1913US, UAE launch anti-IS online messaging center

Barca keep big money stars on the sidelines14

A secret to IS success: Shock troops who fight to the death

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THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015 RAMADAN 22, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

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Lawmakers urge action

as sand blocks highwaysMP Awdah warns of dispute over Oil Minister

‘Holy month’

develops love

Ramadan Kareem

By Teresa Lesher

Ramadan is a month of intensified charity, com-munity relations, forgiveness and compassion.The Quran encourages the reader to spend in

charity, saying, “You will never attain virtue until youspend something of what you love...” (3:92) - Thismeans that you should give to others what you lovefor yourself, and in Ramadan we realize how much allpeople love and need food and water. By experienc-ing hunger and thirst, the faster is reminded of theimportance of providing for the poor’s basic needs.

The Quran never explicitly commands us to “Loveone another,” but it does have many commands tobehave as though we love one another, regardless ofour feelings. “Say kind words to people...” (2:83)“Pardon and overlook their misdeeds” (5:13) “Do notspy on one another, nor let any of you backbite oth-ers...” (49:12) and to “...judge with justice...” (5:42). Itsays that “A good deed and an evil deed are not alike;repay [evil] with something that is finer, and see howsomeone who is separated from you by enmity willbecome a bosom friend.” (41:33)

Continued on Page 13

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Two MPs yesterday called on the Ministry ofPublic Works to immediately take all the necessary meas-ures to clear large quantities of sand that closed the Wafraroad as a result of massive dust storms. MP Saud Al-Huraijisaid in a statement that the accumulation of large quanti-ties of sand on a number of key roads like Wafra and Salmiand blocking traffic is a failure for the Ministry. He said theMinistry’s failure to carry out the necessary maintenanceand repairs on important roads and to clear these roadsfrom sand has resulted in a number of fatal accidents.

Kuwait has been hit by a powerful sand storm for thepast few days as a result of strong northwesterly winds.The raising of dust was assisted by the fact that desertsand this year is too loose because of the lack of rain. Hesaid that Ministry of Public Works officials have maintaineda deaf ear to repeated appeals to carry out regular mainte-nance on key roads, especially the 100-km Salmi roadwhich leads to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border post in Salmi.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Worshippers pray inside the Grand Mosque on the eve of the 21st day of Ramadan. Thousands ofworshippers flocked to the Grand Mosque on the eve of the 21st day of Ramadan late Tuesday night to per-form the late night prayers. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page 6)

KUWAIT: Civil Service Commission (CSC) announcedyesterday that Eid Al-Fitr holiday would be on Friday,July 17 and would end Monday, July 20. The CSC saidin a brief statement, that Eid Al-Fitr holiday wouldend on Monday, July 20, whether the Eid began onFriday or Saturday. It urged government authoritieswith special working hours and shift-system toarrange their work timings. — KUNA

Eid holiday July 17-20

KUWAIT: Scientists from The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administr-ation (NOAA) said May 2015 was thehottest month around the world sincerecording of temperatures began in1880. Many events were witnessed inthe latest weeks, such as the heat wavein India that led to the death of manypeople, the historic drought onAmerica’s west coast, heavy rains inTexas and Oklahoma that killed 21 per-sons and floods in central Europe.Several cities in France were placed onalert because of the record tempera-tures they are experiencing. Theseevents reinforce the need for politicaldecision makers and the civil society toacknowledge that atmospheric change

is a fact, and are a reminder of thenecessity to work collectively to dealwith this international problem.

Weather extremes Torrential rains have become more

frequent worldwide since 1980, withSoutheast Asia getting the biggestincrease in downpours, a scientificstudy said. The report adds to evidencethat rising man-made greenhouse gasemissions are stoking extremes fromheatwaves to precipitation. Warmer airabsorbs more moisture, which then canbe dumped in downpours. “We find aclear overall upward trend for theseunprecedented hazards,” lead authorJascha Lehmann of the Potsdam

Continued on Page 13

World urged to tackle climate

change; several cities on alert

Torrential rains increasing in warming world

RIYADH: A US aircraft carrier in the Gulf hosted one ofSaudi Arabia’s most powerful figures, official media saidyesterday, as regional concerns mount over allegedinterference by Iran. Deputy Crown Prince MohammedBin Salman, who is also defense minister, boarded theUSS Theodore Roosevelt which is operating in Gulfwaters, the Saudi Press Agency said. “The visit comes inresponse to an invitation by the US Department ofDefense,” it said, adding that Salman was briefed on thecarrier’s weapons and operations.

The ship is operating in the area of the US Navy’s FifthFleet, which is based in Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Bahrain.Salman’s visit comes as Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabiaand other Gulf states worry that Washington, their tradi-tional defense partner in the region, is not taking serious-

ly enough their concerns about what they consider ShiiteIran’s “destabilizing acts” in the Middle East. Those con-cerns have grown as the United States, France, Britain,China, Germany and Russia try to finalize with Tehran anagreement to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon.

Gulf states are worried that Iran could still be able todevelop an atomic bomb under the emerging deal toend 12 years of nuclear tensions. Saudi Arabia has beendeepening ties with France and other major powersbeyond its traditional US ally, while also adopting amore assertive foreign policy of its own. A Saudi-ledArab coalition in March began bombing Iran-backedShiite rebels in Yemen. The United States has beenassisting the coalition with aerial refueling and intelli-gence. — AFP

Saudi royal visits US warship

as regional tensions mount

AT SEA: Saudi deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman (2nd from left) looks at theflight deck during a visit to the USS aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt which is operating in Gulf waters. — AFP

L O C A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: One man was critically injured in afive-vehicle collision at the Fahaheel Highwaytowards Kuwait City yesterday. Firefighters andparamedics worked for 45 minutes to removethe man who got trapped under the dash-board inside his wrecked vehicle. He was hos-pitalized with a critical spinal injury, total legparalysis, internal bleeding in the pelvis area,low blood pressure as well as shock and trou-ble breathing. No other injuries were reportedin the accident. A case was filed to investigatethe circumstances which led to the accident.

Unlicensed weaponA stateless person was recently arrested

with possession of an unlicensed weapon, saidsecurity sources. Case papers indicated thatthe suspect had sent someone a video inwhich he appeared holding a Kalashnikovmachine gun, threatening to kill someone.Seeing the video, detectives issued a searchwarrant and raided the suspect’s house andonly found two empty magazines. But afterconfronting him with investigation results, thesuspect confessed and led detectives to anearby open yard where he had buried themachine gun after dismantling it. A case was

filed and the suspect was referred to relevantauthorities.

Drug arrestTwo Sri Lankan men were recently arrested

with the possession of 76 packs of heroin, twopacks of crystal meth and 31 Roach tablets.

Police Patrol Director Major General ZuhairAl-Nassrallah noted that a patrol had spottedthe two suspects near a Farwaniya mosqueand approaching their vehicle; they foundboth suspects already high on drugs andlooked confused. A case was filed and the sus-pects were referred to relevant authorities.

TrappedA citizen was trapped inside his vehicle’s

wreckage when he lost control over his vehicleand it rolled over along Slami highway.Security sources noted that firemen and a res-cue team had to be dispatched to the scene tocut the wreckage steel open and free the man.He was later handed over to paramedics.

Truck crashA terrible collision took place between two

trucks near Nuwaiseeb border exit. Securitysources said that Nuwaiseeb firemen rushed

to the scene and hastened to free the twotruck drivers from the wreckage since one ofthem had already lost one leg and both hadbeen seriously injured. A fireman injured hishand in the process and had to be taken to thehospital for treatment.

Jahra fireA fire broke out in a cafÈ in a Jahra shop-

ping mall, said security sources noting thatJahra firemen rushed to the scene and man-aged to control the fire and prevent it fromspreading to adjacent stores or buildings. Nocasualties were reported.

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Kuwait Times is publishingdaily reviews of three Kuwaiti soapoperas aired on Al Rai TV. Here is thereview of the 20th episodes:

‘Qabil lil Kaser’Jinan tells Yousef that Wed wants

to marry Rakan, one of the childrenthat Moza adopted, but he refuses.Jinan convinced him to think aboutit, especially that their parents toldthem to always help Moza and herchildren. She also tells him if theylove each other, nobody can sepa-rate them.

Wed tells Rakan that Jinan agreed.Yousef then talks to Wed to tell himhis opinion about this marriage. Hibatells Yousef he should not rebuffRakan, especially if he loves Wed andalso that he made inquiries abouthim and didn’t f ind any criminalrecord.

Hadeel is fed up of waiting to getmarried, especial ly s ince al l herfriends got married. She tells Ali hehas to marry Jinan so he gets rich,and her parents agree that he mar-ries her. Ali tells Rakan what Hadeeltold him, and when he mentions thename of Wed and Jinan, he getsupset, but Ali tells him he wouldnever do such a thing.

Raja and Sulaiman get marriedsecretly. He asks Raja about Jinanand about the store and Ali. She isannoyed by his questions aboutJinan all the time, and when gettingangry, he says he wants to make surethat Jinan will not send him to jail forthe money he took from her.

Fahd’s father dyes his hair andmoustache to attract his colleagueMariam. He also asks Fahd to recorda CD with love songs for him, and hepresent it to Mariam.

‘Ummina Rwehit Al Jannah’At the wedding of Fawz y and

Nouf, Futuh is welcoming the guestsand when her friend asks about hermother about the mother of bride,she says she is not around, althoughNooriya is behind her. Futuh makesfun of her dress and insults her. Thekids tell Fatma, who then changesher outfit with Nooriya and goes toFutuh, who gets angry seeing her inthat dress.

When Fawziya asks Fayza forchewing gum, she tells her it’s in herpurse and when Fayza opens thepurse, she finds a pregnancy test andis shocked as Fayza is not married.But Fayza explains that she is mar-ried secretly to Hamad since twoyears. Fatma hears their conversa-tion, so she orders Fayza to do thetest, which is negative.

Ghada comes to the weddingand Taiba welcomes her. Ghada asksher if she solved her problem withFarouq and Taiba sa id yes andadded that Farouq is now stayingwith them in Fatma’s house. Shealso said that he told her he had anaffair with some woman just to havefun and that he feels sorry for thatand that he will get rid of her soon.

Ghala is wearing white and allcriticize her for that. She takes thewalkie-talkie to Nouf so she speaksto the DJ, and when she sees her,she changes her makeup to darkercolors then leaves. On the stairs, shemeets Fatma, who blames her forwearing white, asking her what shewants. She also tells Ghala to forgetFawzy forever and start her new lifefrom tonight. Nouf hears this con-versation through the walkie-talkieand is very upset.

‘Thakira min Waraq’ Hamad comes to take Shouq for

the picnic in the countryside houseby car. When he arrives, she askswhere are Najd and Mashael, so hesays Mashael went to buy some -thing and he will pick them up on

the way. He also apologizes for whathe did in the past.

I t ’s all Mashaels plan to causeproblems between Nawaf andShouq. She tells Najd that Shouq isgoing with her boyfriend, so Najddoesn’t want to go and asks Mashaelwhy she is not going. She says thatShouq wants to go alone with herboyfriend, but Najd doesn’t believeher and cal ls Shouq. Shouq hasgone to buy something and Hamadanswers, so she cuts the line.

Mashael calls Nawaf to see himand take him to a place where hewi l l f ind Shouq with a man in ahouse. He doesn’t believe her butgoes with her. When Shouq arriveswith Hamad, he tells her to enterthe house as the weather is verycold, but she refuses, insisting towait for the girls, who are supposedto come. Then she calls Mashael,who said they just left so they needmore than an hour, and Hamad con-vinces her to enter the house.

Hamad tel ls Shouq that herbrother Fawaz helped him when hewas rehabilitating from drugs as hewas an addic t . And that Fawazasked him to watch Shouq as hestudies in the same school. WhenNawaf arrives, Mashael waits out-side and Nawaf enters the house tofind Hamad talking to Shouq andthey start fighting. Hamad leaveswith Mashael and Shouq tells Nawafsaying it’s not like what he thinks,but he doesn’t bel ieve her andthinks she is dat ing Hamad. Hedidn’t know it was her plan, but hesuspects it.

Al i ’s mother goes to v is i t herbrother’s house, and the parents ofNajd are talking to her by video call,and Najd asks her about Ali . Themother tells her Ali loves her verymuch. Najd calls Ali the other day,but he doesn’t want to speak to herand accuses her of being withoutfeelings.

Ramadan soap operas’ review

KUWAIT: Firefighters work on removing the man from awrecked vehicle following an accident at FahaheelHighway yesterday.

Rescuers break the car’s door to help the injured manout.

The man is picuted with his weapon in this handoutphoto.

The drugs found with the Sri Lankan men.

Motorist critically hurt in 5-car pileup

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Worksand Labor (MSAL) announced that it hadwithdrawn the administration of 16 wed-ding halls in different areas aroundKuwait. The ministry will directly run thehalls until further notice. Meanwhile,MSAL’s halls organization and construc-tion committee allowed 6 new donors tobuild six new halls. Separately, MSAL saidthat its projects on the 2015-2016 fiscalyear were 24, adding that the projectswill be reduced to only 15 in 2016-2017.

Road developmentThe Central Tenders Committee (CTC)

recently approved a project to build, exe-cute and maintain road stretches andintersections on the western side of theFifth Ring Road, with a total cost of KD108,8 million.

The project involves widening theFifth Ring Road between its intersectionwith the Sixth Ring Road and its intersec-tion with the East Ardhiya road, in orderto change it into an expressway withoutany traffic lights and add more pedestri-an bridges.

Food authority Kuwait Municipality said that it no

longer handles food-related issues follow-ing the establishment of the Food PublicAuthority as a specialized state depart-ment. The municipality urged MunicipalCouncil members to instead submit food-related proposals to the newly-establishedauthority. The Food Public Authority isnow responsible for setting and inspectinghealth conditions in various food-relatedfacilities, slaughterhouses, poultry outletsand butchers, the municipality explained.The new authority is also responsible forfighting food-related commercial fraud.

Ministry to run 16 wedding halls

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: The Court of Appeals adjourned hearing acase in which 70 citizens are accused of breaking intothe National Assembly (NA) building to September 2so that the public prosecution could prepare its argu-ment.

Hearing postponedThe Criminal Court yesterday postponed hearing

a case in which a citizen was accused of murdering acolleague at the Ministry of Electricity and Water’semergency department in Saad Al-Abdullah. Thecourt also rejected a request to release the suspecton bail.

Emergency landing A Kuwait Airways (KAC) flight made an emergency

landing Tuesday evening at Al MaktoumInternational Airport in Dubai due to engine trouble.The plane landed safely and no injuries among pas-sengers were reported.

Interior warns of sand dunes

on northern, southern roads

Ministry clarifies ‘radical poster’ reports

NA break-in hearing

moved to September 2

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior ’s Relations andSecurity Media Department warned road users ofweather changes and strong winds that may causesand dunes on some open roads to the north andsouth of the country, namely Wafra, Salmi, Subbiyaand Buhaith highways.

The department also noted that in collaborationwith Ministry of Public Works, Kuwait Municipality andthe Civil Defense Department, the Interior Ministry’sGeneral Traffic Department started dealing with thesand, adding six bulldozers had been sent to Wafraroad, five to Um Safaq road, two to Abdali and Subbiyaroads, four to Al-Salmi road, one to the sixth ring roadand three to Kabed and all the way to Ahmed Al-JaberBase.

PosterOn another concern, the department also refuted

social media reports showing a picture of a vehiclewith a poster promoting a radical organization inside agas station. The department noted that the vehicle’sowner was summoned, adding that the vehicle wasexamined and that no traces of any provocativeposters were found on it. The owner has a clear crimi-nal record and was not found to be wanted by authori-ties, the department said.

L O C A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: He may consider himself anaccidental diplomat, but for manyFilipinos in Kuwait, Ambassador RenatoPedro Villa’s track record especially as aformer Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)is really worth a thousand words. Thenew Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait,Villa assumed his post last June 2015,following confirmation by thePhilippines’ senate early this year. Villapresented his credentials to HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah one weekafter arrival and Kuwait is his f irstambassadorial assignment.

Former OFW“I was a former OFW in Jubail,

K ingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Iworked as a technical writer at SaudiPetrochemicals for three years before Iconsidered taking the Foreign ServiceOfficer (FSO) examinations at theDepartment of Foreign Affairs,” he said.Villa added that the exam was acciden-tal, because at that time he was alreadyconsidering a job back to Saudi Arabiaso he could finance his small business,but then suddenly he saw an advertise-ment about the Foreign Service exams.“I took the exam knowing I will not belosing anything for trying. Thank God Ipassed,” he shared.

United Arab EmiratesAfter a two-year stint in APEC (Asia-

Pacific Economic Cooperation) as mediarelations officer under the office ofUndersecretary Federico Macaranas,Vil la was posted in Abu Dhabi, theUnited Arab Emirates as a form ofreward for a so-called ‘job well done’.DFA posted Villa in the consular sectionheading the Assistance to Nationals. Heserved in Abu Dhabi from 1997-2003and his official title was Third Secretaryand Vice Consul.

JordanFrom Abu Dhabi, his next assignment

was in Amman Jordan from Nov 2005-2008 as First Secretar y and ConsulGeneral. Villa considered the Jordanpost as very challenging. “I was postedthere when the moratorium (temporaryban) for OFWs was implemented. The

situation of Filipinos is really in direneed of assistance. It was difficult. Forexample, if you absconded; you willhave to follow the procedure from levelone. They are strict with abscondingcases unlike other countries where case-to-case basis is being observed. Jordanis strict to people violating their immi-gration laws,” he said.

Villa worked in Jordan for four years,then back to Manila home base wherehe handled a technical directorial postat the Office of the Undersecretary forMigrant Workers Affairs (OMWA). “I han-dled basically every single case wereceived from OFWs at OMWA. My expe-riences as embassy staff in various

countries extensively helped me to pur-sue and do much more for my country-men,” he said.

MalaysiaVilla was assigned to Malaysia after-

wards from 2008 to 2012, where hedescribed the immigration environmentthere as quite different. He said KualaLumpur has about 50,000 Filipinos andthere are about 500,000 Filipinos inSabah and Sarawak states in Malaysia.“Most of them are undocumented so wehave to deal with this immigrationproblem. Thank God I f inished fouryears in Malaysia and got a 10-monthterm extension,” he said. When the 2013Lahad Datu standoff took place, where

14 people died, Villa was deployed backto Malaysia. “I stayed for one month toensure that everything is well withMalaysians and Filipinos there,” he said.

KuwaitVilla was thrilled when he heard the

news that he was being considered inthe post as Philippine Ambassador toKuwait. “I was really elated, becauseonce again I would be able to help ourcompatriots and hope to strengthenfurther our bilateral ties with Kuwait. Iaccepted Kuwait’s post because I knewfrom the start if we work together mira-cles can happen,” he said.

Villa said he can use the art of diplo-

macy which he learned in his previouspostings. “I can talk to local officials tohelp us resolve problems of Filipinos inKuwait. The very fact that within a weekI was able to present my credentials toHis Highness the Amir of Kuwait, it wasa clear validation and blessing that I cannow start the job as your ambassador,”he added.

Mandate from the Philippines’ President

Villa said that he will start the jobbased on the programs laid out to himby the President of the Philippines,Benigno Aquino III. “I have a marchingorder from the President and hisinstruction is clear. In his letter before I

departed to this mission, he said my pri-mary duty was to further advance thenational interest of the Philippines andto strengthen and broaden our bilateralrelations with the State of Kuwait,” hesaid.

“The president also told me to imme-diately respond to the need of Filipinosin Kuwait,” he added. Villa likewise men-tioned the desire of President Aquino tostrengthen cooperation in the areas ofeconomic, investment and tourism sec-tors. “I already have several work plansto strengthen our relations and I wouldlike to focus not just on people to peo-ple contact but most especially in theeconomic realm,” he explained.

Shelter at FaihaVilla also addressed the heavily con-

gested shelter at the Phil ippines’Embassy in Faiha and his desire to fasttrack repatriation of Filipinos. “Perhapswe will be transferring the embassy to abigger place; I noticed the congestion inthe shelter. Plus, I also noticed the slowpace of resolutions of their cases, per-haps we can decongest the shelter, if wetry to negotiate with the local authori-ties here to make the repatriation faster,”he noted.

Factions among Filipino organizations

Asked on what he would do to unifythe factions of some Filipino organiza-tions here, Villa said: “I already spoke tosome Filipino organizations and leadersand I will try to create one strong groupthat would coordinate programs andactivities of the embassy,” he said. Villasaid that Filipinos in Kuwait is less than200,000. “Based on my experience inother posts, there are factions in organi-zations: they are not unique to us herein Kuwait. But if they cannot unite (asone umbrella group) at least we wantthem to respect each other,” he said.

Open door policyVilla concluded by saying that he

wanted to promote the programsadvancing the welfare of every singleFilipino. “I would like to adopt an opendoor policy to every Filipino in Kuwaitand if there are concerns on their wel-fare, I want to welcome them in myoffice,” he said.

I consider myself an accidentaldiplomat: Philippines’ envoy

Ambassador Villa speaks to Kuwait Times

KUWAIT: Philippines’ Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa speaks to Kuwait Times’reporter at his office.

By Ben Garcia

This Ramadan, Kuwait Times wantsto shift the conversation to the ordi-nary folks that make up the majori-

ty of this country. By listening to their sto-ries and recognizing their humanity, wecan remind ourselves and hopefully ourreaders of the ties that bind us all togeth-er as a species.

Recently, Kuwait Times visited someformer housemaids who sought refuge atthe Philippine Embassy in Faiha to heartheir story. Kuwait Times purposely changed their names for their safety.

Marinella started her job as a housemaid in Kuwait on February 1,2014, but since starting, she already served three employers.

“My first employer said I hurt the baby, so I was upset when sheblamed me for it. I would never hurt a baby,” Marinella said. So, Marinellaasked her employer to send her back to her agency, but they refused.“They said I still have to work for them, but I told them, ‘Since you accuseme of things which I never did, I have to leave,’” she said.

After what happened, Marinella stopped working for nine days,before she was convinced to work again. She waited for her main spon-sor, who at that time was vacationing in London. When he returned, heconvinced her to work again and said he is willing to search and transferher to a new sponsor, if she wants. “I told him yes, I will transfer,” she said.She stayed seven months with her first employer and when her sponsorfound her a new employer, she transferred.

Slapped in the faceAt her second employer, Marinella was a nanny to a newborn. She

liked it there if not for that incident when Marinella’s female employerslapped her right in the face because the baby she was caring for slippedin the hands of a mentally-disturbed aunt.

“I left the infant to the grandmother as I always do when I go to thebathroom. I was instructed never to give the baby to her aunt, but thegrandmother did, and the accident happened. When the mother came,she only blamed me for it, and she slapped my face,” she said. Marinellathen told her employer to return her to her agency, which she did. “Thefollowing day, I was transferred to a new employer,” she said.

Threatened with a knifeTo Marinella, the third employer was even worse. “My employers are

really bad and they are notorious for mistreating their housemaids at alltimes. They curse, shout and spit at their housemaids’ faces and they dothat even in front of many people,” she said. Marinella added that heremployers always had friends and visitors in the house and that both hermale and female employers easily gets irritated and would get upset onsmall things. They got angry all the time.

There were two housemaids in that house, an Ethiopian woman andMarinella. One time, the male employer called them in the second floorof his house. As soon as they arrived, he immediately told them, “EnteFilipini, I do not need you in the house, go out now.” Then to theEthiopian, he said, “Tomorrow you must fly back to your country.”

“For me, I said, ‘No problem,’” Marinella recalled, “When we left to dowhat our sponsor told us, the Ethiopian was kicked in her butt; it wasvery strong, she fell in the ground. I was really shocked. She just cried,”she said. Then her employer got mad, went to the kitchen, and “tried tokill me,” she said. After the commotion, her employer apologized.Shocked about what happened, Marinella contacted a friend in Kuwaitand was eventually rescued out of that house the following day.

KUWAIT VOICES

‘I would neverhurt a baby’

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

22. What is the name of the Prophet to whomZaboor was revealed?

1436 - 2015

A photograph from the book ‘Faces of Kuwait’ by Jack Wozniak (researched by Mahmoud Zakariya) shows men sitting inside a popular coffee shop.

Photoo f t h e d a y

Prophet Isa (Jesus) Alaihis-Salam

Prophet Dawood (David) Alaihis-Salam

Prophet Yonis Alaihis-Salam

KUWAIT: Al Ahl i Bank of Kuwait (ABK ) held i tsRamadan ghabga for all members of staff in celebra-tion of the Holy month. Taking place on Tuesday,June 23rd at the Arraya Ballroom - Marriot CourtyardHotel in Kuwait City, the event was attended by over700 staff members including Michel Accad, ABK’sCEO, who opened the evening and thanked all stafffor attending.

Throughout the evening, Master of Ceremonies,Abdul Reda Ben Salem, called Senior Management tothe stage to assist in drawing lucky numbers for someexciting raffle prizes which included Samsung S6

mobiles, Samsung LED screens, and trips to London,Paris, Istanbul and Dubai. The biggest prize of theevening, and the last prize of the night was for a brandnew GMC Terrain 2015, which was won by Israr AhmedKhan.

The evening also saw an array of other entertain-ment which included caricature artists Mohammed A-Qahtani and Mohammed Khalil Al-Matari sketchingattendees throughout the night, as guests enjoyedmusic played by renowned Kuwaiti band ‘The Concert.’The evening was enjoyed by all and ABK looks forwardto making this an annual event.

ABK celebrates Ramadanwith staff ghabga

Kuwaiti donorshelp Palestinian

familiesGAZA: With generous contributions from Kuwaiticharitable donors, a number of Palestinian chari-ties distributed relief aid to over two thousandneedy Palestinian families in Gaza Strip onTuesday. The aid targeted the poor and orphansand those hurt by war in Gaza, said Dr RamadanTanboura, head of the Al-Falah Charitable Societyin Palestine. The relief aid consisted of Ramadangoodwill food parcels stuffed with such staples ascooking oil and flour, among other things, he saidas he thanked profusely Kuwaiti charitable dona-tions to Palestinians. Among those he singled outfor his thanks were the government of Kuwait andits leadership and International Islamic CharityOrganization (IICO) Chairman Dr Abdullah Al-Maatouq. — KUNA

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

KUWAIT: Zwarah Restaurant recently hosted a gergean event for media representatives and their families. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

LO C A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

By Mehsaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Thousands ofworshippers flocked to theGrand Mosque on the eveof the 21st day of Ramadanlate Tuesday night to per-form the late night prayersled by Imams Majed Al-Enezi and Khalid Al-Sa’eedi.As far as security was con-cerned, Capital GovernorRetired Lt General ThabetAl-Muhanna said thatpreparations had beenmade to facilitate entry tothe Grand Mosque as wellas the traffic flow on theroads leading to it.

Thousands flock to GrandMosque on Ramadan 21st eve

When it comes to the concept of reconciliation, thereare many priorities, on top of which is the presenceof a comprehensive, protective national body that

only works for Kuwait’s greater good. It should be a compre-hensive bloc including elements from all political, social,intellectual and cultural groups. It should include Kuwaitisfrom all affiliations to prevent the seeds of evil, tumult, radi-calism, doctrinism and sectarianism and exclude the icons ofagitation, division and extreme ideological agendas regard-less of their names and positions.

Calls for national reconciliation in the aftermath of theterrorist explosion at the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque are veryimportant and must be placed as top priorities of both theauthority and the people with all its elements, political pow-ers and decision bodies. Despite the dreadful sectarian coverIslamic State (IS) tried to use in striking Kuwait, its statementsand practices have been clear on targeting Kuwait, its regimeand domestic front. We no longer need any political analysiswhen IS announces that the capital of its so-called Najdregion would be Kuwait.

This terrorist organization would have never dared tostrike a Shiite mosque in Kuwait if it were not for the doctri-nal tension and its continued propagation, purposely andunintentionally, for the sake of sick-minded religious beliefs,some political gains or some limited interests. That is whysuch satanic dens have been utilizing sectarianism in GulfCooperation Council (GCC) states so openly. IS and its likesspared nobody, be them Sunnis, Arabs, African or Asians.

We might have had accumulated complicated problemsas our sociopolitical division had been used to monopolizepower and interests. All sorts of corruption have been pre-vailing; political liberties and the freedom to criticize theauthority have been suppressed; which are all issues thatneed to be honestly and responsibly confronted and solved.Therefore, we need all forms of reconciliation including thegovernment and the people with all their political and publicaffiliations. It would be stupid not to feel that the entirecountry is under threat and targeted by terrorism through afake religious form. Our geography and demography haveproved that Kuwait is indivisible, especially in times of dis-tress. So, what about this terrorism that has been threateningthe entire world?

We, also, have priorities when it comes to reconciliation.On top of those priorities is the need to have a binding pro-tective national front that only works for the best of Kuwait.It should include Kuwaitis of all groups and prevent all evils,sectarianism, and doctrinism and exclude factional agendasand extreme thoughts. It should attract the most gallant,patriotic and courageous people to confront those againstco-existence and fellow citizenship. Such people should havea place in fighting extremism, terrorism and shedding ofinnocent blood and not get charmed by political slogans anddemands for reform.

— Translated by Kuwait Times

Comprehensive reconciliation

Al-Jarida

By Dr Hassan Jouhar

Among the news of the Ministr y ofElectricity and Water (MEW) for the sum-mer of 2015 is the struggle of power cuts in

some Kuwait areas, and the reasons, as stated bythe ministry are “operational, malfunctions in thetransforming stations, as well as a defects in pow-er generators.”

According to a statement by the minister, aninvestigation committee determined that theproblem is in maintenance and technical matters,which the ministry has nothing to do with! Whilethe ministr y had asked the Civi l Ser viceCommission to approve the allocation of KD 400each to deserving employees as rewards for theirefforts during the blackouts in February 2015.

Regardless of the power cut duration, be itminutes or hours, they are unbearable cuts underextreme heat, in addition to what it may cause, beit damage to air conditioners, systems, automaticgates and for some people, being stuck in theirhomes!

Because of the repeated cuts, as what hap-pened during last January’s catastrophe and atthe start of this summer, the ministry must reviewthe nature of preventive procedures, inspectionand maintenance, in order to prevent the repeti-tion of operation and malfunction mistakes.

There is more than one administrative andtechnical defect at the ministry also, besides thelack of cooperation between some official areas inrationalizing power consumption. But this doesnot relieve the ministry from its major responsibil-ities, because it is difficult to absorb what is goingon and accept any justification. There must bedeep rooted solutions for the problem of repeat-ed power cuts that became part of this country’shistory!

It is true that cooperation in rationalizing pow-er consumption in government facilities as well asprivate ones and private homes is an importantissue, but it is not the ideal solution, especiallywhen we are dealing with operational problemsand electric wires whose projected age is over!

Before thinking about paying the rewards, theyshould be thinking about how to guarantee thequality and development of MEW services or sub-sidize the sale of power generation through theCommerce Ministry’s rationalization cards.

— Translated by Kuwait Times

No more blackouts!

Al-QABAS

Al-Jarida

By Khalid A. Al-Tarrah

KUWAIT: Residency affairs department detectives busted aprostitution network that practices its activities during the holymonth of Ramadan. The network is run by a Syrian nationalwho kept half of the brothel’s revenue to himself. The remainingdetainees are five persons of Bahraini and Egyptian nationali-ties. The suspects confessed to charging between KD 30 and KD40 for each session. They were referred to the proper authoritiesfor further action.

Visa violators caughtTwenty three visa violators were arrested and sent to con-

cerned authorities. Brigadier Saud Al-Khader, director of the res-idency affairs department’s detectives unit, received informa-tion about a building in Salmiya used illegally as cafes, and har-bors visa violators. He gave orders to form a team and followlegal procedures. The building was stormed and 23 persons ofvarious nationalities and without valid visas were arrested.

Officers offendedCapital Security Director Ibahim Al-Tarrah asked his men to

charge a female citizen who claimed to be a VIP for insulting apolice lieutenant and another policeman in public. The police-men said the woman refused to give them her driver’s licenseand insulted them verbally.

Couple with drugsAn Egyptian man and his wife were sent to the Drugs

Control General Department as officers found drugs in his car.

Officers in a police patrol noticed three persons later identi-fied as the Egyptian man, his wife and daughter in a parkedcar behind Jabriya police station. Five bags containing rem-nants of heroin, one with heroin shabu and a tablet werefound with their possession. The 4-year-old child was handedover to her aunt.

Driver muggedInvestigations are ongoing to identify and arrest two per-

sons accused of mugging a man in Jahra. The suspects hadstopped the man and claimed they were detectives, thePakistani victim told police. After forcing him to stop, theyforced him inside their sports-utility-vehicle (SUV), took KD2,700 from his possession, then drove to Amghara wherethey beat him up, left him and escaped, the man said. A casewas filed.

Syrian sent to state securityResidency affairs detectives arrested a Syrian national for

selling cell phone lines without having to register the details ofthe owner. The arrest was made after an electronic surveillancethat led detectives to the Syrian man who works for a companyand lives in Sulaibiya. The man who is also an ex-convict wascaught after selling an undercover agent a line and attemptedto escape by harming himself. Detectives found 38 SIM cardswith him, as he already sold seven through social media inexchange of KD 50 each. He was sent to state security. Furtherinvestigations are underway.

Prostitution network busted

Obama, Vietnam Communist chief hold landmark talks

Page 12

Sisi crackdown risks instability in EgyptPage 8

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

GAZA CITY: Israel and Palestinians marked oneyear since last summer’s war in Gaza yesterday,with a UN official calling for an end to the “inexcus-able” blockade of the territory that has helped pre-vent rebuilding. The ceasefire that ended the 50-day war has largely held, but few of the issues thatled to the conflict have been resolved and tens ofthousands of Gazans remain homeless in thebesieged strip.

Neighbourhoods are still levelled, with childrenplaying among the jagged remains of bombed-outhouses. Twisted steel rods that once reinforcedconcrete buildings litter the ground. While thereappears to be little appetite for conflict on eitherside for now, analysts say failing to address the mis-ery of Gazans who have faced three wars in sixyears will only sow the seeds for future violence.“The blockade remains in place and its cripplingeffect on Gaza is undeniable, inexcusable,” RobertTurner, operations director in Gaza for UN reliefagency UNRWA, told reporters.

He however referred to a small amount ofGazan goods being allowed through for sale inIsrael and the occupied West Bank in recentmonths as a reason for hope. “I see a real willing-ness on the part of Israel to address some of itsworst impact,” Turner said of the blockade, whichIsrael says is necessary to prevent the import ofarms and material to make weapons. “It is not whatis required, which is a full lifting of the blockade.”

The war took a heavy toll on Gaza, killing 2,251Palestinians, including more than 500 children.Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeliside, including 67 soldiers. A UN report releasedlast month said both sides may have committedwar crimes during the conflict in and around theimpoverished enclave of 1.8 million people.Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the GazaStrip, planned commemorations for later yester-day, but details were not yet clear.

Israel held a memorial on Monday for its 73 vic-tims killed in the war, where Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu defended the military offen-sive. “I say to all enemies of Israel - Hamas,Hezbollah, Iran and IS (the Islamic State group) -that those who attempt to attack our people will

pay with their blood,” he said. Indirect talks onshoring up the ceasefire and easing Israel’s block-ade have taken place, but there have been no signsthat a deal could be reached anytime soon.

The blockade, as well as a lack of financing frominternational donors, has been blamed for the slowpace of reconstruction in Gaza, where around18,000 homes were destroyed or severely dam-aged. A split between Hamas and the PalestinianAuthority led by president Mahmud Abbas, which

runs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has worsenedthe situation. Reconciliation attempts have failedto heal the rift. Meanwhile, Hamas has been chal-lenged by Salafist extremists in Gaza claiming linksto the Islamic State jihadist group and who havetaken credit for recent rocket fire.

‘No Help’ Last year’s war was sparked in part by the

abduction and murder of three young Israelis neara Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The kidnap-ping triggered a massive manhunt in which hun-dreds of Palestinians were arrested and at least fivekilled. It also led to the grisly revenge killing of a16-year-old Palestinian, who was snatched in eastJerusalem and burned alive by Israelis. A surge inrocket fire from Gaza into Israel followed, and Israelin response launched its offensive on July 8. Aground offensive began on July 17. Air and navalbombardments on the coastal strip continued untilan Egyptian-brokered truce was reached onAugust 26.

Israel’s aims in the war were to stop the rocketfire and destroy tunnels used by Palestinian mili-tants to carry out attacks. But rocket fire has startedup again - although sporadically and not claimedby Hamas - and militants in Gaza have rebuilt tun-nels. Hamas claimed victory after the war, but thathas been scoffed at by Gazans who have seen fam-ily members killed and who now live among theruins of their former homes.

Atef Al-Zaza, a 49-year-old father of 12, workedto rebuild his home on Wednesday after Israelistrikes completely destroyed it. His family alongwith the families of his seven brothers had lived onthe building’s four floors. One of his brothers and anephew were wounded by shelling. “This is theworst year of my life,” he said, destruction sur-rounding him. The UN’s Turner said paymentswould be issued for the first time yesterday for alimited number of families whose homes weredestroyed, while repairs for damaged houses haveoccurred. Financing however remains lacking. “Weneed to help rebuild over 7,000 refugee familyhomes,” he said of his agency’s program. “We havefunding only currently for 200 homes.” — AFP

Calls for end to Israeli Gaza blockade

GAZA: A combination of pictures shows (top)smoke rising while Palestinian rescuerssearch for victims under the rubble of thehome of the Duheir family in Rafah on July29, 2014, and the same place (bottom) on July6, 2015, a year after the 50-day war betweenIsrael and Hamas. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

SHUBRA KHIT, Egypt: Lush green farms once stretched allaround the Nile River, the fertile dark soil a vital source oflife since the Pharaonic times, when ancient Egyptiansdeveloped some of the first sophisticated farming meth-ods in the region. Now, red-brick urban settlements arespringing up everywhere, snuffing out farmland to makeway for the growing population in this country of about 90million people.

Children still play among the banana trees and alfalfafields as sheep graze nearby and palm trees rustle in thewind - but such pastoral images are being pushed out byan unstoppable sprawl encroaching on the landscape.Most Egyptians have always lived in the fertile stretch

along the Nile, which accounts for less than 10 percent ofthe country’s territory, and which is also the nation’s bread-basket. But urban growth has become the chief threat tofarmland as Egyptian farmers haphazardly - and illegally -build new houses to make room for the next generation.

The construction surged even more amid a security vac-uum that followed the 2011 popular uprising that oustedthe country’s long-time autocrat, Hosni Mubarak. Buildingwithout permit on agricultural land is now a crime punish-able by jail or fines - but it hasn’t stopped. In the absence ofgovernment subsidies and modern machinery, impover-ished famers struggle to make ends meet and feel theyhave no choice but to build on their own land or sell it off,

bit by bit.Scientist Farouk El-Baz warned that at this rate, Egypt

could lose all its agricultural land within 180 years. Therewouldn’t be a single acre left “to plant on,” he said, andEgyptians will be “dying of hunger, as agricultural land dis-appears under modern urbanism.” Aged and tanned byEgypt’s scorching sun, 49-year-old farmer Hamed Fathi saysfarmers have no option but to build without permits. “Thegovernment sells lands to businessmen dirt cheap, whilewe can’t get a few meters to build for our sons,” he sighs.“What are we supposed to do?”

In 2011, a UN report on combatting desertification anddrought ranked Egypt as the country losing fertile lands

faster than any other in the world. Every hour, it said, thecountry loses around 3.5 feddans (acres) - about 30,000acres a year. “Villages are quickly being transformed intohigh-density urban settlements, without any proper plansfor urban expansion or any regulations on building codes,”says Mohamed El-Shahed, architect and founder ofCairobserver, a blog focusing on Cairo’s development andarchitecture. Those who sell their land head to big cities inhopes of finding jobs. “Farming is no longer good enough,”says 55-year-old Abu Islam, standing among his rice pad-dies, his two children helping him move seedlings.“Everyone has given up on us. I’m waiting for the right cus-tomer and price before I sell.” - —AP

Egypt’s urban expansion depletes Nile farmlandBEHIRA, Egypt: (Left) In this May 7, 2015 photo, a recently constructed house stands in the middle of agricultural land in a village in this Nile Delta town. (Center) In this May 14, 2015 photo, young shepherdslook after their sheep as they graze in a wheat farm. (Right) A farmer transports harvested wheat seeds on a horse cart. —AP

VIENNA: In a game of high-stakes diplomaticbrinkmanship, global powers were readyingyesterday for a late-night push to reach a dealcurbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and endinga 13-year standoff. With all bets off after minis-ters missed yet another deadline to seal theaccord, US Secretary of State John Kerry washuddling with his team in a rainy Vienna topore over documents seeking to find a way for-ward.

Iran and six world powers have now effec-tively given themselves until Friday to reach adeal by extending the terms of a Nov 2013interim accord, after missing two target datesin this round of talks now in their 12th day. Butas they stare each down, both Iran and theUnited States have now insisted there is no tar-get date, and they plan to keep talking inVienna until a deal emerges or not. “It’s doableby tomorrow night (Thursday) if talks advancethis evening,” said a Western diplomatic source.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius andhis British counterpart Philip Hammond weredue back in the Austrian capital later yesterday,to powwow once more with Kerry and Iran’stop diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif. “Youalways get to a place where you’re at a

precipice,” a senior US administration officialsaid late Tuesday just hours after the talks wereprolonged.

Asked when the teams would know whetherto keep talking or to walk away, the officialreplied: “You know when that moment comes.You’re either going to pull back from theprecipice, or you’re going to go over the cliff.”The Western diplomatic source admitted: “It’s apsychological game too. Zarif is under a lot ofpressure. We’ll see in the final analysis if wehave hit a wall or not.”

US Welcomes Scrutiny Observers say it is hard to believe that after

almost two years of intense and tough negotia-tions the talks could collapse. All sides haveinsisted they are not planning a formal months-long extension of the talks, and one clear suc-cess has been the 2013 interim deal underwhich Tehran has frozen parts of its nuclear pro-gram in return for minor sanctions relief. WhiteHouse spokesman Josh Earnest praised theinterim accord on Tuesday, saying it “essentiallyopened the door to these broader talks. Andwhat it did was it froze Iran’s nuclear program inplace. It rolled it back in some key aspects.”

In another twist to the talks, if Kerry fails tohand over a deal by the end of today, US law-makers will get 60 days instead of 30 to reviewit which may delay its implementation. ButEarnest brushed aside the congressional dead-line, recalling lawmakers would be in recess formost of August anyway, and adding: “We wel-come additional scrutiny of the deal.” The moot-ed accord would curb Iran’s nuclear programfor a decade or more in order to deny the coun-try the ability to develop nuclear arms.

Despite progress on a main deal and a seriesof complicated annexes, negotiations havestalled on how to ease sanctions against Iran,probing allegations that in the past Tehran didtry to develop nuclear arms and ensuring Irancan continue to have a modest, peacefulnuclear program. Iran has also insisted thereshould be changes to a UN arms embargo andan easing of restrictions on missile sales.

While Iran had managed to develop its ownarms industry, global powers “must change theirapproach on sanctions if they want a deal,” thecountry’s lead negotiator Abbas Araghchi said.But the US official insisted there would be “ongo-ing restrictions on arms just like there will beongoing restrictions regarding missiles”. —AFP

Iran faces off with powers in game of brinkmanship

Diplomats make final push for deal

VIENNA: US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Palais Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran are taking placeyesterday. —AP

CAIRO: Despite the lessons of the past, EgyptianPresident Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is relying on fighterplanes, mass arrests and death sentences to bat-tle Islamist militants in a crackdown that could infact prolong instability. Unlike former PresidentHosni Mubarak, whose more subtle approachinduced even his most diehard militant oppo-nents to opt for a truce in the 1990s, Sisi’sresponse is all-out confrontation. He has movedrelentlessly against the Islamists since orchestrat-ing a military takeover that toppled PresidentMohamed Morsi of the now outlawed MuslimBrotherhood in 2013.

Yet Sinai-based insurgents affiliated withIslamic State, angered by Sisi’s campaign, are car-rying out brazen attacks on security forces thathave opened a dangerous new chapter in thedecades-old struggle between the Egyptianstate and Islamists. And signs are growing thatSisi’s constant squeeze on the Brotherhood hasencouraged some of the movement’s youth totake up arms against the state, complicatingefforts to improve security in the Arab world’smost populous country.

Critics say Sisi’s hardline tactics risk creatingmore enemies in Egypt, where militants havekilled hundreds of soldiers and police sinceMorsi’s fall. Mubarak relied mainly on the policeto counter threats from his main militant foe, al-Gamma’a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group). Sisi, howev-er, has unleashed the military with maximumforce, but little apparent success in the vast Sinaidesert.

Brazen AssaultsThough the peninsula has long been a securi-

ty headache for Egypt and its neighbours, theremoval of Morsi brought new violence that hasmorphed into an Islamist insurgency. Militantshave carried out several major operations inrecent months, exposing the vulnerability of theArab world’s largest army, which is far morefamiliar with conventional warfare than counter-insurgency measures. Hardline tactics weakenedmilitant groups in the past but never secured alasting calm. Sisi now faces an increasingly ambi-tious Sinai Province, the group that pledged alle-giance to Islamic State. Its ties to that organisa-tion, which has expanded from Iraq and Syria toEgypt’s neighbour Libya, could mean more fund-ing, logistical support and training.

Unlike al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, which sought totopple the Cairo government, the group wantsto establish a foothold in the Sinai under IslamicState’s plan to create a borderless Caliphatestretching across the Muslim world. While IslamicState does not pose a threat to Sisi’s rule, any sig-nificant incursions into the rest of Egypt, or evenattacks on foreign visitors like the recent one at aTunisian beach hotel, could devastate thetourism industry. That would undermine effortsto rebuild Egypt’s fragile economy after fouryears of turmoil triggered by the uprising thatdeposed Mubarak in 2011.

Sisi is likely to crack down harder on militantsafter last week’s assassination of Egypt’s top pros-ecutor in an attack that bore the hallmarks of anoperation by militants. Egypt’s neighbour Israel isalso keeping a close eye. Shaul Shay, formerdeputy head of Israel’s National Security Council,

says Sisi is taking valuable steps such as engag-ing Sinai Bedouins to rally them behind the army.But he cautions against expecting any quick fix-es. “Anyone who thinks there is some kind ofmagic solution does not understand the reality.This is a long-term process,” said Shay.

Zero ToleranceThe fracture of the mainstream Muslim

Brotherhood raises new security questions. TheBrotherhood was officially banned but toleratedunder Mubarak. Allowing its officials to holdindependent seats in parliament helped himcontain the movement. That gave Mubarak moretime and space to tackle violent militants whotargeted foreign tourists and senior governmentofficials. Sisi’s security forces, on the other hand,have killed hundreds of Mursi supporters at Cairoprotest camps, thousands of others were arrest-ed and Brotherhood leaders were sentenced tolong prison terms or death in mass trials.

