

Mukhtarov first began building his papermill in 2001 but it was only two years ago thatit fully returned the investments made by hisfamily. “We had to borrow money from sisters,brothers, cousins.

Our relatives sometimes asked: ‘What do weneed this (paper) for? Better to find some oth-er type of work’!” Nowadays, nobody ques-tions Mukhtarov’s vision for the family busi-ness, especially as Uzbekistan’s governmentinches away from over two decades of isolationunder late ruler Islam Karimov by relaxingrestrictions on tourism.

But the master craftsman says he is not con-tent to stop at paper production as he beats apath back through the region’s storied past. Oneproject he is currently planning is a new woodenmill to press oil from walnuts and flaxseed,which will be used in the pilau he serves to visi-tors. “Tourists will witness the birth of plov(local name for pilau) before their very eyes!” heexclaimed with enthusiasm. — AFP

The Uzbek entrepreneur tapping paper’s age-old power

Zarif Mukhtarov’s paper mill in the village of Koni Ghil, outside Samarkand. — AFP photos

ZarifMukhtarov’spaper mill inthe village ofKoni Ghil.

L i f e s t y l e Monday, June 4, 2018

20 Established 1961

A w a r d s

Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson pose for a picture as they announce the launch of their new extendedplay record “Apart,” in New York City. — AFP

‘There’s really no place to hide.” Sosays Scarlett Johansson, moviemaven, Avengers heroine and mil-

lionaire Hollywood actress as she contem-plates the Time’s Up revolution following thedemise of Harvey Weinstein. “It’s quiteshocking to see the results of that. It’s allvery new.” Aged 33 and best known for herroles in “Lost in Translation,” “TheAvengers” and three Woody Allen films, shehas already been in the film industry morethan two decades and reportedly commandsequivalent pay with male co-stars. She hasalso modeled and is known for her activism,advocating for Planned Parenthood,addressing the 2017 Women’s March andappearing at the 2012 Democratic NationalConvention, calling for Barack Obama’s re-election.

Johansson is also a mother and when notdoing everything else, she’s singing aboutthe aftermath of a failed relationship in herlatest collaboration with singer-songwriterPete Yorn. Their EP, “Apart,” came out onFriday. “It’s been really impressive,” shesays, smart casual in a pair of high-waistedpale denim jeans and cream pussy-bowblouse, cheek bones to die for, as she con-templates the repercussions of Weinstein’sfall from grace, the sexual harassmentwatershed of #MeToo and the creation ofthe Time’s Up movement. “I’ve been in thefilm industry for such a long time that I’mlike these conversations are really importantand they’re revolutionary.”

Born and raised in New York, Johanssonis one of those stars who can seemingly turnher hand at anything. A child actress whodelivered critically acclaimed performances,her breakthrough role as an adult was in“Lost in Translation.” She’s done Broadway.Now she’s box-office gold, starring in someof Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, such as“Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers” franchise-a stand-alone project for her Black Widowcharacter in the works.

‘Doors blown open’ Then there are her Ivanka Trump paro-

dies on “Saturday Night Live.” To those whofeel progress isn’t coming quickly enough,she counsels patience. “It’s a long processand you have to keep your eye on the prize,and you have to be patient and progressiveand persistent and you keep moving for-ward,” she tells AFP during a recent inter-view with Yorn to promote “Apart.”

“Certainly in the film industry, I think there’sconversations that are being had todayabout projects and the importance of diver-sity,” she says. “Ten years ago, nobody wastalking about this stuff.”

“Every once in a while you’d hear some-one say, ‘oh we should bring a female voiceonto this project’ and you were like, ‘whatthe hell does that mean?’ “That was may besomebody’s idea to bring a woman into thewriter’s room, or whatever. But now thedoors are blown wide open,” she adds. TheEP is five indie tracks focused on the after-math of a failed relationship-”where all thejuicy stuff is,” in the words of Yorn. It comesout on Capitol Records a decade after theirfirst album, “Break Up,” in 2009. “In ‘IguanaBird,’ the chorus is ‘la-la-la-love-you’ and Iremember thinking ‘oh wow, Scarlett wouldsound so pretty on that’ and she came in andshe did, so that was like a dream come true,”he says.

‘Deeply wrong’ The EP was recorded in downtown Los

Angeles, with Johansson laying down hervocals in one afternoon, squeezed aroundher crazy schedule. “Scarlett has an amazingwork ethic,” says Yorn. “She’s just superpro.” Johansson says music is just anotherway to express herself. If Yorn obsessed as aNew Jersey teenager over bands such asThe Smiths, REM and Joy Division,Johansson, growing up in New York, wasexposed to more jazz. “It’s all coming frommostly here,” she says, pointing to her gut.“Sometimes here,” she gestures to the heart.“Mostly here,” she smiles, back to the gut.

Johansson has, so far at least, not joinedthe list of actors to distance themselves fromAllen over accusations-unproven-that hemolested his adopted daughter Dylan whenshe was seven, a quarter of a century ago.But if that fanned a degree of criticism, shehas publicly supported Georgina Chapman,the estranged wife of Weinstein whose hus-band’s transgressions, some had assumed,might spell the end of her Marchesa fashionlabel. “To me, it seems inhumane to holdsomeone accountable for their partner’sactions,” explains Johansson. “It feelsextremely, deeply wrong.” To that end, shestepped out last month in a crimsonMarchesa gown at the Met Gala, the NewYork’s party of the year. “I just really wantedsomething that was beautiful and my idea ofheavenly and romantic.” —AFP

Johansson on ‘no place tohide,’ Time’s Up and music

Jason Statham was very excited to getto fight the world’s biggest shark in‘The Meg’. The 50-year-old actor

plays the boss of an underwater researchfacility that discovers a lost kingdom ofbelieved-to-be-extinct creatures, includ-ing the giant megalodon shark, have flour-ished and he doesn’t think there could bea better project to be a part of. Speakingto Empire magazine, he said: “I mean, whodoesn’t want to watch a movie about the

biggest shark that’s ever existed? And Iget to be in it? This is as good as it gets.”But Jason wouldn’t reveal if the movie willsee him come to blows with the shark. Helaughed: “Fisticuffs with the megalodon? Ican’t tell you that. I’m not saying it doesn’thappen.” The British actor - who isengaged to model-and-actress RosieHuntington-Whiteley - particularlyenjoyed working with Jon Turteltaubbecause the director kept the set fun.

Jason said:” He’s a card. In a way, itreminds me of making ‘Lock, Stock...’ withGuy Ritchie. “The money is different,obviously, but things are structured inways that are more similar that you mightthing. But more like Guy, all Jon does iscrack jokes and trivialize his ability. Hegoofs around all the time, keeps thingsrelaxed - but he has this amazing techni-cal ability. “He knows what he’s doingalright.” Meanwhile, the director admittedit was hard to get the “tone” of the movie- which also stars Rainn Wilson and RubyRose - right to prevent it straying into aspoof. He said: “We know what you thinkwhen you hear ‘giant shark movie’ and themovie does as well. “It’s not that we’redismissive of it - we’re not making a Bmovie like ‘Supershark Versus Enormo-Turtle’ - but we’re not taking ourselvestoo seriously. Tone is one of the hardestthings in films - we’r enot making a horrorbut we’re not making a spoof either. Thisis an adventure film that happens to havea giant shark in it. We’ve done the work increating a credible world with some ofthe finest artists in the business and we’veassembled a very fine cast from all overthe world but I have to remind you, this isa giant shark movie.” — Bang Showbiz

Statham hungry forshark fight in The Meg

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jason Statham

Chicago bluesman Eddy Clearwater,lauded for his guitar playing andflamboyant showmanship, has died

of heart fai lure. All igator Recordsannounced Clearwater, 83, died Friday inSkokie, Illinois. Known as “The Chief,”Clearwater was born Edward Harrington inMacon, Mississippi. A self-taught guitarist,he began his career in Birmingham, per-forming with gospel music groups, includ-ing the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Aftermoving to Chicago in 1950, Clearwater

drifted into the blues, making a name forhimself as Guitar Eddy.

According to Alligator Records, afterClearwater added a rock and roll element tohis guitar playing, his then manager cameup with the name Clear Waters as a play onblues legend Muddy Waters. The nameeventually evolved into Eddy Clearwater.His 2003 album, “Rock ‘N’ Roll City,” wasnominated for a Grammy Award as best tra-ditional blues album. Clearwater is survivedby his wife, Renee, and six children. — AP

Bluesman Eddy Clearwater dies of heart failure at age 83

In this June 9, 2013 photo,Eddy “The Chief”

Clearwater performs withthe Chicago Blues Old

School, New Millennium,during the Chicago Blues

Festival at the Petrillo MusicShell, in Grant Park, in

downtown Chicago. — AP

OSN’s outstanding range of content in Junecovers premieres, much-loved continuingseries, award-winning films and powerful

documentaries that will satisfy all the familythrough to Eid and beyond.

OSN StoreJust months after their cinematic release, buy

and keep some of 2017’s biggest movies on OSNStore and watch them whenever you like, and asmany times as you want!

Game Night Monday, June 4

Max and Annie’s weekly game night getskicked up a notch when Max’s brother Brooksarranges a murder mystery party - complete withfake thugs and federal agents. So, when Brooksgets kidnapped, it’s all supposed to be part of thegame. As the competitors set out to solve thecase they start to learn that neither the game norBrooks are what they seem to be.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MissouriFriday, June 6

Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a hard-nosed mother is seeking justice for her murdereddaughter. With no arrests after seven months,Mildred puts up three roadside signs to goadEbbing police chief into action. But the law - andespecially Sam Rockwell’s hot-headed deputy -don’t take kindly to the provocation.

Lady BirdWednesday, June 20

Marion McPherson, a nurse, works tirelesslyto keep her family afloat after her husband loseshis job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with ateenage daughter who is just like her: loving,strong-willed and deeply opinionated.

OSN First HD: Home of HBOC.B. Strike (Premiere)

Friday, June 6, 10pm (KSA) A war veteran turned private detective

Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) solves brutal mur-ders with the help of his trusted assistant RobinEllacott (Holliday Grainger).

Soufra (Premiere)Friday, June 8, 8pm (KSA)

Soufra follows the inspirational story of intrep-id social entrepreneur and refugee Mariam Shaaras she sets out against all odds to change her fateby launching a successful catering company inBeirut, Lebanon.

Fahrenheit 451 (Premiere) Sunday, June 24, 10pm (KSA)

An adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s iconic sci-finovel about a future where media is a drug, histo-ry is outlawed and “firemen” burn books.

Westworld S2 (Finale) Monday, June 25, 11pm (KSA)

Westworld isn’t your typical amusement park.Intended for rich vacationers, the futuristic park -which is looked after by robotic “hosts” - allowsits visitors to live out their fantasies through arti-ficial consciousness.

Gone (Finale) Thursday, June 28, 10pm (KSA)

The survivor of a famous child-abduction casejoins a special task force dedicated to solvingabductions and missing person cases. Stars LevenRambin, Chris Noth and Danny Pino.

OSN Series First HDChicago Med S3 (Premiere) Tuesday, June 5, 9pm (KSA)

The series focuses on the doctors and nurses ofthe emergency department at Gaffney ChicagoMedical Center as they work to save patients’ lives.

Quantico S3 (Premiere) Thursday, June 7, 8pm (KSA)

Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra is backas the undercover agent Alex Parrish in the thirdseason of the crime thriller.

Reverie S1 (Premiere) Sunday, June 10, 7pm (KSA)

A former detective specializing in humanbehavior is brought in when the launch of anadvanced virtual reality program has dangerousand unintended consequences.

Trust S1 (Premiere)Friday, June 23, 10pm (KSA)

Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank and BrendanFraser star in the true story of the kidnapping ofbillionaire Paul Getty’s grandson by the ItalianMafia in this crime drama saga.

Supergirl S3 (Finale)Monday, June 28, 9pm (KSA)

This series follows Kara Zor-El (MelissaBenoist), who decides the time has come toembrace her superhuman abilities and fulfill herdestiny as a hero by becoming Supergirl.However she must still maintain a low profile asKara Danvers working for media company CatCo,all while keeping National City safe.

OSN Play & On DemandThis month sees a great line up of new boxsets

come to OSN Play and On Demand: TheMagicians S1 - S3, Game of Thrones S1 - S7,American Crime S1 - S2, Entourage S1 - S8, The4400 S1 - S4, Deadwood S1 - S3, House of LiesS1 - S5, The Handmaid’s Tale S1, Westworld S1,Scandal S7.

OSN Movies Disney HD This month the channel features a Disney

Pixar Eid Special, with a four-day marathon ofPixar movies back-to-back, from June 14 to June17, 9am (KSA). Available to watch are the follow-ing: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Brave,Finding Dory, Monsters University, Up, Cars, Cars2, Cars 3.

OSN Movies HD: Father’s TributeTwo movies back-to-back as a tribute to

fathers all around the world on Father’s Day,starting June 21, from 6pm (KSA).

Dan in Real LifeA widower and father-of-three who also

writes a parenting advice column for his localnewspaper falls for the girlfriend of his youngerbrother during a family vacation in this off-beatlove-triangle laugher, starring Steve Carell, DaneCook and Juliette Binoche.

Daddy’s HomeBrad Taggart (Will Ferrell) is a kindhearted

radio executive who wants to be the best possiblestepfather to his wife’s (Linda Cardellini) two chil-dren. When her freewheeling ex-husband Dusty(Mark Wahlberg) breezes back into town, Brad’sfeeling of insecurity quickly develops into an infe-riority complex.

OSN Series Comedy HDBaskets S3 (Premiere)

Monday, June 18, 8pm (KSA) Chip Baskets has always dreamed of being a

classically trained clown. After flunking out ofFrench clown college - probably due to his inabil-

ity to understand French - he returns home toBakersfield, California, where he moves in with hismother, Christine, bickers with his twin brother,Dale. Although longing for his sophisticatedParisian ex-wife, Chip continues to pursue hisprofessional clowning dream.

Family Guy (Finale) Sunday, June 17, 10pm (KSA)

Concluding its 16th season, Family Guy contin-ues to entertain its die-hard fan base withhumour, parodies, animation and orchestra-backed original music.

OSN Yahala Oula HD Al Hob Al A’ama S2

Sunday, June 17, 10pm (KSA) New and exclusive to OSN Yahala Oula HD.

Kamal’s new plan changes everything as the bat-tle between Kamal and Amir reaches new heights.Will Kamal find out who killed Omran? With twoseparate worlds lying on two sides of the street ina seaside town - both too close and yet so far, thetragic love story between Kamal and Nihan inten-sifies in season 2.

OSN Yahala Cinema HDShiqqah Sittah

Thursday, June 21, 11pm (KSA) In a form of suspense and excitement and dur-

ing a period of only one day, a married womandiscovers how many lies she’s lived.

Hurob Edterari Friday, June 22, 11pm (KSA)

This new and exclusive film revolves aroundthe murder of a businessman named YahyaZakaria (Mohammad Farraj), who accuses fourpeople, Adham Mohammed Awad Azmi (Ahmadal-Sakka), Mustafa Mokhtar Mohammed Ibrahim(Amir Karara), Youssef Mohamed Osman ElSayed (Mostafa Khater) and Ramli (Ghada Adel)of murder. The accused are forced to flee insearch of the real killer, otherwise they face exe-cution. Events begin to escalate as each persontries to their innocence.

Akhi 2 Friday, June 29, 11pm (KSA)

Two brothers Kinan and Wael leave togetherfor a romantic trip. Kinan, an introvert, is a classi-cal musician while Wael has become a pop star.The siblings return in this second part with newadventures.

OSN Living HDSimply Susy

Wednesdays & Thursdays, from June 13, 8.30pm (KSA)

Chef Susy Massetti travels to Bahrain toexplore its fresh, local ingredients and highlighthow simple it is to cook delicious restaurant-quality food in the comfort of your own home.

A fiesta of outstanding TV for allthe family this June only on OSN

Hous

e of li

es

Deadwood

Scandal


21Established 1961

A w a r d s

The growing popularity of English as a mediumof instruction at Dutch universities is ringingalarm bells among local lecturers and students,

with some now even calling for government interven-tion. As Shakespeare’s mother tongue spreads in lec-ture halls across the county’s 14 universities, theDutch education department is finalizing a proposalto deal with the matter. Britain’s exit from theEuropean Union next year has only accelerated thephenomenon, with international students flocking tothe Netherlands which provides an ideal base forthose wishing to study in English within the EU.

Some 90 percent of the Dutch population speaksEnglish, to the envy of many of its less anglo-com-petent neighbors. To add to the attraction, manylocal universities are much cheaper than their Britishor US-based counterparts. English usage is particu-larly dominant at Master’s degree level. Some “65percent of bachelor’s degrees are in Dutch while 15

percent of master’s degrees are in Dutch,” educationministry spokesman Michiel Hendrikx told AFP. Thatsome 85 percent of all master’s degrees are present-ed in English riles the largest teachers’ association,whose acronym BON stands for “Better EducationNetherlands” in Dutch. “The Dutch language isgradually disappearing from campuses,” lamentedBON’s chairman Ad Verbrugge, stressing the “seri-ousness” of an “unprecedented situation in Europe.”

‘Languicide’ Pressed by heated debate from campus to parlia-

ment, the Dutch Education Ministry will soon publisha letter “with the minister’s position on the subject,”Hendrikx said. This follows a report in February bythe Royal Dutch Academy for Arts and Sciences(KNAW), which blasted the Netherlands for “failingto properly protect and uphold the quality of Dutchas a language and over-estimating the importance of

English”. “Universities are forced to offer courses inEnglish to remain in the race” for international stu-dents in Europe, said Verbrugge, a philosophy pro-fessor at the University of Amsterdam. “We are wit-nessing a ‘languicide’,” he told AFP. “We alwaysadvocate diversity but here we’re killing a minoritylanguage.” “We must preserve all European lan-guages and cultures ... Dutch students no longermaster their native tongue,” he added.

Lawsuit Verbrugge and BON have now launched a law-

suit against two Dutch universities they accuse ofkilling the Dutch language through the ‘Anglicisation’of courses. The eastern Twente University and thesouthern University of Maastricht offer two master’sdegree courses in psychology exclusively in English.BON called it an “impoverishment of the teachingquality and a dangerous abandonment in the learn-

ing of the Dutch language.” “We must call the uni-versities to order because they’re violating the law,”which states that all lesson and exams must be inDutch, the union said.

An exemption can only be made when the subjectmatter was directly related to a different languagesuch as English, for instance in international businessmanagement studies. BON says the effects of such alanguage policy can even be seen in the labor market.Young expatriates graduating in English at Dutchuniversities are often tempted to remain in theNetherlands which has a flourishing economy andpleasant living environment, thus taking jobs fromlocal graduates, it said. Verbrugge said BON wasunsure whether the lawsuits would be successful “butat least we’ve raised the issue for discussion.” ManyDutch students agree, saying they did not understandthe value of “pretending to be English in front of alecturer who is just as equally Dutch.” — AFP

Shakespeare in trouble: Dutch fret about English on campus

Two rarely-seen drawings of Tintin from the comic bookalbum “The Red Sea Sharks” sold for $422,000(364,000 euros) on Saturday in Dallas, Texas, the auc-

tion house selling the sketches said. A pencil-on-paper35.2x50 cm (13.8 x 19.6 inch) design and a 30.7x47.7 cmIndia ink copy, drawn by the Belgian cartoonist known asHerge in 1957, however fell short of the estimated price ofbetween $720,000 to $960,000. Heritage Auctions’spokesman Eric Bradley told AFP that the set had beenbought by a Brussels-based collector who “wished not to beidentified at this time”.

Herge, whose real name was Georges Remi was himselffrom Brussels, a city which also plays home to Tintin andoften forms the initial backdrop to his adventures. Although

Saturday’s auction was held in Texas, it was live streamed atvarious locations including at Heritage Auction’s Dutchheadquarters outside Utrecht. The two drawings depictpage 58 of the intrepid boy reporter’s adventures in the 19thalbum by Herge, known as “Coke en stock” in French andpublished in 1958.

They show 12 panels starting with Tintin, his crusty sea-going friend Captain Haddock, his faithful canine companionSnowy and the eyepatch-wearing Estonian pilot Piotr Skutlooking out to sea.

The action seamlessly moves underneath their ship, theS.S Ramona, where an attempt by a frogman to plant alimpet mine is cut short as he is hit on the head by a drop-ping anchor. The mine is then eaten by a ravenous shark

which swims off emitting a series of hiccups. Original Hergedrawings rarely appear on the open market as the artist didnot have to sell his original artworks, but occasionally gavethem away to close friends as gifts, Heritage Auctions addedin a statement.

Herge gave the set on auction Saturday to a“Scandinavian friend” in the 1970s who later sold it to abuyer “in a German-speaking part of Europe,” Brussels-based comic art expert Eric Verhoest said. Earlier this montha rare original 1939 illustration from the comic book album“King Ottokar’s Sceptre” sold for more than 600,000 eurosat an auction at Christie’s in Paris. The record sale for anoriginal page of Herge’s drawings dating from 1937 was setin 2014 at over two million euros. — AFP

Rare Tintin drawings sold for $422,000 at auction

The University of Oxford was set to unveil Friday a“once-in-a-generation” exhibition of materials relatedto “The Lord of the Rings” author J. R. R. Tolkien, fea-

turing previously unseen objects from several countries.“Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth”, which opened in itsBodleian Libraries, presents manuscripts, artworks, maps, let-ters and artefacts in the biggest display in decades on thebeloved British author-whose works gave rise to the hugelysuccessful film series. Some of the exhibits are returning toOxford-where Tolkien spent most of his adult life-for the firsttime since his death in the historic English city in 1973.

“What we wanted to show was Tolkien’s original work,stripping back interpretations to where it all started,” cura-tor Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien archivist at the libraries,told AFP. The displays showcase the range of John RonaldReuel Tolkien’s output, from early abstract paintings andtales he wrote for his children, to material related to workspublished posthumously. “Tolkien has always been a globalphenomenon... even when he was alive,” said Richard

Ovenden, who heads the libraries. “And we’re really the onlyinstitution that can do this, having far and away the largestcollections of Tolkien materials.”

Draft manuscripts Bodleian-the university’s main research library-has pre-

sented much of this extensive archive, alongside interactiveelements such as a three-dimensional map of his imagined“middle-earth”. But among the centrepieces of the exhibi-tion are some loans: rare draft manuscripts and exquisiteillustrations for “The Hobbit”-Tolkien’s breakthrough pub-lished in 1937 — and his 1954 follow-up “The Lord of theRings”. The displays, which also include his own stunningdraft book jacket designs for the works, were borrowed fromMarquette University, a Catholic institution in the US stateof Wisconsin.

It acquired them from Tolkien in the late 1950s. “To bringthose back to Oxford for the first time in 60 years (we knew)was just going to be extraordinary,” McIlwaine added. “Wethought that’s going to make it a really special exhibition thathasn’t been done before.” She estimates at least a third of the200 items in the exhibition, which took her five years toorganize, have never been seen publicly before. Personalaspects of his life are evoked, including childhood and studentdays, his career as a scholar of literature, and his family life.

The displays include numerous items loaned by his thirdson Christopher Tolkien, notably the writing desk and chairfrom the home office where the author created his fantasti-cal worlds. Memorable fan mail from over the years is alsoon show, such as a letter from a then 19-year-old TerryPratchett, the English author of fantasy novels, which began:“this is simply a letter of appreciation”. Among the materialsfrom Marquette University are early plot notes for “TheHobbit” showing how Tolkien changed the names of somekey characters, such as the famous wizard Gandalf, who wasoriginally called Bladorthin.

Oxford ties Bodleian organizers hope visitors will also explore

Tolkien’s relationship with Oxford. Born in South Africa, hewas raised in and around Birmingham but arrived in Oxfordas an undergraduate at Exeter College. He returned as aprofessor of English language and literature at MertonCollege, becoming friends with other rising literary figuresthere, including C S Lewis. The university professor with aconsuming passion for rare, historical languages and a vividimagination, is also buried in Wolvercote Cemetery in anorthern suburb. Legions of fans flock there to lay flowers athis grave. “I think Oxford really did help to provide theframework in which he was able to flourish as a literarygenius,” said Ovenden.

The exhibition runs until October 28 and hopes to attract100,000 visitors. Bodleian will then collaborate with theMorgan Library and Museum in the United States, and theNational Library of France, which are both planning on simi-lar Tolkien exhibitions in 2019. “The popularity of Tolkienjust doesn’t seem to wane,” said McIlwaine, as she preparedto welcome Tolkien family members to cut the ribbon on theOxford exhibition. — AFP

Various editions translated intodifferentlanguages of J.R.RTolkien’s “TheHobbit” are seenduring a preview ofthe exhibitionTolkien: Maker ofMiddle-earth.

Visitors look atillustrations byJ. R. R. Tolkienduring a previewof the exhibition.

A photograph of British author J.R.R. Tolkien at the age of 19 is seenon display during a preview of the exhibition.

Tengwar scrip is seen on a sign at the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ section during a preview of the exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth atWeston Library, part of the Bodleian Library, in Oxford, west of London. — AFP photos

A work by British author J. R. R. Tolkien entitled ‘The Fire-writing’ showing Tengwar script, an artificial script

created by Tolkien, is seen during a preview.

A picture shows the final cover art on the first edition dust jacket ofJ. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” during a preview of the exhibition

entitled Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth at Weston Library.

A map of British author J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is seen during a preview of the exhibition Tolkien: Maker

of Middle-earth at Weston Library.


22 Established 1961

Fe a t u r e s

Chef Jordan Kahn (left) prepares a dish of rice pudding and trout roe at his restaurant Vespertine.

Chef Jordan Kahn uses a culinary tweezer to select flower petals for a dish of scal-lops, bone marrow and white asparagus at his restaurant Vespertine.

Thin slices of white asparagus, one of the ingredients for a dish of scallops, bonemarrow and white asparagus, is seen in the kitchen chef Jordan Kahn.

At Vespertine, the last word in outlandisheating, staff are on a mission to “disruptthe course of the modern restaurant” as

pioneers in the immersive culinary scene.Something of an overnight sensation in south-ern California, the eatery was propelled to thetop of Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold’sprestigious annual rankings after its launch lastyear. From the volcanic stone crockery andchefs’ aprons woven on a loom used forSamurai garments, to the attentive ballet ofwaiters dressed in monastic black, everythinghas been orchestrated to stimulate much morethan the taste buds.

“We more or less created and synthesized aworld that you’re stepping into,” says chefJordan Kahn, hair swept into a raven black cur-

tain on one side and shaved on the other. “Wewant you to wander around and experience ithowever you want.” In LA’s thriving foodiescene, Vespertine has emerged as part of a newgeneration of restaurants where the experienceof eating is matched by an equally sumptuousfeast for the other senses.

Dialogue, a tasting menu restaurant in nearbySanta Monica, promises an experience “playing

on the senses and emotions” while adventurousdiners in Beverly Hills can try Somni, Catalan for“dream.” Even old hands like Austrian celebritychef Wolfgang Puck, the head of a gastronomicempire, are getting in on this high-concept culi-nary high-wire act. His The Rogue Experience-an eight-seat counter in West Hollywood wherethe tasting menu changes periodically-aims to“challenge expectation and push the boundariesfor the future of food.”

Four-act drama Vespertine’s Kahn says he was inspired to

open up shop when he happened upon an oddglass building in west Los Angeles with anexoskeleton of oxidized metal that has becomeknown as “The Waffle.” He contacted the

architect to propose opening a restaurantwhere the objets d’art would serve as the inspi-ration for the cuisine, rather than the other wayaround. A meal at Vespertine is a four-act dra-ma that begins with the welcome in a half-Bauhaus, half-Japanese garden, where cus-tomers are offered a drink.

Kahn greets diners in a kitchen worthy of aninterior decorating magazine and they are then

escorted to the open-air lounge on the topfloor. There, customers enjoy a sparkling wineaperitif infused with Californian pine spines andtopped with an exotic flower, seaweed chipsand a biscuit of burnt onions and blackcurrant.In the dining room, guests taste 15 dishes. Kahnsays his work is influenced by the moleculargastronomy of Spanish chef Ferran Adria andthe avant-garde Chicago restaurant Alinea,where he cut his teeth.

The menu includes scallops with marrowand slices of white asparagus and a rice pud-ding with trout eggs and sunflower petals.Dessert is marshmallows sprayed with a buck-wheat cream, jasmine sprouts, rhubarb and acarrot confit with blackcurrant coulis.Everything is washed down with biodynamicwines or kombucha cocktails. Navigating theplate can be a game of hide and seek, with din-ers required to lift leaves or flowers to find theturbot or turkey underneath, plunging the forkblindly into bowls that are partly closed over.

Close attention Vespertine prides itself on paying close

attention to each diner, says Kahn, who encour-

ages his waiters to notice guests’ eating habits,their dominant hand, mood, desire to converseand so on. Proponents lap up the eccentricityof the immersive dining scene, but detractorsare put off by what they see as the pretentiousatmosphere, a tendency for over-sweet cuisine,and the exorbitant prices-up to $400 per headin LA. It’s not a uniquely southern Californiathing. Ultraviolet in Shanghai outdoes even thewackiest LA restaurant with its 360-degreevideos and music piped into the dining roomalong with aromas for the guests to appreciate.

Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca, named bestrestaurant in the world in several surveys, daz-zled with its El Somni banquet, a culinary“opera” on a round table surrounded by aspherical theater screen. Heston Blumenthal’sThe Fat Duck, in southern England, offers din-ers Sound of the Sea, a seafood dish servedwith an iPod that provides a soundtrack ofcrashing waves as they eat.

Food can appear to take a back seat amid allthis ostentation, but Kahn insists that the diningexperience is about more than what’s on theplate. “Out of 20 courses over six months, doyou remember any of the dishes that you had?”

he asks, although he’s being rhetorical. “Maybeone or two and, at the end of the day, howimportant was the food? The important thingwas the connection that you felt, and that’s longlasting.” — AFP

The Los Angeles restaurants stimulating all five senses

Ingredients for a dish of scallops, bone marrow and white asparagus, is seen in the kitchen chef Jordan Kahn.

Chef Jordan Kahn prepares a dish of snap peas, kiwi and spruce.

A dish of scallops, bone marrow and whiteasparagus is displayed.

A dish of rice puddingand trout roe is displayed.

Chef Jordan Kahn speaks at his restaurant Vespertine, in Culver City, California. — AFP photos

Chef Jordan Kahn prepares a dish of scallops, bone marrow and white asparagus at his restaurant Vespertine.

Given the boot after a racist rant by itsstar, “Roseanne” was a rare TV seriesdepicting conservative America despite

the election of President Donald Trump, whichcould have popularized the genre. In its firstepisode at the end of March, the series dared toset up a constructive dialogue betweenRoseanne, a Trump supporter and her sister, afervent Democrat. The bet largely paid off, as“Roseanne” was the most-watched series of theyear on major American TV networks. The showhad been off the air for 21 years before itsreboot, which premiered with almost 22 millionviewers, according to ABC. Nonetheless, thenetwork cancelled “Roseanne” after its leadactress Roseanne Barr used Twitter to likenValerie Jarrett, an African American formerWhite House aide, to an ape.

“Roseanne” was one of the few depictions of

working-class life on US television, and also ofTrump supporters, who have been largelyignored by Hollywood. The number of otherpopular US television series that present a non-caricature image of conservative America canbe counted nearly on one hand. There is thepolice drama “Blue Bloods” on CBS andNetflix’s “One Day at a Time,” which in differentways present issues at the heart of the family.

Traditionally, comedy and especially sitcomswere considered the best vehicle for showingconservative America. Several series consideredclassics in the United States were based oninteraction between Democratic and Republicanviewpoints. These included “All in the Family”(1971-1979) and “Family Ties,” which aired from1982-1989. For Dom Caristi, a professor at BallState University, a television landscape thatused to be concentrated around the three main

channels, ABC, CBS, and NBC, drove them tocompete for a larger audience share.

Roseanne-free ‘Roseanne?’ But “that’s no longer true,” he said. Today, “a

few million viewers is good enough,” and “theycan try to appeal to a smaller segment.” About500 series are competing on US television.According to several studies, the programs thatsucceed in uniting supporters of the left andright are non-political.These include realityshows, talent competitions such as “The Voice”or “America’s Got Talent,” as well as sitcomssuch as “The Big Bang Theory. The polarizationof American political life makes it difficult toaddress the subject without leaving a showopen to rejection by one part of the electorate, afactor amplified on social media.

“We live in a fragmented media world,”

where the mere fact of suspecting that a seriescould be conservative or progressive will auto-matically turn off a segment of the public, saidDannagal Young, an associate professor of com-munication at the University of Delaware. ButRobert Thomson, of the University of Syracuse,says the success of “Roseanne” as well as thenew CBS series “Young Sheldon,” a spin-offfrom “The Big Bang Theory” that takes place inconservative Texas, will encourage similarefforts by channels, platforms and producers.“You’ve got a lot of other network executivesthat are going to be looking to develop showslike ‘Roseanne’ that don’t have Roseanne inthem,” Thomson said. Indeed, the entertainmentwebsite TMZ is reporting that ABC is consider-ing re-rebooting Roseanne without her as thecentral character. Instead, the show would focuson daughter Darlene, the report said. — AFP

In this file photo actress Roseanne Barr attends theDisney ABC Television TCA Winter Press Tour inPasadena, California. — AFP

Chef Jordan Kahn uses a culinary tweezer to selectflower petals for a dish of scallops, bone marrow

and white asparagus.

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DUBAI: It has been a year since Saudi Arabia and itsallies cut ties with Qatar, sparking the biggest diplomat-ic crisis to hit the Gulf in years. Here is a recap:

Regional rupture Simmering regional tensions boil over on June 5,

2017, when Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, Egyptand the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announce almostsimultaneously that they are severing diplomatic tieswith Qatar. They accuse Doha of supporting “terrorists”and being too close to Saudi Arabia’s Shiite archrivalIran-charges Qatar denies. Land and maritime borderswith the Gulf peninsula are shut, air links suspended andQatari citizens expelled. Riyadh says it acted to “protectits national security from the dangers of terrorism andextremism”. In a country dependent on food imports,there is alarm over whether the border closures will leadto food shortages in Qatar. Saudi Arabia also closes theRiyadh bureau of Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Demands and a deadline On June 22 the Saudi-led bloc sends Qatar a list of

13 demands, which include shutting down its Al Jazeeramedia network, curbing relations with Iran and closinga Turkish military base it hosts. They give Qatar 10days to comply. After a two-day extension, Qatar sayson July 4 the list is “unrealistic and is not actionable”.Saudi Arabia and its allies threaten new sanctions. OnJuly 25 they unveil a “terrorist” blacklist of 18 groupsand individuals suspected of links to Islamist extrem-ists and to Qatar. The blacklist later grows to includealmost 90 names.

Outreach turns sour Saudi state media reports on September 8 that

Qatar’s Amir has called the Saudi crown prince toexpress interest in talks. An initial positive responseturns sour when the Saudis accuse Qatari media ofincorrectly implying that the kingdom initiated the out-

reach. On September 9 Saudi Arabia suspends any dia-logue with Qatar.

Breaking isolation Seeking support from outside the region, Qatar signs

a series of defense deals with foreign powers. In JuneDoha inks a $12-billion (10.4 billion euro) deal to buyUS-made F-15 fighter jets. In early December, it final-izes contracts with France worth more than $13 billion,including the purchase of 12 French-built fighter jets and50 Airbus passenger planes. It also concludes a $8 bil-lion deal with Britain to buy 24 Typhoon fighters. In

January 2018, it approves legislation allowing 100-per-cent foreign ownership in most sectors of its economy.Previously reliant on its Gulf neighbors, it increasinglyturns towards Iran and Turkey, particularly for foodimports. Shortly after the crisis unfolds, Ankara fasttracks the deployment of troops to its military base inQatar-part of a 2014 bilateral defense agreement.

In January Qatar says fighter jets from the UAE, oneof the boycotting countries, violated its airspace inDecember and early January. The UAE later accusesQatari fighter jets of “intercepting” two Emirati passen-ger planes en route to Bahrain, drawing a swift denial

from Doha. Both sides complain to the UN.

White House welcomeOn April 10 US President Donald Trump receives the

Amir of Qatar, calling him “a friend of mine” and a “gen-tleman”, softening his tone after initially backing theSaudi-led bloc. Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani usesthe opportunity to say: “We do not and we will not tol-erate people who fund terrorism.” Trump also praisesQatar’s purchases of military equipment from the US,which has about 10,000 troops at an airbase outsideDoha-its largest in the Middle East. — AFP

Monday, June 4, 2018N e w s

Established 1961 24

Continued from Page 1

Kuwait, prompting Duterte to lift the employment

ban. Yesterday, Duterte said he hoped to visit Kuwaitto express his gratitude. “I’d like to thank the Kuwaitigovernment for understanding us and keeping theirfaith (in) us and practically (giving in) to all of mydemands,” Duterte said. His demands included givingFilipino workers a day off and seven hours of sleepeach night, as well as allowing them to keep their pass-ports and phones often confiscated by employers,Duterte said. — AFP

Philippines leaderapologizes...


The Quran guarantees us that “And We will surelytest you with something of fear and hunger and a lossof wealth and lives and crops, but give good tidings tothe patient who, when disaster strikes them, say,‘Indeed, we belong to God, and indeed to Him we arereturning’” (2:155-156).

Our reaction in adverse circumstances beyond ourcontrol should be to turn our thoughts to God, whodescribes Himself as wise, merciful and caring. Weshould not disagree or be dissatisfied with what Hedoes. As the Quran reminds us, “He cannot be ques-tioned as to what He does, while they will be ques-tioned” (21:23). Instead, we should believe that Godallowed such circumstances for our ultimate benefit.The Quran reminds us that “perhaps you dislike some-thing and it is good for you and perhaps you like some-thing and it is bad for you. And God knows, while youknow not” (2:216). We must trust in God and His knowl-edge of the “big picture.”

Both kinds of patience - making the effort to followto the way of life God envisions for us, and then truly

submitting to God and His management of our lives -should have the characteristic of beauty. The Qurandescribes real patience as beautiful. “Therefore, bepatient with beautiful patience” (70:5). Beautifulpatience is one of contentment and absolute convictionof God’s goodness and care. In Ramadan, for example,patience means being cheerful and productive through-out the month, and anticipating God’s pleasure, forgive-ness and generous rewards.

The Quran encourages us to be patient: “Indeed,mankind is in loss, except those who believe and dorighteous deeds, and exhort one another to upholdtruth and exhort one another to persevere withpatience.” (103:2-3). “Those who show patience andwork righteousness - for them is forgiveness and agreat reward” (11:11). “So persevere in patience, for thePromise of God is true.” (40:77) What a greater way toshow patience than Ramadan!

Courtesy of the TIES Center, whose mission is toempower Kuwait’s expats through social and educa-tional services that promote a positive and productiverole in society, and to facilitate opportunities for intra-and interfaith interactions that promote social solidari-ty. For more information, please call 25231015/6 or e-mail: [email protected].

Lessons of Ramadan...


Qatar hosts the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US

base in the region which is home to thousands of USpersonnel and a forward command centre. The ministeralso called for the restoration of a 2015 agreementbetween world powers and Iran that lifted sanctionsfrom Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear pro-gram. US President Donald Trump last month withdrewfrom the Iran nuclear deal and ordered the reimpositionof sanctions suspended under the accord. —AFP

Qatar will not ‘fuel a war’ against...


“I don’t think it is too far-fetched to say that newpower centers in the Middle East are emerging,” saidDavid Roberts, assistant professor at King’s CollegeLondon.

According to Le Monde newspaper, Saudi Arabiahas written to French President Emmanuel Macronwarning of “military action” if Qatar goes ahead with itsplanned purchase of a Russian air defense missile sys-tem. Qatar is already picking up the tab, as it absorbsthe huge costs of regional isolation, despite its vastwealth in gas resources. “As for winners and losers,there are clearly no winners thus far, and in many wayseveryone has been a loser,” said Christopher Davidson,a Middle East politics professor at Durham University.Ulrichsen said that despite its “resilience”, Qatar has“not eliminated the costs of the crisis”. Without a clearwinner in sight, the Gulf crisis is largely seen by theoutside world as a bewildering spat between indistin-

guishable former allies.Mediation efforts have been led by Kuwait and the

US, which has its largest Middle East air base in Qatar.Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah,said diplomatic efforts are “ongoing”. “The latest ofthese efforts and ideas will be presented during a Gulf-American summit in September, and this summit will bean opportunity to end this crisis,” he said.

US President Donald Trump seemed firmly behindthe Saudis at first, but has since called Sheikh Tamim a“great gentleman” and urged a peaceful outcome. Inthe muddle, corruption allegations against Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have surfaced over his dealingswith the Gulf states, notably Qatar. Diplomacy mayeventually be supplanted by imperatives such as Saudidomestic concerns or weariness over its joint militaryefforts with the UAE in the Yemen war.

The crisis has impacted east African states withalliances to the Gulf, rewarded defense contractors, andmay have massive ramifications for Qatar’s 2022 foot-ball World Cup. With nationalism in the Gulf on the rise,Roberts said “the crisis has been an opportunity forQataris to demonstrate their national fervor”. It “hascreated animosities that may take years, even a genera-tion, to overcome”, said Ulrichsen. —AFP

Qatar crisis creates ‘new Gulf’ with no...

Qatar: A year of crisis in the Gulf

ABU SAMRAH: Photo shows a view of the Qatari side of the Abu Samrah border crossing with Saudi Arabia. The year-old acrimonious dispute between Qatar and its neighbors is forging a‘new’ Gulf, potentially transforming what was a stable region of the Arab world, experts warn. — AFP

SEOUL: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said heplans to visit North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un,Pyongyang’s state media reported yesterday, poten-tially becoming the first head of state to meet Kiminside the isolated country. “I am going to visit theDPRK and meet... Kim Jong Un,” Assad said, theNorth’s state-run KCNA news agency reported, usingthe abbreviated version of the country’s official name.The announcement came as anticipation mounts for ahistoric nuclear summit between Kim and USPresident Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, fol-lowing a whirlwind round of diplomacy.

“The world welcomes the remarkable events in theKorean peninsula brought about recently by the out-

standing political caliber and wise leadership of... KimJong Un,” KCNA cited Assad as saying during a meet-ing with North Korean Ambassador Mun Jong Namon Wednesday. The Syrian president’s office refusedto comment on the report when contacted by AFP.Pyongyang and Damascus have maintained warm tiesfor decades and reportedly shared a military relation-ship for some years, including during the ongoingSyrian civil war. Suspicions over chemical weaponstrade between Pyongyang and Damascus have beenraised in the past by the UN and South Korea.

There were also widespread reports that NorthKorea helped Syria build a nuclear plant that wasdestroyed by Israeli bombing in 2007. Both regimeshave been the target of international isolation-Pyongyang over its banned nuclear program andDamascus for atrocities committed during the seven-year civil war. Since coming to power in 2011, Kim hasnot met another head of state in North Korea. He onlymade his first overseas trip as leader this year, travel-ling to China to meet President Xi Jinping, an ally ofthe reclusive regime. — AFP

Syria presidentto meet North Korean leader

AMMAN: Angry protests rocked cities across Jordanovernight against IMF-backed austerity measuresincluding a new income tax draft law and price hikes,hours after the government and unions failed to reachan agreement to end the standoff. Some 3,000 peoplefaced down a heavy security presence to gather nearthe prime minister’s office in Amman until the earlyhours of Saturday morning, waving Jordanian flags andsigns reading “we will not kneel”.

Protests have gripped the country since Wednesday,when hundreds responding to a call by trade unions,flooded the streets of Amman and other cities todemand the fall of the government. Last month, thegovernment proposed an income tax draft law, yet tobe approved by parliament, aimed at raising taxes onemployees by at least 5 percent and on companies bybetween 20 and 40 percent. The measures are the lat-est in a series of economic reforms since Ammansecured a $723-million three-year credit line from theInternational Monetary Fund in 2016.

Since January, Jordan-which suffers high unemploy-ment and has few natural resources-has seen repeatedprice rises including on staples such as bread, as well asextra taxes on basic goods. The price of fuel has risenon five occasions since the beginning of the year, whileelectricity bills have shot up 55 percent since February.The IMF-backed measures have sparked some of thebiggest economic protests in five years. Overnight, pro-testers outside premier Hani Mulki’s office shouted slo-gans including “the ones raising prices want to burn thecountry” and “this Jordan is our Jordan, Mulki shouldleave”.

‘Right to demonstrate’ Demonstrators tussled with security forces and

some fainted, but others smoked water pipes and onesat on the pavement and played the Arabian lute or oud.

In another part of the city, security forces used tear gasto prevent hundreds of demonstrators from joining therally near Mulki’s office, Jordanian news websitesreported. “Women have started looking in rubbish binsto find food for their children, and every day we’re hitby price hikes and new taxes,” said one protester.

Bank employee Mohammad Shalabiya, 28, saiddemonstrators wanted “to tell the government that thecitizen’s income isn’t suitable for this kind of law andthat we have a right to demonstrate”. Lina Rsheidat, 35,a housewife with a red keffiyeh scarf around her neck,said the proposed law was “unjust” and would “harmthe Jordanian people”. According to official estimates,18.5 percent of the population is unemployed, while 20percent are on the brink of poverty. The EconomistIntelligence Unit earlier this year ranked Jordan’s capi-tal as one of the most expensive in the Arab world.

Struggling economy Jordan, a key US ally, has largely avoided the unrest

witnessed by other countries in the region since theArab Spring revolts broke out in 2011, althoughprotests did flare late that year after the governmentcut fuel subsidies. But the country has long played hostto refugees from neighboring Iraq, and according togovernment figures, over one million people have fledto Jordan from Syria’s devastating seven year war,exacerbating its struggling economy.

Amman has repeatedly urged international donors toprovide extra funds to help it host them. On SaturdayMulki met with trade union representatives whodemanded the income tax law be revoked, but theyfailed to reach an agreement. The head of Jordan’s fed-eration of unions, Ali Obus, demanded that the state“maintain its independence and not bow to IMFdemands”.

King Abdullah II called on parliament to lead a“comprehensive and reasonable national dialogue” onthe new tax law. “It would not be fair that the citizenalone bears the burden of financial reforms,” he toldofficials on Saturday. The IMF says the loan aims atslashing Jordan’s public debt from about 94 percent ofGDP to 77 percent by 2021, through “reforms to bolstereconomic growth and gradual fiscal consolidation”,according to its website. A majority of 78 out of parlia-ment’s 130 representatives are opposed to the incometax law. The speaker of Jordan’s senate called a consul-tative meeting yesterday. — AFP

Jordan protests snowball over IMF-backed austerity

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said it detained 17 people for“undermining” the kingdom’s security, in what cam-paigners have dubbed a sweeping crackdown againstactivists just weeks before a ban on women drivingends. Rights groups earlier reported arrests of at least11 people last month, mostly identified as women cam-paigners for the right to drive and to end the conserva-tive Islamic country’s male guardianship system.

Without naming anyone, the public prosecutor’soffice said the number of detainees stood at 17, addingthat eight of them had been “temporarily released” untilthe investigation is completed. Nine suspects, includingfour women, remain in custody after they “confessed”to a slew of charges such as suspicious contact with“hostile” organizations and recruiting people in sensi-tive government positions, it said in a statementreleased by the Saudi Press Agency. The statement

accused the detainees of “coordinated activity under-mining the security and stability of the kingdom”.

Previous reports in state-backed media branded someof the detainees traitors and “agents of embassies”.Campaigners have dismissed the reports as a “smear”campaign. The crackdown has also sparked a torrent ofglobal criticism, casting a shadow on the kingdom’smuch-publicized liberalization push launched by powerfulCrown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The self-styledreformer has sought to break with long-held restrictionson women and the mixing of the genders, with thedecades-old driving ban on women slated to end June 24.

The European Parliament last week approved a res-olution calling for the unconditional release of thedetained activists and other human rights defenders,while urging a more vocal response from EU nations.“The Saudi Arabian authorities’ endless harassment ofwomen’s rights activists is entirely unjustifiable, and theworld must not remain silent on the repression ofhuman rights defenders in the country,” Samah Hadid,Amnesty International’s Middle East director of cam-paigns, said last week. “Saudi Arabia’s allies-in particu-lar the US, UK and France-must push Saudi Arabianauthorities to end their targeted repression of humanrights activists in the country.” — AFP

Saudi Arabia detains17 in sweepingcrackdown

Ariya powers to four-shot lead at US Women’s OpenSHOAL CREEK: After waking up beforedaybreak to complete her second round atthe US Women’s Open, Thailand’s AriyaJutanugarn said she would have little troublesleeping on Saturday night as she heads intothe final round with a four-stroke lead.

Ariya, who had to rise at 4 a.m. to com-plete the weather-delayed second round atShoal Creek before cracking on with her thirdround, carded a five-under-par 67 for a 12-under 204 total and a healthy cushion overSarah Jane Smith (74).

South Korean Kim Hyo-joo (68) wasanother two shots back in third place on aday when nobody could make a sustainedchallenge at the two frontrunners. “I think I’mgoing to sleep pretty well because I didn’tsleep much last night and I’m so tired rightnow,” said Ariya, who started the third roundthree strokes adrift of Australian Smith.

Victory for the Thai would give her a sec-ond major title after her 2016 Women’s BritishOpen triumph, and break the recent domi-nance at the US Women’s Open by SouthKorean and American players, who haveclaimed the past 11 tournaments. Ariya usedher prodigious power to muscle her favouritethree-wood tee shots past Smith’s drives withregularity, and displayed a deft short game ina round that included only one blemish, abogey at the par-three 16th.

Smith, who failed to land a single birdie but

remains Ariya’s closest pursuer at eight-under 208, said the Thai was a “spectacularplayer”. “She hits it a long way but her shortgame is impeccable,” added the world num-ber 97, who is winless in 222 starts on theLPGA Tour.

“She rolls the ball beautifully. She’s just thewhole package. It was fun to watch her play.“I know Ariya is going to have a great day.That is a given,” she added. “I’m going toneed a really good day to have a chance.”Ariya said she had some weaknesses in hergame, but was stumped to name them.

“Wait, I’m thinking,” she said. “I’m not surewhat, but I’m pretty sure I have. “I’m pretty

sure tomorrow is going to be a good day,even though I don’t know what the outcomeis going to be.” The second round, which wasinterrupted by a long lightning delay, wascompleted earlier on Saturday.

Ariya, who had 10 holes left, trimmed themargin from four shots to three before grab-bing a quick lunch and getting back to work.Two early birdies brought her to within ashot of Smith, who bogeyed the eighth andninth holes to surrender the lead. It was amasterclass at times from Ariya, one of thehighlights being a four-iron approach at thepar-five 11th that covered the pin and led to atap-in birdie. — Reuters

LUCO DI MUGELLO: Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo claimedhis first MotoGP win in a year and a half at the ItalianGrand Prix in Mugello yesterday as world championshipleader Marc Marquez fell and finished in 16th place.

Lorenzo took the lead early and held on till the endwith Italian Ducati teammate Andrea Dovizioso finish-ing second and Valentino Rossi, who had started frompole position, completing the podium on a Yamaha.

Spanish world championMarquez remains top of thechampionship standingsafter five races despite fin-ishing way down in 16thafter crashing into the gravelearly in the race and strug-gling to restart his Honda.

“It’s a special to win herewith Ducati,” said formerthree-time world championLorenzo of his first win withthe Italian team.

The Spaniard, who had retired from two of the firstfour races this season in Qatar and Spain.

Marquez had been bidding for his fourth straight winthis season but slipped on lap five with former seven-time world MotoGP champion Rossi, 39, moving up tosecond in the standings 23 points behind.

“It was a very difficult race, but we expected it, Istruggled a lot especially at the front,” said Rossi.

“But in the end what I did was the right choice,because I managed to push in the final but keeping

(Andrea) Iannone at a distance. It was my goal toreturn to the podium at Mugello, I’m very happy.”

Earlier Portuguese KTM rider Miguel Oliveirasnatched his first win in the MotoGP2 category thisseason as Spaniard Jorge Martin rode his Honda to athrilling battle to the line in the MotoGP3 category.

Earlier, Portuguese KTM rider Miguel Oliveirasnatched his first win in the MotoGP2 category this

season at the Italian GrandPrix in Tuscany.

Oliveira, 23, started from11th position but clawed hisway back to finish ahead ofKalex riders LorenzoBaldassarri of Italy andSpaniard Joan Mir at0.184sec and 0.334secrespectively.

Oliveira-second in theworld championship stand-ings-closes the gap on

overall leader Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex), who finishedfourth on his home circuit.

Spaniard Jorge Martin rode his Honda to a thrillingbattle to the line in the MotoGP3 category. The 20-year-old crossed just 0.019sec ahead of Italian MarcoBezzecchi (KTM) with Italy’s Fabio Di Giannantonio(Honda) third at 0.024.

Bezzecchi holds the overall world championship leadwith Martin moving up to second place ahead of Hondateammate Di Giannantonio. — AFP

S p o r t s Monday, June 4, 2018

25

Lorenzo wins Italian MotoGP as champion Marquez finishes 16th

Portugal’s Oliveira wins MotoGP2 at Italian GP

Established 1961

It was a very difficult race

MUGELLO: Ducati Team’s Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo celebrates on the podium after he won the Moto GPGrand Prix at the Mugello race track yesterday. — AFP

DUBLIN: Bryson DeChambeaubirdied four of his last six holes tosurge to a one-shot lead on Saturdaygoing into the final round of the USPGA Tour’s Memorial tournament.DeChambeau, 24 signed for a bogey-free 66 to move to 14-under 202 asthe Californian looks to secure a sec-ond PGA Tour victory after captur-ing last year’s John Deere Classic.

Red-hot Chilean sensationJoaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantlayand Kyle Stanley were a stroke backon 203. Overnight co-leadersNiemann and Stanley both carded 70while Cantlay’s 66 included twoeagles, one of them a hole-in-one atthe par-three eighth.

A further six players were withinfive shots of DeChambeau’s lead-including 14-time major championTiger Woods. Woods briefly grabbeda share of the lead before stumblingwith two bogeys in his last threeholes. South Korea’s An Byeong-hunwas alone in fifth after a 69 for 204and England’s Justin Rose carded a69 for 206.

Woods posted a 68 to head agroup on 207 that also includedJapan’s Hideki Matsuyama (71).DeChambeau, ranked 38th in theworld, kick-started his push to thetop of the board with birdies at thefifth and seventh holes. He postedback-to-back birdie “threes” at 13and 14 and picked up a stroke at 16before landing his 145-yardapproach at the last five feet fromthe pin en route to a birdie.

“I just want to birdie every hole,”he said. “That’s all we’re trying to doout there. “No matter if you’re oneback or tied for the lead every holeis an opportunity to make a birdie

and that’s just what I’m going to tryand do every single day.”DeChambeau said his brilliant put-ting display was his best since hecaptured the 2015 US Amateur title.“I would say I’m putting the best Ihave in my life,” he said.

WOODS ‘PLAYED BEAUTIFULLY’

Niemann, 19, highlighted his roundwith a 50-foot eagle putt at the par-five seventh. He is contesting just afifth US PGA Tour event since turn-ing pro straight after the Masters inApril, and the Santiago-born teenag-er said he will draw on his amateursuccesses as he tries to win onSunday, when the field will tee offearly from the first and 10th tee asorganizers try to beat expectedinclement weather.

“It’s a strong field on the leader-board and I think everybody’s goingto go out there and try to make themost birdies possible,” Niemann said.“So I think that I have to go lowtomorrow to have a chance.”

Woods rolled in a 14-foot eagleputt at the par-five fifth and wasfive-under for the day through nine.The five-time Memorial winnermissed a short birdie on 14 butgained a share of the lead at 11-under with a birdie at 15.

Three-putt bogeys at 16 and 18quelled his momentum and Woodswas left to wonder what could havebeen. “I shot 68 today but, again,that’s probably the highest score Icould have possibly shot today,” hesaid. “I played really, really well. Iplayed beautifully, actually, had totalcontrol of what I was doing out thereand just didn’t finish it off.” — AFP

Lexus LC claimsclass win on itsdebut in Germanendurance raceNURBURGRING: Overcoming the chal-lenges of one of the world’s most demandingcircuits, the No 56 GAZOO Racing’s LexusLC, driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya, TakamitsuMatsui, Naoya Gamo, and Yuichi Nakayama,made a remarkable debut race and claimedthe first position in the SP-PRO class of the24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance racerecently in Germany.

The No. 56 GAZOO Racing’s Lexus LCdemonstrated its out-and-out pace in quali-fying, lining up 32nd on the starting grid in afield of 147 cars with a best lap time of eightminutes and 34.591 seconds around theclimbs and descents of the 25-kilometerGerman racetrack.

Shigeki Tomoyama, President, GAZOORacing Company, said: “Although GAZOORacing’s Lexus LC was forced to pit-in manytimes unexpectedly due to the impact at thebeginning of the race, we are delighted tocomplete the 24 hours and the whole race.The drivers, mechanics, engineers, and sup-port staff all carried out their roles, and wemade every effort to race the car without giv-ing up until the very end. We would like toexpress our sincerest gratitude to all of oursuppliers and partner companies who havehelped to sustain these activities.”

Tomoyama stated that the knowledge andtechnologies refined here at the Nurburgring

circuit will not only be incorporated intomodels in the GAZOO Racing brand line-upbut also utilized in a variety of future produc-tion cars.

Commenting on the win, Yugo Miyamoto,Chief Representative of Middle East & NorthAfrica Representative Office, Toyota MotorCorporation, said: “The 24 HoursNurburgring endurance race proved to be anexcellent experience, testing the team’sstrengths and vehicle’s capabilities, while alsoshowcasing the best of Lexus. Despite a chal-lenging debut race, the Lexus LC dazzled theaudiences with its winning performance,adding to our achievements and capabilitiesin motorsports.”

Miyamoto added: “We remain dedicatedto continuously building on the experiencegained on racetracks all over the world to notonly engineer amazing vehicles but also cap-ture our customers’ hearts and minds andignite their emotions. We would like to thankour fans and customers for their continuous

support and for being an inspiring forcebehind our continued success.”

The main race started with a total of 147vehicles on the tarmac with Takamitsu Matsuiat the wheel of the Lexus LC. Immediatelyafter the start of the race, the No 56 GAZOORacing’s Lexus LC suffered impact damage.However, it was able to continue, with repairsbeing made during the first scheduled routinepit stop as it did not need an emergency pit-in. Technical issues that the team had notencountered in testing emerged even afterthat, but were all successfully addressed, withthe drivers, mechanics, and engineers corre-sponding quickly and surely, returning the carto the course once more.

The No 56 Lexus LC continued the racefrom 6:30 in the morning without any signifi-cant issues and managed to increase its posi-tion in the race ranking. When the checkeredflag was finally waved, the No.56 Lexus LCtook first place in the SP-PRO class and fin-ished 96th overall.

DeChambeau leads by one,Woods in the hunt at Memorial

SHOAL CREEK: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand plays her tee shot on the second hole duringthe third round of the 2018 US Women’s Open at Shoal Creek on Saturday in Shoal Creek,Alabama. — AFP

DUBLIN: Tiger Woods reacts to his tee shot on the third hole during the thirdround of The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide at Muirfield VillageGolf Club on Saturday in Dublin, Ohio. — AFP

Urdapilleta guides Castres past Montpellier to Top 14 titlePARIS: Faultless Argentinian fly-half BenjaminUrdapilleta kicked 19 points to guide Castres toa convincing 29-13 victory over Montpellier inthe Top 14 final on Saturday. Castres sprangout to lead 19-6 at the break, Urdapilleta ontarget with four penalties before convertingJulien Dumora’s try, misfiring Springbok RuanPienaar hitting two penalties for Montpellier,league table toppers at the end of regulationseason.

Montpellier hit back with a deserved penal-ty try in the second period, Urdapilleta knock-ing over his fifth penalty before Steve Maficrashed over for his team’s second try with fiveminutes to play.

Stand-out Castres centre ThomasCombezou admitted his team had expected a“tight physical war of attrition” as they tied upa fifth French league title, the last coming in2013. “We wanted to win and we did it!” hesaid. “It’s the magic of rugby and knock-outrugby. It’s exceptional.”

Castres captain Mathieu Babillot said histeam had “gone looking for it”. “We knewMontpellier were a team with few weak pointsand that we had to be present in every part ofthe game,” he said. Montpellier coach VernCotter, whose side are yet to win a French titlehaving also finished runners-up in 2011, added:“We made too many mistakes. Six months ofwork and today we just didn’t turn up.

“We weren’t ourselves. Castres played agood match, you can’t take anything away fromthem. We’re disappointed, we couldn’t expressourselves.” Castres coach Christophe Urioshad warned his side, which finished in the sixthand final play-off spot, were “laid back butambitious” and so it proved against a star-

studded Montpellier side for whom Pienaar andAll Black fly-half Aaron Cruden were unable todictate the flow of play.

MISFIRING PIENAAR Pienaar missed a fourth-minute penalty, but

Urdapilleta made no such mistake a couple ofminutes later to open the scoring at a packedStade de France. Montpellier were eventuallyon target in the 12th minute, Bok centre FransSteyn booting a three-pointer.

Urdapilleta, capped 10 times by Argentina,restored Castres’ lead with his second and thirdpenalties in quick succession in a close firstquarter of a physical match. Steyn went widewith a penalty effort from his own half, butMontpellier-with 10 of the starting XV foreign-ers (6 South Africans, and one each fromAustralia, Fiji, Georgia and New Zealand) —were made to pay for a further indiscretion asthe 32-year-old Urdapilleta booted his fourthpenalty. Pienaar pulled one back to make it 12-6, but Castres, with a heroic defence against a

flat-footed Montpellier, delivered a hammerblow just before the break. Boxed into theirown 22-metre area, Montpellier botched theline-out with an untidy slapdown that wentdead to gift Castres a 5m scrum.

Scrum-half Rory Kockott consequentlyworked his forwards, Urdapilleta a decoy in thebox for a possible drop-goal. But suddenlyKockott moved the ball wide, Combezoustraightened before feeding Dumora, whofeigned a pass to scythe past a leaden-footedFulgence Ouedraogo for a try, Urdapilleta hit-ting the extras.

Montpellier, undoubtedly fired up by a rock-et of a half-time talk from Cotter-who previ-ously lost three Top 14 finals with Clermont(and won one), took the game by the scruff ofthe neck at the start of the second period.

Castres held out as long as they couldbefore first lock Loic Jacquet was yellow card-ed and then a penalty try was awarded asMontpellier took advantage of their numericaladvantage in the subsequent scrum. — AFP


26 Established 1961

ATLANTA: Washington second baseman WilmerDifo delivered a triple to score Max Scherzer in the14th inning and lead the way for the Nationals’ 5-3win over the host Atlanta Braves on Saturday.Scherzer hit a one-out pinch single off Atlanta relieverMiguel Socolovich (0-1) and scored easily when Difotripled into the gap in center. Spencer Kieboom drovein Difo with a single to left to help the Nationals endtheir two-game losing streak. The winning pitcher wasJustin Miller (2-0), who threw three scoreless innings,did not allow a hit and struck out five. Sean Doolittlepitched a clean 14th to earn his 14th save. TheNationals evened the score at 3-3 in the seventh whenJuan Soto hit the third pitch he saw from reliever SamFreeman for a solo homer, his second. Soto struck outwith the bases loaded and two outs in the 11th.

CUBS 7, METS 1 (14INNINGS)

Albert Almora Jr. hit atwo-run double in the top ofthe 14th inning to key a six-run outburst and lift visitingChicago to a marathon winover New York. The Cubshave won the first threegames of the four-gameseries and six of their lastseven. The Mets have losteight of 10. The two teamsscored once apiece in the sixth before matchingzeroes until the 14th, when the Cubs batted around.The teams combined to strike out 39 times, including24 times by the Cubs-the most ever recorded by theMets in a single game.

YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 5Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run blast for his first

home run in two weeks as visiting New York moved aseason-high 20 games over .500 with a victory overBaltimore. The Yankees (38-18) won for the sixth time in

eight games. Stanton delivered the big blow, pulling afirst-pitch fastball from Kevin Gausman (3-5) over theright field fence. The 391-foot drive was Stanton’s 12thhomer and first in 42 at-bats since May 19 in KansasCity. The Yankees survived an injury scare in the sixth.Rookie Gleyber Torres was hit in the right forearm by aMiguel Castro fastball but stayed in the game.

RED SOX 5, ASTROS 4Christian Vazquez and Andrew Benintendi slugged

home runs in the seventh inning, and visiting Bostonrallied past Houston. Astros right-hander JustinVerlander surrendered only three hits over six innings,but the Red Sox made him throw 101 pitches, forcingthe Astros to rely on their scuffling bullpen to try tosecure the final nine outs while protecting a one-runlead. Right-hander Will Harris recorded two quick

outs to open the seventhbefore al lowing the firsthomer of the season byVazquez to tie the game. Twobatters later, after Harris (1-3)walked No. 9 hitter JackieBradley Jr., Benintendi hit hiseighth homer several rowsdeep into the upper deck inright for a 5-3 lead.

RANGERS 3, ANGELS 2(10 INNINGS)

Ronald Guzman’s one-out single in the 10th inningoff Jose Alvarez scored Rougned Odor from secondbase, lifting Texas to victory over host Los Angeles.The Rangers entered the ninth inning trailing 2-1 butpushed across a run to tie the game, thanks to areplay challenge. They had runners on first and thirdwith one out when Adrian Beltre flied out to leftagainst Angels reliever Blake Parker. Jurickson Profartagged from third and went home, while Carlos Toccitagged from first and went to second. Left fielderJustin Upton’s throw went to second base, Tocci being

tagged out and Profar reaching home too late for therun to count, essentially ending the game. But theRangers challenged the call, and while Tocci was stillruled out, the call at home was reversed, Profar scor-ing the game-tying run.

DODGERS 12, ROCKIES 4Chris Taylor had two hits in the seventh inning, includ-

ing a triple to cap an eight-run rally, and visiting LosAngeles routed Colorado. Joc Pederson had four hits,including two home runs, and scored four times, MattKemp homered and Pedro Baez (2-3) pitched an inningof relief to get the win for L.A. Trevor Story had threehits and Nolan Arenado singled twice for the Rockies.

GIANTS 2, PHILLIES 0Left-hander Andrew Suarez combined with two

relievers on a three-hit shutout and Joe Panik scoredtwice after a pair of hits as host San Francisco blankedPhiladelphia for the second consecutive game. Suarez,a rookie who had compiled a 5.65 ERA in his first sev-en major league starts this season, stalled the Phillieson three hits over seven innings, pitching the Giants totheir third consecutive win. The game remained score-less until the sixth, when Panik led off with a double.He then scored on a couple of ground balls, takingthird on Brandon Crawford’s bouncer to shortstop anddashing home when Andrew McCutchen hit a rollerslow enough that Panik was able to beat shortstopScott Kingery’s throw to the plate.

TWINS 7, INDIANS 1Eddie Rosario homered, Brian Dozier added two

RBIs and Lance Lynn won his third straight start ashost Minnesota beat Cleveland. Rosario homered in athree-run third inning and Dozier had RBIs in the thirdand in a four-run sixth as the Twins won their secondin a row after losing seven of the previous eight. Lynn(4-4) gave up two hits and one run in six innings, with

five strikeouts, five walks and a hit batter. FrancicsoLindor and Bradley Zimmer had two hits for Cleveland,which scored its only run on a double steal by JasonKipnis and Greg Allen in the second. The Indians hada six-game winning streak broken in the second gameof the series Friday.

CARDINALS 3, PIRATES 2Kolten Wong led off the bottom of the ninth inning

with a walk-off home run to break a tie and give St.Louis the win over visiting Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh haslost 11 of 15, including two games this series in whichSt. Louis has won in a walk-off manner. The Piratesendured a gut-wrenching game in the series openerwhen they overcame one- and four-run deficits totake a three-run lead, only to lose in the bottom ofthe ninth. Austin Meadows, the National LeagueRookie of the Month for May, hit a leadoff homer, hisfifth, to right in the top of the ninth off Cardinalscloser Bud Norris to pull Pittsburgh into a 2-2 tie.Norris (2-1) blew a save after converting each of hisfirst 11 opportunities but picked up the win.

BREWERS 5, WHITE SOX 0Milwaukee launched four home runs to back right-

hander Jhoulys Chacin, who also got some help fromhis bullpen in a victory over host Chicago. Chacin (4-1) outdueled James Shields, who hasn’t won a gamesince Opening Day despite pitching well recently.Shields (1-6) gave up three solo home runs butworked into the eighth inning. The White Sox havelost seven of their last nine games. The Brewers,leaders of the National League Central, have won 12of their last 16 games, and they avoided back-to-back losses for the first time since late April, whenthe Cubs swept them in four games at Wrigley Field.Erik Kratz, Jonathan Villar, Lorenzo Cain and JesusAguilar were responsible for all the scoring withtheir home runs. — Reuters

Scherzer’s pinch single in 14th sparks Nationals over Braves 5-3

Stanton hit a two-run blast for his first home run

ANAHEIM: Rougned Odor #12 of the Texas Rangers dives to the plate beating the throw to MartinMaldonado #12 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 10th inning for the winning run at AngelStadium on Saturday in Anaheim, California. — AFP

SAINT-DENIS: Castres’ players celebrate with the bouclier de Brennus trophy afterwinning the French Top 14 final rugby union match between Montpellier and Castresat the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on Saturday. — AFP

Arenado singled

twice for Rockies

WELLINGTON: All Blacks coachSteve Hansen looks likely to face asevere test of his squad’s depth for thefirst test against France next weekafter a string of injuries over the lastfew days further denuded his alreadydepleted his stocks. The All Blackswere always going to be without cap-tain Kieran Read, who is still recover-ing from back surgery, but the numbereight has been joined on the casualtylist by a handful of other first-choiceplayers.

The latest was Brodie Retallick,who suffered a pectoral injury playingfor the Waikato Chiefs in Super Rugbyon Saturday. Chiefs coach GavinCooper told local media yesterdaythat the injury was serious andRetallick was unlikely to face theFrench in Auckland.

Stand-in skipper Sam Whitelock,Retallick’s second row partner, mustalso be rated doubtful for the EdenPark contest after missing theCanterbury Crusaders’ last threematches because of concussion symp-toms. Cooper had marginally betternews about All Blacks opensideflanker Sam Cane, who, he said, mightnot have been a late withdrawal fromthe Chiefs’ bench with an abdominalstrain on Saturday had the match beena playoff.

Crusaders number eight JordanTaufua (calf) and centre Jack Goodhue(hamstring), both named in Hansen’ssquad for the France series, wereunable to take to the field to face theChiefs because of injuries.

Another loose forward, LiamSquire, faces an almost certain ban ofat least one week after a disciplinaryhearing later tonight, where he willface a charge of dangerous play.Among the contenders to replaceRead at the back of the scrum, Squireled with his shoulder when clearingout Wellington Hurricanes scrumhalfTJ Perenara while playing for theOtago Highlanders on Friday.

Hansen last week called up Chiefsprop Karl Tu’inukuafe to his squad ascover for Tim Perry (hamstring) andwill have been relieved to hear theloosehead was only suffering crampwhen he was taken off the field inHamilton.

First-choice loosehead Joe Moodyrecently returned from shoulder sur-gery, while Kane Hames, who woneight caps last year, has not played atall this season as he battles concus-sion. Goodhue’s injury is just the latestto hit Hansen’s midfield options afterSonny Bill Williams was ruled out forthe series on Friday after undergoingknee surgery. Ryan Crotty, who withWilliams forms Hansen’s preferredcentre partnership, also missed SuperRugby action for the Crusaders onSaturday because of concussion.

The consensus over the last fewyears is that New Zealand could beatmost of their international rivals with ateam of reserves such is their strengthin depth and the world championslook like they could be in the positionof having to prove that against theFrench next Saturday. —Reuters

All Blacks facing test of depthahead of France opener

MLB results/standings

American LeagueAmerican League - EastW L PCT GB

NY Yankees 37 17 .685 -Boston 40 19 .678Tampa Bay 28 29 .491 10.5Toronto 25 33 .431 14Baltimore 17 41 .293 22

American League - CentralCleveland 30 27 .526 -Detroit 28 30 .483 2.5Minnesota 24 30 .444 4.5Kansas City 21 37 .362 9.5Chicago White Sox 17 38 .309 12

American League - WestSeattle 36 22 .621 -Houston 37 23 .617 -LA Angels 31 28 .525 5.5Oakland 30 29 .508 6.5Texas 25 36 .410 12.5

National LeagueNational League - East

Atlanta 34 24 .586 -Washington 33 24 .579 0.5Philadelphia 31 25 .554 2NY Mets 27 29 .482 6Miami 20 38 .345 14

National League - CentralMilwaukee 37 22 .627 -Chicago Cubs 32 23 .582 3St. Louis 31 25 .554 4.5Pittsburgh 30 28 .517 6.5Cincinnati 21 38 .356 16

National League - WestArizona 30 27 .526 -Colorado 30 28 .517 0.5San Francisco 28 30 .483 2.5LA Dodgers 28 30 .483 2.5San Diego 26 34 .433 5.5

Milwaukee 5, Chicago White Sox 0; Kansas City 5, Oakland 4; St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2; NY Yankees 8, Baltimore 5; Washington 5, Atlanta3; Minnesota 7, Cleveland 1; Detroit 7, Toronto 4; LA Dodgers 12, Colorado 4; Chicago Cubs 7, NY Mets 1; Boston 5, Houston 4; San Diego8, Cincinnati 2; Texas 3, LA Angels 2;San Francisco 2, Philadelphia 0; Arizona 6, Miami 2; Seattle 3, Tampa Bay 1.

KLAGENFURT: Joachim Loew slammed “sloppy”Germany as the world champions crashed to a 2-1defeat by Austria on Manuel Neuer’s comeback toleave them winless in their last five games. “If we playlike that in Russia, then we have no chance,” fumedGermany head coach Loew in Klagenfurt on Saturday.

Less than a fortnight before the World Cup kicks offin Russia, Germany have now suffered back-to-backdefeats after also sliding to a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Berlinin March.

The good news from a German perspective is thatBayern Munich goalkeeperNeuer looks set to go to theWorld Cup, having provedhis fitness despite eightmonths on the sidelines dueto injury.

However, when theGermany defence buckled inthe second half, Neuer waspowerless to stop MartinHinteregger and AlessandroSchoepf scoring after MesutOzil had given the Germansan early lead.

“That was a good comeback from Manuel Neuerafter so long out,” said Loew. “He made one or twooutstanding saves, but the defeat annoys me.

“We didn’t put into practice what we had planned.“After the break, we fell into a pattern which I didn’t

like at all and we were far too sloppy in our gamegoing forward.”

However, Loew was keeping calm with one eye onthe World Cup.

“There is a lot of work to do, but we won’t driveourselves crazy,” he said. “In two weeks, the team will

be very differently prepared and I won’t be havingsleepless nights.”

Loew left out World Cup winners Thomas Mueller,Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, butthe Germans only controlled the rain-delayed game forthe first half an hour.

Loew declined to comment when a poll by nationalbroadcaster ZDF showed the majority of German fanswould rather see Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-AndreTer Stegen than Neuer play at the World Cup.

‘KEEP CALM’ Both Neuer and Ter

Stegen are set to fly toRussia. Despite missing259 days with a fracturedfoot, Neuer looked sharpbut Loew says he will seehow his goalkeeper’sproblematic left footreacts on Sunday.

This was Austria’s firstwin over their neighboursin nearly 32 years - datingback to October 1986

when Rudi Voeller scored West Germany’s only goal ina 4-1 defeat in Vienna. Austria’s match-winner still seesGermany as among the favourites to defend theirworld title in Russia.

“It’s always fun to win, but it is especially niceagainst Germany,” said Schalke midfielder Schoepf.

“But they have some quality players and are still oneof the favourites for the title. Loew must cut fournames on Monday before Germany name their final 23-man World Cup squad and several players have reasonto worry.

“After the break, we couldn’t find a structure thatdeserved to win against Austria,” said Nils Petersen.The Freiburg striker was the top scoring German in theBundesliga, but is one of the chief candidates to beaxed after making his debut for 76 minutes againstAustria.

“I’ll keep calm and let myself be surprised by what-ever happens on Monday,” said the ex-Bayern Munichstriker. Germany play Saudi Arabia in Leverkusen onFriday in their final warm-up match before facingMexico in Moscow in their opening World Cup matchon June 17. — AFP

Serena ‘betrayed’ as Sharapovafeud fires upFrench OpenPARIS: Serena Williams will be fired up totighten her 14-year grip on Maria Sharapovaby a sense of betrayal as the two iconic starsplay out the latest chapter of their bitter feudat the French Open today.

Sharapova has not defeated her fellow for-mer world number one since 2004 — a streakof 18 matches-the same year she made herglobal breakthrough at Wimbledon as a slen-der teenager prone to fits of giggles.

The 22nd match of their one-sided rivalrywill once again be played out against a familiarsoundtrack of suspicion and bad blood.Williams, the three-time French Open champi-on and 23-time major winner, has vented heranger at Sharapova’s claims that she had weptafter losing the 2004 Wimbledon title match.

The 36-year-old American described refer-ences to her as “100 percent hearsay” whileother revelations in Sharapova’s memoir,‘Unstoppable’, she dismissed as “not necessar-ily true”. Williams is particularly angry asSharapova’s claims came just months after theAmerican had hailed her for the manner inwhich she announced her failed drugs test atthe 2016 Australian Open.

“I was one of the few people that said thatshe was brave to say something,” saidWilliams referring to Sharapova’s “drug inci-dent”. “I didn’t have anything negative to sayabout Maria.”

Sharapova’s test for meldonium led to a 15-month ban. Ironically, the Russian’s last matchbefore her suspension was against Williams inthe quarter-finals in Melbourne. Williams has

monopolised their on-court clashes for the last14 years so much so that Sharapova has takenjust one set in a decade. Despite that, theRussian, with five Slams to her name, stillbrings in the serious money.

‘BLACK HEART’ Her net worth was valued at $285 million by

Forbes last year while, according The Richlist,Williams’s financial assets were estimated at$170 million. Elsewhere, as she rebuilt her rep-utation, Sharapova featured in a no warts at allNetflix documentary ‘The Point’.

Not to be outdone, Serena opened thedoors to HBO for a four-part mini-series,‘Being Serena’, focussing on her homelife andreturn to action after the birth of daughterOlympia. As well as vying for commercial and

PR supremacy, the two have fought very pub-lic battles over their private lives. On the eveof Wimbledon in 2013, Williams gave anexplosive interview to Rolling Stone magazinein which she left nobody in any doubt as toher target.

“She begins every interview with ‘I’m sohappy. I’m so lucky’ - it’s so boring,” saidWilliams without namechecking the Russian.“She’s still not going to be invited to the coolparties. And, hey, if she wants to be with theguy with a black heart, go for it.” The ‘blackheart’ was a not so subtle reference toBulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, arumoured former boyfriend of Williams, whowas then dating Sharapova. A few days later,at a Wimbledon news conference, Sharapovaaimed a trademark icy riposte. — AFP


27Established 1961

Loew fumes as ‘sloppy’ Germany crash on Neuer’s comeback

‘If we play like that in Russia, then we have no chance’

KLAGENFURT: Austria’s Peter Zulj (C) vies with Germany’s Niklas Sule (R) during the international friendlyfootbal match Austria versus Germany in Klagenfurt, Austria, on Saturday. — AFP

Southgate ready to protect SterlingLONDON: Gareth Southgate claimsRaheem Sterling justified his decisionto protect the troubled England stardespite his booking for divingagainst Nigeria. Southgate kept faithwith Sterling after a troubled weekfor the Manchester City winger andhe responded with a mixed perform-ance in Saturday’s 2-1 win in theWorld Cup warm-up at Wembley.

Sterling had been forced to apol-ogise to his England team-matesafter turning up to their trainingcamp a day late following a flightmix-up on his way back from a holi-day. Adding to Sterling’s woes, the23-year-old endured criticism forunveiling a new tattoo of an M16assault rifle on his calf that he saidwas a tribute to his father, who wasshot dead when the City star was achild.

Southgate had considered drop-ping Sterling for the Nigeria clash,but after what the England managerperceived as unfair criticism of thetattoo, he decided it was right tostand by his man. Sterling partially

repaid Southgate’s faith with a livelyfirst-half display which included set-ting up Harry Kane for England’ssecond goal.

But that was overshadowed whenhe was booked for an embarrassingdive in a failed attempt to win a sec-ond-half penalty. Southgate said hehadn’t clear seen the incident so hedidn’t want to publicly reprimandSterling.

“I’ve not had a chance to see thatback again, it looked a very tight callfrom where I was sitting. He wastravelling at such speed,” he said.Asked whether he was relieved tosee Sterling give a committed per-formance following his difficult week,Southgate said: “It wasn’t about get-ting a response, I knew with the formhe was in he would play well.

“I had a decision about whetherto play him when he turned up late,but once he started coming underfire from all directions it wasn’t a dif-ficult decision. “The most importantjob for me is to protect the players.The lateness was 10 days ago, howlong do you go on with something?

“The situation was one we didn’twant to happen and one we don’twant to see again. “But I think thatwas the best way to deal with it. Youhave to balance the message to thegroup.” A contrite Sterling insisted hehad no complaints about Southgate’shandling of the incidents. — AFP

They have some quality

players

(COMBO/FILES) In this combination of file photographs created yesterday, Russia’s MariaSharapova (L) plays a forehand return to Netherland’s Richel Hogenkamp during theirwomen’s first round match and Serena Williams of the US plays a backhand return toGermany’s Julia Goerges during their women’s singles third round match.— AFP

Nigeria must improve before WCup: MikelLONDON: Nigeria captain John ObiMikel admits his side have to improvequickly if they are to make an impact atthe World Cup. The Super Eagles lost 2-1 to England in a friendly at Wembley onSaturday.Nigeria were punished for adismal first half display as goals fromGary Cahill and Harry Kane put Englandin control.

Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi pulled one backfor the visitors after the interval, butNigeria couldn’t find an equaliserdespite their improved second half per-formance. Mikel knows Nigeria have tosharpen up in Russia if they to getthrough a tough group featuringArgentina, Iceland and Croatia.

“We are a very young team and wehave to learn, it is good for this youngteam to have a taste of what we aregoing to face in Russia,” Mikel said. “Wehave to learn together as a team, we haveto improve and that is why we played thisgame against such a quality side.

“We can know where we are and nowwe go back to training and try andimprove.” Coach Gernot Rohr agreed

with Mikel’s assessment that Nigeriahave much to work on. But the Nigeriaboss blamed their slow start on fatiguecaused by a difficult journey to Englandand rain that stopped them training theday before the match.

“The first lesson is we are not readyyet. We have to work much more in thetwo weeks before our first game,” theGerman said. “We missed totally the firsthalf but the preparation wasn’t good.“We couldn’t train on Friday because ofrain, the pitch wasn’t good. We arrivedafter a 10 hour flight, with many stops.

“In the first half our usual formationdidn’t work. Some of our players weren’t fitand England put the pressure on us. “Thisbad beginning was an opportunity tochange and play a bit more like England inthe second half. It was much better. “Alsowe changed four players. Unfortunately wecan’t change four players if there is a prob-lem in the World Cup.”

Meanwhile, former Chelsea midfielderMikel saw enough from England to feel hecan back Gareth Southgate’s team aspotential World Cup winners. “I think theyhave a very good chance of going all theway because the youthfulness and energyin this team... you can feel it,” he said.

“I think the pace in the team, you canfeel it, and that is why we had someproblems in the first half. “In the secondhalf we corrected some mistakes andplayed a lot better. I think the Englandteam have a good chance.” — AFP

Kuznetsov soars as Capitals seize 2-1 series leadWASHUNGTON: Evgeny Kuznetsov washealthy enough to provide a goal and anassist as the Washington Capitals defeatedthe Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in Game 3 ofthe Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night atCapital One Arena in Washington. TheCapitals are in good shape, too, as their topplayers keep producing in the postseason.

Alex Ovechkin and Devante Smith-Pellyalso scored for Washington. The Capitals leadthe best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 isMonday night in Washington. Ovechkin con-tinues to come through with solid production,and it’s no surprise that he’s maintaining ahigh level of play during this high-profile timeof the season.

“You can tell by the expressions on hisface all the time, his emotion,” Washingtoncoach Barry Trotz said of his star winger.Saturday night marked the first Stanley CupFinal game in Washington in two decades,with the Capitals winning on home ice for the

first time at this stage of the season. Theywent 0-2 at home in the 1998 finals againstthe Detroit Red Wings.

While much is being made about theCapitals playing at home in pursuit of theirfirst Stanley Cup championship, Trotz wantsthe team to keep to its principles. “I don’tthink we change at home,” he said. “I justthink managing the puck is a key for us athome. When we do that, we do it well. We’repretty effective.”

Washington goalie Braden Holtby made 21saves. Holtby faced only 13 shots through twoperiods. Tomas Nosek scored for Vegas,which has lost two games in a row. Vegas, anexpansion team bidding for history, hasdropped consecutive playoff games for thefirst time.

The team’s bounce-back ability is one ofits strengths, coach Gerard Gallant said.“We’ve done that all year,” Gallant said.Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleurystopped 23 shots. The Golden Knights playedbetter defensively than earlier in the series, sothat was a positive step. Gallant said tighten-ing up the defense was one of the priorities.

“I think we know the way we want toplay,” Fleury said. “We just have to execute it.I think this group has been through it togeth-er.” Kuznetsov, the NHL playoff scoringleader, was on the ice after suffering anupper-body injury in Game 2, creating uncer-

tainty about his availability. Kuznetsov hasregistered 27 points in the postseason,including an assist on Ovechkin’s goal.

Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik alsowas in the lineup after he needed stitches torepair a finger injury sustained in Game 2.However, he wasn’t on the ice late in thegame, receiving some treatment for an undis-closed ailment.

Neither team scored in the first period, witha total of 12 shots on goal. While some of thescoring chances might have seemed tame com-pared to the two games in Las Vegas, there wasno shortage of action. The Capitals had anapparent first-period goal nullified because ofgoalie interference against Smith-Pelly.

Ovechkin’s goal came 70 seconds into thesecond period. It was his 14th goal of thepostseason. Kuznetsov scored with 7:10 leftin the second period to give the Capitals a2-0 lead. While one of Vegas’ goals was tocut down on the space the Capitals had towork with on the offensive end, that lastedonly so long. Washington posted 14 second-period shots.

Nosek scored 3:29 into the third period.That ended Holtby’s home-ice streak of morethan 103 minutes without yielding a goal.Smith-Pelly’s goal eased some tension for theCapitals, coming with 6:07 to play. Jay Beaglepicked up his second assist of the game onthe scoring sequence. — Reuters

SportLorenzo wins Italian MotoGP as champion Marquez finishes 16th

Urdapilleta guides Castres past Montpellier to Top 14 title

Loew fumes as ‘sloppy’ Germany crash on Neuer’s comeback2725 26

Established 1961


Zverev reaches first Grand Slam q-finalPARIS: German second seed Alexander Zverev claimedhis third successive comeback win at the French Opento reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final yesterday,edging Russian Karen Khachanov in five sets.

The 21-year-old played some stunning tennis in theclosing stages of a dramatic 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3fourth-round victory and will next face Dominic Thiemwho reached a third successive quarter-final in Paris byseeing off Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4.

World number 38 Khachanov has now lost at thelast-16 stage at Roland Garros twice in a row, whileZverev ended his wait for a maiden major last-eightappearance at the 12th attempt. “Well, I’m young, so Imight as well stay on court, get some practice andentertain you guys,” smiled Zverev, who is bidding tobecome the first German man to win the French Opensince 1937.

“Me and my brother are guys that spend three, fourhours a day in the gym, lifting heavy weights, on thetreadmill. It paid off today.” A tight first set heated up inthe 10th game when Zverev saved two set points, thesecond after becoming incensed when the umpire over-turned a line call of out from a Khachanov shot.

But the Russian sealed the set at the third time ofasking, leaving the world number three needing a fight-back for the third consecutive match. There was excite-ment at the end of the second set too as a marathongame saw Zverev fail to serve it out to level the match,firing long on Khachanov’s fifth break point after wast-ing three set points.

But the German gathered himself, taking a tie-breakas the momentum swung back in his favour. That proveda false dawn for Zverev, though, as Khachanov easedthrough the third set with some powerful hitting.

But Zverev, as he did in his wins over Dusan Lajovicand Damir Dzumhur, forced a decider, sealing the setwith an ace after saving two break points. And hesecured an impressive victory, finishing the match with63 winners and 17 aces.

Former champion Novak Djokovic faces FernandoVerdasco later in the day, looking to reach the lasteight of a Grand Slam for the first t ime sinceWimbledon last year.

American 13th seed Madison Keys reached the quar-ter-finals for the first time with a 6-1, 6-4 win overRomania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu. Keys, the US Open run-ner-up last year, will face either Czech 26th seedBarbora Strycova or Yulia Putintseva, the 98th-rankedKazakh, for a place in the semi-finals.

The 23-year-old American has now reached at leastthe last-eight of all four majors, after ending the dream

run of Buzarnescu, who had never won a Grand Slammatch before the tournament.

“First week, my goal is to get to the second week,”said Keys. “Then once you get to the second week,every match obviously has more nerves, and there’smore on the line and all of that.” Later yesterday,Caroline Wozniacki will look to continue her sereneprogress so far against Russian youngster DariaKasatkina. But all eyes will be on today’s showdownbetween Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, with thelatter trying to end an 18-match losing streak to her bit-ter rival. Three-time champion Williams is playing herfirst Grand Slam tournament since taking time off lastyear due to pregnancy, while Sharapova is at RolandGarros for the first time in three years after serving adoping ban in 2016 and being refused a wildcard 12months ago. — AFP

Keys sees off Buzarnescu at French Open

PARIS: Germany’s Alexander Zverev returns the ball to Russia’s Karen Khachanov during their men’s singles fourth round match on day eight of The Roland Garros 2018 French Open tennis tournament in Paris yesterday. — AFP

OAKLAND: Cleveland’s LeBron James, knownfor bouncing back stronger from playoff losses,promises such heroics in the NBA Finals afterwhat he calls one of the toughest defeats of hiscareer. Defending champion Golden State openedthe best-of-seven championship series with a 124-114 over-time home victory Thursday after theCavaliers led in the final seconds.

Referees reversed a charging foul on Warriorsforward Kevin Durant on video review into ablocking foul on James in the final minute of regu-lation time and Cleveland’s J.R. Smith squandereda last shot chance in the fourth quarter apparentlyunaware the score was level.

“It’s one of the toughest losses I’ve had in mycareer,” James said Saturday. “Because of every-

thing that kind of went on with the game and theway we played.

“It was a tough 24 hours... for our whole ball-club because we put ourselves in a great positionto be successful.” James scored 51 points, grabbedeight rebounds and passed off eight assists, hisscoring total the most in an NBA Finals gamesince 1993 and the most ever in a losing cause.

But far from demoralized, James said he is re-energized by the chance to level the series beforethe scene changes to Cleveland next week in thefourth consecutive finals between the two clubs.

“You should feel excited about the opportunityto be better and be great and move forward,”James said. “I woke up feeling excited about theopportunity that presents itself tomorrow.

“I expect us to come and play with the samegrit we had in game one. And we made a lot ofmistakes in game one. I expect us to be better.”Improvements after defeats have become a Jamestrademark in the playoffs. Four times after pro-ducing fewer than 27 points in a post-season lossthis year, James has scored 42 or more in the fol-lowing contest.

But where do you go from 51 points? “Thatmeans he has to score 60 now, right?” Cavs coachTyronn Lue said of James. “Well, got to score 60

tomorrow then I guess. “After a loss, it’s tough. ButI think he always comes out and leads by exampleand sets the tone early. I think, offensively, weneed him to do that, especially on this floor withtheir crowd and the way they play. We need himto set the tone early in all the games.”

Stephen Curry, who led the Warriors with 29points in the opener, says his team will be moreaggressive in keeping James from comfortable sit-uations. “We’ve got to be a little bit more aggres-sive,” Curry said. “It just means doing things a lit-tle bit faster, a little bit more physical, and tryingto make not just him but everybody else moreuncomfortable out there to start the game. I thinkwe can do that.” Draymond Green poked James inthe right eye during a drive to the basket that theCavs playmaker says looks worse than it hurts.“There is going to be a little animosity and a littleedginess,” Curry said. “We’re enjoying the com-petitive environment.” A victory today would putthe Warriors halfway to their third crown in fourseasons, the other denied when Cleveland ralliedfrom 3-1 down in the greatest comeback in NBAFinals history. “They might have been deflated,and they came back and won. So we’re expectinganother great effort from them,” Warriors coachSteve Kerr said. — AFP

LeBron vows NBA fightback after ‘one of toughest career losses’

England win second Test LEEDS: England thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 55 runs to winthe second Test at Headingley yesterday. Victory, completed insidethree days, saw England level the two-match series at 1-1 afterPakistan won the first Test at Lord’s by nine wickets.

It was also England’s first victory in a Test match since they beatthe West Indies at Lord’s in September, with the side having endureda winless run of six defeats in eight Tests coming into this fixture. Bysharing the spoils in this short campaign, England avoided a thirdsuccessive series defeat after reverses in Australia and New Zealand.

Jos Buttler’s blistering 80 not out yesterday saw England to atotal of 363 and commanding first-innings lead of 189. Pakistan thencollapsed to 134, losing their last seven wickets for just 50 runs.Stuart Broad took three for 28 and off-spinner Dominic Bessgrabbed his first wickets at Test level in a return of three for 33.

The match ended when England captain Joe Root, on hisYorkshire home ground, held a sharp slip catch to dismiss last manMohammad Abbas off the bowling of Broad.Brief scores:

Pakistan 1st Innings 174 (Shadab Khan 56; S Broad 3-38, JAnderson 3-43, C Woakes 3-55).

England 1st Innings 363 (J Buttler 80 no; Faheem Ashraf 3-60).Pakistan 2nd Innings 134 (S Broad 3-28, D Bess 3-33). — AFP