KUWAIT KEEN TO HELP SOLVE REGIONAL ISSUES Push on for non-permanent SC seat

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1 tennis Page 39 THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Established in 1977 / MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 / ZUL-HIJJAH 24, 1437 AH emergency number 112 NO PAGES 150 FILS KUWAIT KEEN TO HELP SOLVE REGIONAL ISSUES Push on for non-permanent SC seat KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (KUNA): Senior Kuwaiti officials have met with UN member countries ministers to rally further support for the state s candidacy to the UN Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent seat, in US$/KD /40 Euro/KD Yen/KD British /KD KSE pts at closing Sept 25 See Page 35 Dow pts at closing Sept 23 Nasdaq pts at closing Sept 23 FTSE pts at closing Sept 23 Nikkei pts at closing Sept 23 Gold $1, per oz (London) Opinion By Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times THE decision of the legitimate Yemeni government to relocate the Central Bank from Sanaa to Aden the temporary capital city of Yemen, reveals the extent of the rebels lack of conviction that they are the authority in Yemen for the past two years. All they did in this regard was lie to themselves, not to the world which did not change its support for the legitimate government. Just after the overdue decision was announced, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi started to scream and whine, along with threats and intimidations. As it has been in the past two years, all of those acts reflect the level of pain caused by the legitimacy resistance together with the Arab coalition against Iran s invasion of the southern flank of the Arabian Gulf. The relocation of the Central Bank has deprived the rebel team of its source of loot which continued for about two years to fund the war imposed by Al-Houthi team and the lust of the ousted leader to rule the Yemenis. This has caused them loads of miseries, starting from the famine which millions of Yemenis are suffering from in a country that, from the start, has been in dire need of international aid in order to grow the weary economy. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi threatens to never allow Yemen to move around the Saudi, Qatari and American orbit, as he claims. He raised his voice after Iran s tap of support started to shut gradually due to the Iranian populace s appeal to stop the wastage of millions on a terrorist group that brought nothing to their country but isolation and sanctions. Paradoxically, this agent continues to strive towards executing the Mullah s expansionism scheme with the money of Yemenis, demanding that they donate to the Central Bank after he agreed on the relocation decision submissively, like the way his Lebanese counterpart Hassan Nasrallah is currently doing to compensate for the Iranian regime s decision to stop supporting him with more narcotics trade. Continued on Page 8 ahmed@aljarallah.com Follow me on: ahmedaljarallah@gmail.com NYMEX crude $44.72 per barrel Brent crude $46.11 per barrel 3-month $ LIBOR rate % Support sought from UN member states elections due next June. Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the UN General Assembly s (UNGA) 71st session, and First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah held a series of meetings to drum up backing for the UNSC membership. His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the Amir s Representative, held a reception following his Sept 21 speech and invited heads of delegates taking part in the UNGA to discuss a host of issues including the candidacy. We consider this a launch for Kuwait s campaign for its candidacy to the international Security Council for the years , Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said in a statement to KUNA and Kuwait TV late Saturday. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled separately held over 30 meetings with senior government officials from different UN member countries. In our meetings, we exchanged views over a host of issues and Kuwait s candidacy, he said. Al-Houthi and the ousted declared bankrupt A general view taken from Kuwait City s Kipco Tower on Sept 25, shows the Arraya Tower (left), Kuwait s business trade center (right), and the Al-Tijaria Tower (top right). (AFP) Experts review request for emergency petrol session Mall dance shakes MP grilling set By Ahmed Al-Naqeeb Arab Times Staff KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: The belly dance performance of an Arabian dance troupe at the Avenues Mall during the weekend as part of the festivities organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) sparked a debate on various social media platforms over the indecency and morality of the act. The controversy even reached the parliamentary arena with MP Ali Al-Khamees disclosing his intention to grill Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Homoud. In a press statement, the MP pointed out the indecent and inappropriate act is considered a violation of the Constitution and laws of the State, as well as the Kuwaiti culture and traditions. He added this kind of act do nothing but spread corruption throughout the society, stressing it is unacceptable for a woman to dance in front of people half-naked, especially when the logo of NCCAL is displayed behind her. He asserted that the goal to make the State of Kuwait a hub for Islamic culture in 2016 cannot be achieved by showcasing indecent acts, adding that by doing this, the Constitution and the laws governing NCCAL were thrown out and the Kuwaiti culture was disrespected. He went on to clarify that this violation has given him the green light to submit an interpellation motion against the concerned minister and to get to the bottom of the issue. He said he did not move a finger Continued on Page 3 Jordanian writer shot dead at court AMMAN, Sept 25, (Agencies): A prominent Jordanian writer was shot dead Sunday on the steps of a court where he was facing charges for sharing an anti-islam cartoon on Facebook. Nahed Hattar was struck by three bullets before the alleged assassin was arrested at the scene of the shooting in Amman s central Abdali district, said the official Petra news agency. The assailant bearded and dressed in a grey dishdasha worn by conservative Muslim men shot Hattar, a 56-yearold Christian, as he made his way up the steps outside the court, a security source told AFP. Hit in the head, he was pronounced dead on arriving at hospital, the source said. The gunman, a 49-year-old resident of the capital, gave himself up to police at the court, the source added. Media reports said he was a former preacher in an Amman mosque. An AFP journalist saw blood on the steps of the building where police had cordoned off the area of the shooting. Mohammad al-jaghbir, Hattar s friend, told AFP he had witnessed the killing. We were climbing the steps when a bearded man... got a pistol out of a bag he was carrying and fired at Nahed Hattar, he said. Hattar s family said the writer had no protection despite having asked for it after receiving death threats on Facebook and by phone. Hattar was a political commentator known for his antipathy towards Islamists including Jordan s Muslim Brotherhood and also his support for Syrian Continued on Page 8 A man cleans the blood of prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar after he was shot dead outside a court in Amman where he was facing charges for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, state news agency Petra reported on Sept 25. (AFP) Details emerge on suspect Police nab gunman in US mall shooting LOS ANGELES, Sept 25, (AFP): Authorities have arrested a Turkish-born man suspected of shooting five people dead, including a teenaged cancer survivor, at a shopping mall in the US state of Washington. Police named the suspect as Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old resident of the nearby town of Oak Harbor, saying he was arrested late Saturday about 24 hours after the killings. The FBI office in Seattle said it had no evidence the shooting was terror-related. The gunman opened fire with a rifle in the makeup section of a Macy s department store late Friday, killing four women and a man, according to police. He later left the store on foot, triggering an intense manhunt. A weapon was recovered at the scene of the violence, Cascade Mall in Burlington, a town of about 8,000 people some 70 miles (110 kms) north of Seattle. Police are still trying to establish a motive. The youngest victim was named as Sarai Lara, 16, who survived cancer as a young girl. Relatives named another victim as 52-year-old Shayla Martin, who worked as a Macy s makeup artist. We re really having a tough time right now, her sister Karen Van Horn told The Seattle Times. Authorities had initially described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his late teens or early 20s. Members of the public called in with numerous tips that helped lead to the arrest, police said, adding that Cetin s family was cooperating. While Cetin was born in Turkey, he is a legal permanent resident of the United States, said Continued on Page 8 His Highness the Prime Minister, in his speech before UNGA, emphasized Kuwait s commitment to principles of UN Charter during its membership in Security Council. As I emphasize my country s commitment to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, being a small peace-loving Continued on Page 8 Inflation rises 2.9 pct in Aug KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (KUNA): The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for August 2016 recorded an increase estimated at 2.90% compared to August 2015, the Central Statistical Bureau said on Sunday. The index figure for the month recorded an increasing at 141.9, by 0.14% as a result of the rise in prices of some major groups of influential figures in the movement and low standard of some groups, it said in its monthly report. The index for the category of food and beverages increased in the month of August 2016 by 0.39%. So the annual inflation rate for this category decreased in August 2016 by 0.19% compared with August 2015, it showed. The index for the group of tobacco and narcotics stood in August 2016 at 152.5, as in the last month without any change. Its annual inflation rate increased in August 2016 by 0.53% compared with August The Index for clothing and footwear went by in August 2016 by 0.31%. Its annual inflation rate rose in August 2016 by 1.25% compared with August 2015, it added. Regarding home furnishings and equipment maintenance, the index hiked in August 2016 by 0.14%. So the annual inflation increased in August 2016 by 3. 00% compared with August 2015, the report said. The Index for health stood in August 2016 at 130.8, as in the last month without any change, and the annual inflation rate went up in August 2016 by 1. 95% compared with August Continued on Page 3 Newswatch KUWAIT CITY: The Jund al-aqsa (Jund al-aqsa is a Salafist jihadist rebel group that has been active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al- Quds, the group was founded by Abu AbdulAziz al-qatari as a sub-unit within the al- Nusra Front) announced the martyrdom of Kuwaiti Khleif Al-Anzi a.k.a Abu Faisal Al- Kuwaiti, reports Al-Rai daily quoting jihadist sources. According to the same sources, Abu Faisal arrived in Syria in 2014 and joined the al-nusra Front and after three months fell foul with the group, split and swore allegiance to Jund al-aqsa. The sources indicated Abu Faisal married a Syrian woman when he was living in Damascus and she gave birth to a baby girl. However, unlike as has been reported in some quarters, he was not a leader of any group. Earlier it was reported that the Deputy Foreign Minister for Follow-up and Coordination Affairs Ambassador Nasser Al-Sabeeh had denied the presence of any Kuwaiti fighters in Syria. However this announcement is followed by news reports coming from Hama in Syria that a Kuwaiti indentified as Khleif Al-Anzi a.k.a. Faisal Al-Kuwaiti had carried out a suicide attack in the village of Hama. TEHRAN: Iran launched production line for its first solid-fuel pin-point precision and long-range missile dubbed Zolfaqar on Sunday, according to the official news agency, IRNA. Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said during the launching ceremony of the missile that the Continued on Page 8

2 LOCAL 2 legal clinic PRO BONO LEGAL ADVICE The Kuwaiti delegation opening one of the e-libraries in the occupied territories. KUNA photo PAHW sign consultancy contract with int l firm Kuwait sets up e-libraries in palestine KUNA photo The two sides exchanging the consultancy contract documents. Kuwait Today Prayer Timings Fajr... 04:19 Sunrise... 05:38 Zohr... 11:40 Asr...15:06 Maghrib...17:40 Isha...18:57 Weather Expected weather for the next 24 hours: By Night: Fair with light to moderate north westerly wind, with speed of km/h. By Day: Hot with light to moderate freshening gradually at times north westerly wind, with speed of km/h Station Max Min Exp Rec Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait Airport Abdaly Bubyan Jahra Failaka Island Salmiyah Ahmadi Nuwaisib Wafra Salmy days forecast - Weather Monday, Sept 26 Expected weather...hot Max Temp...41C Min Temp...26C Wind Direction...NW-VRB Wind Speed km/h Tuesday, Sept 27 Expected weather...hot Max Temp...42C Min Temp...25C Wind Direction... VRB Wind Speed km/h Wednesday, Sept 28 Expected weather...hot Max Temp...42C Min Temp...26C Wind Direction...VRB-NW Wind Speed km/h Thursday, Sept 29 Expected weather... Hot + rising dust Max Temp...39C Min Temp...28C Wind Direction... NW Wind Speed km/h Marine Forecast Station Max Min Sea Today s Exp Rec Surf Waves Ht Direction South Dolphin ft SE Umm Mudayrah ft SE Beacon M ft SE Beacon N ft SE Qaruh Island ft SE Umm Al-Maradem ft SE Sea Island Buoy Salmiyah ft SE 4 days forecast - Marine Sunday, Sept 25 Expected weather...hot Monday, Sept 26 Expected weather... Hot Sea state...slight to moderate Wave height ft Max Temp... 41C Min Temp... 26C Wind Direction... NW-VRB Wind Speed km/h Tuesday, Sept 27 Expected weather... Hot Sea state...slight Wave height ft Max Temp... 42C Min Temp... 25C Wind Direction...VRB Wind Speed km/h Wednesday, Sept 28 Expected weather... Hot deaths Abdul Redal Husein Reda Husein Al Maskati, 58 years old, buried on Sunday. Condolences: (Men) Bneid Al Gar, Huseiniyat Ashour, at Asr prayers, Tel: , (women) Daiya, Block 1, Street 11, House 7, Tel: ; Nazal Mejbel Bin Akshan Al Newaim Al Azemi, 79 years old, buried on Sunday. Condolences: (Men) Ali Sabah Al Salem, Block 7, Street 8, House 243, Tel: ; Yaqoub Ibrahim Abdullah Al Yaqoub, 70 years old, buried on Sunday. Condolences: (Men) Riqqa, Block 2, St 6, House 454, Tel: (Women) Jabriya, Block 9, St 15, House 3. Fatima Husein Mula Ali Mohammad, 86 years old, widow of Abdullah Mohammad Abdullah Al Mezdi, buried on Sunday. Condolences: (Men) Salwa, Huseiniyat Sayed Mohammad, Aksa St, Tel: (Women) Rumaithiya, Huseiniyat Al Etra Al Tahera, Abu Halifa St, Avenue 101, House 16, Block 10; Bader Ahmad Othman Al Tayar, 65 years old, to be buried on Monday after Asr prayers. Condolences: (Men) Adailiya, Block 2, Abdullah Al Hajri St, House 2, Tel: (Women) Surra, Block 4, St 12, House 26. Khaleel Mahmoud Sulaiman, 82 years old, to be buried on Monday after Asr prayers. Condolences: (Men) West Mishref, Wazan Mosque, Tel: (Women) Fahaheel, Block 3, Dabous St, House 10, Tel: ; Maryam Yousef Abdul Rahman Al Thenayan, 89 years old, widow of Abdullah Sulaiman Hamad Al Qaqyan, to be buried on Monday at 09:00 am. Condolences: (Men) Faiha, Diwan Al Waqyan, Block 3, Opp. Nuzha Fire Service Dept, Tel: / , (Women) Adailiya, Block 1, Street 14, House 8, Tel: Sept 25, 2016 Sea state...slight to moderate Wave height ft Max Temp... 42C Min Temp... 26C Wind Direction... VRB-NW Wind Speed km/h Thursday, Sept 29 Expected weather...hot + rising dust Sea state...moderate to rough at times Wave height ft Max Temp... 39C Min Temp... 28C Wind Direction...NW Wind Speed km/h Tide times at Shuwaikh Port 1st high tide:...20:15 2nd high tide:...06:30 1st low tide:...13:15 2nd low tide:...01:00 Sunrise:...05:38 Sunset:...17:42 Recorded yesterday at Kuwait Airport Max temp... 41C Min temp... 28C Max Rh...36% Min Rh...11% Max Wind...N 50 km/h Total Rainfall in 24 hrs...0 mm Recorded yesterday at South Dolphin Min/Max/ Air Temp... 29/37C Min/Max Rel Hum...24/53% Wind Direction/Wind Speed..N/48 km/h Prev Wave Dir/Max Wave Ht... N/2 ft Min/Max Sea Surface Temp... 29/30 C Sea Current...Downdraft Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Meteorological Dept. KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (KUNA): The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) signed Sunday a consulting service contract with a world specialized company over five investment opportunities in Sabah Al-Ahmad City and Jaber Al-Ahmad City. The contract is part of the PAHW s blueprint purposed to improve the real estate product by means of investing unused lands, the PAHW said in a press statement. The plan aims at boosting partnership between both public and private sectors and upgrading the operating performance through a strategic drive meant to support the national economy, it added. The world company will look into investment openings financially, technically and legally, and put relevant financial structures, it pointed out. A delegation from the Kuwaiti society for aiding students and Abdulbaqi Nouri charity inaugurated on Sunday four electronic libraries at Palestinian universities in the West Bank and renovation of a school for girls in Hebron. Talal Abdulkarim, the society s chairman, told KUNA that the school was reopened after renovation, in coordination with the Al-Zaytounah Youth Society, at expense of Nouri charity. A new hall has been built and named Kuwait wing for knowledge and technology. Kuwait electronic library was launched at the universities in Jerusalem, Abu Dais, Hebron and Khaddori in Tulkarm. They were equipped with state-of-art computers and networks. The e-library includes contents of 120,000 books and 4,400 scientific references. The Kuwaiti society established 34 of such libraries in Arab countries, but the lion s share was for the Palestinians; 11 at universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Kuwaiti delegation included Mahmoud Al-Nouri, the renowned businessman Adnan Al-Bahar and Abdulrahman Jamal Al-Nouri. The society has granted teaching scholarships to the Palestinians since MEW conducts surprise raids By Muhammad Ghanem Al-Seyassah Staff KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: A team from the Consumers Affairs Department in the Ministry of Electricity and Water, headed by Director Salem Al- Qasba, conducted surprise inspection campaigns in Hawally and Salmiya to uncover violations and inform the building owners on the need to follow proper procedures in connecting electricity. These campaigns resulted in the registration of a number of violations and immediate power supply cut off for those who connected their electricity illegally as a preliminary step towards referring them to the Public Prosecution. Al-Qasba revealed the campaigns shall continue to raise awareness among the owners of buildings and the tenants about the proper way of connecting electricity, particularly the installation of electric meters in each flat or shop. He pointed out the campaigns are in compliance with the directives of Electricity and Water Minister Eng Ahmed Al-Jassar and the undersecretary who has been tasked to follow up the issue. He added the new electricity charges for the commercial sector will be enforced on May 22, I am working in a contracting company running governmental projects. I was recently hired for one project and unfortunately the current news is that this project has been cancelled. I was hired locally and the current company is my 3rd employer. I am a graduate degree holder with attested certificates. I have two queries. 1. Will I be able to get a release & transfer my residence if the company terminates my employment before the completion of one year. If not, can I apply legally for the release? 2. Will I be able to get a release and transfer my residence if I resign before 1 year; If not, can I apply legally for the release? If required to apply legally whom should I approach. Name withheld Answer: As you were a local hire you will be able to transfer to another firm, regardless of whether you get a release or not, if your services are terminated. You will, however, not be entitled to any release if you resign before completion of one year. So, in case of resignation, you must wait for the completion of the year. In case of any problems, if you are denied your rights, you should file a complaint with the Labor Office in you area. No salaries I am a specialized Indian dentist working in a private clinic in Kuwait since June 1st of this year. It has been three months since I joined this clinic. I have not been paid a single month s salary yet. Though I have been asking about this from my employer almost every other day, he just responds by asking me to wait. I also have a salary account with a private bank here, but with no salary deposited so far. I find it very difficult to wait any longer and I wish to get a release from here and also my pending salary. Can you please advise me what I must do? Name withheld Answer: You should approach the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor by filing a complaint with the Labor Office in your area. Companies are required, by Kuwait Labor Law (Article 56), to pay the salaries of their employees by the 7th of each month and legal action on complaints can be taken against those firms which are in violation of this law. In case the company continues to take the same course and fails to pay your salaries, legal action can be initiated against the firm. On the same complaint the ministry can if it deems necessary also sanction your release so that you can join another firm. Dependents visa I am now living in Kuwait. My husband and I are divorced and I would like to bring my 2 children to Kuwait, ages 4 and 7. He has given me his consent. I am a teacher and my salary is KD 650 per month. Can I bring them in on a visitor s visa and convert it to a residency permit? If so, how can I bring them into Kuwait to live with me and attend school? Name withheld Answer: You shouldn t have any difficulty in getting your children to Kuwait and also sponsor them as your dependents. Although women are not allowed to sponsor their children as dependents, exceptions have been made in the law for widows and divorcees. All you need is the divorce certificate, attested by the foreign ministry of your country, followed by attestation of the same by your embassy in Kuwait and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry in Shuwaikh. Your salary is more than enough but the same should be mentioned on your work permit to make your case strong. You should also have your own accommodation, with the rental contract preferably in your name. All you need are the photocopies of the passports of your children, the divorce certificate, copies of the work permit, Civil ID, rental contract and the permission from your ex-husband (attested by the foreign ministry in your country, your embassy in Kuwait and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry in Shuwaikh). Attach all these to an application and submit the same to the Immigration Department in your area. You should not have any difficulty in getting the dependent visas. Please, however, don t get them here on visit visas because you can t convert these to dependent visas. This is not allowed, with the only exception being infants (children two years old and under). Driving license I have driving license issued in 2003 when my position was that of a driver. The license will expire in January My current position is merchandizer. Can I renew my license without any issue? Name withheld Answer: No, unfortunately, you will not be able to renew your license because of the change in your job status. All expatriates, who got their driving licenses when their job status was driver, lose these licenses when there is a change in their job designations on the work permits. The law is very strict on the issue. House keys According to my contract, my (school) employer provides accommodation, but takes one of the three keys to my apartment. Is this legal? Name withheld Answer: Lawyers are split on this issue but it s only because they don t differentiate between various situations. But before we go on, we would like to stress that the school is right in your case up to a limit. But please read on to understand why. People say that when you rent rooms in hotels or various lodges, the landlords or owners have a copy of the keys. So, what is the harm in the landlord keeping a copy of the keys in such cases like yours or even other flats which are rented out, they add. But all things are not as black and white as these appear. There are basically two situations: one, in which you rent a room and sign a tenancy agreement and secondly where a person is only given the right to use a room or flat, like in your case. When you sign a tenancy agreement, you are deemed to own that property for the duration of the agreement. You have also the right to change the locks and not provide a copy of the new keys to the owner of the building. Having said that, please remember that landlords or owners of buildings do not have the right to enter any building without the permission of the tenant regardless of the fact whether the building has been rented out or been given to expatriates as free accommodation, like in your case. Even if the landlord includes a clause in your contract which says that he has the right to enter the accommodation whenever he likes, this is illegal and will not stand in any court of law. Even in cases of emergency, the permission of the law is needed to enter any flat or building. It is to the landlord s benefit not to enter any accommodation without permission because if anything goes missing he can be accused of theft and he can t justify his intrusion in any court of law. So, while the landlord may have the right to keep copies of keys in cases where people are given the right to only use the accommodation, he doesn t have any right to enter the premises without your permission. Work permit problem I would like to ask for help for my problem. I am joining a new company and I have submitted my current working permit but the company which I am joining requires the old working permit which was issued 7 years back. I went to the company where I worked 7 years ago and asked for a copy of my work permit but unfortunately my file has already been disposed off. Where can I get the copy of the work permit. Name withheld Answer: First of all we don t understand why your company needs the old work permit. There is no requirement for it. In case, for some reason, it continues to stress the issue it can obtain the work permit plus all other records related to your residence from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The ministry will make this records accessible to the company if required but not to you. So, ask your company to approach the ministry. Maternity leave I am working in a private clinic as a Staff Nurse. Regarding maternity leave our new supervisor says only for the first pregnancy and delivery is the 68 days maternity leave applicable. For the second pregnancy and delivery only 30 days of maternity leave can be given as per the ministry rule. And he allows us to take only 30 days maternity leave after the second delivery. I think this is not correct. Name withheld Answer: The company is lying because the Kuwait Labor Law does not differentiate first, second or third pregnancies. Article 24 of the Kuwait Labor Law clearly states that A pregnant woman shall be entitled to a paid maternity leave of 70 days not included in other leaves, provided she gives birth within this period. This means you can get your annual leave also even after availing the maternity leave in a particular year. Well, according to the law, you can have as many children as you want and for each pregnancies you are entitled to 70 days paid leave. So, the company can t stop you from getting that 70 days (not 68 or 30 days) maternity leave. If the company does not give you that leave, you can file a complaint with the Labor Office in your area. In hot soup My brother, working in Kuwait, was robbed by a Kuwaiti man in police dress during residency checking in Mangaf area in The man also took the Civil ID. We lodged a complaint with the police at that time and got a new Civil ID issued. To our dismay, we found that someone has used that old Civil ID to purchase some products from a mobile telephone company, which claimed money from my brother. We gave the details to the mobile telephone company and provided all the documentation like police complaint and proof of my brother being outside Kuwait during the time of purchase. The company seemed to accept our explanation and informed us they would clear the dues against my brother. Now, we have found that the company has filed a case and got a travel ban on my brother and is asking him to pay KD 642 including all the penalties. We found this while planning to travel to India. We are not sure how the company can sell a device/service when the person who took the service and the photo in the Civil ID is different? The signature on the application itself is in Arabic with a Civil ID of an Indian national. It is the company s mistake to sell some merchandise to a person carrying someone else s Civil ID how can they file a case even after we had submitted all the papers they asked for? Your feedback in the above case will be highly helpful. Name withheld Answer: The mobile telephone company is totally wrong in this case and you should take legal action against this firm. Once you have provided all the information on the theft of your Civil ID card, the company has no right to take any action against you nor hold you responsible for any equipment it sold to a person who was carrying a copy of your card without verification of the document. There are two things you can do: 1. File a complaint with the Consumer Protection Society. 2. File a case in court against the mobile telephone company. In this case you will need a lawyer to fight your case. If you can t afford one, you should approach the Kuwait Lawyers Society which may depute a lawyer to take your case. You have all the documents to prove that you did not make the purchase from the mobile telephone company. You also have a copy of the police report which clearly states that the card was stolen much before the transaction between the thief and the mobile telephone company took place. The problem here lies in the fact that some companies try to cover up their mistakes by blaming others. In your case the company could have easily checked that the person carrying your Civil ID card was clearly not the owner of the card. Had it fulfilled this basic requirement it could have saved a lot of trouble for everyone. Now, you have got to fight back by filing a complaint against this firm with the Consumer Protection Society or by filing a case in court. Indemnity Can you please let me how to calculate my service indemnity. Salary KD 450. Car allowance KD75. Petrol they give me a card twice a month (KD 15 each). Having been working for more then 13 years. We get a bonus every year but not a fixed amount. Can you please help me in calculating my indemnity, according to the Kuwait Labor Law. Name withheld Answer: According to the Kuwait Labor Law the indemnity should be calculated by using the latest remuneration (although most companies are in violation of the Kuwait Labor Law by using the basic salary) which includes the basic salary plus all the allowances given at regular intervals. In fact, the latest bonus is also included in the remuneration. This is added to the monthly salary after dividing it by 12 (number of months). So, all the allowances you are getting will be added to your salary to arrive at the remuneration. We, however, can t calculate your indemnity as you have not mentioned how much bonus you got this year. The Arab Times invites questions on all aspects of Kuwaiti law. If you face a problem, or need specific advice on any legal matter, from commercial and investment law to divorce and labour, send questions to the Managing Editor, Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, Safat, Kuwait, or Fax to arabtimes@arabtimesonline.com

3 LOCAL 3 HH the Deputy Amir audience His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace on Sunday Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. His Highness the Deputy Amir, also received Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Left to right: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah with Interior Minister, Defence Minister and Oil Minister. Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Oil Anas Al-Saleh, Acting National Assembly Speaker MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi, and Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al- Sabah. Kuwait s $2 billion initiative in African continent bearing fruit 1 mln financial award in name of late Al-Sumait announced KUNA photos Top: His Highness the Deputy Amir receives acting NA Speaker and (above) Information Minister at Seif Palace. Humanitarian role lauded Ban commends Kuwait for hosting of Yemen peace talks Inflation rises NEW YORK, Sept 25, (KUNA): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday commended Kuwait s efforts to spread peace globally, manifested recently by hosting peace talks among the Yemeni parties. Ban, during a meeting with Kuwait s First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- Sabah at the UN, said Kuwait s international humanitarian role has contributed to alleviating suffering of millions of people and devastated areas around the world. Ban said the UN would exert every possible effort to implement Security Council resolutions, namely those related to the fate of Kuwaiti prisoners and missing in Iraq, as well as the national archive of the State of Kuwait. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled commended the constructive role of Ban during his two-term tenure in office. Ban s tenure is set to end by end of this year. The meeting was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister for Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled s office Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwait s permanent representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi and Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations Nasser Al-Haayyen. Continued from Page % compared with August Concerning transport, the index stood in August 2016 at 122.9, as in the last month without any change, and the annual inflation rate dropped in August 2016 by 1.92% compared with August The index of communication stood in August 2016 at 101.5, as in the last month without any change, so the annual inflation rate increased in August 2016 by 0.40% compared with August 2015, it added. Recreation and Culture index stood in August 2016 at 128.8, as in the last month without any change. So its annual inflation rate increased in August 2016 by 0.70% compared with August The education category index stood in August 2016 at 139.6, as in the last month without any change, and its annual inflation rate went up in August 2016 by 3.48% compared with August 2015, the report indicated. Restaurants and hotels category index stood in August 2016 at 143.8, as in the last month without any change. So the annual inflation rate rose in August 2016 by 4.05% compared with August The index of the category of miscellaneous goods and services increased in August 2016 by 0.45%, so its annual inflation went up by 1.77% in August 2016 compared with August Mall dance shakes Continued from Page 1 while determining proper channels for realizing the objectives of NCCAL. In another development, acting Speaker of the Parliament MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi disclosed that constitutional experts are currently reviewing the request for an emergency session to discuss the petrol price hike. He said the experts are looking into the constitutionality of the motion, taking into consideration that three MPs put their official stamps instead of signing the petition. Asked about the date of the session, the acting speaker explained that the submission of a request does not mean completion of the process the next day, as there are other steps which must be taken. He revealed the most important of these steps is the issuance of a decree by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to initiate a non-ordinary parliamentary term to pave the way for an emergency session. NEW YORK, Sept 25, (KUNA): Kuwait expressed commitment towards its $2 billion initiative in the African continent. The Assistant Foreign Minister for Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled s office Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah updated the Fourth Arab African Coordination Committee Ministerial Meeting on Saturday on proceeding of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah s initiative. Regarding the first $ one billion, Sheikh Dr Ahmad said Kuwait Fund for Economic Development (KFAED) has cooperated with 30 African country (almost 70 percent of the continent) in the development aspect, and has paid $700 million through different project. These projects include the establishment of roads, power stations, schools, hospitals, irrigation, agriculture and more. The Kuwaiti official called on the other African countries to benefit of this initiative and grant soft loans. As for the other part of the initiative-his Highness the Amir s initiative to commit $one billion to investment guarantees in Africa- Sheikh Dr Ahmad Al-Nasser said that since the announcement the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has been investing the funds in infrastructure projects in collaboration with the World Bank. So far, the amount of $484 million, almost half of the amount, has been spent on infrastructure, power, industry as well as other projects in the African continent. His Highness the Amir also announced that the State of Kuwait intends to earmark an annual financial award of $ one million, in the name of the late Dr Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, focusing on development research in Africa. The Kuwaiti top diplomat said the awards implementation is supervised by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. The First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has been chosen as chairman of the board of trustees of the Award, as well as other high-profile board members as the Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) Abdulateef Al-Hamad, and Bill Gates from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the largest private foundation in the world. The board of trustees convened its first meeting on December 7, 2015 in Kuwait where they have set up the mechanism of prizegiving, and the announcement of the winner of the 2015 award. Sheikh Dr Ahmad Al-Nasser said the Arab African Coordination Committee have announced that the 2016 prize will be given on the sidelines of the upcoming summit, due in Equatorial Guinea in November Late Dr Al-Sumait KUNA photos Top: Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah with Thailand s Don Pramudwinai and (above), with Kuwaiti diplomats in New York. Kuwait s FM meets Thai counterpart, diplomats Kuwait s First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met in New York Saturday with Foreign Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai. The top diplomats met on sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), where they discussed the preparations of the 2nd Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit that will take place in October 10th, in Bangkok, Thailand. Both sides also discussed ways of promoting bilateral relations in different domains, in addition to matters of interests to the two countries. The meeting was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister for Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled s office Ambassador Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwait s permanent representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi, and Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations Nasser Al-Hayyen. First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah called on Kuwaiti diplomats Saturday to represent their country in the best way possible. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled talked about Kuwait s foreign policies and its objectives during a meeting with a group of diplomats attending the UN General Assembly s (UNGA) 71st session. Kuwait s permanent representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi thanked Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled for his remarks and underlined importance of full commitment in the service of Kuwait. The meeting was held at the Kuwait mission to the UN. (KUNA) Move paves for investments: Al-Manfouhi Allowing foreign builders to own building under study KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Kuwait Municipality Director Eng Ahmed Al-Manfouhi has unveiled a new position towards the decree on constructing skyscrapers according to Municipality Law No. 33/2016, reports Al-Rai daily. In a press statement, Al-Manfouhi explained this step will pave way for investments and to put Kuwait back to its pioneering position among the Gulf countries, especially since Kuwait is working on the historic trading road that joins the East and the West the Silk Road. He revealed the project includes studying the possibility of allowing foreign investors to own buildings in Kuwait, indicating this position is in line with the desire of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to transform Kuwait into an international commercial and financial center. He admitted this step is somehow late compared to other Gulf countries, citing as an example South Manhattan as it used to be an isolated area which turned into one of the richest places throughout the world after the construction of skyscrapers. He pointed out the project could be implemented through two axes: First is determining the areas for constructing skyscrapers according to the fourth construction plan that includes putting those areas under one name financial centers. Second is the duty of the private sector to pay for the development of infrastructure, e-system for visa 20 renewal soon KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: The Ministry of Interior will soon launch an electronic system for the renewal of domestic worker visas (Article 20), reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. Sources pointed out this will expedite the processing of domestic work visa renewal applications as well as reduce the crowd in the Residence Department and service centers. Minister of Communications and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Essa Al-Kandari has approved the retirement of 27 directors and supervisors in Kuwait Municipality effective January 2017, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources. Sources stressed the decision is final and none of the above-mentioned officials will be allowed to return to their posts. while the owners will be given the license to construct additional floors to expand the benefits for owners of skyscrapers. He said the decree will include a stipulation on providing the required facilities like parks, as well as specifying the number of floors based on the size of the land. Briefs CREDENTIALS: Kuwait s new Ambassador to Iraq Salem Ghassab Al-Zamanan has submitted his credentials to Iraqi President Fuad Masoum, succeeding Ambassador Ghassan Al-Zawawi. Speaking to KUNA after submitting his credentials, Al-Zamanan said he had conveyed greetings from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the Iraqi president, wishing Iraq more security, stability and progress. Al-Zamanan had presented a copy of his credentials to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, becoming Kuwait s third ambassador since both neighbors resumed their bilateral relations. (KUNA) ENCOURAGE: Ambassador of Senegal to Kuwait and Dean of Diplomatic Corps Abdou Lahad Mbacke said there are no Senegalese domestic workers in Kuwait as his country does not encourage its female citizens to work abroad especially since their salaries at home are higher than those offered by employers in other countries, reports Al-Rai daily. In a statement to the daily, the Ambassador affirmed the support of 54 African countries for Kuwait to obtain a seat in the Security Council for the year 2018/2019. He added Kuwait supported his country when the latter got the same seat in the year 2016/2017, indicating Kuwait s First Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid played a significant role in this regard. WELCOME: Kuwait University s Afaq Newsletter has released the slogan for the Golden Jubilee celebration of the university on the first page of its current edition to welcome freshmen of 2016/2017, shedding light on the significance of the event. In the editorial, Editor-in-Chief Dr Bader Nasser Al-Hajj went to the memory lane to reveal that the university had received the first batch of 418 male and female students with 31 teaching staff on October 8, He compared the number to 5,732 new students resuming for the first semester on Sunday with 1491 academic staff, 585 support academic staff and 164 language teachers. The newsletter placed beside the slogan the historical photo of the university gate in 1966 with late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al- Sabah who inaugurated the institution on November 27, COMMITTEE: The ninth session of the joint Kuwaiti-Algerian ministerial committee will be held in Algeria from Sept 27 to Sept 29. The Algerian Minister of Finance Hajji Baba Ammi will head the Algerian side, while the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and acting Minister of Oil Anas Al- Saleh will be leading the Kuwaiti delegation to the meeting. The committee holds regular meetings to discuss issues of mutual concern covering economy, finance, commerce, in addition to cooperation in the fields of oil, gas and energy. It also discussed tourism, transport, agriculture, and affairs of culture, youth and education. Representatives of some local establishments will also participate in the session. CONFIRMED: Assistant Undersecretary for Road Engineering Affairs at the Ministry of Public Works Eng Ahmad Al-Hesan has confirmed the start of preparation of documents for the construction and maintenance of roads, sewage lines and drainage systems in East Sulaibikhat, reports Al-Rai daily. In a press statement, Al-Hesan disclosed a consultancy company is involved in the preparations before transmitting the documents to the supervisory authorities. He said the ministry has just completed the floating of tenders for the construction and maintenance of roads, sewage lines and drainage systems in East Jahra, while it is waiting for awarding of the contracts once approval is obtained from all concerned authorities.

4 LOCAL 4 Call to step up trade ties Real partnership NEW YORK, Sept 25, (KUNA): Kuwait said Saturday the Arab and African countries should step up economic cooperation as well as plan a new approach for the common future based on genuine partnership. First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, in a speech while co-chairing a Ministerial meeting of the Arab-African Partnership Coordination Committee, said the private sector should contribute actively in the promotion of Arab-African economic relations. He reiterated Kuwait s belief in the strategic importance of Arab-African partnership and has been contributing to the development of the least developed countries for years. He noted initiative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which he launched at the November 2012 Arab- African summit, to allocate USD one billion for development projects in Africa, another USD one billion for investment in African countries through international financial institutions, as well as a USD million prize after late Dr Abdulrahman Al- Sumait for research in food, health and education in African. The meeting is the last before the 4th Arab-African summit, due in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, on Nov 23. Kuwait co-chaired the 3rd summit with Ethiopia over the past three years, during which we worked hard for the success of the resolutions of the summit, along with constructive and positive cooperation by the League of Arab States and the Commission of the African Union, said Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled. The senior Kuwaiti official commended the Arab League and the African Union for supporting the partnership, wishing success for the Malabo summit, to be held under the theme Together for a sustainable development and economic cooperation. DIWANIYA A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION Philosopher forgotten by Arabs Ibn Rushd: road to future AVERROES is the Latinized name of Ibn Rushd, the Arab and Muslim scientist philosopher and physician, columnist Ahmad Al-Sarraf wrote for Al- Qabas daily Sunday. Ibn Rushd was deemed as the pilot in terms of promoting enlightenment in his age. Recently the West celebrated the 890th anniversary of his birthday in appreciation of the role he played to rescue the Europeans from the darkness of fanaticism and ignorance, and bringing them out in the openness of knowledge and enlightenment. Unlike the Europeans, the Arabs neglected Ibn Rushd or Averroes although he was one of them. To the contrary they fought him and it is surprising that we don t see any street or an edifice built in his name in any Muslim country. But in Kuwait an elementary school is named after this famed scientist, philosopher and physician in addition to a small street in the Hawalli Governorate. Ibn Rushd or Averroes, whom the Belgian- American chemist and historian George Alfred Leon Sarton in his book The Introduction to the Science History described as one of the great Muslim philosophers said he is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science who had a significant effect on the European philosophers more than the Greek philosopher Aristotle. As a matter of fact, Ibn Rushd and other Muslim scientists such as Al-Farabi, Ibn Al-Haitham, Al- Kendi, Avescina and so on, represent a predicament or a political, religious and a moral dilemma for many people, simply because they still represent the remaining part of pride of the Muslims in the entire world in the current age of deterioration. Certainly these philosophers and scientists represent the civilized humanitarian image of Islam although all of them were exposed to some form of torture, some were killed in a brutal manner and others were tortured and exiled to live away from their homelands. Al-Sarraf Not just that, they were even deprived of their right to write and speak, just because they had actually preceded their age in their scientific opinions, philosophies and their medical discoveries. And because all these achievements contradicted the then ignorance, fanaticism and backwardness that prevailed during their time because their rulers at that time did not prefer reasonable and scientific logic. In this context, we suggest if we follow the example of our friend and colleague Sami Abdullatif Al-Nisf and pay a visit to any library in any European university, we shall find a lot of books that were authored by Ibn Rushd which escaped the destructive hand of his age Muslims, because there was no difference between the latter and the contemporary backward people even after the passage of time -- nine hundred years since the birth of Ibn Rushd. As a matter of fact, history suggests Ibn Rushd was one of the founders of the Free Thought, because this man opened the doors for research and knowledge before the European scientists. Moreover, the role he played to rescue Europe from the age of backwardness to the realm of the free thought. Hence, we suggest we shall not be in a position to come out from the atmosphere of darkness, prevention and prohibition unless we read the thought of this philosopher and abide by his principles instead of naming a pharmacy after his name, for instance, as some people have done. In this context, we cite what was once said by Ibn Rushd trafficking in religion is the lucrative business of the ignorant communities. If you want to dominate ignorance you have to seal the wrong logic in a religious envelope. Meanwhile, he said a beard does not make you a philosopher. He added science during the term of expatriation represents a homeland, but ignorance in the homeland represents an expatriation. The wisdom is the owner and the stepsister of the Sharia, because both wisdom and the Sharia are close friends in terms of essence and tendency. On the other hand, it is known that some of the Salafist currents should be held accountable for killing and burying the thoughts of Ibn Rushd and as such these currents are responsible for our backwardness, because they adopted the so-called ex-communication ideology based on declaring the Jews, the Christians, the Shiites and the Sufis as infidels and as such they should not be buried in the Muslim cemeteries or pray for them or employ them to protect Islamic frontiers. Also: The former US Secretary of State Dr Henry Kissinger is not the one who created the term Incomplete War although he had repeatedly used it in his speeches during shuttle trips to promote peace in the Middle East during the 1970s, columnist Khaled Abdulaziz Al-Saad wrote for Al-Seyassah daily Sunday. During that time, Kissinger was actually behaving as if he was not tasked to serve the US diplomacy but rather he was trying to play a historical role. This happened although he suffered during his childhood in Germany just because he was a Jew. On the other hand, we say the term incomplete war means the rainbow has forever remained half circle. During some wars, many developments have surprised the planners. In this context, we cite what was once attributed to the former US Secretary of Defense during the reign of former president George W. Bush Jr who once was quoted as saying, the success of the theoretical planning in the operation room and on the maps will not necessarily conduce to the success in the field and as such, the military experts used to say surgical operation was the best way for success of the patient, but patient died. Anyway, it looks like the efforts exerted by Kissinger and other military research centers which had directed their efforts to reinforce the ethnic identity at the expense of national identity or rather these efforts were mostly based on nullifying the national identity. In this context, we say the term Cold War, actually represented the age of ethnic identities to such an extent we have observed that following the end of this war the ethnic minorities started calling for independence and this required among other things the drawing up of a new world map. Speaking of the Arab world, we have observed that the ethnic minorities in this part of the world are currently involved in endless arguments. Take for example the case of the Sudan where South dismembered from the North thus cutting this unified nation into two parts. Not just that, this Sudan is likely to witness another division the East and the West going their way and this is applicable to Syria, Iraq and Libya in addition to Egypt and Yemen. The government welcomes parliamentary questions while the minister of finance considers them an opportunity to clarify the financial reform processes. This happens as if the government has no media or satellite channels or as if the press conferences have been extended, columnist Talal Al- Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily. The minister seems so confident that the parliamentary questions will not be a threat for him and he considers them a golden chance for the winner to impose his conditions on the loser. It is strange that the minister takes advantage of the parliamentary questions which reflect the suffering of citizens. I am 100 percent sure that none of the MPs will be able to collect 10 signatures to push for the vote of no confidence. If this issue was raised in the Parliament of 1992 or 1996, the minister would have been frightened even before he reaches the National Assembly site. He might submit his resignation before the day of questioning if he is not reshuffled. The overseas treatment MPs are keeping silent and this is the natural attitude considering the gains they received. Moreover, some ministers have embraced those MPs before their voters who became aware that there is nothing called injection of courage or anti-fear pill which the MPs can take in order to stop any minister from going beyond his limits. The MPs usually take one step forward and then two steps backward. They are aware of their constitutional tools but they cannot use such tools due to fear of affecting personal benefits that became much more important to them than the interests of citizens. If this situation occurred in the past, the government would have never welcomed parliamentary questions. The Kuwait exchange market (bourse) which was one of the best and most effective market at one time, has become a tragedy after the fake and illusory companies became part of the market in the absence of strict laws and punishments for the wrong doers, columnist Dr Salah Al-Ateeqi wrote for Al-Qabas daily. Once the bourse was affected by this climate the dealers who got involved in these fake companies began looting the good-hearted people right and left and cheated them in every possible manner. To add insult to injury some people traded in religion to pass their commercial transactions and cheated others and people who trusted them became the losers. There is no doubt the Kuwaiti bourse now suffers the most from severe and untreatable disease, because now it is a strange market because we witness the slump every five years. General David H. Petraeus, who served as Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, was asked about the US positive approach towards Shiite Muslims in Iraq and abandonment of the Sunnis although they are the majority in Iraq, columnist Dr AbdulRahman Al-Huweil wrote for Al-Anba daily. The general s response was: It is because the Shiites have a physical address in Iran that I can resort to when needed address here means leadership whereas the Sunnis have thousands of addresses, not one which he can resort to when the need arises. As the liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul by Iraqi forces approaches, the term ISIS is almost nonexistent when talking about this city. This means an organized mission to purge and expel the Sunnis. Unfortunately, clarity has been lost between allegations and falsifications, as the only thing certain is that bloodshed will occur on both sides regardless of the situation. Whoever reads a book about Kuwait s cultural history written by Dr Khalifa Al-Waqyan will understand that citizens are freedom conscious from the inception of the nation three centuries or more ago, Dr Najem Abdul-Kareem wrote for Al-Jarida daily. Kuwaitis started defending their territorial integrity from foreign invaders who tried to use faith as cover to import strange ideologies, which Kuwaitis found unsuitable for their mode of worship. Any person who reads the books published by Kuwaitis in and outside the country since the early last century will discover that Kuwaitis strongly hold on to freedom of opinion in their writings, and Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al-Rushaid is the best example in that concern. Great poets such as Al-Shebib, Al-Nisf, Al- Askar and others did not only write to support the freedom of Kuwait but those of Arabs and other nationalities across the world. The strangest aspect is that some people having politicized Islam in Kuwait rained abuses and curses on me at their social media sites. Many of them have said unprintable things about me, even if they know they are merely following foreign agenda. They would have compared the level of freedom the countries of their principals enjoy to that of Kuwait, in order to realize the level of catastrophe they have fallen into only if they are reasonable enough. Compiled by Zaki Taleb

5 LOCAL 5 Bid to combat terrorist thoughts Ministries promote peace KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (KUNA): The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs coordinate to promote intellectual moderation and peace advocacy among students in the country, affirmed the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Bader Al-Essa. The two departments cooperate in the combat against terrorist thoughts by urging the students to accept others of different communities as well as accepting the other s opinion, said the minister in statement after his visit to schools on start of the new academic year. He praised the Ministry s efforts for making this academic year better than those of the past, expressing satisfaction in particular for including the French language in curriculum of grade seven. Group photo from the event. Survey reveals lack of Article 53 awareness Holistic approach eyed By Chaitali B. Roy Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Abolish 153 in partnership with Kuwait Society for Human Rights announced the crucial findings of a nationwide survey gauging public opinion on violence against women to a sizeable audience at the headquarters of Kuwait Society for Human Rights in Shuwaikh on Saturday, Sept 24 at 6 pm. The survey questions were developed with the expertise of Dr Justin Gengler, research program manager at the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University and author of a new publication Group Conflict and Political Mobilization in Bahrain and the Arab Gulf: Rethinking the Rentier State. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Violence against women is a global, universal issue. At times, it is invisible and it is an insidious violation of human rights with serious impact on the health and well-being of the victims and the children who are exposed to it and ultimately the broader community. Abolish 153 is an awareness campaign started by a group of committed Kuwaiti women to abolish Article 153, a controversial article in Kuwait s penal code that supports domestic violence and gives men power over female family members. The main objective of this campaign is to raise awareness around and ultimately abolish Article 153 from the Kuwait penal code, which allows the killing of mothers, daughters, sisters and wives based on honour. While lobbying for changing the law in Kuwait, the campaign hopes to form coalitions across the GCC and Arab countries where similar laws exist and transform the Abolish movement into a regional demand, informed Sheikha Lulu Al Sabah, co-founder of the Abolish 153 movement. Survey In July 2016, a nationally- representative public opinion survey was undertaken to better understand the knowledge of Kuwaitis and their attitudes toward domestic violence and honour killing in general, and Article 153 in particular. The survey was conducted by a professional survey company that conducts research on public policy issues and attitudes and behaviours of citizens and consumers. The survey was carried out by telephone and includes a total of 1,050 citizen respondents. Kuwaiti citizens above the age of 21 were selected at random by random digital dialing from a comprehensive national frame. The survey touched on a range of topics related directly and indirectly to Article 153. These included views about domestic violence or other social issues; attitudes toward women; views about violence against women in the case of adultery; support for a law permitting violence against women in the case of adultery; general interest and involvement in politics; and voting behaviour. Also, the survey collected relevant demographic data on the respondents that could help explain variation in attitudes. The first of its kind not only in Kuwait but the rest of the Gulf, the survey identifies attitudes and some areas of concern about the views of young people on violence. When questioned about findings on societal attitude in general, Dr Justin Gengler said The survey was carried out on the topic of gender violence concerning Article 153 specifically. The other questions I referenced were potential explanators of attitudes or demographic and socio-economic indicators and also general perceptions of women rights. We did not dwell on other cases of violence like domestic violence. We tried to make the questions less sensitive so that the overall survey was perceived as more benign than it might have been otherwise. Interestingly a survey pre-test revealed that public knowledge of Article 153 is very low: as few as 5 percent of respondents indicated that they knew of the specific law. Therefore, the final survey avoided specific reference to the Article itself, asking citizens instead about the specific case it deals with, namely the punishment of a woman caught in the act of adultery. Most Kuwaitis do not realize that Article 153 exist specifically, shared Dr Gengler. People simply don t have knowledge of the law. Perhaps, it can be assumed that because honour killing is uncommon in Kuwait, unlike countries like Jordan thus accounting for a general lack of awareness. Impact The survey results regarding the impact of age on views toward honour killing (or more accurately honour violence ) are notable in several respects. First, the substance of this relationship differs according to respondent gender. Moreover, the functional form of the relationship also differs by gender. In the case of Kuwaiti men, the link is essentially linear, with support peaking at the youngest age category of and thereafter declining regularly. Among women, on the other hand, the relationship is U-shaped, with support again highest among the age group but then dropping precipitously among Kuwaiti women aged between around 35 and 55. The survey results give an interesting insight into the knowledge and attitudes of Kuwaiti citizens. According to the survey, two thirds (63%) of Kuwaitis do not support a law such as Article 153. About twice as many people strongly oppose it than strongly support it. Opponents of the law participate in parliamentary elections more frequently than do supporters, and interestingly, 86% of Kuwaitis are not aware that the law exists either by name or in terms of general provisions. Anoud Al Sharekh, a founding member of Abolish 153, said, There is a lack of awareness, but there is also the tendency to sweep the issue under the carpet and engage in the idea that it doesn t exist. Speaking of plans based on this survey, Anoud said, We are planning to publish a more academic study looking at the variables. At this stage, we have done a short report based on the survey findings, but we are hoping to expand it into a more academic publication which will look into minute details. Prevention of violence against women requires genuine innovation in terms of both program development and research. The recent survey laid stress on issues related to Abolish 153, but it would be interesting to see a more holistic approach to the issue which is a serious social and public health concern and rooted in gender inequality. Perhaps, this will help to work out a comprehensive and coordinated response across sectors and levels of society that is informed by strong evidence and international best practice.

6 LOCAL 6 Be alert and show wisdom in traffic congestion minister Top officers asked to be on roads during rush hour KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah has called for officers of the traffic, public security and rescue departments to be on the alert and exhibit exceptional wisdom and experience in dealing with emergency traffic congestion, reports Al-Seyassah daily. In a statement released by the Public Relations and Security Media Department after Sheikh Khalid s visit to the headquarters of General Traffic Department Sunday at the beginning of the scholastic year, he was quoted as urging senior officers and administrators to be present on the roads each day. He asked the officers not to limit the action to the beginning of the academic year. He stressed the political leadership gives necessary support to the security apparatus to ensure their assignments for maintaining safety and security in the country are successful. He reaffirmed the leadership is highly committed to finding a lasting solution to the recurrent traffic problems. He expressed appreciation to traffic officers for their hard work and encouraged them to put more efforts to break the jinx. He revealed consistent coordination at the highest level among the General Traffic KUNA photo Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during his visit to the headquarters of Traffic Department at the beginning of new scholastic year. KAC worker in cash scam Over 100,000 domestics hold licences KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs at the Ministry of Interior Major-General Fahd Al-Shuwea has confirmed more than 100,000 Asian domestic workers hold driving licences, reports Al-Rai daily. He said these people obtained the licences before the Ministerial Decree No. 5598/2014, was issued which specifies the categories of professionals who are eligible to obtain the driving licences. The decree also states the driving licence will be linked to the validity of the residence permit and certain licences can be withdrawn following the change in profession. Al-Shuwea said the Asians took advantage of the easy conditions for obtaining drivers licenses which are valid for 10 years and then changed their professions and the sponsors. He added, there is no legal justification to withdraw the licences now except in the case of violation of the residence law and following their deportation from the country. KAC worker held: An employee of the Kuwait Airways Corporation has been arrested for embezzling KD 53,000 reports Al-Rai daily. According to security sources the employee was in charge of serving the travel needs of the oil sector and he, with the assistance of some employees (the daily did not mention which employees) is said to have embezzled the money. According to reliable sources, the employee received the money and also sent the bill to the oil company. The case has been referred to the Public Prosecution. Department, General Department for Rescue Police and Public Security Sector to manage the intersections, roads and schools. He observed that such a constructive coordination is in the interest of citizens and expatriates, while it improves the traffic performance. He stressed over 480 patrol teams manned security Sunday morning on the major roads and schools to ensure a hitch-free resumption for the new academic year. In a speech, Director of Operations at the General Traffic Department Colonel Yousef Al-Khaddah briefed the minister about the surveillance and traffic control operations. He disclosed that 90 fixed surveillance cameras are on the roads to monitor speed limit while 123 cameras are at the traffic lights, in addition to 18 mobile speed limit surveillance cameras and 79 security surveillance cameras. He also said there are 21 variable message boards, in addition to 231 intersections linked to the operations Room, while the department has been preparing for supply and installation of 20 new variable message boards and 100 security surveillance cameras. Beware fraudsters : Citizens and residents who use the mobile phone are requested by the security authorities not to communicate with unknown people via Viber or WhatsApp applications, reports Al-Anba daily quoting security sources. The same sources said professional hackers are on the prowl and steal data from the cell phones within minutes. The source added the security authorities have received a barrage of reports about fraud notably committed after having access to the cell phones. The ploy begin with luring the unsuspecting people that they have won big prizes and then the hackers manage to steal their money from bank accounts after having access to their card PIN number. Bootlegger held: Police have arrested an Indian for bootlegging, reports Al-Rai daily. According to a security source, the Farwaniya patrolmen saw a car parked on an open ground in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh with no one inside. When police checked the car, they found in it black bags with bottle of booze. When police checked the details of the car they discovered the can had been rented. After the suspect was identified, police rushed to his house and took him into custody. The bootlegger is holding degree in computer engineering. During interrogation he admitted to bootlegging. The suspect and 210 bottles of booze found in his car have been handed over to the General Department for Drugs and Alcohol Control. Lankan arrested: Police have arrested a Sri Lankan for manufacturing alcohol, reports Al-Rai daily. A security source said firefighters rushed to a building in Salmiya after the Operations Room of the Interior Ministry received a report about fire in the apartment. Firefighters controlled the fire and prevented it from spreading to other apartments and while clearing the debris firefighters discovered the apartment had been used by a Sri Lankan to manufacture booze. When police were informed about the incident, they discovered the tenant had escaped from the building to evade arrest following which police put the building under surveillance and caught the bootlegger when he returned to check the damage to the building and his property. The makeshift vegetable market in Mahboula. 5 held in makeshift market bust Five Asian expatriates were arrested in Mahboula area for selling foodstuff and fish illegally in makeshift stalls, reports Al-Seyassah daily. According to security sources, Ahmadi Security Director Brigadier Abdullah Safa formed a security team to hold a sudden campaign in Mahboula area against hawkers who sell foodstuff and fish illegally. Upon arrival of the security team, most of KUNA photo Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during his visit to headquarters of the Traffic Department. The minister stressed traffic policemen must be present to control traffic during the rush hours. Mistake: citizen Two expats hurt in shooting KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (Agencies): Two expats were wounded in a shooting by a Kuwaiti citizen at Salmiya area in Hawally Governorate on Sunday, the Ministry of Interior said. Initial investigations showed that the citizen claimed that he had shot by mistake two expats by a gun owned by a friend of his, the ministry s public relations department said in a statement. The Kuwaiti citizen has been arrested and the incident is under investigation. A citizen, identified as Majed Jawwad, allegedly fired a gun injuring two individuals an Egyptian who got serious head injury and a Syrian whose leg was injured. Initial investigations revealed that News in Brief Saudi jailed Blogger caught By Jaber Al-Hamoud Al-Seyassah Staff KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: The Public Prosecution decided to detain Twitter user, Sarah Al-Durees, for a day to question her in relation to her posts on her Twitter account as these posts were deemed offensive to HH the Amir and his authority. Sources disclosed Al-Durees turned herself to the police after the Public Prosecution issued a warrant to arrest her. She denied all the charges during the interrogation, sources added. Meanwhile, the Criminal Court sentenced a Saudi national working in the Justice Ministry to seven years in jail with hard labor for forging documents to acquire Kuwaiti citizenship. The court also obliged him to return KD 24,000 which he received illegally and fined him KD 48, on new list: The Search and Investigation Department of the General Department of Nationality and Travel Documents has pre- the hawkers abandoned their stalls and ran away. Securitymen managed to capture five of them and confiscated their foodstuffs which have been referred for destroying to Kuwait Municipality. The suspects have been referred to the concerned authorities for necessary legal action. Sources affirmed that such campaigns against hawkers will continue. Jawwad fired a hunting rifle (shozan) near a fishing gear store in Salmiya and the rifle belongs to his friend. Jawwad claimed he fired the rifle by mistake as he was testing it and he did not know it was loaded. Anti-State graffiti: The State Security System police are looking for unidentified persons for writing graffiti on a board in front of the Yemeni embassy in Jabriya, reports Al-Anba daily. As soon as the Operations Room of Interior Ministry received the report police rushed to the spot and found the State of Kuwait described as part of the Persian Gulf. The daily did not give more details. MoI photo Sarah Al-Durees awaiting interrogation by Prosecution pared a list of names of 122 people who are said to be holding dual citizenship, reports Al-Shahed daily. The list is expected to be submitted to the concerned authority to take a decision to withdraw their nationalities. Some of them are Yemenis, Qataris, Saudis, Iranians, and others are said to have acquired the nationality through fraud or forgery.

7 LOCAL 7 Cleaning drive in schools, bird market Govt blames contractors for project loss KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: General Sanitation and Road Works Department at the Capital Municipality in a recent campaign cleaned up 15 yards and 13 parking lots of the schools, reports Al-Qabas daily. Director General of Sanitation and Road Works Meshal Al-Azmi stressed the importance of cleanliness and the need to promote awareness in that regard. For her part, acting supervisor for sanitation Sara Al-Hamad said Al- Rai Cleaning Center embarked on a field trip to the bird and fodder market to remove encroachments on State property. It also issued warning letters to the shop owners against displaying their commodities in front of shops, she noted. Contractors blamed: The government of Kuwait has blamed the contractors for using inferior quality material in the construction of three water storage tanks in Subbiya as a result of which the project cost millions of dinars to the State Budget, reports Al- Shahed daily. According to reliable sources, the concrete mixture was of low quality and moreover, the signature of the supervisory body on the document is forged. The low quality of the product was discovered when the concrete was examined in the Kuwait University laboratory. It showed the contractors had failed to meet certain specifications. Penalty pledged: The Prisons Security Department affiliated to General Department for Penitentiaries has arrested a female employee in the women s sector who has been identified only as M.B.H for attempting to smuggle cell phones and cigarettes to an inmate, reports Al-Rai daily. In a press statement, the General Department for Public Relations and Security Media at the Ministry of Interior said the Penitentiaries and Sentences Enforcement Department will punish those who attempt to smuggle contraband or any electronic items into the prison facility. The statement added, everyone is subjected to body search when entering sensitive areas inside the prison. False allegations: A Bedoun man in his 30s filed a theft case against his four brother-in-laws, accusing them of assaulting him and stealing his money. However, it was later discovered that allegations were false and the case was filed out of revenge. In a press statement issued by Ministry of Interior, the Public Relation and Media Security Department explained that a Bedoun man went to Saad Al- Abdullah Police Station and informed securitymen that his wife s four brothers assaulted him in Saad Al-Abdullah area due to which he sustained injuries on his head and faces and bruises throughout his body. He also accused them of stealing KD 3,000 from his vehicle. A case was filed. However, when securitymen conducted investigations, they discovered that the allegation of theft of KD 3,000 was false. The Bedoun man was summoned for questioning and necessary action will be taken accordingly. The truck lies on its side. Disaster averted When a truck carrying hazardous material overturned at the Shuaiba Port fi refi ghters from the Shuaiba Maritime Fire Center, Mina Abdullah and Mubarak Al-Kabir rushed to the scene and dealt with the incident, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources from the Public Relations Department and Media Information of the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD), reports Al-Qabas daily. It has been reported the truck was carrying two 20- feet containers loaded with sodium hydroxide. The containers have been moved to the side of the port and kept in isolation. No details are available. Kuwaiti injured Scene of the accident By Meshal Al-Sanousi Al-Seyassah Staff A Kuwaiti citizen sustained injuries when his vehicle collided with another on Salmi Road. According to security sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information about a traffi c accident on Salmi Road, securitymen, paramedics and fi refi ghters rushed to the location. Firefi ghters pulled out the citizen who was trapped inside his vehicle and paramedics referred him to Adan Hospital. Securitymen removed the vehicles from the road, organized the traffic and launched investigations to determine the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, eight Asian expatriates sustained injuries when a private van toppled on King Fahad Expressway opposite Fahad Al-Ahmad area. The victims were referred to Adan Hospital and two among them have been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. Fake cops rob Asian Gang robs delivery boy KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Police are looking for four unidentified persons for assaulting an Indian home deliveryman who works for a restaurant and stealing his money, reports Al-Rai daily. The incident happened in Jahra and in his complaint to the area police he said when he arrived at the place where he was supposed to deliver food, he found four men waiting for him. They snatched the food from him, beat him and stole his money and cell phone. The victim said he could not take the car plate number of the suspects car. A case has been registered. Meanwhile, two unknown individuals impersonated detectives to waylay an Asian expatriate in Fahaheel area and rob him of KD 350 and his identification documents, reports Al- Shahed daily. According to sources, the victim was walking in the area when he was stopped by two individuals in a 4x4 vehicle who asked him for his civil ID. When the victim pulled out his wallet to take out his civil ID, the suspects snatched his wallet and drove away. Using the information provided by the victim, securitymen have launched investigations to find and arrest the two suspects. News in Brief Factory fire tackled: Firemen were able to extinguish a fire that broke out in the warehouse of an iron factory in Amghara area without human casualties. Operations Unit of the General Fire Department was notified about a fire engulfing 1,000 square/ meters area of an iron factory in Amghara and a team of firemen accompanied by Medical Emergency Men was deployed to the location within a few minutes to deal with the situation. The fire-out operation was hindered due to several violations at the site but the officers managed to extinguish the blaze without casualties. A case was registered. Meanwhile, firemen from the Salmiya Fire Center recently put out a fire to a vehicle in Salmiya, reports Al-Shahed daily. Quick response from the firemen prevented the fire from spreading to others cars parked nearby. Motorist arrested: An unidentified individual was arrested for driving recklessly and dangerously in Sabah Al-Salem area, reports Al-Shahed daily. According to sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information from a citizen about a man driving his 4x4 vehicle recklessly and endangering the lives of passersby, Ahmadi securitymen rushed to the location and arrested the suspect. They also seized his vehicle He was referred to the concerned authorities for necessary legal action.

8 INTERNATIONAL 8 Air strike kills 9 family members: witnesses Yemen plans UN complaint over Iran weapons transfers NEW YORK, Sept 25, (Agencies): Yemen plans to complain to the UN Security Council over what it says are Iran s weapon transfers to Houthi allies fighting the internationally recognised Yemeni government, the foreign minister said on Saturday. In an interview with Reuters, Abdel- Malek al-mekhlafi also said he hoped a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire would take effect early next week. Yemen and Saudi Arabia which intervened in the country in March 2015 to prevent the Houthis and forces loyal to the former president from taking over blame Shi ite Iran for supplying weapons to the Houthis. Tehran views the Houthis, who hail from a Shi ite sect, as the legitimate authority in Yemen but denies accusations it supplies them with weapons. The UN mission in Iran did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest accusation. There are new weapons coming from Iran, Mekhlafi said in New York where he was attending the annual UN gathering of world leaders. It is impossible to hide that weapons-smuggling is still taking place from Iran. Some of these weapons have been found on the Saudi-Yemeni border and they are Iranian weapons, he said. Mekhlafi said his government was in the process of filing a complaint to the Security Council, with evidence including documents and pictures. UN-sponsored talks to try to end 18 months of fighting that has killed at least 10,000 people collapsed last month. The foreign minister said President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi had met with US and UN officials this week and had agreed in principle to a 72-hour ceasefire. He (Hadi) asked that the ceasefire be taken advantage of by lifting the unjust siege of Taiz and for food to enter simultaneously, Mekhlafi said, referring to a city in the country s highlands. The government was waiting for the UN envoy to speak with the Houthi side to secure those guarantees, he added. Also: SANAA: A Saudi-led coalition air strike in Yemen killed nine members of the same family, including several children, on Sunday in the southwestern rebel-held city of Ibb, witnesses and medics said. Eleven neighbours were also wounded when the family s house, on the southern edge of the mountain city, was hit during a night of intense air strikes, witnesses said. Medics at the city s main hospital confirmed they had received nine bodies, including those of women and children. Al-Houthi and Police nab Push on for Continued from Page 1 The funds spent by Al-Houthi on the war in Yemen or his rocket attacks on Saudi Arabia s border with about 63,000 shells since 2009 would have been used as a huge contribution to development that would have prevented millions of Yemenis from suffering the evil of hunger, unemployment and impoverishment. Due to the blindness of this agent, he fell into the savage claws of blunders which he will never get out of. In fact, he writes a new line about his end each day he fights against the legitimate forces of Yemen supported by the Arab coalition. He is like someone trying to blow a hill in order to move it. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, along with his backer the ousted Saleh and Iran s regime, realized that the rocks on the hills in Yemen resisted the furious wind. The question is: What will happen if the final breath of the expansionism scheme based on illusions start to be heard in the sense that it will never materialize regardless of the circumstances? Today, the challenge that Al- Houthi, who has been boasting about the revolution, is facing continues to grow. Deep inside him, he realizes that he is just a small agent. Perhaps his master, Iran, is done with him. It is not premature to assume that a sack of silver will be thrown at him and then the master will turn its back on him. This is after the legitimate authority returns to Yemen with the support of the international community. Continued from Page 1 Lieutenant Chris Cammock, criminal investigations chief for the Mount Vernon Police Department. He is due in court Monday. A Facebook page that appeared to belong to Cetin and which has since been taken down said he was born in the southern Turkish city of Adana. It also said went to Oak Harbor High School, which is about a 30- mile drive from Burlington, and had worked at a grocery store on nearby Whidbey Island. In February, he posted a link to a Call of Duty first-person shooter videogame practice session, in an eerie foreshadowing of the real world violence he is suspected of perpetrating. YouTube users posted lewd comments on that page and Cetin s Twitter page in response to the mall shooting. Police said Cetin had one prior arrest, last year, for assault. It was the latest chapter in America s epidemic of gun violence. Burlington Mayor Steve Sexton s voice trembled as he noted that the randomness of gun violence in America which causes an estimated 30,000 deaths a year had hit his small town. We suffered a devastating loss of five treasured members of our community who had done nothing more than what we all would have done on any given day: gone to the shopping mall, he said. It changed those families forever. And Cetin we keep them in our prayers. It changed our community, I m afraid, forever. The shooting came amid fierce debate in America over gun control laws. It is a hot issue on the campaign trail ahead of the November 8 presidential election. We are united in knowing that the status quo is not good enough when it comes to violence in our community, said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Passivity in the face of this scourge of violence is unacceptable. The shooter had walked in without a weapon, and appeared on security cameras about 10 minutes later with a rifle. Continued from Page 1 country, that bases its relations with others on the principles of respecting the sovereignty, independence, good neighborly relations and non-interference in their internal affairs, he said. His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al- Mubarak said Kuwait would contribute to finding solutions by consensus to the various global challenges, for the maintenance of international peace and security by peaceful ways and means. His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al- Mubarak thanked all members states of the Asia-Pacific Group in New York, for their endorsement of Kuwait s candidature to the UNSC seat, and said he was looking forward for Strikes kill 23 in Aleppo as UN meets over Syria BEIRUT, Sept 25, (AP): At least 23 civilians were killed in renewed government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria. At the start of that meeting the UN s top envoy to Syria accused the government of unleashing unprecedented military violence against civilians in Aleppo. Staffan de Mistura said Syria s declaration of a military offensive to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo has led to one of the worst weeks of the 5 1/2-year war with dozens of airstrikes against residential areas and buildings causing scores of civilian deaths. He said the offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes. Medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppo s rebel-held eastern districts as an announced government offensive entered its fourth day. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 23 civilians had been killed by 6 p.m. and said it expects the toll to rise. Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue outfit said hospitals and rescuers have documented the deaths of 43 people so far. Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the opposition areas. I ve never seen so many people dying in once place, he said from a hospital in the city. It s terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200. The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since a US-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening. De Mistura, at the Security Council meeting, warned that if the Syrian government is intent on taking Aleppo, it is going to be a grinding a streetby-street fight where all the infrastructure in the city will be destroyed, but it won t lead to victory. A so-called military solution is impossible including in Aleppo, he stressed. He urged the United States and Russia to go that extra mile and save the Sept. 9 cessation of hostilities agreement at the 11th hour. Prior to the start of the UN meeting, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia should be investigated for war crimes following a Monday attack on a Syrian aid convoy that claimed 20 lives. Johnson said that Russia s air force may have deliberately targeted the civilian convoy on Sept. 19. Russia denies involvement and instead suggests Syrian rebels or a US drone were responsible. support of all UN members during next June elections. Kuwait last UNSC non-permanent seat was in Meanwhile, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has affirmed Kuwait s active international involvement aimed at solving regional and global conflicts, which have political and security ramifications on Gulf States stability. Kuwait, through its participation in international conferences, is exerting efforts to seek solutions to regional and international issues, especially regional conflicts which have impact on security of the Gulf countries. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, said the delegation of Kuwait to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) 1st session had made active contributions, foremost by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who participated in a leaders summit on refugees on Sept 20. He said His Highness the Amir reiterated Kuwaits continued support to the global humanitarian efforts with the ultimate objective of alleviating Military solution impossible: De Mistura In this photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows wounded receiving treatment at a local clinic after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria on Sept 25. A broad coalition of Syrian rebels suffering of people suffering from conflicts around the world. The speech of His Highness the Amir reaffirms the role of Kuwait to help refugees and displaced, and shows how it is important that the international community exert efforts to end the conflicts permanently, said Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled. His Highness the Amir also highlighted Kuwaits financial contributions to the refugees and internally displaced people in different parts of the conflict, including in Syria. His Highness the Amir also met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said the representative of His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, underlined Kuwaits unshaken cooperation with the UN, the latest was the approval of the sustainable development goals and the Paris climate change agreement. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Many forces with many motives and the latter commended Kuwaits leading role at the regional and international levels. Ban said this role helped millions of people suffering from conflicts or disasters globally. Jordanian writer Continued from Page 1 President Bashar al-assad. The cartoon Hattar posted on his Facebook page featured an illustration of God under the title God of DAE- SH, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. Any depiction of God is prohibited in Islam. Hattar removed the cartoon after it triggered outrage on social media. At the time, he explained on Facebook that the cartoon made fun of terrorists and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in any way. He was arrested on Aug 13 and denounced international negotiations for peace as meaningless on Sunday, as the UN Security Council prepared to convene an emergency meeting about the spiraling violence in Syria. (AP) Baghdad suicide bomber kills 6 BAGHDAD, Sept 25, (Agencies): A suicide bomber killed six people in western Baghdad on Sunday, an Iraqi security spokesman said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. The bombing in the Iskan area also wounded 18 people, according to a statement from security spokesman Saad Maan. IS claimed the attack in a statement, saying it was carried out by an Iraqi national wearing an explosive vest who had successfully penetrated security measures. The Baghdad attack came a day after militants killed 12 people in gun and bomb attacks claimed by IS in the northern city of Tikrit. Iraqi forces are preparing for a push on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the Iraqi territory the jihadist group seized in June But even as it loses ground, IS retains the ability to carry out deadly attacks in government-held areas. An unlikely array of forces is converging on the city of Mosul, lining up for a battle on the historic plains of northern Iraq that is likely to be decisive in the war against the Islamic State group. The tacit alliance Iraqi troops alongside Shiite militiamen, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and US special forces underscores the importance of this battle. Retaking Mosul, Iraq s second-largest city, would effectively break the back of the militant group, ending their self-declared caliphate, at least in Iraq. But victory doesn t mean an end to the conflict. In a post-islamic State Iraq, the enmities and rivalries among the players in the anti-is coalition could easily erupt. The battle, expected near the end of the year, threatens to be long and grueling. If IS fighters dig in against an assault, they have hundreds of thousands of residents in the city as potential human shields. Flee And as residents flee, they fuel the humanitarian crisis in Iraq s Kurdish region around Mosul, where camps are already overcrowded with more than 1.6 million people displaced over the past two years. Humanitarian groups are rushing to prepare for potentially 1 million more who could be displaced by a Mosul assault. The biggest prize captured by the militants after they overran much of northern, western and central Iraq in the summer of 2014, Mosul has been vital for the Islamic State group. The reserves in its banks provided a massive cash boost to the group, and the city s infrastructure and resources helped IS as it set up its caliphate across Iraq and Syria. Mosul was the location chosen by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-baghdadi to make his first public appearance after declaring the caliphate, a triumphant sermon delivered at a historic mosque in the old city. For the past two years, much of the leadership seems to have operated from Mosul. If Mosul is retaken, it would be a nearly complete reversal of the jihadis 2014 sweep. The group would be left with only a few pockets of territory in Iraq. IS fighters have already responded to battlefield losses by reverting to guerrilla-style tactics or retreating into neighboring Syria to defend the group s territory there, which is also rapidly eroding. For weeks, the disparate forces have clawed back territory in Nineveh province, where Mosul is located, seizing villages and key supply lines. Still, the Iraqi military s closest position is some 30 miles south of Mosul and there remain dozens of militant-held villages with civilian populations that the troops must take before reaching the city s outskirts. Kurdish forces are closer, some within 10 miles of the city to the north and east. US-led coalition forces have sped up training for Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters, condensing courses that once took more than two months into just four weeks. In July, the Pentagon announced that 560 more US troops would deploy to Iraq to transform Qayara air base, south of Mosul, into a staging hub for the final assault. Still, Iraq s military is thousands of soldiers short of the estimated 30,000 troops needed to launch the assault, and the existing forces are stretched thin trying to hold other recaptured territory, particularly in western Anbar province. charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam, before being released on bail in early September. The attorney general had imposed a blackout on media coverage of the case against Hattar, who was also known as a leftist. Prime Minister Hani al-malki had ordered Interior Minister Salam Hammad to summon the writer and to initiate legal proceedings against him. On Sunday Hattar s brother Majed, who accompanied him to his trial, blamed the government for his death. We hold the prime minister, the minister of the interior and the security services responsible for Nahed s killing, Majed said. Nahed Hattar was killed in cold blood in front of the highest institution of justice in Jordan. The government denounced the killing as heinous and said the law would be firmly applied to the person who committed the crime. The opposition Muslim Brotherhood and Dar al-iftaa, the highest religious authority, also condemned the attack. Jordan is a leading member of the US-led coalition fighting IS in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, and was targeted in a June 21 suicide bombing that killed seven border guards. The kingdom has carried out air strikes targeting IS jihadists and also hosts coalition troops on its territory. In recent years, extremists have attacked other publications for publishing caricatures seen as insulting to Islam, including in Europe. In January 2015, jihadists killed 12 people, including eight staff, in an attack on the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which published drawings purporting to show the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Jordan s Prime Minister Hani Mulki submitted his resignation to King Abdallah in a customary step after Tuesday s parliamentary elections and has been asked to form a new government, an official source said on Sunday. Mulki, who was appointed last May and charged with conducting new elections, is expected to lead a caretaker government until a new cabinet is formed by the end of this week, a government source said. Newswatch Continued from Page 1 tactical missile of Zolfaqar which was entirely indigenous in designing and making served the purpose of enhancing Irans missile combat might as stated by the Supreme Leader. He said the missile is capable of hitting its targets 700 kms away. (KUNA) UNITED NATIONS: The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday Iran had wasted no time in undermining regional security since it sealed a nuclear deal with world powers last year. Against all optimistic expectations, Iran wasted no time in continuing its efforts to undermine the security of the region, through aggressive rhetoric, blatant interference, producing and arming militias, developing its ballistic missile program, in addition to its alarming designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed told the annual UN gathering of world leaders. (RTRS) DUBAI: The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced Saturday the Barakah nuclear power plant project is currently 70 percent complete, official media reported. We at ENEC are proud of the progress we have made in the development of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program, Mohamed Al-Hammadi, ENEC s CEO, said in a statement, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM). ENEC is committed to delivering safe, clean, efficient, and reliable nuclear energy, Al- Hammadi said, pointing out the nuclear corporation s substantial progress towards achieving its goal at the Barakah facility. All four units at Barakah are some 70 percent complete, an amazing achievement, considering that we started construction a mere four years ago, he said. Al-Hammadi also reiterated ENEC s continued investment in the development of a knowledge-based industry in the UAE through a range of educational initiatives, and support of upgrading local industrial products and services to international nuclear quality standards. (KUNA) DUBAI: Dubai prosecutors have dropped charges against a British-Australian man who used social media to highlight the work of an Afghan refugee charity, a local newspaper said on Sunday. Scott Richards, 41, was arrested on July 28 for allegedly breaching a new law on promoting foreign charities, but he was released on bail last month. Dubai Public Prosecution confirmed that no criminal case will proceed, 7Days daily reported on its website. (AFP) TORONTO: Canada confirmed on Sunday it has become aware of a citizen taken hostage in Libya and is diligently pursuing all appropriate channels to obtain more information. Libyan authorities said last week a Canadian and two Italians had been kidnapped in the country s southwestern desert, possibly by a criminal gang. The Canadian government then called the matter unconfirmed. On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada, the country s foreign department, called the kidnapping troubling, but declined to provide more details. (RTRS)

9 MIDEAST/INTERNATIONAL 9 Embattled Boko Haram leader Shekau resurfaces in video Oh tyrants, I m in a happy state and in good health KANO, Nigeria, Sept 25, (AFP): The embattled leader of jihadist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, resurfaced in a video posted online Sunday, rejecting assertions by the Nigerian army that he had been seriously wounded. You have been spreading in the social media that you injured or killed me, Shekau said in the 40-minute video released on Youtube and dated Sept 25. Oh tyrants, I m in a happy state, in good health and in safety. The Nigerian army said on Aug 23 that the longtime militant chief had been seriously wounded in the shoulder in an air raid in which several commanders were killed. Nigerian authorities have reported him dead several times before, but the army s latest claim was bolstered when Boko Haram which pledged allegiance last year to the Islamic State (IS) group released a video on Sept 13 without Shekau in it. However, in the video released Sunday, Shekau points to a date on an Islamic calendar corresponding to Sept 25, Speaking in Hausa, Arabic and English and in dialects spoken in northeast Nigeria he appears to be in good physical health. He uses the video to issue threats against President Muhammadu Buhari, who appealed to the United Nations this week for help in negotiating the release of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the militants more than two years ago. If you want your girls, bring back our brethren, Shekau says. Boko Haram, which has killed at least 20,000 people since 2009 in its quest for a hardline Islamist state in northeast Nigeria, has been in the grip of a power struggle since late last year. Last month, IS high command said Shekau had been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-barnawi, the 22-yearold son of Boko Haram s founder Mohammed Yusuf. 8 months in jail for fiery sermon Islamic cleric call to kill Jews sentenced JERUSALEM, Sept 25, (AFP): An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced a Palestinian Islamic preacher to eight months in prison over a sermon at a volatile Jerusalem holy site in which he called for Jews to be killed. The Jerusalem magistrates court had in March found Sheikh Omar Abu Sara, 51, guilty of incitement to violence and racism in a sermon he delivered at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. In his November 28, 2014 sermon, which was also uploaded to YouTube, Abu Sara said the Jews were treacherous, stubborn, murderous, rude and shameless. I m telling Jews explicitly -- it s time to slaughter you, time to fight you, time to kill you, he said, according to a transcript of the speech in the court decision. He vowed Muslims will free this land from your filth, and that day is approaching. The sermon came against the backdrop of months of unrest over perceived Jewish attempts to take control over the holy site, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount and consider their most sacred. There were also tensions over the murder of a Palestinian teenager in July in revenge for the killings of three Jewish teenagers in the West Bank. The killings were part of a cycle of violence that led up to the 2014 war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Abu Sara claimed the sermon should not be considered incitement to violence and racism since it was based on religious scriptures and teachings and contained general and non-binding statements, the decision said. But the court rejected that argument, noting most of the sermon was not quotes but original statements by Abu Sara, who sought to humiliate and degrade Jews and preach Jew-hatred to the other worshippers. The Islamic Waqf organisation, which administers the Al-Aqsa compound, the third-holiest site in Islam, told AFP it as not aware of a preacher there by that name.

10 INTERNATIONAL 10 World News Roundup Demonstrators listen to a speaker during a rally at Marshall Park Sept 24 in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. (Inset): This police body camera screen grab courtesy of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department video released on Saturday shows Keith Lamont Scott (left), lying on the ground after being shot as as a police officer approaches in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sept 20. (AFP) Child Care Experts doubt Arizona charges Diaper-changing as child molestation? Montgomery PHOENIX, Sept 25, (AP): Statements from the Arizona Supreme Court equating diaper-changing to child molestation and the provocative social media headlines that followed have left parents nervous that one day they will need an attorney more than a nanny. A recent court opinion on a Tucson man s appeal of child molestation and child sex abuse convictions criticized the law as too vague. Two dissenting justices wrote that the criminal statute says any kind of deliberate sexual contact is considered child molestation and does not require proof of sexual intent. That means parents literally commit a felony every time they bathe a toddler or change a diaper, the dissenting justices said. Law experts, however, say it s doubtful any prosecutor would go after a parent, babysitter or doctor for a standard child-caring task. But that hasn t stopped anxiety-breeding headlines that bath time could lead to jail time. Here are key things to know about Arizona s child molestation law and the reaction to it: Parents criticize law For many parents, the law as written would criminalize the assistance they count on from baby-sitters and day care providers. Arizona criminal statute defines child molestation, a felony, as an act by an individual who intentionally or knowingly engages in or causes someone to engage in any sexual contact with a child under 15. It does not mention whether the contact is sexually motivated. Tabitha Schmaltz, an accountant and mother of four from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, sends her youngest child to day care and considers the staff an extension of herself. They are expected to be the parent, feeding and diapering her 1-year-old son. If I have to choose between my sitter abiding by the legislation and neglecting my child out of fear, or ignoring legislation and caring for my child in a way I know he s not being neglected, I would happily let my sitter violate this legislation, Schmaltz said Thursday. Nikole Fletcher, a Phoenix mother pregnant with her second child, said that when she first put her 4-year-old son in day care, she chose a facility that would assist with things like potty training. This law, the way that it s worded, is calling those day-to-day situations that you kind of chuckle about as a parent, they re calling them into a very serious light, Fletcher said. Prosecution for caregiving? The Arizona Supreme Court acknowledged that in crafting the law, the Legislature likely was not setting out to criminalize bathing or diaper-changing. But that did not stop an outcry across social media about parents or baby-sitters possibly facing arrest in an innocent situation. That led Phoenix s top prosecutor, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, to try to ease people s concerns in a statement earlier this week. It is incredibly insulting to believe any prosecutor reviewing a case for charging would not be able to tell the difference between an adult taking proper care of a child and the molestation of a child victim, Montgomery said. What experts say Paul Bender, a longtime professor at Arizona State University s College of Law, said the law s wording should be clearer. I doubt very much whether there are going to be many unjust prosecutions under that interpretation, but it could happen, Bender said. Because people are nervous about it, it s a problem. A San Francisco Police offi cer responds to the scene of a standoff of a possibly armed man in Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on Sept 24. (AP) Davis America Radus 3 gunmen shoot, wound 8 : Three gunmen shot and wounded eight people including a 3-year-old girl on an east Baltimore street Saturday night, police said, adding the suspects fled and the victims were all expected to survive. The shooting erupted outside some rowhouses about 8:30 p.m. after the three armed men converged on the group from different points, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said at a news conference. Davis, who went to the scene, said the shooting was a premeditated act of retaliatory violence in response to a Labor Day weekend shooting in which a man was fatally shot and two women were wounded, one of them pregnant. He did not immediately explain how investigators believed the shootings were linked. Davis said the victims could have recognized the gunmen but authorities haven t immediately been able to identify the suspects and were still searching for them hours afterward. According to the commissioner, one of the armed men emerged from an alley and two others ran down the street, stopping just short of the victims before they opened fire. He added that the 3-year-old girl and her father were standing a slight distance away from the others and that the child was not an intended target. (AP) Search for missing teen: Police investigating a triple homicide inside a Southern California home were searching for a teenage girl who lived there and is considered at-risk. The probe began Saturday morning after a child called 911 to report her parents had died. The child placed the call about 8:20 a.m., and officers were dispatched to a home in Fullerton, 26 miles (42 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Inside, first responders discovered two men and a woman dead. Policing Charlotte protesters keep marching Police free videos, doubts remain CHARLOTTE, NC, Sept 25, (RTRS): Nearly a week of protests over the police killing of a black man in Charlotte, North Carolina showed no signs of abating on Sunday, after police released videos showing the victim being shot but did not answer the question of whether he had a gun. Hundreds marched through the center of Charlotte on a fifth night of demonstrations that stretched into Sunday morning, including white and black families protesting police violence. One sign read Stop police brutality and another showed a picture of a bloody handprint with the phrase #AMINEXT, a social media tag about the fear of becoming a victim of police. For the first time in three nights, police enforced a curfew, saying they would arrest violators. A crowd gathered outside police headquarters dispersed without any violence shortly after midnight. Charlotte police released two videos on Saturday showing the fatal shooting on Tuesday of Keith Scott, 43. The controversial death has made Charlotte, North Carolina s largest city and a financial center, the latest flashpoint in two years of tense protests over US police killings of black men, most of them unarmed. Evidence Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney acknowledged that the videos themselves were insufficient to prove that Scott held a gun but said other evidence completed the picture. There is no definitive visual evidence that he had a gun in his hand, Two children were found unharmed, police said. Anytime someone loses their life it s a tragedy, police Sgt. Jon Radus said. It s Putney said. But what we do see is compelling evidence that, when you put all the pieces together, supports that. Police said officers trying to serve an arrest warrant for a different person caught site of Scott with marijuana and a gun, sitting in a car in a parking lot. They look in the car and they see the marijuana, they don t act. They see the gun and they think they need to, Putney said. Both Scott s family and protesters have disputed the police statements that Scott was carrying a gun. Police released photos of a marijuana cigarette, an ankle holster they said Scott was wearing, and a handgun, which they said was loaded and had Scott s fingerprints and DNA. But Scott s family, which released its own video of the encounter on Friday, said the police footage showed the father of seven was not acting aggressively and that the police shooting made no sense, with no attempt to de-escalate the situation. The family video, shot by Scott s wife, was also inconclusive on the question of a gun. Gun In one of the police videos, a dashboard-mounted camera from a squad car showed Scott exiting his vehicle and then backing away from it. Police shout to him to drop a gun, but it is not clear that Scott is holding anything. Four shots then ring out and Scott drops to the ground. A second video, taken with an officer s body camera, fails to capture the shooting. It briefly shows Scott standing outside his vehicle before he is shot, but it is not clear whether he has even more of a tragedy when children are involved. Radus declined to release the children s ages or their relationship to the three adults Baltimore police work at a scene where multiple people were shot in Baltimore on Sept 24. Police said that none of the shootings were fatal. (AP) something in his hand. The officer then moves and Scott is out of view until he is seen lying on the ground. At least five people who appear to be police officers are seen in the bodycam video. Both videos show Scott moving at a measured pace with his hands at his sides. He doesn t appear to be acting aggressively to the officers on the scene, Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for the Scott family, told a news conference. Scott s brother-in-law, Ray Dotch, said: He was an American citizen who deserved better. Another lawyer for the Scott family, Charles Monnett, said, the family did not know enough of the facts to know whether the officer who killed Scott should face charges. Scene The two-minute video recorded by Scott s wife on a cell phone showed the scene of the shooting, but not the shooting itself. In the video, Mrs Scott can be heard telling officers that her husband has TBI, a traumatic brain injury. Don t shoot him! He has no weapon she cries as police yell at Scott, Drop the gun! Then shots sound. Marchers on Saturday evening focused their demands squarely on stopping police violence, after on previous evenings protesters priority was release of police tapes. No justice, no peace, no racist police, demonstrators chanted. Charlotte loan officer Jordan Gomillion, 27, was one of the demonstrators in the Saturday march. It s for justice and transparency from the police, said Gomillion, who is black. found inside the home, citing the ongoing investigation. He said detectives spent the day searching for the children s sibling, identified as 17-year-old Katlynn Goodwill Yost, but have not been able to find her. We re concerned for her safety because we obviously haven t been able to find her, Radus said. He said there were obvious signs of trauma to the bodies, but he would not release any details on how the adults might have died. Authorities were still working to determine their cause of death and identify them. (AP) Romanian gets prison term: A Romanian citizen who orchestrated an international hacking scheme has been sentenced to three years in prison. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say 31-year-old Mircea-Illie Ispasoiu (EE-spa- SHOW-you) must also pay $907,204 in restitution. He had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. Prosecutors say the scheme targeted retailers, security companies, medical offices and people in the United States. They say Ispasoiu obtained user names and passwords, along with credit card data, from unsuspecting victims. Authorities say Ispasoiu was a computer systems administrator at a large financial institution in Romania from August 2011 through February (AP)

11 INTERNATIONAL 11 Politics First presidential debate Clinton, Trump in virtual dead heat WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (AFP): Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are in a virtual dead heat in their bitter race for the White House on the eve of their first head-to-head presidential debate, a new poll showed Sunday. The Washington Post-ABC News poll found that Clinton s slim margin from last month has now vanished. Instead, the Democrat and her Republican rival tied at 41 percent support among registered voters, with Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson at seven percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein at two percent. In a two-way match-up, Clinton and Trump each got 46 percent among registered voters. While some other national surveys show Clinton with a lead, poll averages show a low, single-digit margin. Gender, race and education were clear markers between the two candidates. Support Men back Trump by 54 percent to 55 percent of women who said they support Clinton, the poll showed. Some 53 percent of white voters back Trump, compared to 37 percent for Clinton, while non-white voters back her 69 percent to 19 percent for her Republican rival. Trump is ahead of Clinton by more than four to one among white men without college degrees, a gap that narrows for white women without college degrees and college-educated white men. Among college educated white women, Clinton leads Trump in the poll by 57 percent to 32 percent. The two candidates are still grappling with high negativity among voters. Around 39 percent of registered voters see Clinton favorably, compared to 57 percent who have an unfavorable impression. For Trump, 38 percent had a positive impression and 57 percent a negative one, a rating five points lower than it was prior to the two parties national conventions in July. While voters find both candidates lacking in honesty overall, Clinton s ratings were worse, with just 33 percent of voters finding her honest and trustworthy and 66 percent saying she is not. Some 42 percent of voters said Trump was honest and trustworthy, while 53 percent said he was not. Most voters (53 percent) who do not see Trump as qualified to be president, while 58 percent said he lacks the temperament to be an effective president and 55 percent said he lacked the world knowledge required for the job. From left: Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, US Secretary of State John Kerry, European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Britain s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tour Boston Harbor aboard a boat on Sept 24, in Boston. (AP) See Also Page 12 America Sex abuse roils Academy: The US Merchant Marine Academy is in turmoil over sexual abuse and bullying concerns that have led to the temporary shutdown of its premier training program one that sends cadets out on working vessels for a year at sea. Some parents, alumni and maritime unions contend the decision to halt the program while such allegations are investigated was made hastily and without solid evidence of abuse. And they say it deprives cadets of the most valuable part of their education, actually toiling on container ships, oil tankers, passenger liners and barges. But administrators of the 900-student, taxpayer-financed service academy aren t shrinking from criticism. They say a full review is underway, but it could be months before the program, called Sea Year, resumes in earnest. The balance here is between sailing on commercial vessels for the training value and the environment and the threats that they face, said Rear Adm James Helis, the academy s superintendent. To me, it s not a close call. Government sex abuse surveys, interviews with midshipmen returning from Sea Year and feedback from faculty fueled Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx s decision last June to order the stand-down, Helis said. It isn t a particular number, a particular survey that led to this decision, Helis said. It s been the accumulation of evidence from different sources, from different views taken at the academy that all led us to the same conclusion: That we had a significant challenge with the climate at sea. And not just with sexual assault, sexual harassment, but bullying, hazing, coercion and retaliation. One graduate, Erika Lawson, told The Washington Post she was groped by a chief mate in the back seat of a taxi in Saipan Helis Foxx during her Sea Year in Lawson said it took her more than a year to tell school authorities she had a bad experience. She said there was no investigation. I feel like you re taught there to keep your head down and just get through it, Lawson told the newspaper. She did not respond to interview requests from The Associated Press. A sophomore midshipman, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals, recounted an incident on campus last year in which a female instructor ordered two female cadets to pour water on their shirts as a test to see if they were see-through. (AP) Runners from NJ race canceled: About 100 runners are competing in a New York City race after an explosion canceled their race in New Jersey last week. They re some of the 25,000 runners scheduled to participate in the Tunnel to Towers Run on Sunday. The race traces the route of a firefighter who ran from Brooklyn to the World Trade Center on 9/11. Proceeds go to wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The New Jersey race was the Semper Five charity 5K in Seaside Park, New Jersey. It was canceled after a pipe bomb exploded on the course Sept 17. No one was injured. Organizers of the race say hundreds of security officers will be at the Manhattan race. (AP) 5 shot, 1 dead after argument: Authorities say five people were shot, one of them fatally, in two separate overnight shootings within minutes of each other in the eastern Illinois city of Champaign. Police say in a news release that they believe the two shootings may be related. They say the first apparently stemmed from an argument at an apartment party shortly after midnight. It escalated into a fight outside in which shots were fired, striking four people. One of the four, George Korchev of Mundelein, was killed. Police say he wasn t involved in the fight and happened to be walking by when the shots were fired. The other three were taken to a hospital for treatment of what police called non-critical gunshot wounds. Less than half an hour later, police received a report of another shooting. Officers found a victim, who was taken to a hospital and treated for a non-critical wound. (AP)

12 INTERNATIONAL 12 World News Roundup Diplomacy Taking risks Kerry s diplomacy faces test on Syria.NEW YORK, Sept 25, (RTRS): John Kerry had heard enough. After last week s bombing of a UN aid convoy in Syria dealt a death blow to a ceasefire deal in which he had invested all his diplomatic capital with Russia, the US Secretary of State tossed aside a page of notes and looked at Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov across the horseshoe-shaped table in the UN Security Council. I listened to my colleague from Russia, and I sort of felt a little bit like they re sort of in a parallel universe here, said a visibly angry Kerry, effectively calling Lavrov a liar for blaming the United States for spoiling the ceasefire. The moment in some ways captured the former politician s time as the top US diplomat, which will end with a new administration in January. Not for the first time, Kerry had invested months of intensive diplomacy and tireless traveling on an issue only to end up feeling let down or deceived by negotiating partners. On Syria, Kerry has wanted greater US involvement than Kerry US President Barack Obama was willing to support. In an interview on Friday with Reuters, Kerry said Lavrov s blatant obfuscation of reality... took my breath away. The attempted Syria ceasefire was his most ambitious effort to fix what some argue was the biggest foreign policy misstep of Obama s administration, which began with the failure in 2013 to follow through on a red line threat against Syrian President Bashar al- Assad over the use of chemical weapons. Truce Kerry hammered out the truce two weeks ago, but was left pleading in vain with Russia last week to halt renewed air strikes on the besieged city of Aleppo. James Dobbins, a former US special envoy to Afghanistan, noted Kerry s tireless, ceaseless engagement even when pursuing administration policies he didn t always agree with. Kerry to his credit has stayed in the game even when he had a weak hand, said Dobbins, a career diplomat who worked alongside Kerry in 2013 to hammer out a deal with President Hamid Karzai to keep US forces in Afghanistan. The situation in Syria is too serious and too consequential to simply back off and leave it to others. From Kerry s perspective, it is better to fail than not to have tried. The weakest hand of all would be to have another round of migrants going into Europe, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin do whatever he wants by dropping bombs and the United States doing nothing but pretending we re sending some support to people, Kerry told Reuters. That is the weakest hand, and it is far stronger to stand up and find a way to leverage getting to the table and getting some kind of an understanding, he added. In his nearly four years as America s top diplomat, Kerry has racked up more miles than any other secretary of state, sometimes appearing to rush in without a clear strategy. It is clear that Kerry is prepared to take greater risks with his own personal reputation than others might have... because they did not want to be identified with failure, said Dobbins. But some critics say Kerry stayed in the game too long in negotiating with Russia, which they argue manipulated his quest for a deal over Syria to strengthen its position. The Syrian conflict, with its shifting geopolitical forces, complex new alliances and new threats such as the rise of Islamic State, has tested Kerry like no other issue. After Obama declined to carry out threatened attacks on Assad s forces over chemical weapons, Kerry perceived an opening to work with Lavrov on an agreement to get Syria to turn over its chemical arsenal, he told Reuters. Deal That deal struck in 2013 was considered a success, but the war has since deteriorated and grown more complex following Russia s military intervention backing Assad last year. Now the continuing ceasefire push by Kerry strikes some as hopeless gesturing. Kerry s plan is to do more of the same despite the repeated failure of US attempts to strike a deal with Russia, said Mutasem Alsyofi of the Syrian Civil Society Declaration Initiative, who met Kerry in New York last week. It s not the first time Kerry s been accused of overreaching. At the start of his term in 2013, Kerry vigorously pursued a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians. Even as others warned of failure, an undaunted Kerry spent months shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah. However, US ally Israel s announcement of 700 new housing units for Jewish settlements in territory the Palestinians claim for a future state finally caused the talks to collapse, although Israel blamed the Palestinians move to apply to join 15 international conventions and treaties. Kerry s biggest accomplishments came in 2015 with the Iran nuclear deal and the UN climate change agreement. In both instances, he had Obama s leadership and full support for the very visible US role, though both deals have been vilified domestically in the polarized American political environment. Last week s failure of a second Syrian ceasefire agreement brokered by Kerry unleashed a fresh round of stinging criticism of the administration s Syria policy. Republican Senator John McCain called Kerry intrepid but delusional for placing too much faith in the prospect of cooperation with Russia. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who lost to George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, is not running for office again and has often remarked that he has nothing to lose. In this business of diplomacy, you have to test things sometimes, he told Reuters. It is a mistake to delude yourself. It is also a mistake to avoid putting something to test where there is a reasonable chance something may be able to happen. Hours after the tense exchange at the UN Security Council, Lavrov and Kerry met again. The Russian diplomat had brought a new proposal for putting the ceasefire back on track. Kerry looked at the sheet of paper, folded it tightly and stuffed it into his top pocket. (Left to right): Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge arrive at 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron base on Sept 24 in Victoria, British Columbia. (AFP) (Left to right): Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William the Duke of Cambridge sit for a photo at the Lt Governor s offi cial residence in Victoria, British Columbia on Sept 24. (AFP) Britain s re-elected Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sits on stage during the opening plenary session of the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England on Sept 25. (AFP) Britain Corbyn reasserts authority: Newly re-elected British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn repeated calls for unity Sunday in his deeply divided party, but risked antagonising MPs who had opposed him by promising more power to his grassroots supporters. Corbyn was confirmed in his position on Saturday with 61.8 percent of the vote among party members and supporters, seeing off a challenger backed by the majority of his lawmakers, who believe he can never lead them into government. But the main opposition party remains bitterly split between left-wingers and moderates, at a time of major change in Britain as Prime Minister Theresa May s Prince William, Kate visit Canada Britain s Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in British Columbia on Saturday for an eight-day trip during which they will view spectacular nature sites and meet with refugees and indigenous Americans. William, holding his son George by the hand, and Kate, with daughter Charlotte in her arms, stepped off their plane at around 4:00 pm (23:00 GMT). George, 3, more interested in a helicopter hovering overhead than by protocol, and his year-old sister, wearing a smocked dress for her fi rst foreign trip, climbed aboard a car with their parents headed for a gorgeous Victorian home where they are staying for the visit. The royal family was received an hour later at a ceremony with military honors and a 21-gun salute under blue skies on the lawn in front of the westernmost Canadian province s legislature on Vancouver Island. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remarked that this visit would be quite Conservative government negotiates the country s withdrawal from the European Union. In his acceptance speech at the May Marr different for the royals, now that they are parents of two young children, compared to their last trip to Canada fi ve years ago. As any parent who has traveled with children knows, it s a whole different experience when you bring your family with you, said Trudeau, who has three young children of his own and joined many official visits when his father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister. Let me caution you from my own experience, if they re anything like our kids, getting them back on a plane after a visit to our beautiful west coast will really be a challenge. Trudeau was received by the British and Canadian head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, at Buckingham Palace early this year. As Canada approaches its 150th anniversary next year, we re excited to meet and interact with the young people who will lead this country into its next few decades, William said, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd. (AFP) party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, Corbyn pledged to wipe the slate clean after accusations of bullying and fears of an irreparable breach in the century-old movement. The 67-year-old said Sunday he was reaching out to his critics but his proposal to give more decision-making power to party members risks being seen as an attempt to sideline MPs. What I want is more power for members, more power for supporters, in order to ensure we get policies that do have support throughout the whole party, he told BBC television. (AFP) Parliament must be fully informed : Britain s parliament must be kept fully informed about the government s strategy for leaving the European Union, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said on Sunday. Prime Minister Theresa May has said parliament would play a role in Britain s exit from the EU but that she will be leading the negotiations and will make the final decision on what deal the country gets. Asked by the BBC s Andrew Marr whether that was democratic, Corbyn said: I don t think it s democratic and I don t think it s sustainable at all. This is a huge political issue, it s the most significant economic issue facing Britain in my or your lifetime and I think at the very least parliament should be fully informed. He said Labour had set up a Brexit team to demand information from the government and also get involved in talks. (RTRS) Man held in photo hack: British police said Saturday they had arrested a suspect following reports that 3,000 photographs had been hacked from Pippa Middleton, sisterin-law of Prince William, and were being touted for sale. The pictures were reported by The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers to have been stolen from Middleton s Pippa icloud account and included shots of her sister Kate, plus her and William s children Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, one. Someone had been in touch with media via the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp to offer them for sale, the reports added. The Sun said it had been asked for 50,000 (58,000 euros, $65,000) for the shots. Scotland Yard police headquarters said they had received a report on Friday concerning the alleged hacking of a personal icloud account and specialist officers were investigating. On Saturday, a 35-year-old man was arrested at an address in Northamptonshire, central England, they said. He was arrested on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offence and is being taken into custody at south London police station, a statement said. Enquiries continue. Pippa Middleton, 33, is the younger sister of Kate and found fame after acting as bridesmaid at her sister s wedding to William in She is engaged to hedge fund boss James Matthews and the couple are expected to get married next year. The allegedly hacked photos also reportedly included shots of her own wedding preparations. (AFP) Independent membership of WTO : Britain intends to become an independent member of the World Trade Organisation when it leaves the European Union, trade minister Liam Fox will say next week, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The newspaper, without citing its sources, said Fox would use a speech at the WTO on Tuesday to say Britain would seek to be an independent member of the body so that it could negotiate its own trade deals outside of the EU. Being an independent member of the WTO would involve Britain leaving the EU s customs union, the newspaper said, something the government has so far refused to confirm it intends to do. (RTRS) Britain has lot to do: Britain has a lot of work to do before triggering the formal divorce procedure with the European Union but once it is done, the country will not let the process drag on, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday. Last week, Johnson said Britain would trigger Article 50 of the EU s Lisbon Treaty to start its exit from the bloc early next year. He was swiftly put in his place by Prime Minister Theresa May s aides who said the policy had not changed Britain would not invoke the procedure this year. London is under pressure from fellow EU members and millions of Britons who voted to leave the bloc at a June referendum to start the divorce, and May s aides have suggested that she hopes the formal procedure will be started early next year. But some lawmakers and government officials say the government has not had time to form a clear negotiating stance and that, by triggering proceedings too early, Britain may land a poor deal. I think the crucial thing is that obviously we are not going to do it before Christmas and I think we ve got to do a lot of work to get our ducks in order and that is going on, Johnson told the BBC s Andrew Marr programme. (RTRS) Docs call off strike action: A union representing British doctors on Saturday called off a series of strikes scheduled for the next three months, citing concerns about patient safety. The British Medical Association (BMA) had planned a full withdrawal of labour by junior doctors on Oct 5-7 and 10-11, Nov and Dec 5-9, which would have been the longest stoppages in the nearly 70-year history of the National Health Service. Junior doctors a term covering recent medical school graduates right through to doctors who have been working for well over a decade have staged a series of walkouts over a new work contract the government plans to impose next month. The BMA said its decision to suspend the action follows feedback from doctors, patients and the public, and discussions with NHS England about the ability of the NHS to maintain a safe service if industrial action were to go ahead. Following a passionate, thoughtful and wide-ranging debate amongst junior doctors, the BMA has taken the decision to suspend planned industrial action, said Ellen McCourt, the newly elected chair of the BMA junior doctor committee. We still oppose the imposition of the contract and are now planning a range of other actions in order to resist it, but patient safety is doctors primary concern, she said. The BMA staged several strikes earlier this year, which escalated in April when junior doctors walked out of all services, including accident and emergency, for a day. (RTRS)

13 INTERNATIONAL 13 Hungarian police officials investigate in Budapest downtown as an explosion of unknown origin rocked in a building late night on Sept 24, injuring two passing police officers. (AFP) Police probe cause Blast rocks Budapest BUDAPEST, Sept 25, (RTRS): An explosion rocked central Budapest late on Saturday, injuring two police officers, Hungarian police said on Sunday. Police have yet to identify the cause of the blast, they said in a statement. The local and expert examination of the origins of the explosion and the review of the damage is under way, the statement said. The blast was next to an unused store front on a one of the busiest thoroughfares in central Budapest. Images on local news media showed a ruined doorway. Nearby windows and cars were damaged in the blast, witnesses said. Police said there were no further injuries caused by the explosion, which occurred at 10:36 pm local time (2036 GMT). A government spokesman declined to comment on whether the blast may have been a deliberate attack. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been a vocal opponent of immigration into Europe and is urging voters to reject EU quotas for resettling migrants in Hungary in a referendum next Sunday, arguing immigration increases security risks. Hungary has seen only a trickle of migrants since it sealed its southern border with Serbia with a razor wire fence last year. Europe 2 girls held over terror plot : Two teenage girls from the French city of Nice are being held on suspicion of planning an attack directed by a notorious Syria-based French jihadist, a source close to the investigation said Sunday. The suspects, aged 17 and 19, live in the same area of Nice as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the radicalised Tunisian man who drove the truck that killed 86 people in the city on July 14. Searches failed to find any weapons at their homes. The teenagers have told investigators they had been in contact with Rachid Kassim, a French jihadist based in the areas of Syria and Iraq held by the Islamic State group. They admitted they had been planning a violent attack under the influence of Rachid Kassim before abandoning their plans, a source in the investigation said. The 17-year-old, who was not on the intelligence services radar before, has admitted hating soldiers, the source said. She was charged on September with associating with terror suspects. Valls The 19-year-old is known to investigators, having been in contact with another French citizen who recruits IS fighters, Omar Diaby. At the age of 17 she had planned to travel to Syria. Kassim is emerging as a major concern for French anti-terror investigators after he was found to be in contact on messaging app Telegram with numerous people who have either carried out attacks in France or been arrested on suspicion of planning terror strikes. He has appeared in several Telegram videos made in Syria and Iraq urging attacks in France. Kassim is believed to have inspired an attack this year in which a senior French policeman and his partner were knifed to death and another in which an elderly priest s throat was cut. Investigators believe he also directed three women suspected of seeking to blow up a car packed with gas cylinders near Notre Dame cathedral in central Paris this month. More than 200 people have been killed in attacks in France since 2015, including 130 who died in November s Islamic State attacks in Paris. Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned the threat of a new atrocity remains at a maximum level. (AFP) French militants sister probed: The sister of French Islamist militants Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain was put under formal investigation for criminal association in relation to a terrorist undertaking and remanded in custody on Saturday, a judicial source said. Anne-Diana Clain, born in 1975, was arrested Tuesday night at Roissy international airport near Paris along with her partner, who had already been put under investigation for the same reason, and their eldest son. The family had been expelled from Turkey, which serves as a gateway to Syria for Islamist militants from Western countries. Fabien Clain appeared on the audio recording of Islamic State s claim of responsibility for the attacks on Paris in November 2015 that killed 130 people. (RTRS) Man detained over IS link: The federal prosecutor s office says a 22-year-old German man has been detained at Duesseldorf airport upon his return from Turkey for alleged membership in the Islamic State group. The office said in a statement Saturday that Anil O., whose last name was not given in accordance with German privacy law, is accused of having gone to Syria in August 2015 to join the extremist group. The statement says he was given at least one Kalashnikov rifle and several hand grenades during his training and told to be ready to join IS fight. (AP) Swiss set to OK surveillance law: Swiss voters looked set to approve a new surveillance law on Sunday, in a victory for the government which argued the security services needed enhanced powers in an increasingly volatile world. Preliminary referendum results from the gfs.bern polling group showed the proposed law had won 66 percent support across the wealthy alpine nation. Switzerland s police and intelligence agencies currently have limited investigative powers compared to other developed countries: phone tapping and surveillance are banned, regardless of the circumstances. (AFP) Attacks on refugee shelters rise: Attacks on centres for asylum seekers in Austria are on course to double this year, according to government figures released on Saturday. Twenty-four were recorded in the first half of 2016, compared with 25 for the whole of 2015, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said in reply to a parliamentary enquiry. The incidents ranged from arson to acid attacks to stones thrown through windows, or racist or Nazi graffiti and hate postings on the Internet. Opposition Green MP Albert Steinhauser, who made the enquiry, blamed the rise on the heated political debate about asylum seekers. If in politics there is an atmosphere of intolerance... then it s no wonder that some people see such attacks as legitimate, Steinhauser said. (AFP) Egypt s Sisi promises justice: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-sisi has ordered authorities on Saturday to punish those responsible for the capsizing of a ship which resulted in the deaths of more than 160 migrants, as families demanded the bodies of their loved ones. Rescue workers and fishermen rescued 169 people after the boat sank off Egypt s Mediterranean coast early on Wednesday with up to 600 on board, suggesting many more may have perished than the death toll of 162 given by security officials. Survivors, their relatives and families of the dead have been complaining of what they say is inaction by Egyptian authorities such as the coastguard. On Saturday morning, tens of families stormed the gate of a coastguard checkpoint chanting: We want our children, we want our children. (RTRS)

14 INTERNATIONAL 14 World News Roundup North Korea Women want children back Defectors sold as brides end silence SEOUL, South Korea, Sept 25, (Agencies): North Korean defectors who became brides for rural Chinese men, they faced another excruciating choice when they suffered abuse: to flee to South Korea and leave their children. Women who ve made that choice have lived with the guilt and shame for years, but some are breaking their silence and trying to get international help for their situation. What some of the women told The Associated Press about their experiences: K i m Jungah, 40, chose to be trafficked because she could no Park longer endure poverty and malnutrition in the North. I thought about killing myself many times but it wasn t easy to do it. For me, escaping from North Korea was the only way to survive, she said. Before she was sold to a farmer in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang who paid 20,000 yuan ($2,990), Kim said potential buyers visited her and that brokers ordered her to stand up, turn around and show her profile. I felt so bad about that. I felt so humiliated and I realized they didn t see me as human being, she said. Kim said she was pregnant when brokers sold her to the Shenyang man, who eventually adopted her daughter. There aren t any mother and daughter who are separated like us. I m demanding a simple thing. I m demanding the parental rights that that every couple in the world has, she said. Kim, 35, asked to be identified only by her surname. She allowed a stranger in China to marry her off with one of his friends, 14 years her senior, without knowing it was meant to clear the man s debt. When I first saw him (my husband), he really looked like a grandpa. He was like a country man who didn t care about his appearance at all... How can a man in his 30s look like a grandpa? I thought he was lying about his age, she said. I felt really bad and cried. She said her husband beat her about once a month and looked down on her so much. He always told me he brought a beggar-like person to his house... and threatened to report me to police to get me punished, she said. Do you know how intimidating that threat was to me? Park Kyung-hwa, 44, offered herself to traffickers but escaped before being sold to a Chinese man. Prayed I had just prayed for meeting a good husband, she said. The women sold as brides were the people who belonged to the lowest class in the North. Our dreams were like eating rice fully and we had heard that even dogs and animals in China ate rice, she said. Park said she and six other women were on the back of a big truck loaded with logs for about 12 hours when brokers were moving them. If one log fell, we would have died all... We all cried. It was miserable... We held each other s hands and sang together, she said. Chae Okhee, 48, lived in China for about 16 years. She wasn t a trafficking victim but has many friends and relative living in Seoul who had been sold as brides to Chinese men before their arrivals to South Korea. One of my friends told me her Chinese husband had put her leg in the shackles to prevent her from going out, Chae said. She said her 25-year-old niece from North Korea had also lived with a Chinese man with a little bit of autism before she fled to South Korea in She said she wasn t beaten by her husband but she ran away wearing only underwear in the middle of night in collaboration with brokers, Chae said. She came here because she didn t want to live with him. After fleeing North Korea to avoid extreme poverty and oppression, the young woman allowed a stranger to arrange a marriage for her with a rural Chinese farmer because she had nowhere to go. An even more painful decision came later. She said severe abuse by her husband, including once being tied to a post, and the constant fear police would send her back to the North to face torture and prison convinced her that she needed to flee to South Korea. She decided she had to make the risky journey alone, leaving behind the young daughter she had with her Chinese husband. My heart has been torn apart, the 35-year-old said of the daughter she left in the northeastern Chinese town of Longjing nearly 10 years ago, when the girl was 4. I heard from my Chinese husband that my daughter cried herself to sleep and searched for me until she turned 8. She asked to be identified only by her surname, Kim, out of fear that publicity about her past would destroy her life in the South, where she has remarried and has two other children. Kim has lost touch with her daughter and is afraid to return to China, but neither she nor other defectors in similar situations have given up. Deep shame and guilt about not seeing their children and worry about social stigma in the South kept them silent for years, but some have begun pushing publicly for international help to get back their children. Four defectors plan to travel to the United States next month to seek help from US and United Nations officials. It will not be easy. Experts say Chinese authorities aren t likely to accept the appeals because the women were illegal residents and their relationships were not legally recognized marriages. Their efforts to reunite with their children could be viewed as individual family problems, rather than humanrights issues requiring international intervention. Status Is there any female defector who had registered their marital status in China? said Yoon Yeo Sang, a co-founder of the Seoulbased nonprofit Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. For China, they were the ones who were supposed to be repatriated, and I wonder if China would accept their common-law marital status and take necessary legal steps. China s foreign ministry did not reply to questions about whether it would help the women. The defectors say they deserve international attention because their plight was primarily caused by the North s abysmal rights conditions and by China s policy of repatriating North Korean defectors who are caught hiding in the country. There are South Korean laws, Chinese laws and North Korean laws, but none of them can help us, said Kim Jungah, 40, a North Korean defector living in the South who was separated from her child in China. Now an activist, she will lead three other women on a trip to Washington and New York from Oct The 35--year-old Kim from Longjing had initially planned to go the United States as well but said she cancelled due to worries about the publicity. The market for selling North Korean women into marriage in China heated up after the North suffered a devastating famine in the mid-1990s that s thought to have killed hundreds of thousands. China has significantly fewer women than men, and the imbalance is particularly acute in rural farming areas because young women often migrate to big cities seeking better economic opportunities. Bride trafficking of North Korean women may have eased in recent years, but thousands of North Korean women sold to Chinese men are believed to still live in China, most illegally, according to activists specializing in North Korea affairs. In the early years of bride trafficking, most North Korean women were lured by brokers who promised food and jobs in China; some were abducted. But later on, many have volunteered to be sold as brides because they lacked money to sneak across the border and believed living with Chinese men would decrease the danger of arrest and repatriation, according to Ahn Kyung-soo, a Seoul-based activist who has interviewed many defectors. Kim the woman who agreed to be identified only by surname said she slipped into China on her own and managed to stay at an orchard for a few days in The orchard s owner proposed that she marry one of his Chinese friends, 14 years her senior. Kim accepted because she had nowhere else to go. She later found that the orchard owner had essentially sold her to his friend as a way to clear a 6,000 yuan ($900) debt. In this Sept 4, 2016 photo, North Korean defector Kim Jungah, (right), speaks during an interview with her husband Kim JongPhil at their house in Gunpo, South Korea. (AP) A picture taken on Aug 29, 2016 in Moscow shows Kyrgyz migrant worker Belek Asanbekov speaking during an interview with AFP. One of his seven flatmates, Gulbara Boobekova, a 45-yearold mother of two, was minutes away from finishing her 12-hour night shift at a Moscow printing warehouse last month when a faulty lamp set ablaze the fourstorey building, killing her and at least 13 other women from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. (AFP) Europe Leaders hope for 16 road map : Cypriot leaders meeting UN chief Ban Ki-moon in New York on Sunday hope to gain a road map leading to an agreement by the end of 2016 for reunifying the island, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said on Saturday. We expect tomorrow s meeting to draw up a road map pointing us to the way to the long-expected final resolution of the conflict, he told reporters. Both sides want Ban to act, he said, adding that the UN secretary general had reaffirmed his commitment to the negotiation process. Akinci reiterated that the goal was to secure a deal by the end of the year, as a new UN chief and US president would be taking office in January and would need time to get to grips with the Cyprus issue. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern part of the island following an Athensinspired coup by Greek Cypriots coup seeking union with Greece. The division is one of the world s most intractable diplomatic problems. Much-delayed UN-brokered talks were relaunched in May 2015, and they are seen as the best chance yet to end four decades of division. Sunday s talks will gather Ban, Akinci and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. Ban s envoy, Espen Barth Eide, announcing the meeting on September 14, said the leaders had made significant progress on outstanding issues, including governance and powersharing, but remained divided on the thorny issues of property, security and territorial adjustments. It has always been agreed that the Turkish Cypriots will cede territory controlled by their breakaway state in the north to the Greek Cypriot component of a future federation. But which areas are to be handed over is a sensitive issue, as they will determine the number of Turkish Cypriots who will be displaced from their homes. Other major hurdles are how many people will be allowed to return to their former homes and how many will be entitled to financial compensation. (AFP) Presidential vote delayed again: Estonia s electoral college failed on Saturday to choose a successor to Daily discrimination, low wages Migrant workers face dangers MOSCOW, Sept 25, (AFP): Kyrgyz migrant worker Belek Asanbekov sits at the kitchen table of his cramped Moscow apartment, scrolling through pictures on his mobile phone of friends killed days earlier in a fire at work. One of his seven flatmates, Gulbara Boobekova, a 45-year-old mother of two, was minutes away from finishing her 12-hour night shift at a Moscow printing warehouse last month when a faulty lamp set ablaze the four-storey building, killing her and at least 13 other women from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. I called Gulbara, no answer, said Asanbekov, who worked at the printers for more than seven years. I called again, no answer. Boobekova is one of the latest victims of lax workplace safety in Russian industries that rely on migrant labour, often from ex-soviet Central Asia, as employees cut corners to save money with little fear of official punishment. For the millions of unskilled workers who come to Russia it is yet another hazard they face beyond the daily discrimination, low wages and bureaucratic red tape. Authorities have pledged to probe the incident and punish those responsible for the blaze, the second major fire that has killed migrants in Moscow this year. This is negligence. This is a violation of the fire safety regulations outlined by Russian law, Maxim Reshetnikov, head of Moscow s economic policy and development department, told AFP. Given the magnitude of this tragedy, the (city s) reaction will of course be harsh. In January at least 12 migrants from ex-soviet Central Asia, including three children, were killed when a fire at a sewing workshop caused its roof to collapse. Russia s prosecutor general said two-term liberal President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, returning the vote to the stalemated parliament where it flopped in August and could fail again. The head of state plays a largely ceremonial role in the tech-savvy Baltic NATO and eurozone country of 1.3 million people and is elected by parliament or electoral college rather than direct public vote. Neither of the two candidates in Saturday s ballot scored the simple majority in the 335-member electoral college needed to win. It is the first time the body failed to elect the head of state. Backed by the governing Reform party, former EU commissioner and prime minister Siim Kallas scored 138 votes, while rival Allar Joks, a former ombudsman supported by the rightwing IRL and Free party took 134. Fifty-seven empty and three spoilt ballots meant that both fell short of the minimum 165 votes needed to win. Both female candidates, the former foreign minister Marina Kaljurand and Mailis Reps of the opposition Centre party, were narrowly defeated in the first round. Parliament must now vote again within 14 days and new candidates can run. Kallas ruled out running a third time, fuming on Saturday that this vote is a failure of the electoral system. Allar Joks also bowed out on Saturday, telling AFP: I m not going to pursue the presidency any longer. Tonis Saarts, a political scientist at Tallinn University, warned the vote could fail again in the stalemated parliament. A winning candidate needs to secure a two-thirds majority in the 101-seat house, but with votes split among six parties this proved impossible in August. I can t rule out that the vote will go back to the electoral college again and we ll be dealing with it until end of October, Saarts told AFP on Saturday. (AFP) Bosnian Serbs vote: Serbs in Bosnia voted Sunday on whether to keep celebrating their January statehood day, which is tied to the divided nation s 1990s war and remains contentious for its other ethnic communities. The vote is the brainchild of Milorad Dodik, nationalist leader of the Bosnian Serb-run entity Republika Srpska (RS), who hailed the high turnout and a festive atmosphere after casting his ballot. He has ignored a veto by Bosnia s constitutional court, disapproval by the United States and the European Union and the reservations of Serbia, RS Ban Kallas the print warehouse, whose director turned himself in to authorities, had not been inspected for fire safety since They didn t follow safety regulations, said 50-year-old Baktygul Kaldybayeva, a former warehouse employee whose cousin s wife died in the fire. Employers don t have to respect safety regulations where migrants work. Why waste money on that? The warehouse, which pays employees $1.53 an hour, was popular among Moscow s Kyrgyz because it paid little but honestly and on time, unlike many other places where migrants work, Kaldybayeva said. The salary of a warehouse worker is less than half of the average wage in Moscow. Hazardous Undeterred by low pay and hazardous work conditions, some 550,000 Kyrgyz nationals -- or nine percent of Kyrgyzstan s total population -- have come to Russia to earn money to send home to their families. Work in their impoverished homeland is rare and remittances from abroad accounted for more than 30 percent of Kyrgyzstan s GDP in 2014, according to the World Bank. But the absence of legal safeguards make migrants vulnerable to having their pay withheld or their labour rights violated, activists say. Employers use not only migrants unequal situation in comparison to Russian citizens but also their lack of knowledge of the law, said Varvara Tretyak of the Moscow-based Civic Assistance Committee, which provides assistance to refugees and migrant workers. The committee said local Moscow courts last year had made more than 58,000 rulings to expel migrants while flagrantly violating the judicial procedure and other norms. There are no guarantees at any time, Tretyak said. In addition to working in hazardous conditions and living in overcrowded rooms or makeshift facilities at their workplaces, migrants also face discrimination that make them vulnerable to attacks, rights activists say. Since January at least 34 people have been injured and four killed in ethnically-motivated hate crimes across eight Russian regions including Moscow, according to the Sova Centre, a research group that studies xenophobia and nationalism in Russia. I don t think that a migrant at any time can be safe in Russia from the state and xenophobia, Tretyak said. Russia s economic situation has also added to the migrants plight. The ruble s collapse on the back of Western sanctions and low oil prices coincided with the introduction of draconian migration regulations. The measures, including a sharp increase in right-to-work fees amounting to 4,200 rubles ($65) a month for migrants from certain ex- Soviet republics, led many Central Asian migrants to leave the country last year. The new migration regulations are meant to stamp out an old system that was prone to corruption, protect Muscovites jobs and control the influx of migrants, Reshetnikov said. In spite of all the difficulties, the Kyrgyz women who perished in the warehouse fire had no choice but to work in Russia, Kaldybayeva said. No matter the names they call us, no matter how we are humiliated, people will still come here to work, she said. If there was work in Kyrgyzstan, we would work there with pleasure. We would never have come to Moscow. big ally. Some 1.2 million voters are entitled to cast a ballot on whether they want to continue celebrating their Republic Day on Jan 9. The date has huge emotional resonance in a Bosnia divided into two semi-independent entities since the war s end the RS and the Muslim-Croat Federation and stirring memories of nationalist fervour, trauma and bloodshed. It marks the proclamation of a Republic of Serb people in Bosnia that took place three months before the inter-ethnic conflict that claimed 100,000 lives. The founders of that republic included Radovan Karadzic sentenced in March to 40 years jail for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the war that also displaced more than two million people. Polls opened at 7:00 am local time (0500 GMT) and are to close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT). I came to vote because every nation and every state has its own national holiday. Accordingly, our Serbian people must have their holiday, said Vojo Vujakovic, 60, at a polling station near the Bosnian Serb capital of Banja Luka. Bosnia s constitutional court cancelled the referendum, ruling that the holiday is illegal for discriminating against non-serbs, but Dodik pressed ahead defiantly. Valentin Inzko, the international envoy to Bosnia, warned that the vote was pointless and would not have any legal consequences. (AFP)

15 INTERNATIONAL 15 Perfecto Yasay, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, addresses the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept 24. (AFP) Philippines Asia Rights respected: Yasay Do not interfere in Duterte s drug war UNITED NATIONS, Sept 25, (Agencies): Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told the United Nations on Saturday his country s new president, Rodrigo Duterte, had an unprecedented mandate and the world should not interfere in his crackdown on crime. Addressing the annual UN General Assembly, Yasay said the Duterte government was determined to free the Philippines from corrupt and other stagnating practices, including the manufacture, distribution and use of illicit drugs. Our actions, however, have grabbed both the national headlines and international attention for all the wrong reasons, he said. We urge everyone to allow us to deal with our domestic challenges in order to achieve our national goals without undue interference. Duterte won a landslide election victory on May 9 after vowing to wipe out drugs and crime. Police said this week that in the past 11 weeks, nearly 3,000 people had been killed in Duterte s war on drugs, a figure adjusted from the 3,800 they cited last week. Widespread The killings have drawn widespread international criticism, including from the United Nations, drawing angry responses from Duterte. On Thursday, the Philippine leader hurled insults at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union, then invited them to come to investigate his crackdown. Yasay said Duterte had won an unprecedented and resounding electoral mandate and now enjoyed a 92 percent approval rating. As such, he had to deliver on a sacred call for change. To him, this trust is sacrosanct, Yasay said. It cannot be breached, under no circumstance must it be compromised. Duterte s defiance of high-profile organizations and his insults of anyone from US President Barack Obama to the pope have amused many Filipinos, but worried foreign governments not the least the United States, which sees Manila as a vital partner in Asia in the face of a rising China. Some analysts predict Duterte will seek to diversify foreign relations beyond Washington, including by seeking better ties with erstwhile maritime foe China. Yasay said core values enshrined in the Philippine constitution included the mandate to pursue an independent foreign policy, to promote the national interest. At the same time, he said Manila would remain a responsible partner of the international community, committed to the rule of law including an international court ruling this year in favor of the Philippines and against China over competing claims in the South China Sea. In spite of Duterte s criticisms of the world body, Yasay said the United Nations had demonstrated continuing resilience and relevance and added in apparent reference to the US alliance: Our domestic concerns compel us to partner with like-minded countries in the areas of maritime security, counter-terrorism, disaster response, and transnational crime. Yasay said Duterte s crackdown is guided by a respect for human rights and the legal system, even though thousands of drug dealers and users have been killed in recent months. The rule of law and strict adherence to due process fully governs our campaign against corruption and criminality, including the fight against illegal drugs, he said. More than 3,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since July and more than 600,000 others have surrendered out of fear of being killed. Despite growing alarm and international criticism, including from President Barack Obama and human rights watchdogs, the controversial Duterte has said he won t stop the campaign. He has said that killing drug suspects is lawful if police act in self-defense and urged citizens with guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest. Witnesses have accused some police of gunning down people suspected of being involved in illegal drugs. Yasay, who was addressing the UN General Assembly during its annual ministerial meeting Saturday, said the government is determined to eradicate the distribution, sale and use of illegal drugs because they threaten the country s peace and order which, in turn, impedes our sustainable development goals. Duterte, 71, overwhelmingly won election in May on the ambitious promise of eradicating corruption and crime, particularly illegal drugs, in six months. He recently said he underestimated the magnitude of the drug problem and will extend the crackdown by another half year. Crime Duterte said this week he will invite the UN chief and European Union officials to investigate his anti-drug effort, but only if he can question them in public afterward to prove their human rights concerns are baseless. He disclosed the offer in a speech Thursday in the Philippines in which he again lashed out at critics of his crackdown, including Obama. He accused them of hypocrisy for raising concerns about his anti-crime fight while launching military strikes that have killed innocent people in the Middle East. Yasay acknowledged the scrutiny that the drugs crackdown has evoked from the international community. We urge everyone to allow us to deal with our domestic challenges in order to achieve our national goals, without undue interference, he said. Yingluck Probe your own brother : Thailand s first female prime minister on Sunday told the man who ousted her government two years ago to investigate his own brother over corruption allegations, in an unusually strong broadside against the junta. Yingluck Shinawatra was booted from office shortly before army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power in May 2014, the military s second coup in less than a decade and their twelfth successful power grab since Since then she has been hit with a series of junta-led prosecutions including a retroactive impeachment, an ongoing criminal negligence trial that could see her jailed for up to a decade and a separate move to seize more than $1 billion in civil damages. The last two legal cases stem from a popular but financially costly rice subsidy scheme that Yingluck s government pushed. The Prime Minister (Prayut) says that all the legal actions against me are based on the law and are not bullying, Yingluck wrote on her Facebook account on Sunday. I would like the Prime Minister to apply the same logic and justice given to me like he gives justice and protection to his brother and other people who are on his side. Because the laws should be enforced for everyone, not just used only against my side. Yingluck s comments were a direct reference to new corruption allegations that have surfaced this month against Prime Minister Prayut s brother Preecha Chan-O-Cha, who is also a senior army general. Local media said one of Preecha s sons had won a series of lucrative construction contracts from Thailand s Third Army, which Preecha used to command. Preecha insisted his son won the contracts in a fair tender process and denied any wrongdoing. But it is not the first time the junta chief s brother has had to deny negative headlines. Earlier this year he admitted helping another son land a well-paid officer s job in the military. And when the junta ordered senior officials to reveal their wealth part of a post-coup attempt at transparency Preecha had $1.2 million in his bank account money he said was military assets he was looking after and not his own personal wealth. Such headlines have stung Prayut, who has defended his coup as necessary to root out political corruption and end years of instability between competing factions. However critics say his regime has been selective in graft prosecutions, with the main aim being to rid the country of the Shinawatra political clan. (AFP) China air force holds drills: China s air force said on Sunday it had flown more than 40 bombers and other fighter planes through a strait between Japanese islands on their way to drills in the Western Pacific. Regular long range drills in the Western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea air defence identification zone were for the Air Force to protect China s sovereignty and national security, China s air force spokesman Shen Jinke said, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Defence website. China drew condemnation from Japan and the United States in 2013 when it imposed an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities. (RTRS) Pardon Snowden : Activists and refugees staged a protest in Hong Kong on Sunday calling on Washington to pardon fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, with protesters describing refugees in the city as heroes for helping him evade authorities in The former National Security Agency contractor, who released thousands of classified documents revealing the vast US surveillance put in place after the Sept 11 attacks, currently lives in Russia. He fled with documents to Hong Kong, where he hid among Sri Lankan refugees in cramped tenements, and later received political asylum in Russia after the United States revoked his passport while he was en route to Ecuador. The New York Times reported he stayed with at least four refugees with the help of a human rights lawyer in the southern Chinese city. Protesters said the city s refugees, many of them forced to live in slumlike conditions, and Snowden both suffered rights abuses. We are forced to leave our country like Snowden. We stand together with him to fight for pardon, a 36-year-old refugee from Indonesia, who only gave her name as Dede, told AFP. Around 50 protesters chanted Pardon Snowden and We are not criminals as they marched to the US consulate, with some holding placards that read No racism. Stop Oppressing refugees. Protest organisers said 11,000 refugees have applications for protection pending but have no official status and no right to work. (AFP) Quakes hit Fiji, Tonga: A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Fiji on Sunday shortly after another hit off Tonga but there was no threat of a tsunami, US seismologists said. The offshore quake occurred at 9:28 am (2128 GMT Saturday), centered around 100 kms (62 miles) northeast of the Fijian island of Ndoi at a depth of 594 km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website. It came 20 minutes after a 6.3-magnitude quake hit 124 kms northwest of Tonga. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said neither quake posed a tsunami threat. In its preliminary impact assessment, the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage. (AFP)

16 INTERNATIONAL 16 World News Roundup Focus Challenging environment French fighter jet deal: Indian saga NEW DELHI, Sept 25, (AFP): The less-than-supersonic sale of French Rafale fighter jets to India has highlighted the obstacles facing foreign arms firms seeking to do business with the world s biggest weapons importer. India has signed a series of key defence deals under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of a $100 billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, making it an attractive proposition for arms exporters. But a series of corruption scandals have made India a challenging environment, with huge delays and a tough negotiation process. After nearly a decade of discussions and setbacks India signed a deal Friday to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets for 7.9 billion euros ($8.8 billion) as it seeks to bolster its military against an increasingly assertive China. Defence experts say the aircraft, manufactured by France s Dassault, will provide a much needed boost to India s air force. But the final windfall was much less than had been hoped Gandhi for by the French. The Indians always conduct very tough negotiations. They are known for it, said Isabelle Saint-Mezard, a specialist in South Asian strategic issues at the University of Paris. They have all the major weapons suppliers knocking at their door, so they are well positioned to do so. Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, has gained experience of India s bargaining tactics in recent years. India is a school of patience, he said. The country ranks 130 out of 189 on the World Bank s Ease of Doing Business index -- the worst of all G20 countries -- and regulations vary capriciously across its 29 states, where even the same law can be interpreted in bafflingly different ways. Allegations of corruption have scuppered Indian defence deals as far back as 1987, when then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi s government collapsed over charges of kickbacks paid to Indian officials by the Swedish group Bofors to clinch a $1.3-billion artillery deal. Fears of further corruption meant that the modernisation of the armed forces stalled, said Gulshan Luthra of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. To erect safeguards against graft India ramped up its army of bureaucrats dealing with weapons sales, with contracts becoming trapped in a paper maze. The smallest comment on an arms deal required from a government department can delay a case for several months. In recent years, the authorities have tried to clamp down on graft. As a result, officials in charge of issuing contracts fear exposing themselves to suspicion of corruption and are reluctant to engage, said St Mezard. For a contract to succeed, it usually takes strong political will at the highest level of the state, she added. But all these precautions do not prevent old demons resurfacing. In 2013 the government scrapped a $748 million contract with AgustaWestland helicopters following allegations it was won through kickbacks. Deals are also complicated because India is determined to achieve its goal of being less dependent on foreign trade for its military equipment. Its tenders are accompanied by significant technology transfer requests. For example, one mooted deal was to have seen Dassault assemble 108 out of 126 fighter jets on Indian soil. But the French refused to assume responsibility for all the planes that were to be built in India. The Indians insist on such deals, but without always having the means or the expertise to carry them out. As a result, suppliers are reluctant to embark on this sort of agreement, said St Mezard. Faced with an urgent need to modernise its military, Modi s government finally opted for the direct sale of 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets, which will be manufactured in France. But Dassault will be contractually bound to reinvest nearly half of the value of the deal in India, an obligation known as the offset clause. The offset rules are very complicated and opaque, said Rahul Bedi, a Jane s Defence Weekly analyst. We are talking high-tech and the Indian industry does not have the sophistication to absorb such offsets. India has signed several big-ticket deals since Hindu nationalist Modi took power in The increasing assertiveness of its giant neighbour China as well as its simmering rivalry with Pakistan have increased its need to upgrade its military. That signals many potential contracts for foreign arms suppliers -- despite the obstacles. Key aspects of deal 1. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves LeDrian signed the contract in Delhi on Friday after years of tortuous negotiations between the two countries. 2. India will pay about Rs. 58,000 crore or 7.8 billion Euros for 36 off-the-shelf Dassault Rafale twinengine fighters. About 15 per cent of this cost is being paid in advance. 3. India will also get spares and weaponry, including the Meteor missile, considered among the most advanced in the world. 4. Sources tracking the final negotiations had confirmed to NDTV that the IAF s Rafales will come equipped with the Meteor designed to knock out enemy aircraft and cruise missiles significantly more than 100 km away. 5. The acquisition of this weapon is likely to be game changer in South Asia. Neither Pakistan nor China, India s traditional military adversaries, possess a weapon of the same class. Rafale is a potent weapon which will add to the capability of IAF, Defence Minister Mr Parrikar said. 6. The first Rafale warplanes are slated to be delivered roughly within 18 months of the signing of the final contract. 7. There is an accompanying offset clause through which France will invest 30 per cent of the 7.8 billion Euros in India s military aeronautics-related research programmes and 20 percent into local production of Rafale components. 8. The deal could not be signed this January when French President Francois Hollande was the Chief Guest for the Republic Day because India wanted a better price. Pakistani Christian protesters carry a poster bearing the image of Pakistan s army chief General Raheel Sharif as they shout anti-india slogans during a demonstration to show solidarity with those living in Indian-administered Kashmir in Quetta on Sept 24. More than 80 people have been killed in Indian-occupied Kashmir since July 8 when militant leader Burhan Wani was shot dead by Indian soldiers, making it one of the deadliest bouts of violence in decades. (AFP) Kashmiri protestors clash with Indian government security forces in downtown Srinagar on Sept 25. More than 80 Kashmiris have died in the two months since popular rebel leader Burhan Wani was killed on the southern edge of the region, making it one of the worst bouts of violence since a full-blown armed rebellion was at its peak in the 1990s. The Kashmir valley and the summer capital Srinagar have seen ongoing curfews amid the unrest. (AFP) Subcontinent Concern over press freedom: A prominent local journalist who helped organize a gathering in Nepal of investigative reporters from throughout Asia was notably absent from the event, exiled to avoid possible arrest. Journalist and publisher Kunda Dixit, who founded the Nepal Center for Investigative Journalism, is under investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Global Investigative Journalism Network executive director David Kaplan, who worked with Dixit for more than a year to bring more than 350 journalists from 50 countries to Nepal this weekend, said Dixit is being targeted for prosecution and detention by Nepali officials, underscoring broader concerns about press freedom. He fled Nepal just weeks before this conference because of a witch hunt in which he s scared of being detained and imprisoned if he comes back here, said Kaplan. Kunda is one of our best and we are here because of him. We are all going to continue fighting for what Kunda believes in. Nepal s home ministry spokesperson Yadav Koirala said Dixit s issues are not related to the overall government and only concern the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Diplomacy First comments after Kashmir attack Modi blasts Pakistan NEW DELHI, Sept 25, (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at Pakistan Saturday accusing it of exporting terrorists after a deadly attack on an army base that New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Modi s comments were the latest in a war of words between the neighbours over escalating tensions in disputed Kashmir, where 18 Indian soldiers were killed last week in the worst attack in the region for over a decade. This is the only country that is exporting terrorism in all corners, Modi said, without directly naming Pakistan, in his first public comments since the attack. Wherever there is news of terror, there is news that either the terrorist first went to this country or later, after the incident, like Osama Bin Laden, he said addressing a rally in southern Kerala state. Addressing the Pakistani people directly, he added: We both gained independence in the same year but (today) India exports software and your leaders export terrorists. India regularly accuses its arch-rival Pakistan of arming and sending rebels across the heavily militarised border that divides Kashmir between the two The commission s official Ganesh Raj Karki said his agency has no warrant or case against Dixit because he is not a public figure and thus cannot be charged. However, Dixit and his brother, also a publisher, are being investigated for the amount of property they have in their names. Dixit said he s waiting for courts to grant him protection against unfair prosecution by the commission. Some local journalists and editors say Dixit Teplitz countries, to launch attacks on its forces. Islamabad denies the claims. The Indian army has blamed the latest attack on Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was also implicated in an audacious attack on an Indian air force base in Pathankot in the northern state of Punjab in January that left seven soldiers dead. That attack dashed hopes of a revival of peace talks, which have been on ice ever since. On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told the UN General Assembly that Pakistan wanted peace but New Delhi was an obstacle to talks. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in Both claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the region. On Sunday, the Hindu-nationalist prime minister seemed to appeal for calm among some of his right-wing supporters who have called for a muscular response against Pakistan in the wake of the latest attack. India is ready for a war but let us fight a war on poverty, unemployment and let s see who wins first, India or Pakistan, he said. Dixit s situation highlights growing government pressure on journalists to avoid publishing anything that could cast authorities in a poor light, even if they re true and fairly reported. At least one news magazine is being forced to close, and a radio station was demolished last week after authorities said its building encroached on forest lands. US Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz told journalists that free press is an issue the State Department is closely watching in this impoverished Himalayan nation fraught with political instability. The ninth government in 10 years took power last month, and a constitution adopted last year both espouses a right to free expression and has clauses that seem potentially restrictive of the press. I don t think Nepal can have a healthy democracy at the end of the day if it doesn t have a healthy media and citizens aren t free to express themselves, as you say, without fear of dire consequences, said Teplitz, who would not speak specifically about Dixit s situation. (AP) Lat/Am Court okays Temer probe: A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has authorized opening preliminary investigations into allegations that President Michel Temer sought illicit campaign donations in The allegations were made under a plea deal by Sergio Machado, the former president of Transpetro, a subsidiary state oil giant Petrobras, which is embroiled in a massive bribe and kickback scandal. According to Machado, Temer sought donations from Transpetro in 2012 to support the campaign of a Sao Paulo mayoral candidate. The probe, announced by Judge Teori Zavascki late Friday, also cites several prominent policitians from Temer s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), his Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) allies and the Workers Party (PT) of deposed president Dilma Rousseff and her mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Temer Based on the findings of the preliminary probe, prosecutors will decide whether to launch a formal investigation into the president. Under the corruption scheme, Petrobras allegedly gave over-inflated contracts to other big firms, such as OAS and construction rival Odebrecht. (AFP) Mexico sees surge of migrants: Mexican immigration authorities said Saturday they have been hit by a surge of almost 5,000 Haitian, African and Asian migrants entering by the southern border in just a few days. Recent experience suggests the 4,749 migrants entering through Mexico s Tapachula immigration center on the Guatemalan border will soon try to reach the California border, with many expected to apply for asylum. Mexico s National Immigration Institute said the migrants entered the country between Sept 21 and 23. It did not break them down according to country of origin, but recent trends suggest the majority are likely from Haiti. That would mark a huge increase over the number seen so far this year. The institute said a total of 7,800 Haitian migrants entered Mexico through Guatemala between Jan 1 and Sept 21, as well as 1,701 migrants from Africa and 3,753 from various Asian countries. The institute said that none of these Haitian, African or Asian migrants have requested permission to stay in Mexico. Up to this moment, the institute has not received any requests from these foreigners for refuge, asylum or regularization, because they have expressed that their desire is to reach the United States. The migrants cannot be sent back to their home countries, so Mexico gives them 20-day temporary visas so they can cross the country and get to the US. It said the Africans came mainly from the Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Nigeria. (AP) Same-sex marriage decried: Thousands marched in Mexico City Saturday against same-sex marriage, which President Enrique Pena Nieto supports, while hundreds of gay rights supporters rallied nearby. I think the government... wants to keep us from raising our children the way we want, 38-year-old housewife Miriam Garrido, who is against gay marriage, told AFP. She turned out as part of the campaign led by the National Front for the Family -- a coalition of conservative religious groups. The Front strongly opposes same-sex couples adopting children, and also opposes teaching about homosexuality and transsexuality in school sex education classes. Police kept the demonstrators separated on opposite sides of the Paseo de la Reforma. We think the people who are over there are there because of a lack of information, gay rights supporter Orlando Suarez said. (AFP) Fire breaks out on tanker: A fire broke out on an oil tanker of Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, forcing all the crew to be evacuated in the latest accident to plague the struggling firm. The blaze on the tanker Burgos occurred off the coast of Boca del Rio in Veracruz state and all the crew were safe, Pemex said in a tweet. Mexico s Navy said there were 31 crew members and that all had returned to port. Images tweeted by Pemex showed the vessel giving off plumes of smoke as another boat hosed the tanker. Early on Saturday evening, Pemex said that firefighting teams were still working to put out the blaze. The tanker was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel and 70,000 barrels of gasoline, Mexico s Communications and Transport Ministry said. (RTRS) Move to implement protection: Guyana s government is moving to implement a witness protection program it hopes will protect whistle blowers in graft and corruption cases involving top officials from the previous administration. Attorney General Basil Williams said Saturday that public hearings on legislation to enact the plan will begin next month when parliament reconvenes. The move comes after Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan complained last week about the reluctance of witnesses to testify on corruption allegations uncovered by several audits commissioned by the current administration. Guyana would join several other Caribbean nations in enacting such programs. Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados have active witness protection programs in which witnesses are moved out of the country before and after trials to protect their identities and keep them from being tampered with during trials. (AP)

17 INTERNATIONAL 17 Nigeria Drastic surge seen in psychiatric cases Boko Haram leaves a trail of mental trauma MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Sept 25, (AFP): The soldier clutched his book with both hands. He shouted his name, rank and Nigerian Army number to no-one in particular. He stood up straight and ended every reply with a bark of sah (sir). But his eyes were fixed to a slowly cranking ceiling fan in the hospital ward the thousand yard stare of someone who had seen too much and didn t want to remember. The soldier said he was caught up in a Boko Haram ambush and colleagues were killed. A bullet hit him in the leg and he hadn t seen combat since. Instead, he saw the inside of beer bottles, the smoke of cannabis joints, then the drug dependency ward of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri. Nurses said he was violent and abusive when he was admitted, but after a week he Ban calmed down. In times of war, when we are fighting war, it s very good for a man to be a man, to boast that he is a man, to fight the enemy, he said, trying to explain his state of mind. But unfortunately due to the ways of the enemies that come to you or due to the ways you meet the enemy, or due to the way you kill him, (or) you deal with the command... His voice trailed off and he apologised. At times that s how we fell into (a) battle that we don t expect in our life.... At least 20,000 people have been killed since the start of the insurgency in 2009 but doctors at the hospital say they ve treated nearly three times as many for its psychological effects. That figure is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg: the hospital is the only psychiatric facility in northeast Nigeria an area bigger than that of the United Kingdom. In all, 2.6 million people have fled for their lives: many have seen loved ones killed and their homes destroyed. Women and young girls have been kidnapped and raped. Children have been orphaned. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May 2015 called on Nigeria to scale up the provision of medical and psychosocial support. For the soldier, a passage in his book is supposed to provide comfort and support for life s spiritual battle between good and evil, right and wrong. Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight, it reads. But it s a real-life battle he has struggled to cope with and wishes had never happened at all. I wanted to be with my family, in peace, he said. A patient rests on a bed in the women s substance abuse ward of the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri the capital of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria on Sept 16. The Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital has seen a surge in patients with disorders ranging from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), depression, substance abuse, psychosis and anxiety since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency in (AFP) Africa Opposition chief slams ruling: Opposition leader Jean Ping on Saturday lashed a decision by Gabon s top court to validate President Ali Bongo s re-election, as police and troops patrolled the deserted streets of Libreville to prevent a new flareup of violence. Ping accused the Constitutional Court of bias (and) miscarriage of justice following a ruling early Saturday that upheld Bongo s disputed victory in the Aug 27 presidential election. I will not retreat. As president clearly elected by the Gabonese people, I remain at your side to defend your vote and your sovereignty, Ping said. Concern has been growing that a ruling in favour of Bongo, in power since the death of his long-ruling father Omar Bongo in 2009, could spark more of the deadly unrest Gabon saw after the president s reelection was announced. Ping, a career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, had filed a legal challenge earlier this month demanding a recount. The Constitutional Court confirmed Bongo as victor and partially amended the results, saying his lead over Ping had risen from a wafer-thin 6,000, as was first announced, to 11,000 votes. Libreville s nearly empty streets were under the watch of a heavy police and military presence on Saturday. Checkpoints dotted routes into the capital s centre, helicopters hovered overhead and elite troops protected the presidential palace, but there were no reports of any violence. In his first comments after the ruling, Bongo appealed for political dialogue with the opposition to steer Gabon out of crisis. I intend to very quickly bring together the conditions for a political dialogue open to all those who wish (to take part), Bongo said in a televised speech. (AFP) Ping Machar Rebel chief urges resistance: A top South Sudanese opposition leader called Saturday for armed resistance to the government in Juba a stance that suggests the troubled Central African nation could face a renewed civil war in the near future. Leader Riek Machar and top officials of the opposition SPLM-IO party issued a statement saying their forces would reorganize to wage a popular armed resistance against the authoritarian and racist regime of President Salva Kiir. It s the first political statement by Machar since he fled South Sudan in August. The statement, obtained by The Associated Press, came after a meeting Saturday of Machar and his supporters in Khartoum, Sudan. His call for armed resistance adds to South Sudan s spiraling problems. South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but fell into a civil war in 2013 in which at least 50,000 civilians died and more than 2 million were displaced. A peace deal was forced on both Kiir and Machar last August, but fighting in the capital, Juba, in July put that deal in doubt. We have been driven back to the bush, James Gadet, a spokesman for Machar, told the AP on Saturday in a call from Nairobi, Kenya. (AP) UN, AU, EU appeal for calm: The United Nations, African Union, European Union and a fourth international organization made a joint appeal on Saturday to the government and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo to exercise restraint amid violent political unrest. The three main international bodies were joined by the 57 International Organization of La Francophonie, which held a highprofile summit in Kinshasa in The four organizations said they were gravely concerned by the recent violent events in Kinshasa and elsewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where protesters and security forces clashed, resulting in loss of life. (AFP) 13 dead in stampede in DR Congo: Thirteen people died when a panic-stricken crowd stampeded in a troubled town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, local officials said. The incident happened when a drunken soldier in civilian clothes fired four shots from his gun, causing panic, the mayor of Beni, Jean Edmond Nyonyi, said. Eight people drowned when they threw themselves in the river, four were killed in accidents and one person died of a heart attack, he said. (AFP)

18 INTERNATIONAL 18 World News Roundup Health Infant eyes are like gold Mother uncovers impact of son s organ donation WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (AP): An ultrasound showed one of Sarah Gray s unborn twins was missing part of his brain, a fatal birth defect. His brother was born healthy but Thomas lived just six days. Latching onto hope for something positive to come from heartache, Gray donated some of Thomas tissue for scientific research his eyes, his liver, his umbilical cord blood. Only no one could tell the Washington mother if that precious donation really made a difference. So Gray embarked on an unusual journey to find out, revealing a side of science laymen seldom glimpse. Infant eyes are like gold, a Harvard scientist told her. I don t think people understand how valuable these donations are, said Gray, who hadn t either until her years-long quest brought her face-to-face with startled scientists. They had never met a relative of the donors so crucial to their work either. Zieske Families often find comfort in learning how many lives were saved if they donated a loved one s organs for transplant. But donating a body for research gets less attention there are no headline-making saves. Yet critical medical research in labs around the country depends on scientists ability to work with human cells and organs, so they can study both normal development and how disease does its dirty work. A lot of people, if the tissue doesn t get used for transplant, they think it s kind of second-rate tissue or something. I d like them to know that people who do research with human tissue are doing worthwhile things that are going to, hopefully, lead to cures for all kinds of diseases, said Dr James Zieske, a corneal specialist at Harvard and the Schepens Eye Research Institute, whose description of treasured infant eyes spurred Gray s hunt. Now, hoping to help other families facing decisions about donation, Gray has written a book, A Life Everlasting, The Extraordinary Story of One Boy s Gift to Medical Science. Gray and two of the scientists she met in her quest spoke with The Associated Press about donation for research. Neonatal donations of any type are rare Gray s obstetrician didn t think donation was an option for a baby with this birth defect, called anencephaly. Only when Gray persisted late in pregnancy did she learn, from the Washington area s organ procurement agency, that her baby s organs probably would be too small for transplant but that donation for research was an option. Statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing show that organs from a dozen newborns, those younger than a month old, were donated last year for transplant. On the research front, Dr Arupa Ganguly of the University of Pennsylvania studies retinoblastoma, eye cancer that attacks young children. Before receiving Thomas tissue, she had waited six years for donation of a healthy young retina to compare with diseased ones. Cells taken from younger tissue typically grow much better than an adult s, said Zieske, who could recall receiving infant corneas only two or three times in his career. Thomas corneas were ordered to study how to repair blindness-inducing corneal damage. Most any tissue can be used In recovering tissue from deceased donors, hospitals consult a national registry of researchers current needs. On that day in 2010, Thomas died at home in his father s arms. The organ agency retrieved his body, and recovered his eyes and liver. Blood from the umbilical cords of both Thomas and his healthy identical twin Callum already had been shipped to Duke University researchers studying what causes anencephaly. Was the research worthwhile? Two years later, all Gray knew was where Thomas tissue had been shipped. So during a business trip to Boston, she called the Harvardaffiliated eye lab, identified herself as a donor mom, and asked for a tour a first for the lab, and one that changed the scientists perspective. I still think more about, when we get a donated cornea, who that came from, said Zieske. Eventually Gray visited each lab that procured and handled Thomas tissue. A North Carolina biotechnology company, Cytonet, uses liver cells in researching treatment for babies awaiting a liver transplant. Penn s Ganguly froze some retinal tissue for future work. Callum, now 6, even started coming along. We explained to him there are some special scientists there working on helping other people, and they re using some stuff from Thomas to help them, said his father, Ross Gray. We always get a sample but we don t see the person behind that sample. The lab has really established a bond with that family. And I think it makes the work a lot more meaningful, Ganguly said. The journey isn t over Gray changed careers to work for the nonprofit American Association of Tissue Banks. That brought her to a meeting where scientists debated if it was ethical to test a new technology gene editing to fight inherited diseases. If you have the skills and the knowledge to fix these diseases then freaking do it, she told the group, recounting how Thomas had suffered seizures each day of his brief life. And when Gray recently had a new baby, daughter Jocelyn, she donated the placenta for wound-healing therapy. She d like to visit that lab, too. An aerial view shows the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in the remote Pingtang county in southwest China s Guizhou province on Sept 25. The world s largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life Sunday in a project demonstrating China s rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige. (AP) The GE-Alstom Block Island Wind Farm stands 3 miles off of Block Island on Sept 22, 2016 New Shoreham, Rhode Island. The fi ve 6-megawatt wind turbines are expected to produce more energy than Block Island needs. (AFP) Modi Discovery Mezouar India to ratify Paris Agreement: India s prime minister said Sunday that his country will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change early next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government will ratify the agreement Oct 2, coinciding with the birth anniversary of India s independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, who believed in a minimum carbon footprint. Modi made the announcement at a meeting of his Bharatiya Janata Party s leaders in the southern Indian town of Kozhikode. India accounts for around 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this month that 60 countries accounting for about 48 percent of emissions had already joined the agreement. The Paris Agreement asks both rich and poor countries to take action to curb the rise in global temperatures that is melting glaciers, raising sea levels and shifting rainfall patterns. It requires governments to present national plans to reduce emissions to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). On Sunday, Modi said global warming especially poses a threat to coastal countries and cities. Last week, Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said he expects to announce that countries accounting for over 55 percent of the world s greenhouse gas emissions have formally joined the treaty the threshold needed to trigger the landmark agreement when he presides over the 22nd UN Climate Conference in Marrakesh that starts on Nov 7. The Morocco conference is expected to hammer out the difficult details of how to make the agreement work and raise the $100 billion needed each year to meet its ambitious goals. Mezouar said developed countries are expected to come up with $100 billion in climate financing each year, with half of that going to help countries adapt to green energy and the other half to mitigating the effects of climate change. (AP) Paris goes car-free day: Half of Paris streets and avenues were car-free on Sunday as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo s fight against air pollution, allowing families and tourists to wander on the roads around Science FAST will help humanity search for alien life Largest radio telescope starts op BEIJING, Sept 25, (AFP): The world s largest radio telescope began operating in southwestern China Sunday, a project Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the mountainous region of Guizhou, began working around noon, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Built at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million), the telescope dwarfs the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as the world s largest singledish radio telescope, with twice the sensitivity and a reflector as large as 30 football fields, it said. FAST will use its vast dish, made up of 4,450 panels, to search for signs of intelligent life, and to observe distant pulsars -- tiny, rapidly spinning neutron stars believed to be the products of supernova explosions. China sees its ambitious militaryrun, multi-billion-dollar space programme as symbolising the country s progress. It plans a permanent orbiting space station by 2020 and eventually a manned mission to the moon. Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated the launch, with reports Sunday that he had sent a congratulatory letter to the scientists and engineers who contributed to its creation. The telescope represents a leap forward for China s astronomical capabilities and will be one of several world-class telescope projects launched in the next decade, said Yan Jun, head of China s National Astronomical Observation (NAO), according to Xinhua. In a test run before the launch, FAST detected electromagnetic waves emitted by a pulsar more than 1,300 light-years away, state media reported an NAO researcher as saying. Earlier Xinhua cited Wu Xiangping, director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, as saying that the telescope s high degree of sensitivity will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy. Experts have been hunting for alien intelligence for six decades, pointing radio telescopes at stars in the hope of discovering signals from other civilisations, but have not yet found any evidence. Last month a strong signal detected by a Russian telescope searching for extraterrestrial signals stirred interest among scientists, but experts said it was far too early to make conclusions about its origin. But the new FAST telescope could lead to discoveries beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysees. The car ban covered a larger part of the city than last year s event, closing off more than 650-km (400 miles) of roads in the French capital and offering attractions such as skating sessions and a picnic on the banks of the Seine near city hall. For Socialist mayor Hidalgo, who made the fight against pollution one of her top campaign themes in the 2014, the goal remains to show that Paris can operate without cars. The city council decided last year to gradually ban any diesel vehicles made before 2011 by the end of the decade, building on a greater public awareness on air quality after several episodes of oppressive smog in Paris. Since July 1, vehicles made before 1997 are not allowed to drive during most of the day in the city, as well as motorcycles made before June (RTRS) Singapore monitoring babies: Singapore is exploring plans to establish a national surveillance programme to monitor the development of babies born to pregnant women infected with the Zika virus, the state-owned Channel NewsAsia (CNA) said on Friday. Sixteen pregnant women have been confirmed to have the virus in Singapore, CNA said, quoting the Ministry of Health a doubling of the eight cases reported on Sept 11. CNA said the ministry was keeping close tabs on the women. While most people experience mild symptoms, Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized. In adults, it can cause a rare neurological syndrome called Guillain- Barre. Island city-state Singapore reported its first locally infected Zika patient on Aug 27, and since then the number of reported infections has risen to 387 as of Friday. The virus is currently affecting large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, with (From left) Director General of Easy Mile, Gilbert Gagnaire, CEO of the Paris Transport Authority RATP, Elisabeth Borne and Paris Deputy Mayor in charge of urbanism, architecture and projects, Jean-Louis Missika pose in a RATP electricpowered driverless EZ-10 minibus, able to carry up to 12 passengers, as it carries out its fi rst test on the banks of the river Seine on Sept 24, in Paris. (AFP) our wildest imagination, Douglas Vakoch, president of METI, a group seeking to send messages to space in search of alien life, told Xinhua. Construction of FAST began in 2011, and local officials relocated nearly 10,000 people living within five kilometres (three miles) to create a quieter environment for monitoring. Cell phones in the area must be powered off to maintain radio silence. In the past China has relocated hundreds of thousands of people to make way for large infrastructure projects such as dams and canals. The area surrounding the telescope is remote and relatively poor. State media said it was chosen because there are no major towns nearby. The villagers will be compensated with cash or housing. The budget for relocation is 1.8 billion yuan ($270 million), it was reported, more than the cost of constructing the telescope. China has poured money into big-ticket science and technology projects as it seeks to become a hightech leader, but despite some gains the country s scientific output still lags behind. At the beginning of this month, reports said 600 apartments had been built so far with the funds. Brazil the hardest hit. It has also spread in other parts of Southeast Asia. (RTRS) Test-tube buffalo unveiled: Almost 40 years after the first human test-tube baby was born, South African scientists have produced something bulkier: the first Cape buffalo brought into the world by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Pumelelo the buffalo bull calf was born on June 28 and was unveiled to the world this week at a game farm north of Johannesburg in South Africa s Limpopo province. The technique holds hope for far bigger and more endangered species such as the northern white rhino only three of them are left on the planet. This success is of major importance for the prospective breeding of endangered species, and that is the reason why we are undertaking this work, said Morne de la Rey, a veterinarian and the managing director of Embryo Plus, which specialises in bovine embryo transfers and semen collection, mostly for the cattle industry. Proud parents are biological mother and egg donor Vasti and sperm donor Goliat, which is Afrikaans for Goliath in his bulky case, no misnomer. The baby bull has a surrogate mother which has taken to him. He could grow to 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds) or more. Cape buffalos are notoriously bad-tempered and dangerous animals and Vasti was sedated when her oocytes, or egg cells, were extracted using a technique similar to that used on human donors. Game farming is big business in South Africa but those involved in the project said the main concern was conservation. The object is certainly not to reproduce buffalo of superior genetics... the goal is the conservation of species, said Frans Stapelberg, the owner of the farm where Pumelelo was born. The project will now focus on the northern white rhino and the trio who remain on the planet on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The San Diego Zoo is partnering with that effort. There are around 18,000 to 20,000 southern white rhinos left, mostly in South Africa, but they are being relentlessly poached for their horns to feed illicit demand in Asian countries such as Vietnam, where they are a prized ingredient in traditional medicine. (RTRS)

19 Film Chinese megastar Fan bags best actress award I Am Not Madame Bovary wins San Sebastian Fest LOS ANGELES, Sept 25, (RTRS): In a prize ceremony with a marked Asian accent? I Am Not Madame Bovary, from vet Chinese director Feng Xiaogang, ( The Banquet, Assembly, Aftershock ), won the top Golden Seashell Saturday night at the 64th San Sebastian Film Festival, an edition marked by across-the-board growth- in star presence, prizes, industry programs and news. Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing, who plays a woman cafe proprietor who takes on the Chinese legal system, scored best actress for I Am Not Madame Bovary. The latest tale of dysfunctional romance from the prolific Hong Sang-soo, sometimes dubbed a Korean Woody Allen, Yourself and Yours, won him the best director plaudit for a romantic comedy about a painter suffering from near delirious jealousy sparked by his girlfriend. Prompting the biggest applause of the night, Eduard Fernandez, commonly regarded as one of the finest Spanish actors of his generation, took best actor for his performance in Alberto Rodriguez s Smoke & Mirrors, where he plays Francisco Paesa, a real-life ETA arms-dealer, gigolo, thief and double-crossing Spanish secret agent. Two first features - of seven titles in competition this year s San Sebastian which placed new talent centerstage - Emiliano Torres The Winter, and Swede Johannes Nyholm s The Giant shared San Sebastian s Special Jury Prize. An Argentine Western set in a snowbound Patagonia, The Winter also scooped best cinematography for Ramiro Civita. The Giant turns on a 30-severely deformed man suffering from autism who plays petanque in a desperate attempt to be reunited with his mother. Greek Sofia Exarchou s Park, about teens who hang out in Athens run-down Olympic Village, abandoned to their fate, like the installations, snagged San Sebastian s coveted New Directors Award, which carried a EUR35,000 ($39,000) cash prize. Custody A San Sebastian 2015 Films in Progress player, Chilean Pepa San Martin s debut Rara won a hard-fought Horizontes Award. Centering on a Chilean judge who loses custody of her children due to her sexual orientation, Rara already won a Berlinale Generation Kplus International Jury Grand Prix in February. A further Horizontes Latinos player, Rotterdam Tiger winner Alba, from Ecuador s Ana Cristina Barragan, took a special mention in the Horizontes Latinos section for her tender father-daughter reconciliation drama. Bar Bahar ( In Between ), Maysaloun Hammond s female friendship dramedy, turning on three modern Palestine-Israeli women sharing a flat in central Tel Aviv, won TVE s Another Look Award. In Between tries to spotlight a new generation in Palestine Israel and the Arab world too. We are sick of dictatorships giving us rules, director At the beginning of Arab spring, when I started writing, you could feel the wind of change, Hamoud said on stage in one of the longest acceptance speeches on Saturday night, adding that change has not been complete. We must free our minds. Promote anonymity and freedom for women, she added. Swiss Claude Barras animated feature My Life as a Courgette added to its top Golden Crystal at France s Annecy Animation Fest this June, scooping Best European Film in the DSS 2016 European Capital of Culture 2016 Audience Award category. Ken Loach s I, Daniel Blake continued its remarkable festival career, taking the major prize in the same category, having won Cannes Palme d Or. Marking the biggest star presence in years, Sigourney Weaver and Ethan Hawke received career achievement Donostia Awards at San Sebastian; Gael Garcia Bernal collected fest s new Jaeger-Le- Coultre Latin Cinema Award. Also on hand: Javier Bardem, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly and Hugh Grant. San Sebastian added three other new prizes, one at Zabaltegi- Tabakalera, two more in its Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum. The biggest industry presentation was made by Telefonica s pay TV unit, Movistar Plus, presenting the writer-directors behind its first six original TV series. The 64th edition also saw a surge in deals on Basque film projects, as the festival s local Basque industry attracts international interest from sales agents and co-producers alike. That adds more industry heft to an event which is already established a key bridge between Europe and Latin America. Variety Features MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 New Silver Shell for the Best Actress, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, is seen before receiving the Award, at the 64th San Sebastian Film Festival, in San Sebastian, northern Spain, on Sept 24. The festival is one of the most prestigious and internationally recognised in Spain and Latin America. (AP) LOS ANGELES: California Gov Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring subscription entertainment database sites, such as IMDb, to remove an actor s age if requested by the actor. The legislation, authored by Majority Leader Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), was signed into law on Saturday by Brown, according to the governor s website. Subscribers should have control over whether their age and date of birth are posted on subscription websites used for employment purposes, Calderon said in June, when the measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. AB 1687 provides a necessary clarification in the law that will help prevent age-based discrimination for individuals seeking employment in the entertainment industry. SAG-AFTRA lobbied for the legislation with President Gabrielle Carteris urging members last week to contact Brown. Age discrimination is a major problem in our industry, and it must be addressed, she said in a Sept 16 post. SAG-AFTRA has been working hard for years to stop the career damage caused by the publication of performers dates of birth on online subscription websites used for casting like IMDb. We are now in the final stages of securing the enactment of a California law that would help combat age discrimination by giving performers the right to request the removal of their date of birth when it s included on online subscription sites. Opponents of the bill contended that removal of factually accurate age information across websites suppresses free speech. (RTRS) LOS ANGELES: MGM and Columbia Pictures The Magnificent Seven is leading the weekend box office charge after lassoing $12.7 million on Friday at 3,674 locations. The film, from director Antoine Fuqua, is zeroing in on a $35 million opening. The Western, which carries a $90 million price tag, features an ensemble cast including Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D Onofrio Film Young entrepreneur wannabes in new docu Millennial go-getter in Startup By Owen Gleiberman The words Internet and commerce go together like baseball and game and in 2001, the great documentary Startup.com set the gold standard for movies about on-line entrepreneurs. Shot in 1999 and 2000, just as the dot-com bubble was bursting, it captured, in fascinating detail, the attempt by a former Goldman Sachs trader to launch a site called gov- Works.com. The company wasn t without merit (it was designed to facilitate a user-friendly relationship between citizens and their bureaucracy). But part of the lacerating honesty of Startup.com is that the film never shrank from the idea that it was all about the money. For the creators of govworks, their IPO was going to be Christmas Day meets the Fourth of July or, at least, that was the kind of hope and desire that bubbled up around the Internet bubble. The crash of the boom sent out a different message: Your IPO dream is a fantasy of winning the lottery. It s possible, but don t stake your day job on it. Fifteen years later, the young entrepreneur wannabes in the new documentary Generation Startup may indeed have staked their day jobs, but from the outset it feels like they have less to lose and less to gain. One of them is co-starting a company that designs mobile phones and tablets (really? Isn t that sort of like saying you want to launch a hamburger stand to compete with McDonald s?), one of them has invented a special brand of pasta made from chickpeas (it s gluten free, and texture-challenged as well), and one is spearheading a new kind of property-management company that will hook up landlords and tenants in a more direct way (which sounds like a smart idea). They have all relocated not to Austin or New York, but to Detroit, where they re part of an umbrella project called Venture for America, which has purchased a 3,000-foot, 7-bedroom wreck of a house for $8,000. They do a makeshift renovation, turning the living room into their office laptop lounge, and christen it the Rebirth House. That s a reference to the way Brown their efforts are serving the greater social good not just the startup companies themselves but the fact that they re all there, in Detroit, at the crumbling heart of a city that needs to be brought back to life. Admit Startup.com channeled the end of the go-go 90s (which a lot of people seem disinclined to admit were even more materialistic than the go-go 80s). But Generation Startup catches a vastly different mood. Its subjects are so giddy with idealism that the fundamental issue of why they re all doing this in the first place remains starry-eyed and a bit vague. From the outset of the digital era, on the campuses of behemoths like Microsoft and Apple and Google and Amazon, the ideology struck by those companies overseers was always that they represented a new breed of corporation one whose driving motivation, apart from profit, was to make the world a better place. The altruistic element, or at least the perception of it, was baked into those companies brands, and to a striking degree it was embraced not just by their employees but by the larger world specifically, by the media coverage of new technology that has always, at least until recently, fawned over that aspect of CEO gurus like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. It s remarkable, in Generation Startup, to behold how much that belief has filtered down into the cells of the culture. The attitude of every one of the film s subjects is some variation on: The Internet is good. Internet companies are good. To start one up is good for the world. The profit motive, or perhaps we should just call it the earning-a-living motive, might be implicit, but it is scarcely mentioned on screen. And we hear next to nothing about business plans. (I kept thinking that we might have learned a lot more had the leaders of each company been subjected to four minutes of grilling by the hammerheads of Shark Tank. ) The movie itself doesn t seem overly interested in fiscal details. It s pumped and boosterish, with thrumming Pratt and Byung-Hun Lee. The film is co-financed by LStar Capital and Village Roadshow Pictures, and debuted on the Toronto Film Festival s opening night. It carries an A- CinemaScore. The last time Fuqua and Washington teamed up for The Equalizer, it opened with $34.1 million. Compared to other recent Westerns, The Magnificent Seven earned more than Tarantino s The Hateful Eight which opened over Christmas weekend to $16.2 million. Django Unchained had a healthy $30.1 million opening in Storks, from Warner Bros Animation, takes second this weekend with $5.7 million Friday, and is flying toward a $20 million opening at 3,922 theaters. music over the introduction to each character that says, They re in this because they care. In Generation Startup, the notion of starting up a dot-com has a mystique about it. It s not just a business it s a way to accessorize your cred. What s less clear is how much any of the startup companies we re seeing fulfill that mission. There s a bit of real-world grounding to the opening scene, in which Labib Rahman, an Indian-American from Yonkers, tries to explain to his conservative Muslim parents why he s ditching a conventional career to join a startup. His father points out that only one in 10 startups succeed, and Labib says, I know that I am on my own, but his grin tells you he doesn t know what that means. It turns out that Labib, who s one-half of the mobile-phone/tablet company, has a biomedical engineering degree from Johns Hopkins, and what s never clear is why working at a startup like Mason (the name of his company) would mean following his bliss any more than becoming a biomedical engineer would. Accept The filmmakers, Cheryl Miller Houser and Cynthia Wade, are way too coy about all of this. They simply accept on faith, and ask the audience to accept, that everything they re showing us is cool and progressive. But there s no doubt that they ve done a very good job of capturing the spirit and flavor of a certain kind of millennial go-getter. Brian Rudolph, for instance, is a man with a mission. He s the cofounder of Banza, the first and only brand of chickpea pasta, and he believes in his product. He keeps tinkering with the recipe, trying to get it right, giving away samples of it at farmer s markets, and he succeeds in getting it onto the shelves of several hundred stores. His industrious fervor is admirable (he winds up being cited in a 30 under 30 feature in Forbes), though if he were simply presented as a young guy who had launched a pasta company, we wouldn t necessarily be watching a movie about him. It s the tech link that gives it that indie edge. (RTRS) The animated film, led by Andy Samberg, currently has an A- CinemaScore and an A+ in the under 18 demo. It also has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 63%, which is almost dead even with The Magnificent Seven s 64%. Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell and Danny Trejo round out the voice cast of Storks, which is directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland. The film carries a $70 million production budget, which is about the same as the same studio s Lego Movie, and Illumination s Secret Life of Pets, but much lower than Pixar films which are regularly budgeted at between $175 and $200 million. (RTRS)

20 NEWS/FEATURES 20 People & Places Obits Bill Nunn dead Accordion player Dural dies at 68 NEW ORLEANS, Sept 25, (AP): Musician Stanley Buckwheat Dural Jr, who rose from a cotton-picking family in southwest Louisiana to introduce zydeco music to the world through his namesake band Buckwheat Zydeco, has died. He was 68. His longtime manager Ted Fox told The Associated Press that Dural died Saturday. He had suffered from lung cancer. Fox said the musician and accordionist died at 1:32 am Louisiana time at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. He gained fame by introducing zydeco music of southwest Louisiana to the world. This is one of the world s true genius musicians. A completely natural musician who could just fit in in any scenario, Fox said. As news of his death spread, friends from around the world paid their respects. Buckwheat Zydeco embodied a genre and represented a community with his signature Dural playing style that brought distinctly creole zydeco music to fans across the globe, said Neil Portnow, who heads The Recording Academy. The world lost a music heavyweight today. Drive Zydeco music was well known across southwest Louisiana where people would often drive for miles to small dancehalls where zydeco bands featuring an accordion and a washboard would rock the crowds for hours. But Dural took zydeco music mainstream, launching a major-label album the Grammy-nominated On a Night Like This, with Island Records in He went on to jam with musical greats like Eric Clapton, play at former President Bill Clinton s inauguration and perform at the 1996 Olympics closing ceremony in Atlanta. He jammed with Jimmy Fallon on the final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon played the guitar backed up by the Roots while Buckwheat Zydeco rocked the accordion. He brought zydeco to unprecedented new audiences, said Ben Sandmel, a music historian who wrote a book titled Zydeco! about the music. Dural earned his nickname because he had braided hair when he was younger that resembled Buckwheat from The Little Rascals television show. Born Nov 14, 1947 in Lafayette, Louisiana, Dural was one of 13 children. His father played the accordion but the younger Dural preferred listening to and playing rhythm & blues and learned to play the organ, his obituary said. Sandmel said while Dural was internationally famous for his zydeco music he was also an accomplished R&B artist and a diverse musician. By the late 1950s he was backing up musicians and eventually formed his own band. In 1976 he joined legendary zydeco artist Clifton Chenier s Red Hot Louisiana Band as an organist, launching an important musical turn in his career. Quit I had so much fun playing that first night with Clifton. We played for four hours and I wasn t ready to quit, he said in comments quoted in his obituary. In 1978 he took up the accordion so closely associated with zydeco music and later formed his own band called Buckwheat Zydeco, his obituary said. It was the 1987 Island Records five-record deal that eventually brought Dural to a wider audience, and he went on to tour with Clapton, record with artists such as Ry Cooper, Paul Simon, Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson. Fox called him an old-fashioned showbiz professional who was always focused on giving the audience regardless of either they were eight or 80,000-strong a good time. Fox described one evening in 1987 where Dural took the stage during a concert where legends Clapton, Ringo Starr and Phil Collins were already jamming. Playing a Hammond B3 a multi-tiered organ Dural got into a back-and-forth jam with Clapton, who eventually turned around, stuck out his hand to Dural and said: Hi! I m Eric Clapton. Who are you? The two went on to tour together, including a 12-night gig at London s Royal Albert Hall. He had this incredible charisma both onstage and personally, Fox said. To the end of his days with all the stuff that he d done, all the awards, he was still the same Stanley Dural Jr who was picking cotton when he was 5-years-old. Some people described Dural and his music as Cajun. The term generally refers to the French-speaking Catholics expelled from Nova Scotia by the British during the 1700 s who eventually settled southwest Louisiana, although it s often used to refer more generically to French-speaking people in the area regardless of where they re from. But Fox said while Dural loved Cajun music and often performed with Cajun musicians, he was very clear that he and his music were Creole, to the point where Fox said he even included in contracts language explaining that he was not Cajun. Fox says his daughter Tomorrow Dural has created a fundraising campaign to help with medical and other expenses. Dural is survived by his wife, Bernite Dural, and his five children. Bill Nunn, a veteran character actor whose credits ranged from the Spider-Man movie franchise to such Spike Lee films as Do the Right Thing and He Got Game, has died. His wife, Donna, said Nunn died Saturday at his home in Pittsburgh. He was 63 and had been battling cancer. A longtime Pittsburgh resident and graduate of Morehouse College, Lee s alma mater, Nunn broke through in movies in the late 1980s, first in Lee s School Daze, then in the Oscar-nominated Do the Right Thing, as the ill-fated Radio Raheem, who dies when choked by police during a street brawl in Brooklyn. Radio Raheem is now resting in power, Lee wrote on Instagram, also calling Nunn My Dear Friend and My Dear Morehouse Brother. Radio Raheem will always be fighting da powers dat be. May God watch over Bill Nunn. Nunn, who stood well over 6 feet tall, went on to appear in dozens of films and TV programs, including New Jack City, Sam Raimi s Spider-Man trilogy and Sirens. Kirk Hammett (right), and James Hetfield of Metallica perform at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park to end extreme poverty by 2030 at Central Park on Sept 24 in New York City. (AFP) Action vowed for refugees in concert led by Metallica, Rihanna Chinese fi lm director Xiaogang Feng (left), holds his Concha de Oro (Golden Shell) award for the best fi lm, beside jury president Danish fi lm director Bille August, for the fi lm Wo Bu Shi Pan Jinlian (I am not Madame Bovary) during the 64th San Sebastian International Film Festival closing ceremony on Sept 24 in the northern Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian. (AFP) Variety LOS ANGELES: Vision Films has set an Oct 11 release for romantic comedy Sam, the debut directing movie for Nicholas Brooks with his father Mel Brooks executive producing, Variety has learned exclusively. Sam will be available on DVD & VOD with special theatrical events in New York and Los Angeles. Sibyl Santiago produced Sam with a screenplay by Nicholas Brooks and John A. Gallagher. The story follows a New York City alpha male portrayed by Brock Harris who is suddenly transformed into a beautiful woman, played Natalie Knepp ( Orange is the New Black ). Sean Kleier ( Odd Mom Out ), Stacy Keach, Morgan Fairchild, Bryan Batt, James McCaffrey and Sarah Scott also star. (RTRS) LOS ANGELES: Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to God Particle screenwriter Oren Uziel s directorial debut, Shimmer Lake, sources tell Variety. The film stars Benjamin Walker, Spectre actress Stephanie Sigman, Wyatt Russell, and Rainn Wilson. Uziel wrote and directed the film. The movie is a crime thriller told backward reversing day by day through a week following a local sheriff s quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong. Britton Rizzio and Adam Saunders produced the pic. Production is currently wrapped on the project. Uziel, who s repped by WME and Writ Large, is a rising filmmaker. His highly anticipated Particle, starring David Oyelowo and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and produced by J.J. Abrams, bows next February. (RTRS) BOSTON: A classical music superstar from China is helping the Boston Symphony Orchestra kick off its new season this weekend. Piano virtuoso Lang Lang will perform Prokofiev s Piano Concerto No. 3 as the orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons opens its run at Symphony Hall on Saturday. Lang Lang has performed at the Grammys and soccer s World Cup. He also serves as a UN messenger of peace and has recorded music for PlayStation 3 games. Top names in music including Metallica and Rihanna joined leaders Saturday in a concert that brought promises of action to support refugees and improve sanitation in the developing world. The Global Citizen Festival, broadcast live from the vast lawn of New York s Central Park, distributes tickets to fans who commit to petitions and other actions aimed at ending extreme poverty. Interspersing performances from some of the world s most soughtafter artists with rapid speeches and videos, the fi fth edition of the festival put a special focus on solidarity with refugees amid the mass exodus from war-ravaged Syria. Electronic duo Major Lazer kicked off the more than six-hour festival that also brought out leading pop singers Celebs Cotillard s partner slams stupid Pitt fling rumours A look at Hollywood divorces NEW YORK, Sept 25, (Agencies): Doug and Mary. Eddie and Debbie. Alec and Kim. Brad and Angelina. Liz and, well, take your pick. As long as there s been a Hollywood, there s been scandalous Hollywood divorce. Then and now, they re just under enormous scrutiny. And like many people, they often marry for reasons that are not solid, said Jeanine Basinger, a professor and founder of the film studies program at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. They get caught up in their own images, in each other s images and then they get caught up in the images of themselves as a couple. Sustaining that is very difficult, she said from South Dakota, where she is on sabbatical. In Hollywood, said Us Weekly s entertainment director, Ian Drew, very few couples are Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, staying together forever. Most couples come apart. Regardless of the he said-she said nature of Hollywood bust-ups, Basinger believes the public responds in the greatest numbers when private lives clash with, or play right into, public personas. I think to do a major story on a Hollywood split is hard because you really do need the kind of mystery, glamour and, sort of, surprise that doesn t come along every day, said JD Heyman, People s deputy editor of entertainment. You can t make anybody s divorce interesting. Let s time hop through the hotbed of celebrity divorce: Douglas Fairbanks SR and Mary Pickford In the 1910s and 20s, mostly in the silent screen era, he was the fearless swashbuckler with a romantic streak and she was America s sweetheart, the girl with the curls. They married in March 1920, just days after her divorce from silent film actor Owen Moore was final, though she was still married when their affair began. Fairbanks, too, had been married before and by some reports it was Fairbanks who pressured Pickford to end it with Moore, risking her squeaky clean image. Everybody overlooked the fact that they d had to divorce other people in order to marry one another, Basinger said. But their own divorce was a huge, huge deal. Hollywood chroniclers of the time blamed it, in part, on issues that remain today: Endless days spent away from each other working and promoting projects, along with alleged affairs. Elizabeth Taylor et al Taylor, famous in film since she was a kid, was married eight times, including twice to Richard Burton. You got your options there, Basinger laughed. She divorced her first husband, Conrad Nicky Hilton, within six months of marrying him, amid allegations of abuse. Then, of course, there s Richard Burton. That s the one that everybody focuses on, she said. There was alcoholism, infidelity and probably a kind of fundamental incompatibility that broke them up. Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Speaking of Liz... Fisher left the girl-next-door actress Reynolds, the mother of his two young children, for Taylor in She was the victim. That big, bad beauty, Elizabeth Taylor, was to blame, Basinger said. Reynolds herself has likened their split to the Jennifer Aniston-Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt triangle, telling Vanity Fair last year: My three husbands all left me for another woman and obviously I wasn t a very sexual lady. But Reynolds and Taylor, who had been besties, were able to reignite their friendship years later. When Taylor died in 2011, she left Reynolds a sapphire bracelet, necklace and earrings in her will. Fisher and Reynolds had been promoted in domestic bliss, he a good friend of producer Michael Todd, the one husband of Taylor s who died (in a plane crash). Elizabeth Taylor was portrayed very much as a home wrecker, Basinger said. She told Hedda Hopper, What do you expect me to do? Sleep alone? Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger More than 13 years after their nasty split, time has healed some wounds. The two met on the set of the 1990 The Marrying Man and married Ahead of the season opener, Lang Lang staged a guest artist takeover of the BSO Instagram account on Friday. (RTRS) SALT LAKE CITY: Sting got to see his defunct Broadway musical The Last Ship set sail once more in Utah. The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter popped up Thursday night at a Salt Lake City theater which began staging the show earlier this month. Walker Sting Demi Lovato, Ellie Goulding and Rihanna who noted to the crowd that she herself migrated from Barbados. Metallica played one of the band s few shows ahead of the metal icons upcoming album, ripping through fi ve of their most classic tunes at a decibel level rarely heard in the halls of international diplomacy. Yusuf, the folk rocker known as Cat Stevens before his conversion to Islam, appealed to the crowd to ensure that no one is stigmatized on account of identity. This globe is big enough for everybody to share, he said. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder teamed up separately with Yusuf and with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, with whom he sang a two-guitar version of Patti Smith s People Have the Power. (AFP) three years later. Basinger filed for divorce in The two fought over custody of their only child at the time, Ireland Baldwin. In 2007, when Ireland was 11, a bitter voic Alec left for her leaked online, calling her a rude, thoughtless little pig for not answering his call. Alec later apologized. He told The Guardian in 2013 that the years of divorce litigation was so painful that he was staring off a cliff for six years. He wrote a book about the custody battle in 2008, A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard He left his longtime partner, Vanessa Paradis, then took the step of marriage with Heard. Were they more odd than fairytale? Definitely. So when Heard filed for divorce earlier this year, alleging drunken rage and physical abuse, media and the public ate up the details, including Heard s display of facial bruises and a video of a raging Depp she secretly shot at home. They were married just 15 months. Their divorce played out over weeks, rather than years, because poof came the magic settlement, of $7 million Heard vowed to donate to charity. Also: PARIS: The partner of French actress Marion Cotillard has hit out at the stupid and baseless accusations that she helped cause the split between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I don t usually talk about my private life, which until now I have always carefully protected, French actor Guillaume Canet said in an Instagram post on Friday. But the relentlessness of the celebrity press, the stupidity of some journalists and the hatred of certain internet users required him to speak up, he said. They have pushed me to declare the pride, love, respect and admiration that I have for Marion for staying so strong and intelligent in the face of these stupid and baseless accusations, he added. Cotillard on Wednesday rebuffed suggestions that she played a role in the Brangelina break-up by having a fling with Pitt. The Deseret News reports that Sting spoke during the curtain call, thanking the director, choreographer and cast. Running through Oct 1, the Utah staging is the first since The Last Ship closed on Broadway in January 2015 after only a few months. Sting wrote the songs for the musical, a semiautobiographical story about a prodigal son who returns to his northern England shipbuilding town and finds the workers are now unemployed. (AP)

21 NEWS/FEATURES 21 Cividini Ermanno Scervino Fashion MILAN: Milan designers are keeping it clean for next season. Many collections have a girl-nextdoor gleam, with an underpinning of sexy. The silhouettes are fresh and there is simplicity to the compositions. Maybe it s because many designers are taking hints from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s in their designs. And no, that doesn t mean retro. Materials and execution keep the collections modern. Highlights from the fourth day of womenswear previews for next spring and summer Saturday at Milan Fashion Week include Bottega Veneta, Ermanno Scervino, Jil Sander and Antonio Marras. Bottega Veneta Wearing a big smile and carrying the actual woven red clutch she used in American Gigolo, Lauren Hutton surprised the fashion crowd when she joined models in the runway show marking Bottega Veneta s 50th anniversary. The crowd burst into applause as the actress worked her way down the vaulted corridor of the Accademia di Brera dressed in a classic silk Bottega Veneta trench coat. Creative director Tomas Maier said the brand has been working through its archives during the 15 years he has been at Bottega Veneta and found Hutton s bag from the 1980 film among the treasures. I thought it would be nice for her to carry the bag from the film one more time, Maier said after the show. We love Lauren Hutton for many more reasons than that. Eva Herzigova and Gigi Hadid also walked in the show for Maier. Guests in attendance included Andie MacDowell, Marisa Tomei and Liz Goldwyn. With so many brands changing creative directors recently, Maier said his relative longevity was a mutual choice. It is like a marriage. If you want to make it work, it works, he said. The Bottega Veneta brand avoids flash, and its appeal is in details that are most apparent to the individual wearing a garment. Maier says that is by design. It s a personal experience. When you wear a coat, you discover how light it is. When you wear a sweater, you discover it has no seams, Maier said. It has always been about the experience. Feeling the materials, getting the sensibility. To mark the brand s 50th anniversary, Maier showed the men s and women s collections together with the more sturdy menswear and more colorful womenswear each playing off each other. The looks were clean-cut, projecting timeless wholesomeness. The soft female silhouette emphasized curves, with belted waistlines and low-cut V-necks, and the models themselves were more voluptuous than on many runways. Sheer knitwear added to the sex appeal. Ermanno Scervino Above & below: Models present creations by Blumarine, Bottega Veneta, Marni, Ermanno Scervino and Cividini during the 2017 Women s Spring/ Summer collections shows at Milan Fashion Week on Sept 24, in Milan. (AFP) Ermanno Scervino The men s looks were loose and boxy, with high-waist trousers that gather generously above the belt paired with simple polo shirts. Ermanno Scervino In his eveningwear for next season, Ermanno Scervino has created delicate Marni confections of otherworldly beauty. The Florentine designer masterfully pleats and smocks silk organza to Ermanno Scervino give it a form all its own, keeping the dresses so light they had the appearance of floating. Shapes varied from halter dresses with full skirts and Victorian ruffles at the neck to asymmetrical Bottega Veneta MILAN Blumarine Ermanno Scervino Roman-style wraps. The colors were as delicate as the looks: pastel pink, creamy yellow and sea-foam green. Scervino s collection for next spring and summer also took turns that were more edgy. A skin-tight pink jumpsuit had a futuristic flare. A series of bodyhugging skirts and dresses in ivory that featured pearl buttons along deep-cut V-necks evoked sex appeal. A sequence of blue-and-white striped looks, from mini-dresses to high-waist trousers with tucked-in blouses, had vertical and horizontal bands providing an optical effect that injected freshness. Blumarine Scervino described the collection as harmonious and sexy. Jil Sander Rodolfo Paglialungo played with proportions for the Jil Sander label, with big shoulders emerging as the emblem of the season. The designer said that while the 1940s silhouette was his starting point, he absolutely did not want something retro. What emerged were what he called strange proportions, the oversized shoulders that defined the looks a Ermanno Scervino flowing into slim, fitted skirt, loose shorts or trousers. The classic Jil Sander suit came in pinstripes and was paired with an oxford shirt with an outsized tail that hung past the jacket hem. Antonio Marras A 1950s exuberance permeated Antonio Marras looks for next season. The designer presented clothes meant to move in. To emphasize the point, Marras put dancers doing the twist in the center of the runway for the finale. The collection was inspired by Malick Sidibe s photographs from Mali in the 1950s and 1960s that captured men and women going out dancing dressed in Western styles. Music and clothes were coming from the West of the world, and what I liked, as always, is the mixture, the designer said backstage. In keeping with the inspiration, skirts were voluminous and flared, with gathering and pleats, or kept loose and flowing, as in sarongs, tunics and kaftans. The colors were more subdued than the usual fashion references to Africa, featuring beige, ecru and sand tones with hints of color and floral accents that the designer said were more English than African. (AP)

22 22 Culture Movements precise, choreography perfect Football: West Ham dancing to different tune LONDON, Sept 25, (AFP): When people talk about West Ham United s tradition of cultured football they are usually referring to the the London club s great players, who include the 1966 England World Cup-winning trio of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. But the phrase will take on a different meaning with a performance that has seen the West Ham Foundation and professional dancers team up with dozens of fans and refugees, all aged between five and 80, to create a new contemporary dance work. Home Turf is an hour-long show being premiered on Saturday at London s Sadler s Wells theatre exploring the highs and lows of football. Sport While some see the arts and sport as being at the opposite ends of a spectrum, for composer Murray Gold they have plenty in common. For me, sport and drama is very much the same thing, the 47-year-old, who grew up watching football in his native Portsmouth on England s south coast, told AFP in an interview before a dress rehearsal. When I watch a football match, it s the most dramatic kind of drama when you don t know even how anything s going to end. If you watched Manchester City play Bournemouth a couple weekends ago, Manchester City under (manager) Pep Guardiola looked like a ballet team. The movements were so precise, the choreography was perfect. For Gold, best known for his work on several British television series including Doctor Who, working with a mixed-ability cast of differing ages has been an intriguing experience. What I love is that one minute you can have on the stage this group who is clearly amazing and technically brilliant. And then the next minute you have for example 25 men and women who are in their 70s, who are not as agile as the young dancers but there is something about the participation and seeing them on stage which is very moving, very touching, Gold said. The performance doesn t shy away from some of football s darker issues such as hooliganism. Problems West Ham s move to their new home at the London Stadium has been overshadowed by crowd control problems which saw some supporters brawling with visiting Watford fans and even with each other during a recent defeat. Every club has at some stage had some problem with hooliganism, said Gold. I find football very unifying. I can go anywhere in the world and talk about football to most strangers. While performing on a stage is nothing new for the members of the National Youth Dance Company in the cast, it certainly was for Saadia Abdullah, a 21-year-old refugee from Eritrea now living in London. It is my first time on the stage, I m a little bit nervous, she said. When you start dancing as child it s easier. For us now it s harder, but it s never too late to be a dancer. click Alcoholics Anonymous: If you know someone who can t stop drinking and would like to help them please check us out and we promise to try to help at There are no fees. This is a genuine public service. Drinking problem?: You are no longer alone! AA can help you stop. Totally confidential helpline Narcotics Anonymous: NA can help with addiction problems. Totally confidential: English/Arabic. Cancer online support group: If you are Cancer patient or family member fighting with this deadly disease, come join our online support group. Best way of dealing with this disease is providing support and share our experience with each other. There are lot of things which even doctors can t tell so be member of this website and start sharing your experiences which may help others. October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The primary purpose is to promote self examination and screening mammography as the most effective way to save lives by detecting breast cancer at early stage. For more information visit: webs.com/ A flyer of the event Latest Share your story with Amricani: Do you or any of your family members, acquaintances or friends happen to have a story with the American Missionary hospital in Kuwait (Mustashfa Lemraicani) during the years from , the official period of offering medical services in Kuwait? Please share with us your story or your memory during those old days by writing the event and sending it to the following address: Mystory@darmuseum.org.kw Notes: 1. Please send your story only to the above mentioned . Story shared in Instagram, Facebook or Twitter will not be considered. 2. Please write your story or memory and sign it with your full name, and your contact number. 3. It will be great if you send us your personal photos or those of the place related to the story (optional). Your story will be part of a new book to be published by DAI. I am confident that your contributions will be an essential part of the history of Amricani. Share with us! Sept 27 Food Quest: Learn and sample traditional Arabic recipes that are not only easy to prepare but also flavorful and nutritious. Free of charge. Dates: Sept 7pm Boost your health with local dates prepared a variety of ways: stuffed, nutri-bars, cake, smoothies, and the special Kuwaiti dessert rangeena. Villa No 67, Street 413, Block 4, Shuhada Area, Kuwait Phone: +(965) info@tiescenter.net KJPS celebrates Onam Eid: Kollam Jilla Pavasi Samjam is celebrating Onam Eid Sangamam 2016 with joy and religious harmony on Tuesday Sept 27, 2016, 6.00 pm at SMCA Hall, Abbassiya. The event will be enriched with cultural procession lead by King Mahabali, Thiruvathira, Pulikali, Oppana. Renowned Orchestra team will enthrall the audience with their outstanding and pleasant numbers sung in multi languages, style and melody and this will be a perfect blend to the celebration mood. The highlight of this show is the beauty contest for the Kollam Jilla king and queen of the year 2016 in the traditional dress. The professional judges will select them from the audience. Delicious, sumptuous Ona Sadya will be served and controlled by coupons. We promise you that we will send you back with joyous heart and a day to remember in your life. All re cordially invited to make the show a grand success. Continued on Page 23

23 23 click Latest Continued from Page 22 For event management, Elected Salim Raj as General convenor Alex Mathew and Ansar Kulathupuzha as joint convenors. Various subcommittees were also formed under the leadership of Advt Laji Jacob, Alex Kutty, Shaji Punnals, Achankutty anchal, Thambi Lukose. Achan Kutty Anchal, Varghees Vaidyan, Hari Krishanan, Tijo Thomas. For more information contact , , Kollam Jilla Pravasi Samajam, Kuwait has released the poster for Onam Eid Sangamam 2016 by giving to the General Convenor Salim Raj by the patron Joy John Thuruthikara. Ona Sadya coupon has also released by handing over the same to the Joint convenor Alex Mathew by the General Secretary Joy Karavaloor. Sept 29 Steci Golden Jubilee: The Golden Jubilee closing ceremony of St Thomas Evangelical Church of India Kuwait Parish (established in 1965), is being held at NECK Church and Parish Hall at 7.00 pm on Thursday, Sept 29, Bishop Rt Rev Dr Thomas Abraham (chairman Prathinidhi Sabha) will inaugurate the public meeting, which will be chaired by Rev Saji Abraham (Vicar, Kuwait Parish). The first resident vicar, Rev P.M. Joseph (chief guest), along with the presbyters, diplomats and other dignitaries, leaders and pastors from various congregations are expected to grace this blessed function. On this occasion the Golden Jubilee souvenir will be released by Bishop Rt Rev Dr. Thomas Abraham. The year will be written in golden letters in the history of St Thomas Evangelical Church of India Kuwait Parish, as it celebrates its 50th year with wide range of programs conducted by the Sunday School, Youth Union, Women s Fellowship and Choir. Presiding Bishop Most. Rev Dr C.V. Mathew had inaugurated the year long Golden Jubilee celebrations on Sept 25, 2015 in a solemn yet blessed function organized at NECK Church and Parish Hall which was well attended by hundreds of devoted members of the parish. The Golden Jubilee inauguration reiterated its mission by declaring open many projects to serve the community. The projects not only provided financial and medical aid for the needy, but also extended to construction of churches, parsonage and houses, providing vehicles for missionaries, providing aid to missionary children in terms of educational and marital support along with partaking in church s various projects. Under the leadership of the project convener, George Varughese, most of the projects have reached its conclusion stage and the report of the same will be presented during the closing ceremony. The arrangements of the closing ceremony are progressing with various sub-committees, under the able leadership of Vicar Rev Saji Abraham, Boney K. Abraham (secretary) and George Cherian (program convener). Oct 1 Speechcraft by TMI: Speechcraft is a course from Toastmasters International (TMI), USA. TMI is a non-profit organization since It has more than 345,000 members in 142 countries. TMI, over the period of 90 years, has helped millions of people achieve their goals and become successful. To be successful and good leaders, one must be confident and the best tool for confidence is communication. Speechcraft is a short practical course in public speaking for the novice speaker, with the help of one-to-one mentor, you will learn to communicate effectively. It will also help you learn how to speak off the cuff (this helps in interviews), give positive feedback (this helps in motivating the fellow team members). By doing all this they find their path to leadership and success. Every venture need right mentors. Without mentors it is not possible to achieve the goal. The mentors for this Speechcraft course are senior, qualified and expert speakers, they have immense experience in the field of public speaking. They are working at a senior level in their respective organizations. With the proper guidance from the expert mentors, this course will help you to: Gain confidence in public speaking Develop your communication and language skills Learn to think quickly and clearly Become an effective listener Use body language and visual aids Advance your social skills Improve your job or promotion prospects Limited seats, course commences on Oct 1, For more information on this course, kindly contact Yusuf , Anil or Xavier Oct 6 IOC to conduct Arts Fest: Indian Overseas Continued on Page 25

24 24 SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25, (AFP): Vanishing message service Snapchat announced Saturday it will launch a line of video-catching sunglasses, a spin on Glass eyewear abandoned by Google more than a year ago. The California-based company, which also announced it is changing its name to Snap Inc, said in an online post that its Spectacles will be available soon, with media reports pegging the price at $130 a pair. We ve been working for the past few years to develop a totally new type of camera, said the post by Team Snap. Spectacles are sunglasses with an integrated video camera that makes it easy to create Memories. Snap earlier this year added a way to save images as Memories, a shift for a service know for messages that disappear after being viewed. Cameras Spectacles were billed as having one of the smallest wireless cameras in the world, capable of capturing a day s worth of Snaps on a single charge. The sunglasses connect to Snap software wirelessly using Bluetooth or wifi connections. Spectacles cameras take video from the perspective of wearers, boast a 115-degree Spectacles to be available soon Snapchat introduces video-catching sunglasses field of view, and capture snippets of video intended for sharing at the service. Imagine one of your favorite memories, Snap said. What if you could go back and see that memory the way you experienced it? That s why we built Spectacles. Snap estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day. Google in January of last year halted sales of its Internet-linked eyewear Glass, which became available in the United States in early The technology titan put the brakes on an explorer program that let people interested in dabbling with Glass hotly anticipated by some, mocked by others buy eyewear for $1,500 apiece. The Glass test program was later expanded to Britain, but no general consumer version was released. Glass connected to the internet using wifi hot spots or, more typically, by being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones. Privacy Google Glass had been hit with criticism due to concerns about privacy since the devices were capable of capturing pictures and video. Spectacles, expected to be in limited supply when they hit the market, would put pressure on GoPro, whose mini-cameras are designed to let people capture video of endeavors from personal perspectives. GoPro last week unveiled new Hero5 cameras, a drone called Karma and a cloudbased service for editing and sharing video in the hope of lifting profits, which have been battered by competition from all sides. GoPro became an early hit with extreme sports enthusiasts who used the mini-cameras to film their exploits, and went on to win over teens and young adults interested in sharing videos on YouTube and social networks. Pets Fighting animal cruelty needs teamwork effort: Al Hamad PAWS does great work in caring for animals Dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, rabbits, chicks, birds, and other unfortunate creatures are crammed into overcrowded cages and left in the summer sun and winter cold without food, water, or shelter. Dead and dying animals are left with the living so disease spreads rapidly and flu and viruses like parvo, distemper, FIV, calici, and panleukopenia are rampant. Unsuspecting shoppers bring their children to this dangerously unhygienic place to pick out a pet that will often be dead within a week. This is the Bird Market, a section of Kuwait s Friday Market in Al Rai, where pets and livestock are sold. The conditions are inhumane, un-islamic, and unhealthy for humans and animals. Activities there display blatant disregard for Kuwait s laws and damage Kuwait s reputation in the international community. Fortunately, a major initiative to improve conditions at the market is underway, spearheaded by Sarah Al Hamad from Kuwait Municipality, and Protecting Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Kuwait. As Head of Department and Supervisor of Cleaning and Contracting, and Assistant to the Environmental Supervisor, Al Hamad spoke to the Arab Times about what sparked the campaign. After being promoted to Supervisor I began researching the environmental situation in Kuwait and was checking out social media accounts where people are talking about the environment and posting complaints. With great interest I started following the Instagram of the volunteer animal welfare group, PAWS when I saw the great efforts they are making in the animal section of the Friday Market, the so-called Bird Market. I was not at all familiar with this area and I was amazed to see how their volunteers are working there as if it s their second home. Caged Al Hamad watched video clips posted by PAWS that showed their team members wearing disposable gloves and removing the dead bodies of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals that had casually been tossed out around the grounds of the market. During their regular visits to the market several times weekly, they take the caged animals out of the sun and put them in the shade or inside the shops and give them food and water. They administer first aid and clean the animals, especially their eyes, which are usually badly-infected. They instruct the vendors on animal care and give them medications such as eye drops and teach them how to use them. Many of the vendors are receptive to their advice, others don t care. PAWS team members also raise awareness about health and cruelty issues among the public, discouraging them from buying animals at the market and from bringing their own animals to sell there. When I saw all this, and I saw that the situation was being documented accurately, with before and after videos of the premises, I contacted the PAWS team and asked if I could go along on one of their Bird Market visits, says Al Hamad. I was very impressed with the efforts of these young people, Kuwaitis and non-kuwaitis, who are working in very tough, unpleasant, and challenging conditions, even picking through the garbage to search for sick and dead animals. They clean up the market, encourage the cleaners who are employed there, and work right alongside them. I could see from the group s videos made at the start of their campaign this summer that they have made a tremendous difference, but conditions that have been deteriorating over many years cannot be completely remedied in weeks or even months. There is still a lot of work to do, and as a volunteer group, PAWS clearly needs help from local officials, Al Hamad observes. Back at Kuwait Municipality, Al Hamad went to the market s management office to investigate the laws governing the market. She discovered there are specific regulations that were issued in 2006 under law number 151 posted on the Municipality website that state that among other things the market must operate under hygienic conditions, that the animals must be kept inside the shops, and any animals sold must be healthy. The Municipality is concerned primarily with the hygiene and cleanliness of the premises, while the trade in animals and their well-being comes under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAFR), Al Hamad remarks. She points out that while the Municipality does have the authority to confiscate animals kept in unsuitable conditions, there is actually no designated place to keep these animals, so the law is not actively enforced. Unfortunately, there are no laws governing how many PAWS Kuwait volunteers with some of their rescued animals from the Friday Market. animals can be kept in cramped conditions and many greedy shop owners squeeze the animals into cages so small they can t even stand up, she notes. As a result of Sarah Al Hamad s visits to the market with the PAWS team, and her reports on conditions there to her superiors, violations against shopkeepers who do not have proper standards of hygiene are now being issued. PAWS Kuwait also provided her with medical reports of the animals they rescued and took to Royal Animal Hospital for treatment, documenting the high incidence of viruses at the market. It s not just a matter of picking up litter and garbage, even more important is to eradicate the diseases that are so widespread and dangerous to the public and animals. There should be veterinarians on the premises, Al Hamad says. Besides the health hazards we should also look at the situation from an Islamic viewpoint and have mercy and Friday Market premises after being cleaned by the PAWS Kuwait team. An eight-year-old Yorkshire Terrier that was sold at the Friday Market by his owners and rescued by PAWS. He was treated for severe dehydration and other serious complications due to heat exhaustion, but is now making a good recovery. Happily, the PAWS team was able to find him a permanent home with a kind, responsible owner. Sarah Al Hamad, Head of Department and Supervisor of Cleaning and Contracting, and Assistant to the Environmental Supervisor, Kuwait Municipality. compassion for the animals that are being sold there and are suffering in agonizing conditions. We need to raise awareness, not just among the shop owners and vendors but also among members of the public who come to sell their pets there when they get tired of them. People need to understand that this is not a healthy environment and their animals cannot survive in these conditions. Al Hamad notes that some people also sell their animals at the Friday Market because they get sick and they can t afford the veterinary bills, so this increases the number of sick animals at the market. Regulations for vendors must be followed, there can t just be an open door policy where anyone can come into the market and sell or dump an animal, she says. Thanks to the efforts of PAWS which opened our eyes to the real situation at the market, we are now taking the initiative at the Municipality to do what we can according to what is under our jurisdiction. But the other local authorities must also join in this effort. People should not always put all the blame on the Municipality, they should do their research and find out who is responsible for what and then file their complaints accordingly. And the authorities should take responsibility and appropriate action instead of all blaming each other. Closure According to Al Hamad, some groups and individuals have been calling for the closure of the market, but in her opinion this is not practical nor is it the proper solution. We do not have the authority to simply close the market. It is a longstanding business venture with legally binding contracts between the vendors and the Ministry of Finance, she explains. There are laws that govern it and we cannot just take the law into our own hands. We have good laws in Kuwait and we PAWS volunteer Nasser Al Mutawa with a rescued kitten at the Friday Market. have to respect them and work according to the law. Closing the market would also result in the trade in animals going underground to more remote places where there would be little chance of regulating it. Significantly improving the animal section of the Friday Market and maintaining a lasting positive change will take a massive effort, but it can be done if we all work together. And that means local officials as well as the public. PAWS has done a great job getting this campaign started. I went to the Friday Market because of their efforts and because they are working with integrity rather than sensationalism as can so often be seen in social media. Now, as they say, come and join us, come make a difference. Eventually, through teamwork, we can turn the market into a clean, pleasant, healthy place where animals are well cared for and are kept in safe, humane conditions, Al Hamad concludes.

25 25 High note Cezary s Picks Strange is attractive Warsaw Fest reaches beyond music lovers By Cezary Owerkowicz Special to the Arab Times Maybe from the press releases that have been issued every now and then and (including my articles) some readers may have the impression that music festivals are held mainly during the summer to attract the tourists and lover of music. Believe it or not the main music festivals except for open air events they begin in the autumn. Maybe from the same sources we are assured that the contemporary modern music is limited to youth, music like all kinds of rock, pop, heavy metal and so on? But such youth music is a bit misleading name, considering that the main stages are almost dominated by musicians and groups for the past half a century, musicians such Owerkowicz as Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, P a u l McCartney and others! All generalizations are wrong! The modern contemporary music exists also on operatic, symphonic and other classical concert stages and they enjoy the high prestige and unexpectedly growing in popularity. In my opinion, i can prove this point to you. At the University of Salzburg the Austrian scientists carried out a research on the audience during the top three festivals of modern music in Europe Wien Modern, Festival d Automne in Paris and the Warsaw Autumn. At all the above mentioned festivals they noticed something new and something diversified in terms of the audience. The Warsaw Autumn Festival saw the youngest audience which has been running continuously every September for the past 59 years. The average age of the listeners was between 30 and 40 years. Rather young! We have the youngest audience between such kinds of festivals, says the event s director, Tadeusz Wielecki, who has been managing the festival for 17 years. (This year is the 59th edition and it runs from Sept 18 to Sept 26). Contemporary Not so long ago such type of music was recognized as totally strange but now it is just the oppositely, more strange and better! Also that audience consists of the highest number of the people not linked in any way to music! The Internet has become the great ally of contemporary classical music, leading music from the concert halls to its free, common space, then somehow taming the people with the stranger ( exchanging glances in the night and day too?) Thanks to the technological development. Today everybody aspires to be an artist, to create something new. Do it yourself? May be, because there appears the whole crowd of what we call the alternative musicians, each time improvising, searching and discovering new ways or traces, enlarging the meaning of contemporary music et al and enlarging the circle of people interested in it. Such festivals have stopped to be environmental events and are now known as closed circles events for artistes and its followers. The next stage of the opening was not in concert halls but rather in open areas (or common) spaces, such as the huge sports stadiums, large postindustrial rooms or social centers. At the ice skating rink two parts of the endless Karlheinz Stockhausen s opera cycle Licht and curios Cosmic Pulses were presented, ingenious polyphonic electronic tissue on 50 loud speakers. Wider Stockhausen s retrospective is held at the postindustrial venues in a suburb of Warsaw. Prague, on the Eastern side of Vistula River and at the Sport and Recreation Centre in Bemowo suburb where Respond by Pierre Boulez was performed and other compositions also at Optic Works or High Tension Hall of Energetic Institute of Science Academy! (With statics probably but without power short-cuts, I hope!) Attract Such untypical interiors undoubtedly are one of the elements attracting audience. Even it is troublesome because there are unprofessional to performing music. There is need to build daises, install lights, loudspeakeres, and organize backstage and audience. It means more costs and efforts. However it is profitable to attract the people and later to educate them. Director of the Festival says: I have always admired the BBC work: to present and talk about even the most difficult subjects in a simple manner. The biggest art is to interest, to involve listeners, not to limit involvement by hermetic way of presenting and talking about. Against still quite popular theory that opera is unachronic form of musical theater at the currently running festival you will be convinced that it is the most vital form of contemporary music. During two weeks of the event seven operatic works are being performed, mostly in the full stage form, some in the concert version. Maybe that phenomenon is worthwhile to describe in a separate article? The idea of such festival was born in 1955 to two fathers, known Polish contemporary composers Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki. The purpose was to present to the Polish audience contemporary Western music and breaking the isolation of Polish artistic environment during Stalinist era. Culture It came simultaneously with the Polish October 1956 political thaw after totally icy Cold War. Not the first time that the culture became an ice-breaker. The Festival soon appeared to be a double sided window: presenting world contemporary music to Poland and the so-called socialist camp countries (it became very popular in the region) as well as served as window shopping for the locals, Polish and regional composers, promoting them on the world stages. The event was stopped only one time: in 1982 when the Marshall law was proclaimed to stop the insurrection of the Solidarity movement. Such circumstances created the Warsaw Autumn Festival and it became more attractive form of previous generations of listeners. What makes it attractive for new, current generation, not easy to attract? Organizers say: It is the ritual, mystery, tale, narrative, sound in space, space of sound, aural area, multimedia zone Or perhaps more simply: the stage? This year s Warsaw Autumn will direct our eyes and attention to the stage, understood both literally and symbolically 2016 Warsaw Autumn, by filling the space of Warsaw s stages, halls, theatres, former factories, and swimming pools with peculiar sounds, primarily refer to what happened between the stage and the audience, or the listeners eye and ear : the free (in every meaning of the word) inner and outer space of man filed with the individual theatre of objects, character, ideas and sounds: imagination. PS. Not the banal forms of music popularization became fashionable not only in modern music but also every year in Warsaw. During the 26th Mozart Festival his Operas were presented not only at Warsaw Chamber Opera premises and at the Royal Park Theater, Park Orangery, Royal Castle or Seminar Church but also via the phone. The Arias and other fragments of his lovely music were available on free music info-lines numbers published in newspapers, billboards and posters distributed around the city. Amazing and simple, this is the idea I believe in art and education: Make things simple because everything is simple only sometimes we don t know about it. Editor s Note: Cezary Owerkowicz is the chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Philharmonia and talented pianist. He regularly organises concerts by well-known musicians for the benefit of music lovers and to widen the knowledge of music in Kuwait. His address is: and cowerkowicz@hotmail.com This is the 31st in a series of articles on His Highnes the late Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah ( ), the 13th ruler of Kuwait. Editor Latest Continued from Page 23 Congress (IOC) conducts its 10th Arts Festival- IOC-FEST-2016 for the Indian Community in Kuwait on Oct 6 and 7, 2016 at United Indian School, Abbasiya. Various competitions will be held in two days with participation from children from all parts of Kuwait. The competitions will start with the classical dance followed by folk dance, mono act, mimicry, poster poetry and patriotic song on the first day, ie. Thursday, 6th. The day long programmes will be continued on the second day (Friday, Oct 7) also with drawing/painting, elocution, poetry recitation, solo singing, essay writing and conclude with group dance in Sun of freedom would soon shine again Sheikh Jaber a man of peace click Porcelain jug known locally as (Yahla) was used as a musical instrument in sea singing. (KUNA - Jaber Abdul Khaliq) Pioneers of Kuwait By Lidia Qattan Special to the Arab Times As with every previous resolution, the Iraqi regime simply ignored the ultimatum. Incidentally, a few hours after it was passed, the US President George Bush sought to put an end to the crisis by diplomatic means, but his efforts were thwarted. Still, seeking to avoid the use of force, a meeting was arranged in Geneva on the 9th of January 1991 between the Iraqi Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State, but to no avail. Though a man of peace, strongly adverse to violence, the Amir Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad knew that only a war would force Saddam Hussein to withdraw from his country, no diplomatic means could yield results with such a man. Meeting with the US Secretary of State, James Baker, on the 11th of January, 1991 the Amir was convinced that Iraq s complete withdraw from Kuwait could only be affected with the use of military force. As the deadline drew near, tension rose. In Kuwait the people were getting impatient for the war to start. It did not matter to them if they were to live or die during the ground attack, all they wanted was to end the dreadful suspension, the reprisals and deprivations they had been enduring for so long and be set free in one way or another. Fighting The Iraqis had well entrenched themselves in towns and suburbs. For months, they had been digging trenches and building bunkers everywhere: over the terraces of strategically positioned houses and on flyover bridges, preparing themselves for a street to street fighting. But their assiduous preparations was carefully watched by the Resistance and reported with pinpoint accuracy to the Kuwait government in exile at Taif. Such information on every move the Iraqis were making enabled the coalition army generals to study their plan of attack with great precision to minimize their losses and overcome the enemy swiftly and effectively. As the coalition army got ready for war, the UN Secretary General De Cu llar sought to meet Saddam Hussein as a last attempt to avoid the disastrous consequences of an armed conflict on the people of Iraq. But at the time of his arrival, Saddam Hussein defiantly held the Islamic Popular Conference in which he called for al Jihad (Holy War) to destroy the enemies of Islam. When De Cu llar finally met Saddam Hussein on the 13th of January, he was told only to listen! In vain leading Arab and Islamic leaders tried to avoid the holocaust of a war on Iraq; for Saddam was beyond reasoning. He cared nothing of the consequences of a war on his country and was even less concerned for the safety of his people. Lidia Qattan Indeed, he used them as human shields, by placing his arsenal of lethal weapons in the most densely populated areas of Baghdad. Any attack resulting in heavy casualties would then be blamed on the coalition army, accused of slaughtering innocent civilians. Such an act of cowardice testifies to the diabolic nature of the man! Until the eve of the deadline, the 14th of January 1991, HH Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad continued inciting the family of nations to put pressure on the Iraqi regime, forcing it to respect the UN Security Council s resolutions and withdraw from Kuwaiti the evening. The competions will be conducted for different age groups on two different stages. We welcome all our dear ones to witness the children s programme and request co-operation from everybody as received in the yesteryears. The special memorial Award established in the name of Late Pala K.M. Mathew, Kalasurya and Kalamayukha will given to those who secure top in the individual items complying the requirements set for the award separately for boys and girls sections. Varous IOC committees are working for the successful conducting of the Programme. Participants can use any of the following contacts for registration. Fax No: ; iocfest2016@gmail.com. Filled entry forms will be collected at Sakina Bookshop, Abbassiya. For group items, the group leader only need to send the entry form. Last date for entry: Sept 30, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah territory before it was too late. But the 15th of January arrived and Saddam remained defiantly indifferent to warning, an attitude that could no longer be tolerated. Promote On that day, HH Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad addressing kings and presidents of the Arabian countries, emphasized the need to deal effectively with any transgression that threatened the new world order. What needed to be done had to be done to promote and maintain peace and stability in the world for the sake of all humanity. Finally, on Thursday morning, the 17th of January 1991, at precisely 0240 hours the coalition army implemented the first stage of its plan, Desert Storm, this was well calculated to paralyze the Iraqi army and force Iraq to retreat from Kuwait. On that precise hour the Amir spoke to his people announcing the beginning of the war of liberation. Addressing those inside Kuwait heroically fighting for their land, he could not hide the intense pride he felt in their indomitable resistance and courage in spite of terrible reprisals from the Iraqi Mukhabarat. So, when he said, All this time we have been with you with our heart and soul praying for you, bearing the agony of your suffering, everyone knew he was speaking with his heart, as a loving father feels for his own children when he knows For any further details, please contact Tel Nos , , , Oct 7 BMC Onam Eid celebrations: Bishop Moore College Alumni Association Kuwait is conducting Onam - Eid get-together and annual general body meeting on Friday, Oct 7, 2016 from 09:00 am onwards at Kabbad. Various programs are planned on this occasion. Ganamela, Thiruvathirakali, Vallamkali, solos, dance, games etc. BMCAAK invites all the ex-students of BMC to attend the meeting. For more details please contact Satheesh C. Pillai (Convener); Mob Oct 13 YMCA Onasangamam: YMCA Kuwait is conducting Onasangamam on Thursday, Oct 13, 2016 from pm onwards at Indian Community Senior they are in peril or in pain. Indeed, many times he wept, praying God for a speedy liberation of his land to stop their ordeal at the hands of men whose morbid pleasure was torturing their victims to death. When addressing his people scattered around the world, praising their involvement in the common cause, he confidently told them that the sun of freedom would soon shine again over their beloved land and they would be all reunited with their loved ones. Bombarding The heavy bombarding on Baghdad effectively disrupted the Iraqi war machine, destroying its communication system and practically paralyzing the Iraqi army. Seeing himself out-maneuvered, Saddam Hussein called on all Arabs and Muslims to join him in a holy war, while accusing the allies of massacring innocent civilians and destroying the holy shrines of Islam. At the same time, he ordered a huge oil spill to be released from the port of Ahmadi, Kuwait onto the waters of the Gulf. The vast environmental pollution this caused and its catastrophic effect on the delicate ecosystem horrified the world. The spill also seriously damaged the desalination plants of the Gulf countries. From the moment the war of liberation got underway, HH Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad was following every news of the development with strong feelings a mixture of relief and apprehension. Saddam Hussein s threat to use chemical weapons was taken seriously, but it was later discovered that his own army had no protection against them. Only the high officers of the elite Republican Guard had some form of protection, though not sufficient to withstand the full effects of those weapons if implemented. As for the rest of the Iraqi army, it didn t stand a chance, even their helmets were made of fiberglass that offered little protection even from conventional arms! To be continued School Auditorium, Salmiya. Various programs are planned on this occasion ganamela, thiruvathirakali, vallamkali, solos, dance etc... We invite of you to attend the meeting. For more information please contact Joseph M.A. Convener (Mob # ) Oct 14 Puraskara Sandhya : K.T. Muhammed Padanavedi-Kuwait, the non-religious social gathering of some of the art, literature and drama lovers in Kuwait; who are highly influenced by the dramas of K.T. Muhammed, veteran play and screen writer of Malayalam drama. Our ultimate aim is to explore the influences provided by the dramas on its golden era to the old society. Also we are trying to encourage the Kuwait society s eminent personalities who are part of Kuwait s art, drama, media, music, social and cultural fields. Continued on Page 26

26 26 Turkey s economic, banking sector continues to demonstrate positive performance Burgan Bank holds lunch in honor of Turkish minister KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: On the occasion of the Turkish Development Minister Lutfi Elvan s visit to Kuwait, Burgan Bank hosted the Minister and his accompanying delegation, along with the Ambassador of Turkey to the State of Kuwait, H.E. Murat Tamer to a special lunch to welcome them and honor them for their presence. At the forefront of receiving the delegation was Majed Essa Al- Ajeel Chairman of Burgan Bank Group and a number of senior leaders of Burgan Bank Group in Kuwait and the management of Burgan Bank Turkey. Attendees also included top businessmen from Kuwait. Commenting on this occasion, Majid Al- Ajeel said: Turkey s economic and banking sector continues to demonstrate a positive performance after it displayed its impressive adaptation throughout the period of the global financial crisis, providing opportunities for steady long-term growth in its economy. The Turkish economy is considered from the strongest sixteen in the world, and the robust Turkish attendance at the G20 summit plays a major role in this. Turkey s large and growing young population is also an added value along with its strategic location between Europe and the Middle East. Al Ajeel added: The positive indicators in the performance of Burgan Bank Group as a whole continues to move in the right direction to ensure the solidity in its diverse strategy across all our regional operations, especially in Turkey, for Burgan Bank Turkey s performance is excellent, and through God s grace, has been achieving all the goals that have been set and announced since the acquisition in December The results of the bank have been converted to profitability and are now in the continued growth phase. Burgan Bank Turkey is considered an important banking platform A photo from the event in the Turkish market through 51 branches and with complete readiness to serve the Turkish domestic market and our customers interested in being present and investing in the Turkish market. In conclusion, Al- Ajeel noted that it is important to benefit and take advantage of the opportunities offered to foreign investors by the Turkish government since the Turkish government embarked on several incentive steps for attracting foreign investors to the Turkish market. KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Prints are firmly in the frame for AW, while shades of opulent teal, purple, grey and burgundy are runaway favourites, ensuring you never get left in the shadows. An enigma he may be, but Ted s inimitable attention to detail guarantees there s no case of mistaken identity; texture, embellishment and finishing flourishes have the finer details all stitched up. Be the best-dressed man for the job in relaxed and laid-back tailoring with crisp lines and clean shapes a knowing nod to the sport-luxe look of the season. Interesting textures and soft silhouettes make light work of swift departures and incognito exits. Cuffed trousers, bomber-style jackets and patch-pocket blazers are practical pieces you can grab-and-dash at the drop of a hat. Faultless Once darkness falls, become a master of disguise in faultless tailoring and sleek separates. Brace yourself for impact in oversized checks on blazers, florals on tailoring and geos on accessories. Statement, tactile fabrics are for those who need never blend in with the crowd (undercover agents, please disregard). The season s accessories of choice are slick and sharp. A luxe rucksack, masterfully crafted from textured Italian leather, is your new-season bag of tricks, keeping your essential assets stylish and secure. Ladies, complete your AW mission in swathes of warm and snug wool, boucle and herringbone that are perfect for getting cosy once things turn frosty. Silhouettes are given new life with fresh takes on the traditional (see the fit-and-flare dress, high necks and asymmetric hems), while prints feature delicate roses, striking checks and sweet lemons. Fabrics are alluring and beautiful, with frayed boucle, brushed dogtooth and tactile tulle stealing the show. Every little detail has been considered to the nth degree; diamond-cut hardware, braid work and beautiful embroidery are Ted s secret weapons. Autumn Winter s beguiling accessories in crisp monochrome and the finest leather will ensure secret admirers are hot on your heels and marvelling glances are never in short supply. Bold geo prints sit alongside cosy faux furs and sumptuous satin to ensure captivating style is always within your clutches. Agent, commence Mission Impeccable. click Latest Continued from Page 25 We are conducting an honorary function in which we honor eminent personalities from art, drama, media, music, social and cultural fields for their contributions to Kuwait s society. Also we are planning musical entertainment with ever hit songs. The function will be scheduled on Friday, 14th October 2016 at United Indian School Auditorium, Abbasiya from 6.00 pm onwards. Oct 21 IIK Diwali Mela 2016: After the grand success of our first ever IIK Diwali Mela, IIK is once again proud to announce for the 5th time the IIK Diwali Mela As part of our continuous endeavor to bring the Indian community together to celebrate the most popular Indian festival, the Diwali Mela will be celebrated on Friday, Oct 21, 2016 at Al Zumerida Hall, Al Bida a, Opp Salwa, Kuwait from 10 am to 8 pm. The whole-day program comprises of entertainment for the entire family and for all age groups. The visitors can enjoy cultural programs, kids fashion show, fancy dress, dandiya raas, lantern competition, mithai contest, rangoli competition, organized by various Indian associations including food at different Indian Continued on Page 27 Workshop part of prestigious Art Jameel Photography Award British Council, Nuqat hold Re-inventing workshop Season s accessories of choice are slick and sharp Crack AW16 dress code with Ted s collection Photos from the event Hassan releases his first single Kuwaiti singer Hassan released his fi rst single Ba aalak Dam ah (one tear left for you), written by Abdullah Al-Nasser. This announcement came during a press conference held yesterday at Sheraton Hotel, with large media presence. The song directed by Abdullah Al-Arrak, is set to be broadcasted on Qanawati and other radio stations, including Marina FM. Arrak used high quality technology KFH-Malaysia delegates with Malaysian officials during the courtesy call Supports local Halal industry KFH strengthens Malaysia ops KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Kuwait Finance House Malaysia (KFH-Malaysia) is taking steps towards expanding its operations in Sarawak on top of the two existing branches at present in Satok (Kuching) and Tanjung Manis, the only banking facility available in Tanjung Manis halal hub. Its Chief Executive Officer David Power reinstated KFH s commitment to grow and expand after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia yesterday. He added that there were 15 branches throughout Malaysia since its establishment in 2006, two of them in Sarawak. He noted they were evaluating the performance of the two existing branches first and consider to set up another branch. What is certain is that the Satok branch is performing at a satisfactory level. There are no while directing the music video, showing Hassan in a special way based on a simple yet deep method. The director was able to give the music video a dimension despite its simple idea. During the press conference, Hassan spoke in detail about the single, the music video and his new works that are still in production. He said that he met with several writers, and will select some songs to release next year. plans at the moment to set up additional branches in the state but to focus on the development of its Tanjung Manis branch to support the state government in developing the halal hub. On the courtesy call, Power said it was meant to convey to the chief minister KFH s commitment in supporting the halal industry here by providing financial facilities and have more business engagement with Sarawakians, particularly local industry players in Tanjung Manis. KFH Malaysia is looking forward to stronger business ties in the state in the long term to provide Islamic financial services and products to the people of Sarawak. The bank s Chief Operating Officer, David Wee Kim Peng, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Nor Azzam Abdul Jalil and its Satok Branch Manager Taib Kipli were also present at the courtesy call. KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: The British Council and Nuqat in partnership with Art Jameel of Abdul Latif Jameel, are organising a two day photography workshop, titled Re-inventing Imagery, on the 4th and 5th of October at the Kuwait Science Club. The workshop will be delivered by Ali Al-Zaidi, and will explore the topic of Re-inventing Imagery, which is this year s theme for the prestigious annual Art Jameel Photography Award. Participants will be asked to interpret the theme and share stories with each other. In addition to technical photography skills, they will learn how to participate in photography competitions, such as the Art Jameel Photography Award. There is so much great talent in Kuwait, so we re pleased that our partnership with Art Jameel is giving a chance to many young photographers to forge new connections and develop their creative skills, said Mais Montazar, head of projects at British Council Kuwait. Opportunity The Art Jameel Photography Award (AJPA) is one of Art Jameel s many initiatives and an extension of the Bab Rizq Jameel Photography Award, which was launched in The award aims to provide an opportunity for talented young photographers to show their work to a wider audience, and to help them further their careers. In 2015, the award was extended for the first time to accept submissions from all the GCC countries, as, until now it had been focussed on Saudi Arabia. The workshop leader, Ali Al-Zaidi is a photographer, currently based in Kuwait. He says I first ventured into photography ten years ago. My main aim was to allow people to see a part of the world in a way in which they probably hadn t seen yet and to spread awareness that although we share different cultures, ideas and believes; we are all essentially a part of the same land. This workshop is free of charge and registration is still open. Participants can register or get more information by contacting the organizing committee on eventskw@britishcouncil.org or visiting the British Council s website events/ The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes. For more information, please visit: The AJPA 2016 photography award aims at establishing a platform of creativity through image making which will give opportunities for established and emerging artists. Artists residing in Saudi and from all over the GCC are encouraged to apply. This year s AJPA aims to uncover modes of production and participation in overlapping fields of culture, urbanism and social experimental photography or the use of alternative process techniques of image making. The goal is to encourage artists to break away from the familiar and commercial ways of looking at and using images through art. More information on the Award can be found at artjameel.org/ Ali Al-Zaidi Eastpak store in Kuwait Store launched AAW and Eastpak expand presence KUWAIT, Sept 25: Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa Commercial Co. (AAW) today announced the launch of the first independent Eastpak store at Boulevard Mall, Salmiya. The store occupies more than 127 square meters and includes bags of various size, type and style as well as travel gear and accessories from world-renowned brand Eastpak, specializing in the design, development and manufacturing of bags. Introducing a distinctive range, the first Eastpak store in the country will supply a variety of bags ranging from travel to backpacks in multiple forms of fashion and size. Known for their high-quality and design, Eastpak bags are able to withstand and resist strong conditions of use alongside a guarantee up to 30 years. AAW General Manager, Ali F. Al Mutawa said: Following the great success of Eastpak s quality products in the country and the fast growing loyalty for the brand, today we launched our first dedicated Eastpak store in Kuwait, offering Eastpak s customers an even greater access to Eastpak s range of products through a shopping a fun, easy, and convenient shopping experience. AAW is one of the largest trading and commercial companies in the Middle East, operating over 100 different global brands in the Middle East s surging retail and consumer goods market. AAW is the exclusive distributor of Eastpak in Kuwait for more than 10 years, delivering an array of bags directly to the market. Eastpak products can be found at Carbon Fiber stores located in The Avenues, Anfal Mall, Kuwait International Airport and now at its independent flagship store located on the ground floor at Boulevard Mall, Salmiya. Burgan Bank reveals Yawmi draw winners KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Burgan Bank announced today the names of the lucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a prize of KD 5,000. The lucky winners for the daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD 5,000 each, and they are: Jasem Rashim Mansour Al Abboudi, Ali Mohammad Taleb Znait, Ali Abdou Hussain, Heirs of Khaled Abdulaziz Suliman Al Tkheaim, Jawad Jameel Al Teemani. In addition to the daily draw, Burgan Bank also offers a Quarterly Draw with more chances to win higher rewards, entitling one lucky customer to win KD 125,000 every three months. The Yawmi Account offers Daily and quarterly Draws, the Quarterly Draw requires customers to maintain a minimum amount of KD 500 in their account for 2 months prior to draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 in the account, will entitle customers to one chance of winning. If the account balance is KD 500 and above, the account holder will be qualified for both the quarterly and daily draws. Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances to becoming a winner. The more customers deposit, the higher the chances they receive of winning. For more information on opening a Yawmi account or about the new quarterly draw, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and receive all the details, or simply call the bank s Call Center at where customer service representatives will be delighted to assist with any questions on the Yawmi account or any of the bank s products and services. Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank s for further information.

27 27 h o r o s c o p e By Jacqueline Bigar Happy birthday for Monday, Sept. 26, 2016: This year you feel much more energized than in the past. You are optimistic and positive in general. As a result, much of what you want falls into place. Others find that you adjust well to different situations. If you are single, you could meet someone who has significance to your life. The problem will be sorting through all the possibilities. If you are attached, be careful not to let your sweetie become jealous. Make sure that he or she knows how important he or she is to you. LEO can charm the socks off of you. The Stars Show the Kind of Day You ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-Soso; 1-Difficultt Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19) **** You might not feel up to snuff. You could feel as if your day-to-day routine has been disrupted, as you seem to be looking at a whole new set of circumstances. You might need a day to assess a certain issue or area of your life. Tonight: Do what you feel is necessary. Aquarius - (Jan 20 - Feb 18) **** Understand that you might not be holding the best hand of cards right now. Let go and worry less. You know that a close associate will be on top of this matter. If you can take a personal day, do. Tonight: Return calls and reach out to someone at a distance. Pisces - (Feb 19 - Mar 20) *** Pace yourself. You ll want to get a lot done and go full speed ahead. However, you are likely to become exhausted a lot more quickly that way than if you were to keep an even pace. A friend could disappoint you, as you might not feel supported. Tonight: Get some exercise. Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19) **** A loved one seems lucky, no matter what he or she does. You might want to ride this person s coattails. Count on getting an unexpected response. You ll want to rethink your responsibilities, especially around work. Tonight: Add more playfulness to your day. Taurus - (Apr 20 - May 20) *** Others see you as someone who knows exactly what he or she is aiming for. Getting distracted does not suit you. Nevertheless, a family member demands some of your time. Rethink your perspective about this person. Tonight: Bring home a favorite cheese or dessert. Gemini - (May 21 - June 20) **** New beginnings become possible if you are open to someone who has been a source of inspiration in the past. Listen to news that comes forward from a reticent associate. You will want to find out where this person s hesitancy is coming from. Tonight: Rethink an agreement. Cancer - (June 21 - July 22) **** Cut back on your interactions with others. You have a lot on your mind that you ll need to deal with. You could feel as if someone is holding back; however, pushing this person to share more will not have a positive result. Let it go for now. Tonight: Avoid a controlling person. Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22) **** You might want to revisit a conversation that often leads to different solutions. You are likely to hear a lot of different suggestions, some of which could be unworkable. A situation develops around an associate who is very controlling. Tonight: Go with the flow. This Week: You start the week feeling motivated, but your energy slowly depletes each day. Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22): *** Make it OK to pull back and get a better sense of direction. You could feel uptight and as if you re not able to share what is on your mind. Holding back could be a problem. Your creativity flourishes under pressure. You ll find a way around the problem. Tonight: Take some time off. Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22) **** Your optimism emerges, which makes you feel as if anything is possible. You might be more serious-minded than you realize. Others will make an effort to get past a problem that could be holding you back. Change how you think about the issue. Tonight: Easy works. Scorpio - (Oct 23 - Nov 21) **** You ll want to handle a problem before it becomes more difficult. You might feel as if you must impress an authority figure in your life. A conversation seems to jump from one topic to another. Change how you manage your finances. Tonight: Make an important call. Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21) *** To friends and loved ones, you could seem a bit discouraged or overly serious. You might not need to pursue your present course if you would rather not. Others are more than willing to pitch in and help you get past a hassle; let them. Tonight: Let someone else pick up the tab. Born today: Saint Francis of Assisi (1182), missionary Johnny Appleseed (1774), poet T.S. Eliot (1888) home decor indoor gardening beauty tips taste buds wash your walls buddleia davidii ayurvedic massage flan mexicano Before washing the walls, you will need to remove any loose dirt and dust. There are several ways to remove the dry dust and dirt. Use a vacuum with a bruxsh attachment to vacuum the surface and remove the loose dirt. Use a clean, soft cloth to wipe the surface of the walls. This can be done by hand or by wrapping a dry mop head or broom head with a soft cloth and brushing it over the surface. Choose a cleaning product safe for your wall coverings. If you are unsure, start with plain water or just a small amount of cleaner. Test a hidden area to ensure there is no damage to the wall surface. Moisten a sponge, start at the bottom and work in vertical sections to the top, wiping the surface of the wall until all of the dirt is removed. Overlap the cleaning areas to prevent streaks. If desired, dry the surface with clean, soft cloth or allow them to air dry. Ensure there no drips or it will leave a mark. Buddleia davidii (butterfly bush) a substantial perennial produces fragrant bloom clusters in white, yellow, pink, red, blue or purple, similar in appearance to the lilac. The leaves are lanceolate and arranged in opposite pairs on the stems. The flowers are produced in dense panicles cm long; each individual flower is tubular with the corolla divided into four spreading lobes. Butterfly bush is from central China. Site: This plant grows best with full sun for most of the day This plant requires or will tolerate shade during the heat of the day. Temperature: 60-80º F. Water: Should be kept evenly moist. Ayurvedic massage (abhyanga) is a traditional way to remove stress and relax the body. If you start your day with an oil massage, you ll increase luster and skin tone appreciably. Many people find that a morning oil massage is so invigorating that they no longer need coffee to feel awake in the morning, which is an added plus for your health and your skin, since caffeine taxes the liver and is aging to the skin. Using warm, organic, cold-pressed Sesame Oil is recommended for most skin types, because it lubricates the skin, cleanses the pores, and penetrates the lipid barrier, replacing tired, toxinclogged lipid cells with fresh lipid cells. Better yet, use oils that have been infused with nourishing and balancing ayurvedic herbs to get the most value from your morning massage. Ingredients: 1 cup caramel; 1 cup whole milk; 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk; 3 eggs; 3 egg yolks; 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 1 tbsp grated orange peel; 1 tbsp vanilla extract; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 1 cup heavy cream Method: Pour the caramel syrup into a flan mold. Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all the ingredients into a blender until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture over the cooled caramel syrup. Place the flan mold in the roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway. Bake in the preheated oven until the center of the flan is set. Let the flan cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Dear Abby Mother suspects her son s wife is cheating By Abigail Van Buren Dear Abby: My daughter and son-in-law are both in the military. Currently her husband is stationed elsewhere. They have a 6-month-old daughter, and I m staying with her to help her out for now. I have a gut feeling that she is cheating. Do I have the right to ask her? Worried Mother in California Dear Worried: Of course you do that s what mothers are for. You also have the right as her mother to point out that if it s true, what the consequences of her fl ing may be when her husband returns. When you talk to her, try not to come across as judgmental as much as concerned, and be prepared to do a lot of listening, because people don t usually start affairs for no reason. Dear Abby: I m fairly certain Abigail Van Buren that you have never heard this one before, but I am a slob. It s embarrassing, but it is what it is. I m working on it, but I m nearly 70, so major change is unlikely. I suspect a friend of mine used my hidden key and came into my house to clean for me on my birthday while I was out to dinner with my children. She meant well, but I have asked her repeatedly not to help me. She simply refuses to listen to what she doesn t want to hear. She says she cleans because it s a stress reliever for her, but it just makes me feel more stressed. Needless to say, I have taken in all of my hidden keys. I am frustrated by her actions and feel violated, not honored. Honestly, I am just embarrassed. I haven t been feeling well for a while, so the house was particularly messy. I suspect she s waiting for me to acknowledge her thoughtfulness. Abby, please tell your readers that helping a friend is no help if it isn t welcome. I feel what she did was stubborn and selfish since it was what she wanted to do not what I wanted. I m a big girl, and I can ask for help if I want it. Frustrated in the West Dear Frustrated: I feel for you, but the person who needs to receive that message is the person who has been doing this for you over your objections. Are you absolutely sure that it s this friend who s doing it and not some other well-meaning person a relative, perhaps? If you are certain, then deliver the message with both barrels. What concerns me is your statement that you have taken in your extra keys. That means someone may have made an extra copy, which would be not only a huge invasion of privacy but also a security problem. If the problem persists, have your locks changed. Dear Abby: At what age is it acceptable and appropriate for my daughters to move out? Wondering in Wichita Dear Wondering: Many young adults live with their parents today because they are burdened with student loan debt and are unable to fi nd jobs. I think the logical time for them to move out would be when they are able to support themselves. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA (Source: Universal Uclick) what s on today emergency Site for checking travel ban DAI 22 Cultural Season: Welcome to Cultural Season 22. In the eight months of our cultural season, we will offer lectures that touch your heart and stimulate your brain. There will be films that will make you laugh and films that make you cry; concerts that cause you to erupt with wild abandon and others so beautiful that silence is the only possible reaction. If you visit when children s education programmes are underway, you may see 3-5 year olds joyfully discovering motifs in Islamic art by locating them on objects. Explore the current exhibitions or one of the four temporary exhibitions that will be on display this season and be moved by the way artists aspire to communicate with both their immediate audience and generations that will follow. And do all of this surrounded by a community of individuals sharing the same emotions and experiences. As a member of the DAI, you have been a part of that community and we hope enjoyed your participation. Please know that we appreciate your support. To continue: Receiving reminders about all DAI activities via digital media Being eligible for DAI trips international and local Getting Hadeeth ad-dar and Bareed ad-dar Participating in special events and workshops Enjoying a 10 percent discount on many items in the two shops Having priority booking for children s education programmes (new this season), and, most important Supporting DAI s cultural activities click Latest Continued from Page 26 stalls and shop for Indian goods such as clothes, handicrafts, novelties, gifts and others. Various Indian associations are called upon to be part of this mega carnival and set up stalls offering food, clothes, gifts stalls, ethnic Indian products, services, promotional, fun, and recreational or any other purposes. For more information, contact: /41. Onathanima 2016: Thanima has announced their eagerly awaited mega event ONATHANIMA 2016 the United Onam carnival of Malayalees in Kuwait, the highlight of which is the 12th National Tug O War championship on Friday, 21st October 2016, at Indian Central School premises, Abbasiya. Tug O War champions will receive cash prize and Sancelia Ever-rolling Gold Cup. The three runners up will be presented with Blue Line Ever-rolling Trophy, Jiju Memorial ever-rolling Trophy and trophy sponsored by a wellwisher, besides cash prizes. Winning team members will receive individual medals & certificates. Aji Memorial Ever-rolling Trophy will be presented to the fair play team of the Please renew your membership in the Friends of the DAI. The basic membership fees remain KD 25 for a single, KD 40 for a family, and KD 10 for a student... and more. Cultural Season 22 starts soon on Sept 26 but you don t have to wait until then to renew. The shops in both the Amricani Cultural Centre (9:00 am-3:00 pm) and the Yarmouk Cultural Centre (9:00 am-9:00 pm) are there to serve you Sunday through Thursday and renewing will take just a few minutes. If you have any questions, please friends@darmuseum.org.kw. We look forward to seeing you this season. Football coaching workshops: Interested in Coaching/professional development? This weekend Everton Academy, Bayan will be welcoming three top coaches from Glasgow Celtic F.C., the Scottish Premier League Champions, including their International Academy Manager, Tony Massie. They will be delivering a certified Celtic Coach Education program on Saturday, 6-8pm, Sunday, 6-8pm and Monday, pm. Certificates will only be awarded to coaches attending all 3 sessions. Places are limited - register at Bayan office any evening 5-8pm. TIES Center events: TIES Center announces following events Tajweed and Recitation: Learn and practice the art of reciting the Holy Quran (tajweed). The tournament. The most promising team also will receive a special trophy. Besides, individual prizes for best front, best back, best coach, best all-rounder and best captain are also being distributed. More than 16 teams are expected to take part in the championship. Last day for team registration is set as 30th Aug. 2016, but Thanima reserves the right to close the registration before the set date. The coveted Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Pearl of the School award, instituted by Thanima, will be presented to the best all-rounder from 20 Indian Schools in Kuwait. Colorful cultural procession, marchpast of the athletes, folk arts, musical fusion etc, are other attractions of the event. An updated Directory with details of Indian Associations in Kuwait will be released in the event as well. Oct 22 Experience Science for Adults: Registration is now open for Experience Science for Adults. Why should kids have all the fun?! The five week programme will be held on Saturday from 10:00 am-11:30 am at the Yarmouk Cultural Centre, starting Oct 22, Registration is limited to 16. You may register at either the Amricani Cultural Centre, Sunday to Thursday 10:00-3:00 or the Yarmouk Cultural Centre, Sunday to Thursday 10:00-6:00. For more information, please Items for the What s On page can be sent directly to the Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, 13023, Safat or faxed to or to arabtimes@arabtimesonline.com. All items on this page are published as a courtesy to the public. These announcements can include birthday greetings, weddings, social functions or any other non-commercial events. Photographs of all events are welcome. instructor will also answer questions related to the meaning of the Arabic words and verses. Every Sunday & 10 11:30am; every 5-6:30pm. The TIES Center is the social and educational hub for English Speaking expats in Kuwait. For more information, please call or info@ tiescenter.net or visit net. El Shaddai weekly fellowship: The El Shaddai DWXI-PPFI Kuwait Chapter invites all the Filipino in our weekly fellowship. Every Monday, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm St Joseph Hall (Basement), Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City. Every Friday (except 1st Friday), 12:30 pm to 4 pm, Sacred Heart Hall, Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City. For more information please call any education@darmuseum.org.kw Nov 24 Indian Embassy notice: All Indian nationals in Kuwait holding hand written passports are advised once again to apply for urgent re-issuance of new passports, in lieu of handwritten passports, under the following circumstances: The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had set a deadline of Nov 24, 2015 for globally phasing out of all non-machine Readable Passports. From Nov 25, 2015 onwards, foreign Governments may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non-machine Readable Passport. The Government of India has been issuing Machine Readable Passports since The Passports, however, issued before 2001 and particularly those issued during mid 1990s with a validity of 20 years will fall in the category of non- MRPs. All handwritten passports with pasted photographs are also considered non-mrps. Indians living in Kuwait holding handwritten passports as explained in Para (b) above, are advised to apply urgently for re-issue of their passports well before the deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining valid visa for international travel. For more details related to passport services, visit the website indembkwt.org/pages/passport.aspx or call Tribhuvan Kumar, Assistant Consular number 112 Civil ID info: of the following nos: , , , , and Enlightenment into Islam course: Enlightenment into Islam would like to announce the courses on Tawhid is Salvation And Shirk is Destruction. Every Monday from 5 7 pm in Qurtuba. For details contact: , , fa-tanweer@hotmail. com. Father s Love Int l Ministries: Have you had a challenging week? Want to hear something different for a change? Something positive and energizing? At FLIM, you will find all this and much more... Love, laugher, life and liberty. You will find a community of God-loving believers, who come every Friday, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday to praise and worship together. There always a word of blessing and edification for everyone who comes to the Father s House. So, don t be left out! Come join the family! You will be restored, received, renewed and greatly rewarded! Father s Love Encounter Service on Friday at 11:00 am to 2:00 pm African service on Saturday at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Empowerment Services on Monday at 6:30 pm 8:30 pm Tamil Service on Wednesday at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Please call , , Officer at Tel: , Extn-261 or Shri. K.K. Pahel, First Secretary (Consular) on Mob: Jan 7, 2017 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas meet: The 14th Pravasi Bharati Divas Convention will be held from Jan 7-9, 2017 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. All those interested to attend the convention may please log on to (pbdindia.gov.in) for registration. The programme for this mega event is available on the portal. Please register online and pay required registration fees through the payment gateway on this portal. All Indian nationals and OCIs in Kuwait interested to participate in the PBD-2017, are cordially invited to register themselves for the event at the earliest. The last date for registration is Dec 7, General Tagore Int l Award: Recognizing the monumental contributions made by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to humanity at large and as part of the commemoration of his 150th Birth Anniversary, the Government of India has instituted the annual Tagore International Award for cultural harmony since 2012 for promoting values of cultural harmony. It is given annually and carries an amount equivalent to Indian Rupee one crore (convertible to foreign currency), a citation in a Continued on Page 28

28 28 Sully Sharqia 1 12:45 (No Fri) 14:45, 01:00 Muhalab 2 12:45 (No Fri) 15:00, 00:30 Fanar 1 11:45 (No Fri) Fanar 5 12:45 (No Fri) 14:45, 16:45 Marina 1 12:30 (No Fri) 00:05 Marina 3 14:15, 20:45 Avenues 5 12:15 (No Fri) 17:00, 23:45 Avenues 9 00:15 Avenues 11 11:45 (No Fri) 16: :45 (No Fri) 14:00, 16:30, 21:45, 00: :30 (No Fri) 15:30, 00:45 Al-Kout 1 11:30 (No Fri) Al-Kout 4 12:45 (No Fri) 14:45, 20:45 Bairaq 2 13:30 (Fri) Bairaq 3 14:30 19:00, 21:00,17:00,15:00 Grand Hamra 6 (23:00 (Thu, Fri,21:15,19:15,17:15,15:00 Grand Gate 2 15:23 22:30,20:00,17:30,15:00 Grand Gate GC 01:00 (Thu, Fri) Pete s Dragon Sharqia 1 16:45 Sharqia 2 11:30 (No Fri) Muhalab 1 18:45 Muhalab 3 13:30 (Fri) Fanar 1 16:30 Fanar 3 17:45 Marina 3 16:15, 18:30 Avenues 2 16:15, 18:30 Avenues 9 12:00 (No Fri) 14:15, 16:30, 18: :30 (No Fri) 13:45, 16:00, 18:15, 20:30, 22: :30, 19:30 Al-Kout 2 17:15 Bairaq 2 13:00 (No Fri) 15:30, 17:45 Laila 17:45 16:15,14:00 Grand Hamra 5 30, 18:30:16,14:30 Grand Hamra 8 Grand Gate 4 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45, 23:15 Al Bab Yefawet Amal (Arabic Film) Sharqia 1 19:00, 23:00 Muhalab 1 16:45, 21:00 Fanar 2 11:30 (No Fri) 13:30, 17:30, 21:45 Avenues 5 19:30 Avenues 8 15:15, 17:15, 19:15, 21: :15 (No Fri) 14:15, 16:15, 18:15, 20:15, 22: :30, 17:45 Al-Kout 2 15:30 Al-Kout 4 18:45 Bairaq 3 Laila 15:45 12:30 (No Fri) 19:30, 21:15, 23:15 Couch slouch lineup packed with superstars A-list talent changed the face of reality TV LOS ANGELES, Sept 25, (RTRS): Fourteen years ago, the world was introduced to an unfamiliar host on a new reality show: Ryan Seacrest on American Idol. Today, American Idol has sung its last tune and Seacrest is a global phenomenon. But in 2016, would he have even gotten his shot at fame? In the highly competitive era of peak TV, the Big Four are taking fewer risks on unknown talent when it comes to unscripted programming, placing all their bets on A- listers. The reality show lineup of the season is a who s-who of superstars. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking over you-knowwho s seat on The New Celebrity Apprentice ; Alec Baldwin is hosting Match Game, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys are spinning around in The Voice s red chairs; Michael Strahan is hosting $100,000 Pyramid, Simon Cowell returned to the States with America s Got Talent, and Steve Harvey is the face of three series with two more on the way. It s a highly saturated market right now and new shows have to stand out. Networks really depend on these big leaders who have built-in fanbases that will tune in to see them do something different, says Cat Carson, an alternative television agent at CAA, which reps Schwarzenegger, Baldwin, Cyrus, and American Idol s Jennifer Lopez. Network executives always want to see who s going to be on the billboard that will draw that attention. Jokes Harvey, I don t know who s doing what I m just glad I m one of them! Upping NBC reality boss Paul Telegdy credits the broadcast TV machine for upping the level of fame for some of the industry s biggest leaders. We ve always had huge artists and big stars. We have also always been in the business of building talent, Telegdy says. There s every version of the journey to becoming the A-list star on broadcast television and we have created stars that are now elevated to A-list, but of course we welcome the Schwarzeneggers and Steve Harveys who come to us with existing star power. Telegdy points to the beginning of The Voice, which served as a career launchpad for two of today s biggest TV personalities: Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Everyone remembers the first season of The Voice. It was Christina Aguilera and the three other Ashan Khargen (Arabic Film) Sharqia 1 20:45 Muhalab 2 20:00, 22:15 Fanar 2 15:15, 19:30, 23:45 Marina 1 19:30, 21:45 Marina 2 13:30 (Fri) Avenues 5 21:30 Avenues 6 13:15 (No Fri) 15:30, 17:45, 20:00, 22:15, 00: : : :15 (No Fri) 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15, 23:30 Al-Kout 2 19:30, 22:00, 00:15 Bairaq 2 20:00, 22:15, 00:30 The Magnificent Seven Sharqia 2 13:45, 16:30, 19:15, 22:00, 00:45 Muhalab 1 11:30 (No Fri) 14:00 Muhalab 3 13:00 (No Fri) 15:45, 18:30, 21:15, 00:05 Fanar 4 12:30 (No Fri) 15:15, 18:00, 20:45, 23:30 Fanar 5 21:45, 00:30 Marina 2 12:45 (No Fri) 15:30, 18:15, 21:00, 23:45 Marina 3 11:30 (No Fri) 00:45 Avenues 2 13:30, 20:45, 23:30 Avenues 4 11:30 (No Fri) 14:45, 17:30, 20:15, 23:00 Avenues 11 14:00, 19:00, 21:45, 00: : :00 (No Fri) 15:45, 18:30, 21:15, 00: :30 (No Fri) 14:15, 17:00, 19:45, 22: :30 (No Fri) 15:15, 18:00, 20:45, 23: :45 (No Fri) 16:45, 21:45, 00:30 Al-Kout 1 13:30, 16:15, 19:00, 21:45, 00:30 Al-Kout 2 Bairaq 1 dudes, he quips. Carson agrees that the singing competition show has boosted the musicians careers, and she notes that CAA sees the same potential for Cyrus now that she s joined The Voice. If you look at Maroon 5, it s a great way to drive up ticket sales for touring because now viewers have that personal connection to that celebrity, Carson says. TV is the new radio where these musicians can really showcase their personalities that fans may not have been able to see in traditional interviews or through their music. In comparison to just a few years back when celebrities were wary to sign on for a reality project, unscripted TV is now seen as a golden opportunity for talent. The list of talent, entertainers, actors, musicians, and comedians that will never do reality TV is now the shortest list in Hollywood and that has not always been the case, Telegdy says. The talent on our shows become the best version of their brand; the most merchandisable version of their brand. Realized The most recent example for the network is Little Big Shots, which has cemented Harvey s fame, even beyond the recognition he already had from his successful daytime talk show. He caught the bug and realized how awesome it is to entertain America on a grand scale, Teledgy says. Everybody likes to laugh, everybody loves kids and I m good with kids, Harvey says of the massive Little Big Shots ratings. I think it s interesting that I ve crossed so many genres. Of course, Family Feud put me in a lot of Middle America family homes and the rest of the stuff just fell into place. For Lopez, reality TV was the key to broadening her career. Following American Idol, the multi-hyphenate signed on to topline her own scripted NBC drama, released another album, and launched a multimillion-dollar Las Vegas residency. And now, she s exec producing a new dance competition series for NBC, World of Dance. Lopez is among a group of famous reality producers with their own production companies, including Jimmy Fallon (Spike s Lip Sync Battle ), Drew Barrymore (VH1 s Tough Love, Esquire s Knife Fight ), and Ellen DeGeneres ( Little Big Shots ). To have a celebrity EP or host really is strategic, and given the high caliber of talent that we re lucky to work with, it s a great advantage for us to be able to package, Carson says. tv highlights 12:45 (No Fri) 12:30 (No Fri) 15:15, 18:00, 20:45, 23:30 Laila 20:00, 22:45 The Light Between Oceans Sharqia 3 12:15 (No Fri) 17:00, 21:45 Fanar 1 13:45, 18:45, 21:30, 00:15 Avenues 3 13:15 (No Fri) 16:00, 18:45, 21:30, 00:15 Avenues 5 14: :15 (No Fri) 15:00 17:45, 20:30, 23:15 (No Sun) 23:45 (Sun) :30, 19:15 (Sun) :00 22:00,19:30,16:45,14:00 Grand Hamra 3 01:00 (Thu, Fri) 22:30,20:00,17:30,15:00 Grand Hamra GC 01:00 (Thu, Fri) Grand Gate 1 14:00, 16:45, 19:30, 22:15 01:00 (Thu, Fri) The Secret Life Of Pets click,20:00,18:00,16:00,14:00 Grand Gate 7 22:00 Havenhurst Sharqia 3 15:00, 19:45, 00:30 Muhalab 1 22:45, 00:45 Fanar 3 12:00 (No Fri) 13:45, 20:00, 00:05 Marina 3 22:45 Avenues 10 13:00 (No Fri) 15:00, 17:00, 19:15, 21:30, 23: :00 (No Fri) 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:15, 22:30, 00:45 Al-Kout 3 16:30, 20:00, 22:00, 00:05 Pink (Hindi Film) Muhalab 2 17:00 (No Fri) Fanar 5 18:45 Avenues 1 16: :00 (No Fri) 18:15, 21:15 Bairaq 3 16:45 Plaza 15:30 21:30 (Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun) Ajial 2 16:15, 19:00, 21:45 30:22,19:45,17:15,14:30 Grand Hamra 2 Grand Gate 5 14:15, 17:00, 19:45, 22:30 General Continued from Page 27 scroll, a plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item. The Awardee(s) for every year is/are selected by an eminent Jury under the Chairmanship of the Hon ble Prime Minister. The First award was conferred on Pandit Ravi Shankar and the second one on Shri Zubin Mehta. This annual award is given to individuals, associations, institutions or organizations for their outstanding contribution towards promoting values of Cultural Harmony. The Award is open Cinema Majnu (Telugu Film) Muhalab 2 17:00 (Fri) Ajial 3 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 (No Thu) (Don t Breathe (Exclusive 20:00, 21:45,17:30,15:30 Grand Hamra 1 21:45,19:45,17:45,15:30 Grand Gate 3 (Thu, Fri) 23:45 Hellions Fanar 3 15:45, 22:00 Avenues 7 11:45 (No Fri) 18:15, 22:45, 00: : :00 (Sat) 13:45 (Fri, Sat) 15:30 (No Mon) 19:45, 00:15 Al-Kout 4 16:45, 22:45, 00:45 Mechanic: Resurrection 22:15,19:15,17:15,14:45 Grand Hamra 7,21:00,19:00,16:45,14:30 Grand Gate 6 23:00 Snowden Marina 1 14:30 Avenues 7 13:30, 20:15 Avenues 8 23:15 How to find us Zahra a Area, South Surra, 6th Ring Road, corner of King Faisal Highway 2. Ajial Ajial Complex, Fahaheel 3. Al Bairaq Between Jaber Al Ali East & Al Agalia West 4. Al Fanar Al Fanar Complex, Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya 5. Al Kout Al-Kout Complex, at the end of the Coastal Road, Fahaheel 6. Al Muhalab Al Muhalab Complex, Behind Hawally Clinic, Hawally 7. Al Sharqiya Arabian Gulf Street, Souq Sharq, near the Amiri Hospital 8. Laila Gallery Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya 9. Marina Marina Mall, Between Salem Al Mubarak Street & Arabian Gulf Street, Salmiya 10. Metro Metro Complex, Farwaniya, near Crowne Plaza Hotel & Farwaniya Garden 11. Plaza Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya 12. The Avenues The Avenues Mall, Al Reggai near Al Rai, 5th Ring Road & Ghazali Road Intersection NB: Friday no show before 1:30 pm Regular show KD3:000; 3D-Digital KD3.500; VIP show KD On Monday, price is KD1.500 except Digital movies. Cinescape cinema movies inquiries and Fax Back hotline The Scientific Center Opp Holiday Inn, Salmiya, Gulf Road IMAX 14. Grand Al-Hamra Grand Al-Hamra, tel: , cinemas.com 15. Grand Gate Grand Gate, tel: , cinemas.com A flyer of the event to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. Normally, contributions made during 10 years immediately preceding the nomination are considered. Older contributions may also be considered if their significance has become apparent only recently. A written work, in order to be eligible for consideration, should have been published during the last ten years. The nominations are to be made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Procedure. The Code is also available on the Ministry of Culture, Government of India s web-site: All queries may please be sent by to Ms. Bandana Sharma, Director, Ministry of Culture, bandana.sharma@nic.in, Telefax No Cinema programme from Thursday 22/09/2016 to Wednesday 28/09/ : : :15 (No Mon) 21:30 Ben-Hur Marina 1 17:00 Avenues 7 16:00 Avenues 8 12:45 (No Fri) :30 (No Fri) 14:00, 22:15, 00:45 16:30 (No Sun) Al-Kout 3 12:00 (No Fri) 14:15 21:30,18:45 Grand Hamra 5 00:00 (Thu, Fri) Blair Witch 22:30,20:30 Grand Hamra 8 00:30 (Thu, Fri) Lights Out Avenues 1 12:00 (No Fri) 14: :30 (No Fri) 16:45, 23:15, 01:15 Al-Kout 3 18:15,20:15,18:15,16:00,14:15 Grand Hamra 4 22:15 Grand Gate 8 14:45, 16:30, 18:45, 20:30, 22:45 12:30 (Thu, Fri) Oozham (Malayalam Film) Avenues 1 19: :45 Plaza 18:30 Ajial 4 16:00, 18:45, 21:45 Boget Fakara (Kuwaiti Film) Avenues 1 22:00, 00: :30, 18:45, 21:00 Thodari (Tamil Film) Avenues 9 21: :00 (No Sun) Plaza Ajial 1 Ajial 1 21:30 (Thu, Fri, Mon) 15:30 (No Thu) 18:45, 22:00 Iru Mugan (Tamil Film) 15:30 (Thu) Baar Baar Dekho (Hindi Film) Ajial 3 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 (Thu) IMAX Imax film programme at The Scientific Center Sunday Humpback Whales 3D 10:30 am 07:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 11:30 am 06:30 pm, 09:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 12:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 05:30 pm Secret Ocean 3D 08:30 pm KIFF anti-drugs campaign: As part of the Fraternity fest, Kuwait India Fraternity Forum (KIFF) is conducting Anti-Drugs Campaign among Indians living in Kuwait. According to the available statistics of Indian Embassy, 60% of the convicted Indians in Kuwaiti Jails are arrested on drug-related cases. The recent cases of death and captives of Indian drug abusers is a threatening news. To defend and to campaign against such social crisis by protecting individuals as well as the society has become obligatory. In this current situation, Kuwait India Fraternity Forum is conducting campaign by distributing handouts, conducting counseling, seminars etc. to educate the Indians living in Kuwait informed President Saifudheen Nalakath in a press release. For more details contact: or at kiffkuwait@ gmail.com. Monday Humpback Whales 3D 12:30 pm, 06:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 10:30 am 05:30 pm, 08:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 09:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 11:30 pm, 07:30 pm Tuesday Humpback Whales 3D 11:30 am 09:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 12:30 pm, 05:30 pm, 08:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 10:30 am Journey to Space 3D 06:30 pm Mysteries of the Unseen World 07:30 pm Wednesday Humpback Whales 3D 05:30 am Flying Monsters 3D 11:30 am 06:30 pm, 09:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 08:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 12:30 pm Mysteries of the Unseen World 10:30 am Secret Ocean 3D 07:30 pm Thursday Humpback Whales 3D 11:30 am 06:30 pm, 09:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 10:30 am 07:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 05:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 08:30 pm Secret Ocean 3D 12:30 pm Friday Humpback Whales 3D 08:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 02:30 pm, 06:30 pm, 09:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 03:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 04:30 pm Secret Ocean 3D 07:30 pm Mysteries of the Unseen World 05:30 am Saturday Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Humpback Whales 3D 10:30 am 07:30 pm Flying Monsters 3D 11:30 am 02:30 pm, 05:30 pm, 08:30 pm Kenya: Animal Kingdom 3D 04:30 pm, 09:30 pm Journey to Space 3D 01:30 pm, 06:30 pm Secret Ocean 3D 03:30 pm Mysteries of the Unseen World 12:30 pm Notes: All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request. Film.schedule is subject to changes without notice For information call or visit www. tsck.org.kw

29 HEALTH 29 WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (Agencies): For overweight adolescents, experiencing discrimination or bullying in the first year of middle school may contribute to emotional issues seen in the third year by worsening loneliness and anxiety, a US study suggests. We know that heavier youth are likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies at any one time, said lead author Jaana Juvonen of the University of California, Los Angeles. However, we were surprised at our longitudinal findings: that we can predict emotional problems during the last year in middle school (8th grade) based on youth s BMI during the first year (6th grade) in middle school when taking into account whether they have been mistreated by peers because of their weight, Juvonen told Reuters Health by . The researchers used data from a larger long-term study of 26 California middle schools, where data on body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to height, was collected for about 5,000 kids in the spring semester of sixth grade ñ their first year in middle school and again in seventh grade and eighth grade, the final year of middle school. The kids, who were racially and ethnically mixed and about 52 percent female, also answered questions each year about their own emotional health, including body dissatisfaction, social anxiety and loneliness. They rated their experiences of bullying on questionnaires including items on exclusion, disrespectful treatment, threats or name calling by their peers because of their weight. At each grade level, almost a quarter of kids were overweight or obese based on BMI categories, and one third of the entire group said they d experienced at least one weight-based discrimination in seventh grade. Predictor Researchers found that individual kids perceptions of weight-based discrimination in seventh grade were a better predictor than actual BMI of their body dissatisfaction, social anxiety and loneliness in eighth grade, according to the report in Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. For girls, this was also true for so-called somatic (physical) symptoms of emotional issues, such as headaches and nausea. The results document an important process by which being overweight potentially leads to poorer mental health, said Joseph P. Allen of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, who was not part of the new study. Even after accounting for Six candidates in running for WHO top job Weight discrimination may worsen teens problems where they started, adolescents who experienced discrimination were more symptomatic two years later, he said by . With non-experimental research, we can never prove causality, Juvonen said. And we can obviously not randomly assign heavy youth to conditions where some get discriminated by their peers and others do not. Still, when no one wants to sit with Skyler, or Skyler never gets invited to parties or is publicly humiliated in front of others, it is easy to see why Skyler feels lonely or socially anxious, Juvonen said. Not only do we see peer discrimination predicting loneliness and social anxiety over time for both boys and girls, but we also see that girls who report such discrimination feel increasingly sick, she said. Feeling physically sick, lonely, and socially anxious are likely to make youth withdraw from social situations. Some body dissatisfaction can happen without peer discrimination, she noted. Social comparisons to others (eg, Facebook pictures, magazine photos) are likely to increase body dissatisfaction especially among girls because they compare themselves to (thin) ideals, Juvonen said. If looks are important to them, they may also have low self-esteem or feel depressed. Also: GENEVA: Six candidates are in the running to take over the helm of the World Health Organization, including the Ethiopian foreign minister who is bidding to be the first African to hold the position, the UN agency said Friday. WHO s 194 member states had until the end of the day Thursday to propose candidates to replace Director-General Margaret Chan, who will step down next June after 11 years in the role. The list of people to replace her includes Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, who enjoys the unanimous backing of the African Union. The renowned malaria researcher and former health minister from was among the first to throw his name into the hat, but he will face competition from rivals proposed by France, Italy, Pakistan, Britain and Hungary. The WHO is a vast UN agency with an annual budget of 4.4 billion dollars (3.9 billion euros) that is responsible for coordinating global emergencies and raising awareness about health issues from pollution to tropical diseases. It was heavily criticised for its slow response to the Ebola A picture taken on Sept 20 shows a wound dressing on a legform at the URGO s research and development center in Chenove near Dijon, central eastern France. French group URGO develops high-tech solutions to speed healing of chronic wounds. (AFP) epidemic in west Africa, which has killed more than 11,000 people since late Chan has admitted mistakes were made. France has proposed former health minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to replace her, while Pakistan has thrown its weight behind former health minister Sania Nishtar one of only two women on the list. The other woman is Flavia Bustreo, who was proposed by Italy and who is currently serving as WHO s Assistant Director-General for Family, Women s and Children s Health. Another insider is David Nabarro, who among other things organised the UN s response to the west African Ebola epidemic in 2014, and who was proposed by Britain. Hungary has put forward former health minister Miklos Szocska.

30 Oman Air disables inflight maps naming Gulf Persian Egypt petrol subsidy bill drops Oman Air has switched off an infl ight map system that labelled the waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, the subject of a bitter naming dispute, as the Persian Gulf. The decision followed a storm of criticism on social media after a passenger posted a video showing the map in Arabic referring to the Persian, rather than Arabian Gulf. Our crew have been notified to disable the disturbing maps, the sultanate s national carrier said in a statement on Twitter. Two Boeing Dreamliners hired from Kenya Airways used a different map system to its own, it said, adding that it had asked Panasonic, which runs the system, to change the maps without delay. One Twitter user called the map a resounding scandal, while another said Oman had said goodbye to Arabism. The United Nations and international maps generally refer to the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran as the Persian Gulf, the term used by ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy. Arab states, particularly the Gulf monarchies that are arch rivals of Iran, call it the Arabian Gulf. (AFP) Egypt s spending on petroleum subsidies dropped by 28.7 percent in the fi nancial year to compared to one year earlier, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Sunday, a greater decline than previously announced. Egypt has been trying to wean itself off costly energy subsidies that eat up a large portion of the state budget. Tarek al-hadidi, head of state oil company EGPC, told Reuters in August that the subsidies had fallen by 23 percent, to 55 billion pounds ($71.36 billion) for the fi nancial year, which ended in June. Molla said on Sunday that the fi gure was actually 51 billion pounds. In 2014 the government cut spending on energy subsidies, causing domestic prices of natural gas, diesel and other fuels to rise by as much as 78 percent, but has delayed further cuts amid low energy prices that have kept spending down. The state s budget aims to reduce subsidy expenditure further, targeting billion Egyptian pounds. Egypt made 38 new petroleum discoveries in , including 24 for crude oil and 14 for natural gas, Molla added. (RTRS) Market Movements Change Closing pts AUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries , S. KOREA - KRX , Change Closing pts INDIA - Sensex , JAPAN - Nikkei , HONG KONG - Hang Seng , PHILIPPINES - All Shares , GERMANY - DAX , FRANCE - CAC , EUROPE - Euro Stoxx , Business Part of attempts to diversify economy Algeria plans bank privatisations as oil money dries up ALGIERS, Sept 25, (RTRS): Algeria plans to allow its dominant state banks to list on the local stock exchange to help develop its financial markets and diversify sources of funding after the oil price slide, a senior financial official said. The plan will open the door for foreign investors to acquire controlling stakes in banks, reversing a rule requiring Algerian firms to keep a majority shareholding in any partnership with foreigners, the official told Reuters. Algeria s six government-run banks account for most of the sector s assets. French companies such as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas have the strongest presence among foreignowned banks already working in the country. OPEC member Algeria s economy has been largely based on a state-run and centralised system since its independence from France in 1962 and it remains reliant on an energy sector that still provides 60 percent of its budget. But the oil price drop since 2014 has put Algeria under financial pressure, forcing the government to trim spending and search for alternative financing sources. The era of $100 a barrel is over. We have no choice but to change our policy, the official said, asking not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Reforms will move slowly, but there will be no step backwards. With more than $130 billion in foreign exchange reserves and little foreign debt, Algeria is in better shape than other oil producers such as Venezuela. However, it has been forced to push up taxes and increase subsidised gasoline and diesel prices, scaling back a vast welfare system that has in the past helped ease social tensions. Advocates of the 51/49 ownership rule and tight foreign exchange controls say they helps protect Algeria s strategic sectors after an experimentation with privatisation in the 1990s. But critics say such curbs stifle growth and investment. Algeria is now far safer following the end of a war it fought with armed Islamists in the 1990s that killed 200,000 people. Saudi cbank to inject 20 bln riyals to boost financial stability RIYADH, Sept 25, (RTRS): Saudi Arabia s central bank said it would deposit about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) at commercial banks and introduce two new money market instruments to fight a surge in market interest rates caused by low oil prices. It will inject the funds in the form of time deposits on behalf of government entities to support financial stability, it said on Sunday, without naming the entities or providing other details. It will also introduce seven and 28-day repurchase agreements to lend money to banks when needed. Previously, the central bank has typically only used repo agreements Its government has been keen to promote the expansion of its agriculture, health, manufacturing and tourist sectors but cumbersome bureaucracy has put off investors. It is also not the first attempt at selling off the banks. The government with one-day maturities. Low global oil prices have slashed government revenue and the volume of petrodollars flowing into the Saudi banking system. Total deposits at commercial banks, which grew continuously for years, were down 3.3 percent in June from a year earlier. This has strained liquidity in the banking system and pushed up interbank money rates. The one-year Saudi interbank offered rate has jumped by more than 1.5 percentage points in the past 15 months. That in turn threatens banks ability to lend to the private sector at affordable rates, a key consideration as the government tries to limit damage to the economy from cheap oil, and raises borrowing costs for the government, which is selling bonds to the banks every month to finance a big budget deficit. The central bank has been battling to slow the rise in money rates since early this year, cutting back its sales of bills to banks. Since the second quarter it has been making special provisions of longerterm funds to banks that need them through deposits or low-interest loans, banking sources told Reuters, but it has kept its operations largely secret. Sunday s announcement appears scrapped previous plans for a bank privatisation in 2007, just two days before the deadline for the submission of bids, citing an international banking crisis at the time. That plan was to sell a majority state in Credit Populaire d Algerie (CPA) two years before the introduction of the new rule limiting ownership for foreign firms to 49 percent in any partnership deal. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have since repeatedly urged Algeria to reform the underdeveloped banking sector and modernise its stock exchange to be an effort to make its money market management more transparent and predictable, which could ease investors concerns. Upward pressure on Saudi money rates could increase late this year if, as some economists expect, the United States resumes tightening monetary policy. Some bankers think the Saudi central bank will ultimately decide to take stronger steps to restrain rates, such as raising the ratio of deposits which commercial banks are permitted to lend out and reducing the amount of reserves which they must deposit with the central bank. to help attract investment. However, it is not clear how much appetite there will be for the banks. Plans to float cement producer Societe des Ciments de Ain El Kebira were dropped in June because of a lack of demand for the shares on offer. Produces 1,400 mw from geothermal Indonesia struggles to tap energy from volcano power WAYANG WINDU, Indonesia, Sept 25, (AFP): Columns of steam shoot from the ground at an Indonesian power plant sitting in the shadow of an active volcano, as energy is tapped from the red-hot underbelly of the archipelago. Pipes zig-zag up rugged mountainsides covered in tea plantations, carrying steam from the Earth s core to power enormous, electricity-generating turbines at the Wayang Windu facility on Java island. Indonesia, a seismically-active island chain studded with scores of volcanoes, holds an estimated 40 percent of the world s geothermal energy reserves, but has long lagged behind in its use of the renewable power source. Now the government is pushing to expand the sector five-fold in the next decade, although the challenges are huge in a country where the burden of red tape remains onerous, big projects are often delayed and targets missed. Tackle The potential is tremendous, said Rully Wirawan, field manager at Wayang Windu. The current government is trying to tackle the challenges so I believe the development of the sector will be better in future. Geothermal, a clean energy source which releases negligible amounts of greenhouse gases, unlike burning dirty fossil fuels, is mostly found in seismicallyactive areas around tectonic plate boundaries. The Earth s heat emanating through the faultlines warms underground reservoirs, and the resulting steam can be channelled to geothermal energy plants. The majority of Indonesia s power is generated from its abundant reserves of coal and oil. It currently has installed capacity to produce about 1,400 megawatts of electricity from geothermal, enough to provide power to just 1.4 million households in the country off 255 million. That is less than five percent of geothermal s estimated potential and behind the world s two leading producers of the energy source, the United States and the Philippines. But the government is aiming to increase Indonesia s generating capacity to around 7,200 megawatts by 2025, as part of a broader plan to boost the renewables sector, which would likely make it the world s top producer of the power source. A major part of the drive is a law passed two years ago that means geothermal exploration is no longer considered mining activity, as it was previously. The old definition had held up the industry as mining cannot be carried out in the country s vast tracts of protected forests, believed to contain about twothirds of Indonesia s geothermal reserves. The government is also seeking to sweeten local administrations which had sometimes resisted the construction of the steambelching facilities by offering them up to one percent of revenue from any geothermal plant in their area. Abadi Poernomo, chief of the Indonesian Geothermal Association, which represents companies involved in the sector, is upbeat about future prospects: A lot of investors from abroad are coming to Indonesia with the intent to develop geothermal. Still, the challenges are enormous. While achieving the 2025 target may be possible, it will be extremely difficult, said Daniel Wicaksana, an energy expert at consultancy Frost and Sullivan Indonesia. One of the biggest problems is the high exploration costs needed at the outset, as checking for potential geothermal reserves is a complex, time-consuming business, that is not always successful. Building a geothermal plant costs the equivalent of $4 to $5 million dollars per megawatt, compared to $1.5 to $2 million for a coal-fired power station, according to the association. Investors have also complained about what they say is the relatively low price offered by the staterun power company to buy electricity from a geothermal facility, which they claim usually doesn t cover the large initial outlay. To top it all off, Indonesia s complicated bureaucracy puts many off 29 permits are required from different government agencies and ministries for a geothermal plant, and time-consuming negotiations with powerful local administrations can also hamper progress. The level of complexity to complete the necessary paperwork, at the local level especially, also adds to the slow development of geothermal, said Wicaksana. Commitment Green groups have also questioned authorities commitment to geothermal in the near term a plan by the government to ramp up electricity-producing capacity dramatically by 2019 seems more focused on building coal-fired power stations than expanding the use of renewable energy sources. Wayang Windu, which is jointly managed by independent company Star Energy and state-owned energy giant Pertamina and takes its names from the active volcano near the plant, illustrates some of the challenges. Exploration first began at the site in 1985 but it was not until 15 years later that the plant began producing electricity commercially, while work on a new unit to boost power generation has been delayed due to negotiations over cost. Even officials admit achieving the government geothermal target will be tough. Ego Syahrial, the head of the government s geology agency, which assesses geothermal energy reserves conceded: The progress is not very encouraging to be honest. Stakeholders in oil market turn focus to OPEC meeting Russia to participate in International Energy Forum meet KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (Agencies): Stakeholders in the oil market are turning attention to the International Energy Forum due in Algeria on Sept 26-28, on margins of which an informal OPEC meeting would be held to discuss market conditions. Dr Ahmad Bader Al-Kouh, an oil analyst, forecast success of the OPEC meeting, alluding to recently-made positive remarks by Russian, Saudi This picture shows pipes running across the grounds of the Wayang Windu geothermal power station on West Java in Indonesia. Indonesia, home to around 130 volcanoes and 40 percent of the world s geothermal energy potential, is pushing to increase the amount of power it produces from the renewable source in the vast archipelago s underbelly. (AFP) Routine disputes become harder and harder to deal US-EU relations in for stormy weather WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (AFP): With spats over Apple and Deutsche Bank and squabbles about Airbus and Boeing, approaching elections on both sides of the Atlantic are exacerbating strains in US-European economic relations. The recent controversy over taxing the iphone maker surely epitomizes the situation best. European authorities decision in late August to force the American giant Apple to pay $14.5 billion in taxes to Ireland infuriated officials in Washington and is still ruffling feathers. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has repeatedly expressed his astonishment and openly accused the Europeans of disproportionately focusing on US corporations. On the other hand, the US Justice Department s $14 billion proposed settlement with Deutsche Bank over trading in mortgage-backed securities derivatives has rattled nerves in Europe, where some accuse Washington of coming down particularly hard on foreign banks. Add to this the US victory at the World Trade Organization this week in the battle over Europe s purportedly illegal public subsidies to Airbus. The matter is not yet concluded but the United States could in theory claim billions of dollars in compensation from Europe. And to top it off, negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which are to resume in a week in New York, are also foundering not only because of divergent positions but also because of the calendar. Insist The Americans still insist the agreement could be signed before the end of the year while President Barack Obama is still in office. The Europeans now say this is not realistic. There has always been friction among the two allied sides, but this time things are worsened by the uncertainty from the coming presidential elections, set for November 8 in the US and for April in France. General elections are due to be held in Germany and Chinese officials on intention to bolster the market stability. Dr Al-Kouh said statements by OPEC Chairman Abdullah Al-Badri affirming that no decisive decisions would be taken at the Algiers meeting lowered its significance, however any tentative unilateral understanding between OPEC & non- OPEC producers might be broadened at the next board meeting, set in November. Assessing success of the meeting in Algiers can be on the bases of essence of resolutions to be taken and the markets reaction to them, he said. On the broad energy forum, Al-Kouh said Algeria had called for holding it, with assistance from Venezuela both countries have taken the toll of losses incurred by the bearish oil prices, he said, indicating that the decision by several producers to take part in the event signaled its significance and prospected success. Many analysts believe that the previous OPEC meeting, hosted by Qatar, was not successful due to the conferees failure to freeze the crude output due to Iran s stance which was at the time relieving itself of international curbs and felt that it needed to lift the production. But now, Iran may be more ready to cooperate and work out a deal, but the major problem remains lack of supervision on the output levels. Abdulsamee Bahbahani, another expert, underscored the fact that OPEC produces more than a third of the global crude output (34 million barrels per day) and that it has reserve output capacity, diversity in the produced crudes and exports higher by 60 percent as compared to consumption. before the end of In normal times, both sides would easily reach a compromise on these issues but the problem is that it is coming in this incredibly uncertain environment, said Edward Alden of the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York think tank. The rise of protectionist views in the United States with the candidacy of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and in Europe, with the British vote to secede from the EU, has electrified talks and complicated reactions from current governments. The danger is that what should be routine disputes become harder and harder to deal with in this environment, said Alden, adding that both Europe and the United States are now disoriented by the rejection of trade liberalization. Assailing trade partners then becomes tempting. And so France took the gloves off recently, decrying the purported stubbornness of the United States in trade talks. Meeting He concurred that the upcoming meeting might be fruitful due, partly, to the Russian-Saudi understanding on supervising the market, supportive remarks by the Iranian president as the nation s production neared 3.8 million bpd, narrowing gulf between the supply and demand (from 1.5 million barrels to less than 0.5 million barrels), in addition to geological factors. Rumors related to the planned conference have already begun affecting prices by a proportion ranging between one to three dollars, he said, warning the conferees against decisions that might imbalance the markets. He however forecast that the oil price will remain in the range of USD 47 pb till the next meeting in November. He also forecast, in the foreseeable future, a surplus of supplies by some two million barrels per day. Early flutters of optimism that the informal gathering could hammer out a deal to actually drain the surplus have yielded to scepticism. A previous bid to freeze output, led by OPEC linchpin Saudi Arabia, fell apart in Doha in April when Iran refused to play ball, arguing it needed to bring its production back up to pre- Western sanctions levels. An agreement on a production freeze accepted by everyone would be a surprise, said Didier Houssin, head of research group IFPEN. Analysts expect more a comment that s a bit calming on the need to continue to follow the market... and to stabilise production. Without binding measures, without specific quotas. Prices have plunged from peaks of more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to near 13-year lows below $30 in January.

31 BUSINESS 31 Exclusive Interview Bank leads change with best global practices NBK moving closer to customers digitally By Michelle Fe Santiago Arab Times Staff The National Bank of Kuwait continues to position itself as the premier bank of choice for both domestic and foreign corporates doing business in Kuwait. NBK s role reflects its prestigious reputation and its leadership position in the banking sector locally, regionally and globally. NBK is also known for its strategic client relationships, making NBK the first choice for expansion plans of major corporates increasing the Bank s market share. Moreover, the development of human talent remains a top priority for NBK. The Arab Times in this interview with the Head of Consumer Banking at NBK, Suresh Bajpai gives you a comprehensive view of NBK s consumer banking operations, latest products, services and offerings, digital solutions, expansion plans, millennium customers and some good news in the coming year for its vast clientele. Bajpai who joined NBK in January this year is a career banker with deep domain expertise in Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Consumer Finance, Credit Cards, Digital and Mobile Payments, e- Commerce and Remittances. Prior to joining NBK, Bajpai was the Head of the Retail Banking for Doha Bank in Doha, Qatar since July He was previously based in New York with Citigroup where he worked for over 20 years and has held a number of senior management positions in Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa in both Consumer and Institutional Banking, managing across more than 50 countries globally. Bajpai who holds a Bachelor s degree in Electronics Engineering and Masters in Business Administration from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute Management Studies has also served on the board of Micronotes, a digital company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He has been a visiting faculty member in many prestigious management institutes. Bajpai shares to the Arab Times and its readers the success story of NBK and how it keeps pace with the digital age, leaving a lasting imprint of excellent service to its customers. Question: How do you find Kuwait in terms of your job as the Head of the Consumer Banking at NBK? Answer: Honestly, it was a very refreshing change having work in the other parts of the GCC. When I worked across different continents and here, when I compare Kuwait and compare the opportunities here vis-à-vis other GCC markets, it is a very refreshing change. Of course, it s nice to have joined one of the safest 50 banks in the world. That s good, especially after the 2008 turmoil and at that point of time I was in the heart of it in New York. I ve seen it very closely. I m very impressed with the professional approach that NBK has, its dominant position in the market and also its real commitment to customers and building the infrastructure for the country and of course the Kuwaiti people have been very nice and I find them very friendly. Q: What is the biggest challenge that you have faced when you joined the Bank? A: I think the bank itself has been very customer-focused so I didn t really have that challenge from that point of view. As I look back and look at the dominant position that the bank has, my biggest challenge is how to make the already successful bank much more successful. The bar is very high and I think the opportunities that the country presents and the strengths that the NBK has, having grown franchise to such a dominant position, I feel excited that it will be easy to take it forward and yet the bar is very high. Q: What do you think is the secret to NBK s success? A: The success of the consumer bank and the bank itself, it has got itself interwoven into the fabrics of the country. The NBK leadership itself is very, very strong, having being led at the top by Mr Isam Al Sager, Ms Shaikha and Mr Salah, that has provided a very strong leadership and stability to the bank which is reflected in the different lines of business including consumer banking which I am a part of. The first one is interwoven into the fabric of the nation. Second one is strong leadership from the top and third one is obviously with the strong large branch network, ATM network, strong product offerings, strong online offerings. It has got everything that it needs to make the bank successful. Most importantly, it is the customercentricity that stands out. When I look at different customer satisfaction surveys, reports, presentations, when I follow on the social media, you see a very strong acknowledgement by the customers that the bank is hugely customercentric entity which makes a huge difference. What s so special about NBK and one thing that stands out is an employee-customer satisfaction program called I am NBK which recognizes the excellent customer service that any NBK employee will provide to the customers. While every bank or every large organization around has a customercentric program, NBK stands out by the fact that when somebody in a remote branch is recognized for an excellent customer service then the senior management goes to the workplace of the employee to recognize him there in front of his colleagues. It s not that you come to the head office and I give you a memento. It is the management which goes to the workplace of the employee which I have not had an experience of across the globe that I worked with and that s the distinction. The customer-centricity wherein the employee is proud of the NBK brand, the value system and service to the customers. I ll tell you an example, there s this customer who was totally disturbed and paranoid because he couldn t pay his electricity bill because the KD10 that he s trying to deposit in the ATM didn t get recognized and an employee saw that and put the 10 bucks from his pocket to the customer so he can pay his electricity bill. This what you call empathy. There are more good examples of that and I m proud to be a part of that. Q: What makes NBK different from other banks? What makes it a cut above the rest? A: One is the talent development program especially the Kuwaiti Talent Program as well as the Skills Development Program for the employees in general. NBK has woven itself into the fabric of the country. There are a lot of programs here like for the Shabab segment, the young segment, the new millennium. The bank is trying to be very close to the new millennium customers, 16 plus, early teens and we want to engage them. We have had many partnership programs with Kuwait University. One of them was the award winning ceremony at the Sheraton. Another one was with PAAET. So there are a lot of programs that the bank is engaging with at the education institute level. There s the NBK Academy Program in which the young talented Kuwaitis are recruited into the classroom training program. They go through the whole formal banking education and once they successfully graduate from that then they are posted in the different departments of their choice. Similarly, for the rest employees, there is strong High Flyers Program where we have tied up with the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and we have formal management programs lasting six to nine months for high flyers and they formally go through case studies. The NBK Academy is free and for Kuwaitis while the High Flyers Program is for Kuwaitis and non- Kuwaitis. That kind of investment in the development of employees is reflected in the quality of the people. There is a consistent pool of highly qualified resources in the bank. High potential Kuwaitis are also sent to Harvard University. You can see how the bank is investing in talents and you see how NBK puts prime importance on the value of human capital. Suresh Bajpai, NBK Head of Consumer Banking Q: How do you retain and attract customers? A: What I m trying to do is to successfully transfer the best global practices as the bank itself has been rapidly moving from the most dominant bank in Kuwait to a very strong regional player, to strong global player with global footprint. It is absolutely well positioned to start benefitting from getting the best of the best global practices in place. So whether it is bringing the best product and services to the customers or getting the strategic framework right. Those are some of the things that I am doing with the simple concept of keeping the customers on the centre of the plate. Most importantly, any product, any service that we provide has to be relevant to the customer. My basic emphasis really is on how we can embed into the lifestyle We will continue to be customer-centric has the strongest product segment continuum. Basically, that implies whether it s consumer banking or corporate banking, we serve all the segments. So in the consumer banking world, we serve the working class, the mass market. We serve the affluent customers. We serve the privileged customers. We serve private banking. We ve got business banking and we ve got corporate banking. We are fortunate enough to have customers from all the segments represented and then we have full suites of products to serve each customer with specific needs. Having general products alone will not make you relevant to your customers. For all the Kuwaiti nationals, how we make ourselves relevant, we train them young and we recruit them young once they graduof the customer and thankfully in the consumer banking world, it is very easy to be able to empathize with the customer and helping him manage his life better in the home country and at the host country. I really brought out the home country and the host country concept, given our footprint, given our infrastructure. First of all, let us take a look domestically, we have been blessed with the largest network including the 68 branches, including the 266 ATMs, the largest call centre in the financial services industry, very strong online mobile proposition, the largest point of sale network, very successful products whether in banking world or in the credit cards or loans, wealth management, very strong merchant relations, very strong presence in all the malls and with one of the strongest rewards programs in the region, globally, very strong miles program, one of the most successful savings accounts, the Al Jawhara and its omnipresence and of course you won t miss the NBK at the airport which is one of the busiest anywhere in the country or in the region. These are some of the infrastructural assets that we have which make us come closer and closer to the customers. These set us apart from others along with our excellent customer service. Q: What are your expansion plans? A: We are proud to say that NBK Photo during NBK Mega Day ate from school. When we look at the new millennium customers, we provide them specific products because their banking needs are just beginning. We provide them special accounts so when they start receiving the student allowance, it will get directly through the electronic channel. We provide them relevant prepaid cards so they can withdraw the money and we provide them special rewards so when they use this somewhere, they benefit from huge discounts, deals or offers. Their needs change so we start working with them on what their needs are, how we can fulfill them and how we can make ourselves relevant. What we are going to do in 2017 is to strengthen this value proposition and we will continue to focus on the new millennium customers and we will continue to focus to grow the products as they graduate up to the demographic profile. The Marketing and Research Department of NBK is one of the strongest that I ve seen in any bank anywhere and they re continuously researching and understanding the needs of the customers. There are two trends in the marketplace which will define banking in the coming days. One is the global trend and the other one is the regional trend. The global trend very clearly is everything is getting embedded into the mobile phone. Today, the customer says, it s my phone, my bank Photo by Mahmoud Jadeed in my pocket. If I want to pay somebody please let me do it from my mobile and I want to do fund transfer, I want it to do through my mobile. I want to get discounts, I want it through my mobile. Everything is embedded into the small screen. Second one is the regional trend, the malls are becoming the social destination. This is the new trend that socially the malls are becoming the place of all entertainment and meetings. We want to make sure that we bring mobile and the social destination together for the customers. At NBK, our strategy is to bring these closer. We have our strong presence in the malls and at the airport. Q: How does NBK keep pace with the fast changing digital world in doing business? A: We will use all the tools and emphasizing a lot on the digital channels. We will continuously ensure our strong presence. We want to be closer to the customers. Certainly, we will not hesitate to open new branches and expand our network further. We will not hesitate to expand our retail network but at the same time we will continue to heavily invest not only in our call centre and new technologies but also in the digital channel and the mobile channel for the customer to reach us. NBK is leading the change. We want to move to digital. We want to take paper out. We want to take cash out. We are in the forefront for e-payments, digital payments, e- remittances, electronic fund transfer. All capabilities that the customer can have in the branch, we want to make them available online and on mobile. We have a very nice success in this area by helping customers save time by getting more and more digital. We have also aligned ourselves with the vision of the country in moving more and more towards digital and the bank has taken the lead in digital signatures so that when the customer has to do something, he can do from his workplace, home and social place instead of walking into the bank. As customer behaviours are shifting towards more digital solutions and the focus is moving towards social media as a preferred communication channel, NBK is actively working to bring our customers enhanced and new services in the digital banking space. NBK has received a number of accolades in this area; the latest being NBK s agreement with PACI to provide its staff with digital signatures For example, ios 10 has just been launched and don t forget to upgrade the NBK mobile application, it is already ios 10 compliant and NBK keeps pace with the rapid changing technology. Q: What digital solutions are NBK offering its small to medium business customers? A: NBK understands that small business owners want a partner to help them develop and grow their business. NBK recognizes that small business owners have different needs to that of individual customers and offer a range of services aimed at making the life of a small business owner easier. The NBK Salary portal provides a flexible online solution to small business owners to pay the salaries and allowances of their staff from the comfort of their office or home 24/7. It also provides direct reporting to the MOSAL providing further comfort. Through MyStore2Go customers are able to easily set up an online store as another way of selling their products and services. This service is exclusively available to NBK Business Banking customers. NBK has a dedicated Business Banking relationship team whom are based out of 11 hubs. Our Business Banking team can assist customers in setting up transactional accounts, taking up a Titanium Business credit card (voted by MasterCard as the best business credit card in Kuwait), assistance to apply for finance, as well as Point of sale solutions. Our Business Banking credit card holders also benefit from our NBK Rewards Program aimed at Business customers. Q: Does NBK have a WhatsApp service for its customers? How is this service used to support customers? A: NBK is the first bank in Kuwait to launch a WhatsApp service to our customers. We launched this service during the summer travel season and it continues to be popular with customers from all segments. The launch of this service was based on customers requests to provide a communication and enquiry channel which are relevant to their needs. NBK s WhatsApp service (on ) is used for general customer queries and will not disclose any personal and confidential information. WhatsApp is very handy when you travel abroad and we want to be relevant to the customers overseas and domestically. We are very pleased as it has been very well received by our customers. NBK continuously seeks out these opportunities and make it available to our customers. Q: What is NBK s international footprint and how is this being used to service customers? A: NBK enjoys the widest banking presence with an international network across four continents. NBK international presence spans many of the world s leading financial centers including London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Singapore as well as China (Shanghai). Regional coverage extends to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. In Kuwait, NBK services it customers out of 68 branches throughout the country. Q: Which consumer segments choose NBK? And which segment does NBK prefer? A: NBK will continue to be the bank of Kuwait and the first choice of Kuwaitis and expats alike. NBK is the first bank to offer private banking services in Kuwait and also the first in offering a product for children (our Zeina offering). We will continue to support Kuwaitis and expats through all stages of their lives with different products and services to address their needs. We are present across all the segments as well as the demographic profiles are concerned. Q: What s your message to the NBK clients? A: We will continue to be customer-centric. We will enhance our customer centricity. We will continue to be nimble and market leading. We will be bringing newer and newer digital products into the marketplace. We will be specially relevant to the young millennium the growing demographic profile. We will continue to be the safest bank and we will continue to enhance the value proposition and the brand for the customers. Q: On a personal note, for a highly successful career banker like you, what s your secret to success? What handy tips can you give to our readers who want to pursue a banking career? A: This is the toughest question among the rest. I think have been fortunate enough honestly to have worked across almost all product functions and geographies. For me, it s the passion of making a difference to the customers, to help them manage their money better and that is where the starting point of my whole journey. I call it honestly, just the passion for the customers, to make it more relevant for them and to make their financial life more and more successful. I really enjoy assisting the customers, to help them manage their money better whether it is for investments, whether it is for retirement, whether it is to pay their bills, for the rainy day or whether it is for social cause. What has kept me going for so many years is the fascination of how the world has become a smaller village in this highly interconnected world. It is the massive flow of billions of dollars of trade and millions of people across the world, the world is becoming smaller and smaller and this is fascinating me. In order to keep pace with the changing world, we have to work so much harder on the treadmill and that s what makes it exciting.

32 BUSINESS 32 NBK among world s 50 safest banks: Global Finance NBK logo National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) continued to rank among The World s 50 Safest Banks list published by Global Finance topping international financial heavyweights. NBK maintained its listing in The World s 50 Safest Banks list for the 12th consecutive time. NBK is the only Kuwaiti bank to rank in Global Finance s list. This recognition demonstrates NBK s exceptionally strong ratings, successful strategy, high standards and rigorous risk management discipline & governance. Global Finance rankings are based on collective long-term credit ratings from Moody s, Standard & Poor s and Fitch Ratings in addition to the total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide. Global Finance s listings have been wellrecognized and trusted standards for the credit worthiness of financial institutions for more than 20 years. NBK continues to enjoy one of the highest credit ratings in the MENA region and internationally, with ratings of Aa3 from Moody s, A+ from Standard & Poor s and AA- from Fitch, all ratings carry a stable outlook. The Bank s ratings are supported by NBK s conservative strategy, strong capitalization & asset quality, prudent lending policies, wise risk management and a highly stable management team. NBK enjoys the widest banking presence with an international presence spans many of the world s leading financial centers including London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Singapore, as well as China (Shanghai). Meanwhile, regional coverage extends to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey. Meeting the challenge of financial innovation and reform Markaz sponsors Euromoney Kuwait Conference 2016 KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Kuwait Financial Centre Markaz is sponsoring The Euromoney Kuwait Conference 2016 that will be held, Sept 27 at J. W. Marriott under the theme of Meeting the Challenge of Financial Innovation and Reform. The conference s keynote speakers will include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Anas Al-Saleh; Mr. Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, Mohammed Al-Hashel; Chairman and Managing Director of Capital Markets Authority, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf and Director General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al Sabah. Alrazi Y. Albudaiwi, Vice President - Media and Communications at Markaz stated: Our participation in the Euromoney Kuwait Conference reflects our commitment towards the sustainable development of the financial sector in the state of Kuwait and our keenness to exchanging knowledge with financial experts locally, regionally and internationally. Albudaiwi noted that Mr. Manaf A. Alhajeri, Chief Executive Officer at Markaz, will participate with a one-to-one interview where he will discuss the latest updates in the Alrazi Albudaiwi, VP Media & Communications, Markaz financial and investment sector in Kuwait and the region, Kuwait s position compared to the same time last year and the greatest challenges facing Kuwait s economy, his outlook for growth in , his views on the reforms to the capital market in Kuwait, the most attractive sectors and investment opportunities locally and internationally and his outlook to re-invigorate the economy. Mr Ali H. Khalil, Chief Operating Officer at Markaz, will also participate in the conference through a discussion panel addressing Kuwait s macro-economic outlook with the participation of other expert panelists in which they will discuss some of the recent issues in the market such as: energy prices, a widening deficit and the need for reform, monetary and economic diversification policies, re-defining Kuwait s public sector and other opportunities for reform, the role of the public sector in the financial system, strategy and reform in the banking sector and encouraging the private sector. It is worth mentioning that many government institutions and financial companies from the private sector will participate in the conference through interviews and interactive panels. The conference topics include: Kuwait s macro-economic outlook Lower for longer: energy prices, a widening deficit and the need for reform Fiscal, monetary and economic diversification policies Kuwait s public sector and opportunities for reform Innovation, Digitalization and the Future of Kuwaiti Business Kuwait s existing digital ecosystem The role of SMEs in localized innovation More than 70 Corvettes displayed Chevrolet Alghanim hosts Kuwait Corvette Club fest KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: In a demonstration of its commitment to be an integral part of the Kuwaiti youth s culture and interest, Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive distributor of Chevrolet vehicles in Kuwait, hosted the Kuwait Corvette Club members at the Chevrolet Service Center on Wednesday evening, Sept 21, It was a special event marked by smiles and friendly conversations that, in many ways, complements what has always made Chevrolet Alghanim exceptionalits dedication to build and sustain a strong, intimate relationship with its customers. Chevrolet Alghanim management welcomed the club members by acknowledging their outstanding passion for Corvette and everything it represents to them, all while commemorating the exceptional partnership the two parties share together. Club members were awarded with trophies and certificates in appreciation for the loyalty the Kuwait Corvette Club has demonstrated over the years. Club members were also treated to a dedicated tour that introduced them to the service facilities available for all Chevrolet vehicles. In addition, they got to marvel at the impressive display of 70 Corvette models available at the service center. The 2016 Corvette Stingray powers ahead with new design packages, connectivity and technology enhancements that offer customers more personalization choices, convenience features and, most importantly, an unmatched combination of performance and efficiency. Power comes from the 6.2L LT1 V-8 rated at an SAE-certified 455 horsepower (339 kw) and 460 lb-ft of torque (624 Nm) and 460 horsepower (343 kw) and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) with the available performance exhaust system. The Stingray backs its performance capability with the greatest efficiency of any sports car on the market with more than 450 horsepower, delivering an EPA-estimated 17 mpg city driving and 29 mpg on the highway with the seven-speed manual transmission. KIPCO and partners announce details of Hessah Al Mubarak real estate project Development aims to offer quality lifestyle to Kuwaitis, expatriates KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: KIPCO the Kuwait Projects Company and its partners have unveiled the brand identity for the Hessah Al Mubarak real estate development. The project, with its unique location at the outskirts of Kuwait City and overlooking the Arabian Gulf Sea, is Kuwait s first-ever comprehensive, mixed-use development. In this urban neighborhood, people can live, work, shop and spend leisure time, creating The Center of Vibrant Living. In a press conference announcing details of the project, Faisal Al Ayyar, KIPCO s Vice Chairman (Executive), said that the development aims to offer quality lifestyle to Kuwaitis and expatriates alike: This project offers a new approach to upper-scale, integrated, urban, mixed-use developments in Kuwait. We have taken a holistic approach to design, creating a richness and sense of connectivity through architecture and landscaping. The owners have made a commitment to quality and we will be laying down all the infrastructure within the masterplan including public facilities and open green areas to make sure that we deliver on this promise, now and in the future. The project development manager is Al Mutawir Real Estate Company. The infrastructure contract has been awarded to Ahmadiah Contracting and Trading Company, and mobilization on site has begun. The land plot measures 227,066 sqm, of which close to 50% is dedicated to public services and amenities. This includes gardens, open public spaces, urban plazas, streets, multi-story public parking and utilities. Gardens and green areas across the project have been allocated 23,400 sqm. Photos from the event Photos from Cheverolet Corvette Club celebrations We can drive sustainable financial growth KAMCO appoints Ruben Fernandez as CFO KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: KAMCO Investment Company KSC (Public) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ruben Omar Fernandez as the Chief Financial Officer. Fernandez has held several positions throughout his years in the investment and finance industry. He has a bachelor s degree in Economics from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and a master s degree in Finance from the Universidad del CEMA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. With over 28 years of experience, Fernandez played an active role in managing and leading treasury businesses in the Middle East, North and Latin America. In one of his previous roles as Group Chief Treasury Officer & Financial Institutions Head at Kuwait Finance House, Fernandez developed and managed Group Treasury strategies in Kuwait, Turkey, Malaysia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Fernandez also held several positions in sound organizations such as Citi Bank. Faisal M. Sarkhou, Chief Executive Officer of KAMCO, added regarding Fernandez s appointment, We are pleased to welcome Ruben to our team. His expertise and experience in the industry will greatly assist KAMCO in our vision to become the preferred asset management and investment banking provider in the region. We are confident in his ability to become an integral part of our management team with a financial acumen that makes him highly qualified to take on the CFO role in the company. Commenting on the appointment, Fernandez said, I look forward to joining one of the leading investment companies within the investment banking and asset management sectors. KAMCO holds a solid track record in investment related achievements, coupled with a wealth of accumulated experience, and supported by a specialized team of capable and knowledgeable professionals. With the collaborative efforts of the management team, I believe that we can drive sustainable financial growth, development and stability in KAMCO. Fernandez also said that the current economic situation in Kuwait and the region, as a whole, presents significant opportunities and challenges. He expressed the importance of overcoming challenges, while utilizing opportunities to achieve overall corporate and individual goals within the company. Egypt to supply 3 LNG shipments MILAN, Sept 25, (RTRS): Egypt has chosen Glencore, Trafigura and B.B. Energy to supply three liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments following a tender, trade sources said. Egyptian Natural Gas Holding launched a tender two weeks ago to secure shipments for the rest of the year. Trading house Glencore will deliver the October cargo, Trafigura the November cargo and B.B. Energy, a relative newcomer to LNG trade, will bring in the December shipment, traders said. A spokesman for B.B. Energy confirmed that it was awarded the December shipment. The firm recently hired trader Navin Ganesh, who is based in Houston, Texas, from Trafigura. Al-Sayer exhibits Engine Armour from Valvoline motor oil KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Al Shahnan General Trading & Contracting Co, one of the Al Sayer Group Holding Companies held a stand display at Avenues Mall to exhibit Valvoline Engine Armour with ThermalShield technology, a range of full synthetic and synthetic technology engine oils, specially developed for the Middle-East hot and sandy environment. According to Krishna Kumar, General Manager Tires Oil and Paint Division We are glad to see such level of engagement from the mall visitors at the Valvoline stand. Through this initiative we also commemorate 150 years of Valvoline across the globe in addition to reinforcing that Valvoline oil is your car engine s life shield for long term protection and best performance. Engine Armour, Top Choice For Customers: Fully synthetic engine oils for increased engine oil performance. Tested and proven to outperform most competitors in engine protection. Specially developed formulation with ThermalShield technology to cope with the hot and sandy environment of the Middle-East. A full range of value adding products and support tools to better service your customers. During the 3 days display event, apart from generating product related inquiries, family visitors grabbed the chance to receive gifts by posing for a picture with Valvoline racer suit statue and posting in social media enabling extended engagement. Valvoline offers a full range of value added products and support tools to better serve customer s needs. The success of Valvoline is driven by the power and know-how of a worldwide lubricant specialist and their long experience in innovation, research and development makes them the lubricant experts. A culture of research and development to design future generations of lubricants offers Valvoline a strong competitive edge. Photo from Al-Sayer s event

33 BUSINESS 33 G7 welcomes self-driving cars guidelines China, Cuba agree to deepen ties during PM Li s visit US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Sunday that his counterparts in the Group of Seven nations welcomed US guidelines on regulating self-driving cars and have agreed to work together on creating such standards to maintain safety. There was actually a very enthusiastic reception to the policy, he said. We did a good job of inventorying what each country is doing and laying out areas that we want to explore further. Such issues include cybersecurity, ethics and privacy, wireless spectrum questions and many other issues, he said, while noting that reaching a resolution might take years, meaning the technology would be moving faster. Foxx called the US guidelines released earlier this month the most comprehensive on autonomous vehicles, coming out ahead of the rest of the world. Foxx and other transportation officials from the G-7 met over the weekend in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa. Speaking by telephone with The Associated Press, Foxx stressed road tests on autonomous vehicles must continue to encourage innovation. US electric car maker Tesla s Model S that was using the semiautonomous mode crashed in May. (AP) Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang met with Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday during a two-day trip to Havana, and the two leaders oversaw the signing of around 30 agreements on economic cooperation in various sectors, Cuban state media reported. Li is the fi rst Chinese premier to visit Cuba since the two countries established diplomatic relations 56 years ago, although President Xi Jinping visited in China is Cuba s second largest trading partner after Venezuela. The two countries traded $1.6 billion in the fi rst nine months of 2015, a 57 percent increase on the same period the previous year, offi cial Cuban data shows. Li said in an interview with the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma that his trip aimed to deepen the two countries relationship, forge new areas of economic cooperation and intensify the mutual political trust. The two countries signed agreements on collaboration in the science, environmental, industry, energy, public health and agricultural sectors, Cuban state TV said. China also agreed to extend lines of credit for certain projects, it added, but did not specify how much. (RTRS) Dakota pipeline threatens water supply White House seeks improved tribal ties as pipeline fi ght lingers WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (RTRS): The leaders of hundreds of Native American tribes will meet with President Barack Obama at his eighth and final Tribal Nations Conference at the White House next week, while thousands of activists are encamped on the North Dakota prairie protesting a $3.7 billion oil pipeline. The conference, designed to improve the relationship between Washington and the tribes, offers the last chance for this administration to hear from tribal leaders about the shortcomings of the current consultation system, which has been a source of conflict over the pipeline and other projects. Federal agencies take different approaches to consulting with the tribes. Obama, who will leave office in January, likely wants to do what he can before his term ends to fix the consultation system. The North Dakota encampment represents the largest Native American protest in decades. Along with environmentalists, the tribes say the 1,100-mile (1,886-km) Dakota Access pipeline, being developed by Energy Partners LP, would threaten the water supply and sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux. The administration stepped in unexpectedly on Sept. 9 to temporarily block construction of the pipeline and called for a serious discussion about how the tribes are consulted by the government in decisions on major infrastructure projects. There are going to be hundreds of tribes interested in this consultation process. It will not be easy logistically, politically or substantively, said Gabe Galanda, an attorney in Seattle who represents tribal governments. At present, the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages many infrastructure projects for the government, takes one approach to consulting Native American tribes. The Interior Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs take another. Laws overlap. The result can be confusion and sometimes anger, as with Dakota Access, said Bryan Newland, a lawyer and former adviser to the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department until A goal of the upcoming discussions will likely be simply to clarify what is meant by consultation. The Interior Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs tend to hold face-to-face bilateral meetings with tribal leaders. The Corps often is accused of checking marks on a checklist and moving on with what the developer intends to do, said Galanda. Ron His Horse is Thunder, spokesman for the Standing Rock Sioux, said: There s an issue between what the Corps believes is consultation and what the tribe believes is consultation. Before the Dakota Access protest erupted, tribe members voiced specific concerns with the government about the proximity of the pipeline to sacred burial sites, but these concerns were ignored, according to His Horse is Thunder. But Amy Gaskill, public affairs chief for the Corps northwest division, said the tribe canceled several scheduled meetings. This was documented in a judge s decision to reject the tribe s request for an injunction, she said. We redoubled our efforts to work with the tribe to make sure their voice was heard in the process, Gaskill said. Energy Partners said last week it remained committed to the pipeline project, which had been slated to begin carrying oil south from the Bakken shale field by the end of Sixteen years ago, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order requiring agencies to consult with Native Americans on matters affecting them. Obama in 2009 issued a memo intended to strengthen consultations with the tribes. But doing that requires constant attention, said David Hayes, a former deputy secretary of the Interior under Clinton and Obama. It is the kind of thing that requires diligence in terms of federal officials ensuring they are not simply treating tribes like any other stakeholder, Hayes said. Some agencies do not treat the tribes as sovereign nations, as they should under law, said Wizipan Garriott Little Elk, a former Department of Interior official. So often you see the agency request the consultation with the president of a tribal nation, but the agency will send a low-level bureaucrat to the meeting and simply check off the consultation box, Garriott said. The Corps also weighs a narrower geographic scope for projects than other agencies, so it can overlook impacts outside the immediate range of a reservation, Newland said. Talks between tribal leaders and the administration are likely to expose a consultation system that makes tribes feel disadvantaged, said Emily Mallen, a lawyer with Van Ness Feldman specializing in pipelines. It is unknown how the federal government might seek to resolve this issue. The only thing that is sure is that the tribal consultation process will likely see significant changes as a result, she said. Schaeuble resumes criticism Cracks seen in Germany s fragile truce with the ECB BERLIN, Sept 25, (RTRS): Michael Stuebgen, a conservative member of the German parliament, was speaking with the head of a local savings bank recently about the European Central Bank s quantitative easing (QE) programme. He told me the bond market was being emptied out, Stuebgen recalled. He likened it to going into a supermarket where everything has been bought up. You might find a shrivelled old carrot or potato. Pretty soon you re starving. Stuebgen, a spokesman on European affairs for Chancellor Angela Merkel s party in the Bundestag, credits the ECB and its President Mario Draghi with saving the euro zone from collapse four years ago. But conversations like the one with the banker have convinced him that its policies, in particular the massive bond-buying programme known as QE, have gone too far. He is not alone. Stuebgen and his colleagues plan to send Draghi a message when he makes a rare appearance in the Bundestag on Wednesday to explain his policies and answer questions from lawmakers. It is time for the ECB to change course, Stuebgen said. Last spring German criticism of the ECB reached new heights (some would say lows) when Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble blamed Draghi s policies for fuelling the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was founded in 2013 in opposition to euro zone bailouts and has since morphed into an anti-immigration party. Unusual Schaeuble s attack was unusual for two reasons. First, it was coming from Germany, where central bank independence has long been sacrosanct. Second, it was personal. Schaeuble was not only expressing concerns about ECB policies, which he had done off and on for years, but he was singling out Draghi. A storm ensued, eventually forcing the two men to sit down over lunch in Washington in late April and agree a fragile truce. It has held for five months, but there are signs it could be on the verge of collapse. Instead of changing course, as Stuebgen and his colleagues want, the ECB is widely expected to announce an extension of its QE programme by the end of the year. The programme is due to expire in March. As early as next month, it could also announce steps to broaden the scope of what it can buy in response to a dwindling pool of available assets. The most controversial change would be abandoning the so-called capital key, which limits the proportion of government bonds the ECB can buy from any given member state, based on its size and economic weight. The big challenge for Mario Draghi will be to prepare the Bundestag and German public for a further easing of monetary policy, said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW economic institute and a former senior official at the ECB. That message is unlikely to go down well in Berlin. In addition to concerns about the distorting effects of QE on financial markets and the impact of low interest rates on German savers and insurers, the political landscape in Germany has become decidedly more toxic for the ECB over the past months. With one year to go until the next federal election, the AfD has risen to a record high of 16 percent in national polls. On the defensive, Merkel s conservatives are desperate to shift the debate away from her increasingly unpopular stance on refugees. Target In this environment, the ECB could become the target of choice. I expect the German debate over ECB policy to ratchet up again if we see an extension of the QE programme or adjustments to it that broaden the scope of what the ECB can buy, said Thorsten Frei, another lawmaker from Merkel s party, who will attend the Draghi session. There is certainly a risk that this becomes an issue in the election campaign next year. Juergen Stark, a former ECB board member who resigned over concerns about the direction of policy at the height of the euro zone crisis in 2011, said he expects a more intense debate in the coming months. The longer the ECB stays on its current course, the fiercer the public reaction in Germany will be, he told Reuters. The latest Eurobarometer survey, which measures public opinion in the European Union, shows that only 30 percent of Germans say they trust the ECB, below the EU average of 34 percent. Many perceive the rescue measures to lack democratic legitimacy, a report published this month by the Delors Institute and Bertelsmann Foundation said. Even a central bank that is independent of direct political influence relies on trust and public support to be credible and effective in the long run. Qatar s Ahli Bank finalising three-year loan of $180 mln DUBAI, Sept 25, (RTRS): Qatar s Ahli Bank is completing a three-year club loan financing expected to be in the region of $180 million, said two banking sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The loan, launched in the market at the end of August, is self-coordinated, said the sources, meaning the fundraising process is arranged by the borrower. The loan documentation is being finalised and the facility is expected to be signed in one or two weeks, noted one of the two sources. Qatar s Ahli Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Qatari bank was in talks with lenders earlier this year for a $250 million three-year loan, as reported by Reuters in May. The new facility would partly refinance a $200 million three-year loan the lender raised in September That loan paid a margin of 120 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (Libor) and was led by bookrunners Barclays, Commerzbank, HSBC and First Gulf Bank. The bank issued in April this year a debut $500 million five-year bond with a spread of 260 basis points over midswaps. Barclays, HSBC and QNB Capital arranged the issue. European firms offer Britain scant support in divorce talks Fear special deal would lead to end of single market LONDON, Sept 25, (RTRS): More than 20 European business associations and companies interviewed by Reuters say they back their governments position that Britain s banking sector can only enjoy EU market access post-brexit if the country still follows the bloc s rules. Britain wants a trade deal that gives London s financial district, known as the City, access to EU clients while allowing the government to restrict migration from the bloc something at odds with the basic rules of the European Union. File photo shows students walk across the Quad on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana, Ill. College tuition may be daunting, but so are the conversations about how to pay for it. Experts say it pays off for parents talk with children early and often about how to cover higher education costs. (AP) Rights of temporary workers defended EU court verdict calls for Spanish jobs overhaul MADRID, Sept 25, (RTRS): An EU court ruling defending the right of temporary workers in Spain to receive severance pay is fuelling calls from Spanish unions and politicians for one of Europe s most uneven labour markets to be fixed. Spain has the European Union s second-highest unemployment rate after Greece and its labour market is more reliant on temporary contracts than any other in the bloc bar Poland. The high jobless rate 20 percent of the workforce at the last count and affecting close to half of young people has been a blot on what has otherwise been a three-year economic recovery, nine months of which has been without a full-functioning government. Short-term workers are cheaper to fire than permanent ones and have borne the brunt of job losses in bad times, but previous Spanish reforms have struggled to eradicate the two-tier labour system. The European Court of Justice blew open the issue after it argued in a Sept. 14 ruling that a Spanish woman who was employed as a temporary substitute for a civil servant over seven years was entitled to the same severance pay as a permanent employee when she was let go. Worker unions have welcomed the ruling, demanding measures to give all temporary workers equal severance rights and encouraging them to seek compensation through the courts until a reform is put forward. This could really blow up, you could see an avalanche of law suits, said Fabian Valero, a labour lawyer at Galicia-based firm Zeres. Valero most recently defended nine hospital workers who successfully argued they were fraudulently hired as temporary staff on contracts that were rolled over for several years, when they should have been treated as permanent staff - another common gripe which politicians have vowed to deal with. Permanent Legally, temporary workers have to be considered permanent after a period of two years in Spain and should only be hired for short-term projects or seasonal jobs. But loopholes in Spain s complex labour framework, which comprises dozens of different contract types, mean many people are employed on short-term contracts when they shouldn t be, while substitute workers are governed by different rules. Under Spanish law, temporary workers get 12 days pay for every year Senior lawmakers in the British government have said they expect European business groups to support their position because they need access to the financial services the City provides. But interviews with companies and trade bodies across Europe suggest the most important thing for business leaders is maintaining a single market with a single set of rules that includes the four freedoms: free movement of workers, capital, goods and services. They are less concerned about losing access to the City of London. Companies including Deutsche Post, Daimler and Fiat Chrysler said they did not see significant disruption if the City loses free access to the EU market. We have taken a very clear line that the integrity of the four freedoms must be observed and that there is no cherry picking, said Markus Beyrer, Director General worked when they are laid off, versus the 20 days for permanent employees and nothing for those on temporary substitute contracts. Acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos holding the fort in the absence of a formal government said last week that the labour market could be improved, though possibly by making the hiring of permanent staff more attractive. In Spain the number of temporary jobs... is excessive and that somehow needs to be corrected, de Guindos told local radio. Spain s labour ministry was studying the implications of the EU ruling, he added. It is unclear how far-reaching the fallout will be, though the ruling cannot be appealed. Temporary workers make up about a quarter of salaried employees in Spain, or 3.9 million people. But any top-to-bottom labour reform likely will have to wait, as Spain has been without a new government since inconclusive elections last December and in June. Spain s People Party (PP), which has been governing in an acting capacity, said last week it would put forward a parliamentary motion to abolish temporary substitute contracts only, of which there are some 300,000. of BusinessEurope, the umbrella body for the biggest EU business federations. This is a very clear message we get from our constituency. The conflict of views gives an early indication of the difficulties facing both Britain and the European Union in the divorce negotiations to come, with both sides having little room for concessions. Britons chose to leave the EU in a vote driven in part by a desire to curb immigration. The government, which has pledged to respect the people s will, will face an outcry among both the general public and eurosceptics in its own ranks if it allows free movement from the bloc. The EU is also in a tight spot. Continental businesses, despite their opposition to a UK exemption, rely on London to help arrange share sales, bond issuances and M&A deals. But officials fear if Britain is allowed a special deal, then other members states might demand bespoke relationships, putting the single market and the Union itself at risk. Britain exports more financial services than any other country and hosts the highest number of headquarters of financial services companies, and firms in related professional services such as law, than anywhere else in the world, according to a report from lobby group TheCityUK last month. But some analysts said that by taking an overly optimistic perspective of support for its arguments in Europe, the British government risked leaving the EU with no agreement on market access. Clear A spokesman for the Treasury said: Our position is absolutely clear, we want the best deal for trade in UK goods and services. He declined to comment on previous government comments about the stance of European corporate leaders. British lawmakers including Finance Minister Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have said it is in European companies interests to allow an exception from normal EU rules for Britain s financial sector - which generates around a tenth of national economic output. European confederations of industrial producers, trade bodies and associations and financial sector regulators will be talking with governments about the impacts of possible different outcomes, and I would expect those people... to be arguing for following rational economic interest, Hammond said in parliament this month. European business groups say they benefit from barrier-free trade with the City of London, using it for fundraising, repackaging receivables like car loans and mergers advice. They acknowledge shifting to financial services providers in Frankfurt and Paris could push up costs. We do not exclude the possibility that funding costs might be more volatile in future, said Silke Walters, a spokeswoman for German carmaker Daimler.

34 BUSINESS 34 Algeria, ENI sign solar deal Algerian state energy company Sonatrach has signed a deal with Italian firm ENI for a solar power plant, state news agency APS said on Friday, as the North African state looks to decrease domestic consumption of gas for power and export more. The 10 MW photovoltaic plant to be launched before the end of 2016 in Ouargla in southern Algeria will supply the company s Bir Rebaa field with electricity, allowing the gas to be used for other purposes, APS reported. A major supplier of gas to Europe, Algeria has been in talks on how to improve the investment climate for foreign oil and gas operators who are skittish over the country s contract terms. (RTRS) Name: Kuwait Sharia Compatible Indices Providers: Al Madar Finance & Investment Co. Description: Index of Sharia compatible companies traded on the KSE Website: Bloomberg Today s Today s closing Prev closing % 1-week 3-month YTD 12-month 24-month Index name ticker value as of value value change change change change change change Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Composite AMIC September 25, % 0.99% 0.86% -5.10% -7.89% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Kuwait Only AMIC September 25, % 1.04% 0.46% -5.86% -8.45% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Active AMIC September 25, % -1.59% 5.64% -3.13% % % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Banking Sector AMIC September 25, % 0.05% 1.14% % % % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Investment Sector AMIC September 25, % -2.83% -2.10% -4.13% % % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Insurance Sector AMIC September 25, % -4.91% -4.85% % % % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Real Estate Sector AMIC September 25, % -0.51% 0.78% % -8.32% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Industrial Sector AMIC September 25, % -1.15% -0.89% -9.62% -7.85% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Services Sector AMIC September 25, % 3.27% 0.13% 1.92% -1.83% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Food Sector AMIC September 25, % 1.60% 0.52% 22.17% 5.37% % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Islamic Sector AMIC September 25, % -0.07% 1.41% % % % Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Non Kuwaiti Sector AMIC September 25, % -0.35% 11.39% 18.29% 13.34% -4.14% Kuwait Stock Exchange Index - Price KWSEIDX September 25, , , % -0.30% 0.82% -3.65% -5.98% % S&P 500 SPX September 24, , , % 1.19% 6.25% 4.91% 11.65% 8.33% DJ Islamic Index. DJIM September 24, , , % 1.75% 8.32% 5.68% 11.53% 3.07% weekly report on FX market Swiss International Financial Brokerage Co Market outlook foggy after Fed, BoJ move Report Prepared by Ahmed Shibley The Federal Reserve announced to the market a hawkish hold at its policy gathering this past week, and in turn offered little resolution to the market s conflict over the Dollar s current richness or cheapness. That makes it difficult to mount a committed speculative run - bullish or bearish - to break the Dollar free of the broad range that has solidified these past 21 months. Gaining a clear bead on rate speculation for the masses will be difficult with both the moderated outlook and limit on key event risk. Meanwhile, there remains an open opportunity/threat for risk trends to finally gain purchase; but the first flush of trouble may not immediately rally Dollar haven seekers. The Dollar is in a unique fundamental position. On the one hand, the Greenback is the only major currency whose central bank is backing a hawkish lean which implies simultaneously a forward yield advantage in this reach-for-yield environment and a more durable safe haven whose economy is seemingly robust enough to weather removal of accommodation. That keeps the USD steadfast with holding onto the gains made over the past 5 years against all major counterparts. That said, rate speculation has overrun its reasonable economic tempo which has kept a steady drain on bullish interests. What s more, this advantage persists in a time when investors are far more discerning about the risks taken for slim yield. In turn, this looks like a dubious balance awaiting clarity, similar to the S&P 500. Though it may lack for a spark with the capacity to singlehandedly revive trend, monetary policy will provide the most abundant fundamental motivation for the Dollar through the coming week. We head into the new trading period with Fed Funds futures pricing in a sparse 19.3 percent probability of a hike on November 2 (just a few days before the Presidential elections) and 55.4 percent chance of a move on December 14 (what would be the one-year anniversary of lift off ). Should these scales change, we can oscillate within the broad range on the Dollar Index and EUR/USD (1,225 pips). Currently, the Greenback is trading very near the center of these spans. Breaking the outer boundaries would take a shock or a remarkable consistency in the scheduled event risk. From the docket, much of the data due ahead doesn t present the most direct route to changing the monetary policy timetables. Housing data, durable goods orders, the advance trade report and PMIs are economically valuable; but consistently lack for market influence. Two reports stand out above the pack: the PCE deflator and the Conference Board s consumer sentiment survey. The former is the Fed s favored inflation report, and most officials agree that this is the point that is subverting the need to tighten more quickly. Headline annual PCE (including volatile items) is at 1.6 percent currently has held below the 2-percent target for four-anda-half years. The pace of core inflation is a far more restrained 0.8 percent. The sentiment survey is valuable for components that include economic, wage, employment and inflation expectations - which can turn into price pressures down the line. Compared to the data, the Fed speaking schedule offers more pointed opportunity to sway rate speculation. There are 14 separate speeches scheduled with Chair Yellen, Vice Chair Fischer, bulls and doves all on tap. Yellen s testimony Tuesday and insight from the dissenters at the last week s meeting (voting to hike) will carry the most market-moving heft. Where rate speculation will offer the most proactive market influence, it is important to keep a weathered eye out for those influences that seem inert but can redefine the landscape should they stir. In the list of sidelined themes, risk trends remains a top consideration. The volatility and volume that revived capital markets on Friday the 9th is holding despite the familiar sense of lethargy trying to push back in. At present, any market-wide sentiment shifts immediately ahead would come without clear warning in scheduled events. However, if fear does start to shake loose investors, liquidity is likely to amplify the risk aversion and quickly rally the Dollar on inflows. The Japanese Yen rallied for the third-consecutive week versus the US Dollar on a key disappointment from the US Federal Reserve and relative inaction from the Bank of Japan. The week ahead promises substantially less foreseeable event risk, and the USD/JPY may continue its broader trend lower absent material surprises out of a handful of US and Japanese economic data releases. What should have been a critical 12 hours for the Dollar/Yen exchange rate proved fairly uneventful as the US Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and the Bank of Japan made few changes to existing monetary policy. Traders continue to believe the US Federal Reserve will raise rates at its December meeting, but there is very little reason to expect fresh policy action out of Bank of Japan. And indeed underwhelming policy from the BoJ will likely work in the Japanese Yen s favor (against the USD/JPY) given previous expectations of an expansion in the bank s Qualitative and Quantitative Easing (QQE) policy. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced two notable changes-officials will target inflation above their previous target of 2.0 percent and will establish a floor for the 10-year Japanese Government Bond yield. Pushing their inflation target higher makes little difference when the bank has thus far been unable to achieve their stated 2 percent target. Setting a specific target for the 10-year JGB yield is the more important and arguably controversial move, however; last week we highlighted why they might target the yield curve, and this is clearly their attempt at doing so. In theory the BoJ has committed itself to limitless bond purchases if it is to maintain a specific target on the 10- year JGB yield. In practice, however, the targeted bond was already trading just barely above the bank s target. Nothing will change absent a material rally in JGB s, and traders are effectively left with the status quo. Japanese Yen traders are likewise left with an effectively unchanged fundamental outlook, and this in itself favors a continued JPY rally (USD/ JPY decline) versus the US Dollar. Only a material break above key range highs would shift our near-term trading bias on the USD/JPY. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, Vice- Chair Stanley Fischer, Chair Janet Yellen, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, Kansas City Fed President Esther George, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, Fed Governor Jerome Powell and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are all on tap after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) stuck to the current policy at the September 21 interest-rate decision, and we may see a more collective approach to prepare U.S. households and businesses for a December ratehike as the voting-members appear to be following a similar path to Indeed, hawkish remarks may prop up the dollar as Fed Funds Futures highlight a greater than 50% for a December hike, but market participants may start paying closer attention to next year s rotation within the FOMC as central bank officials forecast a lower trajectory for interest rates. In turn, the U.S. dollar stands at risk of facing headwinds over the near to medium-term as Chair Yellen and Co. look poised to further delay the normalization cycle over the policy horizon. With the Bank of England s (BoE) next interest-rate decision due out on October13, market participants may see a shift in the policy outlook as board member Kristin Forbes endorses a wait-and-see approach and argues the initial effect on the UK economy of the referendum has been less stormy than many expected. In turn, a growing number of BoE officials may also warn that they are not yet convinced that additional monetary easing will be necessary to support the economy, and Minouche Shafik may highlight a similar tone next week as the Deputy Governor is scheduled to attend a Bloomberg News event on September 28. The broader outlook for the British Pound remains bearish as the U.K. prepares to depart from the European Union (EU), but the less-dovish remarks coming out of the BoE may limit the downside risk for the sterling especially as Governor Mark Carney rules out a zero-interest rate policy (NIRP) for the region. GBP/USD stands at risk of breaking down from the triangle/wedge formation carried over from the previous month as the pair trades to fresh monthly lows going into the final week of September, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) appears to be highlighting a similar dynamic as it fails to preserve the bullish formation carried over from the summer months. In turn, a break/ close below the Fibonacci overlap around (100% expansion) to (23.6% expansion) may open up the next downside area of interest around (38.2% retracement), but the pound-dollar may continue to consolidate within a wedge/triangle formation should Fed officials fail to prop up interest-rate expectation. The Australian Dollar launched an impressive recovery last week, with the lion s share of gains coming in the wake of the FOMC monetary policy announcement. A flattening of the projected rate-hike path buoyed risk appetite and sent the sentiment-linked currency higher despite unmistakably hawkish rhetoric from Fed Chair Yellen, who all but promised tightening in December. Another quiet week on the domestic front keeps Fed policy bets in focus from here, with extensive commentary from central bank officials due to cross the wires. Remarks from Yellen will take top billing as she testifies before the House Panel on Panel on Banking Supervision. A slew of other speeches from eight regional branch Presidents, two Governors and Vice Chair Fischer are also on the docket. The US economic calendar will offer plenty of data flow to fuel policy bets as well. Most notably, the final revision of second-quarter GDP figures is expected to see the annualized growth rate upgraded to 1.3 percent while the Fed s favored core PCE inflation gauge shows inflation accelerated to a six-month high of 1.7 percent in August. Taken together, all this bodes ill for the risk- and yields-sensitive Australian unit. The promise of a gentler tightening cycle in seems like the Fed s way of learning from mistakes made in 2016, with policymakers opting to under-promise and over-deliver versus the alternative. If the economy develops as officials expect, a steeper incline may yet emerge in practice. In the meantime, skeptical investors put the priced-in probability of tightening in December at just 55.4 percent. This leaves ample room for strengthening conviction to have a meaningful impact on asset prices if Fed-speak remains hawkish and economic data complies. The voting pattern at last week s FOMC meeting seems to nearly assure the former. As for the latter, Yellen s assertion that things need only remain the same between now and the end of the year to warrant a hike keeps the bar relatively low. On balance, this hints the Aussie may find its way lower anew as the prospect of nearing stimulus withdrawal weighs on risk appetite and drives an adverse shift in yield spreads. For more information please visit investment funds Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV) National Bank of Kuwait Money Market Funds Watani KD Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 KD Aug 30, 2016 Watani KD Money Market Fund II NBK Capital Weekly Sept 6, 2016 KD Aug 30, 2016 Watani KD Money Market Fund (Islamic) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 KD Aug 30, 2016 Watani Foreign Currency Money Mkt Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 USD Aug 30, 2016 Watani Foreign Currency Money Mkt Fund (Euro) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 Euro Aug 30, 2016 Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 USD Aug 30, 2016 Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 USD Aug 30, 2016 Watani USD Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 USD Aug 30, 2016 Watani KD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Sept 6, 2016 KD Aug 30, 2016 Equity Funds NBK Gulf Equity Fund NBK Capital Weekly Sept 8, 2016 USD Aug 25, 2016 NBK Kuwait Equity Fund NBK Capital Weekly Sept 8, 2016 KD Aug 25, 2016 NBK Qatar Equity Fund NBK Capital Weekly Sept 8, 2016 USD Aug 25, 2016 Gulf Equity Investment Fund NBK Capital Weekly April 7, 2016 USD Ijara Fund Thahabi Ijara Fund VI Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly April 30, 2016 USD Feb 29, 2016 Thahabi Ijara Fund VII Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly April 30, 2016 USD Feb 29, 2016 Islamic KD Ijara Fund II Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly May 31, 2016 KD March 31, 2016 Islamic KD Ijara Fund III Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly May 31, 2016 KD Feb 29, 2016 Islamic KD Ijara Fund IV Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly May 31, 2016 KD March 31, 2016 Islamic KD Ijara Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly May 31, 2016 USD March 31, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund I Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2016 USD April 30, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund II Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2016 USD April 30, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund III Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly July 31, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund IV Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly July 31, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund VI Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly July 31, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Islamic Equipment Leasing Fund I Ltd Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Multi Asset Funds Thahabi Multi Asset Fund Con Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2016 USD April 30, 2016 Thahabi Multi Asset Fund Mo Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2016 USD April 30, 2016 Gulf Bank Al Basha er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly July 31, 2016 USD June 30, 2016 Coast Fund Coast Investment & Dev. Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Sanaya Dow Jones Kuwait Index Fund Industrial & Financial Investment Co. Weekly Aug 25, 2016 KD July 28, 2016 Markaz Capital Preservation Program 1 Monthly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 Markaz Capital Preservation Program 2 Monthly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 Markaz Gulf Real Estate Fund Monthly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 Al Ahli Bank Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly June 30, 2016 KD May 31, 2016 Al Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly June 30, 2016 KD May 31, 2016 Burgan Bank Burgan Equity Fund Burgan Bank Monthly Aug 28, 2016 KD July 24, 2016 Boubyan Bank Boubyan KD Money Market Fund Boubyan Bank Weekly Aug 23, 2016 KD May 31, 2016 Boubyan KD Money Market Fund II Boubyan Bank Weekly Aug 23, 2016 KD Boubyan Capital Investment Co. Boubyan USD Liquidity Fund Boubyan Capital Investment Co Aug 23, 2016 USD May 31, 2016 Boubyan Kuwait Real Estate Fund Boubyan Capital Investment Co Dec 31, 2016 KD Sept 30, 2015 Kuwait Investment Co. Local Fund Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 8, 2016 KD Aug 31, 2016 Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Sept 5, 2016 KD Aug 31, 2016 Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 International Global Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 14, 2016 USD Aug 31, 2016 Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 14, 2016 USD Aug 31, 2016 European Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Aug 31, 2016 Euro July 29, 2016 Pacific Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 14, 2016 USD Aug 31, 2016 North American Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Tw. Monthly Aug 31, 2016 USD July 29, 2016 National Investment Co. (NIC) Al-Wataniya Fund NIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Al-Darij Fund NIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Zajil Fund NIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Weekly Aug 31, 2016 USD July 31, 2016 Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 1, 2016 KD Aug 11, 2016 MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 1, 2016 KD Aug 11, 2016 Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 1, 2016 KD Aug 11, 2016 Markaz Arabian Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 1, 2016 KD Aug 11, 2016 FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Markaz Fixed Income Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 31, 2016 USD Aug 11, 2016 Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV) Mawazeen International Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly July 31, 2016 USD Aug 14, 2016 Markaz MENA Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly July 31, 2016 USD July 31, 2016 Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co. Al Rou yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Gulf Gate Fund KMEFIC Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Global Investment House Index Funds GCC Large Cap Index Fund Global Weekly Aug 4, 2016 KD July 28, 2016 Equity Funds Al-Mamoun Fund A Global Weekly Aug 4, 2016 KD July 28, 2016 Al-Mamoun Fund B Global Weekly Aug 4, 2016 KD July 28, 2016 GCC Large Cap Fund Global Bi-weekly Aug 2, 2016 USD July 26, 2016 Al-Noor Fund Global Bi-weekly Aug 2, 2016 SAR July 26, 2016 Global Saudi Equity Fund Global Bi-weekly Aug 2, 2016 SAR July 26, 2016 Money Market Funds Global KD Money Market Fund Global Weekly March 31, 2016 KD Feb 29, 2016 Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Weekly Aug 2, 2016 USD July 26, 2016 Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Weekly Aug 2, 2016 USD July 26, 2016 Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Monthly Aug 4, 2016 KD July 28, 2016 Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC) Al Wasm Fund KFIC Weekly July 31, 2016 KD June 29, 2016 Al Basha er GCC Equity Fund KFIC Monthly July 31, 2016 USD June 30, 2016 KAMCO KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly Feb 29, 2016 KD Dec 31, 2015 KAMCO GCC Opportunities Fund KAMCO Monthly Feb 29, 2016 USD Dec 31, 2015 KAMCO MENA Plus Fixed Income Fund KAMCO Feb 29, 2016 USD Dec 31, 2015 KAMCO Real Estate Yield Fund KAMCO June 30, 2016 USD Dec 31, 2015 Wafra International Investment Co. Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Masaref Investment Fund ISKAN Weekly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 Shuaa Capital Co. Emirates Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Sept 15, 2016 AED Sept 6, 2016 The Arab Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Sept 15, 2016 USD Sept 6, 2016 Al Aman Investment Al Aman Islamic Fund Al Aman Investment Weekly July 31, 2016 KD June 30, 2016 Tharwa Investment Co. Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly July 31, 2016 KD July 14, 2016 Tharwa Arab Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Bi-weekly July 31, 2016 USD June 30, 2016 Tharwa World Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly March 31, 2016 USD March 15, 2016 Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly July 31, 2016 KD July 14, 2016 Bank Al-Bilad Al Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Daily Sept 6, 2016 KD Sept 1, 2016 Commercial International Bank CIB Money Market Fund (Osoul) CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 CIB II Equity (Isthethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 CIB and Faisal Islamic Al Aman CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 Hemaya CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 1, 2016 EGP Aug 1, 2016 Thabat CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 Takamol CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 Misr El Mostakbei CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2016 EGP Sept 19, 2016 Noor Financial Investment Co. Noor Islamic Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly Feb 29, 2016 KD Dec 31, 2015 Al Zumorroda Investment Co. Zumorroda GCC Fund Al Zumorroda Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2016 KD Dec 31, 2015 Al Safat Investment Co. Al Safat Local Shares Equity Fund Al Safat Investment Co Weekly Nov 30, 2015 KD Oct 31, 2015 Al-Imtiaz Investment Co. Al-Imtiaz Investment Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly Sept 30, 2015 KD June 30, 2015 Al-Imtiaz Real Estate Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly June 30, 2015 KD Dec 31, 2014 KFH Capital Investment Co. Muthanna Islamic Index Fund (MUDX) KFH Capital Investment Company Daily Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Muthanna GCC Islamic Banks Fund KFH Capital Investment Company Daily Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 Baitak GCC Fund KFH Capital Investment Company Weekly Aug 31, 2016 KD July 31, 2016 CapCorp Investment Co. CapCorp Local Fund CapCorp Investment Company Weekly July 31, 2016 KD April 7, 2016

35 BUSINESS 35 USD/KD flat The US Dollar s exchange rate against the Kuwaiti Dinar was stable at KD Sunday, whereas the euro s rate went up to reach KD compared to Thursday s exchange rates, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK). Exchange rate of the Sterling Pound went down to KD 0.393, while the Swiss Franc went up to KD 0.310, The Japanese Yen remained unchanged at KD (KUNA) UNB mandates banks Union National Bank (UNB), 50 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said on Thursday it had mandated six banks as joint lead managers and bookrunners to arrange a series of meetings with fixed income investors. It said a senior unsecured bond issue under the bank s euro medium term note (EMTN) programme may follow, subject to market conditions. The mandated banks were Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commerzbank, HSBC Bank Middle East, Mizuho International, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered, it said in a statement. (RTRS) Kuwait bourse edges higher; volume drops NBK gains 10 fils; Zain unchanged By John Mathews Arab Times Staff KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Kuwait stocks edged higher on Sunday, after posting moderate losses in the last week. The price index, after trading in red for most part of the session, rose 4.43 pts to 5, points helped by some of the banking shares. The board remained largely mixed in absence of strong catalysts. The KSX 15 gauge climbed 3.88 pts points taking the month s gains to 15 pts while weighted index was up 1.71 points. The volume turnover receded from the month s highest level on Thursday million shares changed hands 2 4 pct dip from the last session. The sectors closed mixed. Consumer goods outpaced the rest with 0.82 pct gain whereas technology shed 0.73 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, financial services accounted for the highest market share of pct while real estate and industrial trailed far behind with 14.7 percent and 11.3 pct contributions respectively. In the individual shares, sector bellwether National Bank of Kuwait rose 10 fils to KD and Commercial Bank of Kuwait was up by same measure to close at 395 fils. Humansoft Holding Co jumped 80 fils to KD and Kuwait Food Co (Americana) extended its rally with a 20 fils gain following company statement on its sale stake last week. Zain was unchanged at KD after trading over 2 million shares and Wataniya Telecom (Ooredoo) jumped 40 fils with thin volume. Kuwait Telecommunication (VIVA) dropped 10 fils and logistics major Agility stood pat at KD KIPCO was unchanged at KD and Kuwait Financial Centre took in 1 fils. The company has posted a first half net profit of KD 810,000 and earnings per share of 2 fils down from net profit of KD 3.73 million and earnings per share of 8 fils in H1 of The market opened flat and slipped into red in early trade. The main index continued to drift lower and plumbed the day s lowest level of 5, pts almost half way into the session. It clawed back in the second half and managed to close in the positive territory. Top gainer of the day, Equipment Holding Co rallied 5.58 pts to 46.5 fils while Amar Finance and Leasing Co climbed 5.56 percent to stand close behind. Ajwan slid 6 pct, the steepest decliner of the day and National Investment Co topped the volume with 6.69 million shares. Despite the day s uptick, the losers outnumbered the winners. 30 stocks advanced whereas 40 closed lower. Of the 116 counters active on Sunday, 46 closed flat deals worth KD 5.89 million were transacted a 33 pct drop in value from the previous session. Settle National Industries Group, the flagship company of Kharafi Group, eased 2 fils to 114 fils erasing the uptick in the last session while Gulf Cable was down 5 fils to settle at 385 fils. Heavy Engineering and Shipbuilding Co fell 2 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement Co held steady at KD Kuwait Foundry Co dropped 4 fils to 166 fils and Refrigeration Industries and Storage Company paused at KD The company has registered a net profit of KD 2.99 million and earnings per share of fils in the first half of ACICO Industries Co was unchanged at 285 fils and Combined Group Contracting Co climbed 10 fils. The company has registered a net profit of KD 219,574 and earnings per share of 1.63 fils in the first six months of Jazeera Airways slipped 10 fils while Zimah Holding and Mezzan Holding stood pat at 40.5 fils and KD respectively. AWJ gave up 2 fils while PAPCO and MTCC were flat at 99 fils and 55 fils respectively. Kuwait Cable Vision Co was unchanged at 27.5 fils. Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Co dialed up 1 fils and KGL Logistics Co gave up 1 fils to settle at 71 fils. The company has posted a net profit of 30, 2016 KD 3.76 million and earnings per share of 6.36 fils in the first half of 2016 up from net profit of KD 3.49 million and earnings per share of 5.82 fils in the same period last year. In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House rose 5 fils to 465 fils on back of over 1 million shares and Gulf Bank clipped 2 fils before settling at 232 fils. Al Ahli Bank was unchanged at 315 fils and Ahli United Bank followed suit to close at 390 fils. Burgan Bank was unchanged at 325 and Boubyan Bank gave up 5 fils to wind at 385 fils. Kuwait International Bank was unchanged at 188 fils and Warba Bank took in 2 fils. Kuwait Investment Co and International Financial Advisors inched 1 fils lower to 84 fils and 30 fils respectively whereas Securities House Co and Securities Group Co were flat at 44 fils and 85 fils respectively. KFIC paused at 36.5 fils and Sokouk Holding Co eased 1 fils to 30.5 fils. Al Mal Investment Co dialed down 0.5 fils and Bayan Investment Co followed suit. United Real Estate Co fell 3 fils to 95 fils and National Real Estate Co ticked 1 fils up. Mabanee Co paused at 790 fils whereas Arkan dialed down 12 fils. The market was mixed during last week. The price index closed lower in three of the five sessions and dipped 24 points week-on-week. It has retreated 10 pts from start of the month and is down 3.65 pct year-todate. KSE, with 198 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region. In the bourse related news, Hilal Cement Company has posted a net profit of KD 20,659 and earnings per share of 0.2 fils in the six-months period ending June 6, 2016 rebounding from a net loss of KD 95,105 and loss per share of 1.1 fils in the same period last year.. Metal and Recycling Co clocked a net profit of KD 118,386 and earnings per share of 1.58 fils in the six-month period ending June 31,2016 rebounding from net loss of KD 185,711 and losses per share of 2.48 fils in same period last year. Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company has registered a net profit of KD 941,711 and earnings per share of fils in the six-month period ending June 30 as against a net profit of KD 1.39 million and earnings per share of fils in the same period last year. Asiya Capital Investments Company has clocked a net loss of KD 5.46 million and loss per share of 7.03 fils in the January-June period sliding from a net profit of KD 1.77 million and earnings per share of 2.29 fils in the same period last year. Salhia Real Estate Company won the approval of Capital Markets Authority to buy back or sell a maximum of 10 percent of its shares for 6 months from date of the approval. Mideast Stocks Dubai, Abu Dhabi sag amid profit booking Major Gulf bourses retreat on oil DUBAI, Sept 25, (RTRS): Petrochemical shares were the main drag on Saudi Arabia s equity index after oil prices fell 4 percent at the end of last week, while Qatar s main index regained some ground. Riyadh s main index fell 0.6 percent to 5,913 points in low volumes, hitting a fresh 7-month low. Bellwether petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries declined 2.4 percent. The retail segment was also weak, with one of the largest electronics stores, Jarir Marketing, dropping 2.0 percent. Dubai s main index edged down 0.6 percent with losers outnumbering gainers 13-to-7. Amusement park builder Dubai Parks and Resorts, which is due to open its theme parks next month, lost 2.4 percent and Emaar Properties edged down 0.7 percent. Profit-taking on last week s top performing shares weighed on Abu Dhabi s index, which slipped 0.4 percent. Abu Dhabi National Energy lost 3.7 percent. Egypt s main index edged down 0.1 percent, with a little over half of the traded shares declining. Orascom Telecom, a stock favoured by local traders, dropped 1.9 percent in active trade. But some real estate companies gained, as investors favoured property-related companies because of their inflation-hedge appeal after the central bank unexpectedly left key interest rates unchanged at a monetary policy meeting on Thursday. Sixth of October Development and Investment rose 2.0 percent and Talaat Mostafa Group added 0.6 percent. But Qatar s index, which was down 1.2 percent in a volatile week, added 0.2 percent. Some stocks, which are now members of the FTSE secondary emerging market index, climbed, with Ezdan Holding Group adding 1.1 percent. Egypt said it will consider auctioning its fourth-generation (4G) licences on the international market after all three of the country s existing mobile phone operators turned down an offer to acquire them on Thursday. Telecom Egypt, which had jumped 2.2 percent on Thursday because it was the only operator which had acquired the licence last month, retreated 1.4 percent on Sunday. The rejections could leave the way open for regional carriers Zain, and Saudi Telecom Co (STC), which had both expressed an interest in acquiring Egyptian 4G licences if the established companies bowed out. Local media Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing company sources, that Zain Kuwait is still interested in buying the licence and will be visitng Cairo in the near future to take the discussion further. Shares in Zain ended flat. On Sunday Saudi Arabia s telecom sector outperformed the market with STC adding 0.4 percent and Zain KSA, a subsidiary of Zain Kuwait, jumping 9.3 percent, its daily limit. STC is the only Saudi company that has the financial bandwidth to purchase the 4G licence especially if the reported $1.8 billion stake sale in Malaysian carrier Maxis goes through, said Iyad Ghulam, senior anlayst at Riyadh s NCB Capital. Ghulam believes that although Zain Kuwait s interst in Egypt s 4G licence may have had some positive impact on its Saudi unit s price surge, investors may have turned their focus to the more pressing topic of the transmitter tower sale. STC and its chief competitor Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) signed an agreement at the end of July to jointly explore options for their network of transmitter towers. The deal is set to expire on Oct. 31. If the tower company is set up and if Zain KSA takes part by selling its towers, then it may be able to lessen its debt burden, Ghulam added. Saudi Arabia The index fell 0.6 percent to 5,913 points. Dubai The index lost 0.6 percent to 3,492 points. Abu Dhabi The index dipped 0.4 percent to 4,497 points. Egypt The index slipped 0.1 percent to 7,904 points. Qatar The index added 0.2 percent to 10,435 points. Bahrain The index rose 0.2 percent to 1,137 points. Kuwait The index rose 0.1 percent to 5,410 points. Oman The index added 0.1 percent to 5,769 points.

36 BUSINESS 36 Anglo American names new finance director Hadid s Port House opens in Antwerp Global mining company Anglo American Plc on Friday named a new finance director with a track record in cost-cutting and debt reduction at Australian iron ore giant Fortescue. Anglo American has been among the companies hardest hit by a deep commodities slide that last year saw miners stack up uncomfortable levels of debt and announce a flurry of asset sales. Miners and commodity markets have since recovered and Anglo s shares have risen around 200 percent this year. On Friday, they eased around a percent in line with the broader sector. Stephen Pearce, chief financial officer at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, will join the Anglo American board on Jan. 30 and take up his position as CFO in April, allowing a transition period. His predecessor Rene Medori, who leaves Anglo American at the end of next year and will step down from the board next April, announced his retirement in April this year. Pearce, 52, has been CFO of Fortescue Metals Group since 2010 and has around 30 years experience in mining and energy. He helped to steer Fortescue through strong growth and also had to address the challenges of last year s slump in iron ore prices, in part through highly competitive cost-cutting. (RTRS) Europe s second-biggest port has cut a distinct new shape into its skyline. Architect Zaha Hadid s Antwerp Port House, officially opened this week, integrates modern design with the city s history as a pioneer global trading hub and diamond centre. Made of 2,000 triangular glass panels, it cost 55 million euros ($62 million). During construction, some Antwerpers saw a ship or a diamond emerging from the brick-built old dockside fire station upon which the Iraqi-born Briton, who died in March, built the new structure, said Antwerp Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. Leave it to the imagination of people, said Bruyninckx, whose staff will work in the new building overlooking the Scheldt estuary. Be it a diamond, be it a ship, we are happy to live in it. The port authority chose a spot between the port and city centre for its new headquarters, where 500 employees will work. Ranked second in Europe behind the neighbouring Dutch Rhine Delta city of Rotterdam, the Belgian port is growing fast. Just months before completion, Hadid died suddenly at 65. The Port House adds to her legacy of eye-catching buildings around the world, including the Guangzhou Opera House in China and the London Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 Olympics. (RTRS) Dollar reverses gains on Fed rate decision Japanese yen regains strength on BoJ move; euro edges up By National Bank of Kuwait United States The FOMC left interest rates unchanged at 0.50% this week a highly anticipated decision due to soft US data as of late. Fed Chair, Janet Yellen, pointed out that the US economy is still on the growth track, as the pace of economic activity had picked up from the modest growth seen in the first half of She also noted that further tightening of monetary policy would be needed to keep the economy from overheating and fueling high inflation. According to the statement, the main factor that will determine a hike in December is the labor markets strength. In summary, fourteen out of seventeen Fed officials think there will be a rate hike by the end of the year, although three do not see one at all, showing that the Fed is becoming increasingly split. The next decision is scheduled for the second of November; however, markets do not expect a rate hike during this meeting. In the contrary, odds of a rate hike remain around the 60% level for December meeting. Separately, in its summary of economic projections, the Fed policymakers slashed the US growth forecast to 1.8% for 2016, from 2.0% estimated earlier in June. Back in Europe, UK foreign minister Boris Johnson noted that he expects the Brexit process to begin in early He said Although we are leaving the EU treaties, we do want to have the closest possible trading relationship and it s very much in their interests to achieve that. On the currency front, the US Dollar index initial move was a spike higher in the beginning of the week. As we advanced in the week, the Dollar reversed and remained under pressure after The Fed decided to keep rates unchanged, in line with market expectations. While the Fed statement in the run-up to the meeting pointed to some division amongst the FOMC members as to the timing of the next rate move, somewhat softer data over the past few weeks solidified expectations for no action in September. The Euro opened the week at against the US Dollar and managed to reach a short lived high at The pair slowly weakened as speculations heightened over further stimulus measures by the ECB. The currency closed the week at The Sterling Pound opened the week at and reached a low of against USD. However, the currency had a short lived recovery after the FOMC meeting and closed the week at In Asia, the Japanese Yen came under selling pressure as the currency regained some strength after the BOJ kept rates and ETF purchases unchanged at its policy review meeting. The USD/JPY pair witnessed wild swings post the BOJ policy announcement, initially plunging to levels in a kneejerk reaction to the BOJ s rates on-hold decision. The currency pair quickly jumped back to reach the level after the central bank noted that it will continue to expand monetary base until the inflation exceeds 2% price target and stays above the last in stable manner. The pair finally dropped again after FOMC meeting and managed to close the week at The outperformance on the Yen continues to pressure Japanese equities as it takes its toll on exports. On the commodities side, oil prices climbed after a private data in US showed a drop in inventories, while Japan reported higher oil imports. American Petroleum Institute (API) released overnight showed a 7.5 million barrel draw to million barrels in US crude inventories, the third weekly inventory draw. Markets were expecting an increase of 3.4 million barrels. Also, gold futures climbed after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. The yellow metal spiked immediately following the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. FOMC Statement The FOMC decided to keep the federal funds rate at 0.5%. The Committee judged that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting further improvement in labor market conditions and a return to 2% inflation. During the press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the move does not reflect a lack of confidence in the economy. Instead, Yellen told reporters, the Fed sees scope for some further improvement in the labor market. Among recent data disappointments, the drop in manufacturing and non-manufacturing ISM surveys in August is perhaps the most concerning, pointing to a potential slowdown in US growth momentum in the coming months. Moreover, a number of consumption related data points, including retail sales, have also been weak as of late, posing questions on the ability of consumers to continue driving growth going forward. Moreover, a decision whether to hike rates or not this year has now become a question of the Fed s credibility. Investors have been frustrated with the Fed s confusing communication as of late and seemingly little concern about potential financial stability implications related to keeping rates low for so long. Unemployment Claims fell to 252K In the week ending September 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 252,000, a decline of 8,000 from the prior week s unrevised level of 260,000. The 4-week moving average was 258,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the prior week s unrevised average of 260,750. This marks 81 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since Building Permits Fell by 5.8% and Existing Home Sales also dropped US residential building permits declined 5.8% to a 1.14 million annualized rate, from the prior month s revised 1.21 million pace. The figures represent a pause after a spell of strong gains, and permits show that single-family home construction in the South may bounce back. A solid job market and mortgage rates near historically low levels continue to support housing, with a measure of homebuilder sentiment rising to an 11-month high. The number of privately owned new houses decreased by 5.8% in August and single family news houses fell by 13.1% their lowest level since May 2015 as bad weather disrupted building activity in the South after two strong months of gains. On the other hand, permits for single family homes surged 3.7% to a 737,000 units, which is the largest segment of the market. This shows that the housing economy is still solid. US existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in August from a downwardly revised 5.38 million in July. The reading came in below market expectations of a rate of 5.45 million in August. Europe & UK Euro Zone Flash Manufacturing PMI Came In at 52.6 above Expectations of 51.5 The manufacturing sector PMI increased in September as businesses indicated that new orders and exports are strengthening. This comes on the back of initial weakness for Eurozone industry in the third quarter. While France manufacturing stagnated, German industry saw a marked improvement with notable increases in new orders from the US and Asian markets. This shows that more stable growth in the US and Asia could support weak Eurozone manufacturing production in the second half of the year. With many other trading partners still surrounded by an uncertain political and economic environment, it seems unlikely that a strong revival is in the making though. The drop in the service sector PMI was mainly because of a weakening outlook, while current order books remained stable in September. European Flash Services PMI came in at 52.1 below forecasts of 52.8 in September. UK Public Sector Net Borrowing Climbed Less Than Expected Britain s public sector borrowing increased less than expected in the last quarter, official figures revealed on Wednesday. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, UK Public Sector Net Borrowing climbed to billion pounds on a seasonally adjusted basis, following the preceding quarter s 2.43 billion pound fall, which was revised down from the originally reported drop of 1.47 billion pounds. In the meantime, market analysts expected the country s public sector borrowing to rise to billion pounds during the reported period. In a report, the Office for National Statistics stated that there were no clear signs of any impact of the British decision to leave the European Union on the public sector finances. Nevertheless, business growth slowed, according to the Bank of England s regular survey of business conditions released on the same day. Although the survey also showed that consumer spending and business sentiment rebounded slightly from the post-brexit shock. UK Financial Policy Committee The Bank of England released its FPC statement on Thursday, and the bank s message appeared directed at the EU as much as at domestic lenders. The BoE warned that it would not relax bank capital rules in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. In a clear reference to Brexit, the statement noted that the UK faces a challenging period of uncertainty and adjustment. This stern message is consistent with the significant monetary moves that the BoE adopted in August, when it lowered interest rates for the first time in nine years and expanded its asset-purchase program. The BoE has strongly hinted that it is leaning towards another rate cut in November, even though third quarter data has been better than expected. Asia Reserve Bank of Australia Policy Meeting Minutes The minutes of the September Reserve Bank of Australia meeting when interest rates were held unchanged at 1.5% have Rates - 25 September, 2016 Previous Week Levels This Week s Expected Range 3-Month Currencies Open Low High Close Minimum Maximum Forward EUR GBP JPY CHF been released. Interest rates are likely to remain on hold in the foreseeable future, with the Reserve Bank of Australia flagging that growth remains in line with expectations, and the RBA remains unworried by the housing market. Taking into account the recent data, and having eased monetary policy at its May and August meetings, the Board judged the current stance of monetary policy was consistent with sustainable growth in the Australian economy and achieving the inflation target over time, the Board said in its minutes. On the employment front, the RBA observes The unemployment rate had been little changed at around 5.75% over 2016 and employment growth had been steady at around 2% in year-ended terms. Strong growth in part-time employment had been apparent in most states, while full-time employment had fallen in the mining-exposed states. Japanese Exports Fell Due To Weak Global Demand Japanese exports dropped for an 11 straight month due to weak global demand and an appreciation of the Japanese yen. August exports fell tremendously year to year by 9.6% versus a forecast of -4.8%. Exports to China, which is Japans largest trading partner, fell by 8.9% in the year to August, marking the sixth straight month of annual declines. Japans trade balance deficit is currently at 18.7 billion yen versus a surplus forecast of billion yen, the first trade deficit in three months. Bank of Japan Kept Interest Rates unchanged The BoJ left the interest rate at -0.10% and provided a more flexible asset purchasing program by implementing a yield control curve, which is designed to keep 10 year bond yields at 0%. This means it can lend to the public sector at 0 cost, which will lead to a higher money supply in the market and potentially a higher inflation. The previous method of printing money at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen, was forcing The BoJ to take up bonds at an unsustainable pace even as it failed to accelerate inflation to a 2% target. Kuwait Kuwaiti Dinar at The USDKWD opened at on Sunday morning. BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK KFH KBE BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK KFH KBE BEC Muzaini Dollarco Gulf Bank ABK KFH KBE exchange rates Sept 25 Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy US dollar Danish krone Cyprus pound Sterling pound Indian rupee Yemeni riyal travellers cheques US dollar Sterling Euro local gold BEC Commercial Bank Gulf Bank Al-Ahli Bank BEC Muzaini Exchange Euro s900 Pakistani rupee Thai baht Japanese yen Sri Lanka rupee South African rand Swiss franc Bangladesh taka Korean won Gold 999 kg 13, Canadian dollar Philippine peso Syrian pound Gold tola 1, Gold ounce Swedish krona Australian dollar Iranian Riyal Gold gm 22k Saudi riyal Gold gm 21k Hong Kong dollar Lebanese pound Gold gm 18k UAE dirham Singapore dollar Malaysian ringgit gm Bahraini dinar gm Jordanian dinar Indonesian rupiah Omani riyal Egyptian pound New Zealand dollar All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency

37 LEISURE Sherman s Lagoon By J.P. Toomey N E W Y O R K T I M E S CROSSWORD 37 Mutts By Patrick McDonnell Hagar The Horrible By Chris Browne Beetle Bailey By Mort Walker Garfield By Jim Davis Baby Blues By Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott Conceptis Sudoku The grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3 box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive Answer to yesterday s puzzle Challenger DIRECTIONS: Fill each square with a number, one through nine. Horizontal squares should add to totals on right. Vertical squares should add to totals on bottom. Diagonal squares through center should add to total in upper and lower right. THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION. Today s Challenge Time 9 Minutes 16 Seconds Your Working Time Minutes Seconds Word by Word Blind Ama None are so blind as those who will not see. Laisa ahad ashad ama men olaeka al latheen la yoredoun an yobsserou. Numbers Yesterday s solution Zimbabwe game reserve guide Matius Mhambe holds Marimba, a female pangolin weighing 10 kgs that has been nine years in care at Wild Is Life animal sanctuary just outside the country s capital Harare, on Sept 22. (AFP) contract bridge By Steve Becker Scratch pad odds n ends JOHANNESBURG: Reclusive, gentle and quick to roll up into a ball, pangolins keep a low profile Ḃut they are also the world s most heavily trafficked mammal, and experts at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference this week are ringing alarm bells over their survival. Demand for pangolin meat and body parts has fuelled a bloodbath, and driven the scalecovered, ant-eating mammal towards extinction. More than a million pangolins are believed to have been poached from the wild in the past decade. Most are used to supply demand in China and Vietnam, where they are highly regarded as a delicacy and an ingredient in traditional medicine. At the CITES meeting in Johannesburg, conservationists will discuss moving pangolins into the highest protection category, which bans all international trade. The pangolin today is regarded as the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world, CITES chief John Scanlon told AFP. There has been a massive surge in the illegal take of the pangolin for its meat and for its scales. Currently CITES allows for trade in pangolins but under strict conditions. Existing laws are clearly failing to protect pangolins from the poachers. A complete international trade ban is needed now, said Heather Sohl, WWF-UK s wildlife advisor. There are four species of pangolin in Africa and four in Asia. Watchdogs say those in Asia are being eaten to extinction, while populations in Africa are declining fast. Research published in the early 2000s estimated populations in China to have declined by up to 94 percent, said Dan Challender, pangolin expert at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Pangolins are covered in overlapping scales, and have pink, sticky tongues almost as long as their bodies. When physically threatened, they curl into ball, making it easy for them to be picked up by hunters and put into a sack. About the size of a small dog, they are solitary, mostly nocturnal and cannot be farmed. Pangolins are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity they only feed on wild ants and termites, and they are extremely prone to stress and dehydration, so they die, Ray Jansen, of the African Pangolin Working Group, told AFP. In Chinese traditional medicine, pangolin scales are ground into a powder believed to cure conditions from headaches and menstrual cramps to nose bleeding and lack of virility. (AFP) 7347 Seven thousand three hundred forty-seven Sabat alaf wa thalath meah wa sabah wa arbaoun

38 SPORTS 38 Yas Links primed to host first MENA Golf Tour event Joy aims to regain winning ways on home course in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI, Sept 25: With two runnerup finishes in three weeks setting optimistic wheels spinning, Luke Joy will be hoping a victory is just around the corner when the MENA Golf Tour travels to award-winning Yas Links course for the first time for the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open on Monday. Playing on his home course will further add to the confidence of a player who boasts two wins on the tour, but agonizingly fell short of adding more silverwares to his cache this season, losing the Dubai Creek Open and the Golf Citizen Classic in playoffs. The 28-year-old Englishman will looking to put that heartache behind him when he joins a strong field that features 14 winners on the tour, including Spain s Carlos Balmaseda, who denied him the title last week with an eagle at the third extra hole. The goal is to eventually get into contention week in and week out and start winning golf tournaments. I feel like I am in the zone and I have the self-belief in my game which is the key, said the Abu Dhabi-based Englishman who is attached to Yas Links. I am pretty familiar with conditions at Yas Links, but still you have to execute your shots and play as well as you can since the standard of golf on the MENA Golf is very high, said Joy, who turned professional in Lining up as potential roadblocks to Joy s quest for glory are many, including his fellow Englishmen Zane Scotland, Lee Corfield and Andrew Marshall, all GOLF multiple winners of the tour, and Balmaseda who will be looking to make it two in a row. With two wins in three weeks, including one on the Spanish Pro tour, Balmaseda can expect another good result if he is able to carry the same form into Yas Links. I will definitely try and give my best shot and see where that leaves me, said the 44-year Spaniard who is also a MENA Golf Tour ambassador. With runaway leader Rayhan Thomas of India sitting out of the event to prepare for the Asia Pacific Championship in Seoul early next month, the amateur division could see Matias Calderon of Chile, Daniel Hendry of Scotland and Brazil s Tiago Lobo lock in an intense duel for honours. Younes El Hassani is backing himself for a strong showing after missing the cut last week and extend the lead over his compatriot on the MENA Division Order of Merit while Saudi Arabia s Othman Almulla will again start as a firm favourite to win the region s leading amateur prize for the third time on the trot. However, the venue that presents the kind of challenges golfers the world over dream about could provide a gruelling test of nerves. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the first Links golf course in the Middle East region, Yas Links Abu Dhabi was ranked number one in the Middle East by Golf Digest this year and 46th in the world. We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to host the first MENA Golf Tour event at our course, said Howie Roberts, general manager at Yas Links Abu Dhabi. We will strive to deliver a memorable week for its members, he said, adding: Events like this will further stimulate interest in golf and turn the region into a golfing force. Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, thanked the Ascorp management and the players for their continued support to the tour. Yas Links Abu Dhabi is a welcome addition to our host venues and we look forward to working closely with them to ensure the event is successful. Current Order of Merit standings: Professionals: 1.Zane Scotland (England) $28,367 2.Andrew Marshall (England) $25,902 3.Luke Joy (England) $21,709 4.Antonio Costa (Chile) $19,821 5.Craig Hinton (England) 19,173 Amateurs: 1.Rayhan Thomas (India) 297 points 2.Benjamin David (England) Edward Holland (England) 94 4.Matias Calderon (Chile) 87 5.Othman Almulla (Saudi Arabia) 81 This file photo shows Englishman Luke Joy in action during the Dubai Creek Open. Nationals & Red Sox clinch playoff berth with victories PITTSBURGH, Sept 25, (AP): The Washington Nationals clinched their third National League East title in five years, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 Saturday night behind 5-1/3 scoreless innings from rookie reliever Reynaldo Lopez. Stephen Drew s two-run single capped a three-run first inning for the Nationals, who return to the postseason after a one-year absence. Their win ensured a playoff berth, and they won the division about 20 minutes later when the second-place New York Mets lost to Philadelphia. Lopez (4-3) came on to the start the bottom of the fourth inning with a 6-1 lead and allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one. Ivan Nova (12-8) lost his second straight outing after a 5-0 start with Pittsburgh, giving up six runs three earned and eight hits in four innings. Red Sox 6, Rays 4 In St Petersburg, Fla, Dustin Pedroia hit his fourth career grand slam to help Rick Porcello get his major league-leading 22nd win, and Boston clinched a playoff berth by extending its winning streak to 10 the team s longest in September since Boston maintained a 5-1/2game lead over Toronto for the division title and ensured no worse than the AL s second wild card. Pedroia stopped an 0-for-17 skid with a single in the sixth and gave Boston a 6-3 lead with a seventh-inning drive off Danny Farquhar. Porcello (22-4) gave up three runs, eight hits and struck out nine over 6-1/3 innings, and Craig Kimbrel reached 30 saves for the sixth straight BASEBALL season. Ryan Garton (1-2) was the loser. Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0 In Toronto, Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer off Tyler Clippard (3-5) in the eighth inning, reaching 30 homers for the seventh straight season. New York has been shut out in three straight games for the first time July 27-28, The Yankees have lost 10 of 13 following a sevengame winning streak and likely will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years. Phillies 10, Mets 8 In New York, The Mets fell behind 10-0 by the fourth inning, then fell short of what would have been the largest comeback victory in team history. New York dropped into a tie with San Francisco for the two NL wild cards. St Louis trails by a half-game. Philadelphia s Maikel Franco and Darin Ruf each hit long a home run for the second consecutive night as Philadelphia built its lead. Jay Bruce hit his first career pinch-hit home run with one out in the ninth. The Mets put two on before Michael Mariot got his second save by retiring Lucas Duda on a popup and Travis d Arnaud on a comebacker. Dodgers 14, Rockies 1 Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game on Sept 24 in St Petersburg, Florida. (AP) Bautista homers as Blue Jays shutout Yankees 3-0 Washington Nationals Stephen Drew drives in two runs with a bases loaded single off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ivan Nova in the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh on Sept 24. (AP) In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw scattered three hits over seven scoreless innings, Josh Reddick slugged a grand slam in the seventh and Los Angeles moved within a game of clinching its fourth consecutive NL West title. The Dodgers can wrap up the title Sunday in Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully s final home game before he retires next weekend. Kershaw (12-3) struck out six and walked none to improve to 8-1 at home. Giants 9, Padres 6, 10 Innings In San Diego, San Francisco blew a six-run lead before scoring three times in the 10th inning, including a two-run home run by Denard Span, to beat San Diego and pull even with the New York Mets atop the NL wild-card standings. Angel Pagan scored the go-ahead run on a fielding error by rookie right fielder Hunter Renfroe with one out in the 10th, followed by Span s 11th homer, off Kevin Quackenbush (7-7). Royals 7, Tigers 4 In Detroit, Paulo Orlando hit a tying, two-run double and Eric Hosmer followed with a threerun homer against Francisco Rodriguez (3-4), capping a comeback from a 4-2 deficit in the ninth. Wade Davis (2-1) pitched a one-hit eighth and Kelvin Herrera, Kansas City s seventh pitcher, got three straight outs for his 12th save. Detroit s five-game winning streak was stopped and the World Series champion Royals ended a four-game skid. Cardinals 10, Cubs 4 In Chicago, Yadier Molina drove in four runs and Stephen Piscotty homered to help St. Louis in its wild-card chase. Randal Grichuk added three RBIs and Jhonny Peralta had three hits. Jason Hammel (15-10) allowed six runs and six hits while getting just seven outs, hurting his bid for a postseason rotation spot. Alex Reyes (4-1) needed 115 pitches to get through five innings but settled down after a tough start to allow three runs and six hits. Rangers 5, Athletics 0 In Oakland, Calif, The lone veteran in the lineup a day after Texas won another AL West title, Elvis Andrus hit a pair of two-run homers. Yu Darvish (6-5) had all the run support he needed on a couple of big swings from Andrus, who had his first career multi-homer game. Robinson Chirinos added an RBI double in the ninth for Texas (92-63), which moved 29 games above.500 for the first time since exactly four years ago on Sept 24, Orioles 6, Diamondbacks 1 In Baltimore, Mark Trumbo connected for his league-leading 45th homer and Trey Mancini hit his third homer in nine major league at-bats. Baltimore pulled a half-game ahead of the Tigers for the AL s second wild card and trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 1-1/2 games for the top spot. Wade Miley (9-13) allowed one run and seven hits and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts over 8-2/3 innings to beat Robbie Ray (8-14). White Sox 8, Indians 1 In Cleveland, Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu hit RBI singles in the first off Cody Anderson (2-5), and Todd Frazier connected for his 39th homer in the sixth as Chicago stopped a six-game losing streak. Joel Quintana (13-11) gave up one run in six innings and beat Cleveland for the second time in 11 days. The Indians magic number is two for clinching the AL Central. Marlins 6, Braves 4 In Miami, Derek Dietrich hit a two-run homer, helping stop Atlanta s season-high seven-game winning streak. Atlanta s Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 28 games in the first inning and has reached base in 44 straight. He also hit a solo home run in the sixth, his 32nd. Brian Ellington (4-2) earned the win in relief and A.J. Ramos got his 39th save. Five days after getting his first big league win, Aaron Blair (1-7) allowed five runs in 3-1/3 innings. Angels 10, Astros 4 In Houston, Kole Calhoun had three hits and two RBIs, and Los Angeles scored nine runs in the final two innings. Houston fell to three games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card. Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and C.J. Cron each added two RBIs for the Angels. Twins 3, Mariners 2 In Minneapolis, Miguel Sano hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning off Ariel Miranda (5-2) and Tyler Duffey (9-11) gave up four runs and four hits in seven innings. Seattle is 2= games back for the second AL wild card. Sano s 24th homer followed Nelson Cruz s tying two-run shot for Seattle in the top of the fourth. MLB Scoreboard WASHINGTON, Sept 25, (Agencies): Results and standings from the MLB games on Saturday: Kansas City 7 Detroit 4 St Louis 10 Chicago Cubs 4 Texas 5 Oakland 0 Toronto 3 NY Yankees 0 Boston 6 Tampa Bay 4 Baltimore 6 Arizona 1 Washington 6 Pittsburgh 1 Miami 6 Atlanta 4 American League Eastern Division W L PCT GB Boston Toronto /2 Baltimore NY Yankees /2 Tampa Bay /2 Central Division W L PCT GB Cleveland Detroit Kansas City /2 Chicago W Sox Minnesota /2 Western Division W L PCT GB Texas Seattle /2 Houston LA Angels Oakland /2 National League Eastern Division W L PCT GB Washington NY Mets /2 Miami /2 Philadelphia /2 Atlanta /2 Central Division W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs St Louis Pittsburgh Milwaukee /2 Cincinnati Western Division W L PCT GB LA Dodgers San Francisco Colorado San Diego Arizona /2 MLB Linescores American League Kansas City Detroit Ventura, Moylan (5), Strahm (6), McCarthy (6), Soria (7), W.Davis (8), K.Herrera (9) and S.Perez; Norris, A.Wilson (6), J.Wilson (7), B.Rondon (8), F.Rodriguez (9), B.Hardy (9) and J.McCann. W_W.Davis 2-1. L_F.Rodriguez 3-4. Sv_K.Herrera (12). HRs_Kansas City, Hosmer (24), Morales (30). New York Toronto x3 6 0 Sabathia, Clippard (8) and B.McCann; Stroman, Grilli (8), Osuna (9) and Navarro. W_Grilli 7-5. L_Clippard 3-5. Sv_Osuna (35). HRs_Toronto, Bautista (20). Texas Oakland Darvish, Claudio (8), Scheppers (8), Diekman (9) and Chirinos; Alcantara, Neal (7), Coulombe (8), Hendriks (9) and Maxwell, McBride. W_Darvish 6-5. L_ Alcantara 1-2. HRs_Texas, Andrus 2 (8). Seattle Minnesota x3 3 2 Miranda, Storen (5), Scribner (7), Wilhelmsen (8) and Zunino; Duffey, T. Rogers (8), Kintzler (9) and J.Murphy. W_ Duffey L_Miranda 5-2. Sv_Kintzler (15). HRs_Seattle, Cruz (39). Minnesota, Polanco (3), Sano (24). Boston Tampa Bay Chicago W Sox 8 Cleveland 1 Cincinnati 6 Milwaukee 1 LA Angels 10 Houston 4 Philadelphia 10 NY Mets 8 Minnesota 3 Seattle 2 San Francisco 9 San Diego 6 LA Dodgers 14 Colorado 1 Porcello, Scott (7), Ziegler (7), Ross Jr. (7), Uehara (8), Kimbrel (9) and Leon; Andriese, Garton (7), Eveland (7), Farquhar (7), Gamboa (8) and Casali. W_Porcello L_Garton 1-2. Sv_Kimbrel (30). HRs_ Boston, Pedroia (14). Tampa Bay, Forsythe (20). Chicago Cleveland Quintana, Kahnle (7), Jennings (7), N. Jones (8), Robertson (9) and Avila; C.Anderson, Manship (3), Crockett (4), Garner (5), Armstrong (6), Colon (7), A. Adams (8), Plutko (8) and R.Perez, Moore. W_Quintana L_C.Anderson 2-5. HRs_Chicago, Frazier (39). Los Angeles Houston Chacin, Valdez (7), Achter (8), Alvarez (8), Bailey (9) and Bandy; Peacock, Devenski (6), Gregerson (8), Gustave (8), Chapman (9), Neshek (9) and Castro, Stassi. W_Valdez 2-3. L_ Gregerson 4-2. Interleague Arizona Baltimore x6 9 0 Ray, Bracho (4), Leone (6), Koch (8) and Castillo; Miley, T.Wilson (9) and Wieters. W_Miley L_Ray HRs_Baltimore, Trumbo (45), Mancini (3). National League St Louis Chicago A.Reyes, Bowman (6), Duke (8), Oh (9) and Molina, C.Kelly; Hammel, Montgomery (3), Cahill (5), Wood (6), H.Rondon (7), F. Pena (7), Zastryzny (8), Patton (9) and Contreras. W_A.Reyes 4-1. L_Hammel HRs_St. Louis, Piscotty (22). Chicago, Contreras (11). Cincinnati Milwaukee Straily, Lorenzen (7), R.Iglesias (9) and Barnhart; Jungmann, Cravy (5), J.Barnes (6), Scahill (7), Boyer (8), Blazek (9) and Pina. W_Straily L_Jungmann 0-5. HRs_Cincinnati, Votto (26). Milwaukee, Santana (10). Atlanta Miami x6 9 0 Blair, Bradley (4), De La Cruz (5), Gant (7) and Recker; Chen, Brice (5), Cervenka (6), Ellington (6), Rodney (7), Barraclough (8), A.Ramos (9) and Realmuto. W_ Ellington 4-2. L_Blair 1-7. Sv_A.Ramos (39). HRs_Atlanta, Freeman (32). Miami, Dietrich (7). Washington Pittsburgh Ross, Burnett (3), Lopez (4), Rzepczynski (9), Treinen (9) and W.Ramos; Nova, Hutchison (5), Z.Phillips (7), Locke (9) and Cervelli. W_Lopez 4-3. L_Nova HRs_ Pittsburgh, Bell (3). Philadelphia New York Asher, J.Rodriguez (6), D.Hernandez (7), Neris (8), Mariot (9) and Alfaro, Ellis; Gilmartin, R.Montero (1), Edgin (5), Henderson (6), Smoker (7), Salas (8), Goeddel (9) and d Arnaud. W_Asher 2-0. L_Gilmartin 0-1. Sv_Mariot (2). HRs_ Philadelphia, Franco (25), Ruf (2). New York, Bruce (5). Colorado Los Angeles x Bettis, Carasiti (5), E.Butler (6), Bergman (7) and Wolters, Garneau; Kershaw, Chavez (8), Liberatore (9) and Grandal, A. Barnes. W_Kershaw L_Bettis HRs_Colorado, Valaika (1). Los Angeles, Reddick (2). Jones chance for victory derailed Sadler wins inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Chase race in Kentucky SPARTA, Kentucky, Sept 25, (AP): Elliott Sadler took the lead with four laps remaining and held off Daniel Suarez by seconds to win the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase race Saturday night at William Byron celebrates after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 175 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept 24 in Loudon, NH. (AP) Kentucky Speedway. Sadler pushed his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevy Camaro from 15th with 50 laps remaining for his third series victory this season and the first spot in the eight-driver second round that begins at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 15. Sadler previously competed in the inaugural Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2004, finishing ninth. He finished second in 2011 and 2012 in the Xfinity Series and is seeking his first title. He was 13 career series CAR RACING wins. We fought through a lot tonight, Sadler said. We had a 10th- or 15th-place car at best. We decided to come in, really take our time and work on it. We had good calls by (crew chief) Kevin (Meendering) and the guys to get us in position. This team has no quit in it, we just fight to the end. This is a great way to start the Chase. Sadler dedicated his victory to his mother, nicknamed Mama Belle, who is battling an illness and underwent two surgeries this week. Suarez struggled with a tight condition all night, but was best at the end of the race. Right at the end, we were pretty good, maybe just a little tight but we were strong, Saurez said. I feel like we were the fastest car out there at the end.

39 SPORTS 39 Omani team still five points adrift of Alinghi s provisional total Oman Air in peak form going into fi nal in Marina Funchal MUSCAT, Sept 25: Oman Air were in peak form in Marina Funchal on day 3 and made a clean sweep of podium places to boost their chances of a final day victory at the Extreme Sailing Series Madeira. A fresher breeze on the third day gave the GC32 fleet a chance to give the spectators lining the shores on the south coast of the island an invigorating show of speed and action and it was Oman Air that led the way with seven podium places including two outright wins in seven races. From lying in third place overnight, they worked their way up to second but an incident between event leaders Alinghi and Red Bull Sailing Team, which resulted in the loss of Alinghi s mast and an enforced retirement from racing, means that overnight, Oman Air were still five points adrift of Alinghi s provisional total after redress. Red Bull had a bit of a bump with Alinghi which took the Swiss out of the picture but had they still been racing, it could have been a very different day, explained Pete Greenhalgh, Oman Air s mainsail trimmer and tactician. It gave us the chance to put points on the board and chip away at their lead but they will be back in the fray tomorrow so we still have everything to do. It wasn t a bad day but there were a few things we could have done better. It would have been a better day had we won every race but we know where we can improve so hopefully tomorrow, we will keep things tight, get a good number of races in and turn the tables. Oman Air sit four points ahead of Red Bull Sailing Team in the rankings and six SAILING above SAP Extreme Sailing Team, who have 119 points but Nasser Al Mashari, Oman Air bowman said a final day of action could see the leaderboard turned upside down. We have seen some very good sailing from SAP and Red Bull and if they carry on like that tomorrow, especially with the double points final race, they will definitely be in the mix and we will have to make sure we are on top of our game to stay ahead. But we are feeling positive because this is a top crew, we are sailing well and we really want to win this first event in Madeira. Racing in Madeira, which has featured a mix of open water racing and the Series Oman Air boat in action in Madeira. signature Stadium Racing, concludes tomorrow Sunday 25 September just off the shore of Marina Funchal. The free to enter public Race Village is Vinci ousts Puig in Wuhan first round WUHAN, China, Sept 25, (AFP): Roberta Vinci downed Olympic gold medallist Monica Puig in the first round of the Wuhan Open on Sunday. OLYMPICS Italy s Vinci took just one hour and 20 minutes to defeat the Puerto Rican in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. Last year s US Open finalist Vinci who was responsible for halting Serena Williams bid for a rare calendar-year Grand Slam served eight aces en route to the second round of the $2.6 million hard court event. Puig had a fairy-tale run at the Rio Olympics clinching her island nation its first ever gold medal and taking her to a career high ranking of 33. open but fans from further afield can enjoy multi-media coverage and live streaming of the on-the-water action online from 15:30 17:00 Local Time (GMT +1). Wozniacki ends title wait with Tokyo win Arruabarrena beats Niculescu to claim Korea Open Garcia and Isidro settle for 2nd place Al Mutariat, Cajucom bag FAST titles KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Filipino Action Shooting Team, FAST had grouped up to test their shooting skills. Tamer Al Mutariat secured another professional title and Archie Cajucom showed that he has the ability to capture the title on standard category. Meanwhile, the veterans Garcia and Isidro were not too far on the second place. Standard Category Its been after several months that FAST Secretary Archie Cajucom was missing the weekly FAST Competition. And it seems he didn t loose his touch, as he topped the standard category. He accurately shot 16 alphas, 3 charlies and a delta at seconds. His hit factor (HF) was For the two consecutive weeks, FAST Vice President Cesar Isidro was too close for first place. Even he was 2 seconds faster than Cajucom at seconds, he got an HF of a little short than the first place. He shot 12 alphas, 7 charlies and a delta. FAST well seasoned shooter Ludivino Butch Alinea was swift on his ran. He has the fastest time on the standard category at seconds. But he incurred 2 procedural penalties when he shot a target on the same station, without these penalties he should have been the champion of the night. He shot 15 alphas, 4 charlies and a delta with HF of Salem Al Sheraiam is one of the SHOOTING new FAST shooter and has a very steady hands. He shot 17 alphas, 1 bravo and 2 charlies at seconds. His HF was Hamad Al Kandari on the fifth place with 12 alphas, 4 charlies, 3 deltas and a miss. He took his time to finish the course at seconds. His HF was Fawaz Al Anizi was quickly learning on his shooting abilities. He shot 14 alphas, 4 charlies and unfortunately 2 misses. He finished the course at seconds with HF of Erwin Eseo was back at the range after he s out due to his work commitments. He shot 10 alphas, 2 bravos and 5 charlies, with 3 misses. Had an HF of FAST guest shooter Murray Arnold was guided by the team on how to shoot safely. He had a keen eyes on the targets as he shot 17 alphas, 1 charlies and 2 misses. His HF was Majid Al Mulla was a little distracted as he incurred 2 procedural penalties. He finished the course at seconds, shot 10 alphas, 6 charlies, 3 deltas and 3 misses. He had HF of Abdelrahman Abubakar came back to join the funshoot after awol for sometime. He has to shake off some rust as he finished the course at seconds with 3 misses on the targets. He shot 7 alphas, 7 charlies and 3 deltas with HF of Nawaf Al Mutar was another guest shooter. He was not able to gain a HF due to his 5 misses. Professional Category Tamer Al Mutariat with his dead on accuracy put him into the first place on professional category. He was too good to register a score of HF more than 3. He shot 16 alphas, a bravo, 2 charlies and a delta, with one of the quickest time of seconds only. His HF was FAST President Ronil Garcia seems to recover on his accuracy predicament. He perfectly hit all the target Fast family post for a group photo during the Fun Shooting event. Serena will be back strong, warns Kerber WUHAN, China, Sept 25, (AFP): Newly minted world number one Angelique Kerber warned Sunday that Serena Williams will come back strong after the German stripped her of her long-held position atop the rankings. I am sure that she (Williams) will (be) coming back strong, Kerber told AFP in Wuhan, China. Williams was gunning for her 23rd Grand Slam title at the US Open TENNIS that would have taken her past the record she shares with Steffi Graf when she was cut down by 11thranked Karolina Pliskova in the semis. The Czech s victory ensured that Kerber, who had been snapping at Williams heels for weeks, would rise to number one. The German then went on to beat Pliskova in the fi nal to claim her second Grand Slam title of the year. Williams slip from the number one spot in September also denied her a second record: the American without a miss, 11 alphas, 1 bravo, 7 charlies and a delta. Swift of his feet at seconds, the second shooter of the night to register more than 3 HF of Omar Al Ansari on the tough 3. He claimed the fastest shooting time of the night of seconds. Shot 9 alphas, 8 charlies and 3 deltas with HF of It was unusual with Mohammed Al Sadoon not to hit targets. He had 2 misses tonight. He shot 14 alphas, 2 charlies and 2 deltas at seconds. His HF was The Scenario was another creation of FAST El Presidente Ronil Garcia with a lot of help from the members of the club who all came in early to set-up scenario. At the start of the fun shoot, Garcia told all the competitors that safety is the main priority of both the Tamer Al-Mutariat Archie Cajucom veteran had topped the rankings for 186 weeks a run Graf also matched. And that double slight is sure to motivate Williams to come back strong, said Kerber. She will try to win some more Grand Slams and write history for sure, she said. Williams pulled out of the Wuhan Open and next week s China Open in Beijing on Friday, almost guaranteeing that Kerber will end the year as world number one. Serena But the 28-year-old the oldest ever women s player to debut at the top of the rankings isn t letting the pressure of her new position get to her. The ranking... it s just a number, she said. I was always telling myself if that day will come... then that would happen, but (I was) not putting too much pressure on myself. range and the organization. The competition was guided by one of the best range officer Wilber Zingapan. The course of fire look simple but quite challenging. There were total 9 shooting stations that a shooter has to ran and engage the targets, placed approximately 5 to 9 meters. It means, a shooter has to be quick on their feet and fast to acquire his sight alignment to the targets. An aggregate scoring method is used to calculate the final score for each competitor with a bullet in Alpha earning 5 points, while in Bravo and Charlie brought 3 points and Delta 1 point. The time taken to complete the course plays a major part in the standing as the total score is divided by the time. The result of it will be called as Hit factor. Hitting a No Shoot and not following a defined rule with result into a procedural error, will cost the shooter minus 10 points. The shooter can also be disqualified if he violates the gun safety handling rules. He can elect to do another run or more but as a rule, only the first attempt of the competition will be considered final. Meanwhile, FAST officials had announced that all newcomers and members wishing to participate in the weekly shoots should come to the range ahead of time for a dry run over the course. The aim of this dry run is to ensure the newcomers safety as well as that of all those present at the range. Those newcomers who fail to turn up for this dry run will not be allowed to take part in the actual competition. On the other hand, FAST officials would like to invite everyone on Tuesday evenings to the weekly fun shoot competitions at 1800 hours. For details, on all FAST activities, contact FAST President Ronil Paul Garcia on and Vice-President Cesar Isidro on or look us up on Facebook FAST Kuwait. TOKYO, Sept 25, (Agencies): Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki overpowered Japan s Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday, her first tournament victory since February The Dane, who has battled back from a wretched run of injuries this year, weathered an early storm from her teenage opponent before running out a comfortable winner, claiming a second Tokyo title and the 24th of her career. I m very proud to win the tournament, Wozniacki told reporters. TENNIS Somebody just told me I ve won a tournament every year since That s a nice little streak and hopefully I can keep it going and keep moving forward. Wozniacki, the Pan Pacific champion six years ago, survived a health scare after dropping serve to go down 4-3 in the first set. After feeling a twinge in her left thigh, she left the court for treatment and returned with her leg heavily bandaged. But it appeared to have little adverse effect as Wozniacki took complete control, ripping a fierce backhand down the line to take the set. Wozniacki, who reached the US Open semifinals earlier this month to signal her return to form, roared into a 5-0 lead in the second set as Osaka s game unravelled in the Tokyo sunshine. Playing with the roof open after a week of typhoon rains, Osaka paid for her youthful exuberance, her strategy of attempting to hit the fur off the ball on every shot backfiring badly against a vastly more experienced opponent. The 18-year-old, who called a medical timeout of her own for a sore right shoulder after losing the first set, produced some spirited resistance to avoid the dreaded bagel, but it was too little too late. Wozniacki completed victory with a crisp backhand which forced Osaka into yet another wild shot, giving the 26-year-old her first title since Kuala Lumpur last year. I hurt my groin a little bit in the first set, but I tried to stay aggressive and stay calm, said Wozniacki, who had seen her world ranking plunge to 74th after suffering wrist and ankle injuries. To be honest I was just trying to fight for every point. It was tough at the end but I was just happy to close it out. The Dane is set to climb to 22 or 23 in the new rankings when they are released on Monday. Germany s Alexander Zverev hits a return to Switzerland s Stanislas Wawrinka during the St Petersburg ATP Open fi nal tennis match in Saint Petersburg on Sept 25. (AFP) Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark holds the winner s plate during the awards ceremony after defeating Naomi Osaka of Japan in the women s singles fi nal at the Pan Pacifi c Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Sept 25. (AFP) Osaka, born of a Japanese mother and Haitian father, will break into the top 50 after her fairytale run but confessed her inexperience had cost her. In Seoul, South Korea, Lara Arruabarrena of Spain beat Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 on Sunday to win the Korea Open and claim her second WTA singles title. After racing through the opening set, Arruabarrena double faulted twice to surrender her serve in the fourth game of the second and Niculescu seized the opportunity to level the match. Pouille captures 1st career title Zverev stuns Wawrinka for St Petersburg crown ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept 25, (AP): Promising German 19-year-old Alexander Zverev won his first tour title Sunday, beating US Open champion Stan Wawrinka in a tight battle in the St. Petersburg Open final. Zverev took the first set before Wawrinka responded to draw level. The German was a break down in the decider, but fought back to win 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Zverev becomes the first man to beat Wawrinka in a tour final since 2013, snapping an 11-match win streak in finals for the Swiss star, who had been trying to win back-to-back titles in his first tournament since the US Open. TENNIS The loss also ends a 10-match unbeaten run for Wawrinka. Earlier, Britain s Dominic Inglot and Finland s Henri Kontinen won the doubles title. In Metz, France, Lucas Pouille clinched his first career title on Sunday, beating top-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (5), 6-2 to win the Moselle Open final. The third-seeded Frenchman, a US Open quarterfinalist earlier this month, clipped a neat volley for match point and then hit an ace down the middle. The 22-year-old Pouille tilted his head back and then wagged a finger in celebration, before the 10th-ranked Thiem hugged him at the net. I m really happy to win my first title here. I played well from the beginning, Pouille said. Now I can rest and get ready for (the China Open) next week in Beijing. It has been a breakthrough year for the No. 18-ranked Pouille, who has beaten five top 10-ranked players this year including Rafael Nadal at the US Open. Since beating (David) Ferrer in Miami, there hasn t really been a moment where my level dropped, Pouille said. I can t stop now; the tennis road is very long. Pouille gave special thanks to his coach, Emmanuel Planque, who looked tearful when Pouille made his victory speech. Thanks Manu, for everything, Pouille said. It s in large part thanks to you that I m here now. Pouille won 83 percent of points on his first serve and saved the only break point he faced in the first set. Thiem, who was bidding for his eighth career title, saved all three break points in the first set, but Pouille broke him twice in the second. It was a very good first set from both of us, not many chances to break, the 23-year-old Thiem said. I was 4-0 up in the tiebreak but Lucas was the better player and deserves his first title.

40 SPORTS 40 General Assembly agrees to set up five regional offices OCA approves road map for future of Kuwait-based movement OLYMPICS DANANG, Vietnam, Sept 25: The Olympic Council of Asia approved the road map for the future of the continent s Kuwaitbased Olympic movement at the 35th OCA General Assembly in Danang, Vietnam, on Sunday. The road map calls for a series of regional offices in the OCA s five zones, and the following locations were accepted: Delhi, India for the South Asia zone; Almaty, Kazakhstan, for Central Asia; Bangkok, Thailand, for South East Asia; Kuwait for West Asia; Nansha, China, for East Asia, although the OCA is still finalising technical procedures for the Nansha office in southern Guangdong province. The OCA will also have a sub-office in Jakarta, Indonesia, to assist in the preparations of the 18th Asian Games in 2018, and also in the Olympic capital of Lausanne, Switzerland. The Kuwaiti government cancelled the diplomatic agreement with the OCA in November 2015 following the IOC decision to suspend the Kuwait National Olympic Committee on Oct 27, 2015, due to the conflict of the laws against the Olympic charter and International Sports Federations. The General Assembly gave the power to the OCA Executive Board to visit candidate cities for a new headquarters if necessary. Meanwhile, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, addressed the 35th OCA General Assembly at the Royal Lotus Hotel and Convention Centre on Sunday morning. President Bach congratulated the OCA and its President, HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, for the success of Asia in the global Olympic movement. The Asian Olympic movement today is stronger than ever before in the worldwide Olympic movement, he said. Under the leadership of the OCA and President of the IOC, Thomas Bach (left), and HE Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al Sabah, President of OCA addressing the 35th OCA General Assembly. the President Sheikh Ahmad, Asia can demonstrate huge success in many terms. The first point, he said, was in sporting terms, with five Asian NOCs winning their first gold medal in history at Rio This clearly demonstrates the growing power of sport in Asia, he said. A sixth new gold came for the Independent Olympic Athletes, who were representing the suspended Kuwait Olympic Committee. The IOC President pointed out that the Olympic movement had reached the turn of the century of Asia, with the next three Olympic Games in the continent: the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang, Korea, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This is an unprecedented achievement having three consecutive games on your continent, he said, adding that the close working relationship between the three organising committees displayed Asian unity in your diverse continent. The IOC President also spoke of the success of the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last year, and the increasing number of world championships and multisport events taking place on the continent. I thank you and congratulate you on this great contribution to the worldwide Olympic movement. All these achievements do not fall from heaven. It does not come from nothing. He praised the hard work, efforts and determination of the National Olympic Committees and the OCA on a daily basis and said: Only with this joint effort can you achieve these great results. Thank you for what you are doing to strengthen the Olympic movement and I would like to encourage you to continue in this way. Knowing the Asian mentality a little bit, I am sure you will do. The Olympic movement is counting on Asia and relying on the great contribution you are making to our worldwide effort. President Bach said Asia was setting an excellent example with its dynamism and investment in the future of Asian youth. Finally, the IOC President praised the OCA for selecting the historic central coastal city of Danang, Vietnam, as the host for the 5thAsian Beach Games, which opened on Sept 24 and will run until Oct 3. It has great symbolic value, and you are sending a strong message of understanding and peace to the Asian continent and the world, he said. Asia postpones next Asian Beach and Youth Games DANANG, Vietnam, Sept 25, (AFP):The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has rescheduled two of its biggest regional events and introduced limits on the number of athletes allowed to compete in the region s top multi-sports competition. With Asia already set to stage the next three Olympics and a host of world championships over the next decade, OCA officials have decided to streamline some of their major regional events, which have grown spectacularly from humble beginnings. The Asian Beach Games, currently taking place in Vietnam, will now be held every four years instead of every two. Founded in 2008, the next edition was supposed to take place in 2018 but has been postponed until The 2017 Asian Youth Games, due to be held in Jakarta, will now take place in The Games, which were first held in 2009, were originally due to take place in Sri Lanka but were to switched to Indonesia, mainly as a test event for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang. Indonesian officials told the OCA General Assembly on Sunday they would stage a smaller test event in 2017 and then the Youth Games at Surabaya four years later. OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah also announced limits on the number of competitors at the Asian Games. This is second only in size to the Olympics with more than 10,000 competitors and 5,000 officials from 45 countries and regions as well as 4,000 technical staff, 8,000 media and 30,000 volunteers. Until now, countries have been allowed to enter as many athletes as they liked but the OCA said each nation would be restricted to a maximum of two competitors in each individual event. Otherwise we will have nine from one country and none from other countries, Sheikh Ahmad told the assembly. We are getting the best two from each NOC (National Olympic Committee) and we are giving a chance to other NOCs to win medals. The Indonesian organising committee for the 2018 Asian Games said preparations were on schedule. But one of the planned sports, surfing, had been dropped because the waves were not big enough at either Jakarta or near Palembang. Japan to host 2026 Games Event to cost $842 million DANANG, Vietnam, Sept 25: The city of Nagoya and Aichi prefecture in central Japan will host the Olympic Council of Asia s 20th Asian Games in The bid from Aichi-Nagoya was approved by the 35th OCA General Assembly at the Royal Lotus Hotel and Convention Centre in Danang, Vietnam, on Sunday, securing the OCA s showpiece event for the next 10 years following Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia, in 2018 and Hangzhou, China, in The OCA President, HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, thanked the commitment of Nagoya and Aichi and said: The road map of our main event is very stable. Together with our three Asian Games in 2018, 2022 and 2026, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the next two Winter Olympics in Korea and China in 2018 and 2022 respectively, the sports calendar of Asia will be very busy with continental and international events. The President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, IOC member Tsunekazu Takeda, introduced the city of Nagoya and the prefecture of Aichi to the delegates at the General Assembly and highlighted the industrial and economic strength of the region. The Governor of Aichi prefecture, Hideaki Ohmura, described Nagoya as a leading sports city in Japan with a population of 7.5 million. Professional sports clubs include Nagoya Grampus Eight football team and the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, and the region has also produced several top OLYMPICS national athletes, including OCA Executive Board member Koji Murofushi, female wrestlers Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho and figure skater Mao Asada. The first theme of a five-concept Asian Games 2026 will be Athletes First, and excellent sports stadiums already exist such as the Mizuho Athletics Stadium, Toyota Stadium, Rainbow Hall and Rainbow Pool, Komaki volleyball arena and Nagoya Dome. The Main Media Centre will be located at the Nagoya International Exhibition Hall, and the total Asian Games budget was presented as USD842 million. The Mayor of Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura, surprised the meeting by serenading delegates with a version of an Elvis Presley song: Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can t help falling in love with Asian people, Asian Games in Nagoya and Aichi. For sixth straight year, company supports champions in int l arenas Zain sponsors Kuwait s National Jet Ski team KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced its main sponsorship of the Kuwait National Jet Ski team for the sixth consecutive year. The company s sponsorship will extend during the team s participation in the upcoming World Jet Ski Championship 2016 that will be held early October in the United States. Zain s sponsorship falls under its solid Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility strategy towards the youth and sports sectors as well as supporting Kuwaiti athletes. Zain officials with the National team before their departure to the US. The company further expressed its keenness on encouraging Kuwaiti athletes to represent Kuwait in the various internationally renowned championships. Zain expressed its utmost confidence in the talents of the Kuwaiti youth. The company s officials were present with the team in Kuwait International Airport before their departure to the United States, where they expressed Zain s wishes of the best of luck to the team on their upcoming participation in the World Jet Ski Championship. Govts urged to do more to combat drugs in sport The National Jet Ski team is authorized by the Kuwait Sea Sport Club to officially represent Kuwait in regional and international Jet Ski championships. The team champions won a number of prominent titles during past participations, most notably many first place titles of last year s World Jet Ski Championship, held in the United States. The company expressed its pride in all National teams that raise the Kuwaiti flag high by achieving top international titles, and it further confirms its commitment towards Kuwaiti champions, which resembles the company s endless confidence of the competencies of these young athletes and their capabilities in excelling in different fields. As a leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, Zain is constantly looking to identify and support excellence across the sports sector. The company will continue to put Kuwaiti National teams and individual athletes at the forefront of its priorities and pledges to continue motivating them to achieve all the recognition they deserve. IOC boss Bach wants greater clarity on doping roles 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games hosting city contract signing ceremony Oceania nations could compete at Asian Winter Games: officials DANANG, Vietnam, Sept 25, (AFP): Asian Olympic officials have tentatively agreed to a request from Australia to allow countries from Oceania to compete at next year s Asian Winter Games in Japan, further strengthening ties between the two regions. Under the proposal from the president of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates, athletes from Oceania nations would be allowed to enter selected events at the next Asian Winter Games, taking place in Sapporo from Feb If approved, representatives from Oceania would be regarded as guest athletes, competing under the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) flag. They will only be allowed to enter individual events and will not be eligible to win any medals. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the influential president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), has thrown his support behind the plan but said the final decision was up to the Sapporo organising committee. I hope that they will support this resolution, Sheikh Ahmad told the OCA General Assembly on Sunday. It will be good for all the athletes. Oceania, which includes Australia, New Zealand and other smaller Pacific nations does not have its own winter games. But Coates said the chance to compete against Asia s top athletes would serve as an ideal preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics, taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea. DANANG, Vietnam, Sept 25, (AFP): International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said Sunday he wants governments to do more to combat drugs in sport following the Russian doping scandal that rocked the buildup to the Rio Olympics. Reinforcing his belief that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should be completely overhauled, Bach said it was time that governments played a more active role to help create a better and more transparent system of tackling cheats. This has had to happen together with WADA because WADA, in the fight against doping, is the platform, Bach told the Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly. We (also) need the commitment of government. Together with governments, we want to make WADA more efficient. The IOC and WADA have been at odds over their roles in dealing with anti-doping cases after WADA led calls for Russia to be banned from Rio following allegations of statebacked doping. The IOC opted not to ban Russia, instead leaving the decision to individual sports. But it believes a clearer system should be established, taking the key decisions away from sports and national federations. Wiggins denies seeking unfair advantage from prescribed drugs LONDON, Sept 25, (RTRS): British cyclist Bradley Wiggins has defended his use of banned substances under medical exemption rules, saying he was not looking for unfair advantage but merely trying to mitigate the impact of asthma and allergies. The first Briton to win the Tour de France, Wiggins has been the subject of allegations of hypocrisy over the timing of the medical interventions since his anti-doping records were among those leaked by cyber hackers on the fancybear.net website. The data leaked relates to Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), which allow athletes to take banned substances for verified medical needs and are signed off by We think the whole anti-doping system should be independent from sports organisations with regard to testing and sanctioning, Bach said. The system has to be more transparent... we have to be very clear who is responsible for what: testing, compliance, sanctioning. We owe this to the athletes so they know what is happening, and we owe it to the public to be fully transparent. While the IOC and WADA have been at loggerheads over the handling of Russia s eligibility to compete in Rio, the IOC has convened a summit in Switzerland next month to look at the issue before a global doping conference in You re all aware of the challenges we had with regard to the protection of clean athletes before the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Bach said. sports federations. There is no suggestion Wiggins has broken any rules. The data revealed Wiggins was given permission to take the powerful corticosteroid triamcinolone before his breakthrough triumph at the 2012 Tour de France as well as the 2011 version of the endurance classic and the 2013 Tour of Italy. This was to cure a medical condition. This wasn t about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage, Wiggins told BBC TV in a pre-recorded interview to be broadcast on Sunday. This was about putting myself back on a level playing-field in order to compete at the highest level. The IOC, on very short notice, had to take some preliminary decisions and actions in order to protect clean athletes. In these discussions, it has become more obvious that we have to look at the WADA system. We decided that the IOC will ask for a full review of the WADA antidoping system in order to make it more robust, more efficient, more transparent and more harmonious.

41 SPORTS 41 CRICKET Proteas win by 206 runs Bavuma stars on debut as South Africa rout Ireland BENONI, South Africa, Sept 25, (AFP): Temba Bavuma made a century on his oneday international debut to set up a comfortable 206-run win for South Africa in a oneoff one-day international against Ireland at Willowmoore Park on Sunday. Bavuma hit 113 in a total of 354 for five after South Africa were sent in to bat. Ireland were bowled out for 148 in reply. Ireland captain Will Porterfield s gamble did not pay off as Bavuma and Quinton de Kock (82) punished the Irish bowling in an opening partnership of 159. Porterfield described his team s performance as disappointing and bemoaned early chances which went astray. JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien both hit rapid half-centuries to take South Africa to a total that always looked likely to be well beyond Ireland s reach. Porterfield was out to Kagiso Rabada without scoring to the second ball of the In this fi le photo, South African batsman Temba Bavuma plays a shot of the second Test match between South Africa and New Zealand at the Supersport Cricket Stadium on Aug 29, 2016 in Centurion. (AFP) Ireland innings and the visitors crumbled despite good innings of 40 by Paul Stirling and 41 by Kevin O Brien. South Africa vs Ireland Scoreboard BENONI, South Africa, Sept 25, (AFP): Scores in a one-off, one-day international between South Africa and Ireland at Willowmoore Park on Sunday. SOUTH AFRICA Q. de Kock b O Brien T. Bavuma c Poynter b Young F. du Plessis c Porterfield b Young J. Duminy not out D. Miller c Wilson b O Brien F. Behardien c Porterfield b Young Extras (lb9, nb1, w12) Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) Fall of wickets: (De Kock), (Du Plessis), (Bavuma), (Miller), (Behardien) Bowling: Young (3w), Chase (1nb, 4w), Murtagh , Dockrell (1w), O Brien (3w) Did not bat: D. Pretorius, W. Parnell, A. Phehlukwayo, K. Rabada, A. Phangiso IRELAND W. Porterfield lbw b Rabada... 0 Off-spinner Duminy completed a good all-round day by taking a career-best four for 16. Ireland were without experienced batsman Niall O Brien, who slipped in his hotel P. Stirling lbw b Phangiso J. Anderson c Rabada b Parnell... 5 G. Wilson c De Kock b Pretorius... 3 K. O Brien c Parnell b Duminy S. Terry c Bavuma b Parnell S. Poynter c Phangiso b Duminy... 8 G. Dockrell b Phangiso T. Murtagh not out C. Young b Duminy... 0 P. Chase c Miller b Duminy... 0 Extras (w6)... 6 Total (30.5 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Porterfi eld), 2-26 (Anderson), 3-41 (Wilson), 4-77 (Stirling), (Terry), (Poynter), (O Brien), (Dockrell), (Young) Bowling: Rabada (3w), Parnell (2w), Pretorius , Phehlukwayo , Phangiso , Duminy (1w) Result: South Africa won by 206 runs Toss: Ireland Umpires: Shaun George (RSA), Joel Wilson (WIS) TV umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG) Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG) bathroom on Sunday morning and suffered a head injury. They will play Australia at the same venue on Tuesday before South Africa meet Australia in five one-day internationals, starting at Centurion on Friday. The South African team included three new caps. Bavuma, established as a middle order batsman in the Test side, was given his chance as an opener in the absence of Hashim Amla. All-rounders Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius were newcomers to international cricket. It was a good outing, said South African captain Faf du Plessis, and all three debutants got into the game. Bavuma, who was dropped on one when he edged Peter Chase to Kevin O Brien at second slip, took advantage of the let-off with a composed innings, reaching his fifty off 54 balls and his century off 110 deliveries. He was out 13 balls later after hitting 13 fours and a six. On a slow pitch, South Africa struggled to increase their scoring rate in the middle overs but Duminy (52 not out) and Behardien (50) gave the innings impetus with a fifth wicket stand of 87 off 40 balls before Behardien was caught on the boundary off the last ball of the innings. Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan plays a shot during the fi rst One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Sept 25. (AFP) Tamim, Mahmudullah guide Bangladesh to 265 runs B desh win thriller against Afghanistan DHAKA, Sept 25, (AFP): Paceman Taskin Ahmed made a brilliant comeback to international cricket as he claimed four wickets to steer Bangladesh to pull off a thrilling seven-run win in the first one-day international against Afghanistan in Dhaka on Sunday. Replying to Bangladesh s 265 runs, Afghanistan looked to be well in control when Hashmatullah (72) and Rahmat Shah (71) put on a solid 144 runs for the third wicket partnership. Shakib Al Hasan (2-26) broke the stand before the hosts clawed their way back to dismiss Afghanistan for 258 runs in the last ball of the final over. Bangladesh now lead the three-match series 1-0 lead. Taskin, who was cleared to bowl in international cricket just two days ago, held his nerve in the final over, when Afghanistan needed 13 runs, but the visitors, who lost their last six wickets for 28 runs, could mange just five. Shakib s exploit enabled him overtake Abdur Razzak as Bangladesh s leading wicket taker in one-day internationals (ODIs) with 208 scalps. Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad earlier struck halfcenturies to guide Bangladesh to a respectable total after skipper Mortaza won the toss and elected to bat first. The home side, playing their first ODI in 11 months, suffered a blow in the first over when Dawlat Zadran dismissed Soumya Sarkar for a duck, but the top order soon regained the initiative. Tamim struck nine fours in his 80 off 98 balls and in the process became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to score 9,000 runs in international cricket. He put on 83 with Imrul Kayes (37) for the second wicket CRICKET and then another 79 with Mahmudullah for the third wicket before being removed by Mirwais Ashraf. Mahmudullah smashed 62 off 74 balls and looked poised for a big innings after reaching his half-century with a boundary off Dawlat. Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi removed Mahmudullah, who also struck five fours in his innings, in his next over when Ashraf took a fine catch diving forward at backward square leg. Afghanistan made something of a comeback when Mushfiqur Rahim (six) and Sabbir Rahman (two) fell cheaply. But Shakib ensured Bangladesh did not lose their way with 48 off 40 balls. Dawlat claimed four wickets for 73 while Nabi and spinner Rashid Khan grabbed two wickets each for Afghanistan. Afghanistan skipper Stanikzai hailed the performance of Bangladeshi bowlers. The second and third match will be held at the same venue on Sept 28 and Oct 1. Scoreboard BANGLADESH Tamim Iqbal c Naveen-ul-Haq b Ashraf 80 Soumya Sarkar c Shabir b Dawlat... 0 Imrul Kayes b Nabi Mahmudullah c Ashraf b Nabi Shakib Al Hasan c Najibullah b Dawlat Mushfiqur Rahim b Rashid Khan... 6 Sabbir Rahman lbw b Rashid Khan... 2 Mashrafe Mortaza c Rashid b Naveen-ul-Haq... 4 Taijul Islam c Rahmat b Dawlat Taskin Ahmed b Dawlat... 2 Rubel Hossain not out... 1 Extras (b1, lb1, w10) Total (all out, 50 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Sarkar), 2-84 (Imrul), (Tamim),4-203 ( Mahmudullah), (Rahim), (Sabbir), (Shakib), (Mortaza), (Taskin), (Taijul) Bowling: Dawlat (w5), Naveen-ul Haq (w2), Nabi (w1), Mirwais (w1), Rashid (w1) AFGHANISTAN Shabir Noori lbw b Shakib... 9 Mohammad Shahzad c Rahim b Mortaza Rahmat Shah St Rahim b Shakib Hashmatullah Shahidi c Soumya b Taijul Mohammad Nabi c Sabbir b Sabbir Najibullah Zadran c Rahim b Mortaza... 7 Asghar Stanikzai c Mahmudullah b Taskin Rashid Khan b Rubel... 7 Mirwais Ashraf lbw b Taskin... 3 Dawlat Zadran c Sabbir b Taskin... 2 Naveen-ul-Haq not out... 0 Aussies win in Mexico Chan s stunning 62 seals Japan triumph TOKYO, Sept 25, (Agencies): Taiwan s Chan Shih-chang shot a stunning final-round 62 to win the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup by two strokes on Sunday at Osaka s Ibaraki Country Club. The 30-year-old s flawless eight-under-par round saw him finish on 10-under 270 and take the winner s cheque for $294,204, almost double his entire 2016 Asian Tour earnings of $149,453 heading into the tournament. He was off to a blistering start with birdies at three of the first four holes to turn in 32, before five more on the back nine of his bogey-free round saw him climb from 13th place at the start of the day into the winner s circle. Chan had started the day six shots behind the overnight leader Phachara Khongwatmai. But the Thai teenager, who had led since Friday, fell away with four bogeys on his card of two-over 72 to finish in a three-way tie for fourth on six-under. In second place on eight-under 272 was Japan s Ippei Koike who carded a one-under 69 to finish a stroke ahead of countryman Kazuhiro Yamashita (68). Leading final scores (par 70): 270 Chan Shih-chang (TPE) Ippei Koike (JPN) Chan 273 Kazuhiro Yamashita (JPN) Shigo Imahira (JPN) , Katsumasa Miyamoto (JPN) , Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) GOLF 275 Hideto Tanihara (JPN) , Daisuke Kataoka (JPN) Ryuko Tokimatsu (JPN) l, Takashi Iwamoto (JPN) , Song Young-han (KOR) Nicholas Fung (MAS) , Liang Wenchong (CHN) , Satoshi Kodaira (JPN) In Riviera Maya, Mexico, Australia completed a runaway victory in the World Amateur Team Championship, beating England by 19 strokes Saturday and sweeping the top two individual spots. Australia won the Eisenhower Trophy for the fourth time, following victories in the biennial event in 1958, 1966 and It s great for the game of golf back home, Australian captain Matt Cutler said. It started two years ago when the women won the Espirito Santo (Trophy). We got a taste of competing and winning internationally. They executed the plan perfectly this week. They had a determination to get it done. Cameron Davis closed with a 3-under 68 at Mayakoba El Camaleon to beat teammate Curtis Luck by two strokes for the individual title. Davis finished at 17-under 269. Extras (b1 lb2 w13) Total ( all out, 50 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Shahzad), 2-46 (Noori), (Rahmat), (Hashmatullah), (Najibullah), (Nabi), ( Stanikzai), ( Rashid), (Ashraf), ( Dawlat) Bowling: Mortaza (w1), Taskin (w6), Shakib (w2), Rubel (w3),taijul (w1), Mahmudullah Result: Bangladesh win by seven runs Series result: Bangladesh lead three-match series 1-0 Man of the match: Shakib Al Hasan Umpires: Shamshuddin Chettithody (IND) and Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN) TV Umpire: Anisur Rahman (BAN Match Referee: Richie Richardson (WI) New Zealand s Luke Ronchi plays a defensive shot during the fourth day of the fi rst cricket Test match between India and New Zealand at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Sept 25. (AFP) New Zealand on the ropes, India close in on big win KANPUR, India, Sept 25, (RTRS): India set New Zealand an improbable 434-run victory target and then blew away the visitors top order in Sunday s final session to close in on a resounding win in the first Test. Resuming day four on 159 for one, India s positive batting over two sessions yielded 218 runs before home captain Virat Kohli declared on 377 for five at Kanpur s Green Park Stadium. Needing to pull off the biggest successful chase in the history of Test cricket for an unlikely win, New Zealand wobbled early and were reeling at 93 for four at stumps, still trailing the massive target by 341. Luke Ronchi (38) and Mitchell CRICKET Santner (eight) will return on Monday hoping to resist or at least delay India s victory march in the first match of the three-test series. Ravichandran Ashwin (3-68), who dismissed four frontline Kiwi batsmen in the first innings, proved once again why he is considered India s premier spinner. The off-spinner had Martin Guptill caught at silly point for a duck with the first ball of his second over and trapped Tom Latham (two) leg before with the fifth. Ashwin claimed his 200th Test wicket when he dismissed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (25) leg before. Ross Taylor (17) then ran himself out to compound the tourists misery. The game s not over yet, Ashwin told reporters after becoming the second fastest bowler to take 200 wickets, achieving the feat in his 37th Test. Former Australia spinner Clarrie Grimmett took one test fewer to reach the mark. We should have got them five or six down today itself. I m bit disappointed, Ashwin added. Earlier in the morning, Williamson attacked with spin from both ends and his slow bowlers did not let him down. Left-arm spinner Santner trapped Murali Vijay lbw for 76, ending the right-hander s second century-plus stand of the match with Cheteshwar Pujara (78). Kohli fell to off-spinner Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi struck the next blow with a beauty of a delivery that spun from outside leg, took the outside edge of Pujara s bat and nestled into Taylor s waiting hands at slip. Ajinkya Rahane (40) missed his fifty Ashwin claims 200th Test wicket India vs New Zealand Scoreboard KANPUR, India, Sept 25, (AFP): Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth day of the fi rst Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur on Sunday: INDIA 1st innings 318 (Murali Vijay 65, Cheteshwar Pujara 62; Trent Boult 3-67, Mitchell Santner 3-94) NEW ZEALAND 1st innings 262 (K. Williamson 75, T. Latham 58; R. Jadeja 5-73, R. Ashwin 4-93) INDIA 2nd innings (overnight 159/1) L. Rahul c Taylor b Sodhi M. Vijay lbw b Santner C. Pujara c Taylor b Sodhi V. Kohli c Sodhi b Craig A. Rahane c Taylor b Santner R. Sharma not out R. Jadeja not out Extras (b 1, lb 8)... 9 Total (5 wickets; overs) Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Rahul), (Vijay), (Kohli), (Pujara), (Rahane) Bowling: Boult , Santner , Craig , Wagner , Sodhi , Guptill 4-0- but Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja smashed unbeaten half-centuries and featured in an unbroken century stand to virtually bat New Zealand out of the contest. Sharma, who made 35 in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 68. Jadeja, who scored 42 not out in the first innings and claimed five wickets with his left-arm spin, continued to have a good match. The left-hander clobbered three sixes en route to his second test fifty before breaking into a bat-twirling celebration. Still six wickets to go, New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said. If you get a partnership you can score at a decent rate. More importantly, you can bat for time. That s our goal, to fight for as long as we can. India s Ravichandran Ashwin bowls during the fourth day of the fi rst Test match between India and New Zealand at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Sept 25. (AFP) 17-0, Williamson Did not bat: R. Ashwin, W. Saha, R. Jadeja, M. Shami, U. Yadav NEW ZEALAND 2nd innings T. Latham lbw b Ashwin... 2 M. Guptill c Vijay b Ashwin... 0 K. Williamson lbw b Ashwin R. Taylor run out L. Ronchi not out M. Santner not out... 8 Extras (lb 2, nb 1)... 3 Total (4 wickets; 37 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Guptill), 2-3 (Latham), 3-43 (Williamson), 5-56 (Taylor) Bowling: Shami , Ashwin , Jadeja , Yadav To bat: BJ. Watling, M. Craig, N. Wagner, T. Boult, I. Sodhi Toss: India Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Rod Tucker (AUS) TV umpire: Anil Chaudhary (IND) Match referee: David Boon (AUS) Reserve umpire: CK Nandan (IND) Akmal returns to Pak 1-day squad KARACHI, Sept 25, (AFP): Pakistan Sunday recalled dashing batsman Umar Akmal to their one-day squad for the upcoming series against West Indies after he was sidelined for 18 months over disciplinary problems. The 26-year-old played the last of his 111 one-day internationals in March during the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Negative comments about Akmal s behaviour by former head coach Waqar Younis and ex-manager Intikhab Alam almost derailed his career. He was recalled to the Twenty20 squad earlier this month after being passed over for five months. Pakistan lead the current three-match Twenty20 series against the West Indies 2-0, with the final game on Tuesday. The first one-day international is in Sharjah on Friday, followed by another at the same venue on October 2 and one in Abu Dhabi on October 5. They will also play three Tests after the limitedover series. There were also ODI recalls for batsman Asad Shafiq and pacemen Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali. Shafiq and Khan have not played since last year while Rahat was part of the team on the New Zealand tour in January. Pakistan lost their last one-day series in England 4-1 and are currently ninth in the one-day rankings. Squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Khan.

42 SPORTS Lorenzo second, Rossi third Marquez extends lead with Aragon GP win ALCAÑIZ, Spain, Sept 25, (AFP): Marc Marquez extended his lead in the MotoGP world championship as he beat out title rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to claim victory at the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday. Spain s Marquez started on pole, but had to overcame a minor error early in the race that saw him briefly slip down to fifth before claiming his fourth win of the season. Defending champion Lorenzo passed Yamaha teammate Rossi with five laps to go to take second. Marquez now leads Rossi by 52 points with just four races remaining. Lorenzo is a further 14 points adrift in third. Victory for the two-time world champion ends a record run of eight different winners in the last eight races and was only Marquez s second win since April. I m very happy because step-bystep Rossi was gaining points and now we ve stopped (that run), said Marquez. Nine-time world champion Rossi has still never won in Aragon, but, despite starting from sixth on the grid, led with MOTOR CYCLING 15 laps to go after Marquez ran wide on lap three to slip down the field. Marquez had been dominant all weekend, though, and again proved he had the fastest bike on the circuit as he reeled in Rossi before overtaking the Italian with 12 laps to go. I said stay calm, don t wear the front tyre because I had the hard one and then step-by-step I got a good rhythm, added Marquez. With Valentino I pushed for two laps and then when I saw the distance was enough (to pass) I just tried to keep that rhythm in front. Lorenzo suffered a crash in the warm-up before the race, but believes that misfortune ultimately aided him as he switched to a hard rear tyre at the last moment. Probably the crash from this morning made me finish second today, he said. With the soft one I didn t feel so good, so instinct told me to choose the hard one and that instinct made me a good result. I am very proud, we did our maximum in the race and finally we finished closer than we expected to the winner. Rossi was delighted with his start as he shot through the field. However, he didn t have the pace to hold off Marquez and a breaking error two laps from the end ensured he couldn t maintain the pressure on Lorenzo for second. It is a shame because two laps from the end I did a mistake in breaking and I had to go wide. If not we could fight for the second place, added Rossi. Anyway the podium is ok. Earlier, Brad Binder became South Africa s first motorcycle world champion for 36 years in the Moto3 category. Binder finished second to Jorge Navarro, but did enough to extend his advantage to an unassailable 106 points with just four races remaining. Today we lost the battle but we won the war, said Binder. Repsol Honda s Spanish rider Marc Marquez (right), and Yamaha Team s Italian rider Valentino Rossi compete during the Moto GP race of the Aragon Grand Prix at the Motorland racetrack in Alcaniz on Sept 25. (AFP) 42 Bekele wins Berlin marathon Kebede leads Ethiopian trio to clinch women s race BERLIN, Sept 25, (AFP): Kenenisa Bekele admitted he was disappointed to have missed the world record by six seconds on Sunday as the Ethiopian won the Berlin marathon ahead of former winner Wilson Kipsang. The ex-olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion crossed the finish line in an official time of two hours 03min 03sec just short of Dennis Kimetto s world record of 2:02:57 set here in ATHLETICS Bekele s time was an Ethiopian national record and he took two minutes off his personal best. It went according to plan, said Bekele, who finished third at this year s London marathon. I wanted to beat my personal best. I ran a fantastic time, but I m just a little disappointed to miss the world record by a few seconds. Bekele pocketed 70,000 euros ($78,585) for winning the race, but those six seconds cost him the 50,000 bonus he would have landed had the world record fallen. Kipsang, who won the 2013 Berlin Marathon in a then-world record time, finished ten seconds back in 2:03:13 and fellow Kenyan Evans Chebet took third in 2:05:31. I am happy to have run a personal best and he (Bekele) ran a fantastic race, said Kipsang, who ran ten seconds faster than the 2:03:23 then-world record he ran here three years ago. I am also a bit disappointed to have missed the world record, but I have to congratulate him. We will have to come back and try again for the world record next year. Bekele ran the second fastest time ever, just six seconds away from Kimetto s record, and Kipsang s time was the fourth fastest. The men s world record has fallen seven times in Berlin, six times Runners take the start of the 43rd Berlin marathon in Berlin on Sept 25. (AFP) since This was another fast race over 42 km, the relatively flat course lacking the cobblestones of London and the bridges of the New York courses. Bekele and Kipsang led an elite group of seven runners, which was ahead of the world record pace at the halfway stage and Kipsang made his move at the 30 km stage. He reached the 35 km mark in 1:41:56 exactly on the world record pace with Bekele trailing just behind him, but the Ethiopian caught the Kenyan with three kilometres to go. Bekele pulled clear of Kipsang as the pair headed towards the finish just past Berlin s iconic Brandenburg Gate. In the women s race, Aberu Kebede, claimed her third Berlin win, in 2:20:45 ahead of Birhane Dibaba, who finished 3:13 minutes back, and Ruti Aga at 3:57 in an Ethiopian sweep. Stunned and devastated Marlins ace Fernandez dies in boating accident MIAMI, Sept 25, (AP): Jose Fernandez, the ace right-hander for the Miami Marlins who escaped Cuba to become one of baseball s brightest stars, was killed in a boating accident early Sunday morning. Fernandez was 24. He and two other people died when their 32-foot vessel slammed into a jetty off Miami Beach, authorities said. We are devastated by the tragic loss of José Fernández, the Marlins said in a statement. Reaction quickly poured in from around the game. Major League Baseball released a statement saying it was stunned and devastated. He was one of our game s great young stars who made a dramatic impact on and off the field since his debut in 2013, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the Miami Marlins organization and all of the people he touched in his life. The Marlins game Sunday at home against the Atlanta Braves BASEBALL Fernandez has been canceled. The Braves, along with several other teams, quickly shared their condolences with the Marlins. Hands down one of my favorite guys to watch pitch! He brought nothing but intensity and passion, Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price said on Twitter early Sunday. Because the boat was on a jetty, the Coast Guard notified Miami-Dade police, which turned the investigation over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Fernandez was on a 32-foot vessel that had a severe impact with a jetty, said FWC s Lorenzo Veloz. The overturned boat remained in the water Sunday morning, its engine partially submerged as its nose pointed skyward, as debris from the crash was scattered over some of the large jagged rocks. Fernandez s death immediately brought memories of past baseball tragedies, such as the deaths of Thurman Munson and Roberto Clemente stars who died in plane crashes in the 1970s. Cleveland teammates Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed in a boating accident in Florida in 1993, and the game also reeled from the sudden deaths of major leaguers Darryl Kile, Lyman Bostock and Cory Lidle in recent years. Jose was a remarkable young man and a tremendously gifted athlete, who, at just 24, established himself as one of the game s biggest and brightest stars, said Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jose s family, friends, teammates, Miami Marlins organization and legions of fans in the United States and Latin America.

43 SPORTS 43 Europeans happy to embrace underdog tag on American soil US experience, Europe dominance mark out Ryder Cup CHASKA, Minnesota, Sept 25, (RTRS): Home advantage for an experienced United States line-up versus European dominance just one of many compelling matchups to savour in next week s Ryder Cup between two star-studded teams at Hazeltine National. The Americans have been meticulous in their preparations for the 41st edition of the biennial competition and appear to have several factors in their favour as they strive to end a remarkable run by the Europeans over the past two decades. Holders Europe have won three consecutive Ryder Cups, and eight of the last 10, through a mixture of shrewd captaincy, consistently good team chemistry, often stellar play and an uncanny knack of sinking key putts at crucial moments. This week, however, they will field six rookies in their 12-man team while the Americans have just one Cup debutant in Brooks Koepka (or perhaps two pending the final wildcard pick to be announced later on Sunday by US captain Davis Love III). Either way, this is a ratio of experience that US fans can only hope will help pave the way for a much-needed home victory. We didn t really look at rookies versus experience, Love told reporters when asked if his more Clarke seasoned team held any advantage over Europe. We looked at adding to our team to build the best that we could. Experience is good. We know what to expect. We know how to handle it, GOLF how to deal with it. We re going to learn from our mistakes in the past and build on it. We have a plan we ve been working on for a year and a half... we know what happened in the past but we re looking to the future now and building. I think our experience is really going to help us. While Europe are happy to embrace the underdog tag on US soil, their captain Darren Clarke has complete faith in the ability of his six rookies to thrive in the pressure cooker atmosphere of a Ryder Cup. It s unquestionable that it s going to be a very, very big task ahead of us, said the 48-year-old Northern Irishman, a veteran of five Ryder Cups as a player. You d have to say America would be favourites... if you re going to look off world rankings, etc. But it s 12 guys against 12 guys in match play, and anything can happen. There are six (rookies for Europe) but the talent that they all possess, I ve got no worries at all about the strength of that team. I m proud of that team. We re going to do everything we possibly can to bring that trophy back home again. Asked to explain Europe s recent dominant run at the Ryder Cup, Clarke replied: The Europeans have had the run of the greens. They have made a lot of big putts at the right time. The gap in the quality of the players is so small, that if somebody knocks in a 20-footer at the right time or something, that can make a huge difference. Davis is doing everything he possibly can to get that 20-footer going in on his side. I m obviously trying to do the same... it s going to be a closelycontested contest, as it has been. Ryder Format NEXT week s Ryder Cup between hosts the United States and holders Europe will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota from Friday to Sunday. Each team has 12 players and a total of 28 matches will take place, culminating with 12 singles on the final day. The first two days will feature a mix of eight foursomes and eight fourball matches, with the order of play determined through agreement by United States captain Davis Love III and his European counterpart Darren Clarke. Foursomes matches involve two-man teams, with each team playing one ball. The players take alternate shots until the hole is completed. The lower of the two scores wins the hole. If the same number of shots on both sides is recorded, the hole is halved. One player will hit the tee shot on odd-numbered holes with his team mate teeing off first on the even-numbered holes. Fourball matches involve two-man teams with each player playing his own ball and completing the hole. The best score of the four wins the hole. In singles matches, the result is decided when one player leads by more holes than there are holes left to play. Team captains submit their order of play before each round to a tournament official. The lists from each captain are then matched, resulting in the pairings. (RTRS) Wisconsin pulls away for win at Michigan St; Stanford sinks UCLA South Florida running back Marlon Mack (5) is stopped by Florida state defensive back A.J. Westbrook as he tries to stretch over the goal line during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, on Sept 24, in Tampa, Florida. (AP) EAST LANSING, Michigan, Sept 25, (AP): Wisconsin s Leo Musso returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter as the Badgers pulled away to win 30-6 at Michigan State on Saturday. Alex Hornibrook threw for 195 yards and a touchdown in his first start for Wisconsin, which shaded the Spartans in the first half before outscoring them 17-0 in the third quarter. Michigan State was down 13-6 early in the third and had the ball in Wisconsin territory when LJ Scott s fumble bounced to Musso, who spun past the quarterback s last-line tackle and all the way to the end zone. Stanford s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside caught a touchdown pass from Ryan Burns with 24 seconds left to complete FOOTBALL a rally for the Cardinal and a victory that extended their run of wins against UCLA to nine straight. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 138 yards for Stanford. Alabama s Jalen Hurts ran and threw for touchdowns and tailback sub Joshua Jacobs scored his first two career touchdowns to lead the Crimson Tide to a crushing 48-0 win against Kent State. Alabama dominated coach Nick Saban s alma mater from the start while scoring on a kickoff return and even a touchdown throw to linebacker Mack Wilson. Louisville s Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes and ran for two more to lead the Cardinals past Marshall Michigan s De Veon Smith led an overwhelming ground game with 107 yards rushing and a touchdown and Karan Higdon ran for two scores in a win against Pennsylvania State. Houston s D Eriq King caught a touchdown pass, threw one and returned a kickoff for another score in a blowout 64-3 victory over Texas State. Texas A&M s Trevor Knight had two long touchdowns runs before halftime and threw a 92-yard pass right after Arkansas was stopped three times from the 1-yard line, leading the Aggies to a win. Mississippi s Chad Kelly threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to help the Rebels beat Georgia 25-14, ending a run of ten straight losses to the Bulldogs. Washington s Jake Browning hit Dante Pettis for a touchdown in overtime, giving the Huskies a win against Arizona. Florida International 53, UCF 14 In Miami, Dontravious Wilson rushed for three touchdowns as UCF steamrolled Florida International on Saturday night. Wilson scored all his TDs on runs of 1, 15 and 12 yards on just Eastern Michigan backs student protest of racist graffiti Anthem protests spread to colleges, WNBA player sits NEW YORK, Sept 25, (AP): Liberty guard Brittany Boyd sat on the bench with her head bowed in prayer during the national anthem before a WNBA playoff game. Hours earlier, college football players for Michigan and Michigan State, along with a group of students at North Carolina, raised their fists during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner on Saturday. Since 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem before NFL preseason games, citing racial injustice and police brutality, his movement has slowly spread across fields and courts in the US On Saturday, college and professional athletes joined together to follow his lead after a week punctuated by riots in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the killing of an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This wasn t the first time Boyd sat during the anthem. She said she also did it at the last few games. I don t want to stand up. I choose not to stand up and I sit down and pray, the second-year guard said. Colin and his message about social injustice going on in this country today is something I believe needs change. The Berkeley, California, native had a Kaepernick jersey hanging in her locker and wore it to the arena Saturday night. Her New York teammates stood, Baylor cornerback Verkedric Vaughns (top), breaks up a pass in the end zone against Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington (28) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Sept 24, in Waco, Texas. Baylor won (AP) Alabama pummels Kent State 48-0 Michigan football players raise their fists up in protest during the National Anthem, before an NCAA college football game against Penn State, Sept 24, 2016, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP) arms locked with their heads bowed before their WNBA playoff game with Phoenix. Mercury players Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone kneeled, just as they had done during their first-round playoff game. Bass was inspired that younger athletes were joining an effort that until this weekend had been mostly led by the pros. I think it shows that the younger generations are about this and 10 carries in the first half, the first UCF back to rush for three touchdowns in a half since Storm Johnson in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Adrian Killins added a TD run of 62 yards, C.J. Jones added a 1-yard rush and Nick Patti scored on a 9-yard run as the Knights (2-2) compiled six rushing TDs in a game for the first time since UCF racked up 501 yards total offense with 26 first downs to 189 yards and 11 first downs for FIU (0-4). None of the Knights scoring drives lasted longer than three minutes, with Wilson s second TD capping a six-second drive. San Diego 34, Dayton 22 In San Diego, Tevin Heyward and Jonah Hodges scored in the final five minutes to lift San Diego to a win over Dayton on Saturday. The Flyers shocked San Diego, taking a lead when Chris Hagan picked up a fumbled snap by the punter and took it 31 yards for a touchdown. On the PAT, the ball popped loose and William Will passed to Gus Madden for a 2-point conversion and the lead with 12:29 to play. San Diego (2-1, 1-0 Pioneer League) came back with a 70-yard drive, capped by Heyward s 1-yard plunge. On the next possession Anthony Lawrence hooked up with Hodges for a 62-yard score. Lawrence finished 26 of 34 for 371 yards and two touchdowns but two first-half interceptions kept the game tied at 7. Hodges had six catches for 122 yards and Brian Riley had six for 126. they did it together, she said. They are understanding what is going on in our society. It s perfect because they are so caught up in their phones. To see them standing up for social injustices and wanting things to be right in their communities I think is awesome. Three Michigan State players Delton Williams, Kenney Lyke and Gabe Sherrod held their right fists in the air while standing on the sideline before the No. 8 Spartans hosted No. 11 Wisconsin. Whether somebody salutes, puts the hand over their heart or does something else, everybody has a choice to make, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio added after the Spartans 30-6 loss. Our young people are in college, and I can promise you one thing, that when the flag is presented in some respect, I guess it becomes much more important now. It s not just, oh by the way, we ll just stand for The Star-Spangled Banner. All I can do is try and lead the best way I can, and be positive and accepting to our football team and our players, the coach added. Several players for No. 4 Michigan also had their fists up before facing Penn State in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Among them were Khalid Hill, Mike McCray, Devin Bush, Elysee Mbem-Bosse and Jourdan Lewis. Most college conferences play the anthem before the teams take the field. The Big Ten is among the exceptions. Eastern Michigan University strongly supports the right of students to peacefully demonstrate about issues that are important to them, the school s president said Saturday, a day after students took to the field after a football game to protest racist graffiti that showed up on campus earlier in the week. Dayton (2-2, 0-1) only had 70 yards in the first half and finished with 227. Illinois 34, Indiana 31 In Terre Haute, Isaac Harker passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns, Roland Genesy rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Jonas Griffith s sack and forced fumble in the game s waning moments clinched a Indiana State win over Illinois State on Saturday in the Missouri Valley opener for both teams. With a chance to tie or take its first lead, Illinois State had second-and-3 in Sycamores territory, but Griffith knocked the ball loose from Jake Kolbe, and Kenyota Rollins recovered to ensure an Indiana State (3-1, 1-0) victory. Kolbe passed for 258 yards and three TDs, including two in the fourth quarter, the latter capping a 70-yard Illinois State (2-2, 0-1) drive to narrow the score to with 3:07 remaining. Colorado 41, 38 In Eugene, the joyful tears in Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre s eyes summed up what the victory over Oregon meant for the Buffaloes. Everything. Our goal is to win a Pac-12 championship. I know a lot of people still laugh about it, but that s what those young men believe and if we can t believe it than we can never achieve it, he said. Colorado (3-1) had not been able to defeat the Ducks since joining the Pac- 12 in 2011 until Saturday, when Steven Montez threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in a victory. Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted Dakota Prukop s pass to Darren Carrington in the end zone on Oregon s final drive to preserve the win. The Ducks were stunned. Kansas State 35, Missouri State 0 In Manhattan, it only took Kansas State a half to dismantle Missouri State on Saturday night. Good thing, too. They didn t get a second half. Jesse Ertz threw two touchdown passes, Winston Dimel added two touchdown runs and the Wildcats beat Missouri State 35-0 in a game called at halftime as lightning lit up the skies around Bill Snyder Family Stadium. With rain having already lashed the area and more lightning on the way, Kansas State (2-1) made quick work of the overmatched Bears (2-1). The Wildcats jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and added three more touchdowns by halftime to make it an easy choice to call the game complete.

44 PRIME TIME monday (all times are kuwait local) 07:00 hamburg vs bayern/soccer... bein sports 5hd 08:00 iran vs vietnam/soccer... bein sports 9hd 09:45 japan vs uae/soccer... bein sports 9hd 10:45 marseille vs nantes/soccer... bein sports 6hd 11:30 zegued vs rhine/handball... bein sports 9hd 13:30 golfing world... bein sports 12hd 14:47 elche vs levante/soccer... bein sports 3hd 16:30 bordeaux vs caen/soccer... bein sports 6hd 44 Sports Latest sports scores at Canada dump Russia to reach WCup final Crosby stars TORONTO, Sept 25, (RTRS): Canada needed three third-period goals to break open a showdown with Russia and reach the World Cup of Hockey final with a 5-3 victory on Saturday the latest installment in the storied rivalry between the two nations. Canada struck three times in the opening 10 minutes of the final period to break a 2-2 deadlock before holding the explosive Russian offense largely in check the rest of the way and set up a title decider against Sweden or Team Europe. I get pretty excited when it s Canada versus Russia whether playing in (tonight s) game or if it s the world ICE HOCKEY juniors, any type of hockey game, said Canadian captain Sidney Crosby, who finished the game with a goal and two assists. History has provided us with some great games, it s exciting as a Canadian hockey player playing against Russia. The highly-anticipated clash between the two nations was their first in a beston-best tournament since Canada dominated a quarter-finals showdown at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The victory sent them through to a best-of-three final starting on Tuesday against the winner of Sunday s semifinal between Group B winner Sweden and Group A runner-up Team Europe, a mix of players from eight countries. The host nation opened the scoring about eight minutes into the game on a superb individual effort from Crosby, who took the puck from Dmitry Kulikov and skated across the front of the Russian net before sending a backhand shot over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Canada dominated the first period and could have easily been ahead by more if not for the superb play of Bobrovsky, who stoned a number of wide open Canadian shooters. Russia, who needed to beat winless Finland in their last group stage contest just to reach the semis, came to life early in the second period when Nikita Kucherov used a terrific shot to beat Canadian goalie Carey Price on a 2-on-1 break. Schalke suffer worst ever Bundesliga start BERLIN, Sept 25, (AFP): Schalke 04 have made the worst start to a Bundesliga season in the club s history with Sunday s 2-1 loss at Hoffenheim their fifth straight league defeat. Schalke s Cameroonian striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (left), and Hoffenheim s defender Niklas Suele vie for the ball during the German first divison Bundesliga football match between Hoffenheim and Schalke 04 in Sinsheim, southern Germany on Sept 25. (AFP) Evgeny Dadonov #63 of Team Russia battles for the puck with Brent Burns #88 of Team Canada during the third period at the semifinal game during the World Cup of Hockey tournament at Air Canada Centre on Sept 24, in Toronto, Canada. (AFP) The latest set-back piles the pressure on Schalke s new coach Markus Weinzierl. His side are the only club to still have no points in Germany s top flight. I don t know where the problem lies, said Schalke s goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann, while his defence did him no favours in Hoffenheim. We re in a situation where words fail me. Nothing is working up front and at the back, we are making simple mistakes. It s getting worse from week to week. Having been recruited from Augsburg at the start of the season, while sports director Christian Heidel was poached from Mainz, Weinzierl has endured a disastrous start. It s not down to him and I very much hope that all the people involved here support him, said Schalke s captain, Germany defender Benedikt Hoewedes. We need to stand together, as men, and improve. Austin and Tadic inspire Southampton to 3-0 victory No home comforts for West Ham as Saints stroll LONDON, Sept 25, (AFP): Southampton condemned West Ham to another miserable experience at their new London Stadium as Charlie Austin and Dusan Tadic inspired the visitors 3-0 victory on Sunday. West Ham s move from Upton Park to the former Olympic Stadium just across east London was supposed to herald the start of a successful new era. But instead they have been beset by problems on and off the pitch and a fourth successive Premier League loss left Slaven Bilic s side languishing in the relegation zone. The series of ugly brawls that broke out during a recent defeat by Watford raised fears about fan safety in the arena and, although there was no repeat of the crowd SOCCER problems against Southampton, the lacklustre efforts of Bilic s players ensured the supporters would continue to feel uncomfortable in their new surroundings. Austin put Southampton ahead before Tadic and James Ward-Prowse wrapped up Southampton s fourth successive win in all competitions. West Ham were left to count the cost of a third defeat in six matches in their new abode and, with the worst defensive record in the league, they look destined for a season of struggle. After conceding 11 goals in their last three league games, West Ham were in dire need of a vibrant performance, but it PAS approves outside sports participation KUWAIT CITY, Sept 25, (KUNA): Public Authority for Sports (PAS) approved Kuwait s participation in regional, Arab and Islamic sports tournaments, which are not subjected to international sports federations. PAS deputy director Humoud Fulaiteh told KUNA, on Sunday, that this approval came after 35 representatives from sports clubs and federations had met and unanimously agreed to make this move. This approval showed keenness to expand sports activities beyond its current limitation, Fulaiteh stressed. Outside participation will have a positive impact on improving the level of athletes, he pointed out. This unanimous agreement showed that everyone in on the same page in supporting sports in the country, he added. He further said that in line with the directives of the Minister of Information and Minister of State for Sports Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, PAS will provide financial supports for athletes competing under the Kuwaiti flag. Inter held at home by Bologna Totti s 250th Serie A goal fails to save Roma MILAN, Sept 25, (RTRS): Francesco Totti, two days short of his 40th birthday, scored his 250th Serie A goal for AS Roma on Sunday but it was not enough as they continued their inconsistent start to the season with a 3-1 defeat at Torino. Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach and former Argentina captain Diego, scored his first Serie A goal to help nineman Genoa draw 1-1 with Pescara and Inter Milan were held 1-1 at home by Bologna. Inter moved into third with 11 points from six games, four behind leaders Juventus. They are followed by Roma, Lazio, Chievo and Bologna, all on 10 points. Roma were undone by two goals from Iago Falque, a player was Southampton who seized the initiative and they threatened when Ryan Bertrand picked out Pierre- Emile Hojbjerg on the edge of the penalty area. Hojbjerg had time and space to pick his spot, but Angelo Ogbonna made up the ground with impressive speed and stuck out a leg to block the they loaned to their opponents at the start of the season, as they lost away to Torino for the first time since Andrea Belotti headed Torino in front in the eighth minute and they struck again when Falque converted a penalty in the 53rd after Belotti was tripped by Bruno Peres. In between, Torino goalkeeper Totti Joe Hart twice denied his former Manchester City team mate Edin Dzeko an equaliser for Roma. strike. West Ham winger Michail Antonio has scored 10 headed Premier League goals in 2016 and his aerial prowess was acting as a magnet whenever his side attacked. However, seeking out the lanky Antonio with high crosses proved a dubious strategy, with Southampton s Southampton s Nathan Redmond (left), controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Southampton at The London Stadium in London on Sept 25. (AP) Roma were themselves awarded a penalty in the 55th minute and halftime substitute Totti, playing his 25th season at his only professional club, sent Hart the wrong way to score his second goal of the campaign. Falque restored Torino s twogoal lead 10 minutes later with a shot which took a wicked deflection off Federico Fazio. Totti, Serie A s second all-time leading scorer, is 24 goals short of Silvio Piola s record of 274, set in Totti is the best player in Italy in the last 25 years. It gives me great pleasure to see him still playing, said Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was angry with his team s inconsistency. towering centre-back Virgil van Dijk winning virtually every headed duel. West Ham s injury problems meant Bilic was forced to deploy Havard Nordtveit out of position at right-back and the Norway midfielder was exposed when Southampton illuminated a drab first half with their 40th minute opener. EPL Standings P W D L GF GA Pts Man City Tottenham Arsenal Liverpool Everton Man Utd C Palace Chelsea Southampton West Brom Watford Leicester Hull Bournemouth Middlesbrough Swansea Burnley West Ham Stoke Sunderland Note: Standings read as played, won, draw, lost, goals for, goals against and Points. THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Published by: Arab Times Publishing House Editor-in-Chief AHMED AL JARALLAH Editorial Office: Airport Road, Shuwaikh P.O. 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