There are growing fears that Brotherhoodyouths have started to respond by planting smallbombs in cities. “You hear the young men fromthe Brotherhood say this ‘peaceful’ way is over. Iwill defend myself. A wave of violence willexplode, this is the fear,” said a lawyer forBrotherhood officials. “Mubarak used to targetthe armed groups, he didn’t go too far from that.Now there is collective punishment and it couldexplode the society. If Egypt explodes, forgetIraq, forget Syria.”

Wafaa Hafney, a senior Brotherhood official,said the group is still committed to peacefulactivism. But she says Sisi’s approach carriesrisks. “During Mubarak’s time, everything hap-pened quietly and it’s as if someone is stitchingand you can’t see the stitches,” the academic toldReuters. New Muslim Brotherhood leaders whohave replaced imprisoned veterans like Morsiare overseeing a decentralised structure, shesaid.

That could make it more difficult for the gov-ernment to keep track of the group as securityforces engage in a war of attrition against SinaiProvince, formerly called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.Last week, about 300 Sinai Province militantsstaged coordinated attacks in the fiercest fight-ing in the region since the Egyptian army foughtthe 1973 war with Israel. The official death tollon the day was 17 soldiers and 100 militants. “Inthe 90s, while one can argue the insurgents hadlinks to other groups internationally, it was cer-tainly not as close as what we see today withAnsar Bayt al-Maqdis in the Sinai,” said

H A Hellyer, associate fellow at the BrookingsCentre for Middle East Policy, Sisi, dressed in mili-tary uniform for the first time since becomingpresident just over a year ago, played down thesecurity threat during a trip to Sinai last week,telling troops “things are totally stable”. SinaiProvince, meanwhile, appears more confident,judging by videos it has been releasing on theInternet over the past few months. In one, a longconvoy of fighters parade through part of theSinai armed with machine guns and rocket-pro-pelled grenades. “In the 90s they (militants) werefighting to exist. Now they are expanding tooccupy territory and form the Emirates of theIslamic State,” said an Egyptian official. —Reuters

Sisi crackdown risks instability in Egypt

NAIROBI: The leader of South Sudan’srebels said yesterday that the country’scivil war would continue as long asPresident Salva Kiir remained in power.“We don’t feel like we have a peace part-ner with Salva Kiir,” Riek Machar toldreporters in a luxury hotel in the Kenyancapital, saying that previous ceasefires hehad signed with the government duringthe course of the 18-month-old conflictwere “born dead”.

“The people of South Sudan did notdeserve to go back to war, but this wascaused by the actions of President SalvaKiir, who we ask to resign today,” Macharsaid. “Should President Kiir remainadamant and refuse to hand over powerback to the people, then the citizens haveevery right to rise up and overthrow hisregime.” The comments came as SouthSudan, the world’s youngest nation, pre-pares to mark the fourth anniversary of itsindependence from Khartoum on

Thursday, an event that marked an end todecades of war but only provided a briefrespite from conflict.

The civil war in the new nation beganwhen Kiir accused Machar, a former vicepresident, of planning a coup, setting off a

cycle of retaliatory killings that has splitthe poverty-stricken, landlocked countryalong ethnic and tribal lines. A UN reportlast month described horrific violence in

the latest fighting, with witnesses sayingtroops gang-raped girls and torched themalive in huts. Large numbers of child sol-diers have also been recruited. Fighters onboth sides are accused of atrocities, andanalysts believe tens of thousands of peo-ple have died since the war began. TheUnited Nations has also described SouthSudan as being “lower in terms of humandevelopment than just about every otherplace on earth”.

Machar rejected accusations levelledat his own troops and insisted he too wasa “victim”. “I am a victim, just like all theother victims who died, except I am notdead,” he said.

‘Among World’s Biggest Crises’ South Sudan’s parliament voted in

March to extend Kiir’s mandate by threeyears, formally ditching any plans for elec-tions originally due to take place this year.Machar said the extension was meaning-

less, and that as the original mandate end-ed Thursday, the rebels considered thegovernment to be “unconstitutional andillegitimate.” Last week, the UN SecurityCouncil imposed a travel ban and assetfreeze on six commanders - three from thegovernment side and three rebels.

But Machar, who last month wel-comed into his ranks a rogue ex-govern-ment general, Johnson Olony - who hasbeen accused of forcibly recruiting hun-dreds of child soldiers - defended the rebeltrio. “All of them are innocent,” he said.Speaking ahead of the independenceanniversary, aid agencies repeated theircalls for an end to the war. “The people ofSouth Sudan desperately need an imme-diate end to this war, so that they can getfood and other life-saving assistance. Westrongly appeal to all parties to the con-flict to allow people to safely reachhumanitarian assistance,” said Oxfam’sZlatko Gegic. —AFP

Machar says no peace while Kiir remains

Riek Machar

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court yesterday sentenced24 men to hang over the June 2014 massacre byjihadists and allied militants of hundreds ofmostly Shiite military recruits in Tikrit. The cen-tral criminal court in Baghdad handed 24 of 28defendants the maximum sentence over the“Speicher” massacre, named after the base fromwhich the victims were captured before beingexecuted. “After deliberations, the court findsthat the evidence collected is sufficient to con-vict 24 defendants,” said the judge. “The courtdecided they will be executed by hanging.”

All 24 denied any involvement in the mas-sacre, committed during the first days of theIslamic State group’s broad offensive in Iraq. Theother four defendants were acquitted. Around600 bodies of victims have been exhumed fromburial sites in the Tikrit area. Footage released byIS last year shows some of the captured recruits

were shot and pushed into the Tigris river. Thedefendants were brought into the courtroomblindfolded, handcuffed and chained by theirfeet. Proceedings were conducted expeditiously.

Relatives of some of the Speicher massacrevictims were heard by the court asking that theperpetrators of what is one of IS’s worst atroci-ties be punished. A court-appointed defencelawyer spoke briefly to ask for leniency but didnot challenge the evidence, which consistedmainly of confessions that the defendantsthemselves claimed were obtained under tor-ture. The judge showed one defendant a grainyprintout of a grab from the video footage of themassacre. “Is that you?,” he asked. The accusedanswered negatively, as did several fellowdefendants when the judge flashed confessiondocuments and asked them to confirm theirauthenticity. —AFP

Iraq sentences 24 to hang over massacre

I N T E R N AT ION A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

BOSTON: In her computer-generatedimage, she is the picture of innocence: a4-year-old girl with long brown hair,chubby cheeks and expressive browneyes. The image has attracted a stagger-ing 45 million views on Facebook asinvestigators try to identity the childwhose remains were found on a BostonHarbor beach nearly two weeks ago. Themystery of Baby Doe began on June 25,when a woman walking her dog on thewestern shore of Deer Island called 911and reported finding a trash bag con-taining the girl’s body. The child waswearing white leggings with black polkadots. Inside the bag with her remainswas a zebra-print blanket.

Police immediately appealed to thepublic for help in identifying the girl.Using photos of her remains, theNational Center for Missing andExploited Children created a compositeimage of what the girl may have lookedlike when she was alive. After that imageand photos of the leggings and blanketwere posted on the Massachusetts StatePolice Facebook page, investigatorswere astonished by the number of viewsand shares the posting received. As oflate Tuesday, more than 45.4 millionpeople had viewed the image.

But authorities still haven’t identifiedthe girl. “It has by far shattered our previ-ous record for Facebook views,” said JakeWark, a spokesman for Suffolk CountyDistrict Attorney Daniel Conley, whoseoffice is overseeing the investigation.Adding to the mystery is that investiga-

tors still haven’t been able to figure outhow she died. There were no obvioussigns of trauma to her body, and anautopsy performed by the state medicalexaminer’s office did not determine themanner or cause of her death.

Conley said Tuesday that authoritiesare awaiting the results of toxicologytests to determine if the girl was poi-soned or ingested drugs. She weighed30 pounds and was about 31/2 feet tall.Her body was reasonably intact, but hada modest amount of decomposition.Authorities won’t say how long theybelieve she had been dead by the timeher remains were discovered. They alsodon’t know if the girl l ived inMassachusetts or came from anotherstate. They will not say whether the trashbag containing her body washed up onshore or was left on the beach by some-one.

Investigators have received “dozensand dozens” of tips from the public, andthose leads have prompted police tocheck on the well-being of 20 girls in thesame age range. All of those girls werefound safe and sound. Conley said theoutpouring of support by people whohave shared the girl’s image on socialmedia is gratifying and gives him confi-dence that her identity eventually will bedetermined.

During a news conference Tuesday,Conley spoke directly to the girl’s par-ents or caretakers: “Please step forward,clear your conscience and help us identi-fy this young child.” Conley would not

elaborate on whether the child’s parentsor caretakers are a focus of the investiga-tion and said authorities don’t know ifthe girl’s death was an accident or acrime.

Her death and the mystery surround-ing her identity has touched a chord inmany people. State police say theirFacebook posting on the girl hasreceived more than 10 times the viewsof their previous highest post. Peoplefrom Maine to California, Canada andPuerto Rico have shared the posting,with many of them expressing sorrow oranger over the girl’s death. “How cansomeone just throw a child away?” wroteone woman from Arizona. “This is justhorrible, no one is missing this littleangel!” wrote another woman fromClovis, California.

Barbara Smith, 67, of Missoula,Montana, said she has shared the girl’simage three times and plans to share itagain and again until investigators figureout who she was and how she died. “I’mabout to become a great-grandmother,so it just touches you,” she said in a tele-phone interview. “It’s sad that there wasa little girl out there of her age that wasfound by herself and nobody hasclaimed her.” State police spokesmanDavid Procopio said investigators aregrateful to the public for “caring aboutthis little innocent”. “But we continue ourrequest for leads,” he said. “We need peo-ple to continue to look at her and thinkabout her and let us know if anything intheir memory clicks.” —AP

Millions share story of girl found dead in US

QUITO, Ecuador: Faithful take pictures with their mobile phones as Pope Francis departs from the San FranciscoChurch aboard the Popemobile on Tuesday. —AP

QUITO: Pope Francis, the first LatinAmerican pontiff, heads yesterday toBolivia on the second leg of a three-nation tour of the continent’s poorestcountries, where he has been acclaimedby huge crowds. Francis will arrive in theAndean state from Ecuador, where hewill wrap up his stay with a visit to asanctuary of the Virgin of El Quincheoutside the capital Quito. Poverty hasbeen a key theme of this SouthAmerican tour by “the pope of the poor”,whose visit to Ecuador follows mass anti-government protests in the country inrecent weeks.

At an outdoor mass Tuesday in Quitoattended by nearly one million people,Francis called for unity amongEcuadoreans divided by class and politi-cal ideology and appealed for betterprotection of the Amazon rainforest.

Approximately 900,000 faithful bravedthe cold and rain to hear his homily inBicentennial Park.

Catholic ‘Revolution’ The Argentine-born pontiff focused

his message on what he called theCatholic “revolution”, or quest to spreadthe Roman Catholic faith. On Ecuador’sdivisions, he said the diversity ofEcuador ’s people was an “immensetreasure” that could help steer societyaway from ideas that tended towardsdictatorship, ideological thinking or sec-tarianism. “Fight for inclusion at all lev-els,” he implored on the third day of hisSouth American tour.

Later, in a meeting with civil societygroups - including indigenous peoplesopposed to oil extraction on their lands -the pope stressed the important role the

Amazon plays in the “global ecosystem”and said its “enormous diversity”required particular care. “Ecuador -together with other countries withAmazonian land - has a chance to prac-tice the teachings of integral ecology,” hesaid. Recalling his encyclical last monthwhich appealed for quick action againstclimate change, he called for the Earth tobe left a better place for future genera-tions.

Advocating for ‘Mother Earth’ “One thing is clear, we cannot contin-

ue turning our back on reality, on ourbrothers, on Mother Earth,” he said dur-ing a meeting with teachers and stu-dents in Quito. Environmental issueshave plagued President Rafael Correa’seight-year-old administration, withongoing protests by indigenous peoplesover land damage that they say is due tomining and oil extraction. The govern-ment has been beset by a separate set ofprotests in recent weeks over Correa’ssocialist policies, which have angeredbusiness leaders as well as the upperand middle classes, who want him tostep down. Correa, an admirer of thepope, had a private meeting with Francislate Monday. The pope later said hewould bless the country so that internaldifferences might be reconciled.

Veiled Message to Correa? During Tuesday’s mass, the pope

invoked South America’s independencemovements from Spain 200 years ago.“That cry for liberty... did not lack convic-tion or force, but history tells us that itwas only convincing when the focus onpersonalities and desire for singularleadership, were put aside,” Francis said.He did not single out any country orgovernment in a region that has knownrightwing dictatorships in the past, andcontroversial leftwing leaders in recentyears.

But some of the faithful saw thepope’s words as a veiled message toboth the opposition and Correa, whoattended the mass. “In an indirect way,he told the president to take intoaccount that there are people who don’thave the same ideas as him,” said FelipeLascano, a 22-year-old university stu-dent. —AFP

Next stop Bolivia for

‘pontiff of the poor’

Pope calls for special protection of Amazon

HAVANA: Colombia’s FARC rebelsannounced yesterday they willobserve a one-month unilateralceasefire in response to an interna-tional appeal for an urgent de-escala-tion in the country’s decades-old con-flict. The truce will start July 20, saidIvan Marquez, chief rebel negotiatorat long-running peace talks in Havana.He said the leftist rebels were actingon an appeal issued Tuesday by fourcountries supporting the peace talks,in order to dial back half a century ofwar after a recent spike in combat.The goal of the truce, Marquez said, isto “create favorable conditions inorder to advance with the opposingside toward a bilateral and definitiveceasefire.”

Colombian President Juan ManuelSantos welcomed the move, but saidthe FARC had to do more to advancepeace talks that have been under wayhere in Havana since late 2012. “Weappreciate the gesture of a unilateralceasefire by the FARC but more isneeded, especially concrete commit-ments to speed up the negotiations,”Santos said on Twitter. Cuba andNorway are acting as so-called “guar-antor” countries in the peace talks inHavana. Chile and Venezuela are“escort” countries. All four issued theappeal Tuesday for de-escalation.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia had been observing a uni-

lateral ceasefire since December and itled to relative calm. But clashesresumed in mid-April, following anambush by the rebels that left 11 sol-diers dead. Each side blames the otherfor the escalation. The FARC endedtheir truce in May. Since then, about30 rebels have been killed in armyoperations and recent surveys showthe public to be wary about the peaceprocess. Two soldiers were killed, twowounded and a fifth reported missingin southern Colombia on Tuesday fol-

lowing attacks that were believed tohave been carried out by the FARC.

Meanwhile, three soldiers werekilled and four injured in the south-western Colombia state of Putumayo,where officials said a military convoycarrying a crude oil was attacked withexplosives. Colombia’s civil strife datesback to 1964 and has drawn in left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramili-taries and drug gangs, killing morethan 220,000 people and uprooting asmany as six million. —AFP

Colombia’s FARC rebels

announce 1-month truce

HAVANA: The head of the FARC leftist guerrilla delegation Ivan Marquezreads a statement during peace talks with the Colombian government atthe Convention Palace yesterday. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Only about 60 Syrianrebels are being trained by the UnitedStates to take on the Islamic Stategroup, Defense Secretary AshtonCarter said Tuesday, admitting it wasfar below the number hoped for. Thedisclosure is likely to add to criticismof the Obama administration’s militarystrategy, with US Senator John McCainsaying that the United States was “los-ing” the fight against the extremists,who have overrun large areas of Syriaand Iraq.

Several lawmakers includingMcCain, the 2008 Republican presi-dential nominee, grilled Carter andthe military ’s top general, MartinDempsey, on topics ranging fromUkraine to the Middle East. Americawants to train thousands of moderateSyrian rebels to fight IS forces, butCarter said only a few dozen had so farbeen approved for a program that is acentral tenet of Washington’s strategyto beat the IS group.

Carter said the US was trainingabout 60 fighters as of last week. “Thisnumber is much smaller than we hadhoped for at this point,” he added,

pointing to difficulties in vetting suit-able candidates. “We know this pro-gram is essential. We need a partneron the ground in Syria to assure ISIL’s(IS) lasting defeat.” McCain criticizedwhat he called “not a very impressivenumber”. In January, the Pentagonsaid about 5,400 Syrian rebels wouldbe trained and armed in the first yearof the program and US lawmakershave allocated about $500 million tothe effort. McCain said the “reality” onthe ground is that IS jihadists continueto gain territory in Iraq and Syria,while expanding their footprint acrossthe Middle East, Africa and CentralAsia. “There is no compelling reason tobelieve that anything we are currentlydoing will be sufficient to achieve thepresident’s long-stated goal ofdegrading and ultimately destroyingISIL - either in the short-term or thelong-term,” McCain said at the SenateArmed Services Committee, which hechairs. “Our means and our currentlevel of effort are not aligned with ourends. That suggests we are not win-ning, and when you are not winningin war, you are losing.”—AFP

US says only 60 Syrians

being trained to fight IS

I N T E R N AT ION A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI: Late last year I was sitting inTripoli’s foreign ministry when a guarddrew a gun on a colleague next to meand then kicked him down a stairwell.His mistake? He had complained about anews conference being delayed. Thatwas the moment I lost my last illusionsabout the Libyan revolution. The guard’sbosses quickly moved to punish him andhis act was one of individual anger notpolicy. But the episode shows how Libyahad changed since rebels toppledMuammar Gaddafi in August 2011. Backthen, young fighters in Tripoli had cele-brated into the night after they seizedGaddafi’s Bab Aziziya compound. Therewas a sense of promise and a longing forchange in almost everyone you spoke to.

Four years on, that hope has faded,the former rebels have turned on eachother and the overwhelming sense isone of chaos. Libya is split between tworival governments: an official one, whichhas decamped to Tobruk in the east, andan unrecognized one in the capital

Tripoli. Both make a lot of noise aboutrunning the country, but little seems towork. The central bank has frozen thebudget. In Tripoli, I recently intervieweda minister who spoke for almost twohours and had no other visitors in thattime. His one phone call was from thetea lady. In Tobruk, a minister from thecompeting government received me inpyjamas in his rented villa, insisting thatwe have dinner. I wasn’t sure whether hewas still in office. Officially he had beenfired, but he still issued orders.

Checking for BombsLibyans had hoped for more. The

country sits on Africa’s largest oilreserves, is home to incredible touristsites such as the Roman ruins of LeptisMagna and had more than $100 billionin foreign reserves even after the revolu-tion. Following Gaddafi’s ouster, foreigninvestors arrived hoping to sink moneyinto the oil industry, new hotels andretail outlets. Even in 2013 there washope that Libya might make it as a coun-try. When I returned to post-revolution

Tripoli that year, foreign embassies stillheld receptions with warm speeches fortheir host nation. Some officials weretrying to build functioning ministriesand a police force.

But night-time shooting betweenrival factions was growing frequent.Standing in our living room oneevening, a rocket propelled grenadeexploded close by our office villa. Weroutinely began to check our car forplanted bombs. Those in charge werealso beginning to worry. Officials wouldroutinely tell me that Libya was “mia filmia” (100 percent perfect). But if youpushed them, the floodgates oftenopened and they would offload theiranger and frustration with the country’smilitia groups, as if in a therapy session.

One morning in July 2014, we awoketo the sound of artillery barrages. Anarmed faction was attacking a rival outfitthat occupied Tripoli airport. Wewatched on television as planes went upin smoke. A month of fighting followed.When the attackers finally seized thecity, Libya was left with two govern-

ment, two parliaments and two armedgroups that both consider themselvesthe country’s official army. Both sidesbegan to test foreigners on where theirloyalties lay, an attitude reminiscent ofthe Gaddafi era. Some Libyan friends,previously enthusiastic about press free-dom, suddenly cheered Islamist mili-tants fighting the eastern government.Others became fans of a general whobombed the Islamists in densely popu-lated Benghazi.

A few people turned inwards, tired ofthe constant stress. “Libya is finished,” aneighbour told me when I met him inCairo where he had moved his family.Many blame the West for helping to top-ple Gaddafi but not then disarming therebel groups. “NATO left us with thesemilitias,” a bitter lawmaker told me overtea in the eastern city of Tobruk wherethe official parliament has fled.

Empty CafeIn March 2014, I went to interview

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Eastern rebelshad just underlined how little power

Zeidan really had by seizing the coun-try’s biggest oil port and loading oil ontoa tanker to sell overseas. Zeidan said thathe had stopped the ship leaving, but hisbody language told a different story.When we stopped filming, he told us thesituation was not entirely under control.After the tanker escaped again, parlia-ment fired him. Within hours he wasboarding a plane to Malta.

The chaos has deepened further.Recently, officials from the Tobruk parlia-ment stopped me attending the primeminister’s inauguration because they didnot want to admit that lawmakers’ atten-dance has shrunken to less than half ofthe seats. The Tripoli assembly bansreporters for the same reason. In thecapital, one of the main shoppingavenues is now lined by shutteredrestaurants that used to be filled withforeign investors, diplomats and even oilworkers. Luxury shops lie empty and for-eign companies have abandoned theiroffices. With my assignment over, I’venow left Libya. Millions of Libyans don’thave that option. — Reuters

A front-row seat as Libya hopes faded

NEZUK, Bosnia: Participants in the ‘March of Peaceî, holding Bosnian flags, march near this village yesterday. More than 10,000 people, includ-ing survivors of the Srebrenica massacre, started a 110-km march from Nezuk to Srebrenica following the path along which Muslims fled Serbforces at Srebrenica 20 years ago. —AP

20 years on, Serbs refuse to

call Srebrenica ‘genocide’

Serbian PM to attend commemoration

Srebrenica survivor

recalls hours in hellSREBRENICA: If you glanced at him, youwould not know what the energetic old manhad been through. But 20 years on from theSrebrenica massacre, his narrow, wrinkled faceis still marked by fear. Somehow, miraculously,this man survived the slaughter of some 1,000Bosnian Muslims in a warehouse outsideSrebrenica, the town that has become synony-mous with the worst massacre in Europe sinceWorld War II. But it is testament to the 71-year-old’s lasting fears for his safety - and the ethnictensions that still plague Bosnia - that herecalled his tale on condition of anonymity.

“If it’s possible to be born again, then that’swhat happened at that moment,” said theman, who lives in a mountainous villagearound a half-hour’s drive from Srebrenica. Hehad spent 24 hours playing dead undercorpses, covered in the blood of other men.The memories still haunt him every day.

‘ Why Are You Still Here?’ Saturday marks 20 years since Bosnian

Serb forces overran Srebrenica - then a UN-protected enclave - setting the stage for sev-eral horrific days in which some 8,000 Muslimmen and boys were murdered. The mass exe-cution, which came as Bosnia’s 1992-1995 civilwar neared its bloody end, has been declareda genocide by two international courts butnever recognised as such by Serbs. “On 11July, 1995, I was collecting hay in a field, justas I am today,” the old man said, as he sat inthe doorway of a small barn. “My daughterarrived in tears. She asked me: ‘Why are youstill here? Everyone’s leaving.’”

His wife and two daughters headed to theUN base in Potocari outside Srebrenica to seekrefuge, along with some 26,000 others. Hisbrother and a nephew did the same, but theynever made it. Their bodies were found in a

mass grave a few years after the end of thewar. The survivor filled a backpack with foodand headed into the woods, along with some15,000 other Muslim men and boys. They weretrying to reach territory under Muslim control,but thousands of them would not survive thejourney.

The next day, the group he was travellingwith were ambushed and captured by Serbsoldiers. Then they were rounded up with oth-er prisoners in a field and made to sit in rows.It was then that they received a visit from gen-eral Ratko Mladic, the commander of theBosnian Serb forces who is currently on trialfor war crimes.

‘Screams Worse Than Shots’ The survivor says Mladic had been full of

reassurances. “We have already evacuatedalmost all your families,” he told them.“Everyone will be reunited with their families.You will not be beaten, you will not be pro-voked. We will give you food.” But soon after-wards they were marched to an agriculturalwarehouse in Kravica, 25 km north ofSrebrenica. “I was in the middle of the column.When I entered, the warehouse was packedfull of people. If someone had dropped amatch, it wouldn’t have reached the ground,”he said.

International prosecutors say around 1,000people were shut in the building. The survivorstood in a corner, his back to the wall. Then afight broke out between a prisoner and one ofthe troops. The soldier opened fire. “They wereshooting at us, they were throwing grenades,firing rockets, barrages of gunfire. I croucheddown. They were shooting through the doors,through the windows,” said the tiny old man.“Hearing people screaming was worse thanthe gunshots.”— AFP

BELGRADE: Their leaders have paid theirrespects to the victims, begged forgiveness “ontheir knees”, and deplored a “heinous crime”, butSerbia and Serbs still stubbornly refuse to callthe Srebrenica massacre a genocide, expertssay. International courts have ruled that the1995 killing of nearly 8,000 Muslim men andboys in the ill-fated Bosnian town by Serb forceswas genocide, “but here it is difficult to say thatword”, prominent independent political analystVladimir Goati said. “Some even have a physicaldiscomfort when it comes to saying it,” headded.

Bosnian Serb forces captured the easterntown of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, and overthe following days massacred thousands inEurope’s worst atrocity since World War II. Thekilling came shortly before the end of Bosnia’s1992-1995 war between its Croats, Muslims andSerbs that claimed some 100,000 lives. The mas-sacre remains divisive at an international leveleven 20 years later on Tuesday the UN SecurityCouncil was forced to delay a vote on a draftresolution recognizing what happened inSrebrenica as genocide after Russia threatenedto veto the text.

And for Serbs, while a recent poll showed 54percent do not question the crime’s brutality, anoverwhelming majority - 70 percent of thoseasked - still deny it was genocide. Local politi-cians “only take into account public opinion soas to not lose voters and, without mentioningthe word genocide, use descriptions that saythe same thing,” analyst Aleksandar Popov said.In 2010, then Serbian president Boris Tadic went

to Srebrenica to pay homage to the victimswithout saying the key word.

That same year the Serbian parliamentadopted a resolution condemning the “crimecommitted against the Bosnian (Muslim) popu-lation in Srebrenica”. “I kneel and ask forgivenessfor Serbia for the crime committed inSrebrenica,” Tadic’s successor Tomislav Nikolicsaid in 2013. His contrition came a year afterdenying that a genocide was committed inSrebrenica, prompting outrage in the regionand condemnation from Europe and the US.

‘Hard to Accept’ Historian Cedomir Antic believes Belgrade’s

position is “understandable”. “To accept thatgenocide was committed would mean to acceptan accusation of being a genocidal people,” theBelgrade University historian told AFP. “You areno longer there, nobody wants to negotiatewith you, so Serbia cannot recognise that.Among other things, the existence of RepublikaSrpska would come into question.”

He was referring to the Bosnian Serb entity,which along with the Muslim-Croat Federationhas made up Bosnia since the end of the 1990swar. The two halves are semi-autonomous andare linked by loose central institutions. BosnianMuslims have demanded several times thatRepublika Srpska be dismantled, claiming it wasfounded on a genocide.

But for international legal expert Tibor Varadithe case is closed. He represented Serbia beforethe International Court of Justice (ICJ) when itwas accused by Bosnia of being directly

involved in the Srebrenica genocide. “ TheInternational Court concluded in 2006 thatSerbia had not committed genocide inSrebrenica and nothing can change that fact,”he said. Goati, the political analyst, said Serbia’sreaction to calling Srebrenica a genocide ischaracteristic of any people or individualaccused of an atrocity. “Nations and individualshave a problem admitting or talking aboutevents in which they played a negative role,” hetold AFP. Serbian Prime Minister AleksandarVucic on Tuesday said he would attend the 20thanniversary commemoration of the Srebrenicamassacre this weekend in a bid to forge recon-ciliation, but stopped short of using the contro-versial term. “It is time to show that we are readyfor reconciliation and that we are ready to bowour head before other peoples’ victims,” Vucictold reporters. “That is why the Serbian govern-ment tonight decided that as prime minister, Iwould represent the Republic of Serbia inSrebrenica on July 11.” Vucic has said in the pastthat Serbs respected the “pain and suffering ofothers and even understand the hatred towardsus from those who went through the hell ofSrebrenica”.

But the head of an association of womenwhose male relatives were killed in the mas-sacre said Vucic’s presence in Srebrenica wouldbe a de facto recognition of the genocide.“Something is awakening in the consciousnessof the Serbian people. I believe that 20 years onit is difficult to live while denying what hap-pened in Srebrenica,” said Munira Subasic, headof the Mothers of Srebrenica group.— AFP

Out of sight but not power, Erdogan eyes snap election

ANKARA/ISTANBUL: Delays in efforts to form acoalition government in Turkey are buying timefor President Tayyip Erdogan, heightening thechances of a snap election which could see hisAK Party regain its majority and leaving theopposition floundering. A month after an elec-tion which saw the AKP lose its ability to governalone for the first time, talks to form a coalitionhave yet to begin. Opposition parties are as frag-mented as ever, and Erdogan - from the shad-ows - is calculating how best to maintain hisgrip.

The June 7 vote plunged Turkey into politicaluncertainty not seen since the unstable coalitiongovernments of the 1990s and thwarted, fornow, Erdogan’s ambition to turn the largely fig-urehead presidency he assumed last year intothe powerful executive position he had all buttaken for granted. The man who has dominatedTurkey’s political landscape for more than a

decade is ill-disposed to sharing power. Despitehis repeated calls for a new government to beformed quickly, his interests - and those of theAKP he founded - appear to lie in the failure ofcoalition talks and a new election.

“A coalition will be hard to form and impossi-ble to maintain. There is need for an urgent snapelection, through which our people will showtheir will,” said one AK Party elder familiar withErdogan’s thinking. Their hope is that a re-runwould restore a simple AK majority, as voterswho turned their back on the AKP in June balk atany suggestion of a return to the coalition bick-ering that pitched Turkey into economic crisis inthe 1990s. That prospect is one that would dis-turb NATO partners eager for stability in a coun-try bordering Iran, Iraq and Syria, with IslamicState militants ensconced hundreds of metresfrom borders constantly criss-crossed byrefugees.

Erdogan is turning “banishment” to the shad-ows - under the constitution, the president isexcluded from party politics - to his advantage.Others may bicker and snipe, but the man whohad estranged many by his raucous, combativemanner in recent years, now holds his peace andappears untainted by the fray. “The opposition isbeing worn down,” said Hakan Bayrakci, chair-man of polling firm SONAR. “Erdogan is promot-ing the image that they are fighting against eachother.” An IPSOS poll shortly after the June 7results suggested the AKP would have had 4percent more support if voters had known theoutcome in advance, although subsequent pollshave contradicted this, suggesting its supportcould fall. Erdogan had been expected to givePrime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu the mandateto form a new coalition government this week,setting the clock ticking on a 45-day period tosucceed or face a new election.—Reuters

Londoners take to boats

to escape housing costsLONDON: Rocketing housing costs inBritain’s capital have fuelled a surge inLondoners seeking cheaper accommoda-tion on boats, with increased numbers put-ting pressure on the city’s historic networkof rivers and canals. The picturesquelifestyle of sleeping in a colourfully paintednarrowboat or barge can seem tempting,especially when buying one can cost a frac-tion of the price of bricks and mortar.

“It’s become more common for peopleto do it who don’t know what they are get-ting into, or even because they have nochoice,” said education worker Jim Bryden,39, who has lived aboard the “Violet Mae”with his girlfriend, a dog and a cat for twoyears. “I’ve met people who have ended upon a boat because they had two weeks’notice to leave their flat and were able tobuy a boat for £10,000 ($16,000).”

Everyone has a story of spotting new-comers struggling with engine failure,steering ineptly along a crowded canal ordeveloping regrets once facing a damp,cold winter on boats often heated by stoveand just 2.1 metres wide. Maintenancecosts can mount quickly and boaters drylyrefer to their vessels as “black holes” forcash, constantly in need of repair. “If youare ignorant about buying a boat it can beeasy to buy a boat that will become anightmare,” said Mikaela Khan-Parrack, 26,who has lived on the water for four yearsand works as a mooring ranger for theCanal and River Trust (CRT).

Yet even more expensive boats, whichcan cost over £100,000, are still a fraction ofthe average London house price of£500,000, up 11 percent in a year. As

London private rents have increased to costalmost half the average salary, somerenters have turned to cheap but illegallylet rooms on boats described as moulder-ing “floating shacks” in an article by a for-mer resident in the Guardian. Yet for many,waking up with ducks swimming by thewindow, and the freedom and sociability ofthe pretty tree-lined waterways compen-sate for downsides like emptying toilettanks, trudging the towpath to do laundryor fetch gas cylinders, and vulnerability tothieves.

Tension on the Water In a testament to the increasing popu-

larity of the lifestyle, one boat entered theLondon waterways for every working dayin the past year, with popular areas seeingan 85 percent spike in numbers, accordingto the CRT. The charity manages 3,200 kmof a network that spans Britain, much of itbuilt to carry freight in the industrial revo-lution. The increased numbers have causedcongestion, with fierce competition formooring spaces, queues at locks and fric-tion with nearby residents who suddenlyfind themselves with a large and shiftingcast of new neighbours in boats mooredtwo or three abreast. In one central Londonstretch of the Regent’s Canal, a team ofboat-dwelling volunteers maintain specialrules to appease nearby residents, wholaunched a series of complaints to authori-ties over boat noise and smoke disturbingtheir expensive terraced homes, which linethe canal. Yet an attempt by the CRT toaddress congestion has caused an outcry inthe boating community.—AFP

LONDON: Jim Bryden, a caretaker for Islington visitorsí moorings, organises utilitieson the roof of his narrow boat on the Regents Canal on May 28, 2015. — AFP

I N T E R N AT ION A LTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

ISLAMABAD: The first official peace talks betweenthe Afghan Taleban and the government in Kabulconcluded with an agreement to meet again afterthe Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, officials saidyesterday. Pakistan hosted the meeting in a tenta-tive step towards ending more than 13 years of warin neighbouring Afghanistan, where the Talebanhave been trying to re-establish their hard-lineIslamist regime after it was toppled by US-led mili-tary intervention in 2001. The next round of talks istentatively planned for Aug 15 and 16 in Doha, cap-ital of Qatar, according to sources close to the par-ticipants. Tuesday’s meeting was hailed as a “break-through” by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.But it was far from clear whether the budding peaceprocess could end an escalating conflict that killshundreds of Afghans every month. Divisions withinthe Taleban over the peace process run deep. Topbattlefield commander Abdul Qayum Zakir, a for-mer Guantanamo Bay detainee, objected to send-ing the delegation for talks with Kabul, according toa lower-level Taleban commander in Kunar provincein eastern Afghanistan. Just ahead of the talks inPakistan, the Taleban launched two suicide attacksin Kabul on Tuesday, killing one person and wound-ing three. A US drone strike also killed a formerTaleban commander who pledged loyalty to IslamicState and had seized territory in the easternprovince of Nangarhar.

US, China InvolvedOfficials from the United States and China were

observers at the talks held on Tuesday in Murree, ahill resort near Islamabad, a statement fromPakistan’s foreign ministry said. “The participantsagreed to continue talks to create an environmentconducive for peace and the reconciliationprocess,” the statement said. In recent monthsthere have been informal preliminary contactsbetween Taleban representatives and Afghan fig-ures, but Tuesday’s event was the first official meet-ing. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said theUnited States welcomed the talks in Pakistan, call-ing them “an important step toward advancingprospects for a credible peace”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HuaChunying said China backed the process and was intouch with all sides. China hopes peace inAfghanistan will help it keep stability in Xinjiang,where Beijing says it has been battling Islamist mili-tants. Afghanistan’s foreign ministry called themeeting “a first step toward reaching peace” andconfirmed another round would be held afterRamadan ends next week. Afghan PresidentAshraf Ghani, who has promoted the peaceprocess and encouraged closer ties with neigh-bouring Pakistan in a bid to achieve his goal, firstannounced the talks on Tuesday. Sharif cautionedin remarks released by his office that the effortwould be difficult and said Afghanistan’s neigh-bours and the international community shouldensure “nobody tries to derail this process”.

The Taleban’s official spokesman has in thepast disavowed tentative moves towards a peace

process, saying those meeting Afghan officialswere not authorised to do so. The participants inTuesday’s meeting “were duly mandated by theirrespective leadership” according to the Pakistanistatement. Taleban pol it ical leader Ak htarMohammad Mansour authorised the delegationto Islamabad for talks over the objections of bat-tlefield commander Zakir, according to theTaleban commander in Kunar. “The problem is it(the meeting) further deepened differencesbetween Mansour and Zakir,” he said. “Zakir ...threatened Mansour that he and his men wouldeither set up another group or would join IslamicState if he did not stop the negotiations.”

Pakistan has in recent months pledged topressure Taleban leaders, many of whom arebelieved to be hiding in Pakistan, to come to thenegotiating table. In February, Pakistan statedbluntly that Mansour and Zakir must agree ontalks. Because Zakir holds sway over severalthousand fighters in eastern Afghanistan, it isuncertain whether any ceasefire, likely be thef irst demand by K abul, could hold. S i lentthroughout the process has been MullahMohammad Omar, the Taleban’s reclusivesupreme leader who has not been seen in publicsince the Taleban was toppled. Some disgruntledTaleban commanders question whether Omar isal ive, and several have switched loyalty toIslamic State, the Middle East-based group thathas seized swathes of terr i tor y in I raq andSyria.—Reuters

Afghans, Taleban to meet

again following Pak talks

Sharif hails first official meeting as ‘breakthrough’

HERAT: Afghan devotees perform special evening ‘Taraweeh’ prayers during the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque late Tuesday. —AFP

KATHMANDU: His luxury flat had views ofthe Himalayas to make the heart soar butDan Bahadur Budhathoki is going to takesome persuading to move back intoKathmandu’s 17-storey Park View Horizonapartment block. Budhathoki was at homeon April 25 when Nepal was hit by its dead-liest earthquake in eight decades and feltthe ground sway under his feet. “I was reallyfrightened,” said Budhathoki, the boss of alocal temping agency who has been livingin his office since disaster struck.

The 7.8-magnitude quake killed morethan 8,800 people and destroyed nearly600,000 houses in Nepal, a country wherehigh-rise buildings are still something of ararity and are limited to Kathmandu. Thequake also damaged another 280,000houses, leaving hundreds of thousands ofpeople homeless and emptying villagesdeemed too dangerous for human habita-tion. Nepalis watched in horror as clouds ofdust rose over the Kathmandu Valley andthousands of poorly constructed housescrumbled to pieces, many of which werehome to some of the capital’s poorest resi-dents.

More than two months later, blue tentsand makeshift shelters made from iron andtarpaulin still dot Kathmandu’s landscape,offering shelter to working-class familieswho saw their life savings turned to rubble.Wealthier residents who live in better-designed buildings by and large emergedunscathed.

Storeys Added When Budhathoki purchased his home

in one of the capital ’s most desirableaddresses, he was given assurances aboutits capacity to withstand an earthquake.

“The developer said that the building wassafe for quakes. Initially it was an 11-storeybuilding but then he got the permit to addsix storeys. “Maybe that’s the reason for thisbig damage,” added Budhathoki who headsa group of some 100 apartment ownersand tenants demanding compensation.

Before April’s quake, 58 high-rise build-ings had been built in Kathmandu whilearound another dozen projects havereceived planning permission. While thou-sands of one or two-storey buildings werereduced to rubble, none of the towerblocks were toppled. Park View Horizon isone of two high-rise buildings that havebeen slapped with a red notice, meaning itneeds either major work to make it safe orelse must be demolished. While six build-ings sustained no damage at all, the other50 require lighter remedial work, accordingto Buddhisagar Thapa, an urban develop-ment ministry official who has responsibili-ty for Kathmandu.

Fear Factor Varun Developers, the local offshoot of

the Indian construction giant RJCorp whichbuilt Park View, says the building does notnecessarily have to be razed to the groundand can be made habitable again. “It willtake at least six months but it can be done.The foundations are okay but we are work-ing on strengthening them,” said AmitGupta, the company’s representative inNepal. Gupta insisted construction hadconformed to all safety regulations butacknowledged residents were fearful aboutreturning. “Of course, things will never bethe same and it will take time but by sixmonths, phobia of high storeys willdecrease.”—AFP

Nepal flat owners baulk

at return to high-life

KATHMANDU: This photograph taken on June 14, 2015 shows damage to The ParkView Horizon Apartment building. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

YANGON: Myanmar yesterday announced Nov 8as the date for a historic general election set to bethe first contested by Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposi-tion in a quarter of a century. The announcementfrom the country’s election commission fires thestarting gun for the much-anticipated poll in theformer junta-run nation, which has launched aseries of reforms since the end of outright militaryrule in 2011. The vote, seen as a crucial test of thecountry’s democratic progress, will determine theelected contingent in the fledgling parliamentwith a president selected by the legislature later.But Suu Kyi is barred by the constitution from tak-ing the top job.

The Nobel laureate’s National League forDemocracy (NLD) party did not immediately con-firm it would participate in the polls, although it iswidely expected to make huge gains at the ballotbox. “We cannot say whether we will take partright now. We need to hold a meeting to make adecision,” spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. The NLDhas gone house-to-house in recent days urging

people to check official voter lists and raising con-cerns that those displayed across the country areriddled with inaccuracies. Election officials yester-day conceded that the lists contain errors, blam-ing technical faults and staff shortages but insist-ing that there is still time to iron out many of theflaws. The Union Election Commission said on itswebsite that the parliamentary election wouldtake place on Nov 8, a Sunday, with candidatesgiven between July 20 and Aug 8 to register.

For Myanmar’s roughly 30 million voters theelection presents a rare chance to cast their votesin a nationwide poll contested by the country’smain opposition. The NLD won national polls in1990 by a landslide, while Suu Kyi was underhouse arrest. But it was prevented from takingpower by the military, who plunged the countryinto isolation for decades. The democracy iconspent some 15 years under house arrest and wasalso locked up during the last general election in2010, which was boycotted by the NLD andmarred by accusations of cheating. —AFP

Myanmar to hold general election on November 8

HEIHE, China: The warmth of the friendshipbetween Chinese President Xi Jinping andRussia’s Vladimir Putin - who met yesterdayfor the eighth time in two years - does little tocounter the bitter economic winds blowingthrough their shared border. In the Chinesecity of Heihe, neon-lit high-rises line thebanks of the Amur river facing Siberia’s

Blagoveshchensk powered by electricity fromhydroelectric plants over the border.

Cyrillic signs greet shoppers from thenorth, but traders say recession in Russia ishitting business. China has emerged asRussia’s largest trading partner as Moscowturns east, seeking markets in Asia in the faceof Western sanctions over Ukraine and low

energy prices that have battered its economy.Beijing sealed a landmark $400 billion gassupply deal with Moscow last year, and inMay Russia became China’s biggest source ofcrude oil for the first time in a decade. Workstarted last week on the Chinese section of a4,000-km gas pipeline from Siberia toShanghai via Heihe.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedevsaid the project only became possible “due toan extremely high level of truly strategiccooperation between Russia and China”. Inthe 1960s, the Chinese and Russian militariesexchanged fire across the Amur - known asthe Heilongjiang in China - as tensionsbetween the two peaked. Now Russians areable to travel to Heihe visa-free in search ofbargains, and shoppers cross it by boat, or onfoot when it freezes over in winter.

The 30,000-sq-m Free Trade City mall, onan island in the river, sells everything fromcomputers to belts. “If you do not speakRussian, no one will buy your furs,” WangJianxin enunciated in perfect Slavic tones, infront of racks of Chinese-made mink coats. Ataxi driver surnamed Cui added: “For makingmoney, trade with Russia is the main thing.”But at the weekend just a trickle of Russianvisitors could be seen passing throughHeihe’s border post, while the mall saw just ahandful of Russian shoppers.

Russia’s economy shrunk by 2.2 percentyear-on-year in the first quarter of this year,and the ruble’s value has almost halvedagainst the yuan in 12 months. “Everyday I

dream that the exchange rate will improve,”said Wang. “Today 1,000 rubles will buy younothing. That’s why people leave.”

‘Perfect Man’ Xi was guest of honour at a massive

Moscow military parade in May to celebratethe Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany,and the same month the Chinese andRussian navies held live-fire drills in theMediterranean Sea. The latest meetingbetween the two leaders comes as theRussian president hosts multiple summits inUfa. Putin is a popular figure in China for hismacho image and willingness to confrontWashington, with a cottage industry dedicat-ed to producing hagiographies of theRussian leader. The Pushkin bookshop inHeihe displayed a tome titled “Putin: the per-fect man in women’s eyes” in a brass pictureframe.

“Since Putin came to power, China andRussia have been getting closer. But theUkraine crisis has pushed forward the rela-tionship at a more rapid rate,” said YangCheng, deputy director of the Centre forRussian Studies at East China NormalUniversity. The authoritarian leaders are saidto share similar views on human rights anddistrust of the United States. “China-Russiarelations are the best they’ve been for a longtime,” said Ji Zhiye, vice president of China’sInstitute of Contemporary InternationalRelations. “Russia and China have a lot incommon when it comes to views on global

politics,” he added, naming joint suspicion ofWashington as a key uniting factor.

But Russia was only China’s ninth biggesttrade partner last year, and analysts saidRussia’s weak comparative economic per-formance - Beijing is targeting seven percentGDP growth this year - makes Moscow wary.“There is a concern in the large part of theRussian elite about being a junior partner,”said Alexander Gabuev of Moscow’sCarnegie Center.

Chocolate Wafers According to official Chinese figures,

trade between the two rose 6.8 percent lastyear from 2014 to reach a record $95 billion,and they are targeting $100 billion this year.Some traders in Heihe have switched to sell-ing Russian commodities to Chinese buyerswho now find them more affordable. Nearthe mall, vendor Fang Chao offered hazelnutand chocolate wafers with his Russian part-ner Alec. “Russian products, like chocolate forexample, taste good and are high quality. SoChinese people like them,” he said.Nonetheless Moscow-based Gabuev said:“It’s pretty clear right now that the trade goalwon’t be reached because of falling energyprices.”

One of Heihe’s most popular Russianrestaurants, the Amur, was empty on Fridayevening. When a waitress at another estab-lishment that serves borscht and otherRussian favourites was asked about business,she raised both hands and mimed a torrentof tears pouring down her face. —AFP

Russia economic winds blow cold in China town

YANGON: Myanmar ethnic people pose for a group photograph at theShwedagon pagoda yesterday. —AFP

WASHINGTON: US President BarackObama welcomed the leader of Vietnam’sCommunist Party on Tuesday to theWhite House for historic but “candid” talksmarking two decades of rapprochementbetween the former enemies. NguyenPhu Trong is the first general secretary ofthe Vietnamese Communist Party to visitthe United States and the White House,and was given the rare honor of an OvalOffice meeting - usually reserved forheads of state and government.

Washington and Hanoi - which ended

their bitter war 40 years ago, and aremarking the 20th anniversary of the for-mal normalization of relations - are seek-ing stronger ties in the face of an increas-ingly assertive China. The two men, smil-ing and rather relaxed as they sat next toeach other in the Oval Office after theirhighly symbolic talks, insisted on theprogress made in the last two decades.“Obviously there has been a difficult his-

tory,” Obama said. “What we’ve seen is theemergence of a constructive relationshipthat is based on mutual respect.”

The US president said trade ties, ten-sions in the South China Sea overBeijing’s territorial claims and the thornyissue of human rights had been raised.“We discussed candidly some of our dif-ferences around issues of human rights,”Obama said, expressing confidence thatany “tensions can be resolved in an effec-tive fashion. Trong described the talks as“cordial, constructive, positive and frank,”

and also qualified their talks on trade andrights as “candid”. Without explicitly refer-ring to China, he raised concerns aboutrecent activities in the South China Sea“that are not in accordance with interna-tional law”.

Beijing has taken a more assertivestance on territorial claims in the SouthChina Sea - including deploying militaryequipment to the disputed Spratly

Islands, claimed in part by Vietnam. TheSouth China Sea is home to strategicallyvital shipping lanes and is believed to berich in oil and gas. Obama -who leavesoffice in 18 months - said he looked for-ward to visiting Vietnam “sometime in thefuture”, without offering a specifictimetable.

‘Nothing But Promise’ The White House talks - followed by a

lunch hosted by Vice President Joe Biden,who said the future held “nothing but

promise” for US-Vietnam ties - have cer-tainly sparked criticism. A few hundredprotesters rallied outside the WhiteHouse, calling for expanded humanrights in Vietnam - an issue that hassparked concern among some Americanlawmakers about deepening ties.Demonstrators carried signs with sloganslike “Freedom of speech in Vietnam now”and called on Hanoi to release all political

prisoners.In an open letter to the president,

nine Democratic and Republican mem-bers of Congress have complained thatthe invitation and warm welcome forTrong send the wrong message. “Thisauthoritarian one-party system is the rootcause of the deplorable human rights sit-uation in Vietnam,” the letter said, callingfor Obama to demand the release ofVietnamese political prisoners.

Beyond the rights question, anothermajor issue on the table is trade. Obamais seeking to reach a 12-nation Pacifictrade pact, known as the Trans-PacificPartnership, that would include Vietnam.Republican Congressman Chris Smith,one of those who signed the letter, andothers in Congress would like to seeVietnam excluded from the TPP until itmakes progress on political rights.“President Obama... still believes thattrade will change Vietnam’s behavior,”Smith told AFP ahead of the visit. “AfterVietnam was given admission to theWorld Trade Organization in 2007, itratcheted up repression; expecting a dif-ferent result now is just plain unrealistic.”

‘Astounding’ Progress John Sifton, an Asia specialist for

Human Rights Watch, told AFP that notenough had changed in Vietnam to war-rant an Oval Office sit-down. He called onObama “to raise the volume on thehuman rights concerns - especially so ifthe two countries are planning toannounce a new level in their diplomaticties.” Part of taking it to the next levelcould be the lifting of a US ban onweapons sales, which Vietnam is keen toachieve.

In October, Washington announcedthe partial lifting of the ban, and author-ized sales of maritime defense equip-ment to Vietnam. But current US laws barthe sale of lethal weapons to Hanoi. TheState Department official said thatWashington wanted to see moreprogress on human rights before goingany further. Yesterday, Trong was to meetwith Senator John McCain, a onetimeprisoner of war in Vietnam who hailedthe “astounding” progress made in bilat-eral ties and called for further easing ofthe lethal weapons ban. —AFP

Obama, Vietnam Communistchief hold landmark talks

Leaders in ‘candid’ Oval Office meeting

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trongshake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday. —AFP

YANGON: Myanmar’s parliament is “play-ing with fire” by passing a bill regulatingthe right of women from the country’sBuddhist majority to marry men fromoutside their religion, an internationalhuman rights group said yesterday. PhilRobertson of New York-based HumanRights Watch linked the bill to a cam-paign by extremist Buddhist groups thathave incited anti-Muslim hatred.Religious tensions have led to deadlyviolence since 2012, especially againstRohingya Muslims in western Myanmar,who have felt compelled to flee abroad,leading to a regional refugee crisis. TheBuddhist Women’s Special Marriage Billpassed Tuesday is one of four known asthe Protection of Race and Religion Laws,which have been criticized as discrimina-tory by rights groups. It mandates thatBuddhist women register their intent tomarry outside their faith, and allowsthem to be stopped if there are objec-tions. President Thein Sein has 14 daysfrom when the bill was passed to sign itor return it with suggested changes.

“It’s shocking that Burma’s parliamenthas passed yet another incredibly dan-gerous law, this time legislating clearlydiscriminatory provisions targeting therights of religious minority men andBuddhist women to marry who they wishwithout interference,” said Robertson,deputy director of Human Rights Watch’sAsia division. Burma is the old name forMyanmar, sometimes used by critics ofits military-backed government. He sug-gested that the leaders of the Buddhistnationalist groups that pushed for thelaws “be investigated and prosecuted for

hate speech rather than feted in the hallsof parliament.”

Robertson said in an email that by ini-tiating and passing such laws, “the gov-ernment and ruling party lawmakers areplaying with fire.” He said that if sectarianviolence flares again like it did in 2012,“then these legislators will have blood ontheir hands.” Also among the laws is thePopulation Control Health Care Bill,which became law in May and calls for a36-month interval for women betweenchild births, ostensibly to keep poor fam-ilies from becoming overstretched finan-cially. It is vague about penalties, raisingfears that they could include coercedcontraception, forced sterilization orabortion.

The two bills still pending are theReligious Conversion Bill, which forcespeople seeking to convert to anotherreligion to get the approval of an officiallocal “Registration Board,” and theMonogamy Bill, whose articles includecriminalizing extramarital relations. TheRohingya Muslims already face manyofficial restrictions because most havenot been granted Myanmar citizenship,the US State Department has noted.

“Muslims, including the Rohingya inRakhine State, faced severe discrimina-tion on the basis of their ethnicity, andincreasingly, their religion,” said thedepartment’s annual report on humanrights, issued last month. “Most Rohingyafaced severe restrictions on their abilityto travel, avail themselves of health-careservices, engage in economic activity,obtain an education, and register births,deaths, and marriages.” —AFP

Rights group condemns Myanmar marriage bill

HEIHE, China: This picture taken on July 4, 2015 shows a Chinese vendorsoliciting a Russian on a business street in this border city in northeast-ern China’s Heilongjiang province. —AFP

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

KOH SAMUI, Thailand: Defence lawyersfor two Myanmar migrants charged withkilling two British tourists in Thailand criti-cised police handling of the case as thetrial opened yesterday, accusing them offailing to secure the crime scene or call inmedical experts quickly enough. Zaw Linand Win Zaw Tun have both pleaded notguilty to the murder last September of 24-year-old David Miller and the rape andmurder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on KohTao island, where their bodies were left ona beach just a few hundred yards from themain tourist drag.

Their deaths sent shockwaves acrossthe Gulf of Thailand idyll, which is popularwith backpackers and divers, and tar-nished Thailand’s reputation as a touristhaven. A Thai policeman said he foundMiller “face down” in the shallow surf anddragged his bruised and battered bodyaway from the sea, fearing it would floataway, while Witheridge was discoveredfurther up the beach. The two suspects,who have been in custody on neighbour-ing Koh Samui since October, arrived atcourt in a prison van with their feet shack-led. They face several charges - includingmurder, rape and robbery - and if foundguilty could face the death penalty.

But the prosecution has been marredby allegations of a bungled investigation,with the defence claiming the migrants,

who are low-paid workers in the tourismtrade, were scapegoated by an under-pressure police force. Both men retractedtheir initial confessions, saying they werecoerced into making them. The defencequestioned yesterday why it took manyhours for police to seal off the crime scenewith rope and why a doctor was not

called until much later in the day.The defence is also waiting for the

court to decide on whether they canindependently test controversial forensicevidence against their clients, which theysay is essential for a fair trial. The judgesaid a decision on this would be madeThursday, according to Andy Hall, an

activist for Migrant Worker RightsNetwork which is helping to fund thedefence.

A ‘Bright Future’ Ended Family members of both victims were

present in court and issued statementsbefore the hearing. “Just hours before hedied David was talking to us with his usualenthusiasm, describing the beauty of KohTao and the friendliness of the Thai peo-ple,” Miller’s family said in their statement,adding that they hoped to “gain a betterunderstanding” of how the young Britdied. “Hannah was a beautiful person,inside and out, she brought a room alivejust being there,” the Witheridge familywrote in their statement. “Her brightfuture was brutally ended leaving thosewho loved her broken with no answers.”Both families have appealed for privacyfrom the press for the duration of the trial,which is expected to take place over 18days between yesterday and Septemberwith a verdict due in October. The killingscame as Thailand’s vital tourism industrywas beginning to recover from months ofviolent street protests that culminated ina May 2014 military coup. The case alsoshone a light on Thailand’s many under-paid and often exploited Myanmarmigrants who work in the lucrative touristsector. —AFP

Thai police competence questioned

SURAT THANI, Thailand: Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin(center) and Win Zaw Htun (rear) arrive at a provincial courtyesterday. —AP

N E W STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Continued from Page 1

Other verses are even more specific in telling us in spe-cific detail how to treat others: “Your Lord has decreedthat you should worship nothing except Him and showkindness to your parents; whether either or both of themattain old age, never say to them “Uf!” nor scold either ofthem. Speak to them in a generous fashion. Serve themwith tenderness and humility...” (17:23). Aside from theseQuranic verses, Muhammad (PBUH) advised his followersin innumerable traditions to be good to others. For exam-ple, he said, “Do you know what the rights of a neighborare? If a neighbor seeks your help, extend it to him. If aneighbor asks you for a loan, lend him. If your neighborbecomes poor, then help him financially and attend to hispoverty if you can.

If your neighbor becomes ill, then visit him. If yourneighbor is happy on certain gain, then congratulate him.If your neighbor is suffering a calamity, then offer himcondolences. If your neighbor dies, then attend his funer-al. Do not raise your building over his building, so that hewould have no sun exposure or wind passage. Do notbother your neighbor with the smell of your cooking,

unless you intend to offer him some” (Tabrani, 101).Detailing the behavior of a loving neighbor is more mean-ingful than a simple order to love them.

The Quran and Muhammad (PBUH) did not directlycommand us to “love one another” because love (the feel-ing) is a byproduct of positive actions and attitudes.Instead, we are commanded to treat one another with jus-tice, respect, forgiveness, patience and kindness. By actingin this way, we can arouse the feeling of love for others inourselves, and vice versa. Islam insists on principle-drivenlove, a love that is proactive and action-based, not reac-tive and emotion-based. How important is love?Muhammad (PBUH) said to his companions, “You will notenter Paradise until you have faith; and you will not com-plete your faith until you love one another” (Muslim).Ramadan is the perfect opportunity to show love for oth-ers by showing compassion and charity through sharing.

Courtesy of the TIES Center: The TIES Center is the socialand educational hub for English Speaking Muslims inKuwait. For more information, please call 25231015 or e-mail info@tiescenter.net or visit www.tiescenter.net.

‘Holy month’ develops love

Continued from Page 1

Huraiji said that the officials were urged in the past towiden the road and to plant fences of trees on the bothsides of the road to act as sand barriers and prevent theaccumulation of sand and accidents. The lawmaker said thatMinister Ahmad Al-Jassar and senior officials should be heldpolitically and legally accountable for the miserable status ofseveral roads which were blocked by sand despite abun-dant fiscal reserves in the country. He said that last year, hesent questions to the then Public Works Minister about thecondition of the Salmi road and plans to repair and developthe important road.

Since then, nothing was changed and the road remainedas it was.

Huraiji said that ambulances and rescue operations weregreatly hampered by sands on several roads where roads inneighboring Gulf states, which were hit by the same dust

storm, remained clean and open to traffic. MP Talal Al-Jallalmade a similar appeal for the Ministry to carry out the nec-essary works and repairs on the road leading to Wafra onthe borders with Saudi Arabia. He said that the road wasblocked to traffic by falling sand and also resulted in a num-ber of accidents. Jallal said Wafra road needs a major devel-opment in order to reduce the number of deadly accidenton the vital road.

MP Awdah Al-Awdah said yesterday that the ongoingdispute between the oil executives and Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair could divide the National Assembly into two sides. Hepointed out that the threat by oil executives to step down inprotest against the Minister’s decision is not right nor suit-able, adding that decisions by the minister should be issuedat the right time. The Oil Minister has added six new mem-bers to the board of directors of Kuwait Petroleum Corp toexpand the board members to 15. That triggered negativereactions by a number of oil executives and MPs.

Lawmakers urge action as sand blocks...

Continued from Page 1

Institute for Climate Impact Research said in a statement.Overall, there were 12 percent more downpours which

broke local records from 1981 to 2010 than would beexpected in an unchanged climate, according to an analysisof rainfall statistics from thousands of weather stations since1900. Southeast Asia had the biggest increase with 56 per-cent, while Europe saw a 31 percent rise. The study said2010 was the year with most records broken, from Texas toPakistan. Flooding in Pakistan was the worst in its history,killing more than 2,000 people and affecting 18 million. Thefindings may help guide investment in flood prevention,from reinforcing riverbanks to building storm drains in cities.

Dim Coumou, one of the authors, said natural climateshifts could explain the frequency of downpours until about1980. “After that we clearly go out of that range and seemany more record-breaking events,” he told Reuters. “Iwould expect this to continue over coming decades - itdepends of course on how much humanity will emit.” TheUN panel of climate scientists concluded last year there hadbeen “an increase in the number of heavy precipitationevents in a number of regions” since about 1950 due to ris-ing temperatures. In April, a Swiss-led study said globalwarming was to blame for most extremely hot days andalmost a fifth of heavy downpours. Officials from almost 200countries will meet in Paris in late 2015 to try to work out aUN deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions. — Agencies

World urged to tackle climate change...

DUBAI: The US and Emirati govern-ments launched a new Mideast digi-tal communications center yesterdayfocused on using social media tocounter the Islamic State group’spropaganda efforts online. IS sup-porters have deftly harnessed socialmedia to spread the group’s slicklyproduced Hollywood-style film clipsand other messages aimed at recruit-ing and drawing support fromplugged-in young Muslims. TheObama administration has urgedArab allies to do more to combat themedia blitz, characterizing the fighton the communications front as a keypillar in the overall effort to defeatthe group.

The new Sawab Center is one of

the most concrete responses to thatcall yet in the region. Named for theArabic word for “the right or properway,” it will be based in Abu Dhabi,the oil-rich capital of the United ArabEmirates, a key American ally and amember of the US-led coalitionagainst the IS group. The centerreleased YouTube videos and Twittermessages Wednesday in Arabic andEnglish announcing its launch. AnwarGargash, the Emirati minister of statefor foreign affairs, and RichardStengel, the US undersecretary ofstate for public diplomacy and publicaffairs, said the center’s aim is to sup-port coalition efforts, challenge ISpropaganda and “amplify moderateand tolerant voices from across the

region.”“Recent tragic events in the

Middle East region and beyond havedemonstrated once again the starkcontrast between Daesh’s vision forthe future and that of civilized peo-ple,” the diplomats said in a jointstatement announcing the launch.Daesh is another name for the IslamicState group. “Through the SawabCenter, we hope to lend a voice to allthose people that stand unitedagainst terrorism,” the statementadded. Stengel, a former Time maga-zine managing editor, traveled to theEmirates for the launch. Journalistswere not allowed to attend the pro-ject’s unveiling or visit the center,which has been testing its operations

and developing its branding over thepast three months.

More work still needs to be done.The center does not yet have an activewebsite of its own, and a plannedFacebook presence and a dedicated

YouTube channel are expected to takeseveral more weeks to develop.Officials say they hope the center willeventually launch “proactive onlinemessaging campaigns” to target ISpropaganda. The US separately has

been expanding an existing US StateDepartment division set up in 2011and known as the Center for StrategicCounterterrorism Communicationsthat is designed to counter jihadistmessages online. — AP

US, UAE launch anti-IS online messaging center in Abu Dhabi

Iranian Shiite Muslims pray as they place the Quran on their heads at the graves of soldiers who were killed during 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, during the holy fastingmonth of Ramadan. Iranian Muslims spent the night in prayer and devotion commemorating Laylat Al Qadr, or the Night of Power, which is the anniversary of the night that Muslims believe ProphetMuhammad (PBUH)received the first revelation of the Quran by the angel Gabriel. — AP

By Hamza Hendawi, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Bassem Mroue

Bearded and wearing bright bluebandanas, the Islamic State group’s“special forces” unit gathered

around their commander just before theyattacked the central Syrian town of Al-Sukhna. “Victory or martyrdom,” theyscreamed, pledging their allegiance toGod and vowing never to retreat. The IScalls them “Inghemasiyoun,” Arabic for“those who immerse themselves.” Theelite shock troops are possibly the dead-liest weapon in the extremist group’s arse-nal: Fanatical and disciplined, they infil-trate their targets, unleash mayhem andfight to the death, wearing explosivesbelts to blow themselves up among theiropponents if they face defeat. They arecredited with many of the group’s stun-ning battlefield successes - including thecapture of al-Sukhna in May after thescene shown in an online video releasedby the group.

“They cause chaos and then their mainground offensive begins,” said RedurKhalil, spokesman of the US-backedKurdish People’s Protection Units, whichhave taken the lead in a string of militarysuccesses against the IS in Syria. Thoughbest known for its horrific brutalities -from its grotesque killings of captives toenslavement of women - the Islamic Stategroup has proved to be a highly organ-ized and flexible fighting force, accordingto senior Iraqi military and intelligenceofficials and Syrian Kurdish commanderson the front lines.

Guerrilla warfareIts tactics are often creative, whether

it’s using a sandstorm as cover for anassault or a lone sniper tying himself tothe top of a palm tree to pick off troopsbelow. Its forces nimbly move betweenconventional and guerrilla warfare, usingthe latter to wear down their opponentsbefore massed fighters backed byarmored vehicles, Humvees and some-times even artillery move to take over ter-ritory. The fighters incorporate suicidebombings as a fearsome battlefield tacticto break through lines and demoralizeenemies, and they are constantly honingthem to make them more effective.Recently, they beefed up the front armorof the vehicles used in those attacks toprevent gunfire from killing the driver ordetonating explosives prematurely.

Those strategies are being carried overinto new fronts as well, appearing inEgypt in last week’s dramatic attack by anIS-linked militant group against the mili-tary in the Sinai Peninsula. Andreas Krieg,a professor at King’s College London whoembedded with Iraqi Kurdish fighters lastfall, said IS local commanders are givenleeway to operate as they see fit. They“have overall orders on strategy and areexpected to come up with the most effi-cient ways of adapting it,” he said. Thegroup “is very much success oriented,results oriented.” That’s a strong contrastto the rigid, inefficient and corrupt hierar-chies of the Iraqi and Syrian militaries,where officers often fear taking any actionwithout direct approval from higher up.

Highly disciplinedIS fighters are highly disciplined - swift

execution is the punishment for desertingbattle or falling asleep on guard duty,Iraqi officers said. The group is also flushwith weaponry looted from Iraqi forcesthat fled its blitzkrieg a year ago, when ISovertook the northern city of Mosul andother areas. Much of the heavy weapons

it holds - including artillery and tanks -have hardly been used, apparently onreserve for a future battle. Iraqi army LtGen Abdul-Wahab Al-Saadi said IS standsout in its ability to conduct multiple bat-tles simultaneously.

“In the Iraqi army, we can only run onebig battle at a time,” said Al-Saadi, whowas wounded twice in the past year as heled forces that retook the key cities of Beijiand Tikrit from IS. Even the group’s atroci-ties are in part a tactic, aimed at terroriz-ing its enemies and depicting itself as anunstoppable juggernaut. In June 2014,the group boasted of killing hundreds ofShiites in Iraq’s security forces, issuingphotos of the massacre. It regularlybeheads captured soldiers, releasingvideos of the killings online. It is increas-ing the shock value: Recent videosshowed it lowering captives in a cage intoa pool to drown and blowing off theheads of others with explosive wirearound their necks.

The number of IS fighters in Iraq andSyria is estimated between 30,000 to60,000, according to the Iraqi officers.Former army officers of ousted Iraqi dicta-tor Saddam Hussein have helped thegroup organize its fighters, a diverse mixfrom Europe, the United States and Araband Central Asian nations. Veteran jihadiswith combat experience in Afghanistan,Chechnya or Somalia have also broughtvaluable experience, both in planning andas role models to younger fighters. “Theytend to use their foreign fighters as sui-cide bombers,” said Patrick Skinner, a for-mer CIA officer who now directs specialoperations for The Soufan Group, a privategeopolitical risk assessment company.

The caliphate“People go to the Islamic State looking

to die, and the Islamic State is happy tohelp them.” The group’s tactics carried it toan overwhelming sweep of northern andwestern Iraq a year ago, capturing Mosul,Iraq’s second-biggest city. Shortly there-after, IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadideclared a “caliphate” spanning its territo-

ry in Iraq and Syria. In May, it capturedRamadi, capital of Iraq’s vast westernAnbar province, in a humiliation for Iraqiforces. In Syria, it seized the central city ofPalmyra.

The elite shock troops were crucial inthe capture of Ramadi. First came a waveof more than a dozen suicide bombingsthat hammered the military’s positions inthe city, then the fighters moved in dur-ing a sandstorm. Iraqi troops crumbledand fled as a larger IS force marched in.“The way they took Ramadi will be stud-ied for a while,” Skinner said. “They havethe ability to jump back and forthbetween traditional (military operations)and terrorism.” He said a similar combina-tion of suicide bombings ahead ofground forces was used in last week’sSinai attacks in Egypt.

Since US-led airstrikes in Syria and Iraqhave made it more difficult for thegroup’s forces to advance, IS has lostground. Iraqi troops and Shiite militiamen

retook areas to the south and northeastof Baghdad, the oil refinery city of Beijiand Saddam Hussein’s hometown ofTikrit north of the capital. In Syria,Kurdish fighters backed by heavy USairstrikes wrested the border town ofKobani from the IS after weeks of devas-tating battles. More recently, IS lost TalAbyad, another Syrian town on theTurkish border. Despite that loss, IS shocktroops attacked Kobani last month.Around 70 of them infiltrated and battleda much larger Kurdish force for two days,apparently on a mission not to retake thetown but to cause chaos.

They were all slain, but not beforekilling more than 250 civilians, includingroughly 100 children, and more than 30Kurdish fighters. At the same time, theyattacked the northeast Syrian city ofHassakeh, driving out thousands of peo-ple and still holding out in parts of thecity despite continued fighting. Lastweek, they carried out a bloody incursioninto Tal Abyad, again fighting until theywere all killed but demonstrating theirrelentlessness. “We are still nursing our

wounds in Kobani,” said Ghalia Nehme, aSyrian Kurdish commander who fought inlast month’s battle. “From what we saw,they weren’t planning to leave alive.

It seems they were longing for heav-en,” she said. The use of suicide bombingshas forced IS’s opponents to adapt. Al-Saadi defied his own Iraqi military com-manders who demanded a fast assault toretake Beiji. Instead, he adopted a slow,methodical march from a base near Tikrit,moving only a few miles each day whileclearing roads of explosives and settingup barriers against suicide attacks. It tookhim three weeks to go 25 miles to Beiji,fighting the whole way and fending offmore than two dozen suicide attacks,then another week to take Beiji, but hesucceeded with minimal casualties.

IS also has adapted, and recentlybegan using remote controlled aircraftfitted with cameras to film enemy posi-tions. It is believed to have agents withinthe military. It also has superior commu-

nications equipment, using two-wayradios with a longer range than the Iraqimilitary’s, said Maj Gen Ali Omran, com-mander of Iraq’s 5th Division. Omran saidthat when the extremists figured out themilitary was listening in on its radio fre-quencies, it switched to more secure linesbut continued using the infiltrated fre-quencies to feed the military false infor-mation.

Even IS supply chains are robust. Itsfighters’ rations often include grilled meatkebabs and chicken, better than whatIraqi troops eat, Omran said. But IS has itsvulnerabilities, noted Skinner. It has no airforce. And its open, state-like organiza-tion gives an opportunity for spies toinfiltrate, something the group clearlyfears given the many killings of people itsuspects of espionage. It also faces inter-nal strains, trying to control and direct itsmulti-national personnel. “We think ofthem as this spooky faceless organizationthat runs seamlessly,” Skinner said. “Iimagine it’s probably the hardest organi-zation to run, because it’s staffed withunstable, violent people.” —AP

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A N A L Y S I STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Greece’s economic turbulence is dominatingpolitical debate in Spain ahead of a year-endgeneral election, with the ruling conserva-

tives pointing to Syriza’s difficulties to discredit itsSpanish ally Podemos. In the escalating tug-of-warbetween Athens and its international creditors,Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government is push-ing the message that its reforms have stifled the riskof contagion from Greece and the two nations arenot comparable.

“We have the instruments... to deal with marketvolatility,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos saidMonday, a day after Greek voters defiantly rejectedterms for a new EU-IMF bailout. He said Spain’sbanks had been shored up, the public deficit morethan halved, and “macroeconomic imbalances havebeen corrected”, with the government forecastinggrowth of 3.3 percent this year. Spain’s economy ismuch larger than Greece’s-it is the fourth largest inthe euro-zone-and its population of 47 million isover four times greater. Even so, there are intriguingpolitical parallels between the two nations. InSpain, as in Greece, the Socialists were in powerwhen the European debt crisis struck in 2009.

Greece’s public deficit stood at 12.7 percent of itseconomic output while in Spain it reached 11.1 per-cent. Spain’s conservative Popular Party swept topower at the end of 2011 in a general election onpromises to reduce the country public deficit andprevent bankruptcy. In June 2012 a right-left coali-tion came to power in Athens. In both nations, aus-terity budgets were adopted against a backdrop ofrecession and a sharp rise in unemployment. Greecereceived two bailouts worth a total of 240 billioneuros ($265 billion) while Spain received an aidpackage for its ailing banks of more than 40 billioneuros.

Anger over the austerity measures imposed bythe so-called “troika”-the European Central Bank(ECB), the European Commission and theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) - helped Greece’sradical left party Syriza win a general election inJanuary 2015. Opposition to belt-tightening hasalso driven the fortunes of Podemos, a close ally ofSyriza that was founded only last year. Opinion pollssay it is running neck and neck with the rulingPopular Party and the main opposition Socialists.

Inspiration or scarecrow?Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias on Sunday hailed

the outcome of the Greek referendum as a victoryfor democracy. But the Popular Party says Greece’srefusal to adopt tougher reforms should be a causefor concern. Pablo Casado, the party’s campaignchief during May local and regional elections inwhich it took a battering, warned that underPodemos, Spain’s economic recovery would bederailed, “Podemos would do as in Greece,” PopularParty spokesman Javier Baroto said Tuesday.

In Greece, “many people are living under a bridgeor on the edge of an abyss”, he said. Podemos accus-es the government of scaremongering. “They try tospread a message of fear to the population, to cre-ate the idea that we can’t have policies that are dif-ferent from those that are decided by the ‘troika’”,said a Madrid city councilor, Romy Arce. While Spainhas returned to growth, unemployment remainshigh and Podemos still has margin to tap into voterdiscontent over the state of the economy. Nearlythree in four Spaniards, 71.5 percent, feel thenation’s economic situation is “bad” or “very bad”,according to a survey by the government Center forSociological Research published Tuesday.

Spain’s unemployment rate stood at 23.8 percentin the first quarter. Within the euro-zone, onlyGreece’s jobless rate — 25.6 percent-was higher.Other mainstream parties in Europe are also facingthe rise of groups raucously campaigning againstausterity or Brussels. In Finland the right-wing FinnsParty became the country’s second-largest party inan April general election. In Denmark the anti-immi-gration Danish People’s Party finished second in aJune election while in France one in four voters arebelieved to back the far-right Front National aheadof December regional elections. —AFP

Issues

‘Madrid’s mantra’:

Spain is not Greece

A secret to IS success: Shock troops who fight to the death

HASSAKEH: Fighters of the Islamic State group infiltrate toward Syrian government forces positions in the predominantlyKurdish Syrian city of Hassakeh, Syria. —AP

By Michaela Cancela-Kieffer

S P O RT STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s planned new stadium will host a minimum oftwo NFL matches a season as part of a 10-year partnership, the Premier Leaguesoccer club announced yesterday.

The 61,000-seater venue, which is due to open in 2018, will feature aretractable grass pitch for Premier League matches with an artificial surface forNFL games underneath. “We have an opportunity now to deliver one of themost unique sports, leisure and entertainment venues in the world, bringingtogether the Premier League and NFL for the first time,” Tottenham chairmanDaniel Levy said on the club website. “I am delighted that we have succeeded inattracting them (NFL). We have a compelling and exciting partnership that willplay its part as we begin transforming this area of Tottenham,” he added in thestatement on www.tottenhamhotspur.com. Wembley began hosting NFLgames in 2007 and three regular-season games will be played at the nationalstadium this year. Jacksonville Jaguars have a deal to play one game a season atWembley from 2013 to 2016 and the team’s owner Shad Khan said onWednesday: “The NFL’s commitment to the UK is absolute and the JacksonvilleJaguars are extremely proud to be part of it. “We’ve seen incredible growth inthe Jaguars’ international following that can be traced specifically to our agree-ment to play a home game at Wembley Stadium through 2016. “We’ve beenthrilled with our experience and association with everyone at Wembley Stadiumand continue to work closely with the team there as we prepare for our gamethis October (against the Buffalo Bills) and again next fall.” — Reuters

Tottenham to host NFLSYDNEY: Queensland reclaimed State of Origin bragging rights in emphaticstyle with a record 52-6 thrashing of New South Wales in front of a crowd of52,500 at Lang Park in Brisbane yesterday to win the series 2-1. With CameronSmith, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston running the show, Queenslandran in eight tries to ensure last year’s triumph for their southern neighbourswould be merely a blip in a decade of domination for the Maroons. DaneGagai, Josh Papalii and Greg Inglis scored tries to give them a 22-2 halftimelead and Matt Gillett, Michael Morgan, Darius Boyd, Will Chambers and AidanGuerra crossed after the break.

Thurston kicked 18 points with a perfect performance fromthe tee before handing the ball to centre Justin Hodges toconvert the last try in his 24th and final Origin match.

“One of the best feelings you can have in your life, win-ning an Origin series,” Thurston said in a pitchside interview.“They wrote us off in this series, it just goes to show what achampion side this is.”

New South Wales, who had hopes of winning a sec-ond series in a row after a 26-18 victory in the secondmatch to tie up the series, were never in the contest afterTrent Hodkinson opened the scoring with a sixth minutepenalty. —Reuters

SINGAPORE: In-demand Germany defender Mats Hummels will staywith Borussia Dortmund for another year but offered no assurancesabout his long-term future.

The 26-year-old World Cup winner has been linked heavily with amove to English outfit Manchester United and admitted to being flat-tered by the interest.

But having seen a number of team mates, such as Mario Goetze andRobert Lewandowski, leave the club in recent seasons, Hummels wasnot ready to depart Dortmund yet.

“There have always been rumours about almost every one of ourplayers, but I decided not to make the move this year,”

Hummels told reporters in Singapore on Wednesday aheadof a pre-season friendly over the Malaysian border today.

“Of course when the big clubs are interested, andManchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world,

it’s an honour. But I decided I wanted to stay here.” Hummels, who

begun his career with Bayern Munich, has another twoyears left on his contract with Dortmund, who arenow coached by Thomas Tuchel after Juergen Kloppstepped down last season. —Reuters

Hummels stays at Dortmund Queensland crush NSW

CHICAGO: Addison Russell hit a tying single andscored during a three-run rally in the seventhinning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. LouisCardinals 5-3 Tuesday to complete a day-nightdoubleheader sweep. The Cubs won the opener 7-4 behind a strong start by Jake Arrieta, then cameback late in the nightcap to beat the NL Centralleaders for just the fourth time in 12 games.

Chicago scored three in the seventh to grab a4-2 lead, with Cardinals reliever Seth Maness (3-1)getting ejected after giving up the tying singleand his replacement Kevin Siegrist allowing twomore runs. Travis Wood (5-3) pitched a scorelessseventh. Hector Rondon retired the side in theeighth. Jason Motte gave up an RBI single topinch-hitter Tony Cruz in the ninth. But heescaped with his fifth save in as many chancesafter Matt Carpenter fouled out and JhonnyPeralta grounded into a force to end the game.

GIANTS 3, METS 0Matt Cain pitched six innings of two-hit ball in

a triumphant return to AT&T Park for his first winin nearly a year as San Francisco beat New York toend its seven-game losing streak. Hunter Pencedrove in two runs after being activated from thedisabled list earlier in the day and made asparkling defensive play in the sixth inning, whileAll-Star reserve Joe Panik had two hits and scoredtwice. Cain (1-1) had not pitched at the Giants’waterfront ballpark since July 9, 2014, when heearned his last win before missing the final half ofthe season following elbow surgery. New York’sBartolo Colon (9-7), winless since June 12, allowedthree runs and 10 hits in six innings. KevinPlawecki had two of the Mets’ four hits.

PHILLIES 7, DODGERS 2Chad Billingsley won for the first time in over

two years, against his old team, Jeff Francoeurhomered and drove in three runs, and last-placePhiladelphia beat NL West-leading Los Angeles.

Billingsley (1-2) allowed two runs and six hits insix innings in just his third start in 25 months toearn his first victory since April 10, 2013. The right-hander struck out three and walked one on thesame mound where he pitched eight seasons andwon 81 games for the Dodgers before undergoinga pair of right elbow surgeries.

They declined to pick up his option lastOctober, and he signed a one-year deal with thePhillies in January. Billingsley lost his first start 9-0on May 5 and went back on the disabled list twoweeks later because of a strained right shoulder.He struggled in his return last week againstMilwaukee, giving up seven runs and 10 hits infive innings but avoided the loss.

MARINERS 7, TIGERS 6Robinson Cano lined an RBI single into the

right-field corner with one out in the 11th inning,giving Seattle the win over Detroit.

Cano lined a 2-1 pitch from Detroit left-handerIan Krol (1-2) that one-hopped off the wall. It wasthe first walk-off hit for Cano since Aug. 28, 2009,with the New York Yankees.

Austin Jackson reached on a fielder’s choicewhen Brad Miller was forced out at second base.

Franklin Gutierrez then chopped a single throughthe left side, and for the third straight inningSeattle had the winning run at second base withone out. This time Cano came through.

Charlie Furbush (1-1) pitched the top of the11th for the victory. Furbush and Carson Smithcombined for three solid innings and kept Detroitoff the scoreboard despite the Tigers having run-ners in scoring position in the 10th and 11th.

REDS 5, NATIONALS 0Johnny Cueto pitched a two-hitter with 11

strikeouts, Joey Votto homered and drove in threeruns and Cincinnati beat Max Scherzer andWashington.

The potential pitching duel between Cuetoand Scherzer never materialized. Cueto kept uphis end - retiring the final 15 batters in his firstcomplete game of the year - but Scherzer strug-gled from the outset. One day after being namedto the NL All-Star team, Scherzer (9-7) gave up fiveruns and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, his shortestouting in more than a year. The five runs weremore than the right-hander allowed in his previ-ous four games combined, a stretch that includeda no-hitter and a one-hitter. Votto was the mainculprit. He doubled in a run in the first inning, hit asolo homer in the third and added an RBI single inthe fifth.

ROYALS 9, RAYS 5Alcides Escobar hit a bases-loaded double,

Alex Gordon matched a career high with four RBIsand Kansas City cruised to a victory over TampaBay and a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.

Escobar had fallen behind 0-2 against Raysreliever Brandon Gomes (1-4) in the sixth inningbefore battling back to a full count. On the 11thpitch of the at-bat, Escobar yanked a fair ball justdown the third-base line, emptying the bases andbreaking a 1-all deadlock.

Brandon Finnegan (2-0), Luke Hochevar andRyan Madson made the lead stand in relief ofRoyals starter Edinson Volquez, who allowed onlyJohn Jaso’s solo homer in five innings.

The victory in Game 2 came after PauloOrlando hit a ninth-inning grand slam to giveKansas City a win in the opener. It also stuckTampa Bay with its ninth loss in 10 games.

The doubleheader was caused by a massivestorm that caused numerous tornado warnings inthe Kansas City area Monday night.

In the opener, the Rays had rallied to knot thegame 5-all before Orlando came to the plate inthe ninth. All-Star closer Brad Boxberger (4-5)threw him a changeup and the Brazilian poundedit into the bullpen in left for his first career slam.

ATHLETICS 4, YANKEES 3Brett Lawrie hit a leadoff homer in the 10th

inning against All-Star reliever Dellin Betances,sending Oakland to a victory over New York.

Billy Butler launched a tying shot off ChasenShreve in the sixth, and Tyler Clippard whiffedslugger Mark Teixeira with two on for the final outas the A’s improved to 1-6 in extra innings thisyear. They had been the only major league teamwithout a win after the ninth.

Sonny Gray threw seven gritty innings forOakland in his return from an illness that sent himto the hospital and forced him to skip a start.

Lawrie pulled an 0-2 breaking ball just insidethe left-field foul pole for his eighth home run.Betances (5-2) snapped his head down and shout-ed into his glove.

Drew Pomeranz (3-3) pitched two perfectinnings, and Clippard got three outs against hisformer team for his 16th save in 18 attempts.

ANGELS 10, ROCKIES 2All-Stars Albert Pujols and Mike Trout hit two

of Los Angeles’ four home runs and the Angelsrouted Colorado. Matt Joyce and Chris Iannettaalso went deep as the Angels jumped onColorado starter Chad Bettis for 10 runs in just 2 1-3 innings to win their fourth straight.

Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney (2-0) hadanother impressive outing in just his third careerstart. He allowed two runs on eight hits and struckout five in 7 1-3 innings. He surrendered a solohome run to Drew Stubbs in the third and an RBIsingle to Troy Tulowitzki in the sixth that extendedhis hitting streak to 19 games.

Heaney’s outing was more than enough for theoffense. Pujols hit a three-run shot in the firstinning for his AL-leading 26th homer of the sea-son. Joyce gave Los Angeles a 5-0 lead with hisfourth of the year in the second, and Trout hit his22nd later in the inning to make it 8-0.

PIRATES 3, PADRES 2Gregory Polanco helped free a grounds crew

member trapped underneath a billowing tarp,then hit a go-ahead triple in the eighth inningthat sent Pittsburgh past San Diego.

Polanco and fellow Pirates outfielders AndrewMcCutchen and Sean Rodriguez made the play ofthe game at the start of a 1 hour, 42 minute raindelay in the top of the third.

Strong winds and rain caused the tarp to startswelling as the grounds crew at PNC Park strug-gled to cover the infield, and a worker was swal-lowed up and caught below. McCutchen, Polancoand Rodriguez came from the Pirates’ dugout andhelped pull the tarp off him. Rodriguez was hit bypitch from Joaquin Benoit (5-4) leading off theeighth. Polanco tripled with two outs, giving thePirates their fourth straight win. McCutchen set acareer high by extending his hitting streak to 14games. Tony Watson (2-1) won and MarkMelancon got his NL-leading 28th save.

INDIANS 2, ASTROS 0Corey Kluber pitched five-hit ball into the sev-

enth inning and finally won for the first time sinceMay 28, leading Cleveland to a win over Houston.

Despite pitching well enough to win, Kluber(4-9) went 0-4 with two no-decisions in his previ-ous six starts. But the defending AL Cy Young win-ner was on his game against the Astros, who man-aged just five singles and allowed only got onerunner to reach third base.

Zach McAllister finished the seventh, workedthe eighth and Bryan Shaw finished up for his sec-ond save. Michael Brantley homered in the sixthoff Astros rookie Vince Velasquez (0-1) as theIndians snapped a three-game losing streak.Velasquez was the pitcher of record for the firsttime in his sixth career start. The right-handerallowed six hits in 6 1-3 innings and struck out five.

BLUE JAYS 2, WHITE SOX 1Felix Doubront pitched into the seventh inning

in his first start of the season and Josh Donaldsonhomered to lead Toronto to a victory overChicago. Doubront (1-0) allowed just one run andsix hits in 6 2/3 innings. It was his first start in themajors since last Sept. 20 when he pitched for theChicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Roberto Osuna got the last three outs for hisfourth save. Donaldson, who has 21 home runs onthe season, hit one for the second straight game.He has six homers in five games against the WhiteSox this season. Jose Quintana (4-8) lost despiteallowing just two runs and four hits in eightinnings. He struck out eight -including fivestraight during the fourth and fifth innings - andretired 10 straight batters in one stretch.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, RANGERS 2Arizona rookie Robbie Ray took a shutout into

the eighth inning to outpitch Texas’ YovaniGallardo and the Diamondbacks beat the Rangers.

Ray (3-4) pitched four-hit ball over a career-high 7 2/3 innings. He didn’t give up a hit untilElvis Andrus’ single with two outs in the fifth.

Jake Lamb’s two-run single with two outs inthe top of the fifth put Arizona ahead 2-0 andended Gallardo’s consecutive scoreless streak at33 1/3 innings.

A.J. Pollock’s RBI single with two outs in thesixth made it 3-0 and chased Gallardo (7-7). TheRangers scored in the eighth as Arizona rightfielder Yasmany Tomas missed Andrus’ line drivefor a three-base error and Andrus scored on Shin-Soo Choo’s sacrifice fly. Delino DeShields doubledwith two outs and scored on Rougned Odor’s sin-gle. Brad Ziegler got the last three outs for hiscareer high-tying 13th save.

BRAVES 4, BREWERS 3AJ Pierzynski homered among his three hits,

Manny Banuelos earned his first major league winand Atlanta beat Milwaukee. Pierzynski hit hissixth homer and drove in two runs. He is 10 for 13in his last three games. Banuelos (1-0) gave up

one run and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. The left-han-der, who made his big league debut last week,started in place of the injured Williams Perez.

Jason Grilli got his 24th save to give Atlanta itsseventh victory in nine games. Tyler Cravy (0-2)started in place of Matt Garza, who went on thedisabled list Monday. Cravy gave up three runs insix innings in his second major league start.

TWINS 8, ORIOLES 3Top prospect Miguel Sano demonstrated his

power in hitting his first major league homer thenshowed some patience at the plate by drawing abases-loaded walk as Minnesota cruised to a winover Baltimore. Sano hit a towering two-runhomer in the first inning in front of the fans whohave long been waiting for his heralded arrival.Known for a potent bat, Sano had two hits andhas hit safely in each of his first six games sincebeing promoted from Double-A.

Kyle Gibson (7-6) allowed a two-run homer toJ.J. Hardy but allowed six hits in six innings to winhis third straight start.

Kevin Gausman (1-1) lasted just 3 2-3 inningsfor Baltimore as he gave up eight runs - sevenearned - on seven hits. He also threw two wildpitches.

RED SOX 4, MARLINS 3Xander Bogaerts drove in three runs with a

bases-loaded single in the seventh inning, bolster-ing his chances for a spot in the All-Star Game andleading Boston to a victory over Miami.

Bogaerts, one of five candidates for the finalopening on the AL team, went 2 for 4 to raise hisbatting average to .304. Wade Miley struck outnine and Travis Shaw picked up his first threemajor league hits, including a one-out single tostart Boston’s comeback in the seventh. JunichiTazawa (1-3) picked up the win with 1 1/3 inningsof scoreless relief, and Koji Uehara pitched a per-fect ninth for his 20th save. Boston matched a sea-son high with its third consecutive win. —AP

Cubs beat Cards, Giants blank Mets

SAN FRANCISCO: Giants right fielder Hunter Pence swings for an RBI single off New YorkMets’ Bartolo Colon during the third inning of a baseball game. — AP

MLB results/standings

Chicago Cubs 7, St. Louis 4; Kansas City 9, Tampa Bay 5; Oakland 4, NY Yankees 3 (10 innings);Cincinnati 5, Washington 0; Pittsburgh 3, San Diego 2; Boston 4, Miami 3; Cleveland 2, Houston 0;Arizona 4, Texas 2; Chicago Cubs 5, St. Louis 3; Atlanta 4, Milwaukee 3; Minnesota 8, Baltimore 3;Kansas City 7, Tampa Bay 1; Toronto 2, Chicago White Sox 1; LA Angels 10, Colorado 2; Seattle 7,Detroit 6 (11 innings); Philadelphia 7, LA Dodgers 2; San Francisco 3, NY Mets 0.

American LeagueEastern Division

W L PCT GB NY Yankees 44 39 .530 - Baltimore 43 41 .512 1.5 Toronto 44 42 .512 1.5 Tampa Bay 43 43 .500 2.5 Boston 40 45 .471 5

Central DivisionKansas City 48 33 .593 - Minnesota 45 39 .536 4.5 Detroit 42 41 .506 7 Cleveland 39 44 .470 10 Chicago White Sox 37 44 .457 11

Western DivisionHouston 49 37 .570 - LA Angels 45 38 .542 2.5 Texas 41 43 .488 7 Seattle 39 45 .464 9 Oakland 39 47 .453 10

National LeagueEastern Division

Washington 46 38 .548 - NY Mets 43 42 .506 3.5 Atlanta 42 42 .500 4 Miami 35 49 .417 11 Philadelphia 29 57 .337 18

Central DivisionSt. Louis 54 30 .643 - Pittsburgh 49 34 .590 4.5 Chicago Cubs 46 37 .554 7.5 Cincinnati 38 44 .463 15 Milwaukee 36 50 .419 19

Western DivisionLA Dodgers 47 38 .553 - San Francisco 43 42 .506 4 Arizona 41 42 .494 5 San Diego 39 47 .453 8.5 Colorado 35 48 .422 11

CHICAGO: Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler can’t make the catch on a single by St. Louis Cardinals’ Peter Bourjos during the ninth inningin the second baseball game of a doubleheader. — AP

S P O RT STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

APIA: New Zealand All Blacks and the Samoan team gather for a photograph following their rugby union match at Apia Park. New Zealand won the match 25-16 in the All Blacks’ first-ever test match in the Pacific Island nation. — AP

APIA: Daniel Carter’s left boot underlined whythe flyhalf will be so valuable at this year’sWorld Cup when he slotted 20 points to givethe All Blacks a tense 25-16 victory overSamoa in their first visit to Apia yesterday.Carter’s successful goal-kicking allowed the AllBlacks to build scoreboard pressure in a tightfirst half before he produced a pinpoint cross-kick for winger George Moala to score a try ondebut to open a 19-3 lead after halftime.

Samoa flyhalf Tusi Pisi slotted nine pointsfor the home side, who put the All Blacksunder pressure in the second half to get backto 22-16 after Alafoti Fa’osiliva’s try followingtwo storming runs up the middle of the park.

Carter, however, slotted his sixth penaltywith five minutes remaining to give the 2011world champions their narrowest victory overSamoa in six matches.

“I’m not sure words can justify the type ofmatch it was,” All Blacks captain Richie McCawsaid in a pitchside interview. “I will say to theManu Samoa team, the way you played that’swhat true test match rugby is all about and wesaid before we came that was what we’d get.

“And that’s what you boys did.” The AllBlacks had scored 50 or more points in four oftheir five previous games against Samoa,including a 101-14 thumping in their mostrecent match in New Plymouth in 2008. The

home side, however, capitalised on NewZealand’s typical slow start to a test season,with the All Blacks combinations appearingrusty and timing off kilter.

SLOPPY SCRUMNew Zealand’s work at the back of the

breakdown was also sloppy while the delay indelivery allowed the Samoan defence to putpressure on the first-up runners, midfield andoutside backs and not give them any time toattack.

Despite creating numerous chances in thefirst half, Carter kept the scoreboard ticking ashe slotted four penalty goals, while Pisi landed

a long-range shot. Moala scored his try whenhe latched on to Carter’s kick, giving his side a16-point advantage before Pisi brought thehosts back into the game with two successfulpenalties. The All Blacks’ pack then exertedpressure on the Samoan scrum, causing it tocollapse and allowing Carter an opportunity toextend the lead with a 50-metre penalty.

Fa’osiliva’s try, however, brought the capaci-ty crowd of 8,104 into the match and it wasnot until another poor scrum earned anotherNew Zealand penalty, which Carter slottedwith five minutes remaining, that the visitorscould feel safe.

Samoa winger Alesana Tuilagi lamented

the narrow loss but was pleased the All Blackshad finally made the trip to play their first testin the Pacific Islands.

“Thanks to Richie McCaw and the numberone team in the world,” Tuilagi said. “I hope thisis the start of a campaign where you comeback.And we try again. And again. And again.”

At the Sept. 18-Oct. 31 World Cup inEngland, New Zealand will launch the defenceof their title with a Pool C encounter againstArgentina at Wembley.

Tonga, Georgia and Namibia are the otherteams in the group. Samoa have been drawnin Pool B alongside South Africa, Scotland,Japan and the United States. — Reuters

Carter boots All Blacks past Samoa

ST, ANDREWS: This was one time LukeDonald didn’t mind taking 45 minutes toplay a 357-yard hole. He was on the 18thhole at St. Andrews, and the company hekept that Friday afternoon in 2005 couldnot have been better.

Donald played with Tom Watson andJack Nicklaus, giving him an unobstruct-ed view for the farewell of golf’s greatestchampion. Not only was it the finalround for Nicklaus at St. Andrews, heclosed his incomparable career with his164th and final appearance in a major.

Donald and Nicklaus had sponsorshipdeals with the Royal Bank of Scotland,and Donald thought he might get thepairing. “They came to me and ... notwarned me, but asked if I would be inter-ested in playing with Jack in his lastOpen,” Donald said.

“I didn’t take me long to think aboutit. Even though it can be a distraction -and it was in certain parts - it was a total-ly different atmosphere. It was a treat toplay with him and experience the admi-ration everyone had for Jack and whathe had done for the game. “The last fewholes, every window was filled with peo-ple watching a legend.”

Ian Baker-Finch knows the feeling.He’s not sure why his name was chosento play with Arnold Palmer when theKing bid farewell at the home of golf in1995. Baker-Finch won The Open in 1991at Royal Birkdale, but his game was start-ing to slide. And so while it was an honorthat the R&A chose him and Peter Bakerof England to play alongside Palmer,there was no shortage of nerves.

“I was in a funk and I was trying to fig-ure it out,” Baker-Finch said Tuesday.“And I remember thinking how hard itwas going to be to figure it out playingbefore 50,000 people who were withArnie.” But what a memory. And what anartifact. Palmer gave Baker-Finch thegolf ball he used over the final two holesthat year, and then signed it for him. “Ihave the last one he played his last holewith at St. Andrews,” Baker-Finch said.

Few images in golf are as indelible asPalmer and Nicklaus posing one lasttime as they cross the Swilcan Bridge.Next up is Tom Watson, who is playing inhis 41st and final Open next week at St.Andrews. Watson is a five-time champi-on, the only player to win the claret jugon five courses, four of them in Scotland,though not at St. Andrews. He is belovedin the old country.

The task for R&A chief Peter Dawsonand his staff is to find the right companyfor Watson - although the final crossingof the Swilcan Bridge could very well beon a Sunday. Watson was 8 feet awayfrom winning the Open just six years agoat Turnberry. He made the cut last yearat Royal Liverpool.

It won’t be Tiger Woods, who has hada frosty relationship with his fellowStanford alum. And it won’t be PhilMickelson, who called out Watson for hisjob as Ryder Cup captain during theclosing news conference at Gleneagleslast September.

Such matters require thought, andDawson wasn’t tipping his hand.

Yes, it can be a distraction. That’s usu-ally outweighed by the privilege of wit-nessing how much one player canendear himself to so many.

For his final US Open at Pebble Beach,Nicklaus was joined by David Gossettand Paul Lawrie. The USGA typically putsthe defending champion with the USAmateur champion (Gossett) and BritishOpen champion (Lawrie). The defendingUS Open champion was Payne Stewart,who died in a plane crash the previousOctober. Nicklaus was given that honor.

“If ever there’s a defending championat Pebble Beach, it should be Nicklaus,”said David Fay, the USGA executivedirector at the time.

More curious was Palmer’s swan songat Oakmont for his final US Open. Heplayed his final two rounds with RoccoMediate and John Mahaffey. Mediate,like Palmer, grew up in westernPennsylvania. But Mahaffey? He won thePGA Championship, the major that keptPalmer from the career Grand Slam, andhe won it at Oakmont of all places.“Nobody could pick up on Mahaffey,” Faysaid. Turns out there was a club memberat Oakmont named Jack Mahaffey whowas on the USGA executive committeeand was close friend with Palmer. Faysaid the third player in Palmer’s groupwas chosen because of his surname.Augusta National, meanwhile, marchesto its own beat.

Nicklaus didn’t announce that 2005was going to be his final Masters, whichmight explain why the six-time champi-on finished his final round on the ninthhole. “I’ve had my time at Augusta. Idon’t need a lot of fanfare for that,”Nicklaus said before the tournament. Heplayed with Jay Haas and ShingoKatayama.

Palmer’s final Masters in 2004 wasdocumented from the time he arrived.He played the first two rounds with U.S.Mid-Amateur champion Nathan Smith,who is from western Pennsylvania.

And with Bob Estes. “Everybody lovesArnold Palmer, and he knows everyone,”Estes said.

He would hit his second shot andwalk over to the gallery ropes almostevery time. The people would get socaught up and enamored with Arnoldthey would forget Nathan and I were stillplaying.” Was it worth it? “I’d volunteer todo it again,” Estes said. — AP

LANCASTER: World number one Park In-bee isusually seen as the player to beat in women’s golfmajors these days, and now the Korean has extramotivation at this week’s US Women’s Open.

Park, who has won five of the last dozen majorswith no other rival notching more than one in thatspan, is coming off a missed cut and a poor puttingweek-two rarities for the 26-year-old South Korean.She gets a chance to make amends starting onThursday at Lancaster Country Club in the year’sthird major.

“I putted really bad two weeks ago, and thatdefinitely gave me somewhat like a wake-up call,”Park told reporters on Tuesday. “I had a bad weekand that definitely made me practice harder andgave me a lot more motivation coming into this

week.” Not exactly comforting to the rest of the156-player field that includes defending championMichelle Wie and other former winners such asChoi Na-yeon (2012), Ryu So-yeon (2011), PaulaCreamer (2010) and Cristie Kerr (2007).

Motivation combined with skill and confidencehas been a winning formula for Park, who this sea-son reclaimed the number one ranking from 18-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

“When I come to major championships, I workextra hard,” said Park, who has six majors amongher 15 LPGA titles. “I like the atmosphere. I like thelittle bit extra pressure when we start the game.Obviously having good results helps. That givesme a lot of confidence.”

Known as one of the tour’s top putters, Park said

the sloping greens at Lancaster could well decidethe championship. “I played here five weeks ago, itwas really dry then and now it’s wet,” she saidabout the long, hilly layout. “I feel like I’m playingtwo different golf courses.

“The greens are very slopey here, so when itgets hard and fast it gets really tough.” More rain isforecast for late yesterday, but the tournamentdays look to be hot and dry, which could firmthings up.

“The greens are going to be really the key thisweek. The breaks are huge on the greens,” SaidPark, whose 2008 US Women’s Open victory madeher the youngest ever winner of the championshipat 19. “Even if it’s a short putt, you have to aim it acup outside or two cups outside.” — Reuters

Farewell for Watsonat St. Andrews

SILVIS: Most golfers believe the path to the BritishOpen title starts a week early in Scotland. JordanSpieth is content to stay at home and continue hisGrand Slam push at the tournament that launchedhis PGA Tour career.

Rather than join the majority of the world’s topgolfers and prep for St. Andrews by playing thelinks course in Gullane, Scotland, Spieth will spendthe weekend at the often-overlooked John DeereClassic. It’s not just that Spieth wants to remain loy-al to the tournament where he won for the firsttime in 2013 at age 19. He’s also just very comfort-able playing the TPC Deere Run, one of the easiestcourses on the tour. “If I thought I wasn’t going toplay well next week because I played here, it wouldbe a different story. I probably wouldn’t be here.This is good preparation for me to get good feels,to get in contention and to find out what’s on andwhat’s off,” said Spieth, one of just six golfers to winthe U.S. Open and the Masters in the same season.

“I’m here because I believe I can win this week. Ibelieve it’s advantageous for me to try and win this

week.” Spieth’s rapid rise to No. 2 in the world - withinjured Rory McIlroy’s top spot within reach assoon as next weekend - has taken many by sur-prise. Those who watched Spieth’s breakthroughon this Quad Cities course two years ago saw hispotential first-hand. One year after playing the JDCat just 18 on a sponsor’s exemption, Spieth forcedhis way into a three-way playoff by holing out fromthe 18th-hole bunker.

Spieth then outlasted David Hearn and localfavorite Zach Johnson to become the first teenagerto win on the tour in 84 years.

Spieth also played the Quad Cities and theOpen Championship in back-to-back weeks in2014, finishing tied for 36th at Royal Liverpool.

Spieth said the only issue he has with skippingScotland is the 6-hour time difference he’ll have tomake up following Sunday’s final round.

But it might even be easier for Spieth to get intoa rhythm at Deere Run - which yielded more eaglesand birdies than any other PGA course in 2013-14.“It doesn’t matter where it is. When I get over there,

whether I play well or I don’t play well, it has noth-ing to do with what I did the week before. I will cer-tainly have enough energy. I will certainly haveenough rest, and I will be as prepared as I can be,”Spieth said.

Though Spieth is by far the marquee name inthis event, he’ll likely have plenty of competition.Johnson, who grew up in nearby Cedar Rapids,Iowa, and serves on the tournament committee,has shot in the 60s in 24 consecutive rounds atDeere Run.

Steve Stricker, a native of nearby Wisconsin,won three straight here from 2009-11. Last year’swinner, Brian Harman, and Kevin Kisner should alsopush Spieth.

But this year’s event will be all about Spieth andhow it impacts his run at a third straight major. “Hestuck with his commitment, which is very honor-able. At the same time, there has only been somany guys in so many years who’ve won the firsttwo majors, and there’s a lot of pressure on him. Iapplaud him,” Johnson said. — AP

Spieth skips Scotland

Park motivated for US Women’s OpenPark In-bee in action in this file photo.

S P O RT STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

NEW YORK: Epiphanny Prince will finally get to playfor her hometown team, the New York Liberty. Princeis back after missing the first 10 games of the regularseason while she was competing for Russia in theEuroBasket tournament. The Liberty held their ownwithout the New York native whom they acquired in ablockbuster offseason from Chicago for CappiePondexter. New York (6-4) is tied for second place inthe Eastern Conference.

“I’m happy to be back here and hope that I canprovide them some help,” Prince said at practiceMonday. “I’m still trying to learn the plays and knowwe have a busy month ahead.”

Prince tried to play in the Liberty’s most recentgame, at Chicago on June 30, but wasn’t feeling wellafter the long trip from Hungary.

“I flew from Hungary to Italy, Italy to New York andthen New York to Chicago,” Prince said of her travelback from the tournament. “I wish I could haveplayed, but I was feeling the effects of the travel. I’mglad we were able to win that game.”

Prince was disappointed her Russian team couldn’tdo more at the Olympic qualifier. Russia finished insixth place, losing to Turkey in overtime. Had Prince’steam won, it would have made a final Olympic qualifi-er next spring. Now Russia will not compete in theOlympics for the first time since 1984 when the coun-try boycotted the Los Angeles games. “It’s unfortu-nate that was the outcome,” Prince said. “Now I’mhome and can focus on helping this team.”Fortunately for Prince and the Liberty, due to a sched-uling quirk, the team will have had nine days

between the Chicago game and their next oneThursday against Washington. The break has come ata good time to allow Prince to become accustomedto her new team. “We got a little practice time withher to get her up to speed,” Liberty coach BillLaimbeer said. “I think we need the other scorer, noquestion about that. Getting Piph, she can makethings happen on the basketball court.”

Prince did play with the team in the preseason forfive days before heading to the tournament. Whilethe Liberty play Thursday in Washington, Prince willhave to wait until next week before she gets a chanceto play at home at Madison Square Garden. She grewup in Brooklyn, New York, where she set the nationalhigh school record for points in a game when she had113. Prince then went on to star at Rutgers before

leaving after her junior year to go play in Europe. TheLiberty have a difficult month ahead with six of theireight games on the road. No, the WNBA schedulemakers didn’t have it out for them.

It was their own company, with Madison SquareGarden hosting concerts for most of the month.Comedian Kevin Hart has two shows this week fol-lowed by Dispatch Hunger’s two concerts. U2 is per-forming eight shows from July 18-31. The only homegames for New York will be against San Antonio andConnecticut next week. “We had some dates blockedin July because of big concerts. It’s like having the cir-cus in town,” Laimbeer said. “I think we’ve got prettygood chemistry. If we can come together and playwell, going on the road isn’t so bad for us. I’m not wor-ried about it.” — AP

Prince back with the New York Liberty

PAMPLONA: A Bull jumps over a group of revelers on the bull ring, at the San Fermin Festival in Spain. Revelers from around the world arrive in Pamplona every year to takepart in some of the eight days of the running of the bulls. — AP

ATLANTA: Plenette Pierson scored 24points, going 10 of 14 from the field, tohelp the Tulsa Shock beat the AtlantaDream 85-75 on Tuesday and end athree-game losing streak.

Tulsa only made one field goal, aPierson 3-pointer for a 10-point lead, inthe first nine minutes of the fourthquarter.

Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry hit twofree throws with 1:15 remaining to cutits deficit to 73-72. But Tulsa’s BriannaKiesel answered with a layup and theShock made 10 of 10 free throws downthe stretch.

Riquna Williams added 23 points,going 18 for 20 at the free throw line,for Tulsa (9-4). Kiesel finished with 16points and Courtney Paris grabbed 10rebounds.

Tulsa won its first game since losingSkylar Diggins to a torn anterior cruci-ate ligament on June 28. She was theWNBA’s most improved player last sea-son and was on the league’s first team.

McCoughtry scored 25 points, butmissed 20 of her 28 shots for Atlanta(5-7). Sancho Lyttle recorded her thirddouble-double in four games with 14points and 13 rebounds. — AP

Australian gored in Pamplona bull-run

PAMPLONA: An Australian was gored twice by a fight-ing bull and two people suffered other injuries as thou-sands of thrill-seekers dashed alongside the beasts inthe second bull-run of Pamplona’s San Fermin festivalyesterday.

The San Fermin press office said the victim was a 27-year-old man identified only by his initials, T.L.O. He wasgored in the groin and the thigh in Pamplona’s bull ringat the end of the run and was treated by doctors on thescene before being taken to a city hospital. His injurieswere described as minor.

A Spaniard was hospitalized for rib injuries while aFrenchman was treated for multiple bruises but laterreleased. Two Americans and a Briton were gored andeight others injured in the first run Tuesday. All but thetwo Americans were released the same day.

One American still hospitalized was Mike Webster, a38-year-old occupational therapist from Gainesville,Florida, who was gored in the armpit as he joined thebull-run in Pamplona for the 38th time in 11 years. Hesaid Tuesday he hadn’t decided whether he’d run again.

The other was identified only by his initials, R.H.O., a25-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, who suffered facialbruising. The nationally televised 8 a.m. run sees peopleracing with six bulls and their guiding steer along a nar-row 930-yard (850-meter) course from a holding pen tothe city bull ring. The bulls are then killed by profession-al matadors in bullfights each afternoon.

Yesterday’s run lasted 2 minutes, 14 seconds. Thenine-day fiesta in Pamplona, which features 24-hourstreet partying, was made famous in ErnestHemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” andattracts thousands of foreign tourists. Bull runs are a tra-ditional part of summer festivals across Spain. Dozensare injured each year, mostly in falls. Two men diedrecently after being gored by bulls in Spanish festivals -one Saturday in the eastern town of Grao de Castellonand another June 24 in the southwestern town of Coria.In all, 15 people have died from gorings in Pamplonasince record-keeping began in 1924 for the San Ferminfestival. — AP

LAUSANNE: Lovers of clean track and field will becringing at Thursday’s Diamond League meet inLausanne when doping cheats Justin Gatlin andTyson Gay come to face to face in what is sure to bean explosive 100m. Usain Bolt has pulled out of a200m in the Swiss city with a pelvis problem,although he insists he will compete in next month’sworld championships in Beijing. In his absence, astellar field of the world’s fastest men will meet,with Asafa Powell also featuring.

With an ever-creeping shadow of doubt overthe towering Jamaican Bolt’s form and fitness,Gatlin and Gay both have the chance to notch up asignificant psychological blow by putting in a solidevening of sprinting in the city that is home to theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC).

Ironically, Gay’s doping infringement wastouched upon at last weekend’s Diamond Leaguemeet in Paris, where the French men’s 4x100mrelay quartet were handed bronze medals from the2012 London Olympics as a result of the US beingstripped of their silver medals by the IOC.

Mike Rodgers, another US doping offender, willalso line up today. “It’s just another race, the fourthsince the season started,” said Gay, who finishedsecond to Gatlin in his first race back from his banin Lausanne last season.

“I have to run as much as I can before the worldchampionships in Beijing. I’m back from suspen-

sion, I’ve worked a lot on my mind, to learn how tocontrol my body.”

The 2004 Olympic champion Gatlin, who cameback to win Olympic bronze in London in 2012 andworld silver in Moscow a year later, currently hasthe world’s best time this season, having run9.74sec in the opening Diamond League meet inDoha. Former world record holder Powell, a four-time winner in Lausanne (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011)and victor in Paris last weekend ahead of France’sJimmy Vicaut and Rodgers, has run the secondfastest (9.81) this season and double 2007 worldsprint champion Gay the third quickest (9.87).

One notable absentee from the Stade de laPontaise apart from Bolt will be Croatian highjumper Blanka Vlasic, who has withdrawn with painin her achilles tendon.

The former two-time world champion (2007,2009) and 2008 Olympic silver medallist said: “Ihave to be very careful. I must avoid serious injuriesbefore the Beijing world champs.”

The men’s 400m hurdles also boasts a top-notchfield, pitching American duo Bershawn Jacksonand Michael Tinsley against Puerto Rican JavierCulson. Allyson Felix, whose 21.98sec clocked inDoha is the fastest in the world this year, is next ofa strong US contingent, racing in the 200m andlikely under most threat from Dutch Europeanchampion Dafne Schippers. — AFP

Gatlin, Gay and Powell battle in Bolt’s absence

Shock snap losing streak

GULLANE: Rory McIlroy’s injury woeshave brought words of comfort and sup-port from his top rivals gathered atGullane for this week’s Scottish Open.

The 26-year-old world number onehad been due to be the top draw in theOpen Championship buildup event inEast Lothian, but he was forced to with-draw on Monday after rupturing an ankleligament playing football with friends.

He is also a serious doubt for thedefence of his Open Championshipcrown next week at St Andrews andthere has been some criticism that heacted unprofessionally in playing whathe called “a kickabout” at such a crucialstage of the golfing year. Rickie Fowler,who is the same age as McIlroy, said thatit was just an unfortunate accident. “Ihaven’t spoken to him yet, but it is unfor-tunate,” the American said. “I’m of theimpression that you have to live, youcan’t be too cautious.

“Soccer is not as big of a sport in theUS, but I grew up with my fair share ofaction sports. That’s something that Idon’t do as much now, but I don’t stayaway from completely. I still like to liveand have a little bit of fun.”

Fellow American Phil Mickelson, whowon the Open at nearby Muirfield theyear before McIlroy’s triumph, concurredsaying that he had undergone a similarfate in 1994. “I snapped my finger beforethe Masters skiing and I said then, and Ifeel the same way now, you can’t liveyour life in fear. You have to enjoy themoment,” the 45-year-old said.

“I didn’t feel like anything he wasdoing was an unnecessary risk. He wasjust playing around and accidents hap-pen. People get hurt taking a shower anddoing normal day-to-day things. Youcan’t stop living your life.” Mickelson, whowon the Scottish Open the week before

his 2013 victory at Muirfield, will start asone of the favourites on Thursdaydespite struggling for much of this sea-son.

He tied for second behind JordanSpieth at the Masters in April but couldonly place tied for 64th at the US Openlast month following a dismal showing atthe weekend.

Returning to play links golf inScotland, he feels, will do wonders for hisgame and chances of winning a sixthmajor title. “I have always gotten a lot outof the Scottish Open going back to whenI started playing at Loch Lomond wellover a decade ago,” he said.

But now that it’s on links golf, I geteven more out of it. I think the playersthat come over really enjoy it. “I think thelast four, five, six years, the winner of TheOpen Championship has played here atthe Scottish Open.”

With world number two Spieth elect-ing to play on the US Tour, the top-rank-ing player will be world number sevenJustin Rose, who is also the defendingchampion following his win at Aberdeenlast year.

Rose has already played a couple ofpractice rounds at St Andrews where hesaid the course was “looking very green”and was “in great shape.” “I feel like everytime I’ve played well this year, I’ve con-verted it into a top two finish,” he said.

“All in all, I feel like I’m going into thesummer in a good place and playing welland looking forward to the tournamentscoming up.” Also among the favouritesthis week will be world number 12Jimmy Walker, even though he says he isstill getting to grips with playing linksgolf, fellow American Matt Kuchar, andRyder Cup stars such as Ian Poulter,Graeme McDowell, Jamie Donaldson andSteven Gallacher. — AFP

Rory not to blamefor injury, rivals say

FRANCE: Jamaica’s Asafa Powell (left) and France’s Jimmy Vicaut compete in this file photo. — AFP

HUNGARY: US Gold medalist Justin Gatlincompetes during the men’s 100 metres finalof the Gyulai Istvan Memorial - HungarianAthletics Grand Prix. — AFP

S P O RT STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

CARSON: Steven Gerrard brought a touch of Liverpoolweather - cool, overcast and even some drizzle - to hisfirst practice with the LA Galaxy on Tuesday morning.

By the time the English midfielder was formallyintroduced by the club in the afternoon to begin hisMLS career, there was nothing but California sunshineoutside StubHub Center.

The change reflects the biggest move Gerrard hasever made, personally and professionally. He spent 17years at Liverpool, scoring 120 goals in 504 appear-ances and leading the club to Cup glory both domesti-cally and in Europe. Gerrard raised the FA Cup twiceand the Champions League trophy once.

Now Gerrard arrives in MLS at age 35, seeking theleague title that eluded him in the Premiership. “I’mexcited to be here,” said Gerrard, who also collected 21goals in 114 appearances for England. “The game onSaturday can’t come quick enough. We’ve got a fantas-tic team here, a fantastic setup, and if I can just add alittle bit to that and contribute to the best of my ability,

I think the future can be really bright.” All signs so farpoint to a smooth transition, with Galaxy managerBruce Arena indicating that Gerrard will play the firsthalf in an International Champions Cup match againstMexico’s Club Am√©rica on Saturday. “He’s fitting invery, very well,” said Galaxy captain Robbie Keane, whoplayed with Gerrard at Liverpool during the 2008-09season. “He’s a good lad off and on the field. He’s set-tled in fairly quickly. He has been good in training, wasvery good today.” Midfielder Sebastian Lletget wasimpressed that Gerrard already knew his new team-mates’ names the first day he arrived. “That just sets theexample for everyone, just like no one is bigger thanthe club,” Lletget said. The first ball Gerrard kicked inpractice was to Keane, and they showed a promisingconnection throughout the hour-long session. Keanewas effusive in his praise for Gerrard’s service, andArena expects that skill to come through in set pieces.

“His passing is incredible,” Keane said. “Certainly fora striker, he’s good to play with. He finds you in them

little pockets (of space) certainly where I play and ballsover the top. His range of passing is incredible. His willto win as well, competitive side of him that he has, iscertainly going to help this team, so we’re all lookingforward to him putting on that Galaxy jersey.”

Gerrard is unlikely to have the same impact off thefield that the 2007 signing of David Beckham had forthe Galaxy and MLS. Beckham’s aura of celebritybrought in casual fans at a time when soccer was stillstruggling to gain a foothold on the American sportslandscape. But the success of the US men’s andwomen’s national teams and increased television expo-sure for the World Cup, Champions League, EPL andMLS has created an audience hungry for the sport.

The Women’s World Cup final was the most-watched soccer game in the history of American televi-sion, and a crowd of 10,000 gathered to celebrate thechampions in downtown Los Angeles, a short driveaway from Gerrard’s introduction.

For Galaxy President Chris Klein, putting together a

winning team that can capture the knowledgeableAmerican fan base is now the club’s focus, rather thansigning players solely to make a big splash.

“The signing of David Beckham forever changed ourleague,” Klein said. “But we now know the results on thefield have to take first priority. Look at David’s last cou-ple years here and the success we had as a club, andthat’s what makes a signing like that successful. Ourfans have told us they want to win first. Steven certain-ly helps to do that.”

While Beckham, Keane and other big names havebeen dynamic players in MLS, the league still carries aninternational stigma as a last stop before retirement.Gerrard was quick to refute that notion, even with thepleasant California weather outside. “If there is anybodywho thinks I’m coming for a holiday and a last pay-check, they’ll be proved wrong very soon,” Gerrard said.Still, Gerrard couldn’t ignore the sunshine entirely: Hehad to borrow sunscreen from Keane before practice.“(SPF) Factor 50,” Gerrard said. — AP

Gerrard eager for sunny new challenges

FRISCO: Clint Dempsey didn’t view a wild selloutcrowd as a pro-Texas bunch celebrating twogoals by what amounts to a hometown kid. TheEast Texas native thinks American soccer sup-porters are a lot more fervent than that now.

Dempsey scored twice on headers not farfrom where he trained as a youth, and theUnited States opened defense of its CONCACAFGold Cup title with a 2-1 victory over Hondurason Tuesday night.

“I think the crowd was behind the wholeteam,” said the 32-year-old, who is up to 43 inter-national goals, 14 behind Landon Donovan’sAmerican record. “I remember when I first start-ed with the national team and they’d be morefans for the other team sometimes. So to be ablenowadays to play in front of pro-Americancrowds, I think the team definitely feeds off thatenergy.”

Dempsey’s goals in the 25th and 64th min-utes were created from crosses from MichaelBradley, wearing the captain’s arm band in his100th international appearance. The goals oost-ed the Americans to 13-0 in Gold Cup openers.Carlos Discua scored his first international goalin the 69th minute for Honduras, a semifinalist inthe last three Gold Cups, and the Catrachoscame close to tying the score.

“It wasn’t our best performance, but we’rehappy to get three points from our first game,”Dempsey said. It was the first competitive matchfor the U.S. since losing to Belgium in overtimein the second round of last year’s World Cup. TheAmericans, 29-1-2 in Gold Cup group play, meetHaiti on Friday and Panama on Monday. Haititied Panama 1-1 in the doubleheader opener.

US goalkeeper Brad Guzan had a couple oftough saves in the first few minutes on a muggynight before 22,357 at the home of MajorLeague Soccer’s FC Dallas.

“They came out and put us under a bit ofpressure and we had to find a way to weatherthat storm, which we did,” Guzan said. “I don’tthink we were at our best. I think we turned theball over quite easily too many times and maybeput ourselves under some undo pressure.”

The first US goal developed when DeAndreYedlin played a short corner kick to Bradley, whocrossed on a bounce to the far post. HenryFigueroa’s clearance attempt back to Bradley’sside was picked up at the side of the 6-yard boxby Jozy Altidore, who took a touch and shot.Goalkeeper Donis Escobar kicked the ball outwith his right foot and it popped up to Dempsey,who nodded it in from 6 yards.

Bradley’s free kick from the flank led to thesecond goal. Escobar stayed on his line and anunmarked Dempsey jumped 4 yards out andheaded inside the far post.

After a sluggish start, the US controlled thepace in the second half until Discua took a niftypass from Wilmer Crisanto and touched the ballpast a standing Ventura Alvarado before beating

Guzan over the keeper’s left shoulder. Alvarado,who also had been eligible to play for Mexico,played his first competitive match for the US andbecame tied to the American national team.

Honduras had a couple of good opportuni-ties in the final 20 minutes, including whenGuzan knocked a ball toward Eddie Hernandez,who had an open net but couldn’t control theball before it went out.

“I feel like we played a good match,” saidHonduras coach Jorge Luis Pinto, who led CostaRica to the quarterfinals at the World Cup inBrazil. “But in football, sometimes the smalldetails are what determine the matches. That’swhat happened to us.”

Bradley, a son of former US coach BobBradley, became the 16th American male tomake 100 international appearances. At 27years, 341 days, he is the fourth-youngest

American after Donovan (26-96), Cobi Jones (27-239) and Marcelo Balboa (27-320).

“Great atmosphere and a very specialmoment for Michael Bradley,” US coach JurgenKlinsmann said. Bradley replaced Dempsey, wholost the captaincy going into the Gold Cup aftergetting suspended by MLS and the US SoccerFederation for a confrontation with a referee in aUS Open Cup match for Seattle. Those questionspersist for Klinsmann, who considers them moreirrelevant each day. “As a striker, what do youwant to do the most is scoring,” said Klinsmann,tied for fourth on Germany’s career scoring list.“That’s what feeds a striker, feeling-wise, isgoals.” If the US wins the Gold Cup, it would qual-ify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. Ifanother nation wins, it would meet theAmericans in a playoff for the ConfederationsCup berth. — AP

US defeat Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup

TEXAS: US forward Clint Dempsey (8) stops the ball in front of Honduras’ Henry Figueroa (5)during the first half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match. — AP

TEXAS: Panama defender Roman Torres (5) heads the ball over Haiti defender JeanJacques Pierre (5) during the second half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match. —AP

FRISCO: Duckens Nazon wrong-footed thedefense to score in the 85th minute andgive Haiti a 1-1 draw with Panama in theCONCACAF Gold Cup opener Tuesday.

Nazon took a long pass down the rightside and beat defender Harold Cummingswith a move to the inside before shootingto the far post, past goalkeeper JaimePeneda. Panama, runner-up to the US in

the 2013 Gold Cup, opened the scoring inthe 55th minute of the Group A match.Alberto Quintero scored from just outsidethe penalty area when defender ReginalGoreux failed to clear the ball.

It was the first draw in seven openers forPanama, which outshot Haiti 7-2. Haiti hastwo draws and four losses in Gold Cupopeners. — AP

Haiti hold Panama

MADRID: Atletico Madrid expect to becompetitive next season despite theexit of playmaker Arda Turan and strik-er Mario Mandzukic thanks to newarrivals like Jackson Martinez andLuciano Vietto, captain Gabi said yes-terday.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone facesanother rebuilding job after Turkeycaptain Arda joined Spanish andEuropean champions Barcelona andCroatia international Mandzukic left forItalian champions Juventus.

Striker Martinez, a Colombia inter-national, is poised to arrive from Porto,while Argentine forward Vietto has leftVillarreal to join up again withSimeone, who gave him his profession-al debut at Racing Club as a 17-year-old. After the heights of 2013-14, whenthey won their first La Liga title in 18years and reached the final of theChampions League, Atletico manageda respectable 2014-15 season despitethe departure of top scorer DiegoCosta and goalkeeper ThibautCourtois, among others.

They finished third in La Liga andmade it to the last eight of Europe’s

elite club competition, where they lost1-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid, whobeat them in the 2014 final.

“ The club and the squad havealways had the power and the strengthto reinvent themselves season afterseason,” Gabi said as the playersreturned to training after their summerbreak. “It’s true that important playersare leaving but those who are comingin are performing very well and weexpect to compete this year as we havebeen doing,” added the midfielder.

Gabi said the return of playmakerOliver Torres from a season-long loanspell at Porto was also reason for opti-mism. The 20-year-old is consideredone of the most gifted attacking mid-fielders of his generation and couldprovide the creative spark Atletico willlose with Arda’s departure.

“He (Torres) is a very important play-er for the club,” Gabi said. “He hasimproved as a player. Last year it wasright for him to leave to get playingtime and this season he will be key forus.” La Liga is due to begin the week-end of Aug. 22/23, with the calendarset to be drawn on Tuesday. — Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Two days removed from win-ning the women’s soccer World Cup, star mid-fielder Carli Lloyd teased the idea of captur-ing another one in 2019 as thousands of flag-waving fans cheered the US team on Tuesdayat a boisterous outdoor rally in Los Angeles.

While the fans who packed the downtowncelebration near the Staples Center arenastrained to take pictures of the team, many ofthe players on stage took photos and videosof the raucous crowd.

“Every day it feels great to wake up as aworld champion,” Lloyd, who scored threegoals in Sunday’s 5-2 victory over Japan inthe championship match in Vancouver,Canada, told the crowd. “And that feelingwon’t get old. We’re going to have to bring ithome four years from now, another WorldCup.” Many of the people in the crowd weredressed in red, white and blue and chanted“U-S-A, U-S-A.” Sunday’s victory gave the U.S.women their third World Cup championshipand first since 1999.

Lloyd, 32, won the Golden Ball as the play-er of the tournament. She tallied six goals inseven World Cup matches. “It really felt likewe were playing in the U.S.,” Lloyd said. “It wasunbelievable support. It’s great to be here inLA We look forward to traveling all over theU.S.” Sunday’s game, which capped a month-long tournament played in six Canadiancities, was the most-watched soccer match ofall time in the United States as 25.4 millionAmericans tuned in, world soccer body FIFAsaid on Tuesday.

Members of the US team wore shirts atTuesday’s rally emblazoned with the words

“World Champions.” “I want to thank myteammates, especially Carli Lloyd, for scoringall of the goals this tournament,” joked 35-year-old Abby Wambach, the 2012 FIFA Playerof the Year who was a reserve for this year’sWorld Cup. “I can’t tell you what it means tobe a world champion, to win a World Cup,because obviously it hasn’t really sunk in. ... Ican’t believe it. I am going to soak it up,”

Wambach said. New York City announcedplans to host a ticker-tape parade for theteam on Friday.

The parade will travel through the city’sso-called Canyon of Heroes, a cavernousroute through towering skyscrapers in down-town Manhattan. The last ticker-tape paradein the city was held for the New York Giants’Super Bowl victory in 2012. — Reuters

Atletico upbeat despite departures

Los Angeles stages rally for women’s soccer team

LOS ANGELES: Forward Abby Wambach (right) celebrates with teammates at the US Women’sWorld Cup football team’s championship rally, at LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles.— AFP

S P O RT STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

SAO PAULO: Brazil is still trying to regroup ayear after its worst loss ever. Yesterday’sanniversary of its humiliating 7-1 homeWorld Cup loss to Germany, there is no signthe Selecao are back on the right track.Brazilian football continued to struggle afterthe disastrous defeat in the semifinals of itshome tournament, both on and off the field.

Brazil was eliminated by Paraguay in thequarterfinals of the Copa America lastmonth, failing in its first official tournamentsince the World Cup, and a vice president ofthe local federation was among thosedetained in Switzerland in connection to theFIFA corruption scandal that erupted in May.

Last week, the Brazilian confederationfinally decided to seek help. The confedera-tion announced it wants to talk to as manypeople as possible to discuss ways toimprove local football. It created a councilthat will include coaches, foreign coaches,past world champions and members of sev-

eral different areas of the game, includingmedia, health and technology professionals.

Former Brazil coaches gathered at theconfederation’s headquarters in Rio deJaneiro for the first meeting on Monday, andseveral others are expected to take place inthe next few weeks. The goal is to find a wayto re-establish “the identity of our football,”the confederation said.

“This integration is very important at thisdifficult moment in Brazilian football,” saidformer coach Paulo Roberto Falcao. “Weneed to help in any way we can.”

Among the former coaches who attend-ed the first meeting were Carlos AlbertoParreira, Mario Zagallo, Carlos Alberto Silvaand Sebastiao Lazzaroni.

“They are honored to be able to help,”said Gilmar Rinaldi, the confederation officialoverseeing the national team. “We madesure they understood the importance oftheir opinions. They came here not only to

point to the problems in Brazilian football,but also to help find solutions to solve theseproblems, which is what we are trying to doright now.” The next step will be to bring “10to 15 former champions” to talk aboutBrazilian football and the national team,Rinaldi said. “We want to win, we want to cre-ate a winning environment in Brazilian foot-ball,” said coach Dunga, who was Brazil’s cap-tain when it won the 1994 World Cup. “It’simportant to bring new ideas so we can dis-cuss them together.” Parreira, Brazil’s coach in1994, said the country needs to focus onimproving Brazilian domestic clubs.

“We keep trying to fix Brazilian football byfixing the national team, but it should be theother way around,” he said. “We will fix thenational team by improving the infrastruc-ture at the base, at the club, which hasalways been the most important thing infootball.” Falcao, who played in the in 1982and 1986 World Cups, said Brazil needs to

focus on the development of players, givingtalented youngsters opportunities to keepgrowing throughout their careers.

“Brazil should be focusing on findingabove-average players, not necessarily spec-tacular players,” he said. “Germany won theWorld Cup without a spectacular player, butit did it with five or so players who wereabove average.” Brazil has a generation withfew top stars and is heavily dependent onBarcelona’s Neymar, who could not play inlast year’s semifinal against Germanybecause of an injury. He also missed the deci-sive stages of the Copa America this year,because of a suspension.

The Copa America gave Brazil its firstchance to get over the humiliating WorldCup elimination, but it lost to Paraguay onpenalties for the second straight time. NowBrazil’s next chance at redemption will comein South American qualifying for the 2018World Cup, which starts in October. Neymar

won’t play the first two games because ofthe Copa America suspension.

The problems on the field coincide withturmoil involving confederation officials.Former president Jose Maria Marin wasamong the FIFA officials arrested inSwitzerland after a corruption investigationby U.S. authorities. There have been wide-spread calls for the current president toresign, and a congressional probe into theadministration of local football is scheduledto start soon. The anniversary of the 7-1 losscomes a day after Brazil defender DanielAlves said Spaniard Pep Guardiola wanted tocoach Brazil at the World Cup last year, butlocal officials allegedly refused to hire himbecause they were afraid that fans wouldn’tlike having a foreign coach in charge of thenational team. “The changes won’t happenovernight,” Parreira said. “It’s an attempt tobreak a paradigm in Brazilian football, it willhappen progressively.” — AP

Brazil still trying to regroup a year after 7-1 loss

BRAZIL: Brazilian Barcelona player Neymar takes a selfie during an event with children with different capabilities and professional athletes tak-ing part in the project ‘Bota do Mundo’ (World’s Boot) of the Neymar Project Institute in Sao Paulo. — AFP

BARCELONA: Barcelona will keep more than 60million euros ($65 million) of talent on the side-lines for six months having signed Turkish inter-national Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal knowing thatthey cannot play until next year.

More big money deals could follow. A FIFAban on making official signings until January2016 has not stopped the Spanish giants fromplunging into the market ahead of a messy yearof internal tensions and high profile trials forBarcelona and some of its stars.

Barcelona on Monday announced they hadbeaten Chelsea to secure 28-year-old midfielderTuran from Atletico Madrid on a five-year dealfor a fee that could reach 41 million euros.

That follows the 18-million-euro signing ofright-back Vidal from Sevilla last month. Othersare expected to follow with media reports indi-cating Barcelona are trying to line up a deal forJuventus’ midfielder Paul Pogba which wouldsee him arrive at the end of next season.

Barcelona were banned from making new

signings in 2015 after FIFA found them guilty ofbreaching rules on the transfers of players agedunder 18. Turan, captain of Turkey’s nationalteam and a prolific goalscorer with Atletico, hasnot yet indicated what he thinks about sittingout half a season.

Vidal says it is a sacrifice worth making to joinEurope’s most successful team of the pastdecade. “When I was told that it would reallyhappen, I didn’t think it was a hassle to comeand spend a few months without playing,” hesaid just after the transfer was announced.

Turan and Vidal have arrived at a complicatedtime for Barcelona as the team prepares for theelection of a new president on July 18.

Transfer policy has been at the centre of thedebate between incumbent Josep MariaBartomeu and challenger Joan Laporta. Becauseof the election, the Barcelona managing com-mittee could not approve the Turan transfer anda clause in the deal was included saying that hecould be sold back at a 10-percent discount if

the new president so decides.Laporta called the Turan deal “improper” and

said Bartomeu should have completed the trans-fer before resigning to stand in the campaign.

“The urgency of this operation is out of order.The only explanation is that it favors Bartomeu’scandidacy. “There was already a lack of trans-parency in Neymar’s signing and I think that it isinsane that the management committee is play-ing this game,” he said. Barcelona and their topmanager are to stand trial over the transfer ofNeymar. Spanish prosecutors allege that secretcommissions were paid as part of the deal.

The club bought the Brazilian captain in 2013for what they said was 57 million euros ($41 mil-lion). A Madrid judge says the fee was closer to83 million euros. Fellow striker Lionel Messicould also stand trial on tax fraud charges.Investigators allege his father Jorge organised acomplex network of companies that kept 4.1million ($5.5 million) from tax authoritiesbetween 2007 and 2009. — AFP

Barca keep big money stars on the sidelines

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina is gripped bya debate over superstar Lionel Messi,who was devastated by losing the CopaAmerica final and has withdrawn into ashocked isolation. Some obervers in hishome country say criticism fired at Messicould force him to take a break fromnational duty. The 28-year-old footballgenius left the pitch ashen-faced afterArgentina lost the Copa America to Chilein a 4-1 penalty shootout in Santiago onSaturday.

The scenes were reminiscent of lastyear’s World Cup final when Germanybeat Argentina in extra time. Then ‘Leo’left in tears. Messi first tasted a majordefeat in 2007 when Argentina lost 3-0to old rivals Brazil in the Copa final.

Messi finally posted a statement onhis facebook account late Monday.“There’s nothing more painful in footballthan losing a final,” he said. “But I don’twant to leave it any longer to say thankyou to everyone who has always sup-ported us and continued to during thetough moments.”

Despite his huge success withBarcelona, Messi is now going throughtough moments as is a country whichhas not won a major title for 22 years.Spanish media reports said Messi turneddown the player of the tournament tro-phy. The trophy was withdrawn beforethe presentation ceremony in Santiago.

Messi and the other Argentine starswere criticised by the country’s media fortheir performance. Members of his familywere also abused by Chilean fans at thematch, according to Argentinian media.

Some observers have warned thatMessi could walk away from the nationalside. “Desolate after another lost final,and especially by the tough criticism,Messi could take a break from the nation-al team,” the Ole sports daily reportedTuesday.

Television talk shows are now domi-

nated by what is wrong with Messi andthe national football team. Why does henot dazzle for Argentina like he does forBarcelona.

“One day this boy is going to get tiredand will not want to come to play for theteam,” former Argentine internationalMatias Almeyda, now coach of theBanfield club, told Fox Sports television.

“He was criticised for not signing thenational anthem. He is always being criti-cised for something,” Almeyda added.“He’s the best player in the world and heis not treated in the way he deserves.”

Argentina Football Association presi-dent Luis Segura has been shocked bythe suggestions. If Messi left, Argentinacould lose out on key earnings fromfriendly internationals in which he isoften under contract to play. “I don’tunderstand the people who criticisehim,” Segura said.

“Messi suffers as much as the sup-porters from not winning a title.” Messihad a brilliant season with the all-con-quering Barcelona but Almeyda said “it isvery difficult (for Argentine players) torepeat for the national team what theydo for their clubs.”

Messi has already scored more goalsfor Argentina than the country’s belovedDiego Maradona. But he has never won aWorld Cup like Maradona did in 1986.

His next chance could come in Russiain 2018. Messi will be 31 then and thatcould be his last chance too. After theSantiago final, Messi took refuge at hishome city of Rosario, 300 kilometers (180miles) from Buenos Aires, as he tradition-ally does during Spain’s break from foot-ball. Around him, the criticism goes onagainst the team and its coach GerardoMartinez. Some top footballers haveTweeted their support for Messi. SomeArgentines are however using socialmedia however to say that “Maradona =Messi and Javier Mascherano.” — AFP

Argentina frets over Messi’s future

MILAN: Italy coach Antonio Conte isamong 104 people a prosecutor hasrequested to face trial for their allegedinvolvement in match manipulation in2011, a judicial source told Reuters.

Conte, who has already served a banimposed by the Italian soccer federation(FIGC) in connection with the case buthas always denied any wrongdoing, wasaccused of “sporting fraud” by the prose-cutor in the northern city of Cremona.

The alleged wrongdoing dates backto 2011, when Conte, who went on towin three successive Serie A titles withJuventus before being appointed Italycoach last year, was in charge of Siena inSerie B. The prosecutor cited a matchagainst Albino Leffe, while another accu-sation regarding a match against Novarawas dropped, the source said.

The request by prosecutor Roberto DiMartino mentioned guidelines issued bythe Italian coaches’ association that saidits members should “safeguard the moralconduct of the players”.

The next step is for the judiciary to fixthe date for a preliminary, closed-doorhearing for Conte and all the other sus-pects where a judge will decide whetherto press charges, as the prosecutors have

requested. That is not expected to hap-pen for two or three of months, thesource said.

Udinese coach Stefano Colantuonowas also among those requested tostand trial. Colantuono, who in Februarysaid the accusation of involvement was“devastating” and that he did not under-stand it, is being investigated over a SerieB match when he coached Atalantaagainst Crotone.

The general inquiry followed allegedattempts to manipulate matches in SerieB, the Italian second division, and thethird tier Lega Pro during the 2010/11season, with some Coppa Italia matchesalso involved. Investigations have beenled by police and state prosecutors fromCremona after a report from local sideCremonese uncovered the alleged scan-dal. The FIGC has already conducted itsown investigation and banned Conte for10 months in 2012, later reduced to fourmonths on appeal. Conte had previouslyrejected a plea bargain offering a three-month ban. More than 50 players werebanned for up to five years and a numberof clubs, including Atalanta and Siena,have had points deducted by the FIGCover the case. — Reuters

Conte requested to stand trial in match-fixing inquiry

Antonio Conte

UTRECHT: France’s Nacer Bouhanni in action in this file photo. — AFP

AMIENS: French sprint hope Nacer Bouhanni wastaken to hospital by ambulance after crashing ear-ly on the fifth stage of the Tour de France yester-day. The 24-year-old former French champion hitthe deck after 12km of the 189.5km trek fromArras to Amiens, which was expected to end witha bunch sprint in which he would have beenamongst the favorites. It was Bouhanni’s secondcrash within 10 days having also tasted the tarmacin the finale of the French Championships a weekbefore the Tour began.

He injured his ribs in that fall and initiallyannounced on his Twitter account that he wouldmiss the Tour, only to confirm his participation theday before the Grand Boucle began. However, hisCofidis manager Yvon Sanquer revealed he hadbroken nothing and his sports director Didier Roustold France Televisions that Bouhanni had “againhurt his injured ribs”.

He will be out of action for between eight to 10days, Sanquer added. He was the eighth person toabandon the Tour after seven riders crashed out

on Monday’s third stage that saw a spectacularpile-up involving around 20 riders.

It was Bouhanni’s second participation at theTour after 2013, in which he also crashed out of therace inside the first week. Yesterday’s fifth stagewas designed to pay homage to the soldiers whodied on the battlefields of northern France duringWorld War I. Several commemorative centenaryevents were programmed throughout the day asthe peloton rode through the Somme battlefieldand past a number of war cemetaries. — AFP

French sprint hope taken to hospital

16Carter boots AllBlacks past Samoa

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 201518

US defeatHonduras

Brazil still trying to regroup a year after 7-1 loss Page 19

LONDON: Andy Murray of Britain returns a shot to Vasek Pospisil of Canada during the men’s quarterfinal singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships. — AP

LONDON: Seven-time champion Roger Federer reachedhis 10th Wimbledon semi-final yesterday with a 6-3, 7-5,6-2 win over French 12th seed Gilles Simon.

The second seed will face either Andy Murray orVasek Pospisil, in what will be his 37th Grand Slam semi-final, for a place in Sunday’s title match.

The 33-year-old Swiss, bidding to become the oldestWimbledon champion in the Open Era, shrugged offtwo rain delays as well as being broken for the first timeat the tournament to complete victory in just 94 min-utes. Federer fired 11 aces and 36 winners as he secureda sixth win in eight meetings with Simon, who wasattempting to reach the last-four of a major for the firsttime. “The stop and go with the rain are always toughbut I think I used them to my advantage. They helpedme rather than hindered me,” said Federer.

Andy Murray set up a Wimbledon semi-final show-down with Roger Federer as the world number three

eased to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win against unseeded CanadianVasek Pospisil. Murray illuminated a rainy day at the AllEngland Club with a ruthlessly efficient display, collect-ing his 150th Grand Slam match victory to move a stepcloser to his second Wimbledon title.

The 28-year-old Scot will make his 17th Grand Slamsemi-final appearance, and his sixth at the All EnglandClub, against seven-time champion Federer on Friday.

Federer broke for a 3-0 lead in the first set againstSimon before rain sent the players off Court One for thefirst rain delay. Forty minutes later, they returned andFederer swiftly claimed the opener on the back of 15winners to Simon’s four.

The Swiss was 4-3 up with a break in the second andthen moved to 5-3 on his 116th consecutive servicehold, a streak stretching back to the first round in Hallelast month.

But that record was shattered in the next game when

30-year-old Simon broke the 17-time major winner, whohad only faced two break points at this year ’sWimbledon before Wednesday.

Federer took swift revenge, however, by regainingthe advantage and he was serving for a two sets leadwhen the showers returned, causing another hold-upfor 40 minutes.

It had little effect on the Swiss great as a service win-ner and back-to-back aces gave him the second set 7-5.Federer breezed through the decider with breaks in thefirst and seventh games.

Murray was playing his eighth successive Wimbledonquarter-final, taking a 3-0 lead into his match-up withworld number 56 Pospisil who had never previously gotbeyond the third round of a major. All their three meet-ings have come in the last 10 months with the 25-year-old Canadian unable to win a single set.

Pospisil spent more than eight hours on court on

Monday, first beating Viktor Troicki in the singles in fivesets and then losing a five-setter with Jack Sock againstMurray’s brother Jamie and John Peers.

Pospisil’s win over Troicki was his third five-set win infour rounds at the All England Club this year.

Later Wednesday, defending champion, top seed and2011 winner Novak Djokovic takes on US Open champi-on Marin Cilic boasting a 12-0 career lead over theCroatian.

Cilic, 26, lost to Djokovic in five sets in the quarter-finals in 2014 despite being two sets to one ahead. Thewinner of that clash will face either French Open cham-pion and fourth seed Stan Wawrinka or French 21stseed Richard Gasquet. Wawrinka is in the quarter-finalsfor the second successive year and is bidding tobecome just the fifth man to win Roland Garros andWimbledon in the same year. Gasquet made the semi-finals back in 2007. — AFP

Murray to face Federer in semis

AMIENS: Andre Greipel continuedGerman domination as he won his sec-ond stage of the Tour de France in asprint finish at the end of yesterday’s189.5km run from Arras to Amiens.

Greipel overhauled Briton MarkCavendish and Alexander Kristoff ofNorway while holding off the fast-fin-ishing Slovak Peter Sagan. Having wonSunday’s second stage as well, Greipelkept his hold on the green points jer-sey and also maintained German hege-mony of Tour sprints following the suc-cess of Marcel Kittel the previous twoyears-winning four stages in each.

Last year Germans won four of thefirst six stages before finishing withseven out of 21 in total, and this wasthe third German victory in five days aswell as the second in a row followingTony Martin’s on Tuesday. Greipeltimed his charge to the line to perfec-tion, coming up behind Cavendish, asthe Briton overtook Kristoff, to powerclear and reach the line just beforeSagan, arriving like a bullet, crossed insecond. Cavendish was third and onceagain missed out on a 26th Tour stagevictory.

It was a relatively calm day for theoverall contenders despite a number ofcrashes that resulted in New Zealand’sJack Bauer and French sprinter NacerBouhanni leaving the race.

Martin kept the leader’s yellow jer-sey he took off 2013 champion ChrisFroome on Tuesday, the latter remain-

ing second overall at 12sec with TejayVan Garderen third at 25sec.

Reigning champion Vincenzo Nibaliis still just over a minute and halfbehind Froome with Nairo Quintanaeven further back at almost 2min. Buttwo-time former winner AlbertoContador is eighth overall at 48sec and36sec behind Froome.

Meanwhile, rider safety fears provedto be a false dawn after the pelotonsurvived the treacherous Tour deFrance cobbled fourth stage withoutlosing any more bodies.

Seven riders failed to report to thestart of Tuesday’s 223.5km fourth stagefrom Seraing in Belgium to Cambrai,with it’s seven cobbled sectors totalling13.3km, after crashing on Monday’sthird stage. But of those who did startTuesday’s stage, some includingAustralia’s Michael Matthews werebarely sure they would make it to thefinish.

“It was really hard (Monday). I wentinto the ambulance and they said Imight have broken ribs,” said Matthewsbefore Tuesday’s stage start. “Only afterthe X-ray did we find what the damageactually is. I have some contusions tomy ribs.” That did not mean Matthewscould rest easy, though.

“Through the night (Monday) night,I was really struggling to breathe. Thatwasn’t great. I had little panic attacks, Icould not breathe, it was quite scary,”he said. — AFP

Greipel wins Tour stage

LONDON: Maria Sharapova would havedone well not to have watched SerenaWilliams out-slug Victoria Azarenka in aWimbledon quarter-final of extraordi-nary quality on Tuesday.

The Russian fourth seed is blockingWilliams’ path to an eighth Wimbledonfinal and judging by the way theAmerican bludgeoned her way pastAzarenka after losing the first set, shewill need to reinforce the barricadeswith everything at her disposal, thenhope the 33-year-old has an off day.

For all her pre-programmed on-courtpositivity, Sharapova has become apunchbag for Williams since 2004, theyear she stunned the tennis world bybeating the Amrican to the Wimbledontitle.

She beat her again that year but sincethen her 0-16 record is a depressing taleof woe. No wonder Williams is lookingforward to Thursday’s Centre Court dateagainst a player with whom her relation-ship is, at best, professionally respectful.

“I love playing Maria. I think shebrings out the best in me,” the 33-year-old said, without a hint of irony, after a 3-6 6-2 6-3 defeat of former world numberone Azarenka-a match in which asupreme Williams produced 47 winners,including 17 aces, and only 12 unforcederrors.

Williams avoids talking about thepossibility of a calendar-year grand slam

but with the Australian and FrenchOpens already secured and just twomore wins required to clinch the thirdleg of the sport ’s ultimate feat, sheknows she will never have anotheropportunity like this.

And the last person she would wantto deny her the chance, one imagines, isSharapova. She has only conceded oneset to the Russian in five years.

The last time they met on the CentreCourt grass, in the final of the London2012 Olympics, Sharapova managed onlyone game, and while subsequent meet-ings have been closer, whatever shethrows at the American, however muchshe ratchets up the volume, it getsreturned with interest, and a often a glare.

At least Sharapova has that 2004 tri-umph in the memory bank. “I haven’tseen my name on the trophy in a while,”she told reporters after struggling pastunseeded Coco Vandeweghe onTuesday. “I know it’s there but I wouldlove to check it out again to make sureit’s still there. That would be nice.”

With Williams on a 26-match winningstreak in grand slam play and her gamein rude health it is unlikely she will begetting a close look at it this year.

Waiting in the final for the victor will beeither Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, whoWilliams beat to win her fifth and lastWimbledon title in 2012, or Spain’s 20th-ranked Garbine Muguruza. — Reuters

Sharapova blockingSerena march to final

LONDON: Russia’s Maria Sharapova reacts after beat-ing US player Coco Vandeweghe during their women’squarter-finals match in this file photo. — AFP

BusinessTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

GCC markets outperform peers in Q2 2015

Page 22

Putin hosts BRICS summit amid standoff with West

Page 25China unveils newsteps to prop upfalling stocks

Page 23

VIVA, Microsoft announce direct operator billing for app purchases Page 26

LONDON: Protesters hold up placards as they gather in Parliament Square in central London yesterday as British Finance Minister George Osborne unveiled fresh austerity measures.(Inset) Osborne holds up the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street in central London.—AFP

Britain slashes spending in new austerity driveOsborne promises to save $57bn in fiscal consolidation

MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

Egypt continues bear run, Gulf depressed by weak oil

DUBAI: The bear run on Egypt’s stock market continued yesterday asproperty developer Emaar Misr slid further in the wake of its listing,while weak oil prices weighed on the Gulf.

The Egyptian stock index tumbled 2.6 percent to a 15-month low of7,551 points, bringing its losses from February’s multi-year peak to 25percent. The market has been hit by a perfect storm in the last fewweeks: Egypt’s energy and foreign exchange shortages, a decision by thecentral bank to resume depreciating the Egyptian pound , and an orderby the bourse that Egyptian investors who buy global depositoryreceipts (GDRs) by purchasing shares in Egyptian pounds may onlyreceive their returns in that currency. Security fears after deadly clasheswith Islamist militants in the Sinai, the assassination of Egypt’s top publicprosecutor in Cairo, plus the Greek debt crisis - the euro zone is a toptrading partner and source of tourists for Egypt - have also hurt. Margincalls have added to the selling in recent days.

Property developer Emaar Misr slid a further 5.5 percent to 3.28pounds. It has plunged from an initial public offer price of 3.80 poundssince it listed on Sunday, becoming a symbol of the market’s panic.Before the IPO, which was heavily oversubscribed, analysts put fair valuefor the stock at around 4.70 pounds. But investors have focused sincethen on the fact that valuations of other property firms relative to theirassets are even lower. Palm Hills Development, another big real estatefirm, dropped 4.4 percent yesterday. Arab Cotton Ginning, which haddropped 2.5 percent on Tuesday after the government said it was haltingall cotton imports to try to assist production and marketing of the localcrop, fell further in early trade but recovered to close up 0.4 percent. Thechairman of the Egyptian Chamber of Textile Industries said the textilessector would be hurt by the lack of cheap cotton imports.

“The market had run ahead of itself - developments haven’t kept upwith the hype,” Sherif Salem, portfolio manager at Invest AD, a major AbuDhabi fund firm, said of Egypt’s slide.

The bear market has brought Egyptian valuations, which were over10 percent above emerging markets as a whole at one stage, more close-ly in line; the index is now trading at about 13.5 times trailing earnings,Thomson Reuters data shows, against around 13.2 for the MSCI emerg-ing market index. This should eventually help to stabilize Egyptianstocks, perhaps when global market turmoil dies down and the Cairogovernment formalizes previously announced reforms such as a cut inthe corporate income tax ceiling, Salem said.

He noted that some stocks were back at late 2013 levels, which didnot seem reasonable given improvements in Egypt’s economic policy-making and outlook since then. “The positive medium- and long-termoutlook is still there.” A monthly Reuters survey of 15 Middle East fundmanagers, published last week, found them on balance still positive onEgypt. However, non-Arab foreign investors have become net sellers inthe past few days, exchange data shows.

GULFMeanwhile, most Gulf markets fell in modest turnover because of

weak oil prices and global market instability due to the Greek crisis andChina’s equities crash. The Saudi stock index slipped 0.3 percent as SaudiBasic Industries, a petrochemical blue chip which is sensitive to oil prices,lost 0.8 percent. —Reuters

LONDON: British Finance Minister George Osborneunveiled fresh austerity measures yesterday to slashthe country’s debt, evoking the plight of crisis-hitGreece in presenting the first purely Conservativebudget for nearly 20 years. Chancellor of theExchequer Osborne slashed welfare spending to hon-or campaign promises after his Conservative party-headed by Prime Minister David Cameron-unexpect-edly won an outright majority in a May 7 generalelection.

“This is a Conservative budget that can only bedelivered because the British people trusts us to fin-ish the job,” said Osborne, who now has a free handwith the public finances after a tense five-year coali-tion with the centrist Liberal Democrats.

“The greatest mistake this country could make isto think all our problems are solved,” he told lawmak-ers during a speech lasting over an hour.

“You only have to look at the crisis in Greece torealize if a country is not in control of the borrowing,the borrowing takes control of the country.” Thebudget would transport Britain “from a low wage,high tax, high welfare economy, to the higher wage,lower tax, lower welfare country we intend to create”,he said. Osborne declared the government wouldsave £37 billion ($57 billion, 51 billion euros) in fur-ther fiscal consolidation over the next five years.

“Today I set out how we will find just under half ofthat — £17 billion.” he told lawmakers. “We found

savings of £12 billion from welfare and £5 billionfrom tackling tax evasion, avoidance, planning andimbalances in the tax system. “The other half willlargely come from government departments throughsavings and cuts.”

Deficit reductionThe public deficit is to be cut at the same pace as

in the previous 2010-2015 parliament. The publicpurse is expected to shift to a surplus by 2019/2020,which is a year later than predicted at the time of thelast budget presented in March. “Without sound pub-lic finances there is no economic certainty for work-ing people,” Osborne said. “We should always fix theroof while the sun is shining.”

But he admitted: “”Britain still spends too much,borrows too much and our weak productivity showswe don’t train enough or build enough or investenough.” There was mixed news on the chancellor’slatest forecasts for economic growth. Gross domesticproduct is set to grow by 2.4 percent this year, downfrom a prior estimate of 2.5 percent, after a stronger-than-expected 3.0-percent expansion in 2014. Theeconomy is set to expand by 2.3 percent in 2016.

Borrowing was revised down to £69.5 billion in thecurrent financial year, but was then revised up to£43.1 billion and £24.3 billion the following twoyears, compared to a March forecast of £39.4 billionand £12.9 billion respectively. Osborne also con-

firmed there would be no change to income taxthresholds or value added taxation (VAT) for at leastfive years.

He will cap annual welfare payments at £23,000per household in London, against the current level of£26,000. The amount will be set at £20,000 outsidethe capital.

Corporation tax, levied on business profits, will bereduced from 20 percent to 19 percent in 2017 and18 percent by 2020.

Sticking to austerityThe centre-right Tories swept into power on the

back of promises to stick to the austerity plan thatthey implemented with the Liberal Democrats duringthe last coalition government.

Yesterday’s spending plan sought to build uponOsborne’s first budget of the year, which was present-ed under the previous coalition in March. It wasBritain’s first budget written solely by theConservatives since 1996. During the coalition years,Osborne was forced to soften some of his austeritymeasures in the face of fierce pressure from theLiberal Democrats.

However, his priority remains tackling Britain’stotal debt, which stands at about £1.5 trillion. Thecoalition had already overseen billions of pounds incuts to state spending to slash a record deficit inherit-ed from the previous Labor government. — AFP

Greece fast approaching euro exit door: Economists

ATHENS: Greece may be about to become the first coun-try to step through the exit door and leave the euro-zone, according to a Reuters poll that put the chances ofthe monetary union breaking up at more than 50 per-cent for the first time. Euro-zone members have givenGreece a final deadline of Sunday to come up with a pro-posal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that willkeep the country from crashing out of Europe’s currencybloc and into economic ruin.

But months of negotiations between Athens and itscreditors has so far yielded nothing and Greece becamethe first developed economy to default on a debt pay-ment to the International Monetary Fund last month.Trust has also eroded between both sides after PrimeMinister Alexis Tsipras unexpectedly called a referendumin which six out of 10 Greeks voted to reject further aus-terity.

“It’s gone too far in the sense that there is absolutelyno trust whatsoever any longer,” said Christel Aranda-Hassel, senior European economist at Credit Suisse, refer-ring to the long-drawn-out negotiations. “Ultimately, Ithink the Greeks have overplayed their hand.”

Fifty-seven economists polled on Wednesday, asTsipras pleaded in the European Parliament for a fair deal

for his country, gave a median 55 percent chance ofGreece leaving the euro-zone. That is the first time themedian probability has shown Greece is more likely thannot to leave the euro in many years of Reuters polls ask-ing the same question.

While the results show economists have begunwarming up to the possibility of “Grexit”-for many largebanks it is now their base case-it also reflects a glimmerof hope a deal could be clinched just in time. Financialmarkets also appear to have either held on to that hopeor have dismissed a possible Greek exit as a non-event.

The euro has barely weakened this week while bondyields for peripheral countries such as Portugal, Spainand Ireland have even dipped a little.

“It’s (a deal) still not impossible especially if the Greekgovernment comes up with a new proposal and doesnot insist on a nominal haircut on the debt but acceptslengthening of the maturities,” said Johannes Mayr, econ-omist at BayernLB.

Tsipras has so far insisted on debt relief, saying yearsof austerity has damaged Greece’s economy and heapedmisery on people without any rewards. While IMF ChiefChristine Lagarde has hinted some sort of a haircut onGreece’s debt is necessary to return the economy to

growth, Germany, Greece’s biggest European creditor,has staunchly opposed the idea.

A German finance ministry spokesman yesterdayrejected measures that reduce the current value of Greekdebt. If Greece fails to convince its creditors by Sunday itwill move a step closer to losing its euro membership,with a bond redemption by the ECB on July 20 possiblyproving the trigger.

There is a 60 percent probability of Greece defaultingon the payment, according to economists in the poll.“The moment that (ECB bond payment) does not getpaid, it is a proper default. And that’s the end becausethe ECB cannot continue justifying keeping Greek banksalive,” Credit Suisse’s Aranda-Hassel said.

The ECB has so far kept cash taps just about open forGreek banks through its emergency liquidity assistanceprogram but, faced with a imminent default if a deal isn’tsealed this week, it could cut off the flow. That wouldforce Athens to print its own money and effectively leavethe euro-zone.

A Greek exit, the subject for heated debate for manymonths, will test the ECB’s readiness to deal with possi-ble contagion effects on sovereign bond markets inperipheral countries. —Reuters

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.487Indian Rupees 4.778Pakistani Rupees 2.980Srilankan Rupees 2.269Nepali Rupees 2.986Singapore Dollar 224.490Hongkong Dollar 39.126Bangladesh Taka 3.899Philippine Peso 6.717Thai Baht 8.933

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 80.950Qatari Riyal 83.386Omani Riyal 788.460Bahraini Dinar 806.160UAE Dirham 82.648

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 42.075Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.990Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.416Tunisian Dinar 154.720Jordanian Dinar 428.290Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.036Syrian Lira 2.163Morocco Dirham 31.440

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 303.400Euro 335.560Sterling Pound 469.970Canadian dollar 239.270Turkish lira 112.830Swiss Franc 322.420Australian Dollar 226.030US Dollar Buying 302.200

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

Belgian Franc 0.007916 0.008916British Pound 0.461883 0.470883Czech Korune 0.004283 0.016283Danish Krone 0.040649 0.045649Euro 0.328182 0.336182Norwegian Krone 0.033025 0.038225Romanian Leu 0.074290 0.074290Slovakia 0.009053 0.019053Swedish Krona 0.031547 0.036547Swiss Franc 0.314114 0.324314Turkish Lira 0.112595 0.119595

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.216543 0.228043New Zealand Dollar0.195114 0.204614

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.232803 0.241303US Dollars 0.299300 0.303800

US Dollars Mint 0.299800 0.303800

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003556 0.004156Chinese Yuan 0.047481 0.050981Hong Kong Dollar 0.037035 0.039785Indian Rupee 0.004604 0.004994Indonesian Rupiah0.000019 0.000025Japanese Yen 0.002401 0.002581Kenyan Shilling 0.003022 0.003022Korean Won 0.000256 0.000271Malaysian Ringgit 0.076505 0.082505Nepalese Rupee 0.003043 0.003213Pakistan Rupee 0.002805 0.003085Philippine Peso 0.006611 0.006891Sierra Leone 0.000068 0.000074Singapore Dollar 0.220115 0.226115South African Rand0.018231 0.026731Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001828 0.002408Taiwan 0.009654 0.009834Thai Baht 0.008681 0.0009231

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.798311 0.806311Egyptian Pound 0.039725 0.042555Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000189 0.000249Jordanian Dinar 0.423623 0.431123Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000151 0.000251Moroccan Dirhams0.019863 0.043863Nigerian Naira 0.001253 0.001888Omani Riyal 0.782040 0.787720Qatar Riyal 0.082625 0.083838Saudi Riyal 0.080270 0.080970Syrian Pound 0.001286 0.001506Tunisian Dinar 0.150430 0.158430Turkish Lira 0.112595 0.119595UAE Dirhams 0.081623 0.082772Yemeni Riyal 0.001371 0.001451

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 207.36Canadian Dollar 244.46Swiss Franc 326.18Euro 338.38US Dollar 303.50Sterling Pound 475.10Japanese Yen 2.51Bangladesh Taka 3.896Indian Rupee 4.778Sri Lankan Rupee 2.265Nepali Rupee 2.986Pakistani Rupee 2.980UAE Dirhams 82.51Bahraini Dinar 805.57Egyptian Pound 39.66Jordanian Dinar 431.16Omani Riyal 787.12Qatari Riyal 83.58Saudi Riyal 80.85

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 303.250Canadian Dollar 243.490Sterling Pound 473.225Euro 338.135Swiss Frank 286.820Bahrain Dinar 805.655UAE Dirhams 82.940Qatari Riyals 90.940

Saudi Riyals 81.670Jordanian Dinar 427.730Egyptian Pound 39.104Sri Lankan Rupees 2.267Indian Rupees 4.769Pakistani Rupees 2.980Bangladesh Taka 3.893Philippines Pesso 6.713Cyprus pound 578.158Japanese Yen 3.465Syrian Pound 2.605Nepalese Rupees 3.030Malaysian Ringgit 80.830Chinese Yuan Renminbi 49.220Thai Bhat 9.970Turkish Lira 112.975

GOLD20 gram 232.99010 gram 119.1905 gram 60.280

KUWAIT: Most regional markets rallied in2Q15 led by a strong performance by theUAE markets. Following a strong marketcorrection that was triggered by the dropin oil prices late last year and thatextended well into 1Q15, most regionalmarkets saw a notable rebound in 2Q15.Markets seem to have gained from stabi-lizing oil prices and a relatively calmergeopolitical climate. The MSCI GCC totalreturn index was up 4.6 percent.GCCmarkets’ capitalization stood at $1.1tril-lion, having added $88billion in 2Q15.Market liquidity dropped 22 percent withthe daily traded value averaging $2.2 bil-lion. Typically, activity weakens in thesummer and more so notably during themonth of Ramadan.

Internationally, the Greek debt issuefinally took a toll on equity markets withthe main market indice sending thequarter in the red. European equities,which had been rallying since the begin-ning of the year, corrected in the lastcouple of days in June eroding most oftheir quarterly gains. The MSCI Europetotal-return index closed the quarter uponly 1 percent. US equities remaineddirectionless with the DJIA and theS&P500 “flat” in 2Q15. Meanwhile, theMSCI Emerging Markets total-returnindex was up 1 percent on the quarter.Chinese equities also saw a major correc-tion towards the end of the quarter withthe MSCI China total-return index off 10percent in June; though it is still up 25percent ytd.

In the GCC, the UAE markets outper-formed with the DFM up an impressive16 percent and the ADSM up a decent 6percent in 2Q15. The DFM was the hard-est hit market when oil prices started todrop late last year. So when oil pricesfinally stabilized late January, the marketseemed due for a rally. Tadawul came inbehind DFM and ADX, having gained 5percent in the quarter. The Saudi marketwas the only GCC market that rallied in1Q15; surely, with the main catalystbeing the decision to open up the mar-ket to foreign investors by the middle ofthis year. Ironically, when the decisionwent into effect mid-June, the market

seemed to have already priced it in andthe TadawulAll-Share index dropped fora few consecutive sessions afterwards.The Qatari and Omani markets also madesome gains in 2Q15, up 4 and 3 percentrespectively.

The Kuwaiti and Bahraini marketswere the only two GCC markets to loseground on the quarter. The Kuwait StockExchange (KSE) value-weighted indexwas down 0.4 percent and continued tolack a catalyst that would turn thingsaround. The tragic June suicide-bombinghad a somewhat muted effect on prices,though it surely affected market senti-ment.

Oil price scenarioIn the coming months, regional mar-

kets are likely to continue to be focusedon oil price developments. Oil pricesremain an important factor, especially forthe markets/economies with weaker fis-cal positions such as Dubai, Oman andBahrain. The other markets with largerfiscal buffers are likely to see more limit-ed impact of large changes in oil prices.In those markets, such as Saudi Arabia,Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, theeconomies appear more resilient in thecurrent low oil price environment as gov-ernments renew commitments to boostor maintain capital spending and are

determined to move forward on theirdevelopment plans. Geopolitical andsecurity developments will also be scruti-nized in the coming months.Developments in Yemen will be in theforefront, and the Iranian nuclear pro-gram negotiations are also likely toimpact markets in the coming months(including oil). Finally; any recurrent ter-ror attacks (Egypt, Tunisia, Kuwait etc)andmarkets will have to factor in the addedrisk.

Internationally, a stronger dollar, fearof Greek exit from the euro and the tim-ing of the first US interest rate hike laterin the year are all market moving factors.

GCC markets outperform peers in Q2 2015

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

US dollar stable against Kuwaiti dinar at KD 0.302

KUWAIT: The US dollar exchange rate was stableagainst the Kuwaiti dinar in yesterday’s tradingexchanging at KD 0.302, compared to Tuesday’s rates,said the daily bulletin of the Central Bank of Kuwait(CBK). The euro was also stable at KD 0.333 while thepound sterling went down to KD 0.467. The Swiss francand the Japanese yen were also steady at KD 0.320 andat KD 0.002 respectively.

Saudi’s Al-Rajhi Bank Q2 net profit falls 0.4%

DUBAI: Al-Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s second-largestlender, posted a marginal drop of 0.4 percent in its sec-ond-quarter net profit, it said yesterday, beating ana-lyst forecasts. The bank made 1.94 billion riyals ($517.6million) in the three months ending June 30, com-pared with 1.95 billion riyals in the same period a yearearlier, it said in a bourse statement. Eight analysts sur-veyed by Reuters on average expected the bank topost a net profit of 1.76 billion riyals for the quarter.

NewsI n b r i e f

GFH considers Saudi listing, Kuwait delisting

DUBAI: Gulf Finance House, the Bahrain-based investmentfirm, is once again studying the possibility of delisting fromKuwait’s stock market and is also now considering a listingon Saudi Arabia’s bourse, it said in a statement yesterday.The firm said in April it would delist its global depositaryreceipts in London but would keep its other listings after aperiod of deliberations following feedback from sharehold-ers at its annual general meeting. GFH is listed in fourplaces: Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are oftenthe market’s most heavily traded, Bahrain, Kuwait, andLondon in the form of global depository receipts.

Kuwait oil price down to $54.09

KUWAIT: Price of Kuwaiti crude oil dropped by $1.58 to$54.09 per barrel on Tuesday compared to $55.67 pb theday before, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)announced yesterday. World oil prices fell back despitenews of a drop in US crude stockpiles, and ahead of aFederal Reserve interest rate decision.

DUBAI: Dubai has overtaken otherfinancial centres in listing Islamicbonds on its exchanges, and ismounting a global drive to attractmore listings while developingnew channels to trade sukuk, thechief executive of Nasdaq Dubaisaid. “Demand for Islamic financialproducts still exceeds supply thereare very few financial products forwhich this is true,” said HamedAhmed Ali. The exchange is work-ing on ways to sell sukuk directly toretail investors, expanding the pri-mary market beyond institutionalbuyers, and designing a sharia-compliant repurchase agreement,he said.

Dubai launched an effort to listsukuk in 2013 after its ruler SheikhMohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum declared he wanted theemirate to become a top Islamicfinance centre. A study publishedby Nasdaq Dubai this week sug-gested the effort was succeeding.

Sukuk l isted on Dubai ’s twoexchanges, Nasdaq Dubai andDubai Financial Market, rose to$36.7 billion last month from $7bil l ion in 2013, said the study,whose results are broadly in linewith Thomson Reuters data.Nasdaq Dubai accounts for the vastmajority.

This put Dubai ahead of theworld’s three traditional sukuk cen-tres: Malaysia, with $26.6 billionlisted on Bursa Malaysia and theLabuan free trade zone, the IrishStock Exchange with $25.7 billion,and the London Stock Exchange

with $25.1 billion.Until 2013, issuers from the Gulf

usually chose European exchangesto l ist sukuk; that has begunchanging. Unlike Europe, Dubai hasa stable of local state-linked firmswhich can be encouraged to issuesukuk and list them locally. NoorBank listed $500 million on NasdaqDubai last week; Dubai’s govern-ment owns over a quarter of thebank.

Also, Dubai is at the heart of aMuslim region, which both sup-plies sukuk and provides investordemand, Ali said. While 56 percentof Dubai’s listed sukuk are fromUnited Arab Emirates issuers, 22percent are from Saudi Arabia; Alisaid he wanted the proportionfrom Gulf countries outside theUAE to grow.

In response to Nasdaq Dubai’sstudy, the Irish exchange said it“continues to attract high levels oflistings from the Gulf CooperationCouncil region, both Islamic-basedand conventional f inance”. TheMalaysian and London exchangesdid not reply to requests for com-ment.

TRADESukuk listings are not the only

indicator of health for an Islamicfinance centre. Another is sukuktrading turnover; this remains lowon Dubai’s exchanges, as manyinstitutions hold instruments tomaturity or trade them over-the-counter.

In some ways, Malaysia has a

much more vibrant sukuk marketthan Dubai, with more small corpo-rate issuers. About $69 billion ofsukuk were issued in Malaysia lastyear, though many were not listed,regulatory data shows.

Ali said Nasdaq Dubai aimed tostimulate trade by developingdirect sales to retai l investors.Bahrain’s bourse opened such achannel to issue local currency sov-ereign sukuk in January. NasdaqDubai ’s plan to introduce an“Islamic repo” contract a sharia-compliant version of the short-term loans of securit ies whichbanks use to adjust their liquidity-could also encourage more activeuse of sukuk.

The exchange is discussing aproposed template with local andinternational banks and hopes tointroduce it late this year or in2016, providing it wins theendorsement of religious scholars.So far, only Malaysia, Indonesia andBahrain have taken major steps todevelop Islamic repos.

Early last year, Nasdaq Dubaiintroduced a platform for muraba-ha, another form of Islamic liquiditymanagement in which one bankbuys merchandise and anotheragrees to buy it at a mark-up. Itaimed to grab some of this busi-ness from the London MetalExchange. So far the new platformhas had modest success, trading atotal of around $17 billion amongthree users. The exchange is seek-ing to attract new participants, Alisaid. —Reuters

Dubai plans sukuk channels

as listings top other centers

DUBAI: Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largestlender in the Gulf Arab region, beat analysts’ expec-tations yesterday as it posted a 10 percent increasein second-quarter net profit, according to Reuterscalculations. The bank reported a net profit of 2.91billion riyals ($799.2 million) for the three months toJune 30, compared with 2.64 billion riyals in the cor-responding period of last year, Reuters calculated.The bank did not provide a quarterly results break-down in its earnings statement.

For the first six months of the year, net profit alsorose 10 percent to 5.59 billion riyals, up from 5.07billion riyals in the same period of 2014, the banksaid in a statement. Six analysts polled by Reuters,on average, forecast a net profit of 2.81 billion riyalsfor the second quarter. QNB, aiming to become thelargest bank in the Middle East and Africa by 2017,said loans and advances rose 9.2 percent in the firsthalf from a year earlier to 356 billion riyals.

Despite falling short of the double-digit rate ofexpansion QNB was recording before last year, therise still suggests its lending is managing to with-stand recent choppiness in credit growth in the Gulfstate. Lending growth in Qatar has been a majordriver of banks’ profits in recent years as the GulfArab state spends billions of dollars on infrastruc-ture and preparations to host the soccer World Cupin 2022.

Overall bank credit growth has recovered afterexpansion eased in February to its lowest level sinceat least 2007, according to central bank data.Deposits at the lender, which is 50 percent ownedby sovereign wealth fund Qatar InvestmentAuthority, expanded by 10.4 percent to reach 381billion riyals. — Reuters

QNB Q2 net profit rises

10%, beats forecasts

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

B U S I N E S S

KUWAIT: Connectivity is driving a revolutionin the way that companies address their ITneeds. Gone are the days when businessescould operate from 8:00am to 5:00pm and stillbe successful. In today’s hyper competitiveenvironment, the biggest challenge for busi-nesses in Kuwait lies in becoming an Always-On Business, one that must operate 24 hours aday, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. ITspend is growing with the market expected topeak in 2016, influenced by factors such asgovernment investments for Smart City proj-ects, growing connected device usage, andincreased corporate investments in softwareand IT bolstering. But are companies investingtheir money in the right solutions that offeravailability and scalability for the continuedchange we anticipate in the future?

Gregg Petersen, Regional Director, MiddleEast and SAARC, Veeam Software says that inorder to keep pace with the rapidly evolving ITworld, companies must provide services thatare faster, more secure, better controlled, andhave lower operational costs while increasingbusiness agility. Data centres are being mod-ernized in order to accommodate theserequirements, by implementing server virtual-isation, modern storage applications, andcloud-based services - but these representonly one aspect of what businesses must con-sider when updating their IT capabilities.

While the above-mentioned implementa-tions are good at building scale, organisationsin Kuwait must take into account thedemands end users will have. These caninclude requiring round the clock access to

data and applications, and the need for servic-es to be 100 percent reliable, without anydowntime or the risk of data loss. On top ofthis is the fact that data is growing rapidly, at arate of 30-50 per cent per year. According tothe Cisco(r) Visual Networking Index (VNI)Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update,global mobile data traffic reached 2.5exabytes per month at the end of 2014, upfrom 1.5 exabytes per month at the end of2013. To put that into perspective, last year’smobile data traffic was nearly 30 times the sizeof the entire global internet in 2000.

To cope with these demands, ChiefInformation Officers (CIOs) need to upgradetheir storage systems to minimize downtimeand guarantee access to data as and when it’srequired, in order to evolve into Always-On

Businesses. Critical to this business transfor-mation is making the switch from legacybackup to modern availability solutions.

While legacy backup systems may havebeen perfectly capable of handling thedemands of the past two decades or so, theyare simply not designed to cope with theincreasing pressures of today’s highly-con-nected world. Legacy systems’ incapability canlead to numerous service issues, such aslengthy recovery point objectives (RPOs) andrecovery time objectives (RTOs), meaning sub-stantial delays in usability, with the potentialto negatively impact business productivity.There is also the significant threat of not beingable to detect issues before they affect thesystem; less than 6 per cent of backups aretested each quarter, more than 16 per cent fail

to recover, and 59 per cent of patches orupgrades result in more downtime thanexpected. All of these aspects have the poten-tial to disrupt employee workflow. 82 per centof CIOs say that there is a gap between thelevel of availability that legacy backup solu-tions provide, and the level that end usersdemand.

The Always-On Business cannot afford thesetbacks that legacy systems are prone to,which is why the modern data centre hasevolved to deliver a highly capable, reliablesolution. Availability requirements offer recov-ery time and point objectives (RTPO) of lessthan 15 minutes, with a zero per cent failurerate, testing on every upgrade and patch, andproactive visibility to ensure the highest levelof protection for all data and users.

Companies in Kuwait need to evolve: Expert

FYYANG: A worker repairs the display board at a brokerage house in Fuyang incentral China’s Anhui province yesterday. China announced a flurry of new movesyesterday to halt a stock market slide. The government told state companies andexecutives to buy shares, raised the amount of equities insurance companies canhold and promised more credit to finance trading. —AP

BEIJING: China announced a flurry ofnew moves yesterday to halt a stockmarket slide. The result? Another bigdive in share prices. The governmenttold state companies and executivesto buy shares, raised the amount ofequities insurance companies canhold and promised more credit tofinance trading.

Hundreds of companies havehalted trading in their stock afteremergency measures announcedlast weekend failed to stop a routthat has dragged down the bench-mark Shanghai Composite Index bymore than 30 percent since earlyJune.

The Shanghai index lost another5.9 percent yesterday and HongKong’s Hang Seng index closeddown 5.8 percent after diving asmuch as 8.5 percent earlier in theday. Greece’s debt crisis has unsettledAsian stock markets but the losses inChina are driven entirely by internalfactors.

The decline in Chinese stockprices threatens to fuel political ten-sions and set back Communist Partyplans to use financial markets tomake China’s state-dominated econ-omy more productive. The partywants to encourage stock ownershipbut small investors whose holdingshave plunged in value say they willno longer buy shares. Little morethan a month ago, China’s stock mar-ket was the best performing in theworld. The boom began after statemedia said last year stocks werecheap, which led investors to believeBeijing would prevent prices fromfalling. The Shanghai index still is up70 percent from one year ago butnovice investors who piled in justbefore the peak hold shares that areworth less than they paid.

Financial literacy is limited in asociety where the mainland’s firstcommunist-era stock exchangeopened in Shanghai only in 1990.Brokerages offer classes in tradingbut a culture of commentators whopreach the gospel of low-risk, long-term investing has yet to develop.Many small investors rely on rumorsor tips from friends in a market rifewith complaints of insider tradingand fraud.

“The central government madeconsiderable reputational invest-ment in the rally over the last year,particularly via ample cheerleadingfrom state media,” said IHS GlobalInsight economist Brian Jackson in areport. “As a result, support is likely toremain extraordinary, although thatwill find difficulty reversing the rapid

shift in attitudes by retail investors.”Yesterday, the Cabinet agency

that oversees China’s biggest state-owned companies said it had toldthem to avoid selling shares and tobuy more “in order to safeguard mar-ket stability.” In a separate order, thesecurities regulator told directors,executives and senior managers ofpublicly traded companies who havesold shares in those companies with-in the past six months to buy themback and said they are barred fromselling. It said they are required tobuy more if the price falls by more

than 30 percent in the next 10 days.The insurance regulator said the

proportion of their assets Chineseinsurers are allowed to invest instocks will be increased to 40 percentfrom 30 percent. The amount of a sin-gle blue-chip company’s shares thatan insurance company can buy willincrease to 10 percent from 5 per-cent.

The central bank said it will pro-vide “ample liquidity to support stockmarket stability” through a state-owned company that lends to bro-kerages to finance share purchases, apractice known as margin lending.

The People’s Bank of China statementwas read on state TV’s national mid-day news.

Chinese authorities have tried toreassure investors the decline is nor-mal following the boom that saw theShanghai index soar by more than150 percent beginning in late 2014.The flagship ruling party newspaper,People’s Daily, said Monday the econ-omy can maintain steady growth andprovide “solid fundamentals” for“healthy development of capital mar-kets.” Jackson, of IHS Global Insight,noted a survey by the Southwestern

University of Finance found 8.8 per-cent of households participated inthe stock market in the second quar-ter of this year, up from 6.1 percent inthe first quarter. According to thenewspaper China Business News, thelatest percentage is the equivalent of37 million households.

“That confirms that a substantialnumber of households rushed in justas valuations were peaking, but alsothat the total exposure of privatehouseholds in China is relatively lowcompared to Western countries,where often a third or more partici-pate in equity markets,” said Jackson.

Also yesterday, a group of 21state-owned brokerages thatpledged last weekend to buy bluechip stocks - or shares in major statecompanies - said they will increasethe size of a fund to finance that from120 billion yuan ($19 billion) to 260billion yuan ($42 billion).

The pledge helped to boostshares in major banks and other gov-ernment companies such asPetroChina Ltd., Asia’s biggest oil andgas producer. Their prices rose by upto 10 percent on Monday andTuesday, but shares in smaller com-

panies that are not included in thepledge have fallen.

Some 787 companies suspendedtrading on the exchanges inShanghai and the southern city ofShenzhen by the end of tradingTuesday, according to China BusinessNews. It said more requested a sus-pension later, raising the total tomore than 1,000 - the equivalent ofalmost 36 percent of the total of2,802 companies traded in Shanghaiand Shenzhen. Hong Kong shares inwhich trading was suspended includ-ed Sinopec, the country’s No 2 state-owned oil company. —AP

China unveils new steps to prop up falling stocks

Market dives further after flurry of new moves

BEIJING: Cars line up to fill up with fuel at a Sinopec service station in Beijing yesterday. HongKong shares of Chinese oil giant Sinopec were suspended on July 8, after more than 1,200 main-land firms stopped trading on Chinese bourses as the country’s stocks suffered a dive that haswiped billions off valuations. —AFP

HONG KONG: The business plans and over-seas ambitions of Chinese brokerages arebeing shelved as Beijing pushes them to usetheir resources to arrest a dramatic plungein domestic equity markets that is threaten-ing China’s economic stability. Twenty-oneof China’s biggest brokerages were pressedinto service last weekend, pledging to spend15 percent of their net assets, roughly 120billion yuan ($19 billion), to buy stocks aspart of a broad government-led effort tocalm what the securities regulator has calledpanic.

Securities companies, which have raised$29.4 billion through international and localshare sales this year, are expected to pumpmore of their own cash into the market ifshare prices fall further, executives and ana-lysts say. “The top priority for Chinese bro-kers now is to protect the stock market,” saidan executive at a Chinese securities firm inShanghai.

Chinese brokers had been looking to usesome of the cash they raised this year toexpand their global reach and offer a fullrange of products and services abroad, com-plementing China’s internationalisation ofits currency.

Haitong Securities, China’s second-biggest brokerage, in December agreed topay 379 euros for Portuguese investmentbank Banco Espirito Santo de InvestimentoSA, while its Hong Kong-listed firm this yearclosed a deal to buy Asian brokerageJapaninvest Group plc.

Now Haitong’s attention is squarely ondomestic matters, as its share price has tum-bled about 35 percent since end-June. It hasspent at least HK$313 million ($40 million)buying its own shares in Hong Kong in thatperiod, according to company filings.

Haitong suspended its shares yesterdayafter a unit of state-backed investment firmHaixia Capital offered to sell a block of its

shares at a discount of up to 20 percent.In February, Citic Securities Co said it

spent HK$780 million for KVB KunlunFinancial Group to build its internationalcapabilities and expand its currency tradingbusiness. “Those who haven’t set up officesin overseas markets may have to slow downtheir plans, and those with offshore branch-es also won’t have energy or time to expandat present,” said the Shanghai-based securi-ties executives.

SHARES PLUNGEThe market rout has been particularly

brutal for shares in Chinese brokers thisweek. “Investors are extremely unimpressedwith their sudden conscription into nationalservice, and you can see that in their shareprices,” said Matthew Smith, a strategist whocovers the China financials sector forMacquarie.

Citic Securities stock is down more than23 percent in Hong Kong since Monday.Shares in Guotai Junan InternationalHoldings , the offshore arm of China’sbiggest securities firm, have fallen morethan 28 percent. Shares in GuolianSecurities, which started trading on Monday,have dropped about 40 percent.

Bond spreads for securities houses havealso widened. All the brokers mentioned inthe article declined to comment on thespecifics of their market intervention plans.

At some mainland brokerages, thoseplans include only giving customers infor-mation that will “stabilise the market”, saidanother Shanghai-based brokerage employ-ee. An employee at Shenwan HongyuanSecurities said that at morning meetingsoperations departments were being told bymanagers to help stabilize markets, whichhave lost more than $4 trillion since the startof June - or four times what the Germanstock market is worth. —Reuters

Chinese brokers woken from global dreams

MUSCAT/SOFIA: Oman’s biggest sover-eign wealth fund has started legal actionagainst the Bulgarian government over thecollapse of Corporate Commercial Bank(Corpbank), a source at the fund toldReuters yesterday.

Oman’s State General Reserve Fundowned a 30 percent stake in the Balkancountry’s fourth-biggest lender, which wasfelled by a bank run and shut down by thecentral bank, triggering the country’s worstfinancial crisis since the 1990s.

News of the legal action came as aBulgarian parliament commission yester-day accused the main shareholder of run-ning Corpbank as a pyramid scheme underthe lax supervision of the central bank andthe intelligence service. Corpbank’s mainowner, a Bulgarian tycoon called TsvetanVassilev, has been charged with embezzle-ment since the bank run and an independ-ent audit ordered by the central bankforced Corpbank to write off nearly two-thirds of its assets. Insolvency proceedingsin Bulgaria are ongoing.

A consortium of investors including theOmani fund had submitted proposals forrescuing Corpbank in October, but amonth later the central bank stripped thelender of its licence and ended any chanceof a turnaround.

“The arbitration is in European courts”,said a source at the fund, speaking on con-dition of anonymity. “Our demands are toget the book value of our investment as

per the day the bank was stopped as wellas interest,” the source added, declining togive further details. The Bulgarian financeministry did not respond to a request forcomment.

PYRAMIDThe run on Corpbank started after

reports of shady deals at the lender sur-faced and amid a public dispute betweenVassilev and a business rival. Vassilev, whois in neighboring Serbia and awaiting acourt decision on whether to extradite him,has denied any wrongdoing and said thebank run was a plot hatched by his com-petitors in collusion with some state offi-cials. The fallout continues. Prosecutorshave charged two auditors from theBulgarian unit of consulting firm KPMGwith not reporting shortcomings inCorpbank’s activities. KPMG did not com-ment on the charges. Two former centralbank deputy governors are also beinginvestigated. They have denied wrongdo-ing. The parliament commission’s reportsaid more than two-thirds of Corpbank’sloans were extended to firms linked toVassilev or to shell companies, echoing thefindings of the audit commissioned by theBulgarian National Bank (BNB). “The bank isone financial pyramid with its majorityowner at the top,” said Snezhana Dukova, amember of the commission that was set upin March, accusing regulators of being“asleep”. —Reuters

Oman takes legal action against Bulgaria over bank collapse BANG PLA MA, Thailand: Ranong Rachasing would

normally be in her fields at this time of year, toiling inankle-deep water to make her rice paddies bloomthrough knowledge honed by years of cultivatingThailand’s most celebrated export. Now the wizened57-year-old’s fields lie fallow, baking under a blazingsummer sun while Ranong gazes skywards forclouds that never seem to appear.

“This year is worse than any other. There has beenno rain, so there is no water. It is the most severedrought I’ve ever seen,” she told AFP while standingin a cracked field in Bang Pla Ma district, Suphanburiprovince, a two-hour drive north of Bangkok.

Thailand’s vital rice belt is being battered by one

of the worst droughts in living memory, forcingimpoverished farmers deeper into debt and heapingfresh pain on an already weak economy-seen as thejunta’s Achilles heel. When they seized power in May2014, Thailand’s generals promised to restore orderand prosperity after months of street protests paral-ysed the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatraand brought the economy to a near standstill.

By severely curtailing civil liberties, former armychief turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha haslargely managed to renew calm. But the generalshave proven less adept at kickstarting what wasonce one of Southeast Asia’s most vibranteconomies.

Lackluster growth Post-coup gains of a rebound in tourism and

increased fiscal spending have been offset by dis-appointing exports, declining manufacturing andweak local demand. In May the country’s economicplanning agency further revised down its GDPgrowth forecast for the year to between 3.0-4.0percent, one of the lowest rates in Asia and wellbelow Prayut’s hopes for at least 4.5 percent.

Now the kingdom faces the prospect of a dis-mal main harvest of rice-traditionally one of thecountry’s top exports. Water levels in some of themain reservoirs are at their lowest levels in 20 yearsprompting the junta to call on farmers in the ChaoPraya river basin to delay sowing crops. Prayut alsoordered officials to clear irrigation channels, digmore ground wells and employ cloud seedingtechnology to create artificial rainfall.

But the wet season has yet to arrive in earnestand water remains precariously elusive for many.To the untrained eye Thailand’s drought is decep-tive. Across much of Suphanburi province manyfields appear green and crop-filled. “The color iswrong, too yellow” explains Samien Hongto, thespry 72-year-old chairman of the Central FarmersNetwork as he surveys rice fields close to his vil-lage.

“If we don’t get rain in the next few days, thesecrops will die.” Down the road a field has done justthat and a herd of buffaloes has been allowed in tograze on what remains. Away from the main irriga-tion channels the planted fields become a rarity.

Vichai Priprasert, president of the Thai RiceExporters Association, estimates just 30-40 percentof the fields have been planted, with no guaranteethose will make it to harvest. “I’ve never seen it thisbad. And I’ve been working in this industry for 40years or so,” he told AFP. —AFP

Parched paddies strike Thai junta’s economic weak spot

A rice paddy cracks in Nakhon Ratchasima,Thailand. Thailand’s rainy season officiallybegan in the last week of May, but it rained only once in the Ban Lueam district innortheastern Nakhon Ratchasima province. —AP

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

LONDON: World markets were shaken yes-terday by a crash in Chinese stocks, a slumpin commodities and questions overwhether Europe would save Greece. WallStreet was set to start around 0.8 percent inthe red before the latest Federal Reservemeeting minutes, but most of the focuswas on a 6.75 percent plunge in Chinashares overnight as regulators warnedinvestors were being gripped by “panic sen-timent”.

Hong Kong dropped 8 percent, and

Japan’s Nikkei and stocks in Australia tookheavy blows, leaving investors only the yenand safe-haven government bonds forrefuge. The yen rose to a six-week highagainst the dollar. European shares hadlooked on course earlier to snap a four-daylosing streak. But global uncertainty alsoleft traders wondering whether Fed min-utes due later, normally a market mover,would provide much value given theemerging risks.

Beijing’s steps to stabilize its turbulent

markets in recent weeks have had little suc-cess so far. Nick Lawson, a managing direc-tor at Deutsche Bank in London, said theauthorities could now “let the unwind runits natural course and deal with the fallout,or manipulate the market but run the riskthat this will entail so many impediments tofree trade that index providers and foreigninvestors will be discouraged from enteringthe market for a long time.”

China’s worries for once overshadowedGreece, which made a formal request for a

3-year loan deal from the euro-zonerescue fund. The bloc’s leaders onTuesday gave Athens until the end ofthe week to come up with proposalsfor reforms in return for loans. Withoutthe aid, Greece is likely to crash out ofEurope’s single currency.

One of the European Central Bank’stop policymakers, Christian Noyer, saidthat without a deal the ECB would pullthe emergency funding currentlykeeping Greek banks alive.

“Our rules oblige us to stop immedi-ately at the point when there is noprospect of a political accord on a pro-gram, or at the point when the Greekbanking system crumbles - whichwould happen if it enters generalizeddefault on all its debts,” he told Frenchradio. But European investors keptfaith that a deal was still possible. Thepan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 rose forthe first time this week, led by Italianand bank stocks. The euro alsoclimbed back to $1.1035 and southerneuro zone government bonds madeground as risk appetite tentativelyrecovered.

DELICATE CHINACommodity markets, highly

exposed to China, were slowly startingto regain their footing before US trad-ing. Oil prices pulled out of their diveat $52.65 a barrel for US crude and$57.29 for Brent. This week is shapingup to be their worst since March.

The selloff in metals markets alsoeased after copper in London andShanghai had dropped to six-yearlows and gold had sl id to a four-month trough of just below $1,150 anounce.

“A perfect storm of events has hit oilmarkets,” Morgan Stanley said. Thecrash in China extended a plunge thathas slashed Chinese shares 30 percentsince mid-June as measures to spurthe economy lose traction. Over 500China-listed companies announcedtrading halts on the Shanghai andShenzhen Exchange yesterday, takingsuspensions to about 1,300, 45 percentof the market. The yuan touched afour-month low in the offshore market.

“I’ve never seen this kind of slumpbefore. I don’t think anyone has.Liquidity is totally depleted,” said DuChangchun, an analyst at NortheastSecurities. “Originally, many wanted tohold blue chips. But since so manysmall caps are suspended from trad-ing, the only way to reduce risk expo-sure is to sell blue chips.” TheAustralian dollar, often used as a liquidproxy for China plays, slumped to a six-year low against the US dollar of$0.7389.

With Fed minutes also looming, theyield on the 10-year US Treasury notelast stood at 2.220 percent, below itsUS close of 2.231 percent on Tuesday,when it had also dropped to a five-week low of 2.185 percent. —Reuters

China rout panics Asia; Greek worries smolder

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

KULA LUMPUR: A motorist rides past a hoarding at the construction site ofthe 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) flagship Tun Razak Exchangein Kuala Lumpur yesterday. —AFP

UFA, Russia: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin is to meet world lead-ers including China’s Xi Jinping andIndia’s Narendra Modi ahead of thestart of a summit of the BRICSemerging economies. Putin is tohold bilateral talks with leaders ofthe other BRICS countries China,Brazil, South Africa and India-in thecity of Ufa in the Ural mountains fora summit that Moscow hopes willshow it is not cut off, despite itsstandoff with the West over Ukraine.

South African President JacobZuma arrived on Tuesday in Ufawhile China’s Xi was set to arrive yes-terday as was India’s Modi, breakingoff a visit to Central Asia. The BRICSsummit itself is today. Taking placeat the same time in the provincialcity about 1,100 kilometres (750miles) from Moscow is a meeting ofthe regional security grouping, theShanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO), at which Putin will meetIranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran has observer status in theSCO, which is made up of Russia,China and the ex-Soviet CentralAsian states of Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan. The high-profile gather-ings come as Moscow is locked in anbitter standoff with the West overthe Ukraine crisis that has seen Putingiven the cold shoulder by the EUand the United States.

The hosting of the BRICS summit“emphasized that Russia’s isolation isnon-existent as before, despite theclaims of some politicians in theUnited States and the European

Union,” political analyst AlexeiMukhin who heads the pro-KremlinCentre for Political Information, toldKommersant FM radio. BRICS “augursthe formation of a new world, inwhich the West will not dominate,”Fyodor Lukyanov, the Kremlin-linkedchairman of the Council on Foreignand Defence Policy, wrote inRossiiskaya Gazeta state daily.

“Behind closed doors and at aworking lunch, the leaders will dis-cuss all the current problems on theinternational agenda includingUkraine, including Greece, and theterrorist threat from the Islamic Stategroup,” Yury Ushakov, Putin’s top for-eign policy aide, told journalistsahead of the summit, quoted by RIANovosti news agency. Among the

main items on the agenda will be theestablishment of a BRICS bank tofinance infrastructure projects inmember states and developingcountries.

“This will probably be one of theworld’s leading institutions, whichwill focus on infrastructure projects,”Russia’s economy minister AlexeiUlyukayev said. —AFP

Putin hosts BRICS summit amid standoff with WestSummit ‘emphasizes’ Russia’s isolation non-existent

UFA: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi inUfa yesterday ahead of the start of a summit of the BRICS emerging economies. —AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: A government taskforce investigating a Malaysian state-owned investment fund seized docu-ments from its offices yesterday after aprobe allegedly found hundreds of mil-lions of dollars in the prime minister’spersonal bank accounts.

“We can confirm that a number ofofficials from the Task Force, conductingan enquiry into 1Malaysia DevelopmentBhd (1MDB), visited our offices today,” itsaid in a statement.

“They were provided with a numberof documents and materials to aid withthe investigations currently tak ingplace,” 1MDB added. Police vehicleswere seen outside the 1MDB buildinglocated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’sbusiness district, while entry to theoffices was restricted.

After almost six hours, task force offi-cials emerged from the 1MDB officeswith computer equipment which wasloaded onto a police vehicle.

Malaysian police could not bereached for comment. The Wall StreetJournal reported on July 3 that a probehad allegedly discovered nearly $700million moved through governmentagencies, banks and companies linkedto 1MDB before ending up in PrimeMinister Najib Razak ’s personalaccounts.

Najib himself dismissed the WSJreport as “political sabotage” and threat-ened possible legal action, while 1MDBdenied any wrongdoing and said it hadnot transferred any funds to the pre-

mier. Both Najib and 1MDB have alsosaid that previously leaked documentshad “reportedly” been tampered with,and that the documents cited by theWSJ had not been verified.

1MDB was launched in 2009 by Najib,who still chairs its advisory board. Criticssay it has been opaque in explaining itsdealings. It is reeling under an estimat-ed $11 billion debt, which has weighedon the ringgit currency amid allegationsof mismanagement and murky overseastransactions.

Najib has in the past persistentlydenied any wrongdoing in relation to1MDB.

In its repor t, the WSJ cited banktransfer forms and flow charts preparedby government investigators as evi-dence of the accusations. It releasedonline redacted documents of thealleged money trail on Tuesday. The USnewspaper said the original source ofthe money was unclear, and noted thatthe government investigation did notdetail what happened to the funds thatallegedly ended up in Najib’s accounts.

Influential ex-Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad, who turns 90 onFriday, has urged Najib to step downover the fund’s activities and poor han-dling of Southeast Asia’s third largesteconomy on the back of weak oil andcommodities prices.

On his popular blog, Mahathir, whostill casts a long shadow in local poli-t i c s , s a i d N a j i b h a d “s h a m e d ” t h ecountry. —AFP

Malaysian investigators seize documents from 1MDB offices

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel’stough stance on Greece plays well withGerman voters but carries a huge risk,analysts warn-histor y would l ikelyblame her for a catastrophic “Grexit”.

The austerity champion oftendubbed the “Queen of Europe” nowfaces the toughest crisis in her nearlydecade-long reign at the helm of theEU’s top economy. So far she hasrefused to blink, ruling out a Greek debt“haircut” and insisting the desperate yetdefiant country accept more toughreforms and cost cuts in return for inter-national aid.

But many observers warn that if thehigh-stakes standoff is not resolved,both sides would lose.

“It is a mistake to think it would be inGermany’s interest to break off negotia-tions and actively push Greece into aGrexit,” said Marcel Fratzscher, head ofeconomic research institute DIW.

“Germany would pay a heavy politi-cal price” if Greece crashes out of theeuro-zone, he said. “The accusationshave already escalated in recentmonths. Europe and the world wouldprimarily see a Grexit as a failure ofGerman policy.” Daniela Schwarzer, ofthink-tank the German Marshall Fund ofthe United States, said Merkel “faces ahuge dilemma because, on the onehand, if Greece leaves, she will be thechancellor who didn’t manage to holdthe euro-zone together”. “But if shekeeps Greece in after all that has hap-pened, then she will be extremely criti-cized for giving up the principles thatgovern the euro-zone. Whichever waythis goes, she will be criticized.”

‘If euro fails, Merkel fails’ For years Merkel has repeated that “if

the euro fails, Europe fails”. SeveralGerman newspapers have now changedthat mantra to: “If the euro fails, Merkelfails.”At home, Merkel has long enjoyedsoaring popularity ratings for her firmgrip on the public purse of Europe’seffective bailout paymaster and forpreaching the virtues of fiscal rectitude.

Abroad, many have warned thatMerkel’s bitter medicine is killing theGreek patient, by plunging it deeperinto recession and unemploymentwhen, they argue, an injection of stimu-lus spending is badly needed. “Historywill remember you for your actions thisweek,” f ive renowned economistsincluding Thomas Piketty and JeffreySachs wrote Tuesday in an open letterto Merkel, cal l ing for a “a humanerethink of the punitive and failed pro-gram of austerity”. The Greek ‘No’ vote

to EU-IMF bailout terms last Sunday,cheered by left- and right-wing pop-ulists across Europe, heightened thepressure on Merkel. Germany’s conser-vative daily Die Welt called it her first“great defeat”.

Until now, she has stuck to her guns.She insisted Tuesday that so far therewas “no basis for negotiations” withAthens, and repeated that “Europeansolidarity and national reform efforts gohand in hand”. At home, conservativelawmakers and newspapers havewarned Merkel not to give in now, asanger with Greece has come to crossmainstream party lines and polls showabout half of Germans favour a Grexit.

‘Iron Chancellor’ or ‘Rubble Woman’? The mass-circulation Bild daily this

week urged Merkel to be “an I ronChancellor” in her dealings with Greece,depicting her with a Prussian spikedmilitary helmet. Yesterday the tabloid-style newspaper was furious EU lead-ers were even consider ing a th i rdbailout and fumed: “NO, we are notconsistent. YES, we are open to black-mail. What a defeat!” News magazineDer Spiegel meanwhile warned thatMerkel-heir to chancellor Helmut Kohl,a champion of European unity-couldbecome the leader on whose watchEurope started to crumble.

Its stark cover shows Merkel sittingon toppled Greek columns, with theheadline “The Rubble Woman”, refer-r ing to the iconic sur v ivors whocleared up bombed German c i t iesafter World War II.

It argued that much of the blame forthe crisis goes to Greece, but also toMerkel’s “particular way of letting thingsdrift along”. “The Greek crisis called forleadership, a plan, but Merkel did notwant to commit to one. Merkel likespower, but at the crucial moment, shedoesn’t know what to do with it. Nowshe faces the ruins of her policy onEurope.”

Especially outside Europe, manywonder how a divided continent willdeal with other challenges-from theUkraine crisis to dealing with a wave ofrefugees to the looming threat ofBritain leaving the EU.

As Berlin has taken an increasinglycentral role in Europe, many are warn-ing it must not fail now.

“The government has acted respon-sibly and correctly in the negotiationsof recent months,” said Fratzscher. But ifGreece does exit the euro, he said, “thiswould be no more than a historicalfootnote”. —AFP

‘Grexit’ scenario threatens to tarnish Merkel’s legacy

STRASBOURG: European lawmakers yesterdaybacked a compromise plan designed to spur negoti-ations on a trade pact between the European Unionand the United States and overcome deep divisionswithin the European Parliament. Opposition to theproposed trade pact between the EU and theUnited States, which would be the world’s biggest,

has focused on its provision for private arbitration.European opponents say this would allow US multi-nationals to challenge European food and environ-mental laws on the grounds they restrict commerce.

The U.S. is making it a condition of their tradenegotiations that there is a dispute body.

While the main centre-right political group in the

European Parliament considers a US trade dealwould be pro-business, the Greens as well as somefar-left and far-right see it as a threat to EU sover-eignty and EU laws. Yesterday’s vote gained majoritysupport after Martin Schulz, a German socialist whoheads the 751-seat European Parliament, put for-ward a compromise on setting up a new Europeancourt to settle any disputes.

“What citizens refuse (reject) is that as a result ofa trade agreement, legally and democraticallyadopted laws and binding standards could beundermined by arbitration,” Schulz said inStrasbourg in a news conference ahead of the vote.

To counter that, he said his plan provided for atransparent body that would not threaten EU laws. Itwould resolve quarrels between investors and gov-ernments by using publicly appointed, independentprofessional judges in public hearings.

The parliament has the power to reject any finaldeal on the Transatlantic Trade and InvestmentPartnership (TTIP), which would encompass a thirdof world trade.

The difficulty in getting as far as yesterday’s voteunderscores the depth of resistance in some quar-ters. Yesterday’s voting was interrupted by argu-ments over procedure by politicians with “No toTTIP” banners. In a statement, the Green group inthe European Parliament said the compromise ver-sion still allowed foreign investors to use a separatelayer of jurisdiction, other than the domestic legalsystem.

“The Greens call on citizens, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, towns and regions andbusinesses to speak out and contact their electedrepresentatives and hold them to account on thisattempt to privatise justice and infringe democraticrights,” Green Member of the European ParliamentYannick Jadot said. —Reuters

Europeans back compromise in step towards US trade deal

UFA: China’s President Xi Jingping (left) tastes the traditional bread during a welcoming ceremony at an airport in Ufa yesterday.Chinese President arrived in Ufa to take part in the BRICS summit. —AFP

HANOI: Farmers transplanting rice on a field at Quoc Oai district, on the outskirts ofHanoi. —AFP

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

VIVA, Microsoft announce direct

operator billing for app purchases

KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growingand most developed telecom operator,and Microsoft yesterday announced adirect operator billing facility on WindowsStore for Microsoft Lumia users. Theunique initiative will enable VIVA cus-tomers to purchase apps from theWindows store without a credit card, andthe same would be directly charged totheir monthly post-paid bill or debitedfrom their prepaid account. Customers cannow benefit from this new service. Theagreement became possible because ofthe strategic partnership betweenMicrosoft, VIVA and Intigral, the MiddleEast leading digital hub.

The use of applications on smartdevices has caused a boom in the world ofsmart devices, redefining the way peopleperform their daily personal and worktasks. The direct operator billing facilitywill enable VIVA customers to purchaseapps from anywhere, at any time, anddownload the very latest in mobileenhancements at their convenience. Thereare many customers who are reluctant topay the cost using a credit card eitherbecause they do not own a credit card orsimply because they do not want to sharetheir credit card details when making pur-chases. Through this direct payment chan-

nel, VIVA is presenting its customers withthe benefit of performing any online or in-store transaction in an easy and secureway without the need for a credit card.

VIVA’s customers using Microsoft Lumiawill need to choose the application theywant to buy from the Windows Store. Theywould then have to select the VIVAaccount option on the payment screen tocontinue with the transaction. The VIVAaccount will then be automatically set asthe default option for all future purchasesof applications and games.

VIVA is delighted to partner withMicrosoft to offer its customers easiermeans of paying for the latest applications.VIVA is always committed to invest in lead-ing technology that enhances its cus-tomers’ smartphone experience. With thispayment option in place, VIVA customerscan enjoy the one-stop convenience ofhaving all of their application purchasesconsolidated into their mobile bill or pre-paid account.

To find out more about VIVA’s new serv-ice, or it numerous promotions, productsand packages visit any of the 69 VIVAbranches, one of the VIVA authorized dis-tributors, the company ’s website atwww.viva.com.kw or contact its 24 hourcall center at 102.

KUWAIT: The thousands of users who have par-ticipated in Bentley’s early access program forMicroStation CONNECT Edition have had anearly glimpse of the potential new workflowsand productivity enhancements that it delivers.As the quotes below reveal, they are very excit-ed about what it means for them.

The first thing users are discovering is thatthis new release introduces a modern, stream-lined user experience highlighted by an updat-ed user interface and other enhancements tomake it easier to use, learn, and find help tobecome productive quickly. Gary Mansager,professional associate at HDR, Inc., said, “I reallydo like the new interface - it makes a lot ofsense. The new capabilities are intuitive, andthe introduction of the workflows they enablewill cut down the time it takes to get thingsdone!”

In reaction to the many enhancements tothe modeling tools in MicroStation, RobertCervellione, principal at CERVER Design Studio,said, “What I’m really looking forward to in the

new version of MicroStation is the new, cleanuser interface, the improvements in the solidsmodeling, and the great new constraints andparametric capabilities that can be used to cap-ture design intent and quickly develop reusablemodel content that is really powerful and ver-satile.”

Building upon its industry-leading hyper-modeling workflows for creating deliverablesthat are inherently immersed within the con-text of models, MicroStation CONNECT Editionprovides a new set of capabilities to speed theproduction of intelligent deliverables from BIMmodels. Most signif icantly, this newDocumentation Center functionality automatesthe processes required to produce multi-disci-pline documentation, including rapid genera-tion of schedules and bills of materials. RegisMitchom, BIM manager at John Portman &Associates, Inc., commented, “The ability to eas-ily create and manage sheet sets and produceannotation and schedules based on the mod-el’s embedded information is a huge step for-

ward, and I anticipate we’ll save time andreduce the chances of manual errors thanks tothis new MicroStation innovation.” With theseinnovations, users can expect clearer project-wide insight and improved clarity and precisionof project documentation.

Early access program participants have alsoseen the planned connected user experience.The personalized in-product capability will pro-vide the ability to communicate with projectteams through ProjectWise CONNEC TIONServices, access project content such as cata-logs, specifications, and standards, and lever-age learning paths for directed learning. “Weare thrilled to see that access to relevant learn-ing content is being integrated within theproduct itself. I see that as being particularlyhelpful for new employees. I also like the newmore project-centric nature of the product andthink the ability to publish i-models and sharethem through a cloud service will be reallyvaluable,” said David Haskin, senior applicationsspecialist at Burns & McDonnell.

CONNECT Edition shares excitement

about innovative new workflows

Early access users of MicroStation

A United Airlines jet takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. A computer glitch groundedUnited Continental flights at US airports yesterday.—AFP

NEW YORK: All United Continental flights inthe US were grounded temporarily yesterdaydue to computer problems. Less than twohours later, United requested the FederalAviation Administration lift the ground stoporder, FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said.

A passenger in San Francisco told TheAssociated Press around 10 a.m. Eastern thatpassengers were being asked to board planesagain. United cited “network connectivity” forthe problems.

It is the second time in two months that thecarrier has been hit by major technical issues.The Chicago company had halted all takeoffsin the US on June 2 due to what the airlinedescribed as computer automation issues. TheFederal Aviation Administration used the samelanguage in its notice about the outage yester-day. United suffered a series of computer prob-lems in 2012 after switching to a passengerinformation computer system previously usedby merger partner Continental Airlines.

In each case, hundreds of f l ights weredelayed. A number of high-paying businesstravelers defected to other airlines and rev-enue dropped. “We don’t know everythingbehind this morning’s issues yet, but today’sincident underscores the sense that somethingis very wrong at United,” said Gary Leff, co-founder of frequent-flier website MilePoint.Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc.declined 76 cents to $53.55 in early morningtrading. —AP

All US United Continental flights grounded

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank will conductthe Al-Thuraya salary Account drawon Sunday July 12th in which thewinner will be granted a luxuriousAudi R8 car. Al-Thuraya is the onlysalary account in Kuwait offering aquarterly draw for a chance to win 4new Audi R8 cars in a year.

Burgan Bank’s Al-Thuraya Accountis a salary account that provides mul-tiple features. Every K.D 10 available

in the account is a chance for cus-tomers to enter the much anticipateddraw every quarter.

Customers’ wishing to open an Al -Thuraya account can do so by simplyvisiting the nearest Burgan Bankbranch and obtain all the necessarydetails, or simply call the bank’s CallCenter 1804080. For further informa-tion, customers can also visit thebank’s website on www.burgan.com.

Greek crisis hurts poorest

in its Balkan neighborsKAPSHTICA, Albania: Sun-beaten andsullen, the four Albanian fruit-pickersreturning home from a three-week stintworking in Greece waved taxi driversaway at the border crossing because,they said, they could not afford the fare.

“This time we weren’t paid,” said oneof the group, Mustafa Kullolli, 46, fromthe central Albanian town of Elbasan.“We were told we would get our 200euros ($220) when the banks opened.”

Greece’s debt crisis is inflicting hard-ship on Greeks but the shockwave isfanning out too into its ex-Communistneighbors which are economicallydependent on Greece and, becausethey are poorer, even less well equippedto deal with the consequences.

The potential impact on countriessuch as Albania, Kosovo, Serbia,Macedonia and Bulgaria is likely to beon the agenda of German ChancellorAngela Merkel - a central player in theGreek debt drama - when she visits theregion starting yesterday. With Greecelosing its appeal as a source of earningsfor Albanian migrant workers, more areheading to Germany instead. Some16,000 Albanians have sought asylum inGermany from January to May, with4,900 arrivals in May alone.

THE GREEKS HAVE NO MONEYKullolli and his three fellow cherry-

pickers, who were crossing the borderback into Albania on Tuesday morning,said to get back home they would try tofind a free ride, or buy a bus ticket.

For the past three weeks, Kullolli andhis group had been picking cherriesand peaches in villages in the area ofEdessa in northern Greece. “The Greekshave no money, they are themselves ina crisis,” he said. “They told us to comeand work again in two weeks and getthe money.”

Among an estimated 600,000Albanians who work temporarily inGreece, he and his friends had beenmaking the trip for the past eight years.Things had been lean since the 2008financial crisis but, he said, never sobad as now. “They never kept moneyfrom us for agriculture jobs, but coulddo nothing about the banks this time,”Kullolli said.

The economy in Albania, a countrystill struggling to shake off the legacy

of its rule by Stalinist dictator EnverHoxha, is heavily dependent on remit-tances sent back by people working inGreece. That cash fuels Albanian con-sumer spending, and funds the build-ing of new homes.

At their peak before the financial cri-sis hit , remittances from Albaniansabroad, mostly from Italy and Greece,amounted to 11.5 percent of grossdomestic product.

As remittances shrank in the Greekslowdown in the past seven years,Albania’s economy slowed too. Growthfell to 1.1 percent in 2013, its lowest in16 years.

TIED TO GREECEAt the border, some enterprising

Albanians had found a silver lining inGreece’s troubles. Customs officials saidthey had seen people crossing intoAlbania with second-hand tractors, pos-sibly bought from cash-starved Greekfarmers at f iresale prices. For mostAlbanians though, the closure of Greekbanks, now in its second week, and theprospect of Greece exiting the euro-zone was making an already tough situ-ation worse.

Another party of returning cherrypickers said they were luckier; they hadbeen paid by the farmer that hiredthem. But they said they saw no futureworking in Greece. The country “hadgone to zero,” one of them said near theborder. Driving a car stuffed withgoods, Fredi Hyska, 32, an Albanianpainter and decorator living in Greece’sport city of Thessaloniki, said he couldbarely earn 500 euros a month lately,down from the 1,500 or 2,000 euros heused to get for painting jobs.

“We have felt the crisis deep downin our bones over the past five years,”he said. Yet many of the Albaniansreturning home said they would keepgoing to Greece because, even if thingswere bad there, they were still betterthan at home. In Albania, per capitagross domestic product last year wasabout $4,619.2, whi le in Greece,despite the turmoil there, it was fourtimes as much at $21,682, according tothe World Bank. “We are tied to Greecenow, our children go to school there,”Hyska, the painter, told Reuters. “Weshall try to resist.” — Reuters

Burgan Bank will soon

announce new winner

of Al-Thuraya draw

Gulf Bank’s representatives handing over the keys to the winner.

Mariam Moussawaian wins Cadillac SRX in Gulf

Bank’s first quarterly Red & Salary account draw KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has announced MariamMoussawaian as the winner of the CadillacSRX in its first quarterly Red & Salaryaccount draw. Moussawaian received thebrand new Cadillac SRX delivered off thefloor at the Cadillac dealership from YaserSulaiman - Executive Manager ConsumerBanking at Gulf Bank.

The draw took place as part of the bank’s3 in 1 Quarterly draw event on 25 June 2015,at the Avenues Mall in the presence of a rep-resentative from the Ministry of Commerceand Industry.

Both new Red Account or Salary Accountcustomers who open an account and trans-fer their student allowance or salary will alsobe eligible to enter the monthly cash drawsfor a chance to also win up to KD 1,500. Inaddition, the quarterly car draw will be for 1lucky winner who will have a chance to wina new Cadillac SRX 2015 or Camaro LTCoupe 2015 For further information aboutthe Al Danah, Salary and Red accounts andprize draws, visit one of Gulf Bank’s 58branches, or call Gulf Bank’s CustomerContact Center on 1805805. General infor-mation about Gulf Bank’s products and serv-ices, can also be found at the Bank’s websiteat www.e-gulfbank.com.

LONDON: Brent futures prices tumbled more than6 percent yesterday, a highly unusual move thathas raised questions about whether shifting funda-mentals will send the market even lower over thecoming months.

Over the last month, front-month prices havedropped 17 percent, breaking out of the very nar-row range that had prevailed since the middle ofApril. Reasons for the drop are not hard to find. TheFinancial Times on Tuesday set out the six bearishfactors that have come together to produce a per-fect storm for the oil market (“Oil re-enters bearmarket”, July 7).

These include China’s stock market tumble, tur-moil in Greece, prospects for a nuclear deal withIran, rising oil output from OPEC, an uptick in rigsdrilling for oil in the United States for the first timein over six months, and bearishness among com-modity-focused hedge funds and banks.

But the significance of the big move on Mondayand the wider decline in oil prices over the lastmonth is much harder to assess because large daily

moves in the price of oil and other commodities donot correlate well with new information about sup-ply and demand. Of the six factors identified by theFinancial Times, we can discount three (Greece, Iranand OPEC) as explanations for the big move thisweek and over the last month because they havelong been known and should already have beenincorporated into prices. That leaves China, theuptick in US rigs and increased bearishness amonghedge funds and commodity banks as new infor-mation to explain the sudden plunge in prices.

China’s equity market has lost almost a third ofits value since the middle of last month and so farresisted all attempts by the authorities to stabiliseshare prices. There are fears the slump will worsenthe country’s economic slowdown and translateinto slower growth in demand for a broad range ofcommodities from crude and coal to iron ore andcopper. There is certainly some risk to the economyof the world’s largest oil importer, but the linkbetween the stock market and commodity con-sumption remains tenuous.—Reuters

Oil prices tumble: Noise

or fundamentals?

T E C H NOLO G YTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

HONOLULU: Instead of a trial, most of the peo-ple arrested in April for blocking construction ofa giant mountaintop telescope will likely partici-pate in a Hawaiian culture-based form of media-tion. Three defendants in the case filed a motionasking for a hooponopono (ho-OH’-po-noh-po-noh) as an alternative to a trial. Hooponopono istraditionally used within families to work out dif-ferences, using prayer and discussion.

Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney MitchRoth said his office supports the motion. He metwith a group of defendants Monday night to dis-cuss how the unique process may be used in acriminal case that is rooted in protesters’ beliefthat they are protecting Mauna Kea, a site theyconsider sacred, from desecration. A total of 31people were arrested in April when protestersblocked workers from accessing the construc-tion site near the summit of Mauna Kea for theplanned $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope.

Roth’s office later moved to dismiss trespass-ing charges for 10 defendants. Roth said hoo-ponopono is being considered only for theremaining 21 people charged with obstructing.A few of them have told prosecutors they preferto proceed with trial, he said. It’s not being con-sidered for 12 people who are charged in a sec-ond round of arrests last month. “It may not bepure hooponopono. It may be something cul-turally based between hooponopono and medi-ation,” Roth said Tuesday. “We’re open. We wouldnot be a party to it. We’re trying to facilitate howthis would happen.”

In doing that, Roth has asked the defendantsto come back to his office in about two weekswith parameters for the process. Roth said heenvisions other participants to be representa-tives from the governor’s office, the state attor-ney general, the state Department of Land andNatural Resources, the nonprofit companybuilding the telescope and the University ofHawaii, which is responsible for managing stew-ardship of the mountain.

“We fully respect his discretion in decidinghow he wants to proceed with it,” said JoshuaWisch a spokesman for the state attorney gener-al’s office. Roth is having conversations with thestate, Wisch said, but the state hasn’t yet decid-ed if it will get involved. The TMT International

Observatory Board has said previously in a state-ment that it appreciates the invitation to partici-pate in hooponopono but hadn’t yet receiveddetails.

This won’t be the first time a Hawaii courtcase uses hooponopono. In 2006, a federaljudge in Honolulu let Hawaiian groups and thestate’s largest museum use hooponopono tosettle a dispute over a cache of priceless arti-facts. It has been used in family court cases suchas custody disputes, said Malcolm Naea Chun, aNative Hawaiian culture scholar. It’s a process ofmaking a dispute pono, or right, said MaliaAkutagawa, an expert in Native Hawaiian rightsand law at the University of Hawaii’s law school.She likened it to the tedious task of untanglingknots. There also has to be a willingness toadmit wrongs, she said.

“Quite honestly, prayer is very essential,” shesaid. “People may have different religions ...however people want to frame it, but there is asacred element that enters.” Telescope construc-tion remains stalled amid the protests. Theopposition prompted Gov David Ige to sayHawaii needs to do a better job of caring for themountain. He laid out some actions he wantsthe university to undertake, including decom-missioning some of the 13 telescopes already onthe mountain. The California Institute ofTechnology announced in May that it will begindecommissioning its Submillimeter Observatorynext year.

On Tuesday, the University of Hawaiiannounced the second telescope to be decom-missioned will be the Hilo campus’ educationaltelescope called Hoku Kea. The state’s Board ofLand and Natural Resources on Friday will con-sider a proposed emergency rule that wouldrestrict access to Mauna Kea’s summit. The pro-posal seeks to restrict camping on the moun-tain. Protesters have been camping on themountain in an attempt to block construction.“Individuals remaining in the area have report-edly caused visitors and workers to feelharassed,” state Attorney General Doug Chinsaid in a statement, noting other concerns suchas boulders placed in the road, invasive species,unauthorized portable toilets trucked to themountain and increased water usage. — AP

Trial alternative considered for Hawaii’s telescope protesters

This undated file artist shows the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, planned to be built atop Mauna Kea, a large dormant volcano in Hilo on theBig Island of Hawaii in Hawaii. — AP

BEIJING: China’s top taxi hailing app Didi Kuaidiannounced yesterday it raised $2.0 billion in twoweeks, after reports said US rival Uber plannedto invest $1.1 billion in the country this year.Didi Kuaidi, which is backed by technologygiants Alibaba and Tencent and calls itself theworld’s largest one-stop mobile-based trans-portation network, said its fundraising attracted“tremendous interest” from global investors. It islooking to raise “a further few hundred milliondollars” from new investors in the comingmonth, it added.

“The fact that global investors are eager toparticipate in this fundraising round shows theirconfidence in the development of our company,”Cheng Wei, chief executive officer and chairmanof the company, said in a statement. The popu-larity of private-car booking enterprises such asDidi Kuaidi and San Francisco-based Uber hassoared in China, where traditional taxis are criti-cised for poor service with rude drivers who rou-tinely ignore customers on the street.

For now the Chinese firm dominates the mar-ket, but the two are locked in a fierce battle forcustomers, offering both riders and drivers sub-sidies and discounts that are costing the compa-nies vast sums. Uber, which launched operationsin China last year, said in a message to investorslast month that it planned to invest seven billionyuan ($1.1 billion) in China, the Financial Timesreported previously.Uber riders were makingalmost one million trips per day with businessdoubling in the previous month, its CEO TravisKalanick said, adding the company plans to add50 cities into its operational network, from thecurrent 11.

But Didi Kuaidi’s Cheng was confident thatthe company’s “clear competitive advantages”built “through its integrated platform, technolo-gy and team” would see it win out. “Didi Kuaidi isin a far better position to benefit from thistremendous opportunity than any other playerin the mobile transportation industry in theworld,” he said. Didi Kuaidi will use the capitalraised to strengthen its market position, developnew services, improve technology and dataresearch and enhance the user experience, saidthe statement.

Didi Kuaidi’s private car services fulfill threemillion rides daily and data from research firmAnalysys International showed it has 80 percent

of the market, the statement said. For taxi-hail-ing, the company holds 99 percent of the mar-ket, also with three million daily trips, it said. Thecompany aims to serve more than 30 millionpassengers and 10 million drivers a day in threeyears’ time and ensure every passenger get aride within three minutes of request anywhere inChina, it added.

Indian court revokes ban In another development, a Delhi court yester-

day revoked a government ban imposed ononline taxi firm Uber Technologies, clearing theway for the US-based company to operate in thecapital city and reapply for a license. Uber wasbanned in New Delhi last December after one ofits drivers was accused of rape. The authoritiesrejected Uber’s license application last monthand started impounding its vehicles, citing a vio-lation of the ban.

The Delhi High Court said the state govern-ment can impose strict conditions to regulateapp-based taxi companies such as Uber but it

does not favor a complete ban, a lawyer repre-senting the Delhi government said. “Uber cannow ply on Delhi roads,” government lawyerNaushad Ahmad Khan told Reuters. “It, however,has been asked to appear before the competenttransport authority to pursue the application.”

Uber approached a court to challenge thegovernment’s decision to reject their licenseapplication after local rival Ola won a similarreprieve. Uber welcomed the court’s directiveyesterday. “We are committed to working withthe government to develop a regulatory frame-work that encourages innovation,” said GaganBhatia, the company’s general manager in Delhi.The December incident had led to widespreadoutrage against online taxi companies that wereprimarily using mobile technology to connectdrivers with passengers, but did not have propergovernment registrations or safety checks inplace. Uber briefly halted operations in NewDelhi in December, but resumed services inJanuary after applying for a radio taxi licensedespite a state ban. — Agencies

China Uber-style taxi app raises $2 billion

Court revokes ban on Uber in New Delhi

PARIS: File photo shows a person using the French version of the Uber app to order a UberPopcab in Paris. Uber has suspended its controversial UberPOP service in France, the group’sspokesman announced on July 3, 2015. — AFP

HONOLULU: Henk Rogers, who manages the worldwide rights to the video gameTetris, displays a book he published to try to persuade Hawaii lawmakers to changepolicy on energy independence at his off-grid home in Honolulu. — AP

HONOLULU: High above the bustling city ofHonolulu, in a quiet, exclusive hillside neighbor-hood where some of the island’s wealthiest resi-dents live, there is an extravagant home that’s notquite like the others. The 6,000-square-foot househas a view overlooking Diamond Head, Waikikiand the Pacific Ocean, and two Tesla cars in thedriveway. It’s not the two electric cars that set theproperty apart from its swanky neighbors.

The difference is that this solar-poweredhome is completely energy independent.Homeowner Henk Rogers, 61, hopes the tech-nology he is using in his home can help makeother homes across Hawaii - and the world -energy independent as well. Rogers is famousfor discovering the video game “Tetris” morethan 20 years ago. He now manages the world-wide rights for the game along with his businesspartner, Alexey Pajitnov, who wrote the pro-gram. “If you’re going to clean up the world, firstof all you have to clean your own room,” Rogerssaid, referring to Hawaii, which has some of thehighest energy costs in the nation. Rogers willannounce his new company, Blue Planet EnergySystems, on Monday. The new venture, whichwill sell and install battery systems for homesand businesses running on solar technology,plans to begin sales on Aug 1.

Typical projectHe declined to say how much the systems

would cost, but said there will be a five- to sev-en-year return on the investment for a typical

project that his company will install. The BlueIon system, which Rogers has been testing in hishome for the last year, uses Sony lithium ironphosphate batteries, which can last for 20 yearsand do not require cooling, he says. Partneringwith Sony, Rogers believes the batteries can be asolution to the long-standing problem of storingthe sun’s energy and helping lower energy costsin Hawaii. Sony has been developing lithium ionbatteries since 1991, and the units being used inRogers’ home are top of the line.

The batteries store energy from solar panels,allowing people to use it at night without hav-ing to rely on expensive energy from the grid.Rogers’ company will sell and install the batterysystems for commercial and residential use, sup-plying everything from the housing to the soft-ware to monitor and maintain the systems.Robert Harris, a spokesman for the Alliance forSolar Choice, a solar advocacy group, said con-sumers haven’t had much call to invest in bat-tery storage systems because of the cost andincentive programs that encourage people tostay linked to the grid.

Harris, who is also the director of public poli-cy at Sunrun, a solar equipment supplier inHonolulu, said homeowners with solar panelstypically put energy into the grid and take itback as needed, something called net metering.“A lot of energy can be put into the grid rightnow, so it hasn’t been a big incentive necessarilyfor a homeowner to invest in storage,” Harrissaid. That could change in the next few monthswith several new systems besides Rogers’expected to hit the market. “These products willbe capable of storing and putting out energy ona daily basis at a fairly reasonable price point,”Harris said.

Carbon-based fuelRogers, who also owns a ranch on Hawaii’s

Big Island that is energy independent, said hehad an epiphany after suffering a heart attackand near-death experience in 2006. While recov-ering, he decided he would take advantage ofthe second chance. Rogers read about the possi-bility of losing all the coral reefs in the worldbecause of ocean acidification, which has beenlinked to climate change and rising carbon inoceans. “We’re going to end the use of carbon-based fuel, and that is my mission No 1,” he said.Rogers is the founder and chairman of the BluePlanet Foundation, an organization that pro-motes clean energy alternatives and lobbiespoliticians to change policy.

Recently, the foundation created a book ofchildren’s drawings and letters pleading for statelawmakers to mandate Hawaii become energyindependent.

He made sure the books were valued at under$25, the maximum amount a lawmaker canreceive as a gift, and delivered a copy to everylawmaker in Hawaii. “This has got to be a mes-sage from the children because it’s the children’sworld we are trying to save,” Rogers said. —AP

Owner of ‘Tetris’ rights takes Hawaii home, ranch off grid

HONOLULU: Henk Rogers, who managesthe worldwide rights to the video gameTetris, talks about his two Tesla electricvehicles at his off-grid home inHonolulu. — AP

BEIJING: China has released a draft cybersecuritylaw which immediately sparked concerns that it istoo vague and could signal Beijing’s widespreadcensorship of the Internet becoming even morefar-reaching. The ruling Communist Party overseesa vast censorship system-dubbed the GreatFirewall-that aggressively blocks sites or snuffs outInternet content and commentary on topics con-sidered sensitive, such as Beijing’s human rightsrecord and criticism of the government. The pro-posed legislation will “ensure network security,(and) safeguard the sovereignty of cyberspace andnational security,” according to the draft law, whichwas posted Monday on the website of the NationalPeople’s Congress (NPC), the rubber-stamp parlia-ment, but reported by state media yesterday.

Netizens could not “disturb the social order,(and) harm the public interest,” the proposals said.Ever-tighter limits on rights have been rolled outsince President Xi Jinping came to power, andChina recently launched a national security lawwhich expands its legal reach over the Internet andeven outer space. That legislation drew a wave ofcriticism from rights groups and businesses, andthe draft cybersecurity law is also causing concern.

“We have some concerns that it will take a lot ofthe censorship practices that are currently beingused but are not formalized, and codify them intolaw,” William Nee, China researcher for UK-basedAmnesty International said. “It will definitely meanmore censorship and probably increase penaltiesfor people who say things that the Chinese govern-

ment doesn’t like,” added Nee, who is based inHong Kong. Joerg Wuttke, president of theEuropean Union Chamber of Commerce in China,said his organization was still reviewing the draft.“But I am worried,” he added. “The chief concern isthat, as with many Chinese laws, the language isvague enough to make it unclear how the law willbe enforced.”

Authorities in 2013 launched a wide-rangingcrackdown on the Internet, targeting activists and

focusing on what it claimed were “Internet rumors”.Hundreds of Chinese bloggers and journalists werearrested as part of the campaign to assert greatercontrol over social media, which has seen influen-tial critics of Beijing paraded on state television.Under regulations announced at the time, ChineseInternet users face three years in prison for writingdefamatory messages that are re-posted 500 timesor more. Web users can also be jailed if offendingposts are viewed more than 5,000 times. — AFP

China new cybersecurity law sparks censorship concerns

MUSCAT: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)said yesterday it would build the Middle East’slargest solar power plant in a $600 million deal withCalifornia’s GlassPoint Solar to reduce pressure on itsnatural gas reserves.

“The project will be fully financed by PDO,”Raoul Restucci, managing director of the sultanate’stop oil and gas exploration and production firm,told reporters. GlassPoint will provide technologyand help to build the plant. Construction of the firstphase of the plant, ultimately expected to generate1,021 megawatts, will start this year and the facilityis to begin generating steam in 2017.

Oman is an oil exporter but lacks the amplereserves of its Gulf neighbors, so it is eager to getmore from its oilfields by pumping high-pressure

steam into ageing wells.At the same time, its ambitious industrial devel-

opment plans promise to siphon off supplies ofnatural gas that would traditionally be used togenerate the steam. So it plans to use solar powerto produce steam; the new plant will save 5.6 tril-lion British thermal units of natural gas each year,Restucci said. Last September Oman’s StateGeneral Reserve Fund, a sovereign wealth fund,and other investors said they were injecting $53million into GlassPoint to accelerate the deploy-ment of solar steam generators. GlassPoint, whichhas had a pilot steam-generating project in Omansince late 2012, has said it aims to develop a solarmanufacturing capability and local supply chain inthe country. — Reuters

Oman plans $600 m solar energy plant

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ETHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

SALMON: It is not easy being a vampire, andeven harder to come out of the coffin to a physi-cian or therapist for fear they will misinterpretthe habit of ingesting the blood of willing donorsor succumb to stereotyping, a study finds.Research led by DJ Williams, director of socialwork at Idaho State University, indicated thatpeople who identify themselves as “real” vam-pires - that is, needing others’ blood to gain ener-gy - would not disclose their practices to those inthe helping professions and risk reactions like

ridicule, disgust and possible diagnosis of a men-tal illness.

The paper, published in the latest issue ofCritical Social Work, a peer-reviewed journalbased in Canada, found that authentic vampiresas opposed to “lifestyle” vampires - black-clad fig-ures with phony fangs - might be stereotyped byclinicians whose fields discourage biases.Williams, who has studied self-identified vampiresfor nearly a decade, finds they come from everywalk of life and profession, including doctors,

attorneys and candlestick makers. “They are suc-cessful, ordinary people,” he said.

Except they are very, very tired. That’s appar-ently the chief reason they find a consentingadult willing to allow them to use a scalpel tomake a tiny incision in the chest area so they caningest a small amount of blood for energy, thestudy found. Williams and another researcherbased the paper on the responses of 11 peoplewho had identified themselves as vampires formany years and could be relied on to be open

and honest, and who gain permission from prac-ticing adults before ingesting their blood, he said.

“The real vampire community seems to be aconscientious and ethical one,” Williams said.The challenge is finding non-judgmental clini-cians to whom vampires can disclose their alter-native lifestyles, he added. “Most vampiresbelieve they were born that way; they don’tchoose this,” Williams said. The global vampirepopulation is thought to number in the thou-sands, he said. — Reuters

‘Vampires’ keep doctors in the dark for fear of stereotyping

LONDON: Omega-3 fish oils can be grown in fields usinggenetically modified oilseed crops, British researchers saidas they released trial results this week. The discovery could,subject to further research, eventually mean the creation ofa more sustainable supply of fish oil for fish farms, whichneed them to nurture their produce. The oils come fromseeds in crops grown by scientists in Camelina oilseedplants at Rothamsted Research, north of London.

Farmed fish consume large quantities of fish oils eitherdirectly or in fish meal, which has led to concern about their

environmental impact. The plants were specially engi-neered by introducing a set of synthetic genes based onDNA sequences found in marine organisms. Researchersunveiled the first year results of a trial in a paper in the jour-nal Metabolic Engineering Communications Tuesday. “Thisis a globally-significant proof of concept and a landmarkmoment in the effort to develop truly sustainable sourcesof feed for fish farms,” said the program’s leader, ProfessorJohnathan Napier. It is thought unlikely that humans wouldconsume the seeds from the plants directly. — AFP

UNITED STATES: Lab technician, Nancy Roman, poses with two vials of omega oil, the one on the left for humanconsumption, processed from Menhaden fish at the Omega Protein processing plant. — AFP

Omega-3 breakthroughcould help fish farms

NEW YORK: Men with early-stage prostate cancer areincreasingly opting for regular monitoring and holdingoff on treatment unless the disease progresses, a newstudy suggests. Use of so-called active surveillance, orwatchful waiting, among men with localized prostatecancer was low from 1990 through 2009 but rosesharply between 2010 and 2013, according to data pub-lished in JAMA. “This is progress in the right direction,”said lead author Dr Matthew Cooperberg of theUniversity of California, San Francisco. One in seven menwill be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his life-time, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Many men whose tumors are conf ined to theprostate do not die of the cancer, according to the USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. They alsolikely won’t have symptoms. There are several possibletreatments for prostate cancer, including surgery andradiation. Some men - especially those who are older -may opt for active surveillance. Men using active sur-veillance may undergo tests or biopsies to make surethe cancer isn’t growing, the ACS says.

The approach helps avoid more aggressive treat-ments, which can carry the risk for complications suchas incontinence and impotence. For the new study,Cooperberg and his coauthor Dr Peter Carroll used datafrom 10,472 men with localized prostate cancer treatedat 45 US urology practices between 1990 and 2013.

Overall, the use of surveillance among men withlow-risk cancer ranged from 7 to 14 percent from 1990through 2009, but then increased to 40 percentbetween 2010 and 2013. The ideal rate of active surveil-lance for low-grade disease isn’t clear, Cooperberg toldReuters Health, but “it’s probably higher than 40 per-cent.” Among men age 75 or older, 76 percent opted forsurveil lance from 2010 through 2013, researchersfound.

Localized diseaseThe researchers also found that use of a therapy called

androgen deprivation for intermediate- and high-risk can-cers fell by the end of the study. Cooperberg said that’salso a trend in the right direction, because androgen depri-vation, which limits the effect of hormones on the cancer,should not be used alone. “It has never been endorsed assingle therapy for localized disease,” he said. “We’re seeinga drop off of its (solo) use.”

With more men choosing surveillance for their prostatecancer, the researchers hope it will reopen the discussionon screening to measure blood levels of prostate-specificantigen (PSA), which are often high in men with prostatecancer. One argument against PSA screening is that menmay go on to have aggressive treatment for cancer thatmight never have caused them problems. The researchershope the decline in use of aggressive treatments - asinferred from the increase in surveillance - will lead to a re-evaluation of the risks of PSA testing. “Our hope is that

these findings and other papers with similar findings willreally start to reopen the question on early detection andscreening,” Cooperberg said.

Currently, the government-backed US PreventiveServices Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against screen-ing for PSA levels. The American Urological Association rec-ommends against PSA screening in men younger than 40.It does not recommend routine screening between ages40 and 54, or after age 70 for men with less than a 10 to 15year life expectancy. It recommends that men ages 55 to69 decide about PSA testing after discussions with theirdoctors. — Reuters

More men with prostate cancer are opting for surveillance

NEW YORK: Subway said Tuesday it mutually agreedwith Jared Fogle to suspend their relationship after thehome of the chain’s longtime pitchman was raided byfederal and state investigators. The separation was jar-ring because the 37-year-old everyman has become afamiliar face around the world. To many, he’s knownsimply as “the Subway guy” who shed a massiveamount of weight by eating the chain’s sandwiches. Hisstory is perhaps the biggest reason for Subway’s imageover the years as a healthy place to eat. “That storyplayed a huge role in (Subway’s) growth,” said MaryChapman, senior director of product innovation atTechnomic, a market research firm. “It’s not just Jaredthe man, it’s what it represents.”

Though Fogle hadn’t been front-and-center inSubway’s advertising recently, he had still been actingas a Subway spokesman and appearing at events on thecompany’s behalf. Fogle’s history with Subway reachesback to when he was a student at Indiana University,and he said he lost 245 pounds by regularly eating thechain’s sandwiches. The college paper featured the sto-ry, which was then picked up by Men’s Health, accord-ing to a page on Subway’s website that was removedTuesday.

Soon after, Subway’s advertising agency reached outto Fogle and asked if he wanted to be in a TV commer-cial. The ensuing ad campaign resonated in partbecause Fogle seemed like such a regular guy, whichmade weight loss seem simple and achievable. Ofcourse, Fogle wasn’t the only reason for Subway’sgrowth over the years. Its $5 Footlong was popular withpeople looking for a deal, and some liked that theycould customize their sandwiches. And even while tout-ing its “Eat Fresh” motto, the chain catered to peoplewho just wanted something filling with options likemeatball subs and a chicken enchilada melt stuffed withFritos. Still, Fogle was instrumental in Subway’s successover the years. The company’s continued relationshipwith Fogle until Tuesday is also a testament to hisenduring importance to the company.

Making appearancesIn 2013, Subway celebrated the 15-year anniversary

of Fogle’s famous diet by featuring him in a Super Bowlad and making him available to news organizations forinterviews. At the time, Fogle said he still traveled regu-larly throughout the year on behalf of Subway. He alsosaid he had a Subway “Black Card,” which lets him eat atthe chain for free. The company, based in Milford,Connecticut, has declined to provide details on itsfinancial arrangements with Fogle. But his roles forSubway have varied; last year, Subway had Fogle deliverbouquets made of vegetables to news organizations forNational Eat Your Vegetables Day. His Twitter feed alsoshowed he was still making appearances in connectionwith the company as recently as this weekend.

Subway’s competitors have felt pressure from thechain’s “Eat Fresh” image, too. When McDonald’s addedchicken McWraps to its menu in 2013, the companyreferred to the new menu item as a “Subway buster”that would keep customers from heading to the sand-

wich chain, according to an internal memo obtained byAd Age.

Financial informationIn 1999, the year before Fogle appeared in his first

Subway commercial, Subway had about 11,800 stores inthe US and 2,200 overseas, according to Technomic. Asof last year, those figures have mushroomed to about27,000 US locations and about 16,000 overseas, makingSubway the world’s largest restaurant chain by loca-tions. More recently, Subway has run into challenges.The company is privately held and does not releasefinancial information. But last year, Technomic said aver-age sales for Subway stores in the US declined 3 percentfrom the previous year. The chain has been trying tokeep up with changing attitudes about health and saidlast month it would remove artificial ingredients andcolors from its menu in North America by 2017. Anotherproblem for Subway is that it has strayed from its low-price appeal, noted Chapman of Technomic. She saidSubway is also facing more competition, including fromplaces such as Firehouse Subs.

The FBI on Tuesday wouldn’t provide details on thenature of the investigation. But Subway said it was“shocked” and believed the news to be tied to a previ-ous investigation of a former employee of Fogle’s foun-dation. In May, the foundation’s former executive direc-tor Russell Taylor was arrested on child pornographycharges. In a statement about the suspension of therelationship, Subway said Fogle “continues to cooper-ate with authorities and he expects no actions to beforthcoming.” An attorney for Fogle said he was cooper-ating with the investigation and “looks forward to itsconclusion.”— AP

‘Subway guy’ Jared was key in giving chain healthy image

LOS ANGELES: Subway restaurant spokesman JaredFogle arrives at the world premiere of ‘Maleficent’ atthe El Capitan Theatre. — AP

Australian gets fatal‘one-in-a-million’

brain diseaseSYDNEY: An Australian has been diagnosed with adeadly “one-in-a-million” degenerative brain condi-tion, but authorities yesterday stressed it was unre-lated to mad cow disease and not contagious. Theman, named by the media as 63-year-old FrankBurton, is in a serious condition in hospital with alikely case of “classical Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease(CJD)”, a spokesman for Sydney Local Health Districtsaid. Burton-a former chief financial officer for AussieRules football team Sydney Swans-was told on Fridayhe had three months to live but this has now beenreduced to two or three weeks, his friend PeterKogoy said.

“(He has gone) from having a head of dark,straight (hair) and black beard, to totally white, total-ly white,” Kogoy told the Australian BroadcastingCorporation. “A total loss of speech and total loss ofmovement in his limbs in a matter of weeks anddays.” “Variant CJD” emerged in Britain in the late1980s and 1990s and was linked to mad cow disease,officially known as bovine spongiform encephalopa-thy (BSE), which causes a brain-destroying disorderin humans. But the Sydney health district said “classi-cal CJD” was not linked to mad cow and there havebeen no cases of BSE in Australia.

It added that visitors and patients at the Sydneyhospital were not at risk. “Classical CJD is anextremely rare disease. The chance of someone inthe community having the disease is around one inevery one million people,” the health district said in astatement. “Most cases of CJD occur because ofmutations with a person’s brain and are not spreadfrom other people. The causes of death are usuallyinfection, heart failure, or respiratory failure. — AFP

NEW YORK: Not everyone understands what “hyperten-sion” means, and as a result, some patients may not taketheir blood pressure medications as directed or managelifestyle factors effectively, a new paper suggests. Morethan half of people with high blood pressure do nothave the condition well controlled, which may in partbe because patients often believe hypertension means“too much tension,” or too much stress, the authorswrite.

In fact, hypertension refers to high blood pressure,which happens when the force of the blood pumpingthrough arteries is too strong. Chronic high blood pres-sure, which affects one in three US adults, can strain theheart, damage blood vessels, and increase the risk ofheart attack, stroke, kidney problems, and death,according to the National Institutes of Health.

Patients who misunderstand the term hypertensionmay turn to stress management to control their highblood pressure, which they view as a psychological con-dition more than as a physiological one, according to aperspectives article by Barbara G Bokhour and Nancy RKressin of Boston University School of Public Health inthe journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality andOutcomes.

These patients may focus more on stress manage-ment instead of taking effective blood pressure medica-tions, like diuretics, calcium-channel blockers or ACE

inhibitors. “It’s always good to manage stress, that’salways good for your health writ large, but for hyperten-sion in particular stress management will not beenough,” Bokhour told Reuters Health by phone.

Lifestyle management and taking prescribed med-ications are much more important for controlling bloodpressure, she said. Providers often use the term hyper-tension and don’t always explicitly link it to blood pres-sure, she said. “They are using the words interchange-ably, but patients do not always understand that theyare interchangeable,” Bokhour said.

She and Kressin suggest that doctors should exclu-sively use the term “high blood pressure” rather thanhypertension when talking to patients. “I tend to agreewith the authors’ suggestion,” said Dominick Frosch ofthe David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who hasalso studied common beliefs about high blood pressureand their effects on medication use.

His own study found that patients who were toldabout “hypertension” were more likely to think thatrelaxing more would be an effective treatment, com-pared to patients who were told about the same condi-tion under the name “Korotkoff syndrome.” But regard-less of label, patients still believed that evidence-basedmedications would be more effective than relaxingmore, Frosch noted. “A substantial proportion of individ-uals who have high blood pressure inadequately con-trol it, contributing to avoidable cardiovascular diseaserisk as well as kidney disease risk,” he told ReutersHealth by email.

“If we want our healthcare system to be patient-cen-tered, why would we use ambiguous, potentially mis-leading language, when we can just as well avoid it,” hesaid. “Tradition and habit are not good justifications, inmy view.” Patients may also be reluctant to take theirmedications regularly because in many cases highblood pressure does not cause symptoms, so they donot feel like they need medication, Bokhour said.

Doctors should first ask patients what they under-stand about high blood pressure, then have a conver-sation clarifying any misunderstandings, she said.“Oftentimes providers give information in a very rapidformat, using biomedical language,” which is true forother conditions as well, not just high blood pressure,she said. “Hypertension is one of many, many exam-ples where providers have an understanding of aword and patients do not, and if we don’t start tobridge that gap we’ll continue to over-treat andunder-treat,” she said. — Reuters

‘Hypertension’ doesn’t mean ‘too much tension’

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ETHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

QUITO: Pope Francis on Tuesday said protecting the planet wasno longer a choice but a duty and called for a new “social jus-tice” where access to the earth’s resources would be based onequality instead of economic interests. In back-to-back speech-es on the third day of his trip to Ecuador, the pope made hisfirst full-court press on environmental issues since the publica-tion last month of his landmark ecology encyclical “Laudato Si.”.Speaking before a group that included indigenous people ofthe Equatorial Amazon, he also renewed his call for special pro-tection for the area because of its vital importance to the plan-et’s ecosystem.

The pope has said he wanted the encyclical to influence aUnited Nations climate change summit in Paris in Decemberand has now effectively taken his campaign to convince gov-ernments on the road. In September he takes his message tothe United States and the United Nations. “One thing is certain:we can no longer turn our backs on reality, on our brothers andsisters, on Mother Earth,” he said in a first speech at thePontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

While he did not specifically mention climate change or itscauses, he quoted often from the encyclical, which said therewas a “very solid scientific consensus” on global warming andits human causes. He appeared to be making a clear referenceto climate change doubters when he said: “It is wrong to turnaside from what is happening all around us, as if certain situa-tions did not exist or have nothing to do with our lives.”

In the encyclical Francis demanded swift action to save theplanet from environmental ruin, called for policies to “drastical-ly” reduce polluting gases and gradually cut dependence onfossil fuels. “We are also invited to care for it (the planet), to pro-tect it, to be its guardians. Nowadays we are increasingly awareof how important this is. It is no longer a mere recommenda-tion, but rather a requirement ...” His choice of Ecuador to makehis first post-encyclical speeches on the environment was notcasual.

Ecuador is heavily reliant on oil and mining while boastingsome of the world’s greatest biodiversity including theGalapagos Islands, on which Charles Darwin formulated hisideas on evolution. The leftist government of President RafaelCorrea, which introduced austerity measures after a major drop

in oil prices, is walking a tightrope between business and pro-tecting the environment.

‘Social mortgage’In both speeches the first pope from Latin America, who has

made defense of the poor a key plank of his papacy, alsotouched on the politically delicate issue of whether naturecould be considered private property. “The goods of the earthare meant for everyone, and however much someone mayparade his property, it has a social mortgage,” the Argentinepontiff told a group of civic leaders in Quito’s St Francis Church,the oldest religious building in Latin America.

“In this way we move beyond purely economic justice, basedon commerce, towards social justice, which upholds the funda-mental human right to a dignified life,” he said in the church,whose construction began in 1536. “The tapping of naturalresources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be con-cerned with short-term benefits. As stewards of these richeswhich we have received, we have an obligation toward societyas a whole and towards future generations,” he said.

His words in Ecuador were a foretaste of his September tripto the United States, where most of the criticism of the encycli-cal has come. Conservatives, including several Republicansseeking their party’s nomination to run for president in 2016,have said the pope should not meddle in scientific affairs. Buthe has won wide backing from advocates of environmentalprotection, including US President Barack Obama and UNSecretary General Ban Ki-moon.

At the second meeting on Tuesday, representatives of twoAmazon indigenous people, the Tagaeri and the Taromenane,were due to give him a letter saying they were living “in theshadow of extermination”. In that speech, the pope quotedfrom his encyclical, saying the Amazon “requires greater protec-tion because of its immense importance for the global ecosys-tem it possesses an enormously complex biodiversity which isalmost impossible to appreciate fully.” Francis started his lastfull day in Ecuador by saying an open-air Mass for nearly a mil-lion people on the grounds of a former airport in theEcuadorean capital, Quito. He visited Bolivia yesterday and thelast leg of the trip is Paraguay. — Reuters

Duty to protect planet, calls for ‘social justice’ on resourcesCalls for special protection for the Amazon region

ECUADOR: Catholic faithful sleep around of the Sanctuary of El Quinche ahead of a visit by Pope Francis yesterday. — AFP

WASHINGTON: They might be so popular as to bealmost an extension of people’s arms, but mostAmericans ditch their smartphones and return to thetrusty computer when buying online. That was thefinding of a Gallup survey released Tuesday whichsaid that 74 percent of adults in the United Stateswith smartphones usually turn to their computers formaking purchases on the Internet.

The situation is similar when browsing products

online or comparing prices: 62 percent do so on theircomputers, while only 21 percent use their smart-phones. Of the six online activities Gallup measured,using social media such as Facebook or Twitter is theonly activity Americans say they conduct more bysmartphone (44 percent) than computer (24 percent).The survey was conducted via the Internet in April-May with 15,776 US adults who said they had a smart-phone. — AFP

Americans ditch smartphones when buying online: Gallup

STAR CITY: Three astronauts set to travel to theInternational Space Station this month said yesterdaythey had confidence in Russia’s space program,despite a delay to their trip caused by the failed launchof a cargo craft. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, whowill be making his first space voyage, admitted he andhis colleagues were “disappointed” their launch had tobe delayed from its planned date in May, but said thecrew had faith in the Russian spacecraft. Russia wasforced to postpone all space travel while it investigat-ed the failure of an unmanned spaceship taking cargoto the ISS in late April after it lost communications withEarth and burned up in the atmosphere.

“Of course we are confident in the engineers, theprofessionalism of the Russian space program, to iden-tify the problems and to ensure that that problemdoes not exist with our spaceship,” Lindgren, an

American, told reporters ahead of the astronauts’departure scheduled for July 23. The glitch, whichRussia has blamed on a design fault occurring with aspecific type of carrier rocket, also forced a group ofastronauts to spend an extra month aboard the ISS.“The time that we had during the delay has given usadditional time for some refresher training, to spendtime with our families and to rest,” Lindgren said. “And Ithink that we are ready to fly whenever the spacecraftis ready to take us to space.” Japanese astronaut KimiyaYui, who like Lindgren is making his maiden spacevoyage, also stressed that the delay had given themmore time to prepare for the mission. “Right now weare very, very ready,” he said with a smile. “I know thatthe Soyuz is a very reliable, safe ship,” he said inRussian. “I believe that our launch will be the safestlaunch ever.” —AFP

‘No fear’; astronauts gear up for delayed trip to ISS

ROME: A joint initiative between the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) and World HealthOrganization (WHO) adopted a food standardize codecwhich will determine the amount of potassium neededin food products. Charged with protecting consumerhealth, “Codex Alimentarius” will look to highlight thepotassium level in foods enough to prevent non-trans-mitted diseases. The Codex Alimentarius Commissionhas adopted a reference value for potassium, and theintake level to achieve 3,500 mg of potassium per day foradults-to be included in its Guideline on NutritionLabelling, a statement by FAO said.

The statement added non-communicable diseases(NCDs) - such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancerand chronic respiratory diseases-are the biggest cause ofillness and premature death worldwide. The statementsaid “a low intake of potassium is associated with a num-

ber of NCDs.” The statement said that increasing con-sumption of potassium may reduce blood pressure,decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke and havebeneficial effects on bone-mineral density.

The statement noted that “it can also reduce the neg-ative effects of high sodium intake.” The statementadded this follows the adoption of reference values onsodium and saturated fats, and is part of the Codex’sefforts to take into consideration the increasing publichealth problems of obesity and NCDs. The UnitedNations food standards body Codex AlimentariusCommission is meeting in Geneva from 6-11 July 2015to examine food safety and quality standards.Established in 1963, the joint commission is chargedwith protecting consumer health and ensuring fair prac-tices in the food trade, the Codex Alimentarius is a jointinitiative of the FAO and WHO. — KUNA

FAO, WHO adopt scale for potassium needed in food products

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Future Eye Films Kuwait making short film

The team members of ‘Aksharamundu, Vaakkilla,’ the maiden Malayalam short film being produced under the banner of Future Eye Films, Kuwait, pose for a group picture after the completion of its shootin Wafra. ‘Aksharamundu Vaakkilla’ seeks to remind us about the follies and foibles of the present time that struggles to construct words despite having letters. “Keeping the light outside, why are yougroping in the darkness inside? Family security in fragmented relations? Or gauging the depth of empty lives?” ‘Aksharamundu, Vaakkilla,’ written and directed by Sunil K Cherian, is a black comedy juxta-

posed by surrealism. The film throws up some disturbing questions about family relations and their contemporary social realities. Sreenivasan Munambam handles the camera.

Rotana, the leading hotel management companyin the Middle East, Africa, South Asia andEastern Europe hosted a special Iftar buffet

event for its clients and media representatives onSunday, July 5. The event was successful and guests

enjoyed the remarkable evening at Al MansharRotana.

Guests enjoyed a wide variety of Arabic specialtiesat Al Kout ballroom. The venue is a great place forguests who would like to enjoy traditional dishes after

a long day of fasting. During the event, the OutboundSales Office Team took the opportunity to expresstheir appreciation for the extended support to theproperty by it clients and the media.

Commenting on this Effie Desouza, Director of

Global Sales said; “Ramadan is not only about fasting,it is also the time to share and enjoy your blessingswith your family and friends. We are happy to have allour friends here with us to enjoy our culinary cre-ations and experience our hospitality”.

Traditional Ramadan iftar at Al Manshar Rotana Kuwait

Thanima holds iftar ‘Souhruda Thanima’ Thanima, a secular socio-cultural group, held an iftar gathering called Souhruda Thanima at United Indian School auditorium in Abbassiya. The fast breaking get-together was attended by community leaders, representatives from different reli-

gious faiths, social and cultural organizations, audio-visual media and well-wishers. Abdul Rahim, Fr Kochumon Thomas and Vinod Kumar delivered messages on the occasion. Maju Karipal (Gen Convener) spoke on the occasion. RaghunathanNair, Rose Kattukallil, Dileep Nair, Mukundan Edavana, Sabu Peter, Shaji Varghese, Jins Mathew, Shamon Jacob, Alex Varghese, Abey Paul, James Mathew, Benoy Abraham, Thomas Hidine, Jacob Mathew, Sanish George, Geormon Joseph, Jino

Abraham, Jojimon Thomas, Lalu Mathew, Manoj Kumar, Nishant Joseph, Pratapan Mannar, Raju Zachariah, Savyo Job, Siju George, Johney Kunnil, UshaDileep, Beena Paul, Suni Benny and Jessy James were behind in organizing the function.

As part of its ongoing social initia-tives and commitments to theKuwaiti society, The Sultan

Center (TSC) partnered with Al-Sabahhospital to treat young patients to aspecial Girgian event held at NBKChildren’s hospital. The early morningvisit was a both heart-warming anduplifting. The visit was accompanied byfun filled activities, special gifts andtreats designed to bring joy and smilesto the children.

Commentingon TSC initiatives, Lisa

Al Gharib, Marketing Manager at TSCexpressed, “We wanted to bring thejoys of the Girgian tradition to the chil-dren, and we hope that with this visitwe brightened their day with a gift ofhope. They are an incredible group ofchildrenwho’s hope, courage anddetermination inspire us all, she added.With its overall contributions andefforts to the society, The Sultan Centerhas a long standing commitment tosupporting the community in which itoperates.

The Sultan Center visits children’s hospital and

shares joy of Girgian

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

In appreciation for its operational competence, CBK was recently awarded The City Bank excellence award for its outstanding performance and leadingposition in international electronic payment (STP). The award given by City Bank’s treasury and commercial solutions manager, Muhand Barakat to CBK’sCEO, Elham Mahfouz.

As part of its expansion strategy, Al MullaInternational Exchange, one of the leadingExchange companies in Kuwait, opened a new

branch in Shuwaikh Industrial Area, at the ground floorof Zinah mall. It is the company’s second branch inShuwaikh and 62nd branch in Kuwait.

Rakish Joshi, General Manager, commented on thebranches’ opening by saying: “Every time Al MullaInternational Exchange opens a new branch, it brings itcloser to its clients. The company carefully selects thegeographical places in its expansion process, based pri-marily on the growing demand on the company’s serv-ices and the area’s population density.”

“The expansion policy that Al Mulla InternationalExchange adopts in the Kuwaiti market today is goingin a faster pace that can be noticed through the open-ing of new branches since the beginning of this year,”

he said, adding that the company seeks to improve thelevel and quality of money exchange solutions propor-tionally with our increasing clients’ base.

Joshi added that the company will continue to opennew branches in different sites to ensure easy access forour clients to services and products from our networkof branches in Kuwait that currently reached 62. He alsostressed that choosing the place for the new branchwas based on Industrial Shuwaikh’s significance as oneof the most vital centers in Kuwait.

Joshi further indicated that the company is commit-ted to provide all services and products to clients, sinceits name has become synonymous with the best finan-cial institutes worldwide, adding that the opening ofthe new branch reflects the company’s efforts to adopta series of initiatives and strategic programs thatinclude expanding branches and providing advanced

services to different social categories. This comes aspart of the company’s policy to bring itself closer toclients all over Kuwait, as they are the primary targetbehind the expansion process and launching innovativeservices.

Joshi stressed the company’s commitment throughits new branch towards its clients, as well as its effortsto meet the demand on its money exchange services.The new branch’s design reflects highest levels of con-venient and proper environment to perform remittanceoperations quickly and securely, he said.

Joshi added that the company also offers insuranceand loyalty points services on every transaction free ofcharge, in addition to SMS confirmation for transferoperations. The company also offers quick and securemoney transfer from home or the office online throughthe company’s website at www.amxremit.com.

Al Mulla International opens 62nd branch in Shuwaikh

Actors from Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries participated in a debate about improving ‘cartoonic creative dialogue’ and artistic material presented to children. The event took placerecently during the ‘Fourth Ramadan Council’ activities held at Sharjah Media Center in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. —KUNA

NBK e-banking services available

24/7 in Kuwait and abroad

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) provides itscustomers with the most advanced andflexible e-banking services in Kuwait and

abroad. NBK’s electronicchannels include NBKOnline, NBK MobileBanking, NBK SMSBanking. NBK e-bankingservices include checkingbalances, transferringfunds, making payments,reporting for the lost orstolen cards, among oth-ers. “NBK is committed toadopt the latest world-class technologies in thebanking industry to facili-tate customer service andbe closer to them,” saidMohammad Al-Othman, NBK Assistant GeneralManager, Consumer Banking Group.

Othman added: “NBK e-banking services areavailable 24/7. Customers can conveniently maketransactions between various accounts, creditcards payments, account balance inquiries, andtransfer funds anywhere around the world.Moreover, customers can request a printedaccount statement and spot NBK branches andATMs.”

Othman confirmed that NBK e-banking chan-nels adopt the highest international safety stan-dards. Moreover, NBK enjoys the widest ATM net-work in Kuwait with more than 257 withdrawalmachines including the multi currencies machinesin the Kuwait International Airport that offerclients six currencies include Kuwaiti dinar, USD,Saudi riyal, euro, sterling pound and UAE dirham.Also, NBK offers its customers two ATM machinesat Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Airport, one of whichprovides the USD currency.

NBK customers can register on NBK OnlineBanking by visiting NBK’s website www.nbk.com.NBK customers can also download NBK MobileBanking application by visiting the associate storeon their mobile devices.

Mohammad Al-Othman

KidZ summer camp on until Aug 12

The ownerand generaldirector of

KidZ NurseryMohammed Al-Waqian stressedthat a special sum-mer camp hasbeen organised tohelp childrenspend their freetime fruitfully.Waqian addedthat the summercamp would be onuntil Aug 12 at theKaifan branchwhere childrencan enjoy manysports, arts andrecreational activities including painting, coloring andkarate. “The club works mornings and afternoon both dur-ing and after Ramadan,” he explained.

Mohammed Al-Waqian

00:25 Doctors00:55 Eastenders01:20 Spooks02:15 Starlings03:00 Starlings03:45 The Office04:15 The Weakest Link05:00 The Green Balloon Club05:25 Mr Bloom’s Nursery05:45 Show Me Show Me06:10 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock nRoll06:30 The Green Balloon Club06:55 Mr Bloom’s Nursery07:15 The Weakest Link08:00 The Office08:30 Little Britain09:00 Doctors09:30 Eastenders10:00 Lark Rise To Candleford10:50 Breaking Pointe11:30 The Weakest Link12:15 The Office12:45 Little Britain13:15 Lark Rise To Candleford14:10 Breaking Pointe14:50 The Office15:20 Little Britain15:50 Doctors16:20 Eastenders16:50 The Weakest Link17:35 Little Britain18:05 Lark Rise To Candleford19:00 Doctors19:30 Eastenders20:00 Spooks20:55 Single Father21:45 Rev.22:15 Orphan Black23:05 Stewart Lee’s ComedyVehicle

T V PR O G R A M STHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

MISSION TO MARS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

REIGN OF FIRE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

00:40 Masterchef: TheProfessionals01:30 Rachel Khoo’s KitchenNotebook: London02:00 Bargain Hunt02:50 Tareq Taylor’s NordicCookery03:15 Come Dine With Me03:40 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style04:30 Masterchef: TheProfessionals05:25 Masterchef: TheProfessionals06:15 Bargain Hunt07:00 Bargain Hunt07:55 Tareq Taylor’s NordicCookery08:20 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style09:10 Come Dine With Me09:35 Bargain Hunt10:20 Masterchef: TheProfessionals11:10 Masterchef: TheProfessionals11:35 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is12:20 Simply Italian12:45 Tareq Taylor’s NordicCookery13:15 Bargain Hunt14:05 Bargain Hunt14:50 Masterchef: TheProfessionals15:45 Bargain Hunt16:40 Bargain Hunt17:25 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style18:15 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style19:00 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is19:45 Simply Italian20:10 Masterchef: TheProfessionals21:00 Bargain Hunt21:55 Bargain Hunt22:40 Come Dine With Me23:05 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style23:50 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is

00:20 Fast N’ Loud01:10 Unchained Reaction02:00 The Carbonaro Effect02:25 Magic Of Science02:50 Wheels That Fail03:15 Wheels That Fail03:40 The Liquidator04:05 Storage Wars Canada04:30 Auction Hunters05:00 How It’s Made: Dream Cars05:30 How Do They Do It?06:00 Railroad Alaska06:50 Kindig Customs07:40 Fast N’ Loud08:30 The Liquidator08:55 Storage Wars Canada09:20 Auction Hunters09:45 How It’s Made: Dream Cars10:10 How Do They Do It?10:35 Unchained Reaction11:25 The Carbonaro Effect11:50 Magic Of Science12:15 Close-Up Kings13:05 The Liquidator13:30 Storage Wars Canada13:55 Auction Hunters14:20 Railroad Alaska15:10 Kindig Customs

00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:40 Wolfblood02:05 Wolfblood02:30 Violetta03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch03:45 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch04:10 Wolfblood04:35 Wolfblood05:00 Violetta05:50 Mouk06:00 Lolirock06:25 Girl Meets World06:50 Girl Meets World07:15 H2O: Just Add Water07:40 H2O: Just Add Water08:05 The Next Step08:30 Hank Zipzer08:55 Jessie09:20 Jessie09:45 Austin & Ally10:10 Austin & Ally10:35 Liv And Maddie11:00 Liv And Maddie11:25 Girl Meets World11:50 Girl Meets World12:15 Jessie12:40 Jessie13:05 Dog With A Blog13:30 Dog With A Blog13:55 H2O: Just Add Water14:25 H2O: Just Add Water14:55 Lolirock15:25 Austin & Ally16:00 Jessie16:30 Jessie17:00 The Next Step17:25 Austin & Ally17:50 Gravity Falls18:15 Girl Meets World18:40 Liv And Maddie19:05 The Next Step19:30 Lolirock19:55 Hank Zipzer20:20 Binny And The Ghost20:45 Good Luck Charlie21:10 Good Luck Charlie21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place22:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch23:10 Wolfblood

00:00 House Of DVF00:55 Extreme Close-Up01:25 Keeping Up With TheKardashians02:20 E! News03:15 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills04:10 E!ES05:05 E!ES06:00 Kourtney And Kim TakeMiami06:55 Kourtney And Kim TakeMiami07:50 Style Star08:20 E! News09:15 Giuliana & Bill10:15 Giuliana & Bill11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills11:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills12:05 E! News13:05 Christina Milian Turned Up13:35 Christina Milian Turned Up14:05 Extreme Close-Up14:30 Style Star15:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians16:00 Kourtney And Khloe TakeThe Hamptons17:00 Fashion Bloggers17:30 Fashion Bloggers18:00 E! News19:00 E!ES20:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills21:00 New Money21:30 New Money22:00 E! News23:00 The Grace Helbig Show

00:00 Chopped01:00 Chopped South Africa02:00 Kitchen Casino03:00 Man Fire Food03:30 Man Fire Food04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives05:00 Chopped06:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

00:10 The Chase01:05 The Hungry Sailors02:00 Emmerdale02:25 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour02:55 Coronation Street03:25 Safe House04:20 Hiding05:15 Big Star’s Little Star06:10 The Hungry Sailors07:05 Coronation Street07:30 Safe House08:25 Hiding09:20 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover10:15 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour10:40 The Chase11:35 The Hungry Sailors12:30 Big Star’s Little Star13:25 Emmerdale13:50 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour14:15 Coronation Street14:40 The Chase15:35 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover16:30 Paddock To Plate17:25 Come Date With MeAustralia17:50 Come Date With MeAustralia18:20 Big Star’s Little Star19:10 Coronation Street19:35 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover20:30 Paddock To Plate21:25 Come Date With MeAustralia21:50 Come Date With MeAustralia22:20 Coronation Street22:50 Emmerdale23:15 Big Star’s Little Star

00:00 Nordic Wild01:00 Predator CSI02:00 Make Me A Dino03:00 My Dog Ate What?04:00 Cesar To The Rescue05:00 The Known Universe06:00 Naked Science07:00 Star Talk08:00 Nordic Wild09:00 Predator CSI10:00 Make Me A Dino11:00 Wild Untamed Brazil12:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest13:00 Best Of Hard Time14:00 Hard Time15:00 Close Quarter Battle15:30 Close Quarter Battle16:00 The Border17:00 Crowd Control17:30 Crowd Control18:00 Going Deep With DavidRees18:30 Going Deep With DavidRees19:00 Close Quarter Battle19:30 Close Quarter Battle20:00 The Border21:00 Crowd Control21:30 Crowd Control22:00 Going Deep With DavidRees22:30 Going Deep With DavidRees23:00 Wild Untamed Brazil

00:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart01:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore01:30 Modern Family02:00 Black-Ish02:30 The Simpsons03:00 Cristela03:30 Mulaney04:00 Hot In Cleveland04:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon05:30 My Name Is Earl06:00 My Boys06:30 Community

00:00 Top Gear (US)01:00 Chicago Fire02:00 Backstrom03:00 Once Upon A Time04:00 Franklin & Bash05:00 Criminal Minds06:00 Top Gear (US)07:00 Once Upon A Time08:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.09:00 Criminal Minds10:00 Franklin & Bash11:00 Chicago Fire12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.15:00 Red Band Society16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.19:00 Criminal Minds20:00 The Fosters21:00 Chicago Fire22:00 Justified23:00 Once Upon A Time

01:00 Good Morning America03:00 Castle05:00 Good Morning America07:00 Emmerdale07:30 Coronation Street08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show09:00 Parenthood10:00 Emmerdale10:30 Coronation Street11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show12:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter13:00 Grey’s Anatomy14:00 Live Good Morning America16:00 Parenthood17:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter18:00 Grey’s Anatomy19:00 Prison Break20:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter21:00 Grey’s Anatomy22:00 Castle23:00 The Voice

06:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives07:00 Man Fire Food07:30 Man Fire Food08:00 Chopped09:00 The Big Eat...10:00 The Kitchen11:00 The Pioneer Woman12:00 Chopped13:00 Guy’s Big Bite14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives15:00 Man Fire Food15:30 Man Fire Food16:00 Chopped17:00 The Kitchen18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics18:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics19:00 Chopped20:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives21:00 Trisha’s Southern Kitchen22:00 Farm King23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives23:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers08:00 Hot In Cleveland08:30 My Name Is Earl09:00 Cristela09:30 2 Broke Girls10:00 2 Broke Girls10:30 Community11:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon12:00 My Boys12:30 Hot In Cleveland13:00 My Name Is Earl13:30 Community14:00 Mulaney14:30 2 Broke Girls15:00 2 Broke Girls15:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart16:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore16:30 My Boys17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers18:00 Cristela19:00 Two And A Half Men19:30 Community20:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart21:30 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore22:00 Modern Family22:30 Black-Ish23:00 Parks And Recreation23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers

03:10 Henry Hugglemonster03:20 Calimero03:35 Zou03:45 Loopdidoo04:00 Art Attack04:25 Henry Hugglemonster04:35 Calimero04:50 Zou05:00 Loopdidoo05:15 Art Attack05:35 Henry Hugglemonster05:50 Calimero06:00 Zou06:15 Loopdidoo06:25 Limon And Oli06:35 Art Attack07:00 Calimero07:10 Zou07:25 Nina Needs To Go07:30 Jake And The Never LandPirates07:55 Sofia The First08:20 Doc McStuffins08:45 Loopdidoo08:55 Limon And Oli09:05 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West09:30 Minnie’s Bow-Toons09:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:00 Sofia The First10:25 Nina Needs To Go10:30 Jake And The NeverlandPirates10:55 Runaway Shuffle/Surfin’The Whirlpool11:20 Doc McStuffins11:45 Henry Hugglemonster12:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse12:35 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West13:00 Sofia The First

16:00 Fast N’ Loud16:50 How It’s Made: Dream Cars17:15 How Do They Do It?17:40 Gold Rush18:30 King Of Thrones19:20 Tanked20:10 Storage Wars Canada20:35 Auction Hunters21:00 King Of Thrones21:50 Insane Pools: Off The DeepEnd22:40 Tanked23:30 Street Outlaws

04:00 Delivery Man06:00 Vampire Dog08:00 13 Going On 3010:00 The Love Guide12:00 Catch That Kid14:00 The Way Way Back16:00 13 Going On 3018:00 Shanghai Calling20:00 Stand Up Guys22:00 High Fidelity

00:45 My Crazy Obsession01:35 Extreme Cheapskates02:00 90 Days To Wed02:50 Say Yes To The Dress03:40 Randy To The Rescue04:30 Cake Boss05:00 Little People, Big World05:30 Extreme Couponing06:00 Say Yes To The Dress06:25 Cake Boss06:50 Cake Boss07:15 Say Yes To The Dress07:40 Say Yes To The Dress√¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Bridesmaids08:05 Your Style In His Hands08:55 Love, Lust Or Run09:20 Love, Lust Or Run09:45 Cake Boss10:10 Little People, Big World10:35 Extreme Couponing11:00 Toddlers & Tiaras11:50 Oprah’s Next Chapter12:40 Cake Boss13:05 Cake Boss13:30 Obsessive CompulsiveCleaners14:20 Pawn Queens14:45 Pawn Queens15:10 Cake Boss15:35 Little People, Big World16:00 Toddlers & Tiaras16:50 Say Yes To The Dress17:15 Say Yes To The Dress√¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Bridesmaids17:40 Say Yes To The Dress18:05 Extreme Couponing18:30 Randy To The Rescue19:20 Oprah Presents: MasterClass20:10 Cake Boss20:35 Cake Boss21:00 Something Borrowed,Something New21:25 Something Borrowed,Something New21:50 Say Yes To The Dress22:40 Extreme Cheapskates23:05 90 Days To Wed23:55 Oprah’s Next Chapter

03:20 Total Drama: All Stars04:05 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu04:28 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu04:50 Teen Titans Go!05:10 Grojband05:35 Grojband06:00 Regular Show06:40 Uncle Grandpa07:00 Adventure Time07:25 Steven Universe07:45 The Amazing World OfGumball08:10 Ben 1008:55 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu09:15 Regular Show09:40 The Amazing World OfGumball10:00 Uncle Grandpa10:25 Total Drama: PahkitewIsland11:10 Adventure Time12:40 Regular Show13:25 Clarence13:45 Uncle Grandpa14:10 Grojband14:30 Total Drama: Revenge OfThe Island14:55 Ben 10: Omniverse15:40 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu16:00 Matt Hatter New16:25 Steven Universe16:45 Teen Titans Go!17:10 The Amazing World OfGumball17:30 Regular Show18:15 Adventure Time18:40 Johnny Test19:25 Clarence19:45 Uncle Grandpa20:10 Teen Titans Go!20:55 Ben 10: Omniverse21:40 Adventure Time22:25 Johnny Test

00:00 Shooter02:00 The Ring Two04:00 I, Frankenstein05:45 The Wolverine08:00 Mission To Mars10:00 Reign Of Fire12:00 Justice League: War14:00 Judge Dredd16:00 40 Days And Nights18:00 Reign Of Fire20:00 Mission To Mars22:00 Terminal Velocity

00:00 The Ring Two-PG1502:00 I, Frankenstein-PG1503:45 The Wolverine-PG1506:00 Mission To Mars-PG1508:00 Reign Of Fire-PG1510:00 Justice League: War-PG1512:00 Judge Dredd-PG1514:00 40 Days And Nights-PG1516:00 Reign Of Fire-PG1518:00 Mission To Mars-PG1520:00 Terminal Velocity-PG1522:00 The Monkey’s Paw-PG15

00:00 A Case Of You02:00 The Love Guide

01:00 Dawn Rider-PG1503:00 Philomena-PG1505:00 InSight-PG1507:00 Knockout-PG1509:00 Shadow Witness-PG1511:00 InSight-PG1513:00 Philomena-PG1515:00 See Girl Run-PG1517:00 Shadow Witness-PG1519:00 The English Teacher-PG1521:00 Suspension Of Disbelief23:00 A Long Way Down-PG15

01:30 One Chance03:30 Metallica: Through TheNever05:15 Silent Victim07:15 Gravity09:00 Phantom11:00 Metallica: Through TheNever13:00 The Cutting Edge15:00 Everything Must Go17:00 Phantom19:00 Mr. Pip21:00 August: Osage County23:00 Hope And Glory

01:00 The Calling-PG1503:00 The Gabby Douglas Story05:00 Quartet-PG1507:00 Tinker Bell And The PirateFairy-FAM09:00 Grace Of Monaco-PG1511:00 Enough Said-PG1513:00 Guardians Of The Galaxy15:00 Earth To Echo-PG1517:00 Grace Of Monaco-PG1519:00 The Immigrant-PG1521:00 No Good Deed-PG1523:00 A Fighting Man-PG15

01:15 Hatching02:45 Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs & ABaby04:15 From Up On Poppy Hill06:00 True Story Of Puss’n Boots07:30 See Spot Run09:30 Minuscule: Valley Of TheLost Ants11:15 The Legend Of Secret Pass13:00 Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs & ABaby14:30 Asterix: The Mansions OfThe Gods16:00 Knight Rusty18:00 Minuscule: Valley Of TheLost Ants20:00 Planet 5121:45 Asterix: The Mansions OfThe Gods23:15 Knight Rusty

00:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor &Wolverine-PG02:00 Ong Bak 3-PG1504:00 Lockout-PG1506:00 Frozen-PG08:00 Horizon-PG1510:00 Lockout-PG1512:00 Ice Soldiers-PG1514:00 2 Fast 2 Furious-PG1516:00 Horizon-PG1518:00 Killer Reality-PG1520:00 Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear22:00 Transit-PG15

00:00 Golfing World07:00 Golfing World08:00 International Rugby Union12:00 European Tour Weekly12:30 Live PGA European Tour20:30 This Is PGA Tour Canada22:30 Inside The PGA Tour23:00 Live PGA Tour

07:00 Rugby League State OfOrigin 09:00 Golfing World10:00 WEB.Com Tour 11:30 AFL Premiership Highlights 12:50 Live AFL Premiership15:30 NRL Full Time 19:00 WWE NXT20:00 WWE SmackDown22:00 Live Super League

00:00 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: Jamaica v St Lucia01:00 Live Caribbean PremierLeague : St Kitts v Guyana10:30 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: St Kitts v Guyana11:30 ICC Cricket 360, Episode 26

13:00 Live The Ashes: ENG v AUS,1st Test, Day 221:00 ICC WT20 Qualifier H/L :Scotland v UAE22:00 ICC WT20 Qualifier H/L :Netherlands v AFG

00:00 Appalachian Outlaws01:00 Alone02:00 Mountain Men03:00 Appalachian Outlaws04:00 Ax Men05:00 American Pickers06:00 American Restoration07:00 Mountain Men08:00 Ax Men09:00 Alone10:00 Ice Road Truckers11:00 Counting Cars12:00 American Restoration13:00 Storage Wars14:00 Pawn Stars15:00 Shipping Wars15:30 Shipping Wars16:00 Alone17:00 Mountain Men18:00 American Pickers19:00 Storage Wars19:30 Storage Wars20:00 Big Rig Bounty Hunters21:00 Pawn Stars22:00 Alaska Off-Road Warriors23:00 Counting Cars

ClassifiedsTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - Re Release 9:00 PMYOU’RE NEXT -Re Release 11:45 PM

SHARQIA-2JURASSIC WORLD 9:00 PMZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:30 PM

SHARQIA-3ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 9:15 PMJURASSIC WORLD 11:15 PM

MUHALAB-1TATTAH -Re Release 9:15 PMZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:30 PM

MUHALAB-2JURASSIC WORLD 9:00 PMYOU’RE NEXT -Re Release 11:30 PM

MUHALAB-3SNITCH-Re Release 9:00 PMJURASSIC WORLD 11:15 PM

FANAR-1SNITCH-Re Release 9:15 PMZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:30 PM

FANAR-2THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2 ANGEL OF DEATH 9:00 PMTATTAH -Re Release 11:15 PM

FANAR-3MISS MOMMY -Re Release 9:00 PMAVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON -Re Release 11:00 PM

FANAR-4JURASSIC WORLD 9:00 PMSAN ANDREAS 11:30 PM

FANAR-5JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - Filippino 9:15 PMJURASSIC WORLD 11:15 PM

MARINA-1MISS MOMMY - Re Release 9:15 PMZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:15 PM

MARINA-2JURASSIC WORLD 9:00 PMYOU’RE NEXT -Re Release 11:30 PM

MARINA-3SNITCH-Re Release 9:00 PMJURASSIC WORLD 11:15 PM

AVENUES-1SAN ANDREAS 9:15 PMYOU’RE NEXT -Re Release 11:30 PM

AVENUES-2TATTAH -Re Release 9:30 PMA WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES 11:45 PM

AVENUES-3ZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 9:45 PMZANKET AL SITAT-Arabic 11:45 PM

AVENUES-4JURASSIC WORLD 10:00 PM

AVENUES-5JURASSIC WORLD 9:00 PMJURASSIC WORLD 11:30 PM

AVENUES-6PAPANASAM- Tamil 9:00 PM

AVENUES-7PREMAM - Malayalam 9:15 PM

11:30 PM11:30 P

360º- 1PAPANASAM- Tamil 9:15 PM

Prayer timings

Fajr: 03:22Shorook 04:55Duhr: 11:54Asr: 15:28Maghrib: 18:52Isha: 20:19

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on Thursday 9/7/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeQTR 1084 Doha 00:05KAC 564 Amman 00:05THY 772 Istanbul 00:15JZR 239 Amman 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30DLH 637 Dammam 00:35JAI 574 Mumbai 01:30JZR 539 Cairo 01:30SAI 441 Lahore 01:35PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40RJA 642 Amman 01:45ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:50GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15KKK 6507 Istanbul 02:15UAE 853 Dubai 02:25MSC 403 Sohag 02:30OMA 643 Muscat 02:35QTR 1076 Doha 03:05ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:05RJA 644 Amman 03:10MSR 612 Cairo 03:15KAC 1544 Cairo 03:35MSC 401 Alexandria 04:00JZR 555 Alexandria 04:15THY 770 Istanbul 04:40QTR 8301 Doha 04:50DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10JZR 1541 Cairo 05:30KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15BAW 157 London 06:35JZR 563 Sohag 06:45JZR 503 Luxor 07:20IRA 673 Ahwaz 07:30KAC 382 Delhi 07:30KAC 206 Islamabad 07:45SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50KAC 204 Lahore 07:50KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55KAC 352 Kochi 08:15UAE 855 Dubai 08:25KAC 362 Colombo 08:30KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:30IRA 667 Esfahan 09:00ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:10KAC 284 Dhaka 09:25RJA 648 Amman 09:30IZG 4161 Mashhad 09:30FDB 055 Dubai 09:40KAC 350 Kochi 09:40QTR 1070 Doha 10:00SYR 341 Damascus 10:05KNE 470 Jeddah 10:30GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40UAE 873 Dubai 10:40MEA 404 Beirut 10:55MSC 405 Sohag 11:20JZR 561 Sohag 11:25RBG 553 Alexandria 11:30AGY 680 Alexandria 11:40NIA 151 Cairo 12:35UAE 871 Dubai 12:45MSR 610 Cairo 13:00THY 766 Istanbul 13:10JZR 779 Jeddah 13:50QTR 1078 Doha 14:05KNE 460 Riyadh 14:10GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20FDB 057 Dubai 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KAC 538 Sohag 14:55RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 15:00KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00OMA 645 Muscat 15:05ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35KAC 1802 Cairo 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45KAC 1712 Jeddah 15:45NIA 251 Alexandria 15:50RJA 640 Amman 15:55ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:00JZR 535 Cairo 16:05FDB 051 Dubai 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:20KAC 118 New York 16:30KNE 476 Jeddah 16:40AXB 393 Kozhikode 16:55KAC 562 Amman 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15UAL 982 IAD 17:25GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 177 Dubai 17:45KAC 742 Dammam 17:45JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:55KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 18:20KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35KAC 502 Beirut 18:35JZR 125 Bahrain 18:50QTR 1080 Doha 18:55KAC 542 Cairo 18:55KAC 618 Doha 18:55KAC 104 London 19:00GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05UAE 875 Dubai 19:05ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35KAC 774 Riyadh 19:40AGY 684 Sohag 19:50OMA 647 Muscat 20:00KAC 674 Dubai 20:00KNE 480 Taif 20:10MEA 402 Beirut 20:15ABY 121 Sharjah 20:20DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:20MSR 618 Alexandria 20:40JZR 1773 Jeddah 20:40JAD 301 Amman 20:55ALK 229 Colombo 21:10ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:15UAE 859 Dubai 21:15KLM 417 Amsterdam 21:25FDB 073 Dubai 21:30QTR 1074 Doha 21:30GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45THY 764 Istanbul 22:10ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25UAL 981 Bahrain 22:40FDB 059 Dubai 22:50JZR 157 Dubai 22:55JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 23:00MSR 614 Cairo 23:30FDB 071 Dubai 23:35

Departure Flights on Thursday 9/7/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05RBG 556 Alexandria 00:05BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10JZR 562 Sohag 00:20JAI 573 Mumbai 00:25MSR 615 Cairo 00:30FDB 072 Dubai 00:30KLM 411 Amsterdam 00:55JZR 502 Luxor 01:10DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35THY 773 Istanbul 02:05SAI 442 Lahore 02:35ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:50JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 02:55PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:10MSC 404 Sohag 03:30OMA 644 Muscat 03:35UAE 854 Dubai 03:45RJA 645 Amman 03:55ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05QTR 1077 Doha 04:05MSR 613 Cairo 04:15THY 765 Istanbul 04:55JZR 560 Sohag 05:00MSC 406 Sohag 05:00QTR 1085 Doha 05:20QTR 8302 Doha 06:20RJA 643 Amman 06:35GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50THY 771 Istanbul 06:50KAC 537 Sohag 08:20JZR 778 Jeddah 08:30BAW 156 London 08:30IRA 672 Ahwaz 08:30SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50KAC 1801 Cairo 09:00JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 787 Jeddah 09:30ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 09:50IRA 668 Mashhad 10:00ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00KAC 101 London/New York 10:00KAC 1711 Jeddah 10:05RJA 649 Amman 10:15IZG 4162 Mashhad 10:30FDB 056 Dubai 10:40KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50QTR 1071 Doha 11:00KAC 501 Beirut 11:00SYR 342 Damascus 11:05KNE 471 Jeddah 11:20KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:25KAC 561 Amman 11:25GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35MEA 405 Beirut 11:55KAC 541 Cairo 12:05UAE 874 Dubai 12:10RBG 554 Alexandria 12:10JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20AGY 685 Sohag 12:40KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 176 Dubai 13:10NIA 152 Cairo 13:35MSR 611 Cairo 14:00THY 767 Istanbul 14:10UAE 872 Dubai 14:15KAC 741 Dammam 14:40JZR 1772 Jeddah 14:50QTR 1079 Doha 15:05FDB 058 Dubai 15:05GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05KNE 481 Taif 15:10KAC 617 Doha 15:15KAC 673 Dubai 15:20KAC 773 Riyadh 15:55JZR 124 Bahrain 15:55SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00OMA 646 Muscat 16:05RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:10ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15NIA 252 Alexandria 16:50ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:50RJA 641 Amman 16:55JZR 266 Beirut 17:05FDB 052 Dubai 17:10QTR 1073 Doha 17:25KNE 477 Jeddah 17:30UAE 858 Dubai 17:40AXB 394 Kozhikode 17:55SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20KAC 563 Amman 18:30KAC 287 Dhaka 18:35JZR 156 Dubai 18:35JZR 538 Cairo 18:40UAL 982 Bahrain 18:40JZR 238 Amman 19:15GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50QTR 1081 Doha 19:55ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00KAC 361 Colombo 20:00UAE 876 Dubai 20:35JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35KAC 351 Kochi 20:45KAC 333 Trivandrum 20:45AGY 681 Alexandria 20:50KAC 343 Chennai 20:55KAC 1543 Cairo 20:55OMA 648 Muscat 21:00ABY 122 Sharjah 21:00KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15MEA 403 Beirut 21:15JAD 302 Amman 21:35MSR 619 Alexandria 21:40DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:05FDB 074 Dubai 22:10KAC 381 Delhi 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:20UAE 860 Dubai 22:25KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 22:25KAC 349 Kochi 22:30KAC 301 Mumbai 22:30JZR 1540 Cairo 22:40QTR 1075 Doha 22:40GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45KAC 303 Mumbai 22:50ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00KAC 205 Islamabad 23:05KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:25

KNCC PROGRAMME FROMTHURSDAY TO TUESDAY

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Your expectations may be outrageously unrealistic while sexy Marstrines surreal Neptune. It’s one thing to use dreams as a source of inspiration, butyou need to exercise caution or you could set yourself up for disappointment. Yourflexible attitude enables you to easily accommodate changes in other people’splans that impact yours, but it still might be hard to get motivated now.Thankfully, your friendly approach can rub off on those around you, creating asupportive atmosphere for all involved. There are lessons to be learned on thisjourney that can’t be rushed.

You can’t wait to manifest the big ideas you have planned for theday, but everything seems to move at a snail’s pace. Your frustration could com-plicate matters further unless you consciously choose to accept delays that areout of your control with a sense of humor. Fortunately, you can set a positive spinon your life by realigning your expectations and acknowledging that you mightnot finish everything on schedule. Pushing the river won’t help it reach the seaany quicker, but changing your attitude to one of patience and gratitude will helpyou to make the most of the ride.

Constraining your excitement about what you hope to accomplish isdifficult, but the day’s events require you to tone down your initial

enthusiasm just a notch. Your intentions may be honorable, but you might discoverthat you have bitten off more than you can chew now. Don’t waste time kickingyourself if you aren’t living up to your high ideals. Your knack for seeing the glass ashalf full rather than half empty is one of your strengths. Use your natural optimismto propel your progress in the days ahead.

Finding the physical stamina necessary to complete your chores ischallenging while fuzzy Neptune diffuses energetic Mars. Your attention meandersoff into fantasyland, leaving you feeling lost in space. You might even convinceyourself that you can let the day slide by without doing much of anything at all.Nevertheless, you’re capable of busting through the fog and emerging a hero, butit will require both intention and discipline. If you set your priorities early in the dayand tenaciously focus on your goals, your persistence will pay off in ways you can’timagine.

You’re trying to build a bridge to your dreams step by step, one stoneat a time. Although the ground beneath your feet is not as solid as you wish, a well-constructed foundation will be strong enough to support you. You are inflatingyour visions of the future today, like a child blows up a balloon. Unfortunately, it’snearly impossible to determine rational limits now. You may not find satisfaction ifyou assume the solution is right around the next corner. Happiness can only befound in the present moment when you begin to count your blessings.

Opportunities are knocking loudly at your door today as messengerMercury enters your 11th House of Long-Term Goals. Nevertheless, achieving yourobjectives requires more time than you prefer. Even if you envision minor problemsahead, take a chance and go after what you want anyhow. Just make sure you’renot missing any important details that could trip you up later on. Although it’s notyour usual style, you can exaggerate the current potential if you don’t stay ground-ed in reality. Your enthusiasm is commendable, but a little practicality now con-tributes toward your future success.

No matter how busy your schedule is today, it’s time to stop andreassess your current trajectory. Although the impetuous Aries Moon can trickyou into thinking you should bolt ahead, you might end up missing what’sright in front of your nose. Instead of wasting your energy starting projectsthat lead nowhere, visualize your final destination and create a viable plan toachieve your dreams. Establishing a steady pace is one essential element ofyour success, but knowing exactly where you want to go makes all the differ-ence in the world.

You might not feel very motivated today, even if you know fulfill-ing your obligations should be your top priority. You’re lost in your owndream world, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it doesn’t keep you fromaccepting responsibility for your actions. It’s tricky to determine your limits onyour own now, but it’s possible to still find time to relax in between meetingyour commitments. Thankfully, you can rely on someone you trust to provideyou with the objectivity that you currently lack. Striking the right balancebetween work and play is a lifelong challenge.

You’re ready to say yes to nearly anything today. Fortunately, theenterprising Aries Moon sparks your enthusiasm to deliver on a promise.However, you might inadvertently deceive yourself if you don’t take time toconsciously separate the facts from the fantasies. This temporary lack of claritydoesn’t mean that you should say no to an intriguing opportunity or an entic-ing invitation. Just make sure you have an escape route so you can bail, if nec-essary. There’s no point in participating if it isn’t in your best interest. Takingaction is more effective if you do it sooner than later.

Your personal growth may be impeded by a few obstacles now and it’stime to face these lingering issues once and for all. The most effective way to over-come your internal resistance is to get creative about reaching your goals. CerebralMercury’s shift into your inner-directed sign strengthens your ability to direct yourthoughts. Imagining the best-case scenarios for your future helps you focus on thepositive potential rather than worrying about what could go wrong. Good times arecalling; making progress in the safety of your own mind today sets the stage forprogress in the real world tomorrow.

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 958

ACROSS1. The most common computer memory whichcan be used by programs to perform necessarytasks while the computer is on.4. A conversation between two persons.12. The administration of a strong electric cur-rent that passes through the brain to induceconvulsions and coma.15. An inflated feeling of pride in your superiorityto others.16. Lacking general education or knowledge.17. A unit of length of thread or yarn.18. A notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat.20. Any of various units of capacity.21. A member of a seafaring group of NorthAmerican Indians who lived on the Pacific coastof British Columbia and southwestern Alaska.23. The animal order including amoebas.26. A genus of Ploceidae.27. A piece of furniture with open shelves for dis-playing small ornaments.30. A radioactive element of the actinide series.31. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.32. The largest continent with 60% of the earth'spopulation.36. A city in northeastern Ukraine.40. A public promotion of some product or serv-ice.41. Lacking either stimulating or irritating char-acteristics.42. A noisemaker (as at parties or games) thatmakes a loud noise when you blow through it.45. A federal agency established to regulate therelease of new foods and health-related prod-ucts.46. Any of various primates with short tails or notail at all.49. An island in the Persian Gulf.51. A light volatile flammable poisonous liquidalcohol.53. The blood group whose red cells carry boththe A and B antigens.54. Type genus of the family Arcidae.55. Having the leading position or higher scorein a contest.56. The longer of the two telegraphic signalsused in Morse code.58. American prizefighter who won the worldheavyweight championship three times (born in1942).59. Informal terms for a mother.60. The basic unit of money in China.62. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.66. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solelythe razorbill.70. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (tradename Voltaren) that is administered only orally.73. A full skirt with a gathered waistband.76. A religious belief of African origin involvingwitchcraft and sorcery.77. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike partof an organism.78. Any of various religions other thanChristianity or Judaism or Islamism.80. A member of a Mayan people of southwest-ern Guatemala.81. A member of the genus Canis (probablydescended from the common wolf) that hasbeen domesticated by man since prehistorictimes.82. Something or someone that causes anxiety.83. A loose sleeveless outer garment made fromaba cloth.

DOWN1. A summary that repeats the substance of alonger discussion.2. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of theOld World.

3. French biochemist who (with Francois Jacob)explained how genes are activated and suggest-ed the existence of messenger RNA (1910-1976).4. A disease of plants characterized by the grad-ual dying of the young shoots starting at the tipsand progressing to the larger branches.5. Large sweet juicy hybrid between tangerineand grapefruit having a thick wrinkled skin.6. In operation or operational.7. Ctenophore having tentacles only in theimmature stage.8. The ball-shaped capsule containing the verte-brate eye.9. United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or3.785 liters.10. An organization of independent states topromote international peace and security.11. A colorless volatile highly inflammable liquidused as an inhalation anesthetic.12. English essayist (1775-1834).13. The basic unit of money in Ghana.14. An official language of the Republic of SouthAfrica.19. Consisting of or made of cedar.22. Of or relating to or involving an area.24. (British) Diesel oil used in cars and lorries withdiesel engines (from d(iesel) e(ngine) r(oad)v(ehicle)).25. A young woman making her debut into soci-ety.28. Slightly open.29. A member of an agricultural people in south-eastern India.33. The second month of the Moslem calendar.34. A branch of the Indo-Iranian family of lan-guages.35. A city in southern Turkey on the SeyhanRiver.37. A populous province in northeastern China.38. A sharp narrow ridge found in rugged moun-tains.39. German naturalist whose speculations thatplants and animals are made up of tiny living`infusoria' led to the cell theory (1779-1851).43. Rice cooked in well-seasoned broth withonions or celery and usually poultry or game orshellfish and sometimes tomatoes.44. An amino acid that is found in the centralnervous system.47. An informal term for a father.48. Unaged colorless liquor originating in Russia.50. An Indian side dish of yogurt and choppedcucumbers and spices.52. (Old Testament) The minister of the Persianemperor who hated the Jews and was hangedfor plotting to massacre them.57. Capital and largest city of Cuba.61. Containing or involving or occurring in theform of ions.63. Any property detected by the olfactory sys-tem.64. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on askewer usually with vegetables.65. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not theexternal persona) that is in touch with theunconscious.67. (trademark) A type of inflatable air mattress.68. A steep rugged rock or cliff.69. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.71. Any of the short curved hairs that grow fromthe edges of the eyelids.72. Flat and uninspiring.74. A doctor's degree in preventive medicine.75. Experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappi-ness.79. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic ele-ment.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE

34s t a r s

Daily SuDoku

Conflicting voices in your head are giving you very different advicetoday. One is telling you that life is beautiful and you should seize this lovely oppor-tunity to indulge your fantasies. However, your voice of maturity warns that thepursuit of pleasure isn’t currently wise. You have too much work to do and there’sno time to slack off. Honestly, picking one strategy over the other isn’t healthy; youronly logical move is to forge a middle path. Your unique formula for success is tobalance your need to be a responsible adult with your current yearning to let yourinner child out to play.

Your modus operandi is to rely on your common sense to guide youalong the most efficient path. But you are uncharacteristically inclined to stray offcourse today as you imagine all the enjoyable activities you could be spending yourtime on, instead. Nevertheless, consider where you want to be in the long run anddevelop a concrete plan to reach your destination. There’s no hurry, so start offslowly and set a sustainable pace that allows you the chance to enjoy the sceneryalong the way.

inf or m at ionTHURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

INTERNATIONALCALLS

Afghanistan 0093

Albania 00355

Algeria 00213

Andorra 00376

Angola 00244

Anguilla 001264

Antiga 001268

Argentina 0054

Armenia 00374

Australia 0061

Austria 0043

Bahamas 001242

Bahrain 00973

Bangladesh 00880

Barbados 001246

Belarus 00375

Belgium 0032

Belize 00501

Benin 00229

Bermuda 001441

Bhutan 00975

Bolivia 00591

Bosnia 00387

Botswana 00267

Brazil 0055

Brunei 00673

Bulgaria 00359

Burkina 00226

Burundi 00257

Cambodia 00855

Cameroon 00237

Canada 001

Cape Verde 00238

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Central African 00236

Chad 00235

Chile 0056

China 0086

Colombia 0057

Comoros 00269

Congo 00242

Cook Islands 00682

Costa Rica 00506

Croatia 00385

Cuba 0053

Cyprus 00357

Cyprus (Northern) 0090392

Czech Republic 00420

Denmark 0045

Diego Garcia 00246

Djibouti 00253

Dominica 001767

Dominican Republic 001809

Ecuador 00593

Egypt 0020

El Salvador 00503

England (UK) 0044

Equatorial Guinea 00240

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Fiji 00679

Finland 00358

France 0033

French Guiana 00594

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Gabon 00241

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Germany 0049

Ghana 00233

Gibraltar 00350

Greece 0030

Greenland 00299

Grenada 001473

Guadeloupe 00590

Guam 001671

Guatemala 00502

Guinea 00224

Guyana 00592

Haiti 00509

Holland (Netherlands) 0031

Honduras 00504

Hong Kong 00852

Hungary 0036

Ibiza (Spain) 0034

Iceland 00354

India 0091

Indian Ocean 00873

Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098

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Ireland 00353

Italy 0039

Ivory Coast 00225

Jamaica 001876

Japan 0081

Jordan 00962

Kazakhstan 007

Kenya 00254

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Kyrgyzstan 00996

Laos 00856

Latvia 00371

Lebanon 00961

Liberia 00231

Libya 00218

Lithuania 00370

Luxembourg 00352

Macau 00853

Macedonia 00389

Madagascar 00261

Majorca 0034

Malawi 00265

Malaysia 0060

Maldives 00960

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Malta 00356

Marshall Islands 00692

Martinique 00596

Mauritania 00222

Mauritius 00230

Mayotte 00269

Mexico 0052

Micronesia 00691

Moldova 00373

Monaco 00377

Mongolia 00976

Montserrat 001664

Morocco 00212

Mozambique 00258

Myanmar (Burma) 0095

Namibia 00264

Nepal 00977

Netherlands 0031

Netherlands Antilles 00599

New Caledonia 00687

New Zealand 0064

Nicaragua 00505

Nigar 00227

Nigeria 00234

Niue 00683

Norfolk Island 00672

N. Ireland (UK) 0044

North Korea 00850

Norway 0047

Oman 00968

Pakistan 0092

Palau 00680

Panama 00507

Papua New Guinea 00675

Paraguay 00595

Peru 0051

Philippines 0063

Poland 0048

Portugal 00351

Puerto Rico 001787

Qatar 00974

Romania 0040

Russian Federation 007

Rwanda 00250

Saint Helena 00290

Saint Kitts 001869

Saint Lucia 001758

Saint Pierre 00508

Saint Vincent 001784

Samoa US 00684

Samoa West 00685

San Marino 00378

Sao Tone 00239

Saudi Arabia 00966

Scotland (UK) 0044

Senegal 00221

Seychelles 00284

Sierra Leone 00232

Singapore 0065

Slovakia 00421

Slovenia 00386

Solomon Islands 00677

Somalia 00252

South Africa 0027

South Korea 0082

Spain 0034

Sri Lanka 0094

Sudan 00249

Suriname 00597

Swaziland 00268

Sweden 0046

Switzerland 0041

Syria 00963

Serbia 00381

Taiwan 00886

Tanzania 00255

Thailand 0066

Toga 00228

Tonga 00676

Tokelau 00690

Trinidad 001868

Tunisia 00216

Turkey 0090

Tuvalu 00688

Uganda 00256

Ukraine 00380

United Arab Emirates 00976

United Kingdom 0044

Uruguay 00598

USA 001

Uzbekistan 00998

Vanuatu 00678

Venezuela 00582

Vietnam 0084

Virgin Islands UK 001284

Virgin Islands US 001340

Wales (UK) 0044

Yemen 00967

Yugoslavia 00381

Zambia 00260

Zimbabwe 00263

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

l if e s t y l eM u s i c & M o v i e s

Ajudge ruled Tuesday that Marion “Suge” Knightshould stand trial on murder charges eventhough a key witness - one of the men he’s

accused of running over - refused to identify him incourt. Cle “Bone” Sloan told detectives it was Knightwho ran over him and another man outside aCompton burger stand in January, killing the otherman and seriously injuring Sloan. But when Sloan tes-tified about the incident at Knight’s preliminary hear-ing in April, he refused to say Knight ran him over.

Knight’s attorney Thomas Mesereau said the judgeshould reject Sloan’s testimony because his changingstory showed he isn’t credible. But Superior CourtJudge Stephen A Marcus said he could not evaluatethe credibility of witnesses at a preliminary hearing.The judge noted, “He doesn’t say that it’s not him.” Healso cited evidence that Sloan and Knight had badblood between them for years, calling the fight that

led to the fatal confrontation part of an ongoing “soapopera” between the men.

“The only person who had a motive was SugeKnight,” the judge said. Sloan told detectives herepeatedly punched Knight through the window ofhis pickup moments before he was run over. Afterrunning over Sloan, Knight ran over and killed TerryCarter, 55, investigators said. Knight’s attorneys havesaid their client was ambushed and fleeing an attackwhen he ran over the men.

Mesereau said after the hearing that the case wasin its early stages and he wouldn’t comment further.Knight is being held on $10 million bail, whichMesereau said Tuesday he would seek to havereduced. Knight was a key player in the gangster rapscene that flourished in the 1990s, and his Death RowRecords label once listed Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur andSnoop Dogg among its artists. He lost control of the

company after it was forced into bankruptcy.Knight has prior felony convictions for armed rob-

bery and assault with a gun. He was driving the carwhen Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas, a crimethat has gone unsolved. A judge on Tuesday also set apreliminary hearing for Sept. 17 in an unrelated rob-bery case filed after a celebrity photographer accusedKnight and comedian Katt Williams of stealing hercamera last year. — AP

Judge refuses to dismiss murder case against Suge Knight

Marion Hugh ‘Suge’ Knightsits with his attorney Thomas

Mesereau in Los AngelesSuperior Court for a hearing

on a murder case. — AP

Netflix’s upcoming slate of original filmswill begin rolling out with CaryFukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation” in

October and Adam Sandler’s “The RidiculousSix” in December. The streaming networkannounced release plans for four movies onTuesday, laying out the schedule for its high-profile push into original films. The first to hitthe service will be Fukunaga’s Nigerian childsolider tale “Beasts of No Nation.” It willbecome available worldwide on Netflix on

Oct 16, the day it opens in select US theaters.“The Ridiculous Six” is a Western parody

coming Dec 11. It’s the first of four films fromSandler for Netflix. It stars Sandler, TerryCrews, Taylor Lautner and others. “CrouchingTiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend,” asequel to the Oscar-winning 2000 interna-tional hit, will open in the first quarter of2016. It also will be released on IMAX screensand theatrically in China.

Wary of the theatrical release windowshrinking, top North American theater chainshave refused to screen Netflix releases or anyother films simultaneously released on digitalplatforms. Netflix is partnering with distribu-tor Bleecker Street for “Beasts of No Nation”and with the Weinstein Co for “CrouchingTiger.” Netflix also said that the Judd Apatow-produced “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” in whichPaul Reubens reprises his famous character,will arrive next March. No release date has yetbeen announced for one of Netflix’s mostanticipated releases: “War Machine,” in whichBrad Pitt is to play former Gen. StanleyMcChrystal. — AP

Johnny Depp’s production companyInfinitum Nihil is teaming with RichardBranson’s Virgin Produced and City

Entertainment to develop a series based on themusic documentary “Muscle Shoals. Grammy-nominated doc celebrates Rick Hall, the founderof Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals,

Ala, and the signature sound he developed insongs such as “I’ll Take You There,” “Brown Sugar,”and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” The TV dramawill go behind the music to tell the stories ofMuscle Shoals that birthed the iconic “MuscleShoals Sound” by exploring the rich and vastmilieu of the segregated South through colorfulcharacters, cultural and political history andSouthern gothic settings. The series will featurethe original doc’s director and producer GregCamalier, who will produce the television adapta-tion with Depp and Christi Dembrowski ofInfinitum Nihil; Virgin Produced’s Branson, JasonFelts and Justin Berfield; and City Entertainment’sJoshua D Maurer and Alixandre Witlin.

Pioneering artistsVirgin Produced’s exec VP of production Rene

Rigal will also oversee the project with InfinitumNihil’s Bobby DeLeon. “Greg’s film unearthed thepoetic mysticism and inspired us to produce aseries that utilizes music and narrative in aunique and ground-breaking way,” Felts said.“This provocative story about the rich regionand pioneering artists that birthed the iconic‘Muscle Shoals Sound’ fits in with Virgin’s musicroots and provides an ideal opportunity to part-ner with Depp, Infinitum and CityEntertainment.” Dembrowski said: “‘MuscleShoals’ is an extraordinary story in which,through adversity, some of the world’s mostamazing music was created. It is perfectly suitedfor Infinitum as it combines Johnny’s love ofmusic and its history with our company’s cre-ative mission to tell these stories.” “MuscleShoals,” released by Magnolia Pictures in 2013,premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival,and received critical praise at film festivalsincluding SXSW and Hot Docs. — Reuters

Depp’s Company developing series

based on music documentary

This photo provided by Netflix shows Idris Elba as Commandant in a scene from the newfilm, ‘Beasts of No Nation,’ directed by Cary Fukunaga. — AP photos

Netflix sets release datesfor slate of original films

Former Beatle Ringo Starr, whoturned 75 on Tuesday, said hewould keep on playing the drums

as he celebrated his birthday with his tra-ditional “peace and love” salute. The tra-dition began some 10 years ago when hewas asked what he wanted for his birth-day-the response was if “everybody in

the world could say peace and love ... atnoon on July 7.”

Starr has since invited members of thepublic to join him in doing the sign andasked his fans to use #PeaceandLove onsocial media platforms. “It’s internationalnow ... Wherever I am on my birthdaythat’s where we do it. And it’s growing bythe response I get,” Starr said at Tuesday’sbirthday celebrations in Los Angeles. “It’scome a long way ... In Chicago was thefirst one and we’ve been to New York andwe’ve done several times in LA and wedid it in Hamburg.”

In April, Starr was inducted as a soloartist into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,the last of the Beatles to receive theaccolade. When asked what lay head,Starr said: “Well, keep playing, that’swhat’s left to do. I love to play, I playdrums so that will just continue.” “It’swhat I do, it ’s what I did before TheBeatles and before the peace and lovebirthday. I’ll play drums and entertainand sing a few songs.” — Reuters

‘Lego Movie’ directors

to helm Han Solo

‘Star Wars’ spinoff

Laugh it up, Fuzzballs: Han Solo is getting hisown movie, and it’s going to be helmed by“Lego Movie” directors Chris Miller and Phil

Lord. The “Star Wars” spinoff will be released onMemorial Day weekend in 2018, Disneyannounced Tuesday. It will focus on how Han Solobecame the smuggler first encountered by LukeSkywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Mos Eisleycantina. Lord and Miller have been among themost sought-after writer-directors in Hollywoodfollowing their well-received “21 Jump Street” andits sequel, “22 Jump Street,” and the popular “TheLego Movie.”

“This is the first film we’ve worked on thatseems like a good idea to begin with,” the pair saidin a joint statement. “We promise to take risks, togive the audience a fresh experience, and wepledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of thesecharacters who mean so much to us.” Lord andMiller said the movie is a dream come true, “andnot the kind of dream where you’re late for workand all your clothes are made of pudding.”

Coolest charactersThe announcement sets off what’s sure to be

among the most closely watched casting deci-sions in Hollywood. While Harrison Ford reprisesthe role in the upcoming “Star Wars: The ForceAwakens,” the spinoff will be seeking a new cap-tain of the Millennium Falcon. The script will bewritten by Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote “TheEmpire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” andhis son Jon Kasdan. They called Solo “one of thecoolest characters in the galaxy.” In addition to anew “Star Wars” trilogy to begin with JJ Abrams’“The Force Awakens” in December, Lucasfilm andDisney are planning several spinoffs from GeorgeLucas’ space epic. “Rogue One,” directed by GarethEdwards, is planned for December 2016.Filmmaker Josh Trank was earlier hired to directanother “Star Wars” anthology film, but he depart-ed the project earlier this year. — AP

Chris Miller, left, and Phil Lord at the New YorkFilm Critics Circle Awards at TAO Downtown, inNew York. — AP

Cary Fukunaga arrivesat the 67th AnnualDGA Awards in LosAngeles. — AP Ringo Starr, front right, and friends attend Starr’s #PEACEANDLOVE Birthday Celebration

at Capitol Records.

Starr says will keep drumming as he celebrates 75th birthday

Paula Deen didn’t post a 2011 Halloweencostume photo on her Twitter accountshowing her son Bobby in dark makeup

as “I Love Lucy” character Ricky Ricardo, andthe social media manager responsible for itwas fired, Deen’s spokesman said. The photofrom a holiday episode of one of the celebritycook’s former Food Network shows, with atweet mimicking Arnaz’s accented English onthe show, was quickly removed Tuesday fromTwitter after it drew a flurry of commentsabout Bobby Deen’s dark-skinned depictionof the character played by Desi Arnaz, LucilleBall’s TV and real-life husband.

The late Arnaz was a Cuban-born Hispanic.“Paula immediately had this picture taken

down as soon as she saw the post and apolo-gizes to all who were offended,” according toa statement from spokesman Jaret Keller. Hedeclined to identify the fired social mediamanager. Deen’s 2013 acknowledgment thatshe’d used a racial slur in the past ended herrelationship with the Food Network and top-pled her cooking empire. Posted responses tothe Twitter photo included those who decriedBobby Deen’s makeup as akin to the demean-ing “blackface” depictions of African-Americans.

The photo, which included Paula Deen, 68,mugging as the red-headed Ball, was from anepisode of “Paula’s Best Dishes,” among theseveral Food Network shows that had starredthe Southern cook. Deen’s admission of usinga racial epithet came during a legal disputewith an ex-employee who accused her ofracial discrimination and sexual harassment.Deen later said she’d learned “the power ofwords, how they have the ability to hurt andonce you say certain words you can’t un-ringit, not even 30 years later.” She has been inbusiness and image rebuilding mode sincegetting a private investment in 2014 ofbetween $75 million to $100 million. Shelaunched a website, the Paula Deen Network,and opened a restaurant that seats nearly 300diners in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. — AP

Deen distances herself from posted ‘I Love Lucy’ photo

Ringo Starr attendshis #PEACEANDLOVEBirthday Celebration.

Johnny Depp

Paula Deen attends the EVINELive launch event at The ToddEnglish Food Hall at The Plazain New York.—AP

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

l if e s t y l eF a s h i o n

Diamonds, celebrities and iconic couture merged -on Karl Lagerfeld’s orders - around a massive casinotable Tuesday for Chanel’s spectacular fashion

show. Here are the highlights of the day’s fall-winter 2015-16 Paris couture collections including Armani Prive,Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar and newcomer Aouadi.

Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart’s celebrity rouletteChanel’s guests were led to their seats in a giant recreat-

ed casino Tuesday inside Paris’ Grand Palais - replete withroulette tables and fully-functioning gambling machinesthat had one Chinese fashionista addicted within minutes.

But the real gasps came when Kristen Stewart and a dia-mond-encrusted Julianne Moore walked out through anarch - both wearing bespoke Chanel couture - to take aseat around a celebrity-filled poker table in the center ofthe catwalk. There they hugged, chatted, gambled andlaughed all through the show.

Moore and Stewart grew close as they co-starred in “StillAlice,” playing mother and daughter. They both dinedtogether in an exclusive Paris restaurant last weekend. “Ilike people when they’re gambling and well dressed like inMonte Carlo,” said Lagerfeld. Fellow gamblers placing betsincluded singers Rita Ora and Vanessa Paradis and modelLara Stone, who were there to showcase Chanel’s latestjewelry collection.

Chanel’s 3-D coutureLagerfeld, 81, says the secret to feeling young is always

looking to the future. Nothing demonstrated this betterthan Chanel’s bright, high-tech couture show that featuredCoco Chanel’s famed skirt-suit jacket made via 3-D print-ing. “I like the idea of taking the most iconic jacket of the20th century and turning that into an object that wasimpossible to make when that jacket was invented,”explained the couturier.

The quilted jackets were completely seamless andseamstress-less - created by feeding Lagerfeld’s sketchesinto a computer program, that the couturier eccentricallynamed “Sweetie.” “Computers are going to enter more andmore in the evolution and techniques of fashion - you can-not resist. On the contrary, if it exists in its time couture willlive on,” he said.

Chanel’s ‘80s shouldersA 1980s flavor lingered in the air for fall-winter in a

largely black-and-white show, with oversized truncatedjackets, large square shoulders, epaulettes and dramaticlapels. The shoes were a standout - backless stilettos with asplit tongue on the front that Lagerfeld compared to “air-planes children make with folded paper.”

The 67-piece-stong collection mainly played it safe, butdesigns loosened up toward the end, frothily, with tailor-ing that harked to the fizz fizz years of the ‘20s. Featheredfringing adorned loose, long cocktail dresses, evoking thefamed “Flapper” era. Meanwhile, modernized ‘20s “bob”wigs - worn in identical form by all models - also mirroredthis era, giving the collection a homogenous, fem-bot feelthat riffed on the futuristic 3-D printing concept.

Armani and stars attend shows but not dinnerCo-stars from 2009’s “The International,” Naomi Watts

and Clive Owen caught up with each other at the ArmaniPrive Show, sitting side by side. Nearby, was French Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche - who confessed that shedidn’t know designer Giorgio Armani all that well, as hedoesn’t attend dinners he invites her to.

“Each time we meet there’s a tenderness and respect ...

We’ve never had dinner, really. He leaves everyone to havedinner and goes home; probably thinks about the nextseason,” she said, laughing.

Julianne Moore, KristenStewart play at Chanel’s casino

US actresses JulianneMoore and KristenStewart leave after

attending Chanel2015-2016 fall/winterHaute Couture collec-

tion fashion show.

Models present creationsfor Chanel during the2015-2016 fall/winterHaute Couture collectionfashion show at theGrand Palais in Paris. — AP/AFP photos

Dutch model Lara Stone walks with French model Baptiste Giabiconi.

US model Lindsey Wixson presents a creation for Chanel.

US actress Kristen Stewart (front left), US actress Julianne Moore (second left), Dutchmodel Lara Stone (third left), Lily-Rose Depp and French model Baptiste Giabiconi (sec-ond right) sit at a casino table.

German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld acknowledge the public with US model KendallJenner.

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

l if e s t y l eF a s h i o n

Armani is elegant but doesn’t take risksIt was, as ever, an elegant affair at Armani Prive, with the

80-year-old couturier serving up his expected array of satingowns, jacquard skirts, feathered fringing, and longevening dresses embroidered with lashings of Swarovskicrystals and sequins. The color palette of the 47-look-showbeautifully evoked the last moments of the evening, as ithas in previous seasons; with fuchsia pink, turning ultra-marine blue, purple and black.

Peak shoulders on jackets and backless dresses werethe season’s focus, alongside Siamese-looking fitted jack-ets. They cut a distinct style alongside short black wigs onmodels, though have done without the overly-billowing,segmented satin pants. Though Armani is, with reason, oneof the most respected designers in the world, in his cou-ture he could afford to push the creative envelope moreand be more adventurous.

Bouchra Jarrar makes contrastsBouchra Jarrar mixed her signature contrasting styles

with a dash of the ‘50s in her slick show Tuesday. Bandeau-style croptops evoked one-half of a post-War bikini - wornover high-waisted retro pants or softly colored voluminousculottes that could have been worn by Marilyn Monroe.

As ever with the Moroccan-born designer, contradic-tions were whispered in the textures and styles. Femininepale blues, yellows and nude pink were punctuated withflashes of black. And several looks mixed up sportswear,

daywear and eveningwear with panache. One couture tex-tured taupe croptop had an exposed midriff, a sportyminiskirt and glamorous ankle-length sheer organza. Jarrarshowed off her couture talent with a series of multi-color,frothy, fur-feather asymmetrical tops - and again, in hersignature draping with a beautiful pale blue gown with agold band.

Yacine AouadiDebut designer Yacine Aouadi channeled black in his

couture presentation, saying it’s the color associated withmystery. “For my first collection, I wanted to evoke super-stition, so I used black, as I’m still afraid if my (fashion)house is going to take off or not,” he said humbly from theshow venue in the Grand Palais.

The 13-piece-strong show would seem to set theFrench-born designer, who cut his teeth at Balmain, in agood place.

Aouadi mixed Victorian styles such as high austerecollars and intricate black lacework with sporty croppedskirts and zippers, and sheer organza sections with deco-rative writing that, when worn on skin, resembles tat-toos. “I wanted to mix in the tattoo elements, to break upthe historic allusions,” he said. He struck a fine balance,mixing sometimes ecclesiastical styles and myriadchevrons with clean, gentle A-line shapes into highlywearable looks.—AP

Models wear creations for Giorgio Armani’s fall-winter 2015/2016Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris.

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

l if e s t y l eF a s h i o n

Every now and then we go through rough patches with our hair, wemight be doing all we can to have healthy and shiny hair, but itjust has a mind of its own. We’re always told to change up our

shampoo and conditioner products so we can see results with our hair,but we don’t seem to understand what exactly we’re using in terms ofingredients.

Recently I’ve been reading about homemade shampoo and condi-tioner. I heard it was good for you to make and use every once in a whileas it balances the oils in your scalp and leaves your hair nice and shiny. Ithink it has become more popular now since many girls are coloringand styling their hair almost on a daily basis, so having a more naturaland organic option is always a plus.

I bet you’re asking why make my own shampoo when there arethousands of shampoos ready to buy? Well one, it’s cheaper than com-mercial bought shampoo, and two, its definitely healthier than the harmful ingredients shampoos contain. It’s always a safe option for new

mommies to make their own shampoo for their babies or young kinds,because you’ll only be using natural ingredients, which won’t be harm-ful whatsoever.

Many people agree that homemade shampoo works better thancommercial shampoos, I actually agree and disagree at the same time, itall depends on your recipe and the type of hair that you have. Somemight end up with shinier hair, and some might end up having oily hair- again, it all depends on the recipe.

If you’re a true lover of the environment, you will also like the idea ofhaving a shampoo that doesn’t bring in harmful chemicals to you nor toyour surroundings.

Lets get to the good part! Here are a few recipes you can try out foryour homemade shampoo, but dont forget that it is not necessary thatall the recipes will work for your hair type, experiment!

Recipe 1You’ll need: • Castile soap - this is basically a hard white soap that is made

from olive oil and soda. • 1/2 a cup of water

• an essential oil; coconut oil, jojoba or olive oil

All you have to do is mix the ingredient together into an old sham-poo bottle or glass bottle and that’s it! However, make sure you mix thebottle very well every time before using it.

Recipe 2You’ll need:• baking soda• water• apple cider vinegar or regular white vinegar

Mix 1/2 a cup of baking soda with 3 cups of water, this amount willbe good enough for a few washings. Scrub your scalp with the waterand baking soda mixture, this will help in removing any build up left onyour scalp from other shampoos, but it will also leave your hair dry, sothis is where you mix apple cider vinegar/ regular white vinegar with 1/2a cup of water to rinse out the baking soda. The vinegar will leave yourhair smooth and fluffy like other regular shampoos.

Recipe 3You’ll need:• coconut milk• castile soap• essential oil of your choiceAll you have to do is mix equal amounts of each ingredients but add

about 15-20 drops of the oil, not too much to not leave you will oily hair,and if you had dry/ damaged hair add more drops of olive/almond oil tokeep it moisturized.

Hope these recipes help you guys out, if not it’s fun to experiencewith things that aren’t harmful, and you never know, you might end upusing homemade shampoo for good now!

Let me know how it goes!Till next week! Xo

Homemade shampoo and conditioner for healthy hair

Lady Gaga’s

stylist to show

at New York

Fashion Week

Brandon Maxwell, Lady Gaga’s longtimestylist and a designer in his own right, willshow his first full ready-to-wear collection

at New York Fashion Week in September.Maxwell has created numerous looks for Gagaover the years, including a silver gown with aplunging neckline and high slit for this year’sGrammys and a majority of the outfits she hasworn for her Cheek to Cheek tour with TonyBennett. Known for a bold but glamorous aes-thetic, Maxwell is listed in The HollywoodReporter’s Top 25 most powerful stylists inHollywood. His fashion week debut wasannounced Monday. — AP

Models wear creations by the label Sadak at the Berlin Fashion Week Spring\Summer2016 in Berlin yesterday. — AP/AFP

Models wear creations of designer Anja Gockel Spring/Summer 2016 fashion collectionduring the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin.

Models present creations by Marc Cain during the Berlin Fashion Week Spring\Summer2016 in Berlin.

Berlin Fashion WeekModels wear creations for Bouchra Jarrar’s fall-winter 2015/2016 Haute Couture fashion collection.

37Moore, Stewart play at Chanel’s casino

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

Afghan devotees perform a special evening “Taraweeh” prayer during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Herat province late July 7, 2015. — AFP

Largely shielded from crisis, tourists still enjoying Greece

Greece is known the world over for itshistoric sites, sparkling sea, and lovely,vine-shaded restaurants. Add riot

police, shuttered banks, and lines at cashmachines and the picture clouds. This is thereality facing tourism in Greece this year, asthe peak summer season in the popular desti-nation is threatened by a financial crisis offrightening proportions. Up until now, thecharming cafes and outdoor restaurants nearthe Acropolis have remained overflowing withtourists, but considering the bad publicity of

the past week’s events, many businesses saythey are beginning to see cancellations and aslowdown in reservations.

“Our future bookings are down 20 to 30percent,” said Edward Fisher, who owns andoperates Athens Backpackers and AthensStudios, with prime locations near theAcropolis that cater mostly to youthful travel-ers without mega-budgets. He blamed theglobal media for the marked slowdown, andsaid he believes it will only be a “temporaryblip” because of Greece’s timeless appeal.

“There’s something mystical about Greece,”said the Australian who started his business 12

years ago. “It tickles a different sense. (...) Sowe’re not panicking. But I want to avoid ahumanitarian crisis here.” Tourism and the for-eign funds it generates are vital for Greece’shoped-for recovery from its deeply indebtedstate. The World Travel and Tourism Councilsaid tourism’s direct contribution to the Greekeconomy was more than 29 billion euros ($32billion) in 2014, accounting for just over 17percent of the country’s GDP.

Actual cancellationsAs such, the Greek National Tourist Board is

taking steps to reassure tourists that theircredit cards and bank cards will work normallyand that restrictions applied to Greek citizenswill not apply to visitors. Lyssandros Tsilidis,president of the Hellenic Association of Traveland Tourist Agencies, maintained an optimisticview, saying tourism figures are holdingsteady nationwide. “There are more rumorsabout cancellations than actual cancellationsand reservations are still coming in,” he said.“Tourists are having no problems.”

Visitors to the famed Acropolis and sur-rounding areas agreed, telling The AssociatedPress they had been able to enjoy normal holi-days without disruption. “I have seen a fewlines at ATMs but there are no huge lines,” saidLuciane Souza, a Brazilian lawyer making herfirst trip to Greece. “I love the place. For havingfun, it’s no problem.”

John Kopari, visiting from Duluth,Minnesota, added the crisis hasn’t affectedhim and his family “one bit.” But for those whohaven’t yet booked their trips, such assurancesare not soothing fears that the ATMs and thebanks may soon run out of cash altogether,unless there is an infusion of euros deliveredby the European Central Bank or anotheremergency source. And some restaurants andhotels have posted signs saying they will notaccept credit cards, despite the government’spledges. Tour guide Christina Poulogiani,

exhausted after leading German, Austrian andSwiss tourists to the Acropolis in the hot sun,said Tuesday was the busiest day of the year,but that future bookings are in doubt.

Frenetic summer“People are waiting before they commit,”

she said. “Business is good right now but peo-ple are worried because groups are not com-mitting.” The crisis could not have peaked at aworse time from the point of view of the hun-dreds of thousands of Greeks who depend onincome from the frenetic summer months tokeep their families going during the slack win-ter time. Elman Vasileios, manager of theMajestic Travel agency in central Athens, saidthe bank shutdown has made it impossible forhim to conduct business as usual. To makematters worse, major airlines have emailed hisagency in the last day telling him he cannotissue any tickets, even to customers with cash.

“We cannot operate as we used to becausewe have no quick access to funds if people payby credit cards,” he said. “We also have a hugeamount of money stuck in the bank that wecan’t get access to.” His agency is still acceptingcredits cards, but it is taking days or weeks forhim to be able to get his hands on the moneyvia various electronic bank transfer systems.

He has several overlapping problems:Tourists are shortening or cancelling their tripsto Greece, and, a substantial number of Greeksconcerned about their own finances (and par-ticularly their supply of cash) have cancelledtheir own summer holidays, traditionally takenon some of the treasured islands that dot theMediterranean here. “Greeks going on holidaythis summer have fallen to zero and I meanzero,” he said. “I just had a group of 40 cancel.They don’t have access to their funds and theydon’t know when they will. This season hasbeen destroyed. Foreign embassies are warn-ing people about problems so people thinktwice about coming to Greece.” — AP

Tourists walk on a pedestrian road outside Acropolis museum in Athens. — AP photos

A tourist holds an umbrella to protect from the sun as she visits the Temple of Zeus in Athens.

Two women buy souvenirs at the Plaka tourist district of Athens. A tourist enjoys a tour on a sightseeing bus in Athens. Tourists ride bicycles next to Andrian’s Arch.

A man rides a bicycle at the Plaka touristdistrict of Athens